THE TIME MONSTER
6 episodes
Gulp. Consensus of opinion says that this story is frighteningly bad, so I'm not looking forward to the rest of it with undisguised glee I have to say... Still, I didn't think there was much wrong with the first episode, although the Master is revealed far too instantaneously and his Greek accent drifts in and out and then disappears altogether after a minute or two. There is a fun relationship between Ruth Ingram and Stuart Hyde featuring a kind of fractious affection, and the time experiments these three are carrying out seem quite compelling. Presumably all the wild and wacky crapness happens in the remaining five episodes...?!
Episodes watched: 216
Episodes still to watch: 506
Monday, October 10, 2005
Sunday, October 09, 2005
'The Mutants'
THE MUTANTS
6 episodes
Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to expect. The plot, a thinly-veiled dig at the perils of colonialism and apartheid coupled with some interesting bioevolutionary speculation, is strong enough, and although I gather some of the acting is widely held up as the worst on offer in Doctor Who history I didn't find it particularly objectionable. Indeed, I thought Rick James' role as a steadfast and ultimately rewarded guard character was a rare sympathetic central part for a black man in the Who canon - although all things considered I'd say naming him 'Cotton' was a little thoughtless. The rest of the cast are serviceable enough, although it is a shame the always reliable Geoffrey Palmer's Administrator gets killed off within the first episode - the actor's second nasty exit in as many appearances, following 'The Silurians'. Most memorable is definitely Paul Whitsun-Jones' OTT portrayal of the fat, loathsome Marshal, whose desire to retain his priviledged position and terraform Solos as 'New Earth' is the engine of the plot. John Hollis' Sondergaard is excellent and distinctive, and it is a shame we don't meet him until relatively late in proceedings; furthermore, he contributes to the amazing melting pot of accents also featuring Cotton's Caribbean and the Germanic scientist Jaeger. Also worthy of mention is the slightly bonkers Solonian, Varan, who tends to talk about himself in the third person (presumably to demonstrate his primitive status, although this doesn't afflict Ky, say) and whose hairdo, sartorial elegance and overall sublety are startlingly reminiscent of Freddie Mercury circa 'Bohemian Rhapsody'...
What really makes this story something of a trial are its length - four episodes might have served it better than six - plus a slightly less than committed turn from Jon Pertwee, who manages to set the tone with an outstanding fluff in his first scene: "I'm not allowed to open it; I couldn't even if I wanted to... No, I'm not meant to; I couldn't open it even if I wanted to," that caused me to rewind to check I hadn't imagined it, and some peculiar stylistic choices - e.g. the Doctor and Sondergaard wandering around the 'dark' caves worrying their blazing torches might burn out is ludicrous in view of the fact that the entire system is lit like a particularly gaudy discotheque, with odd green and red spotlights overlaying pink floodlighting, and the CSO-heavy scene there where Jo stumbles into the radiation chamber is so trippy it gave me a headache. Similarly, while the arthropod-like Mutant stages of the Solosian's life cycle are quite well-realised, Ky's final transformation into a floating, rainbow-hued spare member of Abba is a little too much frankly. The cliffhanger sequence where Varan is sucked into space through the Skybase's hull is weird, too, as despite the beautiful background nebula the attention is soon diverted by the others just waiting out the initial pressure drop and then walking off with barely a struggle. Such oversights are a shame given that the Overlords' costumes are good, the transporter effects are quite decent, the model work with Skybase orbiting Solos like the Death Star isn't bad either, and scenes like the opening one and indeed all the others on the surface of Solos are a treat - the swirling mist, skeletal vegetation and low camera angles create an excellent alien environment.
Tell you what's weirdest, though - I fell asleep twice during episode 1 and consequently took twice as long as I should have to get to the end of it, and so had been watching for about seventy-five minutes when about halfway through part 2 the plot elements of planet, orbiting base, power-mad Marshal, mutants, changing the atmosphere etc. fell into place and I realised that I've actually watched this story before!! Discovered afterwards the video came out in 40th anniversary year, 2003, so presumably Locus bought it then - considering it's only a year or two since that viewing, the fact that I had totally forgotten I'd seen it and took an hour and a quarter to remember is possibly some sort of inarguable verdict on the whole adventure...
6/10
Episodes watched: 215
Episodes still to watch: 507
6 episodes
Well, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to expect. The plot, a thinly-veiled dig at the perils of colonialism and apartheid coupled with some interesting bioevolutionary speculation, is strong enough, and although I gather some of the acting is widely held up as the worst on offer in Doctor Who history I didn't find it particularly objectionable. Indeed, I thought Rick James' role as a steadfast and ultimately rewarded guard character was a rare sympathetic central part for a black man in the Who canon - although all things considered I'd say naming him 'Cotton' was a little thoughtless. The rest of the cast are serviceable enough, although it is a shame the always reliable Geoffrey Palmer's Administrator gets killed off within the first episode - the actor's second nasty exit in as many appearances, following 'The Silurians'. Most memorable is definitely Paul Whitsun-Jones' OTT portrayal of the fat, loathsome Marshal, whose desire to retain his priviledged position and terraform Solos as 'New Earth' is the engine of the plot. John Hollis' Sondergaard is excellent and distinctive, and it is a shame we don't meet him until relatively late in proceedings; furthermore, he contributes to the amazing melting pot of accents also featuring Cotton's Caribbean and the Germanic scientist Jaeger. Also worthy of mention is the slightly bonkers Solonian, Varan, who tends to talk about himself in the third person (presumably to demonstrate his primitive status, although this doesn't afflict Ky, say) and whose hairdo, sartorial elegance and overall sublety are startlingly reminiscent of Freddie Mercury circa 'Bohemian Rhapsody'...
