# Doctor Who - Planet of the Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776 "2009-04-11T21:51:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/21 "2009-04-13T03:49:34Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I’m a little :rolleyes: every time someone wants to be his companion and the Doctor is all, “no. No companions. I lose them. It hurts. ☹ Nope, never again. Just me all alone. Nope, nosiree, no more companions.” I think as a practical reason it’s just a way to deal with the specials. Each one (except for the final 2) being it’s own standalone episode, rather than a continuing story arc. I assume Moffat will create a new full time companion for Matt Smith in series 5. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/22 "2009-04-13T15:41:54Z")
I liked Catwoman. Well, not “liked” her actually, she was a bit too amoral and cavalier to be a personal friend of mine, but I thought she made a good one-shot character, if not someone who should be along for the long haul. She was more courageous but no more ethical than Adam, and we saw how that worked out. “A little bit Indiana Jones, a little bit Flight of the Phoenix, a little bit Pitch Black” does not equal a Pitch Black ripoff. There were a lot of original elements packed into that episode. Malcolm started out as a great supporting character but was way over the top by the end. > [@](#): > > I’m a little every time someone wants to be his companion and the Doctor is all, “no. No companions. I lose them. It hurts. Nope, never again. Just me all alone. Nope, nosiree, no more companions.” > > Whatevs, we know he’s going to take another one. If nothing else, he’d go insane without someone to blather on at between adventures." Sounds a lot like some people I know. Really, it seems like a realistic response to me. I felt a strange feeling of dread when the psychic made her last prediction. I was really hoping with their only being four episodes this year we could actually make it through without bringing anyone back from death or the void or a parallel universe or a magic time bubble or anything like that, but it doesn’t look good. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/23 "2009-04-13T16:21:38Z")
It was a fine, competent little episode. Nothing special. I thought the companion was OK. The actress did a good job - she was likeable and had good chemistry - but I thought the character would have irritated me given enough time. A bit too cliched and predictable. As somebody said in the “Confidential” episode, the companions always seem to be described as “feisty,” and with her, they didn’t do anything else on top of that. With some work, they might have grown her into an interesting character, but she was what she was in this. I did like the general lady’s surprise when shooting at the stingrays actually worked. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/24 "2009-04-13T16:26:53Z")
I’m not seeing all that much Pitch Black. Yes, there’s sand, creatures, and a deadline. There’s malfunctioning equipment. But a lot of plots have that. There’s no escaped murderer. Our lady thief is more Laura Croft than Riddick. There’s no underground creatures sensitive to light. There’s no dreading the dark. If no one had brought up Pitch Black, I wouldn’t have made any connection at all. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/25 "2009-04-13T16:38:33Z")
I liked the bionic companion. It might be an interesting twist if the doctor had a companion he basically liked, but whom he didn’t entirely trust. Also, Michelle Ryan is hot, so hooray. I will be sad to see Tennant go. Never heard of the new guy, but then I’d never really heard of Tennant before Dr. Who either… thwartme ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/26 "2009-04-13T21:27:51Z")
When did this episode air? I have my DVR set up to tape the 3 am (or whatever time it is) showing of Dr Who on SciFi, but I didn’t get it this week. They were playing a movie for some reason… ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/27 "2009-04-13T21:35:11Z")
Missed the edit window: Not only that, but I just noticed it seems they’re skipping an episode! I didn’t get to see Turn Left. They’re airing The Stolen Earth this week. I checked the past schedule and didn’t see any listing for Doctor Who shows this week at all… ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/28 "2009-04-13T21:57:42Z")
> [@FalconFinder](#): > > When did this episode air? Saturday evening in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/29 "2009-04-14T00:10:01Z")
I have a question. Did the special air here in the USA over this last weekend? I see several USA-ians have commented on the special but I can not find any info on the internet. All I’ve found is the SciFi channels listing of Doctor Who for the next month or two which does not list the special. here: [http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot/index.php3](http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot/index.php3) and BBC America for the next month does not mention it either. [http://www.bbcamerica.com/tvschedule.jsp](http://www.bbcamerica.com/tvschedule.jsp) Also a couple of forums are saying the SciFi airing is to be announced so this leads me to believe that it will not air for a while and also wondering how my fellow US Americanzians saw it? Was it over the weekend for us too? If so then dang that sucks. I guess I’ll just have to wait. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/30 "2009-04-14T00:14:32Z")
I liked it, a generally fun middleish quality episode. The bionic companion was great, I thought, it was nice seeing The Doctor getting straight up macked on by a strong personality. If she does become a companion, and “grows” to show gradually more uncertainty and vulnerability it could be a quality companion-character-arc. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/31 "2009-04-14T00:20:23Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > I have a question. > > Did the special air here in the USA over this last weekend? I see several USA-ians have commented on the special but I can not find any info on the internet. All I’ve found is the SciFi channels listing of Doctor Who for the next month or two which does not list the special. > > here: > [http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot/index.php3](http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot/index.php3) > > and BBC America for the next month does not mention it either. > [http://www.bbcamerica.com/tvschedule.jsp](http://www.bbcamerica.com/tvschedule.jsp) > > Also a couple of forums are saying the SciFi airing is to be announced so this leads me to believe that it will not air for a while and also wondering how my fellow US Americanzians saw it? > > Was it over the weekend for us too? If so then dang that sucks. I guess I’ll just have to wait. No, it has not aired in the US. Those of us who have seen it in the States have uhhh… procured it in other ways. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/32 "2009-04-14T00:29:44Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > wondering how my fellow US Americanzians saw it? I hear that TV recordings are sometimes distributed by illicit means over the internet. I deplore such activity. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/33 "2009-04-14T01:40:50Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > No, it has not aired in the US. Those of us who have seen it in the States have uhhh… procured it in other ways. After much googling, I haven’t found anything that says it’s illicit to watch a time-shifted BBC program from the US. Apparently, UK citizens are required to pay their domestic TV broadcast tax to do so, but that tax doesn’t apply to USians. I also watch a lot of Japanese and German broadcast stuff that isn’t available in the US. Should they ever rebroadcast here, I pledge to dutifully sit through commercials so the advertisers can earn their ad impression cuts. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/34 "2009-04-14T04:24:17Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I liked Catwoman. Well, not “liked” her actually, she was a bit too amoral and cavalier to be a personal friend of mine, but I thought she made a good one-shot character, if not someone who should be along for the long haul. She was more courageous but no more ethical than Adam, and we saw how that worked out. Yes, exactly. She was a fun character, but … she was a self-confessed thief who went around stealing priceless _objets d’art_ just for kicks, and abandoning her accomplice (and apparent lover) without hesitation. I actually applauded when she got arrested. Although I wasn’t actually all that upset when she subsequently escaped … though, let’s face it, if the police had been in any way competent, she’d have been nabbed again immediately. Considering how long it took her to get the bus moving! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/35 "2009-04-14T16:19:20Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > No, it has not aired in the US. Those of us who have seen it in the States have uhhh… procured it in other ways. Ok. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/36 "2009-04-14T16:53:52Z")
Yeah, how hard is it to track someone In a flying bus? Really" ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/37 "2009-04-14T17:05:23Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > Ok. Thanks. I second the thanks. That’s basically what I was trying to ask, too. I feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/38 "2009-04-14T18:48:16Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > It just said “later this year”. Ah, sorry, perhaps it was the BBC voiceover at the end. I could have sworn they said autumn. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/39 "2009-04-14T18:52:46Z")
> [@Kal](#): > > The short version is that, while the first Doctor often bragged about his building the TARDIS, it turned he was a bit of a lying ol’ bastard and a thieving bugger to boot. In the second Doctor’s final story, ‘The War Games’, the Time Lords caught up with him and put him on trial. His punishment was to be trapped on Earth, his mind wiped so he’s unable to work the TARDIS and he has a regeneration forced upon him. This was also followed up in The Five Doctors, at the end the 5th Doctor leaves Gallifrey and IIRC his companion says something like: Companion: So you’re going on the run from your own people in a rickety old TARDIS. 5th Doctor: Why not? That’s how it all started. The stolen TARDISs were also aluded to in the Deadly Assassin. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776/40 "2009-04-14T18:55:02Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I’m not seeing all that much Pitch Black. > > Yes, there’s sand, creatures, and a deadline. There’s malfunctioning equipment. But a lot of plots have that. There’s no escaped murderer. Our lady thief is more Laura Croft than Riddick. There’s no underground creatures sensitive to light. There’s no dreading the dark. > > If no one had brought up Pitch Black, I wouldn’t have made any connection at all. I thought of Pitch Black when I saw the first trailer, with the flying creatures, but must admit that there wasn’t much apparent similarity in the actual episode. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead/492776.md?page=3)