After
adventuring through time a lot longer than he originally
planned, the Doctor returns Martha home but just as she
is about to have to get used to having a normal life again,
the TARDIS returns. As he was saying goodbye to Martha he
overheard prominent scientist Professor Lazarus announce
on the news that he was going to change the human race forever.
Intrigued by what he had planned, the Doctor decides to
investigate and he needs Martha’s help to get him
into the experiment presentation.
After
battling his greatest enemy in the past, the Doctor returns
to modern day Earth to take Martha home, but he can’t
stay out of trouble for too long.
As we
hit the half-way point of the new season, Doctor
Who is still hitting the ground running and this
is the first episode to start introducing plot points that
will build to the dramatic finale. Professor Lazarus’s
experiment will change the evolution of human kind forever
and the Doctor is intrigued because he knows absolutely
nothing about it.
The
Professor enters his hypersonic sound wave machine an old
man but when he exits, after being saved by the Doctor,
he is transformed into a younger version of himself, in
essence regenerating. Knowing that should be impossible
for human science, the Doctor realises that everything might
not be as it seems and the Professor might have awaked dormant
genes that could have catastrophic results for him and the
rest of the guests at the experiment demonstration.
Now
six episodes in, it is clear that Russell T. Davies and
his creative team have been given a much larger budget for
this season. The creature that Professor Lazarus becomes
is completely computer generated and looks extremely good
for British television.
While
it might not be up to the standards of the much larger funded
American counterparts, it is the creativity and design of
the creature that has to be applauded. It is in the storytelling
where this show excels however, successfully mixing all
out action with an underlying story that sets up things
to come.
The
episode also lets us get to know more about Martha’s
family. Her overbearing mother, played by the excellent
Adjoa Andoh, wants to know what she has been doing and who
the Doctor actually is. Her sister Tish, played by Gugu
Mbatha-Raw, gets drawn into the action after being jealous
of all the attention that Martha gets. Her brother Leo,
played by Reggie Yates, doesn’t really get enough
screen time to develop however. They are very different
from Rose’s friends and family, overprotective and
competitive, making you understand why Martha is drawn to
the Doctor.
The
League of Gentlemen’s Mark Gatiss has real fun
as Professor Lazarus, showing that he can handle dramatic
as well as comedic roles with ease. There is also a cameo
by Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow as Lady
Thaw, the woman who thinks she has a future with the now
young professor.
‘The
Lazarus Experiment’ is an action packed episode that
is made all the more intriguing by the introduction of the
mysterious ‘Mr. Saxon’ character, someone who
will play a major role in the rest of the season. Doctor
Who fans have never had it so good.
