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Aug 08 2008
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Dan Owen reviews
Broadcast on BBC1, Saturday May 28th, 2005
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Synopsis: The Child's plague is spreading throughout wartime London, and its zombie army is on the march. The Doctor and Rose form an alliance with the intergalactic con-man, Captain Jack, but find themselves trapped in the abandoned hospital. The answer lies at the bomb site, but time is running out... "The Doctor Dances", despites its silly title, is a fine conclusion to the impressive opening from writer Steven Moffat. The pacing is spot-on, and the relationship between The Doctor, Rose and (love?) rival Captain Harkness creates an interestingly fresh dynamic. Moffat's background in comedy also provides some genuinely amusing moments throughout (a running banana gag is a hoot), while never taking away from the inherent drama of the piece. The actors all continue to bring a light-hearted air of fun to the story, particularly Eccleston – who now seems to have slipped into his role perfectly. Piper is more redundant in this episode than usual, but still her usual spunk self when called upon, while John Barrowman's potentially embarrassing American cliché action hero becomes a fitting antithesis of The Doctor.
What really impresses with "The Doctor Dances" is how the various plot-threads are all pulled together by the finale, meaning a real sense of logical closure completes the story. Most other Who episodes this series tend to gallop to their endings by virtue of the 45-minute runtime, so it's a real pleasure to watch a story that has been given room to breathe – and actually warranted a two-part (unlike Russell T. Davies' earlier Aliens Of London/World War Three silliness.) As with part one, the production design is exemplary throughout, while the visual-effects (although less showy than in part one) are more refined and believable. Even the incidental music evokes the right sense of menace. However, plaudits mainly have to go to Steven Moffat, whose story is the key to the episode's success and brings an exactness of balance between adventure, horror and comedy not seen since The Unquiet Dead seven episodes ago. Overall, a wonderful conclusion packed with humorous asides, strong acting, a logical and affecting story, rounded off with some great insights into the relationship between The Doctor and Rose. The scenes when Rose encourages the 900 year-old Time Lord to dance could have been awfully cringe-making, but instead it's perhaps the best comical insight into the characters the series has produced so far. This was simply fabulous family entertainment. Next Week: A plan to build a nuclear power station in Cardiff City disguises an alien plot to rip the world apart. And when The Doctor dines with monsters, he discovers traps within traps...
Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2005.E-mail Dan Owen
The following is a list of all the Doctor Who content reviewed to date : 2008 Series 30, Episode 13 - "Journey's End", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 12 - "The Stolen Earth", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 11 - "Turn Left", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 10 - "Midnight", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 8 - "Silence in the Library" (part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 7 - "The Unicorn and The Wasp", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 6 - "The Doctor's Daughter", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 5 - "The Poison Sky" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 4 - "The Sontaran Stratagem" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 3 - "Planet of the Ood", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 2 - "The Fires of Pompeii", by Dan Owen 2008 Series 30, Episode 1 - "Partners In Crime", by Dan Owen And the Audio CDs : 2000 04: The Land of the Dead 2000 06: The Marian Conspiracy 2000 10: Winter for the Adept 2000 12: The Fires of Vulcan 2000 14: The Holy Terror 2000 15: The Mutant Phase 2001 16: Storm Warning 2001 18: The Stones of Venice 2002 28: The Chimes of Midnight 2002 30: Seasons of Fear 2002 31: Embrace the Darkness 2002 35: ...Ish 2002 39: ...Bang-Bang-A-Boom!
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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