"Love & Monsters" is the tenth episode of the
second series
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
of the British
science fiction television series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', which was first broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 17 June 2006. It was written by executive producer and lead writer
Russell T Davies and directed by
Dan Zeff
Dan Zeff is a BAFTA Award-winning United Kingdom, British TV director and writer currently living and working in the UK.
He works across Drama (modern genre), drama and comedy television, comedy. Recent work includes the highly acclaimed ''Inside ...
.
The episode is set in London. In the episode, a human called Elton Pope (
Marc Warren) joins a group of people who have a shared interest in the alien
time traveller the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
(
David Tennant) and his ship the
TARDIS. The group is joined and taken over by Victor Kennedy (
Peter Kay
Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books.
Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...
), an alien who has a darker interest in the Doctor and seeks to absorb his physical body and knowledge.
Due to the addition of a
Christmas special in the production schedule, an episode had to be "double banked" (shot at the same time as another episode
) with another story (in this case "
The Impossible Planet
"The Impossible Planet" is the eighth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 3 June 2006. It is the first part of a two-part story. The second part, ...
" and "
The Satan Pit") for production to finish on time. With "Love & Monsters", Davies was able to tell a story from a different character's point of view to allow for only a small appearance by lead actors David Tennant and
Billie Piper as the Doctor and
Rose Tyler. The "Doctor-lite" and "companion-lite" structure has since continued in the programme. Kennedy's alien form, known as the Abzorbaloff, was designed by the winner of a children's competition to design a ''Doctor Who'' monster.
"Love & Monsters" was watched by 6.66 million viewers in the United Kingdom and was met with divisive reception by critics and fans. Some praised the complexities of the script, while others felt it was a parody or strayed into offensive humour. Kay and the Abzorbaloff also attracted divided opinions.
Plot
Elton Pope sees a photograph of the
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
taken during a recent alien invasion on Ursula Blake's blog. Elton recalls seeing the same man in his house when he was a child. Elton and Ursula, with three others, form a group who have similarly encountered the Doctor known as LINDA (London Investigation 'N' Detective Agency). LINDA meets in a library basement to discuss their experiences, but soon their meetings become more social in nature.
One day a man by the name of Victor Kennedy interrupts a meeting and points out that LINDA has lost focus. He reinvigorates the group's efforts to locate the Doctor and
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
by teaching them spying techniques. Elton is given the task of getting close to Rose's mother
Jackie. He manages to meet Jackie and is invited to her apartment. She tries and fails to seduce him, but when she finds a picture of Rose in Elton's jacket and realises he is after the Doctor, she demands that he leave her alone. Meanwhile, Bridget and Bliss disappear from the group unexpectedly. After a meeting, Elton, Ursula, and Mr Skinner stage a walkout. Victor persuades Mr Skinner to remain behind, but Elton and Ursula leave. Ursula realises she forgot her phone, and she returns with Elton only to discover that Victor is an alien, whom Elton dubs an Abzorbaloff. The Abzorbaloff reveals that he has absorbed the rest of LINDA and wishes to also absorb the Doctor to gain his accumulated experience and knowledge.
Elton is cornered in a dead end alley. As he resigns himself to being absorbed, the Doctor and Rose emerge from the
TARDIS nearby. The Abzorbaloff attempts to ransom Elton in exchange for the Doctor, but the Doctor feigns disinterest in Elton's fate, while dropping a hint to the absorbed members of LINDA. In response, the absorbed members collectively use their willpower to suppress the Abzorbaloff, who ends up dropping his cane. At Ursula's prompting, Elton breaks the cane, which causes the Abzorbaloff to melt into the ground. The Doctor then recalls his first encounter with Elton, and explains that he was at Elton's house years ago tracking an elemental shade, but he was too late and the shade killed Elton's mother. The Doctor is able to bring back Ursula in the form of a paving stone, which Elton starts a relationship with.
Production
Unlike the vast majority of ''Doctor Who'' stories, "Love & Monsters" has only nominal appearances by the TARDIS crew, and is not from their point of view.
This was a production necessity because the Christmas special had increased the number of episodes to produce from 13 to 14.
