There's a lodger in the upstairs apartment, and his name is not Wiggly Woo, there's a lodger in the upstairs apartment, and he's especially interested in you, he'll take you at night, he'll take you in light, he'll tempt you in and you won't put up a fight, there's a lodger in the upstairs apartment, and it's time to call for help from you know Who.
13 Reviews
Change of Pace, Small Comedy Episode
boblipton11 July 2010
In between saving planets the Doctor takes a few days off to sort out a young man and woman who won't admit they love each other, and to deal with the thing at the top of the stairs.
Gareth Roberts' comic script, based on his comic-strip -- originally featuring the 9th Doctor and Mickey Smith -- is quite a bit over the top, but all the more amusing for that as the Doctor simply takes over the life of his flatmate and replaces him. With a title that suggests a Jack the Ripper story and a plot set-up that looks positively Lovecraftian, the monster of the week actually takes up only a small part of the plot. That seems to be par for this season as the new production team reinvents the Doctor -- as, indeed, almost every one has.
Matt Smith shows again in this one, he is a fine comic actor. I quite understand the complaints about his performances, but I think those derive, in no small part, from the increased complexity of writing for this season. Eccleston and Tennant, Smith's two predecessors in the role, and, really, the only standards that most viewers have, played the Doctor as big and emotionally simple, driven by only a few key issues -- that's the way the role was written and they performed engagingly with big performances. But Matt Smith has his role written as someone who has lived more than nine centuries and character notes from previous versions keep showing through. In this one he seems to be channeling William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, the first two doctors, with hints of other versions. James Corden makes a fine put-upon second banana.
I have missed the smaller, more overtly comic scripts. Under Russell Davies the stories kept getting bigger and bigger, each season topping the last in menace and threat. The constant insistence of saving the universe ignored the fact that most people, indeed, most villains, don't want to own everything. Sometimes they want a good meal or some money and are not too fussy as to how they go about getting them. Robert Holmes specialized in these small-time baddies and as a change of pace they helped the tone of the series and the complexity of the universe. Steven Moffat's game-changing strategy, including a clearer understanding of what frightens people and greater concentration on character is refreshing in more than one sense of the word.
Gareth Roberts' comic script, based on his comic-strip -- originally featuring the 9th Doctor and Mickey Smith -- is quite a bit over the top, but all the more amusing for that as the Doctor simply takes over the life of his flatmate and replaces him. With a title that suggests a Jack the Ripper story and a plot set-up that looks positively Lovecraftian, the monster of the week actually takes up only a small part of the plot. That seems to be par for this season as the new production team reinvents the Doctor -- as, indeed, almost every one has.
Matt Smith shows again in this one, he is a fine comic actor. I quite understand the complaints about his performances, but I think those derive, in no small part, from the increased complexity of writing for this season. Eccleston and Tennant, Smith's two predecessors in the role, and, really, the only standards that most viewers have, played the Doctor as big and emotionally simple, driven by only a few key issues -- that's the way the role was written and they performed engagingly with big performances. But Matt Smith has his role written as someone who has lived more than nine centuries and character notes from previous versions keep showing through. In this one he seems to be channeling William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, the first two doctors, with hints of other versions. James Corden makes a fine put-upon second banana.
I have missed the smaller, more overtly comic scripts. Under Russell Davies the stories kept getting bigger and bigger, each season topping the last in menace and threat. The constant insistence of saving the universe ignored the fact that most people, indeed, most villains, don't want to own everything. Sometimes they want a good meal or some money and are not too fussy as to how they go about getting them. Robert Holmes specialized in these small-time baddies and as a change of pace they helped the tone of the series and the complexity of the universe. Steven Moffat's game-changing strategy, including a clearer understanding of what frightens people and greater concentration on character is refreshing in more than one sense of the word.
The Doctor as a housemate
dkiliane17 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
For the most part this is pure quirky comedy with a dash of sci-fi thrown in to keep it Doctor Who. And in all honesty, that's ok by me.
While it would have been nice to delve a little deeper into the sci-fi aspect or at least flesh out the villain a bit more, there's enough fun and endearing moments to let that slide (for an episode at least) and on a broader level functions well by bringing some levity before we hit the dramatic and epic conclusion of the season (this tactic is renewed again in season 6).
