After travelling backwards, forwards and backwards again in time, Martha Jones has returned home. However, before the Tenth Doctor can bid farewell to her, he hears Professor Richard Lazarus announcing that he’ll “change what it means to be human.” What could this mean? And could it lead to something far more dangerous than a simple scientific failure?
The story is okay-ish.
Tennant rocks that tuxedo.
The CGI is terrible.
As is Francine Jones.
2/5 
It also has more or less the same ending twice. This story has so much missed potential. But it does not work in this form. Martha’s brother also plays one of the most useless roles in the history of the show.
I kinda figure the fact that I really don’t feel like watching this story again probably says enough about it…
Yes the CGI is bad, and not even in a “it’s dated but looked ok at the time” kind of way. Even back 2007 we all thought this monster looked pants.
But my biggest problem isn’t how the monster looks, it’s how it’s used. You see I think there’s an interesting idea at the centre of this episode. Having Lazarus’s twisted quest for immortality being admonished by a basically immortal Time Lord, when what Lazarus does here is kind of just regenerate. There’s something there right? Like there’s potentially good stuff here for the episode to explore.
But, the episode has no confidence in it’s ability to tell this story. So every time the Doctor and Lazarus talk for a few minutes and sound like they might be about to say something interesting, the show has to interrupt it to have the big Gatiss-face scorpion creature smash through the episode for a bit.
So I’d like there to be less of the CGI monster, not because it’s ugly (well a little because it’s ugly) but because it’s boring and it keeps preventing this episode from saying anything interesting.
A bland story with a predictable cat-and-mouse plot that is unfortunately saddled with one of the show’s worst effects.
I’m always surprised by Lazarus’ shades of grey when I rewatch it but when that is I don’t know.
4/10
I have no strong opinion on this one. I’ve been surprised before on rewatches when it’s not entirely loathsome, but it’s definitely not a memorable one or one I think anyone would call a favourite. It has some kind of interesting themes but falls short of actually exploring them in a compelling way
I think that this is what annoys me most about this story. It has really interesting ideas that just are not explored at all. It is so much worse when a story has missed potential than no potential at all.
Mark Gatiss Cinematic Universe
Why did the Doctor pick up Martha’s underwear in the intro scene 
Not sure if I wanna rewatch this one even for TV club but I should…
As I’ve said here before, this story actually has special significance to me [Derogatory]. When it first aired I had never seen DW and had zero interest, but was visiting a friend watching it with his family and was invited to join them. Hated it. Thought it was awful. Probably mostly due to the CG monster. Swore off the show ever since…[1]
Until I was bored when Fires of Pompeii aired and became a fan from there lol ↩︎
I’ve always liked this one more than most, the story does work for me.
Which, honestly is probably the nostalgia factor, but oh well
Tenth Doctor with tuxedo is my favourite look of his. Also Martha’s dress <3 
I honestly thought that Mark Gatiss wrote this story (probably because he stars in it) but turns out it was Stephen Greenhorn. It’s a middling story for me. Personally, I don’t hate the Lazarus design, it is very uncanny but I think that’s the whole point. Kinda similiar to those weird and intentionally amateurish effects in the third season of Twin Peaks
I get the feeling this episode would work much better without a) the Tenth Doctor, and b) hindsight. After the whole Meta-Crisis thing, seeing Tenth grandstand about how “Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty” is… rough. Like, it’s weird enough getting this line of argument from someone who cheats death in-between meals, but him specifically just makes it worse.
Overall, though, it’s just alright. It is, as the kids say, “mid”, which stands out more in a series with some impressive highs (and an all-time low in just the last episode), but it still works in a series watch-through, which is probably the only circumstance where I’ve watched or rewatched this.
Fairly standard ‘mad scientist’ plot, Lazarus’ backstory is pretty good, the friction between Tenth and Martha’s family feels a bit forced (just comes across like a redo of Jackie Tyler, but with added in-universe pressure; not that exciting) but I still like Martha’s dynamic with them. That finale is pretty cool, though (I still laugh at that “Especially about playing loud.” beat “Sorry?” gag every time I watch this episode.)
It’s a pretty middling and unremarkable episode. I really liked seeing Martha’s family dynamic and how the Doctor factored into that. But Gatiss didn’t really have a strong performance and Lazarus wasn’t a super compelling villain. The CGI monstrosity doesn’t detract from my enjoyment but it’s definitely a product of its time.
One thing I really appreciate about this one is the bookending with Martha and the Doctor regarding clarifying Martha’s role in the TARDIS. Her ability to articulate no, this isn’t fair, I can’t go on this way is such a key part of Martha’s character arc to me — and I love the “okay, if that’s what you want” exchange at the end (quickly resolved misunderstanding and all).
Now I’m thinking about the missed potential of really leaning into that tension in Ten’s arc… have a few uncomfortable moments in this episode where he’s almost forced to grapple with the hypocrisy of a Time Lord lecturing someone for trying to cheat death, and then fit some callbacks into End of Time where his own words to Lazarus come back to haunt him and somehow help him accept moving on.
Pretty much summed it up for me.
It’s an okay episode, but middle of the road and doesn’t have much rewatch value.
well that was actually ok. The plot is quite thin and predicable but I wasn’t bored.
Also they never explicitly say the machine makes you younger so I’m choosing to believe it’s a machine that makes you look like Mark Gatiss.