The Lazarus Experiment
Encyclopedia
"The Lazarus Experiment" is an episode of the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
. It was broadcast on BBC One
on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant
as the Tenth Doctor
and Martha Jones
as his companion, played by Freema Agyeman
. On Earth, in present day London, The Doctor, Martha and her family attend a scientific demonstration by the aged Professor Lazarus. But when the experiment goes wrong, a horrific product of genetic manipulation is unleashed, leaving a trail of death in its mission to live indefinitely.
According to the BARB
figures this episode was seen by 7.19 million viewers and was the twelfth most popular broadcast on British television in that week. Executive producer Russell T Davies has stated that he directed writer Stephen Greenhorn to base this episode on the typical Marvel Comics
plotline: "a good old mad scientist
, with an experiment gone wrong, and an outrageous supervillain
on the loose."
returns Martha
to her flat, twelve hours after she first stepped in the TARDIS
. Clued in by a telephone call by Martha's mother Francine that her sister Tish is on the television, they watch a news report with a statement from the elderly Professor Richard Lazarus, announcing that later that night, with one demonstration, he will "change what it means to be human." The Doctor leaves in the TARDIS, but quickly rematerialises when he recognises the impact of Lazarus' statement.
They dress for the formal dinner party at Lazarus Labs, and meet up with Tish, who works for Lazarus; Francine, Martha's mother; and Leo, Martha's brother; Francine is immediately suspicious of the Doctor's interest in Martha. Their conversation is interrupted as Lazarus announced he will perform a miracle and steps into a capsule in the center of the reception room. Technicians start the machine, filling the capsule with strange energy, and the Doctor quickly steps in when he believes that the system is overloading. As the machine comes to a stop, Lazarus leaves the capsule, now a much younger man; his machine is able to manipulate the subject's DNA to make them younger. The Doctor is concerned about unknown side effects; Martha points out that they obtained a DNA sample when Lazarus kissed her hand earlier. The two race to Lazarus's lab and get a look at that DNA: it is fluctuating, and thus unstable.
As they investigate, Lazarus returns to his office on another floor with his business and romantic partner, the elderly Lady Thaw. She insists that she be the next to undergo the process so they can be young together, but he refuses, saying he didn't want to "waste another life with [her]." As she threatens to have Mr. Saxon pull their funding, Lazarus begins to undergo a transformation into a scorpion
-like being, and kills Lady Thaw by draining her life energy, leaving her a desiccated corpse. After returning to his human form, Lazarus returns to the reception; meanwhile, the Doctor and Martha find Thaw's body, the Doctor surmising that Lazarus must drain the life energy to keep his DNA stable.
Lazarus goes up to the roof with Tish, who seems attracted to the young Lazarus. They talk for a few minutes in that desolate spot, and then the Doctor and Martha run in and warn Tish; Lazarus transforms, but the Doctor, Martha and Tish escape to the elevator. Tish is shocked by the giant scorpion Lazarus became: "I was going to snog him!" As Lazarus tries to get through the locked door, the security protocol starts locking down the entire building. The Doctor, Martha and Tish take the stairs down and warn the group gathered on the main floor of their danger, quickly followed by the monstrous Lazarus. The Doctor gives Martha the sonic screwdriver so she can unlock the security doors; Lazarus kills one guest while the other guests flee the room in panic, and then the Doctor attempts to reason with him while Lazarus chases him through the building. Martha rejoins the Doctor, returning his sonic screwdriver, and the two take shelter in Lazarus' device, the Doctor believing he will not harm his own invention.
The Doctor explains to Martha that Lazarus's transformation is the result of an evolutionary throwback
locked away in dormant human genes
that are now becoming dominant. Unfortunately, Lazarus manages to activate his device, but the Doctor reverses the polarity, causing the field to affect only Lazarus outside of the capsule. They emerge to find Lazarus in his human form naked and apparently dead.
As the police and medical workers arrive to take care of the wounded, Lazarus' body is taken by an ambulance. However, when the Doctor hears a nearby crash, he, Martha, and Tish race to discover the ambulance has crashed, its drivers drained of life. They find that Lazarus, alive but human, has taken shelter in Southwark Cathedral
. The Doctor tries to reason with Lazarus but is unable to stop him transforming again. Martha and Tish, under the Doctor's orders, lure the creature to the top of the Cathedral's bell tower, while the Doctor manipulates the church's pipe organ
to produce the maximum volume it can. The vibrations caused by the organ interfere with Lazarus' manipulated DNA, and he falls to his death to the floor below, returning both to his human form and his original age.
Martha and the Doctor return to her flat, and the Doctor invites Martha to come along for "one more trip." She refuses, saying she doesn't want to come along as just a passenger anymore, like he's doing her a favor. The Doctor agrees that she has always been much more than that, and they board the TARDIS. As the machine dematerialises from the flat, Martha's voice mail records Francine's warning to her daughter about the dangers of the Doctor as told to her by Mr. Saxon.
", was delayed by one week to make way for the BBC
's broadcasting of the Eurovision Song Contest
. The BBC Doctor Who web page announced in advance that 'something special' would be appended to the end of the original broadcast of this episode. This proved to be an extended teaser for the remaining episodes of the series, taking the place of the usual "Next time..." teaser trail and headed instead "Coming up...". This was also made available immediately after transmission on the BBC's Doctor Who website. The extended trailer featured many short clips from upcoming stories: eyeless animated scarecrows and the titular Family of Blood
, the return of Captain Jack Harkness
, Sir Derek Jacobi
in character
, Michelle Collins
likewise
and, briefly, John Simm
as the mysterious Mr. Saxon seen smiling for press cameras before the Houses of Parliament and in the Cabinet Room at No. 10
wearing an oxygen mask
, sinisterly tapping out the heavy rhythm of the incidental music and surrounded by inert bodies. At the very end, a further caption ahead of the "The Lazarus Experiment" credits revealed that "Doctor Who will return in two weeks". The "normal" trailer for "42" was then made available on the BBC Doctor Who website and was used on the DVDs instead of the special trailer.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It was broadcast on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
as the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
and Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
as his companion, played by Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
. On Earth, in present day London, The Doctor, Martha and her family attend a scientific demonstration by the aged Professor Lazarus. But when the experiment goes wrong, a horrific product of genetic manipulation is unleashed, leaving a trail of death in its mission to live indefinitely.
According to the BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
figures this episode was seen by 7.19 million viewers and was the twelfth most popular broadcast on British television in that week. Executive producer Russell T Davies has stated that he directed writer Stephen Greenhorn to base this episode on the typical Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
plotline: "a good old mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
, with an experiment gone wrong, and an outrageous supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
on the loose."
Plot
The DoctorTenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
returns Martha
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
to her flat, twelve hours after she first stepped in the TARDIS
Smith and Jones (Doctor Who)
"Smith and Jones" is the first episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 March 2007. It sees the debut of Freema Agyeman as new companion Martha Jones...
. Clued in by a telephone call by Martha's mother Francine that her sister Tish is on the television, they watch a news report with a statement from the elderly Professor Richard Lazarus, announcing that later that night, with one demonstration, he will "change what it means to be human." The Doctor leaves in the TARDIS, but quickly rematerialises when he recognises the impact of Lazarus' statement.
They dress for the formal dinner party at Lazarus Labs, and meet up with Tish, who works for Lazarus; Francine, Martha's mother; and Leo, Martha's brother; Francine is immediately suspicious of the Doctor's interest in Martha. Their conversation is interrupted as Lazarus announced he will perform a miracle and steps into a capsule in the center of the reception room. Technicians start the machine, filling the capsule with strange energy, and the Doctor quickly steps in when he believes that the system is overloading. As the machine comes to a stop, Lazarus leaves the capsule, now a much younger man; his machine is able to manipulate the subject's DNA to make them younger. The Doctor is concerned about unknown side effects; Martha points out that they obtained a DNA sample when Lazarus kissed her hand earlier. The two race to Lazarus's lab and get a look at that DNA: it is fluctuating, and thus unstable.
As they investigate, Lazarus returns to his office on another floor with his business and romantic partner, the elderly Lady Thaw. She insists that she be the next to undergo the process so they can be young together, but he refuses, saying he didn't want to "waste another life with [her]." As she threatens to have Mr. Saxon pull their funding, Lazarus begins to undergo a transformation into a scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
-like being, and kills Lady Thaw by draining her life energy, leaving her a desiccated corpse. After returning to his human form, Lazarus returns to the reception; meanwhile, the Doctor and Martha find Thaw's body, the Doctor surmising that Lazarus must drain the life energy to keep his DNA stable.
Lazarus goes up to the roof with Tish, who seems attracted to the young Lazarus. They talk for a few minutes in that desolate spot, and then the Doctor and Martha run in and warn Tish; Lazarus transforms, but the Doctor, Martha and Tish escape to the elevator. Tish is shocked by the giant scorpion Lazarus became: "I was going to snog him!" As Lazarus tries to get through the locked door, the security protocol starts locking down the entire building. The Doctor, Martha and Tish take the stairs down and warn the group gathered on the main floor of their danger, quickly followed by the monstrous Lazarus. The Doctor gives Martha the sonic screwdriver so she can unlock the security doors; Lazarus kills one guest while the other guests flee the room in panic, and then the Doctor attempts to reason with him while Lazarus chases him through the building. Martha rejoins the Doctor, returning his sonic screwdriver, and the two take shelter in Lazarus' device, the Doctor believing he will not harm his own invention.
The Doctor explains to Martha that Lazarus's transformation is the result of an evolutionary throwback
Atavism
Atavism is the tendency to revert to ancestral type. In biology, an atavism is an evolutionary throwback, such as traits reappearing which had disappeared generations before. Atavisms can occur in several ways...
locked away in dormant human genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...
that are now becoming dominant. Unfortunately, Lazarus manages to activate his device, but the Doctor reverses the polarity, causing the field to affect only Lazarus outside of the capsule. They emerge to find Lazarus in his human form naked and apparently dead.
As the police and medical workers arrive to take care of the wounded, Lazarus' body is taken by an ambulance. However, when the Doctor hears a nearby crash, he, Martha, and Tish race to discover the ambulance has crashed, its drivers drained of life. They find that Lazarus, alive but human, has taken shelter in Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....
. The Doctor tries to reason with Lazarus but is unable to stop him transforming again. Martha and Tish, under the Doctor's orders, lure the creature to the top of the Cathedral's bell tower, while the Doctor manipulates the church's pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
to produce the maximum volume it can. The vibrations caused by the organ interfere with Lazarus' manipulated DNA, and he falls to his death to the floor below, returning both to his human form and his original age.
Martha and the Doctor return to her flat, and the Doctor invites Martha to come along for "one more trip." She refuses, saying she doesn't want to come along as just a passenger anymore, like he's doing her a favor. The Doctor agrees that she has always been much more than that, and they board the TARDIS. As the machine dematerialises from the flat, Martha's voice mail records Francine's warning to her daughter about the dangers of the Doctor as told to her by Mr. Saxon.
Continuity
- According to Russell T Davies in the Radio TimesRadio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
, the trap that is set by the professor's "enigmatic paymaster" will close in "The Sound of DrumsThe Sound of Drums"The Sound of Drums" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 23 June 2007, and is the twelfth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
" and "Last of the Time LordsLast of the Time Lords"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
". Ultimately, this trap is revealed to be the Master's use of the reverse process to age the Doctor. - This episode continues the theme of genetic manipulation which played a part in "Daleks in ManhattanDaleks in Manhattan"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
"/"Evolution of the DaleksEvolution of the Daleks"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
". - On a number of occasions during the episode, the Doctor notes the similarities between the Time LordTime LordThe Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
regeneration processRegeneration (Doctor Who)Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
and Lazarus' experiments. - The Doctor talks about having seen the Blitz first hand; he visited this time period in "The Empty ChildThe Empty Child"The Empty Child" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Doctor Dances", was broadcast on 28 May...
"/"The Doctor DancesThe Doctor Dances"The Doctor Dances" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story and saw Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, join the Doctor as a companion. The first part, "The Empty Child", was...
". In the later episode Victory of the DaleksVictory of the Daleks"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Mark Gatiss and first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010....
, the Doctor visits Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
during the London Blitz, and it is apparent that they are already good friends. - The Doctor, after reversing Lazarus' machine to supposedly kill him, claims it should not have taken him so long to "reverse the polarity," saying he "must be out of practice". "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" was a phrase associated with the Third DoctorThird DoctorThe Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
. - The Doctor, after being slapped by Francine Jones, says that it happens every time he meets a companion's mother, referring to Jackie TylerJackie TylerIn "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" Coduri plays a parallel Earth version of Jackie. In this universe, she is still married to Pete, but they have no children, although she has a Yorkshire terrier named Rose. Despite Pete's success, which has led to Jackie becoming a celebrity, they...
slapping him in "Aliens of LondonAliens of London"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television show Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 16 April 2005. The Doctor takes Rose back to 21st century London, just in time to witness a spaceship crashing into the River Thames, triggering a...
". - Martha refers to her travels seen in "The Shakespeare CodeThe Shakespeare Code"The Shakespeare Code" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 7 April 2007, and is the second episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.23 million viewers and was...
", "GridlockGridlock (Doctor Who)"Gridlock" is the third episode from the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who which aired on 14 April 2007. The Doctor returns to a much grittier New Earth with Martha Jones and meets the Face of Boe one final time. But as New New York becomes a deadly...
" and "Daleks in ManhattanDaleks in Manhattan"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...
"/"Evolution of the DaleksEvolution of the Daleks"Evolution of the Daleks" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 April 2007, and is the fifth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is the conclusion of the two-part story begun in "Daleks in...
". - The Doctor dons the dinner jacket that he wore in "Rise Of The CybermenRise of the Cybermen"Rise of the Cybermen" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode features the return of Cybermen, where they are created on Earth itself. It is the first part of a two-part story, the concluding part being "The Age of Steel"...
"/"The Age Of SteelThe Age of Steel"The Age of Steel" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 20 May 2006 and is the second part of a two-part story that was the first to feature the Cybermen since Silver Nemesis in 1988. The first part, "Rise of the Cybermen", was...
". He remarks that it always causes trouble. He later wears it again on the ill fated cruise ship in Voyage Of The DamnedVoyage of the DamnedVoyage of the Damned is the title of a 1974 book written by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts, which was the basis of a 1976 drama film with the same title.The story was inspired by true events concerning the fate of the MS St...
. - On the banners hanging outside Lazarus's laboratory, the logo for his company is reminiscent of the Gallifreyan symbols frequently seen on the monitor in the TARDIS.
Film and television
- The preview of the story in the Radio TimesRadio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
magazine claimed that the episode's conclusion, wherein a monster, mutated from a man, dies in a large London church, is a reference to that of the 1953 science fiction serial The Quatermass ExperimentThe Quatermass ExperimentThe Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
. Coincidentally, David Tennant and Mark Gatiss appeared in the 2005 live remake of The Quatermass Experiment. - While playing the church organ, literally pulling out all the stops, the Doctor declares "we need to turn this up to elevenUp to eleven"Up to eleven" or "these go to eleven" is an idiom from popular culture which has come to refer to anything being exploited to its utmost abilities, or apparently exceeding them, such as a sound volume control. Similarly, the expression "turning it up to eleven" refers to the act of taking...
." This figure of speech, which originates from the film This Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal TapThis Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
, has come to mean "beyond maximum intensity" (compare with "110%"). - Martha likens the Doctor's appearance when wearing a dinner jacket to James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
; the Doctor appears skeptical but flattered. The commentary track mentions the Doctor's loosening of his bow-tie as a "Daniel CraigDaniel CraigDaniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
moment". - Tish refers to Catherine Zeta Jones' marriage to Michael DouglasMichael DouglasMichael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, comparing that situation of a big age gap to her own near-dalliance with Lazarus.
Literature
- LazarusLazarus of BethanyLazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
is a biblical character, mentioned in , whom JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
raised from the dead. When Lazarus escapes from the ambulance, the Doctor notes he should have realised Lazarus would return from the dead. - Both the Doctor and Lazarus quote T. S. EliotT. S. EliotThomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's poem The Hollow MenThe Hollow MenThe Hollow Men is a major poem by T. S. Eliot. Its themes are, like many of Eliot's poems, overlapping and fragmentary, but it is recognised to be concerned most with post-World War I Europe under the Treaty of Versailles , the difficulty of hope and religious conversion, and, as some critics...
. The Doctor completes Lazarus' quotation with the line, "Falls the Shadow" — which has been used as the title of a Doctor Who novel. There is also a Doctor Who novel called The Hollow MenThe Hollow Men (Doctor Who)The Hollow Men is a BBC Books original novel written by Martin Day and Keith Topping and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, and Ace and uses elements from the Fifth Doctor serial The Awakening.-Synopsis:Hexen Village,...
featuring animated scarecrows. The Doctor later tells Martha that Eliot got it right in saying that it all ends "not with a bang, but a whimper". The Doctor also alludes to Eliot's reference to Lazarus in The Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred PrufrockThe Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, commonly known as Prufrock, is a poem by T. S. Eliot, begun in February 1910 and published in Chicago in June 1915. Described as a "drama of literary anguish," it presents a stream of consciousness in the form of a dramatic monologue, and marked the beginning of...
: "I am Lazarus, come from the dead."
Production
- Gatiss' appearance has made him one of a select few to have both written for and acted in the show; he wrote "The Unquiet DeadThe Unquiet Dead"The Unquiet Dead" is an episode in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 9 April 2005 and is the first episode of the revival to be set in the past. In Victorian Cardiff, the dead are walking, and creatures made of gas are on the loose...
", "The Idiot's LanternThe Idiot's Lantern"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
" and "Victory of the DaleksVictory of the Daleks"Victory of the Daleks" is the third episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is written by Mark Gatiss and first broadcast on BBC One on 17 April 2010....
". Gatiss began his writing career on the New AdventuresVirgin New AdventuresThe Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
Doctor Who novels, and acted in material for a BBC Doctor Who evening before the new series was commissioned. Others with similar credits include Victor PembertonVictor PembertonVictor Pemberton is a British writer and television producer.Victor Pemberton's scriptwriting work included BBC radio plays, and television scripts for the BBC and ITV, including Doctor Who, The Slide and The Adventures of Black Beauty.His television production work included the British version of...
, who wrote Fury from the DeepFury from the DeepFury from the Deep is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 16 March to 20 April 1968...
and the audio drama Doctor Who and the Pescatons and acted in The MoonbaseThe MoonbaseThe Moonbase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967...
, and Glyn Jones, who wrote The Space MuseumThe Space Museum-VHS, CD and DVD releases:*This story was released alongside the surviving episodes of The Crusade on VHS in 1999.*The audio soundtrack was released with narration from Maureen O'Brien on CD in 2009....
and acted in The Sontaran ExperimentThe Sontaran ExperimentThe Sontaran Experiment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two weekly parts on 22 February and 1 March 1975.-Synopsis:...
. - Whilst the exterior shots of Southwark Cathedral are the cathedral itself (or a matte imageMatte (filmmaking)Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
edited onto the Cardiff exterior sets), the interiors were filmed in Wells CathedralWells CathedralWells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
(apart from the tower as seen from the crossingCrossing (architecture)A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
and the interior of the tower, which is a set). A model of Southwark Cathedral, along with one of Michelangelo's DavidDavid (Michelangelo)David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence...
, also appear in Lazarus's office. - The interiors of Professor Lazarus's institute were shot in Cardiff MuseumNational Museum CardiffNational Museum Cardiff is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales...
, the Welsh Assembly's SeneddSeneddThe Senedd , also known as the National Assembly building, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms for the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006 and the total cost was £69.6 million, which included £49.7M in...
building, and St William House, Cardiff. The latter also served as a location for the pilot episode of The Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
, and the TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode Random ShoesRandom Shoes"Random Shoes" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 10 December 2006. It is the ninth episode of the first series.-Synopsis:...
. - A scene cut from the episode, but included as an extra with the DVD release, reveals that the Doctor participated in the writing of the United States Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
and in fact carries a copy of the first draft folded up in the pocket of his dinner jacket. An outtakeOuttakeAn outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
of this scene is featured on the DVD as well, in which the Doctor has completely unfolded the document, only for Tennant to realise that he and Agyeman have run out of trackTracking shotIn motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...
.
Broadcast
The following episode, "4242 (Doctor Who)
"42" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 19 May 2007, and is the seventh episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series....
", was delayed by one week to make way for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's broadcasting of the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
. The BBC Doctor Who web page announced in advance that 'something special' would be appended to the end of the original broadcast of this episode. This proved to be an extended teaser for the remaining episodes of the series, taking the place of the usual "Next time..." teaser trail and headed instead "Coming up...". This was also made available immediately after transmission on the BBC's Doctor Who website. The extended trailer featured many short clips from upcoming stories: eyeless animated scarecrows and the titular Family of Blood
The Family of Blood
"The Family of Blood" is the ninth episode of Series 3 of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Preceded by "Human Nature", it is the second episode of a two-part story written by Paul Cornell adapted from his 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature...
, the return of Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
, Sir Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
in character
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
, Michelle Collins
Michelle Collins
Michelle Danielle Collins is a British actress best known for her roles on television in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, as Cindy Beale, Coronation Street as Stella Price, and BBC dramas Sunburn and Two Thousand Acres of Sky...
likewise
42 (Doctor Who)
"42" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 19 May 2007, and is the seventh episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series....
and, briefly, John Simm
John Simm
John Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television...
as the mysterious Mr. Saxon seen smiling for press cameras before the Houses of Parliament and in the Cabinet Room at No. 10
Downing Street
Downing Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
wearing an oxygen mask
The Sound of Drums
"The Sound of Drums" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 23 June 2007, and is the twelfth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
, sinisterly tapping out the heavy rhythm of the incidental music and surrounded by inert bodies. At the very end, a further caption ahead of the "The Lazarus Experiment" credits revealed that "Doctor Who will return in two weeks". The "normal" trailer for "42" was then made available on the BBC Doctor Who website and was used on the DVDs instead of the special trailer.
External links
- "Tonight, I'm going to perform a miracle" - episode trailer