An Hour of Who a Day

May 1: "The Last Oak Tree" / "Black Hunger" (K-9)

Boy, Drake's kind of a git, isn't he?

The metamorphosed Centuripedes fly away. ("The Last Oak Tree")
©Screen Australia, Pacific Film and Television Commission Pty
Limited, Park Entertainment Limited, Cutting Edge Post Pty
Limited, and Metal Mutt Productions Pty Limited

In some ways you sort of feel sorry for Connor Van Vuuren: the script writers have clearly decided that Drake's going to be their cypher to indicate nefarious goings-on, which means that he personally shows up for every evil scheme being unleashed. Take "The Last Oak Tree", for instance; this is a tale of misdirection, as we learn that the alien which stole the last oak tree left in England from the London museum actually just needs the wood to make a sort of baby carriage for her young. The alien, a Centuripede, doesn't want to harm humanity -- she just wants to help her young. But because we need some sort of external threat, here comes Drake, clomping through the sewers again with some sort of explosive device designed to wipe the Centuripede out, regardless of how much sense it makes for him to actually go down there.

It's a nice little moment in a series that, like The Sarah Jane Adventures, has chosen to view aliens with a sense of wonder rather than dread. There's not necessarily a deeper meaning than that; the fact that a large number of species of trees have gone extinct in England is treated more as background details for the future we're in, rather than as a warning or a major problem -- it's not exactly Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. But because "The Last Oak Tree" is about finding beauty in different guises and about helping people and creatures in distress, Drake's presence really sticks out. He's only there to supply an external threat and that's it.

"Black Hunger", at least, uses Drake in a more reasonable context, as he's engaged in another covert operation that secretly uses alien technology to forward his agenda. Well, sort of; he's made this special life-eating microbe supercharged so that he can use it to help steal more alien tech. Or something. It's not exactly clear. What is clear is that Drake is supremely confident that nothing will go wrong with Operation Black Hunger. Of course, something does go wrong; Gryffen calculates that the Hunger could wipe out all life on Earth in a week if it gets loose, and so naturally it gets loose, causing an apocalyptic crisis that's only averted because K-9 vacuums up all the microbes inside himself, ready to be discharged the next time he visits Atrios, as there's no carbon-based life there.²¹⁸

But the damage is done; once again Drake has operated without official permission and this time he nearly destroyed the world. He's gone too far, and thus this, it seems, is Drake's final appearance on K-9, as he's replaced by Inspector Thorne (who you might remember was the prison governor in "Liberation"). I would like to say it's sad to see him go, but that wouldn't be true. This appears to have been one of Connor Van Vuuren's first roles, and while he appears to have done what they asked of him, which sometimes seemed to essentially be a future Snidely Whiplash, he wasn't able to do much more than that. Van Vuuren's certainly done better for himself since this (albeit more as a stuntman and in a behind-the-scenes capacity), so it does look like it was a lack of experience rather than talent informing his performance in K-9. But as far as villainy goes, I guess we'll have to see how Thorne does in Drake's place.

²¹⁸ The last time we saw Atrios was in The Armaggedon Factor (which K-9 co-creator Bob Baker would know, as he cowrote that story), when it sure looked like there was carbon-based life there. So either that took place in the long-distant future, or possibly in the long-distant past -- in which case, sounds like tough times ahead for Princess Astra and company.

April 30: "Meanwhile in the TARDIS" [Additional Scene #2] / "The Vampires of Venice"

When we last saw Amy and the Doctor, Amy had some serious misunderstandings about the relationship between her and the Doctor. This bonus scene takes place immediately after that, as the Doctor tries to explain to Amy why he takes companions along with him, which leads to Amy's accusations that, despite the Doctor's claims that he's like a "space Gandalf", he generally seems to take pretty girls along with him. This is a better scene than the other series 5 bonus scene, because not only does it actually provide a smoother transition between the end of "Flesh and Stone" and the start of "The Vampires of Venice", but they also get a chance to flash a whole bunch of previous female companions on the screen. "Thanks, dear," the Doctor says to the TARDIS. "Miss out the metal dog, why don't you?" It's a quick, charming scene.

