Entertainment

Doctor Who: 2 – 2: Tooth and Claw

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Episode two of the new series starts badly. The "Crouching Tiger meets 28 Days Later" (the director's words, not mine) intro sequence is terrible. Even though a sick little part of me is quite pleased that the "unique way in which the BBC is funded" (my license fee) has given birth to a set of crimson-clad prancing monks performing wire-fu, it's still pretty bad. It's badly shot, the monks don't look terribly convincing and it just feels too cliched to be true. That, and it looks like one of those intro clips that the BBC show before programs.

Thankfully, things get better. Much better. This, I would say, is probably the best stand-alone Davies' episode yet. The script is spot on, with just the right amount of joking at just the right time ("got any silver bullets?" "Not on me, no"). The Torchwood carrot is nicely dangled once again (this is one of the things I like best about the episode, actually), and the concept itself provides a nice take on the Werewolf mythology, even if The Doctor's solution is characteristically bonkers.

The performances are great here too. Tennant seems far more comfortable than last episode, as does Billie (who's far better when she's just Rose, entertaining as last week's performance was). Pauline Collins' brilliant turn as Queen Victoria is consistently entertaining throughout the episode. Interestingly, The Doctor has changed his costume slightly here – he's expecting to land at an Ian Dury concert and has swapped shirt and tie for a less formal t-shirt ensemble – and I don't recall him doing that before. The suit and sneakers remain, but it's interesting (and quite cool) to see a Doctor that can vary aspects of the costume as it suits him.

The real star here is the Werewolf itself. It's clearly CGI, and the transformation sequence isn't likely to give Rick Baker or Rob Bottin any nightmares, but for the BBC on a Saturday night this was cracking stuff. The creature was nicely animated, well lit for the most part, and should provide the obligatory kiddy scares for this episode.

Another great night's telly. Next week: Antony Head(Master), K9, and Sarah-Jane. 

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