Happy Easter, Doctor...

Not a bad Easter special.

Though some might have thought the story would be more cosmic in its design with far more reaching science fiction elements seemingly like a grand illusion of beauty. But we'll have to settle for a bus, a desert and a flock of flying beasts that plagues the skies in the Doctor Who special “Planet of the Dead.”

It's a good idea for Russell T. Davies to join collaboration with another writer such as Gareth Roberts who knows his science fiction physics better than he does. Davies is a good writer, brings a lot of dramatic elements that remain important to the series. He makes the series accessible to people. But for science fiction ideas, he's falls a little short.

I do like the episode very much. It's interesting to see they use a character who is an international thief. This idea was almost used in the fourth season of Sylvester McCoy when his new companion would have been a reputable thief. That never happened. Until now.

It's a good move on their part to use Michelle Ryan who's really easy on the eyes. Her stunning beauty gives a new, refreshed feeling for the series. She's already well known to fans in her lead roles in the Jekyll series and also the American revamped Bionic Woman. Her “ladyship” makes for very spoiled elements, like a rich girl who wants to leave her castle looking for adventure.

And she found in it all in the Doctor's hectic life.

Though I didn't care much for only one brief moment when she whines about getting mud or sand in her eye, which I felt was a little out of character. But still she comes across as a very worthwhile companion in Lady Christina.

They're both more than a match for each other and they tend to raise the stakes in each other throughout the show: it seems like they like to dare each other into tackling dangers. As the Doctor said when she narrowly escapes an assailant, “She's good.”

I would have liked to see more of her in the ensuing episodes. Ryan mentioned in her interview that it is only for a one off show. But she could be wrong. I hope so. I liked her character very much.

For the money, however, it is Lee Evans as Malcolm who is a sheer delight. It's nice to see the army ranking officials in UNIT actually doing something to take care of alien attacks. His character is a sheer delight, filled with wit. A human being who might very well be almost a genius on the Doctor's level. Almost is still a long way. “He called me a genius, isn't that great?” Malcolm said at one point.

He's almost like a child, spoiled with expensive toys and gadgets. It reminded me the one guy Osgood from the episode “The Daemons” where Jon Pertwee's Doctor tried to explain to him putting together an invention. There's plenty of quips and funny moments. Only Malcolm is much more useful. Even if he is a little bit of an odd duck.

However, there is one thing.

Bug eyed monsters.

I don't like them. Neither should you. And no matter how much money you put into them, they're still going to come across as a little fake. The original creator of Doctor Who was Sidney Newman, who professed his dislike for bug eyed monsters. He didn't want to see any in his shows.

That's a lesson there for all of us. No more bug eyed monsters please. We should listen to the forefathers of the greatest in Doctor Who. Newman would be rolling in his grave at the very thought of it. I didn't feel they added anything to the series. Nothing but an annoyance.

However, the rest of the episode was pretty good right down to the Harry Potter-esque flight of the bus during one small portion of the show. You can see the money is well spent using it here. And they use it wisely. There's a definite feeling of Britishness with the bus taking off like an airplane.

Though I might be putting spoilers here. If you haven't seen it, many apologies. Though you should've watched the episode before reading any kind of review. Trend carefully.

But we are certainly winding down our time with David Tennant's portrayal as the tenth Doctor. Everything he's put into the role you can see here, the charm, the wit, the handsome qualities of his pencil thin frame framed with the recognizable trench-coat and pin-striped sports jacket.

But there's a darkness coming to him. You can see it easily here, the overtones of shadows flitting across his eyes, the angry flush of feelings lifting in him. His desire to cut himself off from people. These are qualities, images that we have seen before in the ninth Doctor, a wounded soldier leaving the battleground. You can see it in Tennant's eyes that he doesn't want to be hurt again.

It is a horrible feeling.

And you hear the black woman's comments, the vision seer, telling him that his time is coming. What a wonderful setup for the next special, with the uneasiness of a funeral mood... how the darkness would be surrounding this tenth Doctor.

For a moment, I really thought Tennant would leave Ryan's character in the hands of the cops, letting them bring her to face characters. I thought to myself, “What a jerk.” Thankfully he didn't do that. He's not the dark Doctor yet, not for a while.

In fact, when you see the trailer for the next show coming in November, you can hear the ringing of the cloister bell from the time machine, impending doom coming. That hasn't been heard for a long time since the 1980s. It brings elements from Tom Baker's final show as well. The cloister bell is a spell for death that is coming.

The next episode “Waters of Mars” looks pretty good as we continue to see the downfall of the tenth Doctor who is becoming more like a rage of the storm. His spirit is becoming more lonely, desperate. His journey has become a very personal one that he did not want to share with anyone else.

It's a nice little story arc that would fit into the next three and final chapters of Tennant's tenure for the series, and most likely the most important event for this year. The writing is fast and fierce, stopping at nothing to keep pushing the envelope for the Doctor Who series which has seen its very highly regarded period.

But it'll be sad to see him go. But life on Doctor Who always goes on. Hopefully.