What really makes this story something of a trial are its length - four episodes might have served it better than six - plus a slightly less than committed turn from Jon Pertwee, who manages to set the tone with an outstanding fluff in his first scene: "I'm not allowed to open it; I couldn't even if I wanted to... No, I'm not meant to; I couldn't open it even if I wanted to," that caused me to rewind to check I hadn't imagined it, and some peculiar stylistic choices - e.g. the Doctor and Sondergaard wandering around the 'dark' caves worrying their blazing torches might burn out is ludicrous in view of the fact that the entire system is lit like a particularly gaudy discotheque, with odd green and red spotlights overlaying pink floodlighting, and the CSO-heavy scene there where Jo stumbles into the radiation chamber is so trippy it gave me a headache. Similarly, while the arthropod-like Mutant stages of the Solosian's life cycle are quite well-realised, Ky's final transformation into a floating, rainbow-hued spare member of Abba is a little too much frankly. The cliffhanger sequence where Varan is sucked into space through the Skybase's hull is weird, too, as despite the beautiful background nebula the attention is soon diverted by the others just waiting out the initial pressure drop and then walking off with barely a struggle. Such oversights are a shame given that the Overlords' costumes are good, the transporter effects are quite decent, the model work with Skybase orbiting Solos like the Death Star isn't bad either, and scenes like the opening one and indeed all the others on the surface of Solos are a treat - the swirling mist, skeletal vegetation and low camera angles create an excellent alien environment.
Tell you what's weirdest, though - I fell asleep twice during episode 1 and consequently took twice as long as I should have to get to the end of it, and so had been watching for about seventy-five minutes when about halfway through part 2 the plot elements of planet, orbiting base, power-mad Marshal, mutants, changing the atmosphere etc. fell into place and I realised that I've actually watched this story before!! Discovered afterwards the video came out in 40th anniversary year, 2003, so presumably Locus bought it then - considering it's only a year or two since that viewing, the fact that I had totally forgotten I'd seen it and took an hour and a quarter to remember is possibly some sort of inarguable verdict on the whole adventure...
6/10
Episodes watched: 215
Episodes still to watch: 507
Saturday, October 08, 2005
'The Sea Devils'
THE SEA DEVILS
6 episodes
I liked 'The Sea Devils' a lot; it's big, flashy and expensive and there's very little to denigrate, but oddly the many good points never seem to add up to something truly great - it's simply so rock solid it almost defies reviewing in either positive or negative terms. The Doctor/Master characters and relationship are fabulouly portrayed: Jon Pertwee gets to show off his action-man persona more than ever, hopping in and out of a diving bell and piloting a speedboat and jetski-type mini speeder with great aplomb - I was nearly overcome with anticipatory glee when I saw the Master take off on one of the latter with a second waiting conveniently on the shoreline! The Master, after his recent dalliances with interplanetary machinations and black magic, is back to his customary position of forging an uneasy alliance with an 'alien menace' and teaming up with the Doctor when his plans go a little awry. Despite all their antagonism, the strange mutual respect between the two is shown up well in their entertaining swordfight, where the Doctor hands his adversary his blade back, and in their absorbed collaboration on the Master's machine - even if the Doctor has his own motives - and in their joint escape from the doomed underwater base at the end. That they can make such a good team when necessary is partially explained by the Doctor finally admitting that they were once good friends in their youth. There are a series of great Master moments: when we see him glued to The Clangers and imitating their whistling 'speech', followed by his tongue-in-cheek comment that they are a "rather interesting extraterrestrial lifeform", it is so unexpected that I was rolling; the moment where his frustration boils over and he abandons hypnotising a guard for a vicious blow to the neck; and of course his cheery, sardonic wave from the hovercraft as he makes good his escape at the very end.
The Sea Devils, as they are so nicknamed early on, never get an official monicker within the story, just like their cousins the 'Silurians' - who, in a neat addressing of his own error, get a mention in Malcolm Hulke's script when the Doctor suggests they should be more accurately known as Eocenes. Sadly neither period of Earth's history is actually appropriate for having fostered large reptilians parallel with early apes, but hey... The aquatic versions have a different look, partly lizard, a touch of bat, a smidgeon of pig and a whole lot of springer spaniel if I'm being honest. The long neck and high head are effective, although the lower bodies look a little too human and their netting clothes a bit silly and unnecessary. That, like their relatives, they have a senior claim to Earth and face the choice of conflict or coexistence with humanity again features strongly in the plot, and it is a shame that all sides descend into a state of ultimate antagonism and distrust and the Sea Devils all have to be destroyed. The reptiles do deserve special mentiom for their often spectacular demises, with some impressive flips, twirls and various crash-and-burn landings on being shot by the Navy - who totally replace the absent UNIT in this story, the real Navy having lent hardware and manpower to make the serial look as realistic as possible. The sheer weight of ships and explosives is impressive, although the large number of minor characters who drop in and out is hard to follow when you're as tired as I was while watching this. There are three supporting roles of note, though: Colonel Trenchard, the Master's jailor, conspirator and an enthusiastic golfer, who dies protecting his prisoner to the last; Captain Hart, who fills the Brigadier's role well, overcoming his inital scepticism to ally himself strongly with the Doctor; and the latecoming, pompous, overbearing, dimwitted, cowardly civil servant Walker, who alienates everyone he comes across, treats the female 3rd Officer Blythe as a tealady and fortifies himself mid-crisis with the likes of toast and marmalade in order to come up with the none-more-crass idea of nuking the South Coast in order to destroy the perceived threat of the reptile race. Nice to know the real world could never be so crazy, eh?
