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A review by mrcoldstream
Doctor Who: Invaders from Mars by Mark Gatiss
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
🙏🏼69% = 107 points = Okay!
I'm continuing my marathon through the 8th Doctor BF Adventures with his next story, featuring Russian spies, comically speaking aliens, and Orson Welles.
This is INVADERS FROM MARS, aka AMERICANS AS MARTIANS!
This is the one set in late 1930s America, featuring plenty of wonky American accents, Orson Welles, and the legendary War of the Worlds radio play turned real.
The Doctor and Charley stumble upon a dead body in the opening scene, which is reminiscent of a bad 1940s crime thriller. The Doctor then poses as a private detective to conduct an investigation. Part 1 brings the setting to life pretty well and gets the story going.
After that, the story kind of floats around a bit and focuses a lot on the weird supporting characters (such as the looney bunch that are the villains) without clearly telling us how everything connects. It's obvious that Mark Gatiss is going for a sort of WWII-era crime thriller plot, but it doesn't fully work.
Part 3 brings the characters together a bit as the aliens start to learn about the Doctor's intentions, and the Doctor gets intimately involved in the mystery. Part 4 then finally explodes into a bit more action-packed finale, turning the War of the Worlds radio play into reality.
There are too many characters to keep track of, and these (intentionally?) comical voices are oftentimes distracting. Paul McGann is great as always (but is particularly great in Part 4, as he goes up against the aliens), and India Fisher is fine as well, but Charley, sadly, is given the traditional companion role here, which isn't very interesting.
Orson Welles is one of the more memorable early BF castings of a historical celebrity. David Bebons is great here. Too bad that Welles himself barely appears or has much of a role to play in the story. While the alien characters are a bit comical, they also make for pretty engaging villains.
I'm continuing my marathon through the 8th Doctor BF Adventures with his next story, featuring Russian spies, comically speaking aliens, and Orson Welles.
This is INVADERS FROM MARS, aka AMERICANS AS MARTIANS!
This is the one set in late 1930s America, featuring plenty of wonky American accents, Orson Welles, and the legendary War of the Worlds radio play turned real.
The Doctor and Charley stumble upon a dead body in the opening scene, which is reminiscent of a bad 1940s crime thriller. The Doctor then poses as a private detective to conduct an investigation. Part 1 brings the setting to life pretty well and gets the story going.
After that, the story kind of floats around a bit and focuses a lot on the weird supporting characters (such as the looney bunch that are the villains) without clearly telling us how everything connects. It's obvious that Mark Gatiss is going for a sort of WWII-era crime thriller plot, but it doesn't fully work.
Part 3 brings the characters together a bit as the aliens start to learn about the Doctor's intentions, and the Doctor gets intimately involved in the mystery. Part 4 then finally explodes into a bit more action-packed finale, turning the War of the Worlds radio play into reality.
There are too many characters to keep track of, and these (intentionally?) comical voices are oftentimes distracting. Paul McGann is great as always (but is particularly great in Part 4, as he goes up against the aliens), and India Fisher is fine as well, but Charley, sadly, is given the traditional companion role here, which isn't very interesting.
Orson Welles is one of the more memorable early BF castings of a historical celebrity. David Bebons is great here. Too bad that Welles himself barely appears or has much of a role to play in the story. While the alien characters are a bit comical, they also make for pretty engaging villains.