Doctor Who (2005)

The Shakespeare Code

Season 3, Episode 2, Aired 4/7/07

Episode Summary

Location: Earth
Date: 1599
Enemies: Carrionites

For her first ever trip in the TARDIS, the Doctor takes Martha to 1599 Elizabethan London. They quickly discover that the world is under threat from the evil Carrionites and history's most celebrated playwright William Shakespeare is under the control of the sinister witch-like creatures.moreless

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Cast & Crew

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David Tennant

The Tenth Doctor
Freema Agyeman

Martha Jones
Andrée Bernard

Dolly Bailey

Fan Episode Reviews (35)

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This sucked

3.0

"Bad"

By garnsr, Jun 10, 2011 Report Abuse

Any time the new shows have real historical figures they seem to suck more than the regular shows. I don't remember too many of the real Dr Who episodes having real characters, other than Doc Holiday in a First Doctor episode. But this one, and the Dickens episode, seemed even worse than the run-of-the-mill updated Dr Who.

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3 13
With Martha's first trip, she and the Doctor meet the man himself, William Shakesphere just aliens known as the Carrionites try to bring their whole species out of the deep darkness they were banished to by planning to use William as their puppet.moreless

6.0

"Fair"

By 10thdoctorfan, Apr 15, 2011 Report Abuse

With this episode, we see a pattern appearing with the trips the doctor takes his companions on. only with martha and later donna, it's reversed; rose got to go to the future with both his ninth and current incanations, while martha got 1599 and Donna, Volcano Day in Pompeii. The writers seemed to have based the carrionites off the three witches from William's play, but are named Bloodtide, Doomfinger, and Lilith. To those pondering why Lilith can take true human apperance at times, while her 'mothers' can't, maybe she's only half carrionte; their speices devour thier male mates, so its a posiblity.
If anyone else didn;t notice this, but what's up with the 'witches' always speaking in rhyme? i know its how the sceince works along with the shape of the globe, but it gets annoying after awhile. According to the Doctor at the end of the episode when he gie Will his signature 'neckbrace' he's given him 10% of his material, while he seems to have royal ticked Liz 1 off in his personal future since she ordered his beheading after just seeing him. The Doctor one again says 'What? What!? WHAT!?"moreless

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1 1
This could have been one of the all-time great Doctor Who stories, but two specific elements were allowed to ruin the illusion, making it merely "very entertaining" (and yes, I know most TV barely even aspires to THAT level!).moreless

7.4

"Good"

By vbkzlfie, Jan 03, 2011 Report Abuse

Let us start with the praise: the cinematography and stuntwork in particular is spectacular. I mean even given how good the last two seasons have been, this story just looks GORGEOUS. Sure, it helps when you get to use the actual Globe Theatre, but I'm referring to everything seen on-screen. Even the matte shots are just stunningly good. If the rest of the season can keep up this visual level, my eyes my explode from sheer delight.

I thought David Tennant really nailed the part right on the head in this one. He was by turns funny and dramatic, serious and whimsical, callous and empathetic, fanboy and hitman, human and alien. Whereas he got a little silly in bits of Smith and Jones, he was just spot-on here.

Freema was a nice change and handled many of her scenes very well, and I look forward to more from her -- but it's still too soon to judge exactly how she's going to work out. Very promising, and RTD wasn't lying when he said she wouldn't be "Rose Lite," but you know I'm almost ready for another male companion on board ... how about someone significantly older?

I should mention that I met Gareth Roberts through the Manopticon crew many years ago and we hit it off very well back then, though we haven't kept in touch -- so feel free to take my review of his script with a grain of salt if you like, but I mostly loved it, particularly the dialogue. There was perhaps a bit more expository dialogue than most of these stories get, but there was more back-continuity to refer to. This could be worrisome -- the new series of Doctor Who has spent more of its time looking forward than back, and I want that to continue because it seems to help the mass appeal -- but if they're only going to be so referential only once in a while I certainly won't mind.

