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The Lazarus Experiment Format Reviewed: TV Review The Lazarus Experiment is the story where we delve into the family life of Martha, and finally move away from the temporary status she has in the TARDIS. Unfortunately, we were always going to 'meet the family' as it were with Martha, and inevitably we were also going to get to the stage where MArtha is no longer considered a temporary companion by the Doctor, and this is here too. The Lazarus Experiment starts with the Doctor returning Martha to her flat in the morning after she was taken away. She is horrified and turns the TV on where the Doctor hears that a Professor Lazarus plans to change the nature of Humans. This turns out to be the man to whom Matha's sister is the PR head for, and they go along to the evening reception. There, Lazarus steps into a machine he has built which soon starts to go wrong. The Doctor manages to stop the machine thus saving the life of Lazarus, who emerges as a 40 year old man, half the age he was before. It soon transpires though that the DNA of Lazarus has changed and is constantly shifting. It now appears that his form is unstable, and he needs to feed on the life energy of others, starting with his lover and assistant Lady Thaw after changing shape into a monster. The Doctor manages to stop him from consuming Martha's sister Tish, and apparantly kills him, returning him to human shape. In the ambulance, Lazarus recovers, kills the crew and makes his way to Southwark Cathedral where the Doctor eventually manages to defeat Lazarus with the aid of resonance from the church organ. Martha then challenges the Doctor to accept her as a permanent companion, a proposal he accepts. Perhaps the most important aspect of this story is the undercurrent of Harold Saxon that comes to the fore for the first time here. There are lots of rumours surrounding Saxon, but his involvement has been far more wide ranging than you would imagine, even back to images and posters that appeared in the background during the previous series. Here he is directly working against the Doctor with Martha's mother, planting seeds of doubt about what his motives actually are. I suspect there is a lot more to come from our Harold Saxon later in the series, particularly as he is currently being listed as 'Mysterious Man' in the online listings at the BBC. The one thing that struck me about the cast was the performance of David Tennant. For me, it was by far his best performance in the role and his interaction with Martha for me is far better than the interplay between him and Rose. Freema Agyeman also does wonderfully here as Martha, and really is proving to be a find for the Doctor Who team. In the guest cast, the show for me is largely let down by Martha's family. Her mother Francine, played by Adjoa Andoh isn't too bad, but quite frankly the less we see of Reggie Yates and Gugu Mbatha-Raw the better. I respect Reggie as a presenter, and think he's a very funny guy, but he really isn't an actor I'm afraid. Mbatha-Raw seems overawed by the role to me, and looks very nervous. Consequently the less we see of Martha's family the better, from a lessening of the actors exposure perspective if not a literary perspective too. The jewel in the crown though is Mark Gatiss as Lazarus, who is truly wonderful both as an old man and a man of his own age. They remarked in the 'Confidential' episode about his physicality as an old man and there has never been a truer word spoken, he is a delight from beginning to end. Most of the aspects of the show during The Lazarus Experiment work really very well, and in general terms the story is a delight from beginning to end. There is one thing that for me detracted from the overall look and feel of the show though, and that is the CG of the Lazarus creature when not a Human. For me this really didn't work, and looked like something I could have mocked up in photoshop with my limited graphical talent. The way in which the face of Mark Gatiss is distorted and pasted onto the creature is the kicker for me as it just doesn't look convincing. I suspect that this might not necessarily be the case for the kids watching the show, as I managed to suspend my disbelief over so much during the classic series when I was a kid, but for once the effects seem to have let the show down. That aside, the writing and pitch of the show really was a delight from beginning to end. Overall, The Lazarus Experiment is a truly great Doctor Who story, and also will have some significance in the wider story arc for the third series of the new television adventures of Doctor Who. There are gripes though, such as going back to the family of the companion, again, and finding them to not be great actors. There is also an issue with the CG on the monster in the episode, but the story overall is still a delight from beginning to end. Rating:  |