It’s been four months since the Doctor last graced our television sets and finally he’s back with an all new adventure. Planet of the Dead, the first of the Doctor Who specials – or what I like to call series 4.5 – aired Easter Sunday on the BBC.
Filmed in the deserts of Dubai, the Doctor finds himself transported to a barren planet on a double-decker bus through a worm hole created by a menacing swarm of bugs. This time around the Doctor is joined by Lady Christina de Souza, played by Bionic Woman alumn Michelle Ryan, a noble-woman turned thief who like many companions before her fell for the Doctor’s charms – he is clever, after all.
As Doctor Who specials go, this wasn’t all that exceptional. It seemed more like a filler episode from a regular season rather then a so-called special ( how I long for Voyage of the Damned). However, the thing I liked about Planet of the Dead was the integration of UNIT and the return of Capt. Magambo, played by Noma Dumezweni, who was last seen in the episode, Turn Left. Also, the addition of the slightly neurotic scientist and glorified Doctor groupie, Malcolm Taylor, offered some fun comedic moments.
All in all this was a decent episode. I’m hoping for something a little more epic in the next special titled, the Waters of Mars:
Spoiler Alert! Near the end of the episode, Carmen, a woman who can see the dead, predicts the Doctor will meet his end soon, “Your song is ending, it is returning through the dark, and … over there he will knock four times.” My first thought was the return of the Master.
