I don't think that happened with The Lazarus Experiment, but then I don't remember giving it much thought either. By now we knew what the 'important' episodes were, the tentpoles: there were openers, the two-parters and then the finale. Sometimes it felt like the episodes in between were just there to keep things ticking over until the next big one. Well, thank goodness I have the chance to look at this again because it's really very good.
The best thing about this episode is the developing relationship between the Doctor and Martha. They are stuck in an awkward friend-zone, a hinterland that lies between convenient labels. She doesn't want him to go, wants to be more than friends, but has to contend not only with his ambivalence, but also her mother's disapproval. Meanwhile the Doctor, hellbent on being breezy and oblivious to her concerns, quickly finds himself in the hottest of water, stumbling over his words with Francine, like a Richard Curtis reject. Daleks, he can handle; families, not so much.
Martha, compelled to ignore her mother's increasingly desperate pleas, determinedly throws in her lot with the Doctor in this episode, only for their partnership to apparently founder in the last scene. The Doctor invites her back aboard the TARDIS in the most casual of terms, offering her "one more trip", and she refuses. She demands to be accepted as a proper companion: she needs the Doctor to commit.
I love that moment. I love how she stands up for herself, demonstrating her own self-respect and resilience. Of course the Doctor wants to be flippant and carefree but he doesn't hesitate to agree with her request. All pumped up, expecting a fight, expecting to be let down, she doesn't immediately notice that he's said yes. Once she's realised, Martha is delighted - but should she be? That the Doctor has acquiesced so readily shows that this matters much less to him than it does to her. He didn't have to think about it because he is sure that he likes her, but it didn't occur to him to think about how she feels towards him. This asymmetry is the essence of their relationship and leads directly to their final conversation in Last of the Time Lords where once again Martha will demonstrate her wonderful self-respect.
And then there's the actual monster-run-around story. It's good stuff and we haven't had a 'mad scientist' plot in so long (depends on your definition but at the latest Time and the Rani?) that it all feels rather novel. I love the blend: the experiment being conducted at a black tie bash, complete with canapés; the impromptu family gathering as Martha's mother, brother and sister bicker away; the Doctor frowning, worried about Lazarus' intentions; the Saxonites loitering, dripping poison in Francine's ear. Mark Gatiss is suitably slimy and spiteful as both old and young Lazarus, and though we never quite get the sense that there's much steel in the man, perhaps that's right: Lazarus acts out of fear and, increasingly, desperation; he's no Tobias Vaughn.
I love that moment. I love how she stands up for herself, demonstrating her own self-respect and resilience. Of course the Doctor wants to be flippant and carefree but he doesn't hesitate to agree with her request. All pumped up, expecting a fight, expecting to be let down, she doesn't immediately notice that he's said yes. Once she's realised, Martha is delighted - but should she be? That the Doctor has acquiesced so readily shows that this matters much less to him than it does to her. He didn't have to think about it because he is sure that he likes her, but it didn't occur to him to think about how she feels towards him. This asymmetry is the essence of their relationship and leads directly to their final conversation in Last of the Time Lords where once again Martha will demonstrate her wonderful self-respect.
And then there's the actual monster-run-around story. It's good stuff and we haven't had a 'mad scientist' plot in so long (depends on your definition but at the latest Time and the Rani?) that it all feels rather novel. I love the blend: the experiment being conducted at a black tie bash, complete with canapés; the impromptu family gathering as Martha's mother, brother and sister bicker away; the Doctor frowning, worried about Lazarus' intentions; the Saxonites loitering, dripping poison in Francine's ear. Mark Gatiss is suitably slimy and spiteful as both old and young Lazarus, and though we never quite get the sense that there's much steel in the man, perhaps that's right: Lazarus acts out of fear and, increasingly, desperation; he's no Tobias Vaughn.
His rejuvenation confused the boys totally. Had they swapped actors? No? Then they must be using 'twenty year old' footage of the same actor? No... Well how had they done it then?! I gave nothing away. Fascinatingly, they latched on to the idea that Old Lazarus was being played by Peter Davison and then, when Young Lazarus stepped out, cried "Aha! No, that's Peter Davison!" which I think must be something to do with the wig?
Speaking of resemblances, the monster is good too - with the exception of its face, which looks absolutely nothing like Gatiss'. It's a shame because the rest of it is great, and the scenes where it wreaks havoc on the champagne reception or chases the Doctor through the laboratories are excellent, as is the the exciting climactic battle in the cathedral - a great setting that feels very fresh for Doctor Who. It's not just that the Doctor battles a monster with an organ, there's a great philosophical confrontation here too as Lazarus, desperate to avoid death, argues with the Doctor who dies all the time. Tish is a good addition in these final scenes and it would be interesting to think of her as a potential companion. We've never had siblings in the TARDIS (on television anyway) but it would be an interesting dynamic. It'll happen eventually, I'm sure.
William gave it a seven, but reluctantly. He found the Doctor's conversation with Francine hilariously awkward, but his main concern is the Saxon arc. Chris enthusiastically gave it a nine, calling it "cool, exciting, scary and unsettling" and noting that often the Doctor was forced to battle people who "don't understand death", which might just be the most satisfying observation I've ever heard.
NEXT TIME...
Speaking of resemblances, the monster is good too - with the exception of its face, which looks absolutely nothing like Gatiss'. It's a shame because the rest of it is great, and the scenes where it wreaks havoc on the champagne reception or chases the Doctor through the laboratories are excellent, as is the the exciting climactic battle in the cathedral - a great setting that feels very fresh for Doctor Who. It's not just that the Doctor battles a monster with an organ, there's a great philosophical confrontation here too as Lazarus, desperate to avoid death, argues with the Doctor who dies all the time. Tish is a good addition in these final scenes and it would be interesting to think of her as a potential companion. We've never had siblings in the TARDIS (on television anyway) but it would be an interesting dynamic. It'll happen eventually, I'm sure.
William gave it a seven, but reluctantly. He found the Doctor's conversation with Francine hilariously awkward, but his main concern is the Saxon arc. Chris enthusiastically gave it a nine, calling it "cool, exciting, scary and unsettling" and noting that often the Doctor was forced to battle people who "don't understand death", which might just be the most satisfying observation I've ever heard.
NEXT TIME...
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