10 Times Doctor Who Shamelessly Ripped Off Hollywood
3. The Lazarus Experiment Is Basically An Adaptation Of The Quatermass Xperiment
As is the case with Spyfall and James Bond, The Lazarus Experiment's title is a clear nod to the movie that it's ripping off: in this case, 1955's The Quatermass Xperiment.
The Doctor Who episode follows Professor Richard Lazarus, a man whose genetic meddling results in him turning into a horrific scorpion-like creature involuntarily. The movie (which was based on the 1953 BBC serial, itself an inspiration for the episode) also follows a Professor - Bernard Quatermass - who has to deal with an astronaut who starts to transform into a monster, after returning from outer space.
Both stories share that similar hook of a man mutating into a monster, but what makes it abundantly clear that The Lazarus Experiment is copying The Quatermass Xperiment (besides the title) are the specific elements shared by the two projects.
For instance, both stories end with a confrontation inside a London church, where the monster is ultimately defeated. In addition, both also share the idea of the monster draining its victims of 'life force' and leaving them as dried-out husks.
Bizarrely, David Tennant and Mark Gatiss (the latter of whom played Lazarus) even starred in a 2005 adaptation of The Quatermass Experiment, two years before The Lazarus Experiment aired. You cannot make this stuff up.