"The Vampires of Venice" introduces a new angle for the show: it starts questioning the Doctor's actions and whether the good he does outweighs the bad that he leaves in his wake. This is sort of new thinking; the 20th-century version never even considered the question (not even during Andrew Cartmel's script-editorship)²¹⁷, but it's the sort of subject the novels during the Wilderness Years -- especially Virgin's New Adventures -- grappled with quite a bit. Russell T Davies chose to ignore this particular line of questioning, and when it was brought up, the answer was generally "of course he's worth it." (Indeed, it's worth noting that the only story during Davies' era to dispute this position is "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" -- as exemplified in Joan's last question to the Doctor: "If the Doctor had never visited us, if he'd never chosen this place on a whim, would anybody here have died?" -- which is a New Adventure adapted for the screen.) But now Steven Moffat's at the helm, and so the rules have changed a bit.

It's going to get a bit tedious in series 6, but here the question is far more interesting. Writer Toby Whithouse starts with Rory, having seen a bit of what the Doctor's life is like and heard about more of it from Amy, laying an accusation against the Doctor: "You know what's dangerous about you?" he says. "It's not that you make people take risks, it's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around." It's a valid point and it's easy to see Rory's point of view here. What's more, the Doctor seems to see it too, so he orders Amy back to the TARDIS ("We don't discuss this. I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Huh?") for Rory's benefit. But then after Amy and Rory's fight with the unmasked Francesco (and we should pause a moment to ask how, exactly, Amy was able to turn him into dust with a beam of sunlight -- even setting aside the fact that it appears to be a dreary, overcast day in Venice, hasn't Rosanna just switched on her storm machine and filled Venice's sky with clouds anyway?), we see that Rory has changed his mind:

DOCTOR: Get out. I need to stabilise the storm.
RORY: We're not leaving you.
DOCTOR: Right, so one minute it's all "you make people a danger to themselves", and the next it's "we're not leaving you".

(from The Doctor Who Transcripts - The Vampires of Venice)

It's a satisfying resolution to the question, because not only does it provide an internal answer for Rory, but one for the audience as well: yes, the Doctor might be dangerous, but he's doing the right thing, and so his companions are doing the right thing too, even if it's dangerous for them as well.

Saturnyn sisters in human form. ("The Vampires of Venice") ©BBC

That's the deeper question at the heart of "The Vampires of Venice", but it's wrapped in a really smashing layer of excitement and fun. One thing that stands out is how much fun this episode is. From the opening gag of the Doctor bursting out of a cake at Rory's stag party and then telling Rory that Rory's lucky because Amy's a good kisser ("Funny how you can say something in your head and it sounds fine..."), to the various one-liners scattered throughout the script ("Tell me the whole plan. (pause) One day that will work"; "Yours is bigger than mine." "Let's not go there"; "I saw her; they're not vampires, they're aliens." "That's good news? What is wrong with you people?"; and many more), to the great sight gag of Guido wearing Rory's stag shirt so that Rory can wear his clothes, "The Vampires of Venice" is simply bursting with energy and wit. There's also some cleverness on display: the Doctor can't see the girls' reflections in the mirror because the perception filters the girls are using "manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank, hence no reflection." It's a nice little spin on the old "vampires don't have reflections" bit. Ooh, and a little in-joke, as the Doctor flashes his psychic paper at the girls and we see it's William Hartnell's face on the card. It's also gorgeous to look at (even if the weather is overcast) -- they've gone overseas to Croatia in order to recreate 16th century Venice, and the result is really nice, with lots of old stone buildings and squares for the camera to take in.

It may occasionally feel derivative, with more displaced aliens (although this time because of the Cracks in Time and something called the Silence -- although the moment at the very end where it's suddenly silent in Venice doesn't seem to match with what we later learn about the Silence) and more aliens in human guise (Whithouse did this in his last Who script ("School Reunion") as well as his Torchwood script "Greeks Bearing Gifts")), but that's hardly the worst of sins. What is clear is that "The Vampires of Venice" is a fun time with a thoughtful question at its heart, and that's just fine by me.

²¹⁷ You want proof? Take a look at The Trial of a Time Lord, which actually does seem to pose this question -- except that it's clear from the beginning that the Valeyard (who's the one asking the questions) is meant to be a villain and thus we shouldn't take his view of events remotely seriously. That the story ends with the Valeyard revealed to have engineered the whole trial for his own nefarious ends (rather than because he thought the question had serious merit) and the Doctor completely exonerated reinforces this.

April 29: "Alien Avatar" / "Aeolian" (K-9)

Blah blah blah "Alien Avatar" aired before "Flesh and Stone" blah blah blah.