The two things I do take exception with were the stylised performances of the Witches/Carrionites, and the Master of the Revels. Having been unimpressed with director Charles Palmer's direction of Smith & Jones, I'm inclined to blame him more than anyone else for the simply dreadful campiness of the witches. I'll come back to the Master (no not THAT Master) later.

I understand what they were trying to do -- make the witches very much like the stereotypes we all know from childhood of what witches were like -- but it was laid on as thick as Tammy Faye Bakker's makeup, allowing no room for further exaggeration in history. Even small children would find their cackling, rhyming, Monty-Python- Pepperpots voices grating and unbelievable and completely over the top. Was the second unit directory Mary Whitehouse herself? I ask because nobody else could take the menace out of those creatures and render them comically ineffective quite like that harpy do-gooder. The scene in which Doomfinger hysterically confronts the Doctor and company when they visit Peter Street is one of the biggest mismatches of acting since Ralph Richardson had to act alongside Andie MacDowell. "Fan quality" doesn't even begin to describe how bad the Carrionites were on screen. "Porn acting" might just cover it.

The other problem with this story has to do with the dramatically shorter 45-minute format. Important characters, such as The Master of the Revels, are reduced to "pop on and die." This is not the first time this has happened, but it's the most obvious -- I was left scratching my head as to how Martha knew the Master's name was Mr Lynley (answer, after reviewing the episode again -- oops! continuity error ahoy!). Furthermore, what purpose does Mr Lynley serve (other than "expendable extra")? Why is he so set against Shakespeare? What's up with the permits -- and script approval?? These are just some of the things neither Roberts nor Davies bother to answer because there's simply NO TIME to delve into the character, but what they forget is that this also means there's no time for us to CARE about him or his death. He's a prop used almost solely to show off the "death by drowning on dry land" trick. It's unfair to the performer and in service to the story that he gets such short shrift.

I can live with the Doctor's rather feeble explanation of "magic." I can stand discovering that Jor-El's "Phantom Zone" is full of big- nosed old biddies who use words for physics (hey, I bought into "bloc transfer computation," didn't I?). I can even deal with a bisexual Shakespeare and gratuitous -- and I do mean GRATUITOUS -- Harry Potter references. It's just a shame that I have to.

When you've got such a marvelous story, such wonderful actors, such beautiful dialogue, such gorgeous location and model work and so rich a backdrop, you should linger just a bit more over it. Think of how much better The Shakespeare Code would have been as a two-parter: we could have fleshed out Lillith, her suitor, Lynley, the King's Men actors, even Queen Elisabeth! And before you complain that I must be one of those old-school fuddy-duddies who thinks everything should be a six-parter at least, I should point out that this is only the second time in this new series that I've wished for a one-part story to be a two-parter (the other was "Rose," which desperately needed more "there" there).

Overall, The Shakespeare Code is solid entertainment with only minor annoyances to those of us who take it seriously, and I'm sure it will do well in the season poll for its looks, cast and style. To me, sadly, it's tantilizingly close to perfect, but just ruined by ham and cheese -- oddly enough, not on the stage!moreless

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1 5
Good episode, but not my favorite.

8.1

"Great"

By PaxPhoenix, Jan 30, 2008 Report Abuse

This is Martha's first trip in the TARDIS. Martha and the Doctor go to London, in 1599. They visit the newly-opened Globe Theatre and see the Shakespeare's play "Love's Labour's Lost" and meet Shakespeare. He gets impressed with Martha.

Shakespeare is writing the play "Love's Labour's Won" (the lost play). Meanwhile, three Carrionites witches want to interfere on the final lines of the play by placing a code to open the portal for the Carrionites who want to destroy Earth.

By the end of the episode, Shakespeare reveals he knows the Doctor isn't from Earth and Martha is from the future.

