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3.06 The Lazarus Experiment

 

This review was written by HumansRSuperior

 

This ep was seriously pure win. Totally.


I just adore this opening sequence of the Doctor flying the TARDIS. A rotation of an orb, twist of a dial, flip of a leaver. It really is quite elegant and masterful, and for once, he makes a smooth landing! And in a tight spot, too. =D

Doctor: There we go! Perfect landing! Which isn't easy in such a tight spot.

Martha: You should be used to tight spots by now.



Aw he's so cute with that scratching his head!

Oh we all knew this moment was coming, but it didn't happen quite like I had expected. And I like that. I like it very much! In fact, it's almost a bit cruel. Very Doctor-like for him to do it in this way. A bit rude, really. But then again he is rude and not ginger. =D

With an excited glance at the doors, Martha inquires where they are. The Doctor simply gives her a cute little smile and makes a vague reply, revealing nothing really.



Martha rushes to the doors in all readiness for a new adventure. She turns back to look at him.

Doctor: No place like it.

No place like home.

Martha smiles broadly and gives him a nod, he nods back, and she flings open the door to reveal---!!!!



Martha: Home? You took me back home?!

She is not pleased. Just look at the way her face falls.

Honestly I am a bit surprised the Doctor actually fell through and brought her back. I'd have thought he'd ask her to stay indefinitely first, and then they'd go back to get some clothes and say goodbyes and all that. But nope! Sneakily brings her back home, keeping true to his word. It's even the morning after they left, about 12 hours. Part of me was waiting for it to be revealed he got it wrong and it was 12 months later! LOL! But nope, he got it right this time!!

And hey, check this out, something kinda cool. You can see the reflection of the TARDIS sign on the picture behind the Doctor.



Oh and the laundry part CRACKED ME UP! ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!! Look at the wide-eyed look of panic and embarrassment that flashes over Martha's face!!!




Ah man, that's classic. =D

Martha can't quite believe it, and he looks a tad bit awkward. Martha's mum calls and things get a little bit even more awkward. And when Martha turned on the tele, I just knew that was going to be the launching pad of the ep! =D Especially with a line like this: "I will change what it means to be human!"

Martha switches off the tele and tries to get back to the conversation, but the Doctor's gaze remains locked on the TV for a moment longer before he registers that she's talking (Oh yeah, that line definitely set off his alarm bells).

I really like this little goodbye moment. You can tell Martha's bummed but she's not whining about it. She still has the heart to thank him for taking her along.

And just what does he think he's doing, putting his arm out and leaning on the TARDIS like that? O_O THAT'S not a nice way to tease a girl, Doctor!! Goodness gracious if I were Martha I'd be throwin' myself at him in a pose like that! Okay well maybe not, but I'd sure as hell want to. Yowza! *fanself*

The TARDIS vanishing and then reappearing not even two seconds later totally gave me Rose deja vu! Only this time his line and reason for coming back totally made me laugh.



Doctor: Hello! I'm sorry! Did he say he was gonna change what it means to be human?!

*Giggles* TOO CUTE!!!!!!!!! That's a bit bothersome to him, considering his huge affinity for the human race. =D

Old Lazzy (that's Lazarus) hitting on Tish was just......ew! *gag* I knew that'd have something to do with later, when he's younger. Oh yeah and here we got a Mr. Saxon mention--apparently he's involved in this project. Heh, go figure.

OH.

MY.

GOD!

You all have NO IDEA what affect the whole "James Bond" thing had me! After having made my Secret Agent Man vid this was just...this was...Doggonit, I can't even describe it to you!! Let's just say I was squee'ing and flailing and jumping up and down and had to take in some deep breaths and was rewinding this bit like crazy.



Doctor: Black tie. Whenever I wear this thing, something bad always happens.

Martha: That's not the outfit, that's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you in a...James Bond kinda way.

Doctor: JAMES BOND!??!?!?! .....................Really?