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 209
Episodes still to watch: 513
6 episodes
I liked 'The Sea Devils' a lot; it's big, flashy and expensive and there's very little to denigrate, but oddly the many good points never seem to add up to something truly great - it's simply so rock solid it almost defies reviewing in either positive or negative terms. The Doctor/Master characters and relationship are fabulouly portrayed: Jon Pertwee gets to show off his action-man persona more than ever, hopping in and out of a diving bell and piloting a speedboat and jetski-type mini speeder with great aplomb - I was nearly overcome with anticipatory glee when I saw the Master take off on one of the latter with a second waiting conveniently on the shoreline! The Master, after his recent dalliances with interplanetary machinations and black magic, is back to his customary position of forging an uneasy alliance with an 'alien menace' and teaming up with the Doctor when his plans go a little awry. Despite all their antagonism, the strange mutual respect between the two is shown up well in their entertaining swordfight, where the Doctor hands his adversary his blade back, and in their absorbed collaboration on the Master's machine - even if the Doctor has his own motives - and in their joint escape from the doomed underwater base at the end. That they can make such a good team when necessary is partially explained by the Doctor finally admitting that they were once good friends in their youth. There are a series of great Master moments: when we see him glued to The Clangers and imitating their whistling 'speech', followed by his tongue-in-cheek comment that they are a "rather interesting extraterrestrial lifeform", it is so unexpected that I was rolling; the moment where his frustration boils over and he abandons hypnotising a guard for a vicious blow to the neck; and of course his cheery, sardonic wave from the hovercraft as he makes good his escape at the very end.
The Sea Devils, as they are so nicknamed early on, never get an official monicker within the story, just like their cousins the 'Silurians' - who, in a neat addressing of his own error, get a mention in Malcolm Hulke's script when the Doctor suggests they should be more accurately known as Eocenes. Sadly neither period of Earth's history is actually appropriate for having fostered large reptilians parallel with early apes, but hey... The aquatic versions have a different look, partly lizard, a touch of bat, a smidgeon of pig and a whole lot of springer spaniel if I'm being honest. The long neck and high head are effective, although the lower bodies look a little too human and their netting clothes a bit silly and unnecessary. That, like their relatives, they have a senior claim to Earth and face the choice of conflict or coexistence with humanity again features strongly in the plot, and it is a shame that all sides descend into a state of ultimate antagonism and distrust and the Sea Devils all have to be destroyed. The reptiles do deserve special mentiom for their often spectacular demises, with some impressive flips, twirls and various crash-and-burn landings on being shot by the Navy - who totally replace the absent UNIT in this story, the real Navy having lent hardware and manpower to make the serial look as realistic as possible. The sheer weight of ships and explosives is impressive, although the large number of minor characters who drop in and out is hard to follow when you're as tired as I was while watching this. There are three supporting roles of note, though: Colonel Trenchard, the Master's jailor, conspirator and an enthusiastic golfer, who dies protecting his prisoner to the last; Captain Hart, who fills the Brigadier's role well, overcoming his inital scepticism to ally himself strongly with the Doctor; and the latecoming, pompous, overbearing, dimwitted, cowardly civil servant Walker, who alienates everyone he comes across, treats the female 3rd Officer Blythe as a tealady and fortifies himself mid-crisis with the likes of toast and marmalade in order to come up with the none-more-crass idea of nuking the South Coast in order to destroy the perceived threat of the reptile race. Nice to know the real world could never be so crazy, eh?
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 209
Episodes still to watch: 513
'The Curse of Peladon'
THE CURSE OF PELADON
4 episodes
200 episodes down, only 500+ to go...! I have to say, I've long had a strange half-forgotten affection for 'The Curse of Peladon' ever since I listened to the cassette of Jon Pertwee's reading of the tale about seven years back - despite remembering very little of it! Essentially a political allegory (about Britain's entry to the Common Market) crossed with a haunted house mystery, this is a thoughtful rather than overtly exciting story, and none the worse for it. Straight away it is refreshing to see the Doctor and Jo end up on an alien planet, and the theme of the quasi-medieval Peladon society teetering on the cusp of being dragged into civilisation via inclusion in the Galactic Federation (very Star Trek) is interestingly played out. The relationship between the tentatively forward-looking King Peladon (David Troughton, son of former Doctor Patrick, then-flatmate of future Doctor Colin Baker, and veteran of 'The War Games') and his violently traditionalist High Priest Hepesh is nicely written, and its variations form the thread through the serial. That the lonely, indecisive, misled yet moral King is finally confronted with Hepesh's death, where the priest shows his actions were born out of his misguided desire to protect his world, allows at the last the former to shake off some of his shackles and the latter to regain his dignity.
The assorted collection of aliens is a rare delight, from the tentacled blob Arcturus in its mobile life-support system to the endearingly girly, six footed hermaphrodite Alpha Centauri - whose marvellous pillar-shaped costume has one huge eye that actually blinks... Actually, those two are the entirety of the new creatures on display, notwithstanding the okay Aggedor beast - isn't a collection of just four planets' delegates (including Earth's Delegate Leader) a bit on the small side for a galactic summit meeting?!? This fact notwithstanding, the appearance of the Martian delegation is fascinating: a unique instance of an old enemy of the Doctor's being totally rehabilitated within the series. That the Ice Warriors have left their savage, warlike past behind them and adopted a peaceful civilisation based on a code of honour and nobility, is a very pleasant surprise and a real turnup for the books in Doctor Who, where 'bad' races tend to stay that way. The way the story plays on the Doctor's understandable distrust of them after his earlier experiences to obfuscate the real villains of the piece is very clever, and his subsequent alliance with them quite heartwarming.
Further to this, the scenery is suitably gloomy and claustrophobic, there is a nice romantic subplot between the King and Jo - who does a good job pleading for the Doctor's life, navigating high ledges in high winds in high heels, keeping the delegates on the same page and not upsetting the Doctor's activities too often - that threatens to end in her staying behind, and crucially the aliens' distinct personalities are all well defined: particularly amusing are the scenes where Izlyr turns aside from the hysterically babbling Alpha Centauri to confess to Jo that despite its faults he finds himself longing for the company of the treacherous Arcturus, and where Centauri, now the only delegate remaining not from Mars, acquiesces to a unanimous vote when flanked by the intimidating brace of Ice Warriors! The Doctor gets lots of good stuff to do throughout, effortlessly impersonating an important official (again), combating Hepesh's machinations, exposing the murky 'myth' of Aggedor through his pacification of the actual animal, and has an excellent pit fight with the King's champion, the speechless Grun, that is conducted in a compelling near-silence and further emphasises Pertwee's willingness to do virtually any stuntwork possible... My only quibble is why someone doesn't just show Peladon the 'secret' tunnels beneath the city at some point to prove the Doctor's case - after all, half the cast have traipsed up and down them with such regularity there's no reason why the King couldn't be led around a corner or two to have them pointed out, which makes the Doctor's meek acceptance of punishment mystifying in the circumstances. Ah well, can't have everything...
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 203
Episodes still to watch: 519
4 episodes
200 episodes down, only 500+ to go...! I have to say, I've long had a strange half-forgotten affection for 'The Curse of Peladon' ever since I listened to the cassette of Jon Pertwee's reading of the tale about seven years back - despite remembering very little of it! Essentially a political allegory (about Britain's entry to the Common Market) crossed with a haunted house mystery, this is a thoughtful rather than overtly exciting story, and none the worse for it. Straight away it is refreshing to see the Doctor and Jo end up on an alien planet, and the theme of the quasi-medieval Peladon society teetering on the cusp of being dragged into civilisation via inclusion in the Galactic Federation (very Star Trek) is interestingly played out. The relationship between the tentatively forward-looking King Peladon (David Troughton, son of former Doctor Patrick, then-flatmate of future Doctor Colin Baker, and veteran of 'The War Games') and his violently traditionalist High Priest Hepesh is nicely written, and its variations form the thread through the serial. That the lonely, indecisive, misled yet moral King is finally confronted with Hepesh's death, where the priest shows his actions were born out of his misguided desire to protect his world, allows at the last the former to shake off some of his shackles and the latter to regain his dignity.
The assorted collection of aliens is a rare delight, from the tentacled blob Arcturus in its mobile life-support system to the endearingly girly, six footed hermaphrodite Alpha Centauri - whose marvellous pillar-shaped costume has one huge eye that actually blinks... Actually, those two are the entirety of the new creatures on display, notwithstanding the okay Aggedor beast - isn't a collection of just four planets' delegates (including Earth's Delegate Leader) a bit on the small side for a galactic summit meeting?!? This fact notwithstanding, the appearance of the Martian delegation is fascinating: a unique instance of an old enemy of the Doctor's being totally rehabilitated within the series. That the Ice Warriors have left their savage, warlike past behind them and adopted a peaceful civilisation based on a code of honour and nobility, is a very pleasant surprise and a real turnup for the books in Doctor Who, where 'bad' races tend to stay that way. The way the story plays on the Doctor's understandable distrust of them after his earlier experiences to obfuscate the real villains of the piece is very clever, and his subsequent alliance with them quite heartwarming.
Further to this, the scenery is suitably gloomy and claustrophobic, there is a nice romantic subplot between the King and Jo - who does a good job pleading for the Doctor's life, navigating high ledges in high winds in high heels, keeping the delegates on the same page and not upsetting the Doctor's activities too often - that threatens to end in her staying behind, and crucially the aliens' distinct personalities are all well defined: particularly amusing are the scenes where Izlyr turns aside from the hysterically babbling Alpha Centauri to confess to Jo that despite its faults he finds himself longing for the company of the treacherous Arcturus, and where Centauri, now the only delegate remaining not from Mars, acquiesces to a unanimous vote when flanked by the intimidating brace of Ice Warriors! The Doctor gets lots of good stuff to do throughout, effortlessly impersonating an important official (again), combating Hepesh's machinations, exposing the murky 'myth' of Aggedor through his pacification of the actual animal, and has an excellent pit fight with the King's champion, the speechless Grun, that is conducted in a compelling near-silence and further emphasises Pertwee's willingness to do virtually any stuntwork possible... My only quibble is why someone doesn't just show Peladon the 'secret' tunnels beneath the city at some point to prove the Doctor's case - after all, half the cast have traipsed up and down them with such regularity there's no reason why the King couldn't be led around a corner or two to have them pointed out, which makes the Doctor's meek acceptance of punishment mystifying in the circumstances. Ah well, can't have everything...
