SEASON 2. 27 May 06. BBC 1, 7:00 p.m.
WRITER: Mark Gatiss DIRECTOR: Euros Lynn
CAST: David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Ron Cook (Mr Magpie), Maureen Lipman (The Wire), Jamie Foreman (Eddie Connelly), Debra Gillet (Rita Connelly), Rory Jennings (Tommy Connnelly), Margaret John (Grandman Connelly), Sam Cox (Det Insp Bishop)
The Doctor and Rose arrive in London, 1953, just as an alien entity hatches a plot to absorb humans via television screens during Queen Elisabeth II's Coronation…Last year writer Mark Gatiss penned one of the best new Who episodes, The Unquiet Dead, so my hopes were very high for his sophomore effort. Sadly, my expectations were too high and The Idiot's Lantern never quite worked for me. There is enough to enjoy along the way, but the emotional beats of the story are all over the place.
The threat comes from an alien menace known as "The Wire", who wants to absorb humans through televisions -– at a time in history when 20 million Britons will be watching Queen Elisabeth II's Coronation. It's a fun set-up that makes the humble TV into a villain, but the execution is just underwhelming.
Ron Cook plays Mr Magpie, an electrical goods salesman being controlled by The Wire and selling TV's at cutdown prices to ensure maximum viewership. Cook is a great actor and does well with the material, as does Maureen Lipman as "The Wire", taking the form of a 1950's housewife on a black-and-white TV screen. Lipman is excellent, and the make-up to make her look decades younger is brilliant. She's easily the best thing in the episode, although Gatiss' writing ensures the Rose/Doctor dynamic is back on humorous form.
David Tennant really seems to relish this episode –- maybe it's his 50's hairstyle or blue moped that sent him into high gear, but he's full of infectious fun. The episode also marks the first time I've noticed Billie Piper actually work alongside The Doctor in tandem; less the wide-eyed innocent dragged along for the ride, and more the partner enjoying the experience and participating in things more actively. A scene with The Doctor and Rose fooling their way into a household run by the tyrannical Mr Connelly is the best example of this interesting new facet.
The Idiot's Lantern does improve as it chugs along, but it's hamstrung by spending too much time on the dysfunctional Connelly family and less time on its core story. At times Jamie Foreman's clichéd shouty London dad threatens to scupper the whole show. Thankfully the family melodrama takes a backseat after awhile, once one of the creepiest Who images is revealed -- in the form of victims with no facial features, just a fleshy covering.
Mark Gatiss has a smattering of good ideas and character moments in The Idiot's Lantern, but it's not really enough to elevate the episode above average. The pacing is wrong, the threat ill-explained and the supporting characters two-dimensional and distracting to the central story. There are enough choice moments to make this worthwhile and sporadically entertaining, but there's denying this is Doctor Who treading water mid-series…
NEXT WEEK: The Doctor and Rose investigate a strange planet orbiting a Black Hole…