Solar Flare: Science Fiction News

With The Unquiet Dead, the third episode of the new series of Doctor Who, it seems that everything is really coming together for this series. It’s not as though the previous episodes were bad by any means but I was left with a feeling that they could be better. And they are.

First off we get to visit one of my favorite Doctor Who sub-genre’s with the historic fantasy. Even better the Doctor and Rose chemistry has built to a point where they seem to play easily and comfortably off each other throughout the story.

The story itself was a simple enough thing, but it did have a very Doctor Who twist towards the end and again I found myself lamenting the 45 minute format and looking forward to some two-part episodes where things can be built up a little more slowly.

One really nice touch was having Simon Callow play Dickens in the story and having Dickens actually be a useful character, rather than a “famous person making a cameo” situation. Dickens’s role in the story seemed to make perfect sense for him as a historical person.

I’m pleased to say that once again the special effects were solid, with no further signs of the lapses that appeared in Rose. The production as a whole was excellent and the historical period was captured to perfection.

A lot of the brilliance of this new series is in the details. The Doctor’s directions on how to get to the TARDIS wardrobe just reinforce that the TARDIS is big without hammering at the point. Again we get some small references to larger events that have shaped this TimeLord. It seems that the destruction of the other Time Lords involved nothing less than a Time War. But by who or how remains unknown and I hope they don’t rush to answer some of these questions.

Christopher Eccleston’s portrayal of the Doctor just gets better and better. He’s going to be a hard act to follow. I find the manic enthusiasm with which his Doctor throws himself into these situations to be bordering on a death wish. Its a perfect combination of excitement and morbidity. We’re also allowed to see some weaknesses in the Doctor. This time out, his own past allows him to be manipulated and his mistake is costly.

And then there was the teaser at the end of the episode. Damn 7 days is a long long time!