Friday Poll: Best of Gatiss

[Rob McCow]

Ladies & Gentlemen, presenting to you THE Mark Gatiss! Writer, actor, producer and Who fan extraordinaire, this man's talents know no bounds!

But what is his greatest achievement in the field of Doctor Who? Why, there are so many to choose from! FOUR novels! THREE (soon to be FOUR) episodes! TWO Big Finish Plays! A wealth of riches and delights that even the Wisdom of Solomon would not be enough to unpick a winner from! But YOU, our fabulous denizens, must decide - TONIGHT!

[Si Hunt]

Looking at that list he suddenly seems less good than I thought he was! I'd forgotton about "Invaders from Mars" which was turgid.

He's like a great singer without any great songs! He just always seems about to be brilliant.

I went for "Unquiet Dead" as was Very Good and on TV which means I've experienced it. Though actually I have read "Nightshade". It was Quite Good.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

I've gone for The Idiot's Lantern, because there's a lot of things I like about that story.

I think he might be better at acting than at writing, but I can't be sure. He was great as thingy in that episode (?mind is blank?) until he became a huge and atrociously designed CGI sneeze monster.

[Lissa]

I liked The Roundheads - a proper, old fashioned historical with recognisable setting, famous guest stars and the 2nd Doctor and his companions getting mixed up in events that they cannot rewrite, not one line.

[SiHart]

Invaders from Mars is indeed turgid and dull. I don't think I finished it. St Anthony's Fire was also quite dull too. A bit of a disappointment after Nightshade, which is what I voted for.

I quite like all the others. The Idiot's lantern is a bit of a favourite of mine. Terribly underrated if you ask me. And even if you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway! Love it! The Wire is HUNGRYYYYYYY!

[Perry Vale]

I don't do audios, and I may have read Nightshade in the nineties but recall very little of it, so I'll have to go on his tv outings.

Of which, Victory is by far the best of the three, and one of my favourite Dalek stories.

[Dirk Gently]

I've voted for Unquiet Dead which is excellent, Nightshade is his best novel for me & Phantasmagoria is a good play. Always liked it.
I need to watch Victory of the Daleks again but from memory I prefer Idiots Lantern.

[J.R. Southall]

I can only go from the TV stuff too. Obviously (?), it's going to have to be The Unquiet Dead. But I'm very tempted to vote for Victory of the Daleks just because of how mental it is...

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I don't think I can really vote because I've only seen his TV episodes, and I don't rate any of them particularly highly.

[Larry]

steve, not quite sure why you are doing this poll today I'd of thought it would of been much better waiting untill we've seen Night Terrors , which from the trailers looks like being Gattis's best work yet.

Any way I feel Mark's 3 episodes so far have been very hit and miss The Unquiet Dead, was absolutely brilliant , sadly the Idiots Lantern, left me feeling distinctly underwhelmed - and Victory of the Daleks, got better the more i've seen it.

[Andrew Curnow]

I'm a big fan of Mark Gatiss, I remember really enjoying an interview he gave once with DWM where he was just so lovely & enthusiastic.

Nightshade - warm and funny and a really good little read.

St Anthony's Fire - a bit duller than his first book, although I have very fond memories of it, primarily because it was the book I was in the middle of reading when Zel went into labour!!

The Roundheads - never read it.

Last of the Gaderene - nor this one.

Phantasmagoria - another nice little tale, probably doesn't get Turlough quite right, but gives David Ryall the perfect opportunity to play a Who villain perfectly.

Invaders from Mars - never heard it.

The Unquiet Dead - oddly, in 2005 I was a little disappointed with it after the first two episodes. But it's probably the new series episode I've seen the most, and I enjoy it more each time. Particular delights are the carriage scene ("Except that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what was that about, padding?") and the very touching farewell scene. When Dickens asks if he'll be remembered, and Eccleston just so gently says "Forever" it's so moving. Not to mention that "For shame" has become a sort of Curnow Towers catchphrase!! A gem, a real gem.

The Idiot's Lantern - again, I've enjoyed it more with re-watchings than at the time. Not quite as good as TUD (IMHO) but still a very neat, tight, atmospheric little tale. Maureen Lipman is superb. Tennant's angry acting lets it down, so does the guy playing the Dad who seems to be pitching his performance differently to everybody else. Plus the rather cringe-inducing doorstep speech from Tommy - I'm not deriding the sentiments, just that it's so blatantly a 'and the action now stops, and the other characters stop too, just so Tommy can make this speech'

Victory of the Daleks - a bit of a mess, frankly. The 'Daleks posing as friends' bit was far too short, which is a shame because it was by far the most interesting idea in the story. Having the Doctor stand around chatting for so much of the time was a bad idea, and unbalanced the whole thing - and then the ending feels so darned rushed. Not to mention, did NOBODY in Cardiff offer the opinion "They look a bit naff don't they"?!! Nobody, really!!!

So, to recap in a slightly clearer form, it's a vote for The Unquiet Dead!!

[Awesome Wells]

I would have said Nightshade or The Unquiet Dead.

[brandynigma]

Um... I actually loved Invaders from Mars! IT HAS SIMON PEGG AND JESSICA STEPHENSON!

[Nyder]

I'll refrain from voting until tonight's episode

I keep bumping into Mr Gatiss at Rufus Wainwright gigs (he's a bigger fan than me if that's possible). Haven't quite summoned up the courage to say hello yet though Roll on tonight. Actually roll on tomorrow as I'm out tonight.

[Anthony Williams]

Nightshade, by a country mile!

[Stuart Wallis]

He seem sto me to write stuff which is either pretty good (Nightshade, the Roundheads, The Unquiet Dead, The Idiot's Lantern, The Last Of the Gaderene), or else pretty apalling (everything else, particularly Phantasmagoria). Nightshade is a thing of beauty though, so that's what i've gone for.