I just love how he acts all digusted and appalled to be so compared at first, and then thinks better of it. Tee hee! Ah man this scene totally just made my heart go up in a storm! *flails happily* Oh and Ten in a tux is always a yummy eye-candy treat! ^_^

And oh my god the nibbles part had me melting into a puddle. *melts*

Doctor: Ah, look! They got nibbles! Oh I love nibbles!



Tee hee! Martha looks a bit amused and slightly embarrassed at him, but oh it's just so cute! I wonder how Rose would've reacted! I would've grabbed him and snogged him on the spot! =D Well, I would've wanted to at least.

Tish comes up to Martha, and you can see her eyes keep darting to this tall strange man that's standing there and listening to them, munching away on nibbles. I just LOVE how he ducks down and grabs her hand, shakes it firmly, greets her with a mouth full of food.



The whole 'plus one' gave me more Rose deja vu back to The End of the World. Awww!

Oh and this part completely made me giggle and squee.

Doctor: Science geek? What's that mean?

Martha: That you're obsessively enthusiastic about it.

Doctor: Oh! Nice!



LOL!!! He's flattered by that!! Oh Doctor you are just too cute you have no idea!

And oh man this is the moment that I've been waiting for--the Doctor meets Mrs. Jones! And it is SO not a let-down, not at ALL!

Doctor: Lovely to meet you Mrs. Jones! Heard a lot about you!

Mrs. Jones: Have you? What have you heard then?

Doctor: Oh! You know, that, you're Martha's mother, and...uuuum....



Doctor: ...Nah actually that's, that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat, ya know, been...busy.

Mrs. Jones: Busy? Doing what exactly?

Doctor: Ohhh....you know........stuff.

ROTFLMAO!!!! Oh he sounds SO bad right there. Oh Doctor. *shakes head* First off, you'd think by now he'd have some sort of cover-story for moments like this after all this time. And Martha was of no help at all. She just left him there floundering. She could've said something to ease the pressure on the poor guy! But oh man I just can't get over what he makes it sound like they've been doing. Good lord! *facepalm and giggles* And gosh Jackie has nothing on Mrs. Jones--this woman's scarey! Talk about intimidating! Goodness!

So yada yah, Lazzy gets in the box, things start smoking and lights blink and overloading, and the Doctor jumps over does his little tootle with the sonic screwdriver to calm things down and fix it. The blender thingie stops and the door opens to reveal a fresh, new, young Lazarus.

But this is all wrong. Totally wrong. Humans weren't meant for this. You just know it's not good when the Doctor's got this face on.



He looks more alarmed and appalled than he does fascinated this time 'round. Guess he's not too happy with humans trying to change themselves, being that they are his favorite race and all. =D

Did young Lazzy give anyone else the willies? Seriously, he's just...creepy. I mean, before he gets all scorpion-cannibalistic like. Just when he's normal and all before things go wrong. I mean he's like got this really young face but he makes all these creepy faces and his voice is so deep! I didn't expect his voice to be that deep, really. I dunno, it just squicked me out. =P

Hee hee! Looks like the Doctor and Lazzy share an affinity for the nibbles. =D

Oh and I just snorted at Ms. Thaw's little "You're not qualified to comment!" to the Doctor. Lady...you don't have a clue. He's a hundred times more qualified than you or Creepy Lazzy will ever be. Now shut it!

I really liked the interaction between Lazarus and the Doctor here. Two highly intelligent men having a little battle of smarts and wits. Gave me chills, it did. Oh and Martha's a smart bugger realizing that she got a DNA sample from Lazzy by letting him kiss her hand! Hee hee! You rock girl! =D The Doctor is impressed as well!

Martha: Lucky I just collected a DNA sample, then, isn't it?

Doctor: Ohhhhhhhhh Martha Jones! You're a star!



Hee! That was cute. ^_^

Ah, we get more impossibles becoming possible.

Martha: Oh my god! Did that just change?! But it can't have!

Doctor: But it did.

Martha: It's impossible!

Doctor: And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight; don't you love it when that happens?



