I'm not a fan of The Unrequited Dead. While the central conflict was fine the character writing was off. Rose especially felt two steps away from her core characterization. She was patronizing and condescending to Gwyneth in a way that didn't make much sense. While Rose is from the future she's working class just like Gwyneth. So points where she asked her questions like "did you go to school" didn't feel quite right coming from her. While the episode tries to build a connection between the two the paternalistic slant to Rose made that connection feel shallow.
I also just didn't find Charles Dickens to be a particularly engaging historical figure to experience the story through. His journey from skepticism to belief as well as the scrooge-esque 'life affirmed' thing just wasn't all that interesting to me. I'd say maybe someone who's more of a fan of Dickens would like this but I've watched historical Doctor Who episodes about figures I knew equally little about and enjoyed them more so I think this was just weak writing.
REWATCH:
i only remembered... pieces of this one
i don't consider dickens as such a grumpy-but-with-good-core fella, ever since i studied English literature in college, but oh well, they have to be that way with historical figures i guess
i loved the 'ghost/zombie' story and i wished we had more time with the girl and less time with dickens tbh
This is the first celebrity historical, a concept that becomes a staple in the revived series. The Victorian Cardiff setting, ghosts made of gas and Charles Dickens create a dark but exciting atmosphere and RTD cherishes in portraying Dickens per the history books while making the Doctor a big fan of him.
The main story tries to show us how the Doctor, sick of seeing death all around him, chooses to help an alien race without taking into consideration the fact that he might be mistaken about their true intentions. It also allows Rose to question the Doctor's choices yet again. I also love how Dickens is pivotal to the solution.
Eve Myles is great, even though it's difficult to imagine her as somebody else than Gwen. Simon Callow also captures Charles Dickens very well, even looking a lot like him. I don't know how accurate the depiction of Dickens is here, but he seems a lot like his character Scrooge from A Christmas Carol.
The Doctor is unusually curious and excited here, which leads him straight into trouble. It's also great how he persuades both Gwyneth and Dickens to see the world in new ways and perhaps do the best they can with the life they've got.
Rose gets into trouble (as usual) but also allows the viewers to take in the period feel by having casual conversations with the characters.
The Gelth isn't the most original idea for an alien species - there are several stories in different media with similar concepts, but the idea of combining them with dead bodies to create zombies is a fine one.
As per usual, the BBC convincingly re-creates the period look and feel, and The Unquiet Dead is no exception. The sets and costumes are impeccable. The special effects are used sparingly and the Gelth look fine.
The pace is once again slightly slower, as the story puts focus on Dickens and the setting, trying to cram in as much as possible to make the episode feel like its set in the past.
The Victorian setting is an effective one to create a creepy atmosphere, which the gas aliens help to strengthen. This episode isn't as funny as the previous one and the excitement relies more on the creepy factor than in both previous episodes.
This is a successful start of the modern era historical, which feels somewhat worn-out and devoid of fresh ideas by 2020.
The Unquiet Dead has a special place in my heart, mostly due to its fascinating setting and creepy atmosphere. It's not one that deserves a lot of rewatches, but now and then should be fine.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
Eve Myles makes her Doctor Who debut here. She is best known for portraying Gwen in the spin-off series Torchwood.
The first script by Doctor Who and Sherlock writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who had already written audio plays for Big Finish (such as Phantasmagoria, 1999), and has a special knack for writing historical episodes.
If I'm not completely mistaken, Gwyneth is supposed to be a descendant of Gwen, who will later join Torchwood in Cardiff in the 21st century.
The rift in Cardiff is the reason so many alien invasions take place there and the reason Torchwood establishes a base in the city later.
The Doctor: "Now I'm gonna die in a dungeon! In Cardiff!"
Score: 86/120
The good news is that this is far superior to the crap, that was found in the last episode. Here we are in 1860, where we encounter Charles Dickens and zombies/ghosts. It was actually quite interesting, and I found the enemies in this one to be far more entertaining than the ones in the previous episodes. My major complaint is that the show is attempting to show emotion between the girl (who had visions) and the audience, but I just could not feel it. They hardly developed her character and I could care less that she died. I feel like emotion should be put more on the relationship between the Doctor and Rose. Like if they have romantic feelings towards each other, why put an emphasis on other people. Still, the episode was good and not bad; not great though unfortunately.
And that's how he was inspired to write about the three ghosts in space-time.
Gwyneth's story is so sad.
I think this one was good; it's hard to tell. It was definitely disturbing.
I liked Charles' little character arc and how Rose found a way to bond with Gwyneth. That was nice. The CGI was only jarring during the final scene with this episode's monsters. But other than that, the CGI has held up. The set designs and the extras were pretty believable too.
I don't appreciate what Mr Sneed did to Rose though. Shame on him. Also, I still wonder why Charles stayed in that building for so long and didn't bother to walk up to the monsters to see if they were projections.
IT'S GOOD.
TECHNICAL SCORE & ENJOYMENT SCORE: 7/10
Shout by ragreynoldsVIP 7BlockedParent2022-11-07T15:28:07Z
I thought this episode was leagues below the first 2.