Series 2's The Idiot's Lantern is another episode with frequently cited flaws. But as is so often the case with Doctor Who, even a story that fails to completely gel still contains much to recommend it. This adventure features a great face-sucking monster in the form of the Wire (played by Maureen Lipman), but it also has a signature scene for David Tennant's Tenth Doctor. The faceless victims of the Wire are being rounded up by plainclothes police and housed in a cage, mainly because they don't know what else to do with them. When the Connolly's Gran is collected by a snatch team, the Doctor follows the black-suited police officers so he can try to find out more about what's going on. However, the Time Lord's examination of the caged victims is interrupted by the "men in black" and he is quickly taken to an interrogation room. But things don't go as planned for the interrogator, Detective Inspector Bishop. The Doctor rapidly takes control of the questioning, until the situation is somehow reversed and it is he who is interrogating the policeman. It's a moment that strikingly demonstrates both the force of the Doctor's personality and how he effortlessly subverts the normal "reality" of the world around him.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
