Doctor Who: Lucky Day Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs
6. UP - "I've Been To English Villages..."
From Carla and Cherry Sunday invoking The Wicker Man to a UNIT helicopter above the village green, Lucky Day plays with the iconography of '70s Doctor Who and folk horror to subversive effect. It's such a smart idea to flip audience expectations by sending Ruby right into the heart of what looks and feels like a classic spooky Doctor Who episode.
In order to confront UNIT on camera, Conrad effectively sets up his own episode of Doctor Who as the perfect trap. It's why the reveal of who he really is, and his motivations, works so well. As an audience we've gone in expecting the sort of creepy, horror inflected Doctor Who that we all love so much. There's a good deal of tension to the scenes of Ruby marshaling the pub punters and setting out across the village, armed only with a cast iron poker.
Instead, we're given a story that's arguably way more horrifying – an online troll capable of staging elaborate hoaxes to further his own twisted world view. Rather than treading a well worn path, we're walking on new ground for the show.
Bonus points for featuring classic Doctor Who actor Paul Jerricho as barman Alfie – from Castellan to Cask Ale Man.