Utopia is a strange beast . It is in effect the start of of a three parts 45 minute story , equivalent to six episodes of the classic series . However re-watching it again you may become aware of the flaws of RTD vision of DOCTOR WHO . It's set on an alien planet which is only to be welcomed , but unfortunately it's quite literally a stone quarry in England something the classic series suffered from . Surely with so much technology available to the show we should be seeing something more impressive . Similarly why is said quarry full of extras from MAD MAX ? The fact that Neil Marshall's film DOOMSDAY failed says a lot by having every post apocalypse scenario populated by butch psychopaths running around in leather - it shows a complete lack of imagination . It also suffers from a lack of internal logic . We're told hat " There hasn't been an university for a thousand years " but somehow the refugees have trucks and firearm available to them . Surely you'd have university standard engineers etc in order to build and maintain such things ? The return of Capatain Jack may be well received by gay men and heterosexual women in the audience but it's obvious he's being used as a plot device by RTD in order to drive the plot forward , a plot that is very threadbare when you examine it
There is a massive plus though and that is the casting of Sir Derek Jacobi as Professor Yana . Jacobi gives without doubt the most memorable of a guest on Nu-Who . It's poignant , moving and totally touching . The only problem is that when he's on screen you start to notice the lack of presence by the rest of the cast . It's somewhat painful to realise what a great Doctor he would have been if a previous producer had cast him in the 1980s . Jacobi's performance makes up for the episode's numerous flaws and makes me give Utopia seven out of ten