The Shakespeare Code does for its eponymous famous writer what The Unquiet Dead did for Charles Dickens. The episode seems to be a rather blatant attempt to woo Harry Potter fans – including name-checking JK herself! The scientific rationalization for the witches and the black magic worked rather well, and I was delighted to see Enlightenment's Eternals included in the back-story. I was also impressed at just how literate the script was, including many Shakespeare references that will have sailed over the heads of some of the episode's viewers. Dean Lennox Kelly delivers a great performance as a young Shakespeare, but did the witches have to be so clichéd? The Globe theatre and its surrounds were astonishingly good and really made this episode. I'm impressed too that Doctor Who can still do quieter, dialogue-heavy stories like this in amongst all the loud action-filled episodes. Simply delightful.
"including many Shakespeare references that will have sailed over the heads of some of the episode's viewers."
ReplyDeleteYeah, I suspected that was the case (as I place myself into that category). That may have biased my review a little. ;)