'The Lazarus Experiment' (Story Code 3.6) by Stephen Greenhorn

“At the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human.” – Professor Richard Lazarus

Aware that his promise to take Martha for just one trip in his time / space machine has taken slightly longer than expected, the Doctor finally returns his companion to her living room, on the morning after she left on her travels. As a disappointed Martha bids an unwilling goodbye, she hears a voicemail message left by her mother, informing her that her sister, Tish, is on the news; turning on the television, Martha and the Doctor see Tish at a press conference with an elderly man, who promises a momentous occasion for humanity. The Doctor leaves in the TARDIS… only to return seconds later, his interest clearly piqued by what he has just heard. That evening, the Doctor and Martha dress up for a black tie affair at Lazarus Laboratories. Here they meet Tish, currently working as Head of Public Relations for Professor Richard Lazarus, and the rest of the Jones family – including Martha’s mother, who immediately gets the wrong idea about her daughter’s new friend. Professor Lazarus appears and promises to show his assembled guests a miracle that will change the world forever. As the seventy-six year-old steps into the complex apparatus in the centre of the room, his assistants activate the machinery; but when the microfield manipulator’s systems begin to overload, the Doctor is forced to intercede and shut the machinery down before it can result in a gigantic explosion. As the smoke clears, Lazarus steps from the booth… and everyone in attendance gasps in amazement to see that the elderly professor has somehow been reborn as a much younger man. Lazarus mingles with his party guests, and his associate, Lady Thaw, eagerly looks forward to the money they will make when the process is made commercially available. The Doctor remains unconvinced at the veracity of Lazarus’ experiment: he understands its principals, and is certain that the professor has overlooked an important variable; however, Lazarus merely scoffs at these warning, and, after kissing Martha’s hand, bids the Doctor goodbye. Using the DNA sample that Martha just obtained from the kiss, the Doctor decides to use the facility’s laboratories to make his own investigations. Lazarus stuns Lady Thaw with the admission that he no longer finds her attractive; as the elderly woman voices her anger at his lover’s change of plan, Lazarus becomes wracked with pain; as he collapses to the floor, his body begins an agonising transformation – and the creature that he becomes strikes down Lady Thaw in a deadly attack. Reverting to his human form, Lazarus then rejoins the party, setting his sights on Tish and inviting her up to the roof. The Doctor and Martha discover that the hypersonic sound waves used in the professor’s experiment have failed to stabilise Lazarus’s genes – the professor’s DNA is still mutating… Having found Lady Thaw’s corpse, her body completely drained of life-energy, the Doctor and Martha look for Tish; learning from her family that she is on the roof, the Doctor and Martha arrive just in time to stop Tish making a terrible mistake with her boss. When Lazarus transforms into a terrifying, primal monstrosity that immediately attempts to attack them, the Doctor orders everyone to run to safety. As the Lazarus-monster tries to break down the roof door, the building’s systems detect the attack and promptly trigger a security lockdown. The Lazarus-monster crashes into the party, attacking the guests and draining them of their life force. Opening the main rooms’ doors with his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor buys everyone time to escape by drawing Lazarus after him. While the two combatants play a deadly game of hide-and-seek, Martha activates the security console and opens the main doors, allowing the guests to reach safety; however, to her mother’s consternation, Martha chooses to go back and help the Doctor. Heading for a laboratory, the Doctor tries to destroy Lazarus using the power from an electric light and the gas supply for the Bunsen burners’ to create an explosion, but the creature effortlessly shrugs off the assault. Reunited with Martha, the Doctor makes for the Lazarus machine, but the duo become trapped inside the booth while the Lazarus-monster attempts to smash its way inside to reach them. As he works frantically at the machine’s systems, the Doctor tells Martha that Lazarus is still human – he has been transformed into a genetic throwback that was rejected by nature far back in humanity’s history. When the Lazarus-monster activates the rejuvenation machine, the Doctor manages to reverse the polarity of the energy flow, reflecting the power back at the creature, reverting him back to human form. A short while later, after the emergency services have arrived and taken Lazarus away in an ambulance, the Doctor comes under the wrath of Mrs Jones; it seems that she has learned of his background from a mysterious man at the party, and she warns Martha to stay away from him. Hearing a crash, Martha and her sister ignore their mother’s advice and join the Doctor as he races to find out what has happened; to their dismay they discover that Lazarus has returned from the dead, drained the life force from the ambulance crew and sought sanctuary in the nearby Southwark Cathedral. Cautiously entering the building, they find Lazarus kneeling before the altar, his body spasming with more changes. The professor reveals that his experiments into the prevention of death were a result of his fear of mortality experienced during in the Blitz of London; however, the Doctor condemns his work as folly, stating that his attempts to cheat death come with too high a price. After the Doctor formulates a plan to stop Lazarus by using the bell tower, Martha and Tish decide to lure the professor away; as Lazarus transforms into his monstrous form once more and gives chase, the Doctor makes for the cathedral’s organ. Lazarus confronts the two women in the bell tower, but the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to boost the output of the church’s organ, bombarding Lazarus with acoustically accentuated sound waves. The shock of the assault sends Lazarus plummeting to the floor below; the impact kills him instantly, and his body reverts firstly to his rejuvenated human form, and then to his original, elderly self. Some time later, back at Martha’s home, the Doctor decides to offer his friend one more trip in the TARDIS. When Martha turns him down, refusing to be seen as just a passenger, the Doctor changes his proposal, conceding that Martha has since become his friend. Together they leave for adventures anew – narrowly missing a call on Martha’s telephone answering machine, as her mother again attempts to warn her about the Doctor, using information that comes straight from a “Mr Harold Saxon”…

David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Leticia ‘Tish’ Jones), Reggie Yates (Leo Jones), Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones), Mark Gatiss ( Professor Richard Lazarus), Thelma Barlow (Lady Thaw), Lucy O'Connell (Party Guest), Bertie Carvel (Mysterious Man)

Directed by Richard Clarke
Produced by Phil Collinson
Executive Producers Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner
A BBC Wales production

TX:
5th May 2007 @ 7.00 pm

Notes:
*Featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha

*Working title: 'The Madness of Professor Lazarus'

*Mrs Thaw mentions Mr Saxon's interest in the Lazarus experiment, while the mysterious man gives Mrs Jones information on the Doctor that comes from Mr Saxon; for more on the mysterious Saxon, see 'The Sound of Drums'