As such, the production was "double banked" with "
The Impossible Planet
"The Impossible Planet" is the eighth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 3 June 2006. It is the first part of a two-part story. The second part, ...
"/"
The Satan Pit" so Tennant and Piper could film those episodes while another unit worked on "Love & Monsters".
The "Doctor-lite" (and sometimes "companion-lite") structure has continued as a tradition, producing episodes such as "
Blink
Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...
" (2007), "
Turn Left" (2008), and "
The Girl Who Waited
"The Girl Who Waited" is the tenth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 10 September 2011. It was written by Tom MacRae and was directe ...
" (2011).
As such, executive producer and writer
Russell T Davies had to come up with a story that had a good reason to keep the Doctor and Rose out.
Davies was inspired by the ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' episode "
The Zeppo
"The Zeppo" is episode thirteen of season three of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. It was written by Dan Vebber, directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and first broadcast on January 26, 1999. Feeling left out by the gang, Xander ends up accompanying a stu ...
" and the ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "
Lower Decks
''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is an American adult-oriented animated television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth ''Star Trek'' series and was launched in 2020 ...
", both of which focused on atypical characters. Davies described the episode, "It's an experimental script. Not so experimental that people will run away screaming from Saturday-night BBC1, because you can experiment too much. People still want a bit of a monster and a bit of a thrill and a bit of the Doctor, so it still delivers as normal ''Doctor Who''. But just as you think you know everything this programme can do, this puts a little bit of spin on it."
The episode had the working title of "I Love the Doctor". The acronym "LINDA" was previously used on the British children's television programme ''
Why Don't You?'', which featured the "Liverpool Investigation 'N' Detective Agency". Russell T Davies worked on the series for some years.
According to Davies, in an early draft, Elton would have been witness to more events in ''Doctor Who'' history: in this draft, Elton's third birthday party was evacuated because of the Dalek invasion of Shoreditch (''
Remembrance of the Daleks''), his mother was killed by a plastic daffodil (''
Terror of the Autons'') instead of an elemental shade, and he also would have been one of those who saw the Loch Ness Monster rising from the Thames (''
Terror of the Zygons
Terror of the Zygons is the first serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was the first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 1975. It was the last regular ...
''). Prior to the revival of ''Doctor Who'', Davies had considered pitching this story idea to ''
Doctor Who Magazine
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...
'' as a comics story. Davies had also considered making the viewpoint character of the story a woman but felt that he already had enough focus on female guest characters that series.
Davies wanted Elton to be a "normal guy" and not geeky with a "funny voice".
It is noted Elton's memory
may not be entirely reliable, so whether events in the episode happened the way he remembers them is debatable.
Another necessity the episode had to fulfill was to include the winner of ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
'' "Design a ''Doctor Who'' Monster" competition.
The winner, the Abzorbaloff, was designed by nine-year-old William Grantham.
Davies said of the monster, "I thought the Abzorbaloff was brilliant. It touches people, absorbs them and their face actually appears in the body — terrifying."
According to producer
Phil Collinson, Grantham was disappointed with the rendering of the monster because he had envisaged it being "the size of a
double-decker bus",
but the production team was never informed of this.
Peter Kay had written a letter to Davies after the new series began in June 2005, and Davies replied to him in September offering a guest spot in an episode. Kay was originally offered the part of Elton, but he felt the "UFO-spotter type" was too similar to his character on ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'' and much preferred playing the "baddie". The creature that Elton sees at the start of the episode is credited as the "Hoix". Davies notes in the commentary that the name was invented only after the episode was shot and a name was needed for the credits.
Director
Dan Zeff
Dan Zeff is a BAFTA Award-winning United Kingdom, British TV director and writer currently living and working in the UK.
He works across Drama (modern genre), drama and comedy television, comedy. Recent work includes the highly acclaimed ''Inside ...
said of the tone the production team wished to capture, "Working with an inspirational design team, we wanted to emphasise a melancholy feel, an emptiness in the world around our characters – big urban spaces that once may have been full of life, but now lay abandoned, rusting, decayed. Amidst this, Elton and his fragile group of friends would almost feel cast adrift – increasingly vulnerable as they are led astray by the sinister Victor Kennedy." The episode features the songs "
Mr. Blue Sky
"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto fo ...