Craig and Sophie are a charming almost couple that the Doctor manages to bring together by the end of the episode much to audience delight (at least members of the audience that have a heart or any semblance of romance). And on a comedic level the episode works quite well also. The Doctor's quirky outgoing manner is a perfect foil to Craig's shy personality. And Sophie is adorable.
My only real complaint is the failure to inject a sense of real danger that we should feel with an alien frying people upstairs. But it's hard to feel this danger with the light-hearted tone of the episode. Other than that though, "The Lodger" is a fun and often hilarious adventure in having a house mate that is mighty enjoyable. 8.5/10
While it would have been nice to delve a little deeper into the sci-fi aspect or at least flesh out the villain a bit more, there's enough fun and endearing moments to let that slide (for an episode at least) and on a broader level functions well by bringing some levity before we hit the dramatic and epic conclusion of the season (this tactic is renewed again in season 6).
Craig and Sophie are a charming almost couple that the Doctor manages to bring together by the end of the episode much to audience delight (at least members of the audience that have a heart or any semblance of romance). And on a comedic level the episode works quite well also. The Doctor's quirky outgoing manner is a perfect foil to Craig's shy personality. And Sophie is adorable.
My only real complaint is the failure to inject a sense of real danger that we should feel with an alien frying people upstairs. But it's hard to feel this danger with the light-hearted tone of the episode. Other than that though, "The Lodger" is a fun and often hilarious adventure in having a house mate that is mighty enjoyable. 8.5/10
From a 2020 perspective, how brilliantly effortless this carefully-carefree artistry looks!!!
jrarichards15 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I have this on DVD, yet encountered it by chance as a TV rerun and could not resist indulging. Despite pandemic world 2020, I was laughing at it and with it, and loving it, within SECONDS...
This Gareth Roberts-written episode is one of many from this period of Doctor Who that allowed the big-arc story to keep its place overall, while not in any sense getting in the way of - or pompously overshadowing - a simple, fun, reasonably plausible stranded-spaceship scenario that does not try too hard, does not become too lofty or portentous ... and does not in any way need to, to make its mark ... WHICH IT DOES SO VERY EFFECTIVELY!!
This is how DW should be done, is not done (or at least not done so well) now, but was done for so many series we were blessed to experience...
By adopting the above strategy, you leave room for effortless, laugh-out-loud-witty (often truly inspired) banter between Matt Smith's Doctor as the new lodger and James Corden's Colchester-resident Craig (as well as with the effortlessly witty and effortlessly gorgeous (if here rather back-seat) Amy Pond played by Karen Gillan).
You could watch it a second time, and still get gags you missed out on first time round!
Yes, someone here (indeed a whole team of people) take(s) pride and joy in attending to layer after layer of tiny details of the plot and dialogue, in a manner that later episodes with later incarnations of the Doctor simply cannot manage, and apparently do not seek to manage. Now fair's fair, that means an element of anarchy and eccentricity that DW's later drive to achieve meaningfully politically correct content or educational value would tend to erase. It also means adeptness at making the best of all the Britishness present (and, let's be clear, our island has ALWAYS been an amazing mix of the mind-blowing and world-changing and ghost-, legend-, great literature-, great music- and history-filled on the one hand, and the apparently prosaic, predictable and dull on the other - hence the magic that can be mined so effectively in episodes like this).
The fun content here is high - all the way through to the Doctor's use of incredibly strong tea (augmented with something unknown from the kitchen bin), served in a Charles and Di teapot (!), to bring Craig back to health and consciousness after he makes forbidden contact with the mould-like alien life form present on the flat ceiling. And why did he touch it? In defiance of the Doctor's suggestion? Because he is angry with the Doctor for filling an empty place on Craig's football team that gives the former a chance to shine on the pitch (real-life Matt Smith was a real-life footballer), and seems to be a little bit too interesting to Craig's love interest and would-be girlfriend Sophie (played by Daisy Haggard who is here lovely in every sense of the word).
It's silly in a way, but simultaneously also a plausible-enough scenario known to countless millions of us.
Clever stuff indeed.
Likewise, when the Doctor takes the off-sick Craig's place at work, we cleverly and economically (but also tellingly) get an impressionistic version of what must have happened, without actually having to be shown the incident.
Leave them wanting more, eh?
(And we indeed do, hence a return to these characters in a later, much-further-fun episode).
Likewise, when the Doctor realises he has no choice but to let Craig in on some of his secrets and makes the necessary transfer by "nutting" him hard; and Craig immediately "sees the light", we get an exquisite piece of semi-comedic, semi-serious acting from a hugely-gifted Corden.
