The Shakespeare Code

Doctor Who has a track record of incredibly good historicals ? some with sci-fi elements, and others without. Marco Polo, The Time Meddler, Black Orchid ? all classics.

And now the new series has a historical of its own to add to the list. A modern classic, if you will.

A portrayal of Will Shakespeare that was accurate enough to not be a pastiche, and yet comic enough to not bore the youngsters. Dean Lennox Kelly is superb as the bard. The Carrionites show great imagination, although I found the realisation a little to caricatured ? almost like the witches from Pratchett's Discworld.
The Doctor and Martha built there relationship, but I think the Doctor would realise he doesn't need to dumb down explanations for Ms Jones. I mean, using Back to the Future to explain the effects of changes to the timeline!

Again, Freema is superb as Martha. Her adjustment to Elizabethan England, her ability to handle the amorous Bard, and her outrage at the methods of Bedlam, are all played magnificently.

A little too much play on classic Shakespeare lines, but that was only to be expected.

There's not much more I can say, other than what becomes of the arrow that hit the TARDIS at the end? How Silver Nemesis was that?