Ahhh, “Planet of the Dead.” This is one of my all-time favorite episodes of Doctor Who. Usually, I’d do a bit of a ramble here about something stupid like books, audio dramas, or how the T.A.R.D.I.S was a bit boring and non-functional back in these times. Something similar to what I did around the time I was writing this and the review for “The Sontaran Stratagem” & “The Poison Sky.” It’s almost like I’m time traveling with this paragraph. Who am I kidding, I’ve already done this with an episode that is to come and I’ll do it again with a few others, because “wibbly wobbly timey-wimey ball of stuff.”

Before I actually get to talking about the episode with any detail, I think the reason I love this is simple. It’s Doctor Who. No, I’m not being facetious; it is everything Doctor Who should be at its best. At its lows it is fine. It is light, it is dark, and at the very heart of it, it is about adventure, fun adventure in particular. I may also really like it for Michelle Ryan, known for playing Zoe Slater in EastEnders and Nimueh in Merlin, but she’s just one fantastic part of a brilliant episode.

In fact, she’s not the only notable face in the episode. I’ll swoon over the wonderful Lee Evans playing the ever so fantastic Malcolm in a bit, but even he isn’t the most famous name of them all, oddly enough. Instead, Noma Dumezweni (also in “Turn Left”) is probably best known for the uproar by horrible people around the always horrible and awful Harry Potter series. Specifically, for when she was cast as Hermione Granger in J. K. Rowling’s liquid tripe of “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.” Again, not the most famous face and while she saw real racism and hatred for that casting, Daniel Kaluuya saw it in fiction in his Academy Award-nominated role in Get Out. He also appeared in Black Panther. It’s just a game of Celebrity Squares.

Why do I like Michelle Ryan’s Lady Christina De Souza? She’s basically Catwoman, though without all that sex of the skintight suit and other nonsense Halle Berry dealt with in that awful film from 2004. She’s fun, she is on the search for adventure, and she just does things for the thrill of it. Does that remind you of anyone? She’s a great counterbalance to the Doctor’s righteousness and also sees danger as joyous. She’s a bit risky and will do anything to get the job done. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but this is why I adore the classic Lara Croft; the best video game character of all-time, don’t fight me!

Both of them play this mysterious adventurer but never seem to tread on each other’s toes. One very Doctor-y and the other his slightly, not villainous but certainly dancing on the line of morally questionable, foil. The episode itself starts with Christina Mission Impossible-ing her way into a museum’s large and highly secure room filled with guards not looking at a priceless artifact and a hatch in the ceiling. When will museum curators learn, you can’t have your prize artifact that is worth more than the country itself under hatches/windows in the ceiling? Though, unlike every other heist in TV and Film like that, she doesn’t entirely get away with it.

No, she hops on an old Routemaster-style bus filled with a young Black man who’s other-half has parents that like selling lobotomized Black people at garden parties. Also on the bus is an old Black couple, a mid-40s White woman, some young White guy that doesn’t make much of an impact, and a tall dark Scottish bloke with a fake and broad English-ish accent. You know how it is, one minute you are steeling the family jewels back for a massive profit to sell on the black market. In the next minute, you are going into a tunnel, fall through a warm hole, and get transported to a planet of sand sixty-five quintillion miles away from home. A normal day if you ask me, I do it all the time.

See, if I didn’t know Gareth Roberts (writer of “The Shakespeare Code” and “The Unicorn and the Wasp“) was a horrible transphobe and wrote this episode with Russel T Davies, I’d be praising it with unfettered glee. I think “Planet of the Dead” is easily one of, if not the best standalone episodes in Tennant’s run. Again, it is Who at its finest, going on a grand adventure of life and death with aliens that want nothing but to kill. Name a more Who episode in Tennant’s run that doesn’t involve a humanoid alien (or the bloody Daleks) standing about diddering, it will take you a while. Mostly because when you think of the Vashta Nerada, you think of their space suit form as was used for the toys. It is a bit hard to make a toy out of tiny parasitoids that live in the dark.

One of the highlights is (as I’ve already mentioned) Lee Evans; an actor that for most (outside the UK) is best known for his work in The Fifth Element, Mouse Hunt, and There’s Something About Mary, though he was (now retired) one of the UK’s biggest stand-up comedians. I grew up watching this sweaty bloke run up and down stages talking about everything and nothing, yet always full of energy. If there ever was a role Evans would be perfect for it would be Malcolm. He is a brilliant scientist that works for U.N.I.T. and has for many years cherished the idea of working with the Doctor. Just on the right balance of overly cartoonish for a family adventure show and fantastically brilliant, I really wish there was a touch more of him.

The same applies with Christina De Souza. She is one of the few one-off companions that you just want more of. I think they are a perfect balance, something Davies got so right around this time. Not only was he making characters come to life but giving the actors enough rope, as the refrain goes, to hang themselves. It is a mix of solid performances, solid writing, and brilliant backdrops. Astrid is another one, Wilfred though he appears through a series is someone I want to have that adventure, Malcolm is just every Who fan boiled down, Captain Adelaide is wonderful, Timothy Dalton would be great with another episode or two in his role, Alexandra Moen’s Lucy Saxon possibly fleshed out in a Big Finish would be great, and there are several others I’m sure I am forgetting very easily.

At its essence, “Planet of the Dead” is one of those specials in Who were you don’t need the long history of Doctor Who for, you can enjoy it without all that. I won’t put it up there with “Rose” or “Smith and Jones,” it is not the best introduction episode of Doctor Who, but is an adventure and showcases this aspect of the show beautifully. Yes with a title of an episode like this and a planet full of sand, there is an air of predictability to it all. However, it is everything Davies is great for with Who. I’ve seen others say that Christina is held up as the most special woman ever, but unlike say, Donna, she isn’t the one saving the plot entirely because she’s special. “Planet of the Dead” is, as I’ve said, everything you want from Who, it is manic, loud, and brilliant in all the right ways. I love it, twelve Bernards out of ten Malcolms!

Now, what’s the knocking at the door, it just keeps repeating the same pattern of four.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Doctor Who "Planet Of The Dead"

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Oh, how I do love the Lady Christina De Souza.
• Almost pitch perfect casting all round.
• A great, big, fun adventure of death.

Cons

• D.I. McMillian is a bit crap and one note.