Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead (2009)

Good concept, poorly executed.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This Dr Who Easter special from 2009 tantalisingly dangles a potential new companion before the viewer in the shape of feisty cat burglar Michelle Ryan's titled bored rich girl character only for the Doc to turn up his nose and continue to fly solo. Beforehand, they share a moderately exciting adventure when after daringly stealing a closely-guarded golden artifact Mission Impossible-style, they find themselves sat together on a red London bus just about to take a trans-dimensional trip to anther world, naturally, where they encounter another world-threatening species, ditto naturally, before saving said world yet again in the nick of time - naturally to the power 3!Borrowing some ideas from Harry Potter (a flying bus, the Doctor's "parseltongue" type dialogue with the Dead Planet's initial batch of aliens) the story's okay if lacking somewhat in excitement or surprises. There's the odd smattering of humour and a nice frisson between Tennant and Ryanm but Lee Evans as a Doctor-adoring UNIT boffin gets too much screen-time.With no single antagonist to act as a focal point, the story struggles to really create tension and thrills and by the end relies far too much on CaGen SFX as the flying menace targets earth for occupation in their millions.Seasonal specials and Dr Who tend to go hand in hand, but this episode failed to really take for me.

'Planet Of The Dead' was the first of four 'Dr.Who' specials broadcast in 2009 in lieu of a full thirteen-part season. By this time, the news of David Tennant's impending departure was public knowledge, and his successor - Matt Smith - appointed. Written by Russell T.Davies and Gareth Roberts, this was clearly intended to be a light starter before the heavy main course later in the year. The Doctor, investigating a possible wormhole in time and space, climbs onto a London bus - the 200. Seated next to him is the beautiful Lady Christina de Souza ( Michelle Ryan ), a bored aristocrat who loves stealing valuable things. In her bag is a priceless cup dating back to medieval times, freshly stolen from a museum. The wormhole opens in a tunnel, spiriting the bus and everyone on it to a far-off desert planet. Nearby is a crashed spaceship piloted by creatures which resemble flies. The 'sand' is in fact the remains of what was once a thriving civilisation. A swarm of stingray-like beings can be seen on the horizon. They consume matter, destroying any planets they encounter. The Doctor has the tough job of getting everyone home without bringing these things along at the same time...Like I said, this is a fun romp which makes no attempt whatever to be Hugo award winning material. The jokes work most of the time and there is some good action stuff. The Doctor does not appear to be worried by the danger he and his friends are in. At one point he even says: "The worse this gets, the more I love it!". Tennant had the ability to take an average script - such as this - and make it into something special. There's no villain as such, not unless you count the stingrays. Lee Evans, one of my favourite modern-day funny men, has a small role as a dithering scientist whom the Doctor is in constant communication with, and U.N.I.T. gets to indulge in some good old fashioned Pertwee-style gun-play. As 'Lady Christina', Ryan exhibits more personality than she ever did as the star of the flop 'Bionic Woman' revival. Her character may or may not have been inspired by the proposed new companion intended to replace Sophie Aldred's 'Ace' had a series been made in 1990. Ryan's no Billie Piper but streets ahead of the wooden Karen Gillan. The story climaxes with the Doctor hearing the now-famous "He will knock four times!" prediction. The look on his face on realising his present incarnation is nearly over is simply heartbreaking. The flying bus attracted the usual, predictable criticism from rabid anti-R.T.D. zealots. What was the response from these very people to the even more ridiculous flying shark seen in the 2010 Christmas 'Special'? Deafening silence, that's what! 'Planet Of The Dead' is not classic 'Who', but looks better with repeated viewing. Which is more than can be said about Season 5 as a whole.

Not the best Doctor Who episode but certainly not the worst. Thought the storyline was a cross between Pitch Black, Entrapment, On the buses and that program about a time traveler in a blue box. Seriously it was OK not as bad as some comments say it is on here, the thing about Doctor Who is if you had the Daleks, Cybermen or the Master every week now eventually that would be boring. Dr. Malcalm (Lee Evans)is a cool character but maybe a bit over the top with the I love you Doctor stuff. Christiana played by Michelle Ryan comes straight out of the movie Entrapment and then once they reach the desert in the double decker bus you almost expect Vin Diesel to turn up. Them flying stingrays must be exceptionally hungry as one can eat two larger than life human sized flies in one after another!

As I write this, Russell T Davies turn the job of head Who writer over to Stephen Moffat. If "Planet of the Dead" is anything to go by, this change could not come too soon.The script shows no flair whatsoever, and the episode has practically no plot. This is made worse by the intensely annoying characters, with Lady Christina being particularly irritating. She is basically Jenny from "The Doctor's Daughter" with black hair. The Swarm,when revealed, are relatively impressive, but do little for the episode. The humor is based on cheap one-liners and slapstick. There is nothing to make this episode memorable, even to fans of the show.The episode left me disappointed and I hope Moffat can bring back the qualities that made previous series so excellent.