After watching “ The Lodger , ” I ’m win over of two things : 1 ) Matt Smith really is bright and can gestate this show all by himself ; and 2 ) I would happily watch a sitcom about the Doctor and his roommate . Spoilers out front !
So there is n’t that much to say about “ The Lodger , ” the last Doctor Who episode before the braggart two - part finale . It ’s a kinky , loopy slice of quirkiness . You either love its goose premise — the Doctor gets separated from the TARDIS and has to venture to be an average someone while apportion a flat with a loveable loser — or you ’re a bit of a joint in the mud , really . As for me , I guess this might be the most successful drollery outing Who has ever done .
I should warn you all , though , that I am one of those weird citizenry who really loves — adores ! — the ELO - drenched episode “ Love And Monsters ” — at least , until the last five minutes , which are hideous and awful . But anyway , be warn . My taste sensation is demonstrably idiosyncratic .
And yet , I think I ’m on satisfying earth in peach the kudos of this one . The comedy chemistry between Matt Smith and node stars James Corden and Daisy Haggard is utterly sparktastic , but the material they ’re cultivate with — also strong amazing . The Doctor blurt through average life story among humans , simultaneously too brilliant and too destitute for his environs , makes for amazing clowning .
Of the many , many brilliant bits in this episode — too many to list — I ’d say about half number from the Doctor being clever , causing everyone ’s mind to spin around . And the other half comes from his gonzo misunderstandings of ordinary real - lifespan stuff . For someone who lived on Earth as an exile for years , he ’s surprisingly confused by things like football game match and roommate etiquette .
Actually , my favorite act are where the football game squad captain says they ’re go to “ annihilate ” the oppose squad at their next match , with the Doctor ’s help , and the Doctor die into super - intense “ I AM THE ONCOMING STORM ” mode . And then when Craig , the roommate , finds the Doctor ’s habitation - made low - tech scanning gadget , and the Doctor pretends it ’s a piece of outsider artistic creation commenting on “ Ai n’t modern beau monde dreadful . ” Oh , and for anybody who ’s ever had a stinking speech sound chore , the ken of the Doctor working at the call center is the greatest thing ever . Oh , and the Doctor talk to the cat is also just amazing .
As all obsessive Who nerds cognize , writer Gareth Roberts establish this on his short 2006 comic strip in Doctor Who magazine publisher . Here ’s a bit of it :
There ’s tons moreover at Life , Doctor Who and Combom .
And part of what ’s corking about the laughable slip , and which also comes through in the installment , is the idea that the Doctor is too amazing to be around unconstipated people for too long . He ’ll just mess up everything up , with his tendency to inspire people to skilful things , and his brilliant - yet - baffle ways . He ’ll swage the apple handcart , and fellowship wo n’t be able to go . We necessitate people like him to go off and salvage the world from alien colossus , not pass through our home and work . He will make affair too amazing . Our feeble human brains wo n’t be able to cope !
If there ’s one affair that bugged me slightly about this episode , it was the Doctor ’s unwonted timidness . This is the man who usually hazard head - first into every danger , armed only with a screwdriver and a willingness to improvise — but for some reason he wo n’t just wander upstairs to see what ’s going on for himself . Even after he ’s sure that innocent people are being killed , he still importune it ’s too severe for him to go up there . ( Yes , yes , I know that anything powerful enough to keep the TARDIS from landing is too huge for him to deal without knowing what he ’s up against , sure . But still . ) patently , if the Doctor ventures up there right away and either sieve out the problem or gets smoke , then there ’s no sequence . But still , it seemed unlike the Doctor to stand by while innocent multitude are being slaughtered .
All in all , though , this was a lot of play , and if you did n’t already love Matt Smith as the Doctor of the Church , this ought to varnish the pot . What did you all think ?
ComicsDoctor WhoDoctor Who MagazineTelevision
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , science , and culture news in your inbox daily .
newsworthiness from the futurity , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
