The Idiot's Lantern

And so this year we had to wait a little bit longer for our annual Mark Gatiss episode, but was it worth the wait?

В“The IdiotВ’s LanternВ” certainly has a lot going for it. The Coronation being broadcast live on TV is an inspired basis for a Doctor Who story, both in terms of the solid sci-fi / horror story that could be told by the writer and also in terms of the great fun that the cast and crew had in producing the episode, which ultimately translated into the great fun that we, the audience, had in watching the episode. The period costumes, the Doctor changing his hair (unprecedented!), sparkling dialogue В– В“I should have known your Mother would be a Cliff fanВ…В” etc. В– and best of all, the very dark, very human, very wonderful characters that only Mark Gatiss can write. If anything, theyВ’re too real!

If you look back through Mark GatissВ’ quite extensive Doctor Who contributions (as a writer) over the years, it is clear that he is at his absolute best when heВ’s writing a period story with human characters. When he does what heВ’s good at, without doubt heВ’s one of the nationВ’s best writers. In В“The IdiotВ’s Lantern,В” he uses the extremely effective В‘gimmickВ’ of having TV sets that suck your face off В– they quite literally eat you В– combined with some superbly written character drama and of course, his trademark black humour.

В“Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Then weВ’ll beginВ…В”

Gatiss seems to have a great handle on the fifties, best represented I feel by two of his characters В– Eddie Connolly and The Wire. The latter is an alien life form that we donВ’t know all that much about (and to be honest we donВ’t actually need to know that much about!) that has become trapped in TV signals and needs to feed on humanity in order to restore herself. She (it?) is represented by the prim and proper visage of a textbook 1950s BBC presenter (as portrayed by the outstandingly unnerving Maureen Lipman), and it is one of these cases where all those well-meant and exceedingly polite clichГ© one-liners take on a whole new darker meaning - it makes for some great television: В“Goodnight children, everywhere...В”

Eddie Connolly, in contrast, is a very human character. HeВ’s not evil; heВ’s not even a В‘baddieВ’ as suchВ… heВ’s just incredibly misguided and incredibly unlikeable! Jamie Foreman is superb in his performance. The way he speaks (all those overemphasised В‘HВ’s because heВ’s trying to sound posh), the way he dominates his familyВ… heВ’s just such a believable character. It is a testament to GatissВ’ skill as a writer that I actually felt sorry for him at times, especially when the Doctor and Rose are tearing him to shreds with their В‘radicalВ’ views on feminism and all the В“Union FlagВ” (Doctor Who is still educational!) stuff. There is one scene in particular which completely encapsulates EddieВ’s character. He is arguing with his son, Tommy, saying things like В“I fought a war just so little scum like you can call me a cowardВ”, and his son basically says, yeah, thatВ’s the whole point! I can say what I want; youВ’ve become like a Nazi! By the end of the episode I was glad that the Doctor and Rose encouraged Tommy to try and make up with his Dad!

I really enjoyed the scene where Rose cockily struts into Mr. MagpieВ’s shop, confronts the Wire and ends up getting her face sucked off and her brain wiped! I didnВ’t see that one coming! Once again, it shows us just how dangerous this life that the Doctor and Rose lead is, and just how complacent they have become. Seeing RoseВ’s face on TV calling for the Doctor is quite disturbing! Getting Rose out of the way also allowed the impressive youngster Tommy (Rory Jennings) to become more involved in the story, taking on the companionВ’s mantle and helping the Doctor to save the world, really helping to freshen things up a bit.

The episodeВ’s climax set on the Alexandra Palace transmitter had me thinking about the fourth DoctorВ’s demise in В“Logopolis,В” so I found it quite amusing when it was revealed on Confidential that the DoctorВ’s line about not liking big transmitters because heВ’d В“fell off one onceВ” had been cut at the last minute! I can just imagine Gatiss sat writing the episode, chuckling to himself and wondering if heВ’d get away with sticking it in there! I also liked the DoctorВ’s solution to the Wire problem; trap her on video, then rub over her! And on Betamax no less! Trust the Doctor! Unsurprisingly, I think В“The IdiotВ’s LanternВ” is definitely the funniest episode of the season so far В– the Betamax; the Doctor getting knocked out; his being mistaken for the King of Belgium; the way Rose cartoonishly ducks under EddieВ’s arm; the line about Jackie and her sailor boyfriend; В“You canВ’t wrap you arm around your elbowВ…В” et al. - Fantastic!

Just over a year ago when I reviewed В“The Unquiet DeadВ” I simply wrote В“WOW!В”, and then there wasnВ’t really much intelligent comment after that. Now I donВ’t think that В“The IdiotВ’s LanternВ” is as good as В“The Unquiet Dead,В” but I really canВ’t say why. I just didnВ’t enjoy it quite as much. It could have been Eccleston. It could have been Dickens. It could have been that a year ago it was all so new and IВ’ve got rose-tinted glasses on. That said, I canВ’t really think of a bad word to say about this episode. The cast, the designВ… everything is just flawless, really. For some reason though, I just canВ’t bring myself to write that В“WOW!В” Maybe IВ’m getting spoilt by having one amazing episode after another! I think I could do with a В“Paradise TowersВ” or something next week just so that I can learn to appreciate just how good each episode is!