Love & Monsters

The episode showed some sparks of genius and some fantastic acting but it simply was not Doctor Who.

Amongst the shambling story of everyday folk lies a romantic tale of love and monsters as indicated by the title. Peter Kay is not the only monster on display here as the team of “Who spotters” are drawn together through, loneliness and loss, as well as a need for community and common cause.

Marc Warren carries the story (helped most noticeably Shirley Henderson), easily breaking the camera barrier a trait which has worked well for him in the past in the BBC drama the “Hustle”. The use of a video diary to capture his banter and tell the story initially works well, but as the episode unfolds it becomes obvious that this is his (Elton’s) story and not really Doctor Who.

When you reach the fifteen minute point and the Doctor has barely been seen, you start to get the feeling that the cast, have had a hiatus while the bag is carried by others. In fact throughout the entire episode you sit waiting for the Doctor to appear which distracts from the story itself. I think David Tennant spent more time on screen during the Children in need episode than he did here.

Stalwart Camille Coduri puts in a good turn as Jackie Tyler, injecting both humor and pathos into her well established character, while Russell T Davies does what he does best, giving new characters depth. Kathryn Drysdale (Bliss) has a very short screen time but is every bit a member of “LINDA” and even Bella Emberg makes a brief but purposeful cameo. The much hyped appearance of Peter Kay is gloriously camp and climaxes with his character Victor/ Absorbaloff running down the street chasing Elton. Kay was definitely the villain of the piece, but lacked the screen presence to epitomize bad as Simon Pegg did in season one.

Overall this could have made a good “Torchwood” story, offering a Doctor cameo, but really is not what we tune in for on a Saturday night.