Two kind of middling episodes today -- not awful, but not spectacular. The first one, "Alien Avatar", is relatively straightforward: Drake is holding two aliens called Medes hostage (of course he is) so that he can learn the secret of their invisibility, because apparently he really likes spying on people. Meanwhile, Drake's people are polluting the river in their efforts to replicate the alien invisibility technology, which K-9 predicts will kill 85% of the life in the Thames Valley. (So nice work, Drake.)

Honestly, it would be nice if there were more to the episode than that, but other than the extra trick of the Medes being able to project holographic avatars of themselves (thus letting K-9 know about the problem), there's really not much to see here. Drake is as slimy as ever, and Connor Van Vuuren delivers the same exaggerated performance as ever. The best bit might be how June and Starkey charge after Jorjie and Darius after June realizes they're walking into Drake's restricted area, and Gryffen tries to follow but can't overcome his agoraphobia. It's a nice little nod to something that hasn't come up much lately.

It's certainly not a terrible episode; it's entertaining while it lasts and the disappearing effect for the Medes is genuinely impressive. It just doesn't have any ambitions at all beyond filling its 25 minutes -- no comments on pollution or imprisonment or this society or anything. The mission of "Alien Avatar" appears to be to get in and get out with a minimum of fuss, and at this, at least, it succeeds.

The Aeolians are reunited. ("Aeolian") ©Screen Australia, Pacific
Film and Television Commission Pty Limited, Park Entertainment
Limited, Cutting Edge Post Pty Limited, and Metal Mutt Productions
Pty Limited

The second episode today, "Aeolian", is significantly more interesting. There's something wonderfully mad about the idea that music can affect weather, and to their credit they do explore the idea a little bit. Plus it gives them a chance to sneak in a cheeky bit of dialogue: "Severe weather conditions all over the country!" Gryffen says. "Hurricanes in Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire..." "But they never happen here," Starkey protests. "Well, hardly ever," Gryffen replies.

The best thing about this episode, though, might be the handheld shots that director Karl Zwicky chooses to use. Up to this point K-9 has been a fairly static show, with lots of conventional camera set-ups (partly, I'm willing to bet, because of the relative difficulty of getting a hovering K-9 into shots, either as CG or practically), but Zwicky has chosen to shoot this episode in the form of a documentary. It's a simple but effective way to give this episode a shot of energy to the arm, and it really works. Thus when, say, Jorjie is struggling under the debris that's trapped her on her bed, it looks a lot more dynamic than it otherwise would.

But I also like the resolution of the story. The alien behind the storms, an Aeolian, is a creature that apparently communicates via song, and I like the way they've extended the idea to the costume, so that they look not unlike an 18th-century composer. All she really wants is some love from her lost partner, and she's willing to destroy the planet if it means her message will reach him. Touchingly, it does, and they're able to leave in peace -- despite Drake's best efforts.

And while that's going on, we see Darius's unsuccessful efforts to free Jorjie from the wreckage pinning her down. This leads to a surprisingly touching conversation between the two of them -- surprising because there hasn't really been any evidence up to this point that either Philippa Coulthard or Daniel Webber were really capable of this sort of nuanced acting. It's a nice moment, even if it requires Jorjie to be rather astonishingly oblivious. Poor Darius.

Overall, this is a nice little episode that's elevated by some wonderful direction. It's not the sort of thing that will set the world on fire, but it's a good example of the sort of thing K-9 can be when it flexes its muscles.

April 28: "Flesh and Stone"

So the resolution of the cliffhanger (where the Doctor shoots the gravity globe) allows not only our heroes to gain a new perspective on things but also the audience, as we move from the stony Maze of the Dead to the forested oxygen factory aboard the Byzantium. Thus this story really is a game of two parts, and not only does the setting change but so does the emphasis. Before it was a relatively straightforward thriller about being surrounded by Weeping Angels, but now they've added the extra element of the Crack in Time, which distorts the second half of the story around it.

The Doctor faces the Weeping Angels. ("Flesh and Stone") ©BBC

As such, Steven Moffat cleverly balances both the Weeping Angels and this new threat in this episode -- it gives the Angels a motivation to take over the Byzantium and a reason as to why they're getting stronger and stronger. It's a big idea that works very well, and as we see the power and effects of the Crack, how it can unwrite people from time and make it so they never existed, it becomes just as much of a danger as the Angels -- perhaps even more so, as even the Angels become terrified of its power. And if the Weeping Angels are scared of something, it must be something very worrying indeed.

