5. The Vampires Of Venice
Ever been stuck indoors on a rainy day and felt the urge to be sucked by a vampire? You're in luck! Look no further than your Series 5 boxset - unless it's been swallowed up by that formidable crack in your bedroom wall, that is - as The Vampires of Venice is guaranteed to satisfy your hunger. If you hadn't guessed from the title, this journey begins when the TARDIS team venture to the Republic of Venice in 1580 where they encounter all sorts of blood-sucking shenanigans at the hands (or should that be 'teeth'?) of the sea-dwelling Saturnynians. They're basically fish from space but 'vampires' sounds much cooler. Although it features some quite heavy references to the overriding arcs of the Eleventh Doctor's tenure (admittedly it's difficult to find an episode of it that doesn't), this can still be taken as a standalone adventure in its own right. It looks great, there's plenty of memorable character moments to boot - including the reintroduction of Rory Williams - and the plot has an excellent pace and eventual pay off, too. What's more, Helen McRory, who you probably recognise as Narcissa Malfoy from the Harry Potter films, brings forth a devilishly divine guest performance as matriarch Rosanna Calvierri who serves as one of the Time Lord's most interesting adversaries to date. Vampires in Venice, though. What's not to love? Beats Twilight any day of the week.
Dan Butler
Doctor Who Editor
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
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