UNIT shows up at 13 Bannerman Rd with terrible news. The Shansheeth, known as the intergalactic carers of the dead, have returned a body to Earth and DNA tests confirm it's the Doctor. Sarah Jane, Clyde and Rani attend the funeral and there they meet Jo Jones, formerly Jo Grant, and her grandson Santiago. Sarah Jane is convinced it's a setup while everyone else puts her reaction down to denial.
Of course The Doctor isn't dead and the whole thing is a trap but it's fascinating to see how people would react to the Doctor's death and this makes for interesting viewing.
Like The Nightmare Man this is an excellent character piece, as we see Sarah Jane's reaction to the mere possibility of the Doctor being dead and how her life compares to that of Jo Jones, played perfectly by Katy Manning. I was never a huge fan of Jo but Katy Manning plays the role as perfectly as she did 37 years ago. Jo is still the scatterbrained, bouncy character she always was, just much older and is a perfect example of the ageing hippy. Bringing Jo back was clever because it allows the audience to see the massive contrast between her life and Sarah Jane's. While Sarah was childless and somewhat lonely for most of her life Jo married and has a huge family. Yet both women spent their lives after travelling with The Doctor missing him dearly and hoping he would come back for them.
And on the topic of The Doctor, Matt Smith is, as you would expect, wonderful! Russell T Davies has particular fun with his appearance as he plays havoc with established continuity by discarding the old 12 regenerations rule and in a pleasing moment he The Doctor states that he doesn't have to be white. And listen carefully for the revelation that the scenes of The Doctor saying goodbye to his companions in The End of Time was only the highlights. He actually went back and saw all of them.
The Shansheeth are an interesting villain and reasonably well realised considering the budgetary constraints of a CBBC production. The plot holds together quite well and at first it seemed The Shansheeth's plan was a bit ropey, but upon reflection it makes perfect sense.
In terms of fan pleasing references this takes the cake of any and every episode of Nu Who or Sarah Jane. Not only are there flashbacks to Doctor in his First, Second, Third, Fourth and Tenth incarnations, but everything from Aggedor to Zygons gets a mention or a brief clip. And if that wasn't enough no less than six former companions have their stories closed off in the final, touching scene and it's revealed that Liz Shaw is stationed on UNIT's Moonbase! As with The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, it's sad that The Brigadier was unable to make an apperance and meet The Doctor again, but Nicholas Courtney's health problems have prevented him from working, so it appears that we've sadly seen the last of The Brig.
But all these flashbacks and references work within the story, and are anything but gratuitous and unnecessary. Because ultimately Death of the Doctor is a story about the power of nostalgia and the impact positive memories can have to keep one going through a difficult present.
Despite the strength of the plot and well drawn characters the best aspect of Death of the Doctor is that is's just plain FUN! Yes, this is a thoroughly enjoyable story filled with aumusing situations and sparkling dialogue that could elicit a chuckle from even the sourest viewer.
Death of the Doctor is another very good story, just don't get too caught up obsessong over the continuity references and remember to laugh!
5/5
