iiiIt might be some time before we get to see the next series of Doctor Who or the annual Christmas special. But the BBC has produced Dreamland, a new CGI-animated episode featuring the usual flying saucers and giant earth-invading alien bugs. But what's really exciting is the Doctor's visit to Area 51, the infamous US Air Force base.
The animated adventure opens in 1947 as a spaceship is under attack and crash lands on earth in a desert. Skip forward 11 years to a roadside diner in the New Mexico desert near Roswell, where the 10th Doctor Who (voiced by David Tennant) is looking for a bowl of chilli. The Doctor is soon battling the Men in Black, big, insectoid monsters and the US Army. Armed only with his trusty sonic screwdriver and a little help from the locals, the Doctor has to save the earth.
The 3D computer-animated adventure is presented in a cell-shaded style with the bare minimum in polygons, meaning everything looks blocky and stiff. Although the CGI graphics are rudimentary, the well written story makes up for it. Doctor Who fans will be very satisfied with this episode and Dreamland could well become a modern classic.
Unfortunately the free episodes on the BBC website aren't available in Hong Kong but a DVD should come out soon. Otherwise, you'll have to hope you get a Tardis as a late Christmas present so you can go to the future and watch it now.
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