"Doctor Who" Aliens of London (2005)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Keith Boak

Writer:

Russell T. Davies (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

16 April 2005 (Season 1, Episode 4)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor returns Rose to her own time - well, sort of - but her family reunion is ruined when a spaceship crashes in the middle of London. What is the origin of the spaceship, and where has the Prime Minister gone in this time of crisis? |

Plot Keywords:

Fantasy Episode | Political Satire | Alien | Time Lord | Tardis

Cast

Christopher Eccleston	...	Doctor Who
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Corey Doabe	...	Spray Painter
Ceris Jones	...	Policeman
Jack Tarlton	...	Reporter
Lachele Carl	...	Reporter
Fiesta Mei Ling	...	Ru
Basil Chung	...	Bau
Matt Baker	...	Himself
Andrew Marr	...	Himself
Rupert Vansittart	...	General Asquith
David Verrey	...	Joseph Green
Navin Chowdhry	...	Indra Ganesh (as Navin Chowdry)
Penelope Wilton	...	Harriet Jones

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:TV-PG

Trivia:

When the Doctor complains of being slapped by Rose's mother, Rose laughingly remarks, "You're so gay!" This remark has caused some controversy in fan circles, some seeing it as an anti-homosexual slur. Russell T. Davies, who is gay, wrote in an e-mail response that it was the way people talked, and claimed that he was trying to provoke discussion by using the phrase.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The close-up shots of the Palace of Westminster clock tower (a.k.a. "Big Ben"), as it is destroyed by an alien ship crashing into it, show the clock faces back-to-front. This is because the director wanted the ship to move across the frame the other way.

Quotes:

Jackie Tyler: Oh, guess who asked me out? Billy Crew?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Doctor Who: Bad Wolf (#1.12)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Starman

Something For No One

You can just imagine Russell T Davies writing Aliens Of London /World War 3 with the explicit reasoning that it would contain something that would appeal to everyone watching . Unfortunately there's the very real danger that RTD has written something that will appeal to no one and just as bad it's at this point we start to see how much of a problem he has in creating a coherent plot structure

The story starts with a pre title sequence which has no bearing on the rest of the story - The Doctor has returned Rose to her London housing estate but the problem is that a whole year has passed since she left at the end of the first episode . Cut to her being questioned by the police as to whether she's been having a " sexual relationship " with this man known only as The Doctor . Considering Rose is 19 and has joined The Doctor of her own free will - And let's not forget she phoned her mother letting her know she's all right in End Of The World - you'll be puzzled as to why so much time is taken up with subplot . Was it just written so RTD could use the phrase " sexual relationship " ?

But it gets worse because the Slitheen arrive on Earth and they use peoples skin to disguise themselves as humans or rather human British politicians ( A contradiction in terms ? ) in order to start WW3 and in using someones skin there's a gas exchange which leads to squeaking noises which leads to a classic terrible line : " Do you mind not farting while I'm saving the planet ? " Very clever Russell I musn't say and just to prove this isn't puerile childish nonsense RTD introduces satire involving tongue in cheek references to the search for WMD in Iraq but for a discerning viewer one can't help wishing Davies had concentrated on what " Attack plan delta " is