"Doctor Who"
The Unquiet Dead (2005)

Director:

Euros Lyn

Writer:

Mark Gatiss (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

9 April 2005 (Season 1, Episode 3)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor has great expectations for his latest adventure when he and Rose join forces with Charles Dickens to investigate a mysterious plague of zombies. |

Plot Keywords:

Fantasy | Dark Past | Man With No Name | Reincarnation | Christ Allegory

Cast

Christopher Eccleston	...	Doctor Who
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Alan David	...	Gabriel Sneed
Huw Rhys	...	Redpath
Jennifer Hill	...	Mrs. Peace
Eve Myles	...	Gwyneth
Simon Callow	...	Charles Dickens
Wayne Cater	...	Stage Manager
Michael Povey	...	Driver (as Meic Povey)
Zoe Thorne	...	The Gelth

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | UK:12

Trivia:

The working titles for this story included The Crippingwell Horror and The Angels of Crippingwell.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Redpath reacts when the lid is taken off of the coffin he is in.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gabriel Sneed: Sneed and Company offer their sincerest condolences, sir, in this most trying hour.
Redpath: Grandmama had a good innings, Mr. Sneed. She was so full of life. I can't believe she's gone.
Gabriel Sneed: Not gone, Mr. Redpath. Merely sleeping.
Redpath: May I have a moment?
Gabriel Sneed: Yes, of course. I shall be in the next room should you require anything.
[after Sneed leaves, the body rises up and strangles Redpath. Sneed rushes back in]
Gabriel Sneed: Oh, no. Gwyneth! Get down here now! We've got another one!

Movie Connections:

References Barbarella (1968)

A Traditional Tale With Fantastic Production Values

DOCTOR WHO is considered as something of a horror series and it's true to say that the most fondly remembered stories feature Cybermen walking down London streets , monsters coming out of the sea , giant spiders and that one with the mummies but this horror imagery was very much absent and didn't really feature in the show until the mid to late sixties . But it's fair to say that that DOCTOR WHO is summed up as the show that made children go running behind the sofa

The Unquiet Dead by THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN actor/writer Mark Gatiss is very much in the vein of the traditional type of story . It's atmospheric and features zombies and ethereal spirits and instantly reminds the fans of the golden era of the early Tom Baker stories though with even better production values and it's something of a pity that thescheduling of the series meant that it was broadcast on a spring evening . This would have been excellent to watch on a cold December Saturday night

It should be pointed out that in some ways that The Unquiet Dead mirrors the structure of a Hartnell tale in that The Doctor is something of a catalyst and that it's not The Doctor who saves the day while at the same time we're treated to a line that wouldn't have been broadcast in the original series : " First you drug me , then you kidnap me and don't think i didn't feel your hands having a quick wander you dirty old man "