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 203
Episodes still to watch: 519
Friday, October 07, 2005
'Day of the Daleks'
DAY OF THE DALEKS
4 episodes
Reasonably solid little story that has several good elements, by far the least effective of which is the Daleks themselves. You can tell that they were added to the original scripts, which did not originally feature them, as their part is largely confined to the background and they do not have a proactive role until the final few minutes of the serial. Considering these most iconic of monsters were 'killed off' in their last appearance a long four and a half years earlier (after all their previous stories had been crammed into the series' first three and a half years), what should have been an epochal reintroduction - in colour too, no less - is marred by the title, as ever, flagging this up, any remaining suspense being destroyed by their cropping up randomly fifteen minutes in for about two seconds, and the fact that their voices are terrible - far too human without any of the metallic alien menace that characterising their most terrifying moments.
Otherwise, this is a solid serial. The main theme concerning the problems of time travel and the paradoxes that can result from it is handled very well, with the lovely revelation that the guerrilas' sterling efforts to prevent their awful future world coming into being actually cause it! The location work and sets are good too, and UNIT get to be a bit more serious and military after the cosy 'family' feel of the last season. The Doctor is marvellous, disapproving yet sympathetic to the various human elements, and enjoying his fine wine and cheese so much he at one point casually sends an assailant flying with one hand before taking another sip and putting his glass down to complete the job...! Nice too to get a glimpse of his two predecessors on the Daleks' mind analyser screen. Full marks for effort, too, for his valiant attempt at escaping his captors on a motorised tricycle, although minus quite a few for the execution of this plan!
The subsidiary monsters the Ogrons look impressive (uncannily reminiscent of the Uruk-hai from the Lord of the Rings films) and the fact that the Daleks are actually the masters of earth two hundred years in the future is unsettling in as much as it presents them as that world's ruling 'establishment' rather than just would-be conquerors following another harebrained masterplan. The Controller is a seemingly uninteresting creation whose icy personality thaws late on as his trials and motivations are revealed, and his 'redemption' at the end is a fine sequence. Anat is well served storywise for a supporting female lead; shame that so many of the other minor characters (e.g. the sympathetic/undercover prison chief) crop up only for a scene or two before disappearing back into the ether. What, for example, is the deal with the Controller's glacial female assistant(s), whose odd, stilted behaviour is never followed up on or explained...? Also, the big worry plotwise is that after all the talk about time paradoxes and the like, the Doctor happily goes along with the plan to dispense with the Daleks without ever appearing to consider the further huge paradox that would be created by destroying the 'bad' future - so the guerrilas wouldn't have needed to come back to their past, therefore they wouldn't have prevented this future, therefore they would still have come back from that future to 'prevent' the world war by killing off Sir Reginald Styles, therefore they would still be the unwitting instigators of that war, therefore creating the preexisting paradox, so we have paradoxes squared by this point! Lastly, regardless of all that, whatever happened to the Doctor and Jo meeting up with their past selves as dictated by them meeting their future selves at the start of the story? Looks like that element got completely forgotten along the way...
6/10
Episodes watched: 199
Episodes still to watch: 523
4 episodes
Reasonably solid little story that has several good elements, by far the least effective of which is the Daleks themselves. You can tell that they were added to the original scripts, which did not originally feature them, as their part is largely confined to the background and they do not have a proactive role until the final few minutes of the serial. Considering these most iconic of monsters were 'killed off' in their last appearance a long four and a half years earlier (after all their previous stories had been crammed into the series' first three and a half years), what should have been an epochal reintroduction - in colour too, no less - is marred by the title, as ever, flagging this up, any remaining suspense being destroyed by their cropping up randomly fifteen minutes in for about two seconds, and the fact that their voices are terrible - far too human without any of the metallic alien menace that characterising their most terrifying moments.
Otherwise, this is a solid serial. The main theme concerning the problems of time travel and the paradoxes that can result from it is handled very well, with the lovely revelation that the guerrilas' sterling efforts to prevent their awful future world coming into being actually cause it! The location work and sets are good too, and UNIT get to be a bit more serious and military after the cosy 'family' feel of the last season. The Doctor is marvellous, disapproving yet sympathetic to the various human elements, and enjoying his fine wine and cheese so much he at one point casually sends an assailant flying with one hand before taking another sip and putting his glass down to complete the job...! Nice too to get a glimpse of his two predecessors on the Daleks' mind analyser screen. Full marks for effort, too, for his valiant attempt at escaping his captors on a motorised tricycle, although minus quite a few for the execution of this plan!
