The lads over in the Modern Recap-itulation department have snuck in one last entry before a site-wide update washes through with a fresh set of caps for The Lazarus Experiment. One of those stories like The Idiot’s Lantern or The Unicorn and the Wasp which sat in the middle of a season un-connected from the beginning get-to-know phase with the new companion and/or Doctor, the epic two-parters which followed, and even further removed from the end-of-season wrap-ups, The Lazarus Experiment is then the kind of one-off which can sometimes get overlooked as the years passed.
Though not quite a romp, The Lazarus Experiment puts the regulars back in the present, with a focus on the Jones family, and even bothering to advance the Saxon plot drops a bit. Most likely The Lazarus Experiment is remembered for Mark Gatiss’ appearance in front of the camera. And even before the ‘experiment’ flays Gatiss as Professor Lazarus inside-out, it’s not a pretty picture, a cruel, vain egomaniac.
The story does at times feel a bit padded out at times with a bit too much needless conversation, but the family dynamics at play build upon those in Smith and Jones and would carry through to The Sound of Drums.
A bit of an overlooked gem in a great season.
