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"Attack of the Graske: A Novel Concept with Limited Depth"

Watching Attack of the Graske as a video version, without its original interactive elements, transforms the experience into a straightforward, if somewhat hollow, minisode. Originally released after The Christmas Invasion in 2005, this short adventure was designed to be played on TV, allowing viewers to act as the Doctor’s temporary companion.

David Tennant’s energetic performance anchors the story, as he zips around the TARDIS, breaking the fourth wall to engage the viewer directly. The interactive format involved solving tasks to thwart the titular attack of the Graske. The inclusion of humorous reactions from the Doctor—especially if you fail spectacularly at every task—is a clever touch that adds charm to the original concept. However, when stripped of this interactivity, the episode loses a lot of its uniqueness.

The Graske itself is an intriguing alien, and it feels like a missed opportunity that the creature hasn’t been explored more extensively in the Doctor Who universe (though it does reappear in The Sarah Jane Adventures). The sets, costumes, and performances deserve credit for creating a festive atmosphere in both the Christmas 2005 and 1884 segments, which help immerse viewers in the Doctor’s world.

However, the lack of a substantial plot in this 15-minute episode is hard to overlook. 

📝Verdict: 6/10

Without the interactive component, Attack of the Graske becomes little more than a whimsical side note in the show’s expansive lore—a fun experiment but ultimately a lightweight entry in the Doctor Who canon.

A little extra. This interactive episode/game appeared on the, soon to be defunct, red button after The Christmas Invasion. It subsequently appeared on the BBC website.

It's the sort of thing I really can't see coming out of the Doctor Who Production Office nowadays. It's from the era of Totally Doctor Who, The Infinite Quest and the 'tardisodes'.

To be honest, it's a bit naff but it is fun all the same. I remember the actual interaction of it being a bit clunky but it's short enough to be inoffensive.

The central antagonist, the Graske, is interesting as it's a creation (played by regular Jimmy Vee) that would then appear in the Sarah Jane Adventures as a fully fledged character, along with their close cousins, the Groske (the blue version). The appearance of a Slitheen is also an indication of cross-pollination as they would go on to feature heavily in the Sarah Jane Adventures as well.

The potential audience for this is clearly children - the plot is simple and linear; the 'puzzles' simple (although the first one which involves switching between camera angles was quite frustrating if you didn't get the right shot at the right time).

Despite it's 'slightly non-canonical' status, Tennant gives a good performance (which can't really be said of the actors playing the family in the first puzzle) and is clearly treating this as the real thing. It fits nicely with the later Music of the Spheres short film (particularly with the audience point of view) and I can't bear it any ill will, even if it is a bit silly.

Gonna put this in simple terms Rose at abba concert clip 10/10 everything else is a little fun

ten is really cute in this <3

Attack of the Graske is still playable right here - https://video.eko.com/v/A67WXE?autoplay=true

It's something I rather gladly share because so many web-based Doctor Who games are completely dead. So to have something that was filmed with the TV crew and features an awful lot of David Tennant, it's definitely a big deal that the game still exists in some form.

Now, it's not the best game in the world. The controls in this surviving form are a little janky, and the gameplay is incredibly simplistic - it will basically keep going along the story even if you get something wrong, to the extent I think you can just watch this thing without actually interacting with the game at all (but to be fair, you won't get the good ending). Hey, at least like a proper Doctor Who But like the legendary game Dragon's Lair it uses a lot of prerecorded footage to give a unique Doctor Who experience that I think is very cool overall. I didn't know something like this existed so to stumble upon it is a very happy little surprise.

It's not the best story in the world and has some pretty rough dialogue, but stumbling onto a fully realized production was pretty exciting. The Graske isn't the most exciting but the make-up crew did a hell of an impressive job and they even did some fun stuff like put in a Slitheen appearance. it actually was CGI and didn't look as terrible as one might think for something low budget like this. Some of the cast were pretty awkward but most did a great job, and Tennant is a treasure as always. Not the best thing I've played by a wide mile, but it is neat for the novelty and it's fun to see the show in a 4:3 aspect ratio.