The subsidiary monsters the Ogrons look impressive (uncannily reminiscent of the Uruk-hai from the Lord of the Rings films) and the fact that the Daleks are actually the masters of earth two hundred years in the future is unsettling in as much as it presents them as that world's ruling 'establishment' rather than just would-be conquerors following another harebrained masterplan. The Controller is a seemingly uninteresting creation whose icy personality thaws late on as his trials and motivations are revealed, and his 'redemption' at the end is a fine sequence. Anat is well served storywise for a supporting female lead; shame that so many of the other minor characters (e.g. the sympathetic/undercover prison chief) crop up only for a scene or two before disappearing back into the ether. What, for example, is the deal with the Controller's glacial female assistant(s), whose odd, stilted behaviour is never followed up on or explained...? Also, the big worry plotwise is that after all the talk about time paradoxes and the like, the Doctor happily goes along with the plan to dispense with the Daleks without ever appearing to consider the further huge paradox that would be created by destroying the 'bad' future - so the guerrilas wouldn't have needed to come back to their past, therefore they wouldn't have prevented this future, therefore they would still have come back from that future to 'prevent' the world war by killing off Sir Reginald Styles, therefore they would still be the unwitting instigators of that war, therefore creating the preexisting paradox, so we have paradoxes squared by this point! Lastly, regardless of all that, whatever happened to the Doctor and Jo meeting up with their past selves as dictated by them meeting their future selves at the start of the story? Looks like that element got completely forgotten along the way...
6/10
Episodes watched: 199
Episodes still to watch: 523
'The Daemons'
THE DAEMONS
5 episodes
Wow. Now this I loved... The first part was probably my favourite single episode to date in this odyssey - a cracking, expensive-looking thunderstorm to begin with, with added intrigue to get the plot rolling, the Doctor being a know-it-all and setting up the remote-control plot element that won't come into play until much later, the wonderfully atmospheric setting of Devil's End, the barrow, the TV presenter, the marvellous Professor Horner who is equally dismissive of the 'white witch' Miss Hawthorne and of the television crew, science and sorcery starting to clash and mingle, and the Master being far more darkly, satanically evil than he has ever been...
What's great is that after this top-notch start, the quality rarely slips. While it is a shame the Professor is so short-lived, Miss Hawthorne's character is given room to grow through the rest of the five parts (a strangely effective length for this story), and her interactions with Benton are amusing - even the normally amiable Sergeant gets irritated with her at one point. It's nice to see Benton and Yates in civvies, too, and neat that they get so involved in the rugby game they forget to switch over for the broadcast from the barrow and belatedly do so in time to witness Jo with the frozen Doctor, and switch the plot up a gear as a result. It's also nice to see the Brigadier getting a social life briefly, as well, which delays his arrival to the effect that he spends most of the serial on the outside looking in as it were, which gives a different arena for some of the story to unfold at. The 'heat barrier' that keeps Lethbridge Stewart and his team outside the village is very well realised, and there is some great action - notably the exciting helicopter chase where one of the Master's henchmen pursues Bessie from the air, and the production team borrow, with stupendous audacity, a piece of actual James Bond footage to show the chopper blowing up!!
The Doctor, recently offered a glimpse of freedom but now confined to Earth again, is understandably even more intolerant than usual of inferior intellects, which perhaps allows us a glimpse of a different Doctor from the usual of late - enigmatic and knowing. The Master has his best outing yet, with some tremendous, powerful cavern scenes conducting his black mass 'dressed for the occasion' (I was reminded of his outfit in the Eighth Doctor movie) and circled by black-robed acolytes; having given up on persuading the Doctor to collaborate in his schemes, he seems just to want to destroy him here and even attempts to sacrifice Jo to the Daemon (singular) of the title. I thought this was supposed to be the year that returned Who to a family-friendly style after the grittier Season 7...? Blimey... The Bok gargoyle creature is effective enough, and the production team do a great job of keeping Azal off the screen for as long as possible to prevent the mystique being ruined by too much bluescreening - and in the event those CSO (Colour Separation Overlay) shots are pretty well done, too. We also get the hapless Sergeant Osgood, who in a fine slapstick moment gets a faceful of soot when his complex device goes bang in a welter of technobabble, Jon Pertwee's Doctor whizzing around on a motorcycle and warring with Miss Hawthorne over the relative merits of science and magic, the world's most sinister Morris dancers, some crack sharpshooting from Benton, the stupid notion of Jo and Yates successfully 'hiding' behind what is essentially a small ornamental railing, the former having a charming sacrificial robe procured for her, a throwaway second explanation for the sinking of Atlantis that I nearly missed, and a vein of richly comic moments and in-jokes like the Doctor's "wig" incident and the scene where Jo dismisses the Brigadier's plans to blast his way through the heat barrier, only to be chastised by the Doctor so hypocritically it's hilarious. The denouement, while superficially ludicrously emotive and short on substance, is better viewed in the sense that while Jo's offer to die in the Doctor's stead did not directly destroy Azal, the 'irrational' nature of her sudden interjection confused and distracted the Daemon long enough for him to lose control of the power he was channeling and so be torn apart by it. And the exploding church is such a contentious idea it's fantastic...
I gather post-viewing that this is a serial that was lionised prior to its 1993 video release and then widely vilified in the subsequent reevaluation. Personally, I found it's one of those stories that just pushes my buttons, and I loved it! Oh yes - and it also contains the Brigadier's most preposterous yet famous order: the immortal "Chap with wings... five rounds rapid!"
