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Series 1 Boxset:
Series 2 Part 3:
Series 2 Boxset:

Director:

Euros Lyn

Screenplay:

Mark Gatiss

Cast:

The Doctor: David Tennant
Rose Tyler: Billie Piper
Mr Magpie: Ron Cook
The Wire: Maureen Lipman
Eddie Connelly: Jamie Foreman
Rita Connelly: Debra Gillet
Tommy Connelly: Rory Jennings
Grandma Connelly: Margaret John
Det Insp Bishop: Sam Cox

Synopsis: The Doctor and Rose arrive in London, 1953, just as an alien entity hatches a plot to absorb humans via television screens during Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation.

Last year writer Mark Gatiss penned one of the best new Who episodes, The Unquiet Dead, so my hopes were very high for his sophomore effort. Sadly, my expectations were too high and The Idiot's Lantern never quite worked for me. There is enough to enjoy along the way, but the emotional beats of the story are all over the place.

The threat comes from an alien menace known as "The Wire", who wants to absorb humans through televisions - at a time in history when 20 million Britons will be watching Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation. It's a fun set-up that makes the humble TV into a villain, but the execution is just underwhelming.

Ron Cook plays Mr Magpie, an electrical goods salesman being controlled by The Wire and selling TV's at cutdown prices to ensure maximum viewership. Cook is a great actor and does well with the material, as does Maureen Lipman as "The Wire" (right), taking the form of a 1950's housewife on a black-and-white TV screen. Lipman is excellent, and the make-up to make her look decades younger is brilliant. She's easily the best thing in the episode, although Gatiss' writing ensures the Rose/Doctor dynamic is back on humorous form.

David Tennant really seems to relish this episode - maybe it's his '50s hairstyle or blue moped that sent him into high gear, but he's full of infectious fun. The episode also marks the first time I've noticed Billie Piper (right) actually work alongside The Doctor in tandem; less the wide-eyed innocent dragged along for the ride, and more the partner enjoying the experience and participating in things more actively. A scene with The Doctor and Rose fooling their way into a household run by the tyrannical Mr Connelly is the best example of this interesting new facet.

The Idiot's Lantern does improve as it chugs along, but it's hamstrung by spending too much time on the dysfunctional Connelly family and less time on its core story. At times Jamie Foreman's clichéd shouty London dad threatens to scupper the whole show. Thankfully the family melodrama takes a backseat after awhile, once one of the creepiest Who images is revealed -- in the form of victims with no facial features, just a fleshy covering.

Mark Gatiss has a smattering of good ideas and character moments in The Idiot's Lantern, but it's not really enough to elevate the episode above average. The pacing is wrong, the threat ill-explained and the supporting characters two-dimensional and distracting to the central story. There are enough choice moments to make this worthwhile and sporadically entertaining, but there's denying this is Doctor Who treading water mid-series.

NEXT WEEK: The Doctor and Rose investigate a strange planet orbiting a Black Hole.

OVERALL

Review copyright © Dan Owen, 2006.

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

2006			Series 28, Episode 1 - "New Earth", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 2 - "Tooth & Claw", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 3 - "School Reunion", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 4 - "The Girl in the Fireplace", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 5 - "Rise of the Cyberman", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 6 - "The Age of Steel", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 7 - "The Idiot's Lantern", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 8 - "The Impossible Planet", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 9 - "The Satan Pit", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 10 - "Love and Monsters", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 11 - "Fear Her", by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 12 - "Army of Ghosts" (Part 1 of 2), by Dan Owen
2006			Series 28, Episode 13 - "Doomsday" (Part 2 of 2), by Dan Owen

2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 2 - "The End of the World", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 3 - "The Unquiet Dead", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 4 - "Aliens of London", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 5 - "World War Three", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 6 - "Dalek", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 7 - "The Long Game", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 8 - "Father's Day", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 9 - "The Empty Child", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 10 - "The Doctor Dances", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 11 - "Boom Town", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 12 - "Bad Wolf", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 13 - "The Parting of The Ways", by Dan Owen
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Dom Robinson
2005			Series 27, Episode 1 - "Rose", by Paul Manners

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!

2003			Doctor Who Audio CDs: An introduction

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: