1.3 - The Unquiet Dead

The opening of this episode has a nicely scary horror moment that will have had children hiding behind the sofa as they had with classic Doctor Who stories. The whole story harks back to the gothic horror elements of great stories of Tom Baker's era and it works really well.

The plot is that The Doctor and Rose are in Victorian era Cardiff where they meet Charles Dickens and encounter the Gelth, an alien race who are causing dead bodies at a funeral parlour to become ghostly zombies.

Simon Callow as Charles Dickens is a class act who imbues the part with pathos, dignity and humour. He acts brilliantly throughout and the exchanges between Dickens and The Doctor provide some of the highlights. Rose is great in this episode and Eve Myles shines as an intuitive maid. Mr. Sneed the funeral director is well acted and the period setting is effective in its realisation.

The script and the concept of the story are high standard and very enjoyable with funny lines, moving drama and strong characterisation.

Great episode.

What the Dickens?! Mark Gattis actually wrote a rather fun one for his first tv episode.
Unquiet dead has us meet dickens and he teams up with the doctor and rose when witnessing spectral activity at one of his shows. This leads them to investigate a Morgue where dead are rising via gas lamp !
It’s great and silly and even a bit emotional at the end !
My fav of the seasons present/future/past intro 8/10

This story finds the Doctor and Rose in London on Christmas Eve 1869. They find the dead appear to be returning to life and haunting the streets of London. When one of these reanimated corpses attends one of Charles Dickens lectures. Dickens is roped into the adventure by the Doctor as they confront a mortuary owner and his mysterious servant who are at the center of it all.

The episode would mark many firsts for the new series. It would be the first of the New Who series to make an interaction with a historical creator the centerpiece of the story. This also began the new Series long string of Victorian Era stories.

Christopher Eccleston turns in a solid performance as the Doctor and runs through a gamut of emotions from the giddy excitement of leaving the TARDIS to meeting Charles Dickens who he claims to be Dickens' number one fan in a conversation that showcases the Ninth Doctor at his most chatty to a defiant commanding Doctor that threatens to send Rose him if she doesn't adjust to a new morality. The story showcases this Doctor's weakness and how raw the events of the Time War are for him. He's easily manipulated and his real reason for doing something that's a bit creepy and indecent is no doubt motivated by his role in the Time War.

Rose is at one of her high points of the first series. The character was born in 1986 and as such representative a generation of young adults who couldn't remember when Doctor Who was actually on the air airing new episodes. After being somewhat blindsided by a trip to see her planet burn, Rose is filled with wonder that's practically contagious. She's in awe at returning to this time and being on the streets of Victorian London. However, she's also very firm on some things and challenges the Doctor's support of what turns out to be a disastrous plan because she sees it as wrong and she refuses to be cowed by the Doctor's threats to send her home. The argument between them is a great moment because it tells you a lot about both characters, it's not overwrought. It feels like real people having a real argument where both sides have a point.

Simon Callow as Charles Dickens is also a highlight. Callow had played Dickens many times and brought a great presence to the role, as of all the new Who takes on classic characters, we got perhaps the most realistic reaction of someone entering the Doctor's world. And his reflections on what that meant were fascinating and I liked how he was the key to the resolution of the story.

This episode isn't without problems. The character of Gwyneth was hard to grasp or relate to throughout most of the story. The whole plot also is resolved in one big convenience. And the idea of finishing the Mystery of Edwin Drood as Dickens suggests would have been insane.

Still, it's a very enjoyable that sets up a lot of what's to come.

The dead are coming back to life and the doctor, Rose and Charles Dickens must stop them. Best story so far!