(Casanova, The Second Coming, Bob & Rose, Queer As Folk)
Cast:
The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Queen Victoria: Pauline Collins
Father Angelo: Ian Hanmore
Isobel: Michelle Duncan
Reynolds: Jamie Sives
Steward: Ron Donachie
Host: Tom Smith
Flora: Ruth Milne
Robert: Derek Riddell
Synopsis:
The Doctor and Rose arrive in 19th-Century Scotland, where they must protect
Queen Victoria herself from a vicious werewolf and a group of warrior
Monks...
Russell T. Davies' scripts come in for a lot of criticism from fans, myself
included, but Tooth & Claw finally proves that Davies can write a decent
Doctor Who episode if he puts his mind to it. Perhaps it's because "Tooth &
Claw" is another episode set in the past -- by far the most successful
setting for Doctor Who in terms production design (the BBC may have problems
creating the future, but they can do the past in their sleep.)
"Tooth & Claw" is another old-fashioned horror story, similar in tone to
last year's "The Unquiet Dead" by Mark Gatiss. Davies' story finds The
Doctor and Rose helping thwart a secret society of warrior Monks, who have
laid a trap to "infect" Queen Victoria with a werewolf gene and usher in the
"Empire Of The Wolf".
David Tennant improves upon the tepid start last week, but his Doctor is
still fairly ineffective until the final moments (heck, even the kitchen
staff discover how to protect themselves against the werewolf before he
does!) However, the sense of fun and eccentricity is more potent with
Tennant than it ever was with Eccleston, but so far it's been at the
expense of feeling The Doctor is the all-knowing hero he should be.
The most notable guest star in "Tooth & Claw" is Pauline Collins as Queen
Victoria (known to international audiences as Shirley Valentine, perhaps --
the actress, not the royal). She's pretty good all things considered, but
isn't really given much to sink her teeth into beyond a few good speeches
that remind you of Judi Dench's performance in Mrs Brown.
As I mentioned earlier, the production design for the episode's Scottish
location is exemplory. Windswept highland locales, sinister castle dungeon,
luxurious dining rooms -- all classic Victoriana that truly breathes life
and believability into the 1879 time period.
Fans of special effects won't be disappointed either. The effects for the
werewolf are fabulous and a high benchmark for the show so far. The
transformation sequence is very similar to the one in Harry Potter & The
Prizoner Of Azkaban, while the fully-transformed wolf reminded me of the
creature in Van Helsing. All very good, with only a few shots that don't
stand up to very close scrutiny. There are even some "Matrix"-style wire-fu
in early scenes, so plenty for FX lovers to admire.
Amazingly, Davies' script is also genuinely funny and not littered with weak
gags that drag the show down. Of particular delight is Rose's attempts to
get Queen Victoria to utter the phrase "we are not amused". By the finale,
it's also very satisfying that every plot strand is properly resolved and
the denouement even offers fans a few questions to ponder.
Overall, "Tooth & Claw" is one of the best Who episodes since the show
returned last year, and a promising rebuttal to fans that Russell T. Davies
has the chops to write decent adventure stories after all. I just hope this
trend continues, and isn't just limited to shows set in the past...
A definite highlight for Doctor Whooooooo. Sorry, I held off for too long
and just couldn't resist it...
NEXT WEEK: It's back to school with Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from TV's
Buffy) guest starring alongside Elisabeth Sladen (returning as ex-Doctor Who
companion Sarah Janes Smith), the return of robot dog K-9, and some flying
monsters!
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:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Series 1 Boxset:
Synopsis:
The Doctor and Rose arrive in 19th-Century Scotland, where they must protect
Queen Victoria herself from a vicious werewolf and a group of warrior
Monks...
The most notable guest star in "Tooth & Claw" is Pauline Collins as Queen
Victoria (known to international audiences as Shirley Valentine, perhaps --
the actress, not the royal). She's pretty good all things considered, but
isn't really given much to sink her teeth into beyond a few good speeches
that remind you of Judi Dench's performance in Mrs Brown.
Overall, "Tooth & Claw" is one of the best Who episodes since the show
returned last year, and a promising rebuttal to fans that Russell T. Davies
has the chops to write decent adventure stories after all. I just hope this
trend continues, and isn't just limited to shows set in the past...
