| 183 – "The Lazarus Experiment" | |||||
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| Doctor Who episode | |||||
The mutated Lazarus bears down on a party guest.[1] |
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| Cast | |||||
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Others
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| Production | |||||
| Writer | Stephen Greenhorn | ||||
| Director | Richard Clark | ||||
| Script editor | Simon Winstone | ||||
| Producer | Phil Collinson | ||||
| Executive producer(s) | Russell T Davies Julie Gardner |
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| Production code | 3.6 | ||||
| Series | Series 3 | ||||
| Length | 45 minutes | ||||
| Originally broadcast | 5 May 2007 | ||||
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"The Lazarus Experiment" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 May 2007 and is the sixth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones as his companion, played by Freema Agyeman. On Earth, in present day London, The Doctor, Martha and her family attend a scientific demonstration by the aged Professor Lazarus. But when the experiment goes wrong, a horrific product of genetic manipulation is unleashed, leaving a trail of death in its mission to live indefinitely.
According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.19 million viewers and was the twelfth most popular broadcast on British television in that week.[2] Executive producer Russell T Davies has stated that he directed writer Stephen Greenhorn to base this episode on the typical Marvel Comics plotline: "a good old mad scientist, with an experiment gone wrong, and an outrageous supervillain on the loose."[3]
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The Doctor returns Martha to her flat, twelve hours after she first stepped in the TARDIS. Clued in by a telephone call by Martha's mother Francine that her sister Tish is on the television, they watch a news report with a statement from the elderly Professor Richard Lazarus, announcing that later that night, with one demonstration, he will "change what it means to be human." The Doctor leaves in the TARDIS, but quickly rematerialises when he recognises the impact of Lazarus' statement.
They dress for the formal dinner party at Lazarus Labs, and meet up with Tish, who works for Lazarus; Francine, Martha's mother; and Leo, Martha's brother; Francine is immediately suspicious of the Doctor's interest in Martha. Their conversation is interrupted as Lazarus announced he will perform a miracle and steps into a capsule in the center of the reception room. Technicians start the machine, filling the capsule with strange energy, and the Doctor quickly steps in when he believes that the system is overloading. As the machine comes to a stop, Lazarus leaves the capsule, now a much younger man; his machine is able to manipulate the subject's DNA to make them younger. The Doctor is concerned about unknown side effects; Martha points out that they obtained a DNA sample when Lazarus kissed her hand earlier. The two race to Lazarus's lab and get a look at that DNA: it is fluctuating, and thus unstable.
As they investigate, Lazarus returns to his office on another floor with his business and romantic partner, the elderly Lady Thaw. She insists that she be the next to undergo the process so they can be young together, but he refuses, saying he didn't want to "waste another life with [her]." As she threatens to have Mr. Saxon pull their funding, Lazarus begins to undergo a transformation into a scorpion-like being, and kills Lady Thaw by draining her life energy, leaving her a desiccated corpse. After returning to his human form, Lazarus returns to the reception; meanwhile, the Doctor and Martha find Thaw's body, the Doctor surmising that Lazarus must drain the life energy to keep his DNA stable.
Lazarus goes up to the roof with Tish, who seems attracted to the young Lazarus. They talk for a few minutes in that desolate spot, and then the Doctor and Martha run in and warn Tish; Lazarus transforms, but the Doctor, Martha and Tish escape to the elevator. Tish is shocked by the giant scorpion Lazarus became: "I was going to snog him!" As Lazarus tries to get through the locked door, the security protocol starts locking down the entire building. The Doctor, Martha and Tish take the stairs down and warn the group gathered on the main floor of their danger, quickly followed by the monstrous Lazarus. The Doctor gives Martha the sonic screwdriver so she can unlock the security doors; Lazarus kills one guest while the other guests flee the room in panic, and then the Doctor attempts to reason with him while Lazarus chases him through the building. Martha rejoins the Doctor, returning his sonic screwdriver, and the two take shelter in Lazarus' device, the Doctor believing he will not harm his own invention.
The Doctor explains to Martha that Lazarus's transformation is the result of an evolutionary throwback locked away in dormant human genes that are now becoming dominant. Unfortunately, Lazarus manages to activate his device, but the Doctor reverses the polarity, causing the field to affect only Lazarus outside of the capsule. They emerge to find Lazarus in his human form naked and apparently dead.
As the police and medical workers arrive to take care of the wounded, Lazarus' body is taken by an ambulance. However, when the Doctor hears a nearby crash, he, Martha, and Tish race to discover the ambulance has crashed, its drivers drained of life. They find that Lazarus, alive but human, has taken shelter in Southwark Cathedral. The Doctor tries to reason with Lazarus but is unable to stop him transforming again. Martha and Tish, under the Doctor's orders, lure the creature to the top of the Cathedral's bell tower, while the Doctor manipulates the church's pipe organ to produce the maximum volume it can. The vibrations caused by the organ interfere with Lazarus' manipulated DNA, and he falls to his death to the floor below, returning both to his human form and his original age.
Martha and the Doctor return to her flat, and the Doctor invites Martha to come along for "one more trip." She refuses, saying she doesn't want to come along as just a passenger anymore, like he's doing her a favor. The Doctor agrees that she has always been much more than that, and they board the TARDIS. As the machine dematerialises from the flat, Martha's voice mail records Francine's warning to her daughter about the dangers of the Doctor as told to her by Mr. Saxon.
The following episode, "42", was delayed by one week to make way for the BBC's broadcasting of the Eurovision Song Contest. The BBC Doctor Who web page announced in advance that 'something special' would be appended to the end of the original broadcast of this episode.[6] This proved to be an extended teaser for the remaining episodes of the series, taking the place of the usual "Next time..." teaser trail and headed instead "Coming up...". This was also made available immediately after transmission on the BBC's Doctor Who website. The extended trailer featured many short clips from upcoming stories: eyeless animated scarecrows and the titular Family of Blood, the return of Captain Jack Harkness, Sir Derek Jacobi in character, Michelle Collins likewise and, briefly, John Simm as the mysterious Mr. Saxon seen smiling for press cameras before the Houses of Parliament and in the Cabinet Room at No. 10 wearing an oxygen mask, sinisterly tapping out the heavy rhythm of the incidental music and surrounded by inert bodies. At the very end, a further caption ahead of the "The Lazarus Experiment" credits revealed that "Doctor Who will return in two weeks". The "normal" trailer for "42" was then made available on the BBC Doctor Who website and was used on the DVDs instead of the special trailer.
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