The Unquiet Dead

I can't think of anyone who could have played Dicken's better. Just like the the future Matt Smith episode with Van Gogh, absolutely perfect casting. This episode was very intriguing indeed, I thought it was brilliant.

The third episode of the returning Doctor Who was a key one in many ways, not only was it the first historical recreation and the Doctors first interaction with a famous character, but it was the first one written by Mark Gatiss, is a universe debut for Eve Myles and provides the cornels of the idea behind "Torchwood".

After the far future last time, The Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and Rose (Billie Piper) head to Earths past, not exactly where they were planning on heading too, but they land in Cardiff in 1869. The inhabitant fo the local funeral parlour are, alas not staying as inactive and their death would have suggested, which is much chagrin to the Undertaker Mr Sneed (Alan David) and his assistant Gwen (Eve Myles). The city is also preparing for the celebrated Charles Dickins (Simon Callow) to give a reading of his "A Christmas Carol".

One thing that's struck me, but I haven't mentioned before, is how much I like this version of the theme, with its string section supporting the classic Theremin tune. I don't hate the current version, or any of the ones that have come in between, but this is my favourite.

This is a really strong episode. There's very little CGI, with most of it used to enhance practical or make up effects - so it hasn't aged . . . questionably . . . like elements of the previous two have. The plot is a lot tighter and makes more sense than the last one. Though perhaps it could have done with a little more genuine peril in the middle to keep the story running. I like how much this Doctor loves a good pun (or a bad pun even) but it doesn't effect that pervading dangerousness about this character.

I feel like stories and serials set in the past are always a very mixed bag with who but this is definitely one of the better ones. We get the first proper horror episode of the revival and I remember being genuinely unnerved and frightened by it when I first watched it back in 05. The whole idea of setting it at Christmas and having Charles Dickens who at the time is touring A Christmas Carol mixed in with the Ghost/Aliens is a stroke of genius and really makes this one stand out. The episode isn't without fault by any means, the pacing is a wee bit strange among other things but I'd definitely recommend this one for fans of the back in time stories. I'm going to give "The Unquiet Dead" a 7.7 to a 7.8

I think the first two episodes were very good, but this is the early one I remember most fondly, this was an excellent episode. We get good value out of the unquiet dead, a bit of Gothic horror, corpses coming to life and bursting out of coffins, Simaon Callow's excellent interpretation of Dickens, the pluses continue. It is visually stunning, I love lots of the glorious filming locations, especially the streets of Swansea. The production values are extremely high, everything looks quality. Eccleston continues his brilliance. Billie Piper continues to impress as Rose, I didn't appreciate at the time how good Billie was and how much I liked Rose's character. Alan David is glorious as Sneed, and it's a good first Who related outing for Eve Myles. The Gelth are a great invention, Gwyneth gives us another reference to the bad Wolf.

DOCTOR WHO is considered as something of a horror series and it's true to say that the most fondly remembered stories feature Cybermen walking down London streets , monsters coming out of the sea , giant spiders and that one with the mummies but this horror imagery was very much absent and didn't really feature in the show until the mid to late sixties . But it's fair to say that that DOCTOR WHO is summed up as the show that made children go running behind the sofa

The Unquiet Dead by THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN actor/writer Mark Gatiss is very much in the vein of the traditional type of story . It's atmospheric and features zombies and ethereal spirits and instantly reminds the fans of the golden era of the early Tom Baker stories though with even better production values and it's something of a pity that thescheduling of the series meant that it was broadcast on a spring evening . This would have been excellent to watch on a cold December Saturday night

It should be pointed out that in some ways that The Unquiet Dead mirrors the structure of a Hartnell tale in that The Doctor is something of a catalyst and that it's not The Doctor who saves the day while at the same time we're treated to a line that wouldn't have been broadcast in the original series : " First you drug me , then you kidnap me and don't think i didn't feel your hands having a quick wander you dirty old man "