Harry -
It's the end of December, which means all the little Whovians have just been treated to another Doctor Who Christmas Special. But before that was even a thing, we got "The Unquiet Dead", the third story of the new series.
Sarah -
Our timing is spot-on. Happy Christmas, Chuck!
Harry -
Cheers, old girl!
Sarah -
I love the cold open in the Sneed and Company funeral parlor. A young man mourns his grandmother, only to be strangled by her when her body is reanimated by a gaseous being. Rather than being shocked, Mr. Sneed is resigned to find “The stiffs are getting lively again.” It feels wrong, but that line makes me laugh every time.
Harry -
My favourite line.
And there's Eve Myles! Playing (for now) the role of guest actor Eve Myles. I had totally forgotten that in this story she played the ancestor of a more prominent character in the Whoniverse.
Sarah -
Eve Myles is always lovely, isn’t she?
Harry -
For now, it's Christmas Eve 1869 in Cardiff. The Doctor believes he has taken Rose back in time to Naples in 1860, but he got it slightly off. Rose doesn't seem to mind; she grabs some Victorian fashions from the TARDIS wardrobe and leads the way outside.
Sarah -
I imagine Rose would have gone with something a bit less revealing if she knew she was in Cardiff. I’m always intrigued by visits to the TARDIS wardrobe -- “First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up!”
Harry -
The Doctor may have miscalibrated the destination, but within moments they stroll into scenes of panic. The walking cadaver from the opening scene has unleashed an airborne ghost over a theatre, terrorizing the locals. "That's more like it!" the Doctor beams as he and Rose follow the sounds of commotion into the theatre, where it just so happens that Charles Dickens himself was delivering a performance of A Christmas Carol.
Sarah -
It’s a call back to season one, with alternating trips to the future and past. We’re used to the Doctor meeting historical figures, but it’s been longer than I realized. Turns out the last time we saw the Doctor meet a historical celebrity was H.G. Wells in "Timelash". (And yes, I am quite chuffed to have worked in a "Timelash" reference.)
Harry -
That is wild (both the lack of historical figures since the Colin Baker era, and the "Timelash" reference).
Sarah -
Fun Fact: I saw Simon Callow present The Mystery of Charles Dickens at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater in 2001. It made watching this episode so much more fun the first time around.
This is the first story written by Mark Gatiss, and he brings us a mix of history and horror. In retrospect, I would say "The Unquiet Dead" is still his strongest Doctor Who story, but we’ll have time to reevaluate that along the way.
Harry -
Who can resist a Victorian ghost story that takes place on Christmas Eve? One thing that stands out in this story -- and has stood out so far this entire season -- is the intense use of colours on the actors' faces. Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor and Rose are lit up with bright green lights. Here in Cardiff it's all cool blues and warm golds. Very colourful.
Sarah -
The art direction really is fabulous all around. If you want a good-looking historical, the BBC is the place to go.
I also quite like the music in this story. I found the music in "Rose" and "The End of the World" to often be distracting and disruptive. Murray Gold gets it just right this time.
Harry -
While the Doctor meets Dickens in the theatre, Rose sees too much of what Mr. Sneed and Gwyneth are up to, so Sneed kidnaps her. A high speed carriage chase ensues, with the Doctor and Dickens barging in on the funeral parlour to find Rose and get to the bottom of things.
Sarah -
The scene between the Doctor and Dickens in the carriage is delightful, with the Doctor fanboy-ing all over the place, to Dickens’ bemusement and delight.
Harry -
Watching this again confirms that Callow really was born to play Dickens. I can't imagine the man without hearing Callow's voice now. I can also imagine the next Doctor working in a "What the Dickens!" were he in this scene.
Another thing I've noticed in each of the first three stories of this season. This Doctor smiles, a lot. Whenever he's with Rose, he's smiling and having a good time. She's clearly helping him move on from recent events in his past. This runs counter to the lasting impression in fandom -- and in my own memories -- that this Doctor was ever-so-glum and always brooding. But that only seems to happen when someone mentions the war.
Sarah -
All that smiling with Rose is why so many new viewers thought they were watching an intergalactic romance. They, of course, were wrong.
Harry -
Over at the parlour, the Doctor finds himself baffled by the apparitions. Rose meanwhile connects with Gwyneth. It turns out she has the gift of sight, and can see the future where Rose came from.
