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| The five Doctors featured in 'Curse of the Fatal Death'. |
‘Curse of the Fatal Death’ is a special comic relief episode
of Doctor Who aired in 1999. It is notable
amongst other non-cannon comic relief specials as it features many of the crew
that would later go on to work on the revived series of Doctor Who, including
Stephen Moffat, special effects company The Mill and Richard Curtis.
The story begins with the Master pursuing the Doctor in his
Tardis, gloating over his latest plot to kill the Doctor, unfortunately for him
however he is accidentally transmitting to the Doctors Tardis, informing the
Doctor of his plans. The Doctor in
returns asks the Master to meet him on the planet Tersurus as he has something
important to tell him.
On Tersurus the Master attempts to kill the Doctor several
times, though the Doctor easily manages to avoid these traps. Once he manages to convince the Master to
stop trying to kill him and let him talk he informs the Master of his intention
to retire, instead opting for a quiet married life with his companion Emma. The Master, finding such an idea disgusting, continues
with his attempts to kill the Doctor and is in turn sent into the sewer system
of Tersurus, which takes him over three hundred years to find his way out of.
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| Jonathan Pryce plays an excellent Master. |
Using his Tardis to return to just after the point he fell
into the trap an elderly Master returns with a group of Daleks, intent on destroying
the Doctor. Now a prisoner of the Daleks
and the Master, the Doctor must stop the destruction of them all from an
exploding Zektronic energy weapon. The
Doctor is injured and forced to regenerate, three times.
The Doctor finally manages to disable the machine but is hit
by a burst of Zektronic energy that kills him, stopping him from using his twelfth
and final regeneration. Believing the
Doctor dead the Master and the Daleks, whom he saved, renounce their evil ways
and vow to honour his memory by protecting the universe in his place.
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| The Doctor plans to retire and marry his companion Emma. |
Suddenly the Doctor begins to regenerate, his twelfth form being
that of a beautiful woman. Emma is
stunned by the change and confesses that she can no longer marry the
Doctor. The Doctor and the Master
however begin to feel a mutual attraction to each other and leave together, arm
in arm.
‘Curse of the Fatal Death’ is a quick twenty minute skit
that pokes fun at Doctor Who but is made by people that love the show. This results in a nice little comedy episode
that is respectful to the legacy of the show and fans will enjoy.
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| The twelfth Doctor discovers the vibrate function on the Sonic Screwdriver.... |
The five Doctors featured in the episode are great, each
bringing something new to their own versions of the Doctor, even though most
are only the Doctor for less than a minute.
Jonathan Pryce makes a wonderful Master, one that brilliantly carries on
the legacy left by Rodger Delgado and Anthony Ainley and feels more like the
Master than the later Jon Simm. The part
of Emma, the Doctors companion in this story, is played by Julia Sawalha, who
was planned on being a cat-burglar like companion in the cancelled twenty
seventh season of the show and would have replaced Ace alongside Sylvester
McCoy.
A fun little episode that is made by people who love the
show for people who love the show. Respects
the source material but isn’t afraid to point out some of its funnier
faults. An entertaining watch for any
fans of Doctor Who. 7/10
Moffat has gotten more confident, powerful and is a braver writer since then. It's reminiscent of a Star Trek TNG episode though where a couple fall in love, he changes, she adjusts, he changes again and its too much to handle as she is not attracted to same sex. It's something of a revelation to me that we have come so far when I see my children with friends. My kids accept and don't judge them on sexual preference etc They see being gay and lesbian as positive and not abhorrent behavior. Like them I cheered during the xmas episode at the line "I'm a lizard lady from the dawn of time and this is my wife"
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