So typical of him to get all excited over the impossible becoming possible! Hee! ^_^ Lookit that smile! So cuuuuuuuuuute! And in specs too!!! *happy sigh*

And oh man when he starts that big rush of technical explination without a falter and Martha just looks at him like it's all going over her head...*laughs!* That was just funny! Made me giggle. ;D

Ah, and we get another Mr. Saxon mention. =D

Okay so, Lazarus doubling over and collapsing and transforming into his...er, alter ego, would've been really cool, had not stupid Lady Thaw's part been written so terribly. It's really the only complaint I have about this episode. Goodness it was just bad. So we're moving onward and away from it!

I really am liking Martha's family--her brother and sister at least, Leo and Trish. They both stand up for Martha and are a bit more likable of the Doctor than Mrs. Jones is. I really like that. Good sibblings!

The Doctor and Martha make it up to Lazzy's office, but he's not there. Instead, they find a sucked-dry Ms. Thaw (thank goodness, she was annoying). They run into an elevator to go find Creepy Lazzy just as the man and Trish step out of another. Grr, talk about frustrating! Just missed 'em!

The Doctor and Martha bolt back into the lobby, frantically looking for Lazarus. They soon discover he's not there, and as Leo mentions he went up stairs with Tish, the Doctor makes his already bad standing with Mrs. Jones even worse. He hastily shoves her aside without a second glance, her drink splattering all over, and races back into the elevator with Martha right behind him. Yikes, I knew that was bad! But the situation gets even worse and suddenly very fishy when a mysterious stranger approaches Mrs. Jones and mentions the Doctor in a negative manner, warning her that Martha should make better friends.

(*Speculation/Spoiler Warning!* Somehow I just knew this man worked for Mr. Saxon, and if...well, if rumor about Mr. Saxon is true, it isn't surprising to me at all that he's warning people away and spreading bad word about the Doctor. Clever, sneaky meanie!)

Now, through this entire episode, I kept waiting for the Doctor to notice the dang symbol that is EVERYWHERE! It looks suspiciously like Gallifreyean text.



Well, he wouldn't see that one, he's not even facing it. But hey, the picture is cute and giggle-worthy, okay? =D

Okay I'm gonna go just slightly OT here. Tish gets a little chance to touch Lazarus's face, since he's changed, and is awed by it. This made me think back to Nine regenerating into Ten--why did Rose never do something similar? His transformation was a lot more amazing to me--he didn't just change his age, he changed his entire body and face. She shoulda been able to give him a good lookin' over, face touching and all that. It woulda been so cute and shippy! *Sigh* Hey...*lightbulb!* That's a good fic idea!!!

The Doctor and Martha confront Creepy Lazzy up on the roof. And here we have some awesome dialogue.

Lazarus: One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in...two, or three, or four!

Doctor: Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo loved that!!! The Doctor's really got some great lines in this ep. I'll be squee'ing about them later on, too. =D

Martha calling Lazarus a monster to Tish and Tish saying her 'freaky' line as Lazarus doubles over and collapses behind them totally made me laugh! That was perfectly done.

We finally get a look at what Lazarus has really become, and my goodness that is damn FREAKY!!!




Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!! Where was whoever designed this creature in the Dalek two-parter? Squid Boy coulda used that person. Seriously this thing totally gave me the chills. Just awesome design, even if it has a hint of scorpion to it, I still love it. This story-line called for a way scarey creepy creature, and I was so glad that they managed to pull it off this time around!! *does a dance*

I just love how the Doctor always has to yell at everyone to "RUN!" LOL! Can't they do that on their own? Seriously, I would not have needed to be told. I'd have grabbed his hand and started running long before he told me too, hehe.

Dude, am I the only one that just loves the way the Doctor says "danger" when he told everyone they were in serious danger? Tee hee!

And lookit, there's that symbol again.



Oh, and if you don't call this creepy, you've got problems.



Here's another odd symbol shot. And again he's not facing it! This time it's behind the Doctor as he's running down the hall. Cool shot; it also feels a bit foreshadowing, or like it really has meaning...or will along the line.



