So, Was Doctor Who's "Planet of the Dead" Easter Special a Complete Disaster?

Last night, BBC One aired the first of four highly-touted specials to aid David Tennant's exit as The Doctor. An estimated 8.4 million people tuned into the Easter special titled "Planet of the Dead". Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they thought afterwards, "why the hell wasn't I watching Britain's Got Talent instead?"

Indeed, "Planet of the Dead" is a massive stepdown from previous specials, particularly the always-excellent Christmas specials of years past. While those had significance that reverberated throughout the series, this one-off was a pointless as The Doctor's assistant this time around, Lady Christina.

Kylie Minogue can now breathe a sigh of relief; Christina, played by Michelle Ryan, will likely be remembered as the worst Companion in recent Doctor Who history. Nothing about her was compelling, funny, or interesting at all. At least Astrid (Minogue's character from the Voyage of the Damned special in 2007) has some kind of identifiable wish. Christina served virtually no purpose at all. Sure, she could steal things well, but so could the Daleks. Doesn't make the good, does it?

All of the blame shouldn't be laid on her, though. The plot was shockingly weak, in complexity and entertainment value. Seriously, how much fun can a person have watching a group of mildly interesting people on a double-decker in an endless desert for a good 40 minutes? The swarm of metallic stingrays are straight-up non-villians, and the fly-like aliens inhabiting the desert are pathetic compared to past extra-terrestrials. There is really no impending danger or anything. No suspense. No anything. The episode was virtually barren, like the desert they were stuck in.

Except for the interesting little tidbits delivered in the end, missing this episode was nothing to shed tears over. Considering the anemic quality of the plot, I'm surprised the BBC comissioned this as a whole Easter special, when this wouldn't even tide over viewers of a Children in Need mini-episode. It was a fantastic waste of a timeslot, to be honest, and truly not fitting as part of a tribute to the excellent tenure of David Tennant as Time Lord.

Rating: 4/10