Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead Review

David Tennant is leaving the role of Doctor who as you may already know (http://www.doctor-who.andys-blog.net/2009/01/04/new-doctor-revealed-the-replacement-for-david-tennant/).

In the run up to that we are going to be treated with several special episodes rather than a series. The Planet of the Dead is the first of these episodes. The story starts with an almost ‘Pink Panther’ style museum robbery in what we find out to be Earth present day. A Gold chalice is placed in a laser protected case and four guards are on duty around it – all facing outwards. From above a sly thief guides down and steels the prize. The alarm sounds and she is pursued outside where she takes refuge in a passing bus, the number 200 to Victoria Station. Another person jumps on the bus, the Doctor. We see a new use for the psychic paper – it also acts as an Oyster card (my application for a psychic Oyster card is already in ).

The Doctor sits next to lady thief and pulls out a typical cobbled together scanner – with a little spinning dish. The Doctor is hunting for some anomalous radiation – it gets stronger and stronger… Outside the bus the police are coordinating an operation to stop the number 200 bus in a tunnel. The bus goes in but does not come out…. Only one thing for the police to do.. Call UNIT.

The bus enters the tunnel and the Doctors radiation detector is going wild! He shouts, hang on as the bus is rocked and shaken. It stops with a jolt and outside there is bright sunshine. The Doctor and the other passengers realise that they are on a different world, if the never ending dessert is not a clue then the three suns certainly gives the game away. One of the passengers turns out to be a psychic who warns of voices; screaming and calling. The dessert hides a dark secret which later reveals itself.

It transpires that they came through a portal and they need the metal of the bus to protect them from the radiation.

On the planet a storm is approaching and the psychic warns that death is coming on the wind.

The Doctor and the lady thief encounter two fly like aliens whose ship has crashed and are also suck. The aliens launch a probe towards the storm – the storm is not a storm – but a swarm of billions of sting ray like creatures that eat everything and turn it into sand – and it is coming there way.

The Doctor realised that they need part of the alien ship to make the bus go – as it is out of fuel. So with the agreement of the aliens the Lady thief retrieves the part. Unfortunately the aliens are killed by several of the creatures.

The Doctor makes the Bus fly, through the portal. And with the assistance of a Unit scientist (Played by Lee Evans) closes the portal before the swam can get through.

The lady thief try to go with the Doctor but he is too hurt from loosing people to risk it again. She escapes using the bus and fly off.

But, dear reader, here is the real bit you are waiting for. Just before the Doctor leaves in the Tardis, the psychic lady says to him to be careful, something from the darkness is coming and it will ‘knock 4 times’. I personally hope it is the Black Guardian, who the Doctor hid from for so long after refusing to hand over the Key to Time!

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Planet of the Dead, Easter Special

So if you have not seem the trailor pop over to http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/S0_06

Look back here for a review of the show !