10/10
Episodes watched: 195
Episodes still to watch: 527
5 episodes
Wow. Now this I loved... The first part was probably my favourite single episode to date in this odyssey - a cracking, expensive-looking thunderstorm to begin with, with added intrigue to get the plot rolling, the Doctor being a know-it-all and setting up the remote-control plot element that won't come into play until much later, the wonderfully atmospheric setting of Devil's End, the barrow, the TV presenter, the marvellous Professor Horner who is equally dismissive of the 'white witch' Miss Hawthorne and of the television crew, science and sorcery starting to clash and mingle, and the Master being far more darkly, satanically evil than he has ever been...
What's great is that after this top-notch start, the quality rarely slips. While it is a shame the Professor is so short-lived, Miss Hawthorne's character is given room to grow through the rest of the five parts (a strangely effective length for this story), and her interactions with Benton are amusing - even the normally amiable Sergeant gets irritated with her at one point. It's nice to see Benton and Yates in civvies, too, and neat that they get so involved in the rugby game they forget to switch over for the broadcast from the barrow and belatedly do so in time to witness Jo with the frozen Doctor, and switch the plot up a gear as a result. It's also nice to see the Brigadier getting a social life briefly, as well, which delays his arrival to the effect that he spends most of the serial on the outside looking in as it were, which gives a different arena for some of the story to unfold at. The 'heat barrier' that keeps Lethbridge Stewart and his team outside the village is very well realised, and there is some great action - notably the exciting helicopter chase where one of the Master's henchmen pursues Bessie from the air, and the production team borrow, with stupendous audacity, a piece of actual James Bond footage to show the chopper blowing up!!
The Doctor, recently offered a glimpse of freedom but now confined to Earth again, is understandably even more intolerant than usual of inferior intellects, which perhaps allows us a glimpse of a different Doctor from the usual of late - enigmatic and knowing. The Master has his best outing yet, with some tremendous, powerful cavern scenes conducting his black mass 'dressed for the occasion' (I was reminded of his outfit in the Eighth Doctor movie) and circled by black-robed acolytes; having given up on persuading the Doctor to collaborate in his schemes, he seems just to want to destroy him here and even attempts to sacrifice Jo to the Daemon (singular) of the title. I thought this was supposed to be the year that returned Who to a family-friendly style after the grittier Season 7...? Blimey... The Bok gargoyle creature is effective enough, and the production team do a great job of keeping Azal off the screen for as long as possible to prevent the mystique being ruined by too much bluescreening - and in the event those CSO (Colour Separation Overlay) shots are pretty well done, too. We also get the hapless Sergeant Osgood, who in a fine slapstick moment gets a faceful of soot when his complex device goes bang in a welter of technobabble, Jon Pertwee's Doctor whizzing around on a motorcycle and warring with Miss Hawthorne over the relative merits of science and magic, the world's most sinister Morris dancers, some crack sharpshooting from Benton, the stupid notion of Jo and Yates successfully 'hiding' behind what is essentially a small ornamental railing, the former having a charming sacrificial robe procured for her, a throwaway second explanation for the sinking of Atlantis that I nearly missed, and a vein of richly comic moments and in-jokes like the Doctor's "wig" incident and the scene where Jo dismisses the Brigadier's plans to blast his way through the heat barrier, only to be chastised by the Doctor so hypocritically it's hilarious. The denouement, while superficially ludicrously emotive and short on substance, is better viewed in the sense that while Jo's offer to die in the Doctor's stead did not directly destroy Azal, the 'irrational' nature of her sudden interjection confused and distracted the Daemon long enough for him to lose control of the power he was channeling and so be torn apart by it. And the exploding church is such a contentious idea it's fantastic...
I gather post-viewing that this is a serial that was lionised prior to its 1993 video release and then widely vilified in the subsequent reevaluation. Personally, I found it's one of those stories that just pushes my buttons, and I loved it! Oh yes - and it also contains the Brigadier's most preposterous yet famous order: the immortal "Chap with wings... five rounds rapid!"
10/10
Episodes watched: 195
Episodes still to watch: 527
Thursday, October 06, 2005
'Colony In Space'
COLONY IN SPACE
6 episodes
I enjoyed this much more than I'd expected, considering I'd heard it was something of a turkey beforehand... I think one reason is that I'm a sucker for any plot that throws a whole load of factions into the mix, as this serial does - the Doctor and Jo; the colonists; the fictional 'second colony' represented by Norton (a rare on-screen outing for voice artiste supreme Roy Skelton), who is actually an IMC mole; the main bulk of IMC personnel; Caldwell, the IMC man who is sympathetic to the 'good' factions; the Primitives, all three varieties of them; the Adjudicator, who turns out to be the Master. I love stories that force a great number of different factions into one situation to coexist or war as they see fit... Nice that the Master was held back until episode 4, giving the rest of the characters time to develop, although this was admittedly foreshadowed by the very first scene - in which we get to see Time Lords being manipulative gits for the first time! Good to see the Third Doctor finally get to stretch his legs briefly, as the TARDIS is temporarily allowed (in fact, compelled) to leave Earth to foil the Master's plot to get his hands on a doomsday weapon that is apparently some kind of stellar manipulator. There are some interesting leadership issues amongst the colonists, between the idealistic Ashe and more pragmatic Winton, a few questions about the morality of the differing factions as regards possessing the planet, and lots of gun battles that have altered little even though this is meant to be 500 years in the future... Funny, almost self-referential plotting where we discover the giant lizards are actually meant to be naff projections in the story and not just in appearance! And, of course, the first alien world this Doctor gets to explore looks remarkably like a clay pit... Still, the aliens were convincingly 'different', and I rather liked their Bayeux Tapestry-style transparent frieze depicting their history. Perhaps the most arresting thing was the sudden, shocking despatch of all the colonists en masse as their ship blows up in the final part - I honestly didn't see the scene coming where they had somehow all survived to have another gunfight with the IMC men, and although this momentarily seemed to cheapen the prior effect this was unexpectedly wrenched back the other way when it was revealed that Ashe had sacrificed himself in order that his colony might survive.