", "
Don't Bring Me Down
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album ''Discovery''. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.
History
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's s ...
", and "
Turn to Stone" by
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...
(ELO), Elton's favourite band.
Broadcast and reception
"Love & Monsters" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 17 June 2006. Overnight ratings for the UK were 6.22 million, a 38.3% audience share. Its final audience figure was 6.66 million, making it the 15th most watched programme of the week. The episode gained an
Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom.
Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
score of 76.
This episode was released on a basic
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
together with "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit" on 7 August 2006. It was then rereleased as part of the Complete Second Series boxset on 20 November 2006.
"Love & Monsters" is noted for having a divided reception.
Nick Setchfield of ''
SFX
SFX may refer to:
Entertainment
* Special effects (usually visual), illusions used in film, television, and entertainment
* Sound effects, sounds that are artificially created or enhanced
* SFX (magazine), ''SFX'' (magazine), a British magazine c ...
'' rated the episode 4.5 out of 5, noting how it "finally gives ''Doctor Who'' a whole new vocabulary as a television programme." He wrote, "This may be Russell T Davies's smartest, funniest script. It's certainly the warmest, and somehow it feels like the most personal." While Setchfield was not a fan of Kay, he found his performance in this episode funny.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Ahsan Haque gave the episode a score of 9.5 out of 10, particularly praising the dialogue. However, he felt that some of the sadder aspects "seemed out of place in what should have been a purely light-hearted comedic episode".
''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' reviewer Ross Ruediger was positive towards "Love & Monsters", saying that "there's no reason the series can't do something this quirky and beautiful when an inspired mind conjures up such a scenario." Ruediger commented on the truths of meeting other fans on the Internet and praised the depth of Jackie's character.
In 2011, ''SFX'' named "Love & Monsters" as one of the best Sci-Fi TV Mockumentaries, saying that it worked as an example of the genre and was not too bad on rewatch. The article noted that criticisms of the episode ranged from "Kay's overacting and the silly Slitheen-esque monster to annoyance at how, well, lame the members of LINDA are."
Louisa Pearson of ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' noted that hardcore fans would dislike the comedy and the "
panto
Panto may refer to:
* Pantomime, a genre of musical comedy stage production, developed in England and mostly performed during Christmas and New Year season
* American pantomime, theatre entertainments in North America derived from the English ente ...
" performance of Kay, but commented, "It's true, this episode came close to being a spoof, but it was actually quite nice to have a rest from the Doctor. Even saving the world gets boring sometimes." Arnold T Blumburg of ''
Now Playing'' gave the episode a grade of D−. He was positive towards the first 30 minutes, which he described as a "touching little tale" with interesting characters, but called the final 10 minutes "juvenile attack on the audience's intelligence and emotions" that ruined the episode with "a laughable monster and offensive humor at exactly the wrong moment".
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
's Dek Hogan criticised Kay's performance, calling the Abzorbaloff "a marvellous idea and it's a pity his creativity was absorbed by a turn from a visiting comedian".
In a review of the series, Stephen Brook of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' stated that he "hated" the episode, describing it as a "parody of ''Doctor Who'' fans". The scene where Elton says he and Ursula have "a bit of a love life" was criticised by some commentators, who felt that the resultant implication of having oral sex with a paving slab was unsuitable for ''Doctor Who''s large family audience; others, however, dismissed this dialogue as a harmless joke that children would not understand.
"Love & Monsters" was placed in 153rd position in ''Doctor Who Magazine'' ''Mighty 200'' reader survey in 2009, which ranked every ''Doctor Who'' story to that point in order of preference.
Notes
References
External links
"Find me that Girl"- episode trailer
Episode commentary by Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson, and Susie Liggat(MP3)
"Love & Monsters" episode homepage*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love and Monsters
Tenth Doctor episodes
2006 British television episodes
Television shows written by Russell T Davies
Doctor Who stories set on Earth
Mockumentaries