Yeah, Martha kicks some serious butt with the sonic screwdriver!

Meanwhile, the Doctor has been playing Hide-and-Seek with Lazarus. I think the Doctor got found.



Once Martha's opened the building to let everyone out and is sure her family's alright, she wants to go back to find the Doctor. Her mum is appalled! But I really like this; it goes to show that despite the danger and that she could easily be killed, Martha still will go back to help the Doctor. Quite a companion he's picked up. =D

The Doctor runs into a laboratory, fiddles with the wiring of a light bulb and starts turning on all the gas pipes and yanking them open. And thus begins Round 2 of Hide-and-Seek with Lazarus.



And yet another weird symbol shot! The yellow and black sticker in the bottom right-hand corner. Do I need to point out that again he's not facing it? =P I'm beginning to think they did that on purpose! ;D



The Doctor dashes for the door as Lazarus lunges at him, smacking on the lightswitch on his way out. He dives out the door just as the room behind him rocks with an explosion, searing clouds of fire billowing out behind him. What was that Martha was saying earlier about James Bond? =D

Hearing the explosion, Martha rushes towards it and bumps into the Doctor.

Doctor: What're you doing here?!

Martha: I'm returning this! (holds out the sonic screwdriver) Thought you might need it.

Doctor: How did you--?!?

Martha: I heard the explosion, I guessed it was you.

Doctor: I blasted Lazarus!

LMAO!!!!!!! That last line totally did me in. What a way to put it! He sounds like a little proud and excited kid or something haha!

Outside, the Joneses worry about Martha...and discuss her relationship with the Doctor.

Trish: She'll be alright. The Doctor and her...they'll look out for each other.

Mrs. Jones: She turned her back on us. Went in there with that...thing....for him!

Leo: He must be some guy!

Trish: Maybe she loves 'im.

Mrs. Jones: She just met him!

Oh how I love Trish and Leo already! Hee! They're way awesome! Can't wait to see more interaction between them two and the Doctor.

And the mysterious Mr. Saxon man appears again, warning Mrs. Jones again about the Doctor, and leaning in to whisper to her things that he knows. Ooooooooo I get a very bad feeling from that!! I do not like this man!

The Doctor pulls Martha into the blender machine thingie and shuts the door. Geez, talk about close quarters! And I swear the writers are intentionally giving Martha all good stuff that Rose never got and is therefore driving all us Ten/Rose shippers absolutely mad! Look at that! They're like...totally pressed together, can barely move--that would've been way shippily awesome had it been Rose!!

The dialogue here, however, is just a riot, and so very Doctor. ^_^

Martha: But we're trapped!

Doctor: Well...yeah, that's a slight problem.

Martha: You mean you don't have a plan?!

Doctor: YES! The plan was to get inside here!

Martha: Then what?!

Doctor: Well, then I'd...come up with another plan.

LOL! Oh that's just so him. Flying by the seat of his pants, living on edge, making it all up as he goes along. Hee hee, I love it! ^_^

So yeah yeah yeah, Lazzy turns on the machine, the Doctor takes a bit longer than usual to reverse the polarity flow (he must be out of practice =D ) but once he does the machine effects are reversed and a huge blast knocks Lazarus back and he's in human form again...and dead. Yay!!!

Out on the front steps, the Police cart Lazzy's body away, the Doctor takes off his tie and loosens his collar...



and he also gets a very brutal slap from Mrs. Jones LOL! Oh man I saw that coming a mile away!

Doctor: Oh Mrs Jones! Still haven't finished our chat!

(SLAP!)

Mrs. Jones: Keep away from my daughter!

Martha: Mum, what're you doing?!



Oi, that looks like it hurt. Really bad. Sounded like it too. Poor guy. Oh and he so doesn't help himself with this line:

Doctor: All of their mothers! Every time!