It's visible the Doctor still misses Rose.moreless

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2 0
This season of Doctor Who feels like the first season all over again. That's a good thing.

8.9

"Great"

By scifirantergirl, Sep 08, 2007 Report Abuse

This season of Doctor Who feels like the first season all over again. That's a good thing. It has the adrenaline rush, adventure feel to it again. The second season was really moody and depressing. It was almost a chore to watch.

Shakespeare Code is one of those episodes that people will talk about for sometime. It was just so damned good. From the story, to the in-jokes, to the dialog, to the CGI and everything else... this has to be my favorite this season. That's hard to say especially since I loved everything that I've seen this season.

I think Martha Jones is going to be an excellent companion.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- The Carrionites are said to be from the Rexel Planetary configuration. A planet named Rexel was featured in the New Adventures novel "Tragedy Day". Edit
- Shakespeare mentions writing about fathers and sons and his deceased son Hamnet. Hamnet's death was the motivation behind Shakespeare's Hamlet. There are many tales of Hamnet's death, but one recounting of Shakespeare's life says that Hamnet drowned, possibly the motivation behind Hamlet's tragic heroine, Ophelia, committing suicide by drowning herself in a river. Edit
- Shakespeare: Who are you, exactly, and, more to the point, who is this gorgeous blackamoor lady? By the term blackamoor Shakespeare is referring to the obvious African cast of Martha's features. The term "moor", referring to the Arabs/Muslims who had controlled much of the Spanish (Iberian) Peninsula of Europe from the Fall of Rome even up to Shakespeare's time, was then generally synonymous with having an African appearance. One of the driving forces behind the Spanish Inquisition was dispelling the Islamic influences. The title character in Othello (which Shakespeare had not yet written as of the time of this episode) is described as being Moorish. Edit
Notes
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- Barbara Southcott and Neill Gorton at Millennium FX won the BAFTA Cyrmu award for Best make-up for this episode at the 2008 awards. Edit
- The final viewing figure for the BBC One airing of this episode was 7.23 million. Edit
- Lilith is a mythological figure in Mesopotamian and Biblical tradition, often associated with witchcraft. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- The Doctor: Genius. He's a genius. The genius. The most human, human there's ever been. Now we're gonna hear him speak! He always uses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words! Shakespeare: (to the applauding crowd) Oh, shut your big fat mouths! The Doctor: (disappointed) Eww. Martha: You should never meet your heroes. Edit
- Martha: So magic and stuff. That's a little bit Harry Potter. The Doctor: Wait 'till you read Book 7. Oh, I cried. Edit
- Shakespeare: Oh I've got new ideas. Maybe it's time I write about fathers and sons. Write about my son, my precious Hamnet. Martha: Hamnet? Shakespeare: That's him. Martha: Ham...net? Shakespeare: What's wrong with that? Edit
Allusions
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- Martha: So magic and stuff. That's a little bit Harry Potter.
  The Doctor: Wait 'till you read Book 7. Oh, I cried.
  'Harry Potter' is a series of books about a wizard by British author J.K. Rowling. David Tennant actually starred in the movie adaptation. Also, at the time this episode aired the 7th (and final) book had not been published which explains why Martha is surprised that the Doctor has already read it. Edit
- Shakespeare: Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse.
  
  Originally a priory, Bethlem became a hospital in 1330 and began admitting the mentally ill in 1403. Bethlem Royal Hospital became infamous for the brutal ill-treatment meted out to the insane. Conditions were consistently dreadful, and the care amounted to little more than restraint. Violent or dangerous patients were manacled and chained to the floor or wall. Edit
- The Doctor: This poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours.
  
  In traditional medicine practiced in the Middle Ages, the body was ruled by four 'humours', four special fluids - blood, black bile, yellow bile and phlegm - that corresponded with the basic elements of nature and were seen to permeate the body and influence the health. An imbalance in the humours (also known as dyscrasia) was believed to be the direct cause of all disease and could lead to death. Edit