The fact that Craig gets his girl, and we get to that by the highly worthwhile exploration of a(nother) genuine dilemma for so many of us about sticking with the familiar or branching out into more adventurous territory is just great. The Doctor cleverly mediates that (often telling it like it is bluntly but innocently) without becoming mean, or a third wheel or gooseberry; and again this would all have looked different in other hands. And because Craig and Sophie have each other, the dilemma evaporates, as they realise that they might equally well go on that adventure (looking after orang utans at a sanctuary - nice conservation message, BTW), or stay with the familiar.
It's clever, witty, worthwhile, scary enough, and FUN - everything we thought we could expect from the rebooted Doctor. And it's so, so British in the high-quality sci fi (rather than trashy sitcom) sense of that word.
WONDERFUL.
This Gareth Roberts-written episode is one of many from this period of Doctor Who that allowed the big-arc story to keep its place overall, while not in any sense getting in the way of - or pompously overshadowing - a simple, fun, reasonably plausible stranded-spaceship scenario that does not try too hard, does not become too lofty or portentous ... and does not in any way need to, to make its mark ... WHICH IT DOES SO VERY EFFECTIVELY!!
This is how DW should be done, is not done (or at least not done so well) now, but was done for so many series we were blessed to experience...
By adopting the above strategy, you leave room for effortless, laugh-out-loud-witty (often truly inspired) banter between Matt Smith's Doctor as the new lodger and James Corden's Colchester-resident Craig (as well as with the effortlessly witty and effortlessly gorgeous (if here rather back-seat) Amy Pond played by Karen Gillan).
You could watch it a second time, and still get gags you missed out on first time round!
Yes, someone here (indeed a whole team of people) take(s) pride and joy in attending to layer after layer of tiny details of the plot and dialogue, in a manner that later episodes with later incarnations of the Doctor simply cannot manage, and apparently do not seek to manage. Now fair's fair, that means an element of anarchy and eccentricity that DW's later drive to achieve meaningfully politically correct content or educational value would tend to erase. It also means adeptness at making the best of all the Britishness present (and, let's be clear, our island has ALWAYS been an amazing mix of the mind-blowing and world-changing and ghost-, legend-, great literature-, great music- and history-filled on the one hand, and the apparently prosaic, predictable and dull on the other - hence the magic that can be mined so effectively in episodes like this).
The fun content here is high - all the way through to the Doctor's use of incredibly strong tea (augmented with something unknown from the kitchen bin), served in a Charles and Di teapot (!), to bring Craig back to health and consciousness after he makes forbidden contact with the mould-like alien life form present on the flat ceiling. And why did he touch it? In defiance of the Doctor's suggestion? Because he is angry with the Doctor for filling an empty place on Craig's football team that gives the former a chance to shine on the pitch (real-life Matt Smith was a real-life footballer), and seems to be a little bit too interesting to Craig's love interest and would-be girlfriend Sophie (played by Daisy Haggard who is here lovely in every sense of the word).
It's silly in a way, but simultaneously also a plausible-enough scenario known to countless millions of us.
Clever stuff indeed.
Likewise, when the Doctor takes the off-sick Craig's place at work, we cleverly and economically (but also tellingly) get an impressionistic version of what must have happened, without actually having to be shown the incident.
Leave them wanting more, eh?
(And we indeed do, hence a return to these characters in a later, much-further-fun episode).
Likewise, when the Doctor realises he has no choice but to let Craig in on some of his secrets and makes the necessary transfer by "nutting" him hard; and Craig immediately "sees the light", we get an exquisite piece of semi-comedic, semi-serious acting from a hugely-gifted Corden.
The fact that Craig gets his girl, and we get to that by the highly worthwhile exploration of a(nother) genuine dilemma for so many of us about sticking with the familiar or branching out into more adventurous territory is just great. The Doctor cleverly mediates that (often telling it like it is bluntly but innocently) without becoming mean, or a third wheel or gooseberry; and again this would all have looked different in other hands. And because Craig and Sophie have each other, the dilemma evaporates, as they realise that they might equally well go on that adventure (looking after orang utans at a sanctuary - nice conservation message, BTW), or stay with the familiar.
It's clever, witty, worthwhile, scary enough, and FUN - everything we thought we could expect from the rebooted Doctor. And it's so, so British in the high-quality sci fi (rather than trashy sitcom) sense of that word.