But the best thing that Moffat manages is to have two equally dangerous threats menacing the Doctor and company and still have time for quiet, creepy moments. Amy slowly counting down is very effective -- particularly if you don't notice it right away -- and the matter-of-fact way in which Church soldiers are wiped from existence (with the remaining soldiers confused by Amy's insistence that used to be more of them) is well handled. There's also something wonderfully magical and smart about the idea of trees enhanced with technology being used to create oxygen for a spaceship. And then, just to show how much he's thought things through, Moffat also includes the goof-that-isn't, as the scene of the Doctor talking to Amy while wearing the jacket (despite having just lost it to the Weeping Angels) is actually clever foreshadowing for the series 5 finale.

That last moment there might sum up "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone" -- it's a supremely confident move, to hide a piece of foreshadowing in such a way as to make everyone think for eight weeks that they just screwed up the continuity rather than its genuine purpose. But that's the general attitude that pervades this story, one of deftly juggling the various pieces and resolving them in a way that not only feels perfectly clever and appropriate (dropping all the Angels into the Crack, which causes it to seal itself up) but also highlights the larger arc of the series in a way we haven't quite seen yet -- and it does it in a way that doesn't necessarily require you to have paid attention. If you don't care about series 5's overarching plot, there's still more than enough here to maintain interest, with loads of creepiness and tense moments on display, and it's all done with skill and care in a way that makes something that was surely reasonably difficult to pull off look easy. It doesn't have quite the same impact as its predecessor "Blink", but "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone" is possibly the better story -- it's certainly the more sophisticated of the pair, and it frequently feels more satisfying.

April 27: "Curse of Anubis" / "Oroborus" (K-9)

Yep, "Curse of Anubis" is technically another episode that aired before last time's Who episode. Same deal as before.

K-9 flanked by two Anubians in the redecorated police station.
("Curse of Anubis") ©Screen Australia, Pacific Film and Television
Commission Pty Limited, Park Entertainment Limited, Cutting Edge
Post Pty Limited, and Metal Mutt Productions Pty Limited

This is a rather offbeat episode of K-9, without being obviously that way. The basic premise of K-9 being worshipped as a great liberator by an alien species is an interesting one -- it's nice that they keep getting mileage out of mining K-9's forgotten past, as it's an idea with a lot of life to it. As such, it's interesting to hear from the Anubians of how K-9 came to save them from slavery and is now revered as a hero in their culture (to put it mildly). The pictures in their book are well done as well -- they're beautiful to look at as well as looking appropriate for their race.²¹⁶

It does go a bit bonkers, however; the idea of the Anubians controlling Gryffen's mind isn't too bad -- and the clothes and makeup he's in as a result are outrageously wonderful -- and the way both Starkey and Jorjie fall under the Anubians' control does raise the stakes quite a bit, but it's frankly bizarre that K-9's behavior is explained away not as also being under some form of control, but rather as being so deep in thought that he's simply oblivious to the Anubians' conquering ways. This seems at odds with what we've started to come to expect from K-9, even if it looks like it's there to allow Darius to be the hero of the hour, because he frankly has never seemed that oblivious, no matter how deeply he searches his memory banks. Oh, and while it's improbable that Darius would be able to work out how to fly the Anubian spaceship, it's still nice to have him ultimately save the day, as he's been somewhat overlooked in that department up to this point. Plus it lets us enjoy the hilarious sight of CCPCs leading the Anubians away in handcuffs.

It's a fun episode, even if there's not too much depth going on -- but as an episode of K-9 (a show not exactly distinguishing itself with its appeals to deeper connections) it fits in perfectly well.

The other episode today, "Oroborus", is an interesting one because it plays with the idea of time. It's filtered through K-9's "kid's show" filter, so anyone expecting a serious or thoughful exploration of the topic should look elsewhere, but within the confines laid down this is a nifty concept. We get a creature, the Oroborus, that not only consumes time itself, but conceals its presence by selectively editing time itself, so that people don't remember seeing it. Starkey is immune from this because apparently his parents ran experiments regarding alien immunization on him, and this apparently includes the Oroborus's abilities.

