Rate "The Lazarus Experiment"

Series 3 continues with a story that, on the surface, appears to be about turning back the ravages of time. Not surprisingly, it's not quite that simple to shave 40 years off your life. Add to this the Jones sisters hanging on for dear life in a cathedral balcony, the Doctor sporting a tuxedo for the first time, a giant, life-sucking scorpion, and the first evidence that "Harold Saxon" is paying attention to the Doctor's visits to present day Earth.

So, what did you think of it? And more importantly, why can't we fix the imperfections in the Lazarus device?

It was alright, but have had little desire to watch it again and again. 3/5.

ps Tuxedo appeared first in the Cybermen story the year before!

4/5 from me. I actually enjoyed this one a lot, Lazarus made for a good comic book supervillain. Found myself liking Tish more than Martha in this one.

Rich Flair wrote:ps Tuxedo appeared first in the Cybermen story the year before!

Doh! You're absolutely right. I completely forgot about the tuxedo in the Cybermen two-parter.

Well, it's not as distinctive as a safari suit!

The Lazarus Code - 3/5 - fun, but forgetable
Tennant in a Tuxedo - 4/5 - he seemed more comfortable in evening wear than he did the year before

Where would we be without Quatermass eh?

Not as good as it should have been. 3/5.

Even though this story had a plot you could see coming from a mile away, I enjoyed it nonetheless. I think Martha and Tish made for a good pairing, the older version of Prof. Lazarus was creepy in a "dirty old man" sort of way, and the whole thing zoomed along at a dizzying pace. Layered into this was the presence of Harold Saxon, through some X-Files type intermediaries.

And little did we know at the time that whole point of the technology was to give Harold Saxon a weapon he could use against the Doctor later on.

I'm giving this 4/5.

it was alright

I swear you've made that post before!

The Co=Ordinator wrote:I swear you've made that post before!

wait for my critique of "42"

alright.

Some aspects are excellent. I particularly enjoyed the finale in the Church, in no small measure due to the rich setting and use of the setting beyond the obvious connotations of faith and playing God, etc. Some of the chasing about was also amazing action and FX ("this on a TV budget?" I remember thinking). The villain was well suited.

The only significant downgrade to me is pointed up by the Saxon planting: that is, I didn't believe for a moment that the Doctor would make this guy his focal point and end-of-game but rather the Doctor should have been wondering how this guy really did all that. It's just too much for pure Earth technology. Whether Torchwood or other alien influence, I was sure the Doctor was after the "true" source. Of course it proved to factor into the Saxon plot but... no sale here. That weakened my satisfaction to the point of voting a light 3/5.

Martha... She had some rather good showings I thought, perhaps topping in Shakespeare Code. This time it was made too plain (to my impression) to ignore that Martha is so outstanding a character and personality as to all but disappear if the camera doesn't keep cutting to her. She happens to fit the inter-related top production and story demands for the companion role at that juncture so ideally that I don't think it at all coincidental: outside the story, Martha gives the fans who railed so vehemently against Rose just what they seemed to want and, within the story, Rose having been removed, Martha fits the Doctor's resultant emotional situation. Perfect for those who don't want a companion who demands their attention; uninspiring to those who want more.