Surprisingly strong for a story that had such bad advance notices!
7/10
Episodes watched: 190
Episodes still to watch: 532
6 episodes
I enjoyed this much more than I'd expected, considering I'd heard it was something of a turkey beforehand... I think one reason is that I'm a sucker for any plot that throws a whole load of factions into the mix, as this serial does - the Doctor and Jo; the colonists; the fictional 'second colony' represented by Norton (a rare on-screen outing for voice artiste supreme Roy Skelton), who is actually an IMC mole; the main bulk of IMC personnel; Caldwell, the IMC man who is sympathetic to the 'good' factions; the Primitives, all three varieties of them; the Adjudicator, who turns out to be the Master. I love stories that force a great number of different factions into one situation to coexist or war as they see fit... Nice that the Master was held back until episode 4, giving the rest of the characters time to develop, although this was admittedly foreshadowed by the very first scene - in which we get to see Time Lords being manipulative gits for the first time! Good to see the Third Doctor finally get to stretch his legs briefly, as the TARDIS is temporarily allowed (in fact, compelled) to leave Earth to foil the Master's plot to get his hands on a doomsday weapon that is apparently some kind of stellar manipulator. There are some interesting leadership issues amongst the colonists, between the idealistic Ashe and more pragmatic Winton, a few questions about the morality of the differing factions as regards possessing the planet, and lots of gun battles that have altered little even though this is meant to be 500 years in the future... Funny, almost self-referential plotting where we discover the giant lizards are actually meant to be naff projections in the story and not just in appearance! And, of course, the first alien world this Doctor gets to explore looks remarkably like a clay pit... Still, the aliens were convincingly 'different', and I rather liked their Bayeux Tapestry-style transparent frieze depicting their history. Perhaps the most arresting thing was the sudden, shocking despatch of all the colonists en masse as their ship blows up in the final part - I honestly didn't see the scene coming where they had somehow all survived to have another gunfight with the IMC men, and although this momentarily seemed to cheapen the prior effect this was unexpectedly wrenched back the other way when it was revealed that Ashe had sacrificed himself in order that his colony might survive.
Surprisingly strong for a story that had such bad advance notices!
7/10
Episodes watched: 190
Episodes still to watch: 532
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
'The Claws of Axos'
THE CLAWS OF AXOS
4 episodes
Struggled to get through this one as well - started last night, watched a bit more before going out to work, another bit on my lunch break and finally finished it this evening! Not the most riveting of adventures, which although it clearly had a clever plot was undermined by some of the visuals. I know that pointing out Doctor Who sometmes had its scripting overreach its budgetary constraints is pretty much redundant criticism, but I still found the well-realised, freakily bug-eyed, golden alien Axons contrasted rather too much with their nondescript 'tentacled lump' monster forms - even if the physical variance is undouubtedly part of the point of the story, i.e. don't always go on friendly first appearances. Talking of which, it's nice to see the ever-watchable Master again, and while it rehashes the same plot of him collaborating with this month's alien menace to overthrow the human race, it comes with the nice twist that they've already turned on him before we even get into the story!
There are numererous good points to flag up, I must say; it's just that once more the whole thing didn't hang together enough to command my attention (and wakefulness) for more than an episode or so at a time. The Axons are clearly powerful, with their ability to shape-shift, clone Filer and drain the Earth of its resources, and with the firepower they possess in the running battle with UNIT troops. These action scenes are well-done, particularly where (despite the risible blue backgrounds that look nothing like the sky in alternate shots) Yates and Benton manage to outfox their adveraries by detonating a Land Rover!! The external views of Axos are good, with the pod half buried and surrounded by its own localised snowstorm, although the interior is a little too hallucinogenic for my liking. The support is variable - forgettable except for the self-important Chinn, whose head is so far up his own backside he could watch his stomach working but whose desire to contain the axonite turns out to be right for the wrong reasons, and the likeably loose-cannon Filer, uber-'70s hair and all, who gets to run around like a regular and have a superbly-shot fight with his own double, the existence of whom seems to be entirely pointless except to allow said punch-up to occur...
And then there's the Master. Compulsive viewing whenever he's on screen, the black-tunic-wearing, ruthless yet charming Time Lord is a joy. Seeing the Master and the Doctor again working together, to trick the Axons (or Axos, given that 'they' are a gestalt entity) and escape Earth, is marvellous for the second story in a row, and coupled with the fact that the latter has been more and more irritable, rude and arrogant these last few stories, reinforces the view of them as alike, contemporaries and equals. It is here that this adventure suddenly becomes great as the Doctor turns his back on his friends - the gap between Doctor and Master visibly shrinks while that between the pair and the humans seems to grