Doctor Who Series 1 Episode 3: The Unquiet Dead

Director:

Euros Lyn

(Cutting It, Casualty)

Screenplay:

(The League Of Gentlemen)

Cast:

The Doctor takes Rose back through time to Cardiff, circa 1869,to find that the dead are walking and they have to enlist the help of CharlesDickens (Simon Callow, above-right) to restore order to a local funeral home.

Well, three episodes into the new series and Doctor Who finally manages astrong episode. This is fundamentally down to Mark Gatiss, writer andperformer with The League Of Gentleman, whose lifelong interest in Who andthe Victorian era pays dividends with a story that is full of pace andpeppered with good dialogue.

The series has always worked best when set in the past, usually due tobudgetary limitations when trying to create believable futuristic worlds. Aswe all know, Britain’s rich history means recreating the past on-screen isfar more within the BBC’s abilities – and the production team excelthemselves with engrossing scenery and set-design that wouldn’t look out ofplace in a lavish period drama such as Pride & Prejudice.

An inspired decision to involve Charles Dickens into proceedings immediatelyelevates the entire episode to the realm of pulp fantasy, and with a plotthat uses Victorian ghost stories, 19th-Century séances and alien zombies,you really do have an immensely enjoyable spectacle. The only real complainis that the Doctor Who of yesteryear could have allowed the story tobreathe over a four-part serial, but the new Who is far more interested inquick, breathless action beats. By and large, I prefer the new direction,but does mean that (yet again) some elements of the story are somewhatbrushed over.

Billie Piper (right, with Eccleston) seems to be having great fun, and it’s obvious she’s becomingmore relaxed with the role. Likewise, Christopher Eccleston manages a moremannered approach to the material and leaves The Doctor’s incessant grinningbehind, thanks primarily to the fact there’s some meaty dialogue to getstuck into. Mark Gatiss’ script is littered with witty lines and choicemoments – particularly The Doctor’s star-struck discussion with Dickens inthe back of a coach.

The special-effects are wonderful throughout, with ghostly apparitionsbrought to life with well-implemented CGI, and some good make-up for thetitular unquiet dead of the funeral home. It’s refreshing to see an episodeplay to the show’s strengths and careful construct a decent story andcharacters around visuals. In previous episodes the plots have beenpedestrian and the effects patchy at best – but “The Unquiet Dead” correctsthis unbalance.

Overall, this was a genuinely entertaining episode that is the currentbenchmark for future instalments. There was barely a bad note through thewhole 45-minutes, and it was also intriguing to see a ‘Time War’ mentioned –obviously pushing the show’s new mythology that the Time Lords have beendestroyed and The Doctor is the last of his kind. Hopefully, we’ll begin tounearth more on this promising facet to the series in the weeks to come.

Next week, The Doctor and Rose return to present day London to find that aUFO has crashed into The Houses Of Parliament in “Aliens Of London”.

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