8/26/08The Doctor and Peri go to a planet called Necros, where the Doctor has heard one of his dear friends is to be laid to rest. What they uncover is a planet where the dead are kept in suspended animation, and where Davros is secretly stealing bodies for experiments to bring back his Daleks.
There's a lot that I like quite a bit about this story, and one thing that makes me violently annoyed. I'll start with the bad first so we can get on to the love fest. They have an idea in this story that while the dead are being kept in suspended animation, they are kept entertained by a DJ who plays them music, news, and commentary. Playing this DJ is Alexi Sayle in the most annoying role this side of Jar Jar Binks. He does most of his dialog in this TERRIBLE American accent with this moronic overtone that hits me on some subconscious level that triggers very violent thoughts. I literally cannot stand to listen to this guy. And some genius decided it would be a good idea to make one of his most annoying clips a loop on the DVD menu. They need to be sacked. Now.
But enough of the negative. This is really a thoughtful episode, and I enjoyed it. We have the return of Davros the Overactor, he who screams his lines. But here's the thing: in this story, he plays at least 80 percent of his performance very subdued, quiet, and reserved. Terry Molloy, the man who gave life to Davros underneath the mask, talks on the bonus features about how nice it was to be able to dial it down and play Davros as a very quiet threat instead of constantly ranting. I can tell you, I really enjoyed it.
Plus, without spoiling things, it's got some pretty gruesome Dalek stuff in it, too. Eric Saward wrote this, and while it's not perfect, it's both thought provoking as well as entertaining. The Daleks are villains that have been used so much that most all of their threat is gone, but we get to see some really creative stuff in this story. I enjoyed it.
I give it a 7/10.
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