Love & Monsters (8 Dec. 2006)

A run in with the Doctor at a young age leads Elton to a group who's studying him, they become friends and have a laugh until Victor Kennedy arrives. Suddenly everything becomes more ... See full summary »

Director:

Dan Zeff

Writer:

Russell T. Davies

Stars:

David Tennant, Billie Piper, Camille Coduri

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Peter Kay	...	Victor Kennedy
Marc Warren	...	Elton Pope
Shirley Henderson	...	Ursula Blake
Simon Greenall	...	Mr. Skinner
Moya Brady	...	Bridget
Kathryn Drysdale	...	Bliss
Paul Kasey	...	The Hoix
Bella Emberg	...	Mrs. Croat

Storyline

A run in with the Doctor at a young age leads Elton to a group who's studying him, they become friends and have a laugh until Victor Kennedy arrives. Suddenly everything becomes more serious then people start disappearing from the group. Can the Doctor save Elton and explain his past before he's absorbed by the Absorbaloff

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Plot Keywords:

mother daughter relationship | seductress | seduction | implied fellatio | older woman younger man relationship | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official BBC website

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 45 min (50 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Love and Monsters" contains references to the season-wide story arcs of the first four series; the Abzorbaloff got his files on the Doctor from the Torchwood Archive (series 2), but the files on Rose have been corrupted by the Bad Wolf Virus (series 1). The newspaper the Abzorbaloff reads contains a reference to Mr. Saxon leading the election (series 3). Finally, the Abzorbaloff is from Clom, one of the missing planets from series 4.

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Quotes

Elton Pope: I was all cozy when all of a sudden
[windows smash behind him, Elton wakes up abruptly]
Elton Pope: There was glass everywhere and I was barefoot! I had to create a rudimentary pulley system just to get to me boots!

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Connections

Featured in Doctor Who Confidential: Monsters Inc. (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Turn To Stone"
(uncredited)
Written by Jeff Lynne
Performed by Electric Light Orchestra

User Reviews

Divisive Gem

Clearly, based on the comments left here, "Love & Monsters" is a love it or hate it affair. And probably all you need to know going into it is that after 45 minutes you'll likely fall into one camp or the other. I can certainly see why it would rub someone the wrong way, and yet I feel for the DW fan who doesn't embrace this episode for the wonderful stretching of the show's format that it is.

The episode, written by show runner Russell T Davies, is a great example of why he's in charge of the new series: He's an idea man, and unafraid to try new things, rather than simply fall back on the tried and true. Maybe some of his more radical ideas don't work for everyone? Even with the most mainstream episodes, Davies & Co. don't please everyone, all the time. After watching "Love & Monsters", my 13-year old son was so into it he immediately said, "I didn't even notice the Doctor and Rose were hardly in it."

In Season One Davies took some baby steps (the highly underrated "Boom Town" springs to mind); in Season Two he's confident and willing to go even further. "Love & Monsters" is a bright, shiny example of DW for the new millennium. While many have concentrated on its humorous aspects, few mention the episode's melancholy, which for me, was the core sell.

And on top of everything else, it's got ELO tunes. This fan was in heaven.