Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Review Over... No, seriously now, the Shakespeare code is one of the best episodes of series 3, you can watch it over and over again and still be suprised everytime, In an episode that serves as the Doctor's inaugural journey with Martha Jones, it's hard not to get a sense of deja vu. At first, this seems so much like the episode "The Unquiet Dead," the episode from first season where The Doctor took Rose to 19th century London. That episode featured an adventure with Charles Dickens, and also had a supernatural feel to the story. While this at first seems derivative, it begins to come clear that the similarity is deliberate. What we're watching is The Doctor doing exactly what he said he wasn't doing: replace Rose. This is a man on the rebound if ever there was one.
The episode itself is somewhat run-of-the-mill, with a fairly straightforward story. However, Dean Lennox Kelly gives a great performance as William Shakespeare, whom he plays as a womanizing arrogant 16th century equivalent of a rock star. He lends a number of great moments to the show, including one where The Doctor promises, "We can all stand around later for a good flirt," which prompts Shakespeare to shoot The Doctor a lusty glance and say, "Is that a promise Doctor?" The Doctor says, "Oh, 57 academics just punched the air." It's one of the biggest laughs of the episode, and a reminder that only this show can get away with a moment like this.
This take on Shakespeare is interesting because it presents him as brilliant beyond just his writing. The Doctor's "psychic paper" doesn't work on Shakespeare, because he's simply too insightful. This episode also presents the interesting idea that Shakespeare's words work in a way that has much the same power as the Carrionites in this episode.
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