The unquiet dead (2005)

About this episode

This episode was first broadcast on April 9, 2005. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Euros Lyn. The showrunner was Russell T Davies.

Plot summary

Cardiff, 1869. Charles Dickens reads from 'A Christmas Carol' and the dead are getting restless...

Review

Wedged in between the spectacular-looking 'The end of the world' and the somewhat controversial 'Aliens of London / World War Three' two-parter, this little gem of an episode is easy to overlook.

Which would be a pity, since the episode gets pretty much everything right:

• It's a period piece, and it turns out the BBC still does these really, really well.
• It's a Robert Holmes genre bender in the best tradition of 'classic' Doctor Who and an excellent story, even if - very mild spoiler ahead - the 'science' in the science fiction part of the story doesn't quite convince.
• The acting is great all around.

The bottom line

Gets it right in every way.

Related reviews

• Brilliant!
• The ninth Doctor
• Genre benders and history twisters
• Original version of this review