I like how there's a sense of paranoia being fostered in this episode by no one remembering the time loops except Starkey, which leads to the other accusing him of lying and sabotage. There's been a sense of comfort about Starkey's arrangement recently, and it provides a good bit of drama to see that upended, even if we know it'll be put back right by the end of things. We also get a chance to see Starkey save the day by luring the Oroborus (which is a frankly impressive CGI creature, particularly given how cheap much of the rest of the show often looks -- compare with the Anubian spaceship from the previous episode) into the space-time manipulator's field, which is a good bit of work.

Like "Curse of Anubis", this isn't a particularly ambitious episode, but it does have clever moments that help sustain interest over its 25 minutes. It's also nice to see a script that isn't completely reliant on somewhat convenient and/or ludicrous events to wrap things up -- there's a sense of convenience, sure, but it's signposted rather than coming out of left field. "Oroborus" is thus a reasonably strong entry for K-9.

²¹⁶ Intriguingly, their book contains pictures of a Sea Devil and an Alpha Centaurian (from the two Peladon stories). The Sea Devil is particularly interesting because it suggests that some of the Earth Reptiles left Earth before the rest went into hibernation. And look, a Silurian spaceship turns up in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", unwittingly giving support to this.

April 26: "The Time of Angels"

What's particularly impressive about "The Time of Angels" is that this is Matt Smith's first performance as the Doctor, production-wise, as like Christopher Eccleston he got a chance to simply play the Doctor before having to be introduced as him. This is impressive because there's nothing here to suggest that Smith is in any way unsure of what he's doing or how to approach the character -- he is emphatically the Doctor, fully formed and ready to step in and save the day.

It helps, of course, that he's been given such a good script to work with. This episode might strike Steven Moffat's best balance yet between flashy, quick-fire moments and longer scenes of slowly mounting dread, as both are on equal display here. And so we get the bravado opening, with River trusting that the Doctor will rescue her from the Byzantium²¹⁵ (albeit after getting the message 12,000 years in the future) as she ejects herself into space -- but we also get the quiet moments in the Maze of the Dead, as the small exploration party nervously checks the shadows and all the statues for the Weeping Angel. This leads to the frankly marvellous realization that all the statues are Weeping Angels that are slowly waking up, thanks to the radiation leaking from the crashed spaceship.

But then this episode is full of clever moments like this. There's the idea of how the image of an Angel becomes an Angel, which means that you can't even take a picture of them without it trying to kill you, and the related idea that Angels can essentially reproduce by placing the idea of themselves in your mind, done by looking into their eyes. There's the fantastic throwaway mention of the last time the Doctor faced down the Angels, but "those were scavengers, barely surviving"; if the Angels in "Blink" were on the verge of death and able to do what they did, then what must an Angel in its prime be like? The thought is terrifying. And there's the horrifying yet fascinating use of Scared Bob's voice by the Angels to taunt the Doctor, to make it clear that the Doctor couldn't save him and therefore he won't be able to save the rest.

And we can't talk about this episode without mentioning River Song. Alex Kingston turns in another fabulous job here, and the moments in the TARDIS are particularly fun, as they show a cheekier side to her before she has to join up with the Church's army and become the River we already know from her debut story. There are some lovely gags about her knowing how to fly the TARDIS better than the Doctor and how museums are his way of keeping score, but what's particularly great is the chemistry between Alex Kingston and Matt Smith. Smith chooses to play the Doctor as grumpy and bad-tempered, while Kingston goes for flirtatious. It shouldn't really work, but it does because these are two actors who clearly already respect each other and are willing to give the scenes space. It's also great how well they work together when things become serious (such as when Amy is trapped with the image of the Angel), putting aside any differences they might have to work as a well-oiled team.

There's frankly tons to adore about this episode (and it's only the first part!) -- it's put together so well that it remains compelling viewing even when you know the twists that are coming. This is full of fabulous performances and wonderful imagery, with just the right amount of tension to keep you worried. The final opinion will partially hinge on how well they can wrap this up next time, but as of right now it would be hard to find a better or more effective episode than what "The Time of Angels" accomplishes in its 45 minutes.

²¹⁵ This therefore being the crash of the Byzantium River mentions in "Silence in the Library".

April 25: "The Fall of the House of Gryffen" / "Jaws of Orthrus" / "Dream-Eaters" (K-9)

Three episodes of K-9 today, as I'm trying to maintain both series order and broadcast order. For whatever reason "The Fall of the House of Gryffen" didn't air until 12 June 2009 (the same day as "The Lodger"), so I'm squeezing it in before the two episodes that did air the weekend of 17 April.