WONDERFUL.
Brilliant, original, fun episode
DavidTL12 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Doctor Who - The Lodger
The synopsis always seemed interesting and after the previous episodes being a bit of a down fall I was pleasantly surprised to find this episode was bringing back some excitement. It features The Doctor more than Amy Pond but it's not like Love & Monsters, Blink, Midnight and Turnleft where just cameos from either the companion, Doctor or both. I was quite surprised to see that The Doctor was topless in this episode for some time and even more when what seemed to be a prostitute walk upstairs into the "room of doom". It has "Smithy" in it which was pretty good and exciting to see as well as a new Tardis on the second floor, wish it could have been explained more though.
The synopsis always seemed interesting and after the previous episodes being a bit of a down fall I was pleasantly surprised to find this episode was bringing back some excitement. It features The Doctor more than Amy Pond but it's not like Love & Monsters, Blink, Midnight and Turnleft where just cameos from either the companion, Doctor or both. I was quite surprised to see that The Doctor was topless in this episode for some time and even more when what seemed to be a prostitute walk upstairs into the "room of doom". It has "Smithy" in it which was pretty good and exciting to see as well as a new Tardis on the second floor, wish it could have been explained more though.
Friends
A_Kind_Of_CineMagic9 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This episode features The Doctor accidentally being stuck on contemporary Earth with the TARDIS going into a dematerialisation loop with Amy trapped inside it. There is a localised time loop and strange goings on in a flat and the downstairs neighbour to that flat is looking for a lodger. The Doctor arrives as the lodger seeking to investigate and his new flatmate Craig is trying to build up courage to ask his female friend to become his proper girlfriend.
The episode is great fun and mostly is comedic but it does also have quite involving romantic aspects and a little bit of creepy drama on occasion.
There are large elements of this which you could liken to soap opera or a sitcom in that it involves the every day lives and love troubles of Craig (played by James Corden who is now a successful actor in Hollywood films and chat show host on American TV) and Sophie (Daisy Haggard). Strangely I do not see criticisms of this episode for being 'too soap opera' whilst I see a lot of 'soap opera' accusations against other episodes which feature less of these everyday life elements.
Anyway, I am one of the fans who is perfectly happy to have ordinary life "soap opera" aspects in Doctor Who provided it is done well. Therefore, I have no problem with this episode for those elements because it is done to nice comedic effect.
The episode is a bit of an oddity: The "attempt to build a TARDIS" by a mysterious alien and the ability to cause time loops and dematerialisation loops was odd and unexplained.
The set-up of the Doctor as a lodger is odd but interesting.
The headbutt memory transfer is odd and silly.
One of the oddest bits is the Doctor conversing with a cat who he is able to understand. The idea of a cat explaining what has been going on to the Doctor is funny but really has no place outside a pure comedy show. It was revisited in later episodes with babies and horses talking to the Doctor. Yes it is amusing but it isn't really what I want from Doctor Who personally, I prefer more 'hard sci-fi' with a bit of logic rather than comedic fantasy. So the headbutt and the cat aspect are little bits I am not so keen on.
The way the alien threat was stopped could have been better. Basically it is a 'love conquers all' idea which was similarly used in Victory of the Daleks and later in Closing Time. It seemed a bit too contrived to me really.
Those factors add up to detract from the episode a bit for me but there are a lot more good parts that I enjoy: Corden and Haggard are engaging and their love story is involving enough.
The banter between the Doctor and his new friends is amusing.
The script from Gareth Roberts has lots of nice touches.
It is fun to see the Doctor in a very different situation.
There are some really funny scenes.
So I really think the positives outweigh most of the little grumbles I have and this is a very solid episode.
My Rating: 8/10.
The episode is great fun and mostly is comedic but it does also have quite involving romantic aspects and a little bit of creepy drama on occasion.
There are large elements of this which you could liken to soap opera or a sitcom in that it involves the every day lives and love troubles of Craig (played by James Corden who is now a successful actor in Hollywood films and chat show host on American TV) and Sophie (Daisy Haggard). Strangely I do not see criticisms of this episode for being 'too soap opera' whilst I see a lot of 'soap opera' accusations against other episodes which feature less of these everyday life elements.
Anyway, I am one of the fans who is perfectly happy to have ordinary life "soap opera" aspects in Doctor Who provided it is done well. Therefore, I have no problem with this episode for those elements because it is done to nice comedic effect.