And oh my gosh I love it how when Martha stands up for the Doctor and Leo jumps in and blames things on Tish, saying technically it's her fault for inviting them all. LMAO! Nice one, Leo. Great brother you are there. LOL!!! Oh man that was just great, made me laugh. =D

Martha follows the Doctor after Lazarus, refusing her mother's pleas to leave him. Tish follows as well, much to Mrs. Jones' dismay. I think I like Tish. =D

Inside the cathedral, the Doctor locates Lazarus, weak and shivering and gasping on the floor. And here we get an exchange of some brilliant dialogue. But before we talk about that, I'm going to stop and just drool over this shot.



*HRS takes a few minutes to gather her incoherent thoughts back together and regain some composure*

*Ahem* Sorry about that. Where were we? Ah yes. Brilliant dialogue.

Doctor: What about the other people who died?

Lazarus: They were nothing! I changed the course of history.

Doctor: Any of them might've done, too. You think history's only made with equations?!

This gave me a little flashback to last week's ep, Evolution of the Daleks, the Doctor whispering to Laszlo, about how he knows that one man can change the course of history.

Lazarus: I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human.

Doctor: There's no such thing as an ordinary human.

Ohhh....Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Oh I LOVE that! Oh Doctor you are too flattering to our race!! *hugs him* I really love that line. =D I'm gonna remember that one!

And this? This is I think some of my favorite dialogue in this episode.

Lazarus: You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look.

Doctor: I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end you just get tired--tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust. If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone.



Everything he speaks of can be seen in his expression. He reflects inward for just a moment here, you can see it...Despite his cheery exuberant attitude, underneath he is so very tired of life, being on his own, losing all those he cares for.

Lazarus, however, does not share the Doctor's opinion. He thinks it's a price worth paying. Of course he would say that, for one thing he's a heartless cold bastard, and secondly, he has no idea. Not a clue.

So we're gonna skip all the high action climactic points, because, erm...Yeah, just because. It was all wicked bad awesome but seriously I think my review is long enough without detailing all that LOL! Besides, you guys don't need me to go over it, you all saw. =D

Martha gets another hug!!!!!!!!!! *fumes* That made me narrow my eyes and go "grrrrrrr" but....She initiated it, and hey, she threw herself in front of Lazarus, risking her life, to help out with the Doctor's plan, and she nearly plummetted to her death. Besides, they're like friends by now, yeah? I'm sure he's relieved she's alright. So...alright, fine, the hug's okay. *sigh*

Now then, that one moment we've all been waiting for--Martha becoming the Doctor's permanent companion. And oh, it's just brilliant!

Doctor: So what'd you say? One more trip?

Martha:..................No. Sorry.

Doctor: Whaddaya mean? I thought you liked it!

Martha: I do! But I can't go on like this, 'one more trip,' it's not fair!

Doctor: What're you talking about?

Martha: Well I don't wanna be just a passanger anymore, somebody you take along for a treat. If that's how you see me, I'd rather stay here.

Doctor: Okay then. If that's what you want.

Martha: Well alright! Well we already goodbye once today, it's best if you just go! (she turns away, but he's still there) What is it?

Doctor: Well, I said okay.

Martha: Sorry?

Doctor: Okay! (he gestures to the TARDIS)

Martha: Oh! Thank you! THANK YOU!

Doctor: Welllllll, you were never really just a passenger, were you?

Martha runs to him for another hug (gosh she's persistent!) and they step back into the TARDIS together. She didn't take any clothes this time again either! What, she's gonna run around time and space in a dress and heels?! And she didn't go talk to her family or anything?! Well, now, that's just selfish.Unless of course she's counting on being able to come back by the next morning, like last time. But won't she miss them? She did last time, it'd be good to clear things up with the family before stepping out again.

And the episode ends with Mrs. Jones leaving a desperate and onimous message on Martha's answer-machine about the Doctor being dangerous, she knows what he really is (huh, I wonder what that guy told her) and that she heard all this from Mr. Saxon himself! *GASP!*

Overall I give this episode a 20 out of 10. =D

 

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