Hello and welcome to another Doctor Who Review, where today we are reviewing Orphan 55.
Going into a quick synopsis of the story without giving too much away, the episode starts in the TARDIS where Jaz and Ryan are helping the Doctor clean up. Graham comes in all excited as he's collected these coupons which give him and his friends the entitlement to a free holiday, he puts them together unknowingly to form a teleport cube which transports the TARDIS team to Tranquility Spa.
This episode for me started out as being a fun, wacky, happy go lucky reminiscent to stories from the 80’s like 'Terror of the Vervoids' and 'Paradise Towers' but ended up being something completely different.
For the first ten minutes or so I was willing to sit back and relax as I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for, however once the story progressed it started to get a lot more darker, mysterious, morose, and self reflective.
And I’m curious as to know how this all fits in to the continuity of Doctor Who. This isn’t a new idea, it’s something that’s been done before. Ravolox for instance.
We have lots of characters coming in all with various different backgrounds, guest stars like James Buckley (Jay from The Inbetweeners), Laura Fraser, Gia Re, and Julia Elizabeth Fogel who all come in to play what feel like token parts.
Here's the problem with 'Orphan 55'. It all feels too rushed, it's a recurring issue with these singular 45 minute stand alone episodes. They just feel a bit rushed and in some cases poorly edited which is a real shame because in the days of classic who, this would make a really nice three or four parter.
The themes within it are bleak and hard hitting, something I wasn't expecting this story to turn out to be at all. It becomes a fight for survival story very quickly as the Doctor and friends try to fight their way off an orphaned planet without trying to get killed by the monsters in the process.
The monsters within this story are fantastic, as a design they look very menacing and reminiscent to the type of monster you'd expect to find in a science fiction drama, films like Alien or Star Trek. If there is one thing Doctor Who does know to do well, it's monsters.
The Doctor’s speech at the end comes as a reminder we could all go by in daily life, especially with everything that’s happening in the world at the moment.
I wouldn’t say enjoy is the correct word to use as I didn’t find there was much to enjoy about this. I don’t think it’s a bad story, but yet there’s lots of serious, hard hitting themes within this episode that gives one a lot to think about having just watched it.
And for that reason and many more, I think the fairest thing to do is not give this episode a mark at all. As I feel marking it would be unjustified.
Next Week’s looks intriguing. Let’s hope it can stand itself up to the standards the next time trailer sets it out to be.
So, I thank you for taking the time to read this review, and I shall be back next time for another Doctor Who Review.