These three episodes continue the trend of being middling, mildly entertaining kid's fare. "The Fall of the House of Gryffen" does a nice job of building up an effective, creepy atmosphere, as Gryffen's house is visited by the ghosts of his wife and children. Only they're not ghosts, they're actually some sort of non-corporeal beings trying to take on physical form by leeching off of Jorjie and Darius, and who've taken on the form of Gryffen's family. There's some surprisingly nifty work in this story -- the way the children fade out of existence, leaving an outline behind that also fades, is really nice, and the makeup on the "ghostly" family is genuinely impressive. Countering that, however, is a plot which does spend a bit too much time having Jorjie and Darius being "helplessly" sucked into the portal created by the space-time manipulator while Gryffen comes to terms with the fact that this isn't actually his family, and that our three heroes in fact are his family now. But this is a minor quibble, and despite the "laughing" end, this is a decent episode.

The Department deals with opposition to their plan to put
microchips in everyone. ("Jaws of Orthrus") ©Screen Australia,
Pacific Film and Television Commission Pty Limited, Park
Entertainment Limited, Cutting Edge Post Pty Limited, and Metal
Mutt Productions Pty Limited

The second episode of the day, "Jaws of Orthrus", is more interesting because it focuses more on K-9 and how Drake is a slimeball. For some reason the Department seems surprised at the opposition to their plan to put chips in everyone (well, June seems surprised), although it's somewhat surprising that we don't see the CCPCs trying to shut the protest down. Some of the signs are hilarious though -- my favorite is "We are human not humachine!"

But the actual focus of the episode is on K-9, who's seen trying to assassinate Drake. They actually do a nice job with the question of whether K-9 did in fact go on the attack, and while there's not really any doubt in the audience's mind, they do keep the door open on the possibility, which is a nice touch. The only issue is that the target of the attack was Drake, and while we probably all want to see him go, it's a pretty big hint that shenanigans are afoot.

Of course, the title is the clue: Drake's made a K-9 clone (under the codename "Operation Orthrus" -- Orthrus being the brother of Cerberus, hence the clue) so that he can get a warrant for the real K-9 and take him apart. It's actually a clever idea, and leads to the hilarious moment of the fake K-9 shooting up Darius's beloved car Mariah and writing K9 WOZ 'ERE on the windscreen. Sadly, we don't get the full K-9 vs K-9 shootout we should've, but there's a brief clash and I suppose that'll have to do. So overall it's a reasonably entertaining episode, complete with Drake trying to sweet-talk Darius over to his side, and while it won't win any awards or anything, it's fun while it lasts. Even Connor Van Vuuren's reined in his performance -- things must really be looking up.

Darius, Starkey, and Gryffen, wearing tinfoil hats to shield
themselves from psychic energy. ("Dream-Eaters") ©Screen
Australia, Pacific Film and Television Commission Pty Limited,
Park Entertainment Limited, Cutting Edge Post Pty Limited,
and Metal Mutt Productions Pty Limited

It's the last episode of the day, "Dream-Eaters", that might be the best, however. This is almost like an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, concerned as it is not with Drake's latest villainous scheme but instead with an alien artifact that's putting all of London (and possibly the world) to sleep. Other than the really obvious studio backlot (with a shot of the London skyline stuck in the background), this looks pretty impressive as well, with the Bodach being a nice design. Oh, and that's another parallel with The Sarah Jane Adventures/Doctor Who: the main villain, the Bodach, appears to be an old legend, the Celtic equivalent of the Bogeyman (and is sort of the male equivalent of the Cailleach -- see The Stones of Blood). But in fine Who tradition, the Bodach is an alien entity that feeds off of people's dreams -- but it needs a focal point, and when the Department recently unearthed a structure with two special red gems, this was enough to awaken the Bodach. So we get scenes with people sleepwalking, under the Bodach's control, while the Prof tries to enter the dreamworld to confront the Bodach. It's great fun, and it's a nice move to make June the physical host for the Bodach -- it keeps the Bodach suitably mysterious, and it isn't Drake under the mask (like I half-suspected), which is welcome.

The introduction of ancient legends and mysticism into this show is a smart move. It's sort of hard to see them going down this road again, just because of the nature of what we've seen thus far on K-9, but if they did it's clear, based on "Dream-Eaters", that they could get quite a bit of mileage out of this approach. This is probably the best episode this show has yet produced.