The episode is a bit of an oddity: The "attempt to build a TARDIS" by a mysterious alien and the ability to cause time loops and dematerialisation loops was odd and unexplained.
The set-up of the Doctor as a lodger is odd but interesting.
The headbutt memory transfer is odd and silly.
One of the oddest bits is the Doctor conversing with a cat who he is able to understand. The idea of a cat explaining what has been going on to the Doctor is funny but really has no place outside a pure comedy show. It was revisited in later episodes with babies and horses talking to the Doctor. Yes it is amusing but it isn't really what I want from Doctor Who personally, I prefer more 'hard sci-fi' with a bit of logic rather than comedic fantasy. So the headbutt and the cat aspect are little bits I am not so keen on.
The way the alien threat was stopped could have been better. Basically it is a 'love conquers all' idea which was similarly used in Victory of the Daleks and later in Closing Time. It seemed a bit too contrived to me really.
Those factors add up to detract from the episode a bit for me but there are a lot more good parts that I enjoy: Corden and Haggard are engaging and their love story is involving enough.
The banter between the Doctor and his new friends is amusing.
The script from Gareth Roberts has lots of nice touches.
It is fun to see the Doctor in a very different situation.
There are some really funny scenes.
So I really think the positives outweigh most of the little grumbles I have and this is a very solid episode.
My Rating: 8/10.
The Lodger
MrFilmAndTelevisionShow7 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A modern classic in my humble opinion. I'm not really a James Corden fan, he went from someone I'd never heard of to suddenly being in everything a few years back and he oversaturated the market with himself in my bizarre opinion. However I think he was absolutely phenomenal in this episode. Brilliant, amazing, spectacular!
The plot itself was different/unique and compelling and I think it is a suitable change of pace from the previous episode (Vincent and the Doctor, which is in my no-longer-humble opinion the greatest episode of Doctor Who ever) which was a tear jerker to this an almost comic relief episode while still being suspenseful.
The plot itself was different/unique and compelling and I think it is a suitable change of pace from the previous episode (Vincent and the Doctor, which is in my no-longer-humble opinion the greatest episode of Doctor Who ever) which was a tear jerker to this an almost comic relief episode while still being suspenseful.
So so episode with not enough Amy Pond
Tweekums13 June 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode served to demonstrate how important the chemistry between The Doctor and his assistant is; for most of the episode they are split up after the Tardis dematerialises with Amy still in side after the Doctor steps out. Stuck on Earth without the Tardis he answers an advert of a lodger. The downstairs flat is inhabited by Craig, played by James Corden and the upstairs is hone to somebody altogether more sinister. As people pass by a voice comes from the house's intercom asking for help, once the person goes inside they see somebody at the top of the stairs who asks for help but once though their door the person is not seen again... there is also a mysterious stain spreading across Craig's ceiling. Whatever the individual upstairs is doing it is responsible for the Tardis being unable to materialise. While trying to solve this problem The Doctor must try to be as normal a flat mate as is possible.
On the plus side the mysterious stranger who causes the death of those who answer the call for help is suitably creepy, unfortunately most of the time is spent with The Doctor trying to fit in by doing things like playing football... which he was embarrassingly good at. Corden was okay as Craig but the character wasn't particularly interesting and the excellent Karen Gillan was sadly underused this week as she was trapped in the Tardis and just fiddled with the controls as The Doctor gave her instructions. The ending where Amy found her engagement ring suggested more interesting things to come though.
On the plus side the mysterious stranger who causes the death of those who answer the call for help is suitably creepy, unfortunately most of the time is spent with The Doctor trying to fit in by doing things like playing football... which he was embarrassingly good at. Corden was okay as Craig but the character wasn't particularly interesting and the excellent Karen Gillan was sadly underused this week as she was trapped in the Tardis and just fiddled with the controls as The Doctor gave her instructions. The ending where Amy found her engagement ring suggested more interesting things to come though.
5 years on and I still don't know
Sleepin_Dragon1 September 2015
The Doctor is split from Amy and forced to lodge with Craig, where he shows of his footballing skills and discovers an alien presence upstairs which is luring in victims with calls for help.
I still honestly cannot make my mind up about this episode. It's definitely only Matt Smith that could have pulled this one off, would have been difficult to imagine Eccleston as a lodger.
