An Hour of Who a Day: 04/03/15

April 3: Comic Relief Special ["From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love"] (SJA) / "Planet of the Dead"

Rahnius reveals himself to be a Slitheen. ("From
Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love") ©BBC

In March 2009 the biennial charity telethon Comic Relief (well, strictly speaking, Red Nose Day is the name of the telethon) aired -- as you may recall, Doctor Who had previously been associated with this effort in 1999, with Steven Moffat's Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death spoof. But this time around it's The Sarah Jane Adventures who are helping the cause, with this five-minute short that officially doesn't have a title but everyone calls "From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love", as that's what co-writer Clayton Hickman said he and Gareth Roberts had called it. (This can be found on disc 3 of the series 2 DVD boxset of The Sarah Jane Adventures -- it's the "special footage prize" mentioned on the back for completing an easy quiz.)

It's a cute little scene, but for British viewers the main impact is that they've gotten cherished National Treasure Ronnie Corbert to appear in this as an alien. As such there are a number of references to his best-known sketch show The Two Ronnies (including, most obviously, Rahnius's declaration, upon learning Rani's name, that they could be called "the two Ranis"), and some of the elements of The Sarah Jane Adventures are gently mocked -- K-9 is put in a wheel clamp and the sonic lipstick is derided ("What's next? The Bionic Blusher?" Rahnius says). As I said, it's a quick, fun sketch and little beyond that -- but it's not trying to be, and it'll bring a smile to your face.

But now we move on to 11 April 2009 and "Planet of the Dead", the second of the five special episodes of Doctor Who that aired instead of a full fifth series (as David Tennant is busy playing Hamlet at the Royal Shakespearean Company). This is ostensibly the Easter special -- how appropriate, given that this is Easter Weekend 2015 -- but other than a quick reference from the Doctor it doesn't come up the way Christmas comes up in all the Christmas specials. But perhaps more importantly, this is the first episode of Doctor Who to be filmed in high definition²⁰⁵ -- as striking a difference in picture quality as the switch from 405-line to 625-line was in 1967.

But beyond that, this is essentially treated as business as usual for Doctor Who. This is both a good and a bad thing. It's good because it means they can just get on with their story, but it's bad because there's not a lot of Who going in 2009, and so a lesser episode is more obvious in this context. And the thing is, they try really hard to make this an event: not only are they promoting this as the 200th episode (which, you'll recall, involves counting "Utopia" as the first of a three-part story and making The Trial of a Time Lord one big story -- see Dragonfire if you're not sure why this is significant), but they've actually sent a film crew out to Dubai to film their desert planet. It should be epic and wonderful and marvelous, and instead it falls a bit flat.

Part of the problem is the character of Lady Christina de Souza. I'm not sure if it's Michelle Ryan's performance or just the way the character is written, but there's a smug edge to everything that makes her desperately unlikable. The production team mentioned Romana as a similar starting point, but the differences are striking: while Romana is initially presented as a supercilious, self-satisfied know-it-all, she quickly learns that that's not going to get her far while working with the Doctor, and by the end of her first story she's noticeably mellowed. Lady Christina, by contrast, never undergoes this character arc -- she remains smug and arrogant the entire time; it never feels like her eyes have been opened to the wonders of the universe but rather that she's decided that there's more that the universe can offer her. It's not at all what you want out of such a character, and yet it becomes very hard to shake the feeling that we're being presented with someone's idea of a perfect companion. It's therefore something of a relief that the Doctor doesn't take her along with him.

It does look gorgeous, though; heading out to Dubai really paid off, and director James Strong has some really great shots to add to the effect. He's not afraid to give us some lens flare, to try and add to that cinéma vérité feel (although, thankfully, we're not afflicted with lots of shaky handheld shots), and you can sort of tell that everyone's realized that they're going to be shooting in high definition, so everything looks more detailed, and that adds to this feeling. I also really like the design of the Tritovores -- it's a great-looking mask, and I really like the way the mandibles move.

We also get some nice character moments from the other characters. I'm not sure why Lee Evans has decided to put on a Welsh accent for Malcolm Taylor, but he has, and his performance is rather fun (even if it often feels like they're just remaking part of The Dæmons). Captain Magambo makes a reappearance (albeit her first one in the real universe) and continues to be the stalwart UNIT officer, even though it puts her in conflict with Malcolm. Everyone on the bus is great, and I even like the acting from the Tritovores -- no mean feat, given they're essentially just gesturing and moving their heads around.

But ultimately, "Planet of the Dead" feels a bit underwhelming. There's not a lot wrong with it (other than the aforementioned concerns with Lady Christina's characterization), but it does end up feeling rather matter-of-fact instead of impressive. Still, that's hardly a crime, and the fact that "Planet of the Dead" ends up as another one of those pleasantly average Doctor Who stories isn't the worst thing in the world. You just wish they'd done more with this, given the paucity of new televised Doctor Who this year.

²⁰⁵ Though not the first of the franchise -- that would be Torchwood, which has always been filmed in HD.