Episode #206 : Planet of the Dead

"It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then Doctor... oh, but then... he will knock four times."

Episode #206:      Planet of the Dead.
Companions:        The 10th Doctor.
Air Date:              11th April 2009.

When a London bus takes a detour to an alien world, the Tenth Doctor must join forces with the extraordinary Lady Christina. But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer.

In this adventure the Doctor teams up with professional cat burglar Lady Christina de Souza to escape an alien world, rescue the stranded passengers of a London bus and foil the activities of a race of metal omnivorous flying ray aliens. As you may guess from this it is yet another strange and at times silly adventure. It is entertaining though which is why I don't disapprove quite so much with this one.

Essentially the story revolves around the passengers of a London bus which is drawn through a "worm hole" to a distant desert world. On board is the Doctor and a famous criminal who for this story becomes the companion. The planet turns out to once been the seat of power for a space faring race but they, and everything on their world has been eaten and turned to a sort of dust by strange swarming alien rays. The wormhole is their means of moving from world to world. Trapped on this world they have to work together, and briefly with fly-headed aliens, to find a way home.

As a Doctor Who story goes Planet of the Dead isn't bad. I could for the most part imagine this being done with dodgy BBC graphics for any of the classic Doctors. It is another silly element, a flying bus, which again has me rolling my eyes. I don't think I will ever get used to the weird elements that new Who has included. I must stop grumbling about that. Seriously.

I liked the character of Lady Christina de Souza (played by Eastenders veteran Michelle Ryan) and I was disappointed at the time because she didn't become a new companion for the Doctor. She could have been a good foil for him but in hindsight she might also be the sort of dominant companion that could upstage him. Shame all the same. The other guest star in this story is Malcolm, played by British comedian Lee Evans. He seems to be there for comic relief and not much else, although he does help save the day.

Planet of the Dead sets up certain references for the end of year finale. One of the passengers on the bus seems to have some sort of psychic ability and she delivers what amounts to a of prophecy, which you can read above.

As a one off adventure if you can get past silly things like a flying bus and some of the awkward humour Planet of the Dead is an enjoyable hour of fun.