I love the idea of the voice in the house calling out for help and bringing in unsuspecting victims, talk about a creepy idea, it's a real nasty one. Whilst I love James Corden, I never thought I'd see him in Who, but he is good, he's fun. I like Craig's romance with Sophie. The set of the ship upstairs is a goody.
Amy had been at her best in Vincent and the Doctor, and was hidden away for the most of this one, it felt a bit unfair, but it was clear she was going to feature in the finale. I think the best bit had to be her finding the ring, a real mood changer.
I think I struggle with the idea of the Doctor being a lodger, and playing football, fun, but it's to me not really what the show's about. Naked Doctor, no thanks!! The only Doctor's chest that should remain in history is Pertwee's.
Series 4 had Turn left to set up the finale, having watched that my heart was racing, after watching this my heart kind of limped towards the finale.
I still honestly cannot make my mind up about this episode. It's definitely only Matt Smith that could have pulled this one off, would have been difficult to imagine Eccleston as a lodger.
I love the idea of the voice in the house calling out for help and bringing in unsuspecting victims, talk about a creepy idea, it's a real nasty one. Whilst I love James Corden, I never thought I'd see him in Who, but he is good, he's fun. I like Craig's romance with Sophie. The set of the ship upstairs is a goody.
Amy had been at her best in Vincent and the Doctor, and was hidden away for the most of this one, it felt a bit unfair, but it was clear she was going to feature in the finale. I think the best bit had to be her finding the ring, a real mood changer.
I think I struggle with the idea of the Doctor being a lodger, and playing football, fun, but it's to me not really what the show's about. Naked Doctor, no thanks!! The only Doctor's chest that should remain in history is Pertwee's.
Series 4 had Turn left to set up the finale, having watched that my heart was racing, after watching this my heart kind of limped towards the finale.
The Lodger
studioAT14 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Welcome to the 5th annual 'we need to save money/budget episode' of the new Doctor Who.
It's ok, it's a small mostly comic caper that allows Matt Smith to be funny and engaging, but the plot gets wrapped up all too easily, and the bad guy is barely a threat in the end.
James Corden and Smith have good chemistry, but this should've remained a one time thing, rather than them trying to repeat the trick again in the 6th series.
It's ok, it's a small mostly comic caper that allows Matt Smith to be funny and engaging, but the plot gets wrapped up all too easily, and the bad guy is barely a threat in the end.
James Corden and Smith have good chemistry, but this should've remained a one time thing, rather than them trying to repeat the trick again in the 6th series.
I'm still not sure about this Doctor
krasnegar12 June 2010
Not a bad episode, as such things go, but i'm still not sure about this version of the Doctor.
I have a problem with the Doctor not knowing at least a *little* about Earth, since he has the memories of all his previous incarnations.
Also, he's just a touch too "eccentric" - plain raving crackers is more the way i'd put it.
That said, i did like Amy's part, small though it was - rather more proactive than a lot of other companions, if still a touch screamy. Of course, i might be screamy in the same situation - actually, i'm fairly sure that i *would* be.
Like the not-quite-the-end episodes of previous series ("Blink" and "Turn Left", for instance) it did feel as if Amy's part was deliberately kept fairly small to free her up to work on the upcoming series-ending two-parter.
In fact, i felt as if one particular aspect of this story echoed "Blink" a bit, one of several resonance with past episodes that i felt (rightly or wrongly) - particularly with "The Eleventh Hour", though it turned out that that was all in my mind.
Enjoyable, but not, i think, one of the real high points of the program's history...
I have a problem with the Doctor not knowing at least a *little* about Earth, since he has the memories of all his previous incarnations.
Also, he's just a touch too "eccentric" - plain raving crackers is more the way i'd put it.
That said, i did like Amy's part, small though it was - rather more proactive than a lot of other companions, if still a touch screamy. Of course, i might be screamy in the same situation - actually, i'm fairly sure that i *would* be.
Like the not-quite-the-end episodes of previous series ("Blink" and "Turn Left", for instance) it did feel as if Amy's part was deliberately kept fairly small to free her up to work on the upcoming series-ending two-parter.
In fact, i felt as if one particular aspect of this story echoed "Blink" a bit, one of several resonance with past episodes that i felt (rightly or wrongly) - particularly with "The Eleventh Hour", though it turned out that that was all in my mind.
Enjoyable, but not, i think, one of the real high points of the program's history...
