The Lodger

"There is no upstairs!"

Writer: Gareth Roberts

Format: TV

Broadcast: 12 June 2010

Series: 5.11

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy

Synopsis

An unidentified force traps the Doctor, and he investigates a mysterious staircase in a building where people can go up, but never down.

Verdict

The Lodger was a really fun episode of Doctor Who! It's a fine way to calm the storm ahead of an explosive series finale, and rally allows Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor to shine in the comedy role. It's a wonderful performance and a really good illustration of how the Doctor can be both funny and serious. The humour covers his true mission of solving the mystery upstairs in a really clever way. I thought the chemistry between the Doctor and Craig was magnificent and the idea of the former turning up as a lodger is very amusing. The reaction at the door when Craig professes his love for what he thought was Sophie coming back forgetting her keys was a fine way to kick off their relationship. The Doctor having £3,000 in cash and using the psychic paper for his national insurance number and references was good stuff. He was always going to get the room. As with all of my modern era rewatches over the last couple of years, I was delighted to watch this episode alongside my partner Gemma and we both had a blast. It's a really funny episode and the Doctor's French kiss greetings and football expertise are very good. We were laughing on numerous occasions. It was also nice to be able to spill a bit of knowledge to her regarding the origins of this episode and how it was adapted from a Tenth Doctor comic strip adventure of the same name. No Mickey this time around though, and all Gemma was interested in for that fact though was Rose's whereabouts! Amy is obviously not around much in this episode but her presence in the TARDIS is actually really good and is important for the story. She's a constant place of contact for the Doctor and the whole mission of the episode is actually to get her and the TARDIS back. The mystery of what's going on upstairs is goos and I really liked the creepy nature of the old man and his luring people in off the street. Going so far as to using children and then enticing a drunk woman for 'help' was quite disturbing! The football match scene was a lot of fun and I actually recognised the Cardiff filming location. I can't help but get a kick out of seeing the Doctor doing well on a football pitch. I also can't help but see James Corden as Smithy from Gavin & Stacey which is fun, but his relationship with Sophie here is really nice. The Doctor sees straight away that they both want each other and they're the reason the other hasn't moved away or taken another job. There's nothing stopping anyone from seeing the world as the Doctor encourages Sophie, but they actually do save the day by stopping the time ship with their love proclamation and desire to stay. There will be no pilot. The loose presence of the Silence here is a nice way to foreshadow future events and the moment Amy proclaims that the house is only one storey is terrific. The time ship design is stunning and I like the image of the alien corpse. I thought the Doctor trying to sneak off as Craig and Sophie ruined their friendship with endless snogging was good and in character with what I'd expect, but then Amy finds the engagement ring of Rory's to lead us into an epic finale. That's something so simple and what I would expect following on from how Cold Blood concluded, but the implications are very big! It's such a dark and emotional way to end what was largely a fun episode. Corden is so good when the Doctor knocks head to transfer information, even if that is a little preposterous. Overall, a really fun and excellent episode! 

Rating: 9/10