Sarah -
I love the scene between Rose and Gwyneth in the pantry. They giggle over boys and Rose scandalizes Gwyneth with her modern ways. It’s common for the companion to soak up some local knowledge while the Doctor tries to sort out what’s going on. Rose and Gwyneth definitely develop a connection in this scene, which makes the rest of the story so much more challenging for Rose.
The pantry scene also gives us our next Bad Wolf reference when Gwyneth has a vision of Rose’s life: “The things you've seen. The darkness, the big bad wolf. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, miss.”
Harry -
Once Gwyneth’s ability becomes known, it is decided that a séance is in order, to attempt to connect with the spirits. Dickens is sceptical, but he gamely joins the circle at the table.
Sarah -
And so we meet the Gelth, who claim they lost their bodies in the Time War and are on the verge of extinction.
Harry -
...and the Doctor's face drops immediately. Don't mention the war!
Sarah -
They ask to enter our world through the Rift and be allowed to take over the bodies of the dead to survive. Rose is horrified at the prospect and the Doctor lashes out at her in their first major conflict, “It is different, yeah. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying.”
Harry -
I have seen numerous (very) heated online discussions about "The Unquiet Dead" as a story about refugees in England, and what Rose and the Doctor's responses are meant to symbolize. Watched from that angle, the story feels even more current in 2016 than it was in 2005. There's no easy answer for Rose, nor is there one in real life.
Sarah -
Gwyneth agrees to serve as a bridge to allow the Gelth to enter through the Rift, despite Rose’s protests. It immediately becomes clear that there are billions of Gelth planning to cross over and take over the world. I hadn’t really contemplated this before, but do you think they were intentionally baiting the Doctor with the Time War story to get what they wanted out of him -- or were they just lucky in finding his weakness?
Harry -
It's clear that the war hangs heavily over the Doctor. Is it survivor's guilt? Is it culpability in some crime? Is he scarred by things he'd seen, or done? It could be all of these things, but we still don't know.
Sarah -
In either case, it turns out Rose’s instincts were correct. One point for the human.
The Doctor and Rose manage to get behind a gate, but have nowhere to go. It’s a touching scene when he apologizes to her and she wonders how she can possibly die before she’s even been born.
But never fear -- Charles Dickens is here to save the day! After seeing a Gelth sucked into a gaslight, he gets the idea to turn up the gas in the house while turning off the flame, which sucks the Gelth out of the corpses.
Harry -
Charles Dickens, Victorian man of letters and of action! It's unfortunate that he didn't live long enough to encounter Jago and Litefoot later in that century. Although with Big Finish, anything might be possible.
Sarah -
Dear Big Finish, we have one small request...
The Doctor tells Gwyneth to send the Gelth back, but she can only hold them where they are. She pulls a box of matches out of her pocket and Rose begs her not to use them. The Doctor sends Dickens and Rose out of the house as they are being overcome by gas fumes. He tries to convince Gwyneth to leave, but realizes that she’s dead and probably has been since she entered the Rift. The Doctor flees the house just as Gwyneth strikes the match. Goodbye Gelth.
Harry -
A tragic end for Gwyneth. She saw so many things, but could not see her own death. Or perhaps she knew that a long and happy life awaited her, but the arrival of the Gelth and the Doctor forced her to take unexpected steps that cut her future short.
The Gelth are dispatched but the rift will remain in Cardiff, becoming a focal point for extraterrestrial activity. You can hear the wheels turning in RTD's mind.
What began as a fun visit to the past turned into a very dark episode for Rose. She and the Doctor return to the TARDIS with this shared experience and for the moment we don't know if it will bring them closer, or the opposite. For the moment, it's time to say their farewell to Mr. Dickens. His experience has been an eye-opener, fueling his literary imagination but also driving him home to be with his family for Christmas. He ends the story on a happy note, the only character who could do so.
Sarah -
Best Line:
Rose: "But I can't die. Tell me I can't. I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for me to die. Isn't it?"
Favorite Moment: Rose and Gwyneth’s conversation in the pantry.
Lasting Image: Gwyneth in the Rift.
8/10
Harry -
Best Line: "The stiffs are getting lively again."
Favourite Moment: the Doctor goes fanboy on Dickens.
Lasting Image: the walking cadaver at the theatre
8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #160: Aliens of London...
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