" This is Going To Be Worse Than I Expected "
Theo Robertson13 June 2010
I didn't have high hopes for this episode . Sure I was prejudiced since it was written by Gareth Roberts who's probably a love him or hate him type of writer . His last co-written contribution to the show Planet Of The Dead is in my opinion the worst episode of NuWho . Add to this the previous " Next Time "trailer gave away the entire premise of " an alien lodger traps humans in a flat " and there is no surprises left in the story , a story that is completely threadbare . so Roberts pads it out with comedy . The unfortunate thing is Roberts has a natural grasp for comedy as Sarah Palin has a natural grasp for science . Roberts has written an episode where the Doctor pratfalls about trying to impress us with his zany persona . Unfortunately Smith is as suited for comedy as the Taliban are suited for female equality . It's nice to know that I'm not the only one here who found Smith's performance bordering on the embarrassing , and I thought Love And Monsters was a work of twisted genius . Please can we have no more comedy episodes , especially if the episode centres around the Doctor ?
Having said that Smith shouldn't be blamed too much since the script is problematic in other areas , especially where internal continuity and internal logic are concerned . The Doctor has spent long periods of his many lives living amongst humans . The Pertwee era was very Earth bound , likewise NuWho but for some reason the Doctor claims he doesn't know what it's like to be human ? I wonder if Roberts is only a fan of the Doctor Who episodes he writes ? As for the internal logic I know the show is often classed as " fantasy " but is that any reason to have so much dumbness involved ? An alien poses as a lodger on present day Earth , he tricks passing humans in to his room . Okay there's a suspension of disbelief involved but it's not beyond saving . However what brings the illusion crashing down is there's no reality/realism involved . Isn't there news reports of people going missing in the area etc ? There's an element of " oh well it's Doctor Who therefore we'll not bother making anything sensible " at play here
In conclusion The Lodger is an off the wall comedy episode produced to tie with the 2010 World Cup but one that fails miserably on every level . In fact it's very fitting that an hour after it was broadcast England goal keeper let in a howler against the USA . This is the season five equivalent of that howler , a season that has failed to take take off for me and the trailer for next weeks episode has me believing that this will almost certainly be the worst season of NuWho produced . In fact you'll have to go back to the mid/late 1980s to see a DOCTOR WHO season that has been as disappointing as this
Having said that Smith shouldn't be blamed too much since the script is problematic in other areas , especially where internal continuity and internal logic are concerned . The Doctor has spent long periods of his many lives living amongst humans . The Pertwee era was very Earth bound , likewise NuWho but for some reason the Doctor claims he doesn't know what it's like to be human ? I wonder if Roberts is only a fan of the Doctor Who episodes he writes ? As for the internal logic I know the show is often classed as " fantasy " but is that any reason to have so much dumbness involved ? An alien poses as a lodger on present day Earth , he tricks passing humans in to his room . Okay there's a suspension of disbelief involved but it's not beyond saving . However what brings the illusion crashing down is there's no reality/realism involved . Isn't there news reports of people going missing in the area etc ? There's an element of " oh well it's Doctor Who therefore we'll not bother making anything sensible " at play here
In conclusion The Lodger is an off the wall comedy episode produced to tie with the 2010 World Cup but one that fails miserably on every level . In fact it's very fitting that an hour after it was broadcast England goal keeper let in a howler against the USA . This is the season five equivalent of that howler , a season that has failed to take take off for me and the trailer for next weeks episode has me believing that this will almost certainly be the worst season of NuWho produced . In fact you'll have to go back to the mid/late 1980s to see a DOCTOR WHO season that has been as disappointing as this
Not quite right
warlordartos22 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This had the potential to be a good episode. I loved the TARDIS getting thrown out back into the time vortex and continually trying to land with those horrible noises as it can't quite land. The Doctor being "too" good at everything was quite a nice touch too, but not so much the not knowing how things on earth work when having had spent so much time here. Also James Corden might do comedy well but he's no actor or at the very least not an actor that should feature on Doctor Who.
But the biggest downfall was the other TARDIS that someone had attempted to build. That is a good story-line but it isn't explored nearly enough. I'd have very much liked to know what civilization tried to build it, and explore all the other parts of this story. Really they could have and should have made an entire episode just on other TARDIS
But the biggest downfall was the other TARDIS that someone had attempted to build. That is a good story-line but it isn't explored nearly enough. I'd have very much liked to know what civilization tried to build it, and explore all the other parts of this story. Really they could have and should have made an entire episode just on other TARDIS
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