Day 731: 42

42, much like The Lazarus Experiment, is pretty average. There are differences between the two, such as that 42 doesn't really try to do anything interesting thematically (although the scenes of the Doctor being scared are actually very interesting to see), but it more than makes up for it in terms of action. Fortunately, the story has been directed by one of the Russell T Davies era's greatest directors: Graeme Harper.

Harper is very much a stand-out director, first making waves with the excellent The Caves of Androzani, and then following it up with Revelation of the Daleks, a more flawed piece, but still worth watching nonetheless. On the strength of these two stories, Harper was invited back to the series when it was revived, being the only director to do work for both incarnations of Doctor Who. And viewing his methods, it's clear that it's because he was one of the few who was qualified to work on the series. He directed both of his Classic stories from the studio floor, preferring to work directly with the material instead of hiding away in the upper control rooms. This is combined with his style, where he combines interesting camera movements (such as the POV shots from Sharaz Jek in Androzani), with a keenness for energy in his actors, shouting at them and getting them to run on adrenaline, giving a performance that feels action packed. And whilst in the modern era of the series, this would be simply viewed as above-average to very good, depending on the context and the script, in the classic era, it was simply unheard of and sticks out amongst its contemporaries as something rather special.

So translating all of this to the modern era gives something, while not completely spectacular, is still surprisingly good. There's a scene, for instance, where the Doctor has to pull a switch on the outside of the ships hull. When watching it, it's very easy to see that this could have gone very wrong. The set isn't completely impressive, and for reasons of realism, Tennant doesn't move his body very much throughout the sequence, due to the forces acting upon his character. But Harper's direction helps elevate it to something more. He gives Tennant a certain energy that helps to show that the event is putting him under a lot of strain. He also chooses his shots well to reflect that fact, always ensuring that the Doctor's hand is only slightly in frame when certain buttons need to be pressed, reflecting the daunting nature of the task at hand. And finally, Murray Gold's music also gives the scene some much needed weight, filled with pace and energy, making it feel truly epic.

And that's the beauty of Harper. He's able to take a story and make it feel big, giving it pace and energy to turn it into something brilliant.