"Doctor Who" Planet of the Dead (2009)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

James Strong

Writers:

Russell T. Davies (written by) and
Gareth Roberts (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

11 April 2009

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A meeting in a London bus with jewel thief Lady Christina takes a turn for the worst for the Doctor when the bus takes a detour to a desert-like planet, where the deadly Swarm awaits. |

Plot Keywords:

Jewel Thief | Wormhole | Alien Language | Giant Insect | Double Decker Bus

Cast

David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Michelle Ryan	...	Lady Christina de Souza
Lee Evans	...	Dr. Malcolm Taylor
Noma Dumezweni	...	Capt. Erisa Magambo
Adam James	...	D.I. McMillan
Glenn Doherty	...	Sgt. Dennison
Victoria Alcock	...	Angela
David Ames	...	Nathan
Ellen Thomas	...	Carmen
Reginald Tsiboe	...	Lou
Daniel Kaluuya	...	Barclay
Keith Parry	...	Bus Driver
James Layton	...	Sgt. Ian Jenner
Paul Kasey	...	Sorvin
Ruari Mears	...	Praygat

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Company:

BBC Wales

Trivia:

The first Doctor Who episode to be filmed in the HDTV format.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Although the desert planet has three suns, everything has one shadow.

Quotes:

[on phone]
Capt. Magambo: Doctor, this is Captain Erisa Magambo.
[salutes]
Capt. Magambo: Might I say, sir, it's an honour.
The Doctor: Did you just salute?
Capt. Magambo: [pauses] No.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XX (#21.4)" (2009)

Planet of the dead is correct ... and they died of boredom.

Well, David Tennant is pretty much going through the motions these days, and it seems Russell T. Davies is doing the same.

Nothing really catches your eye in this 30 minute episode needlessly stretched out to an hour. Even the monsters don't make much of an effort; just a bunch of flying alien stingrays, and not a Steve Irwin joke in sight.

If your birthday is after 1998, then this might just keep your interest, but that's about it.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed there are better things to come, and that Matt Smith (the new Doctor Who) will not be the 21st century's equivalent of Sylvester McCoy and end up killing the franchise for another 15 years.