Series 3, Episode 6 | 1 part | First broadcast: 5 May 2007 | Writer: Stephen Greenhorn | Director: Richard Clark
Cast
- David Tennant as the Doctor
- Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones
- Mark Gatiss as Professor Lazarus
- Thelma Barlow as Lady Thaw
Summary
Attending an exclusive event unveiling an experimental genetic manipulation device, the Doctor and Martha witness elderly scientist Professor Lazarus’s demonstration of a machine designed to reverse the ageing process, only for the process to trigger a monstrous transformation within him. As Lazarus mutates into a ravenous, scorpion-like creature stalking the halls of the reception, the Doctor must confront both the physical threat and the professor’s tragic, hubristic desire to defy his own mortality.
Interesting Facts
- This episode is written by Stephen Greenhorn and features Mark Gatiss, a prolific Doctor Who writer, in a rare on-screen acting role as the villain.
- Martha’s family, including her mother Francine, are introduced more fully in this episode, setting up ongoing family tensions across the series.
- Filmed partly at Southwark Cathedral in London, the story’s finale features one of the more overtly gothic settings of the era.
- The Doctor’s line about turning 900 years old ties into ongoing efforts by the production to track his in-universe age across incarnations.
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