The Doctor is In

I enjoyed the Dr. Who episode Planet of the Dead. The episode
was influenced by several works: a little bit Indiana Jones, a little
bit Flight of the Phoenix, a little bit Pitch Black, and sixties'
films such as Charade and Topkapi, which included Cary
Grant and Audrey Hepburn "being witty and sophisticated
together, and then running for their lives."

Michelle Ryan (late of the Bionic Woman) is bright, perky and
evanescent as Lady Christina de Souza, a totally British cross
between tomb raider Lara Croft and Harry Potter's Hermione
Granger. Headstrong and willing to dive headlong into any
situation, Christina is,ironically, the perfect companion for the
expiring and suddenly companion-adverse Doctor. Her cat
burglar's kit bag was a perfect match for the Doctor's all-purpose
sonic screw driver.

Also, British stand-up comedian Lee Evans is a hoot as the
Doctor obsessive Professor Malcolm Taylor.

To beat my personal drum, let me give shout-outs to Noma
Kumezweni as the pragmatic and by-the-book Unified
Intelligence Task (UNIT) force leader, Capt. Erisa Magambo,
Daniel Kuluuya (as Barclay) and Reginald Tsiboe (as Lou).
As people in their fifth decade drop dead all around me, I
am pleased to have lived long enough to see names like
"Kumezweni," "Kuluuya" and "Tsiboe" in the credits of an
episodic television program, albeit a British one.

Planet of the Dead is supposed to be the "last time the
Doctor gets to have any fun." If so, I enjoyed the ride.