Love & Monsters

Series two of the new Doctor Who could well be one of the very best television series ever to appear on British television. I really mean that; I'm not just some raving fan. Love And Monsters was to DW what Revolution #9 is to the Beatles and will draw polarised reactions. Me, I applaud its originality, its zest, its supreme cleverness, and the fact that it was fresh, funny, satirical and wise. Peter Kay, truly proving that 'all planets have a north' was fantastic, as were the rest of the cast. But we've come to expect that from this series now, standards have been set so high. I suggest anyone who disliked this episode should expand the boundaries of their mind - there is really is an incredible world out there, just as the script said.

Oh come on! I've been watching Doctor Who since I was five years old (30 years ago) and I've never seen an episode quite as funny as this one (not even the one with Bertie Basset in it). Don't take it so seriously, it was a totally played for laughs, self-mocking episode. Chasing the monster backwards and forwards across the screen at the start of the episode was straight out of Scooby Doo or classic Laurel & Hardy. Peter Kays human costume was a parody of the eccentric costumes earlier incarnations of the Doctor had worn (Ecclestone and Tennant look just too plain by comparison), and his Abzorbaloff costume harked back to the days when Doctor Who monsters were obviously just men in rubber suits (although I admit the kid who designed it couldn't have realised that, but then he did want it to be the size of a bus). Peter Kay didn't even bother trying to disguise his voice and if anything sounded even more northern as the monster. The soundtrack was great (I love ELO) and the blow job joke at the end had me in stitches. All in all the funniest Doctor Who episode ever, and a fantastic bit of light relief for between "The Satan Pit" and the next few episodes.

In a season that has bee populated by shoddiness - often good ideas are either poorly executed or laden with useless plot gratuities that have become so ho hum lately or the character of Rose is just annoying - this one is more like a little science fiction romantic comedy that just happens to feature the Doctor and Rose and could easily be viewed and enjoyed without ever seeing any other episode of the series ever again.

The plot concerns a guy who becomes very interested in this mysterious figure the Doctor and hooks up with a club devoted to the same pursuit that he meets online. The club is filled with the same kind of awkward but friendly types and their discussions of the Doctor eventually morph into pot luck dinners and a cute, silly little rock band that does ELO covers - until a mysterious fellow shows up and commandeers the group in order to find more out about the Doctor.

Marc Warren is sweet and goofy as Elton and Peter Kay is nicely over the top as the mysterious guy who takes over. It's very light entertainment, but nonetheless touching and funny . . . and out of left field, really. It's nice to see that in this season of retreads and by-the-numbers half thought out junk that writer Russell T. Davies could take a moment to try something a little different for a change.

Doctor Who episodes always follow from the Doctor or Roses' point of view. This made a different change, but i seem to find that children didn't like it so much. They want to see more Doctor not a different person.

Adults will find this episode a different and nice change to the usual episode. But still nothing like a normal Doctor Who episode. Russal Davis had a good crack at writing this one, he took a chance a writing something slightly different for the series as a kind of test, somehow i don't think there will be any more of these kind of episodes.

6/10

I'm not normally one to post reviews, but I couldn't let the one negative post sit here as testimony to this episode. Yes, it wasn't perfect. The broad comedy and grotesque nature of the central villain would obviously not be to everyone's tastes. But Marc Warren turned in an excellent performance, as did Camille Coduri. The group of people who set up the "club" were portrayed as decent sorts who didn't deserve what became of them, and there were moments of charm and sensitivity. The use of E.L.O. in the soundtrack is also a plus point! Overall, the episode was an interesting experiment. If I met Russell T Davies I'd happily discuss it with him (without resorting to the violence another on this thread seems to expound) and of course thank him for making Doctor Who popular with a mainstream audience again.