The Lazarus Experiment
183 – "The Lazarus Experiment" | |||
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Doctor Who episode | |||
Cast | |||
Others
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Production | |||
Directed by | Series 3 | ||
Running time | 45 minutes | ||
First broadcast | 5 May 2007 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"The Lazarus Experiment" is the sixth episode of the
In the episode, Professor Richard Lazarus (Mark Gatiss) demonstrates an experiment at his laboratory near Southwark Cathedral in Southwark where he renews himself into a younger-looking man. The effects on Lazarus' DNA causes him to sporadically transform into a giant creature that sucks the life force from other victims.
According to the
Plot
In present-day London, a 76-year-old man named Professor Richard Lazarus announces on television that he will demonstrate a device that will change what it means to be human. Intrigued by this statement, the Tenth Doctor joins Martha to go to the launch party at Lazarus Laboratories, where they meet up with Martha's sister Tish, who works there. Lazarus steps inside a capsule, and emerges as a much younger man. Using a sample of Lazarus' DNA, the Doctor and Martha find that Lazarus had successfully managed to instruct his genes to rejuvenate with sound waves, but also activated something in his DNA, which is trying to change him into something else.
Meanwhile, Lazarus returns to his office with his partner, the elderly Lady Thaw. She insists that she be the next to use the machine so they can be young together, but he refuses. She threatens to have Mr. Saxon pull their funding, but Lazarus transforms and kills Lady Thaw. The Doctor and Martha discover Lady Thaw's body and deduce that Lazarus must drain life energy to keep his DNA stable. Lazarus attacks the Doctor and Martha, in his alternate form as a giant skeletal scorpion-like being, and they hide in his machine. The Doctor explains that Lazarus' transformation is the result of an evolutionary throwback locked away in dormant genes that the machine accidentally unlocked. Lazarus activates his machine, but the Doctor sets the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it, and Lazarus is blasted away.
Lazarus' body is taken away in an ambulance. Martha's mother Francine becomes doubtful about Martha's connection with the Doctor after being informed by Harold Saxon that the Doctor is dangerous. The Doctor hears the ambulance crash and finds that the drivers have been drained of life. The Doctor, Martha and Tish chase Lazarus to the nearby Southwark Cathedral, where Lazarus sought sanctuary during the Blitz. Martha and Tish lure Lazarus to the top of the Cathedral's bell tower, and the Doctor manipulates the church's pipe organ to produce the maximum volume it can, turning it up to eleven. The vibrations caused by the organ interfere with Lazarus' manipulated DNA and he falls to his death.
The Doctor invites Martha to come along for one more trip. She refuses, saying she doesn't want to travel with him as just a passenger. The Doctor agrees that she is more than that to him, and they leave together in the TARDIS.
Cultural references
Film and television
- The preview of the story in the Radio Times 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 Experiment.[3] David Tennant and Mark Gatiss appeared in the 2005 live remake of The Quatermass Experiment. These similarities were also noted by Alan Barnes in a 2017 feature on the story in Doctor Who Magazine. Barnes also suggested that the title of the story was influenced by that of The Quatermass Experiment.[4]
- Martha likens the Doctor's appearance when wearing a dinner jacket to James Bond; the Doctor appears skeptical but flattered. The commentary track mentions the Doctor's loosening of his bow-tie as a "Daniel Craigmoment".
Production
Gatiss' appearance has made him one of a select few to have both written for and acted in the show. Gatiss began his writing career on the New Adventures 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 Pemberton and Glyn Jones.
Whilst the exterior shots of
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 Independence and in fact carries a copy of the first draft folded up in the pocket of his dinner jacket. An outtake 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 track.
Broadcast
The following episode, "
References
- ^ "Lazarus Experiment – Final Ratings". Outpost Gallifrey News Page. Source: BARB. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
- ^ "Russell T Davies's episode guide". Radio Times. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
- ^ Braxton, Mark (5 May 2007). "Saturday 5 May – Today's Choices – Doctor Who". Radio Times. 333 (4334): 68.
- ^ Barnes, Alan (Winter 2017–2018). "The Fact of Fiction. The Lazarus Experiment". Doctor Who Magazine (519). Panini Magazines: 65.
- ^ "Walesarts, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff". BBC Wales. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Doctor Who News: Something Special". BBC. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2007.
External links
- "The Lazarus Experiment" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
- "Tonight, I'm going to perform a miracle" – episode trailer
- "The Lazarus Experiment" at IMDb