Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk
DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com

Dan Owen reviews
Cover
Episode 4: "Aliens of London"

Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday April 16th, 2005

Cover

Russell T. Davies returns to write his third episode of the four now aired, and confirms his own particular vision for his new Doctor Who series is... knowingly cheesy.

I hated the first Davies-penned episode of the series, "Rose", so quite alarmingly "Aliens Of London" begins with a recap of those events (best forgotten, if you ask me) before starting a new story where The Doctor returns Rose to her own time just 12 hours after she left - well, actually 12 months, which means she has some explaining to do!

However, a fortunate diversion - in the form of a massive UFO slicing Big Ben in half, before crash-landing into the Thames - means Rose is soon torn between joining The Doctor's new adventure and healing rifts with her mother Jackie and ex-boyfriend Mickey.

"Aliens Of London" is entertaining, but in a pretty naff way that harkens back to the old-age of Doctor Who. Chances are, fans who embrace past-Who silliness and children under-10, will lap up Davies' style. Personally, I much preferred last week's Mark Gatiss story set in the Victorian era, with a firm-footing in pulp realism.

That said, "Aliens Of London" is saved by some agreeable moments - the sublime crash-landing of the spaceship is by far the series best use of special-effects (despite lacking a sense of speed). Davies can also be counted upon for some humorous dialogue - however often it elicits groans instead of laughter!

Thankfully, the trappings of Rose's family are actually quite an asset this time around. For the first time the series actually addresses the companion's own life - and the problems her situation time-travelling with The Doctor actually presents. This new slant wasn't implemented very well back in episode 1, but here it's actually quite refreshing and well played.

As usual, Billie Piper proves herself the greatest asset of the new series - being both recognisably teenaged in the face of everything her "new life" with The Doctor presents her with. Christopher Eccleston continues to do too much gurning, for my liking, before turning overly-stern in the face of danger... but what else can you do when the episode leaps from family comedy drama to chasing an "alien pig" down a corridor!

Yes, you read that right - this episode actually features a pig dressed in a spacesuit. Thankfully, this actually turns out to be a nudge at the ludicrousness of past Doctor Who creatures (and explained away quite well) but it's indicative of the style Davies hopes to capture with his new take on the show. Well, at least with the episode he's written, anyway...

The direction is fairly pedestrian from Keith Boak - whose past credits tend to involve lots of identikit British drama, so it's often quite restrictive and formulaic. Boak also seems very keen on using that terrible incidental music that crippled episode 1, so bring some ear-plugs whenever anything dramatic begs to happen. I would love to see some fresh British talent given a chance on the show - instead of directors so obviously used to filming cops and nurses...

Overall, "Aliens Of London" was a diverting episode with good moments and bad moments. Unfortunately, the bad tends to stick in your mind - particularly aliens using "human skin suits" to pose as members of Parliament and Army officials.. who can be identified by the fact they fart a lot. Yes, this probably aroused laughter for the under-10's, but it just doesn't sit well with me.

Next Week: the adventure continues, in part 2 of this story, "World War Three", with the alien Slitheen continuing their diabolic plot against mankind...

DIRECTION
PERFORMANCES
PLOT
SOUND/MUSIC
SPECIAL FX



OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.

E-mail Dan Owen

The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date :

And the Audio CDs :

[Up to the top of this page]

Page Not Found - DVDfever.co.uk

DVDfever.co.uk

404: Page not found

It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search or one of the links below?

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Tags

Andy Serkis Batman Benedict Cumberbatch call of duty Calvin Harris Chris Hemsworth Dave Bautista doctor who Domhnall Gleeson doom Drake E3 2017 E3 2018 Ed Sheeran grand theft auto Grand Theft Auto V GTA gta 5 gta5 gta v Idris Elba Inside No.9 Jenna Coleman Jennifer Lawrence Jess Glynne Justin Bieber los santos Michael Fassbender Murray Gold Oscar Isaac Peter Capaldi Reece Shearsmith rockstar Sam Smith Samuel L. Jackson Scarlett Johansson Sia Stan Lee Stanley Tucci star wars Steven Moffat Steve Pemberton Taylor Swift Toby Jones Woody Harrelson

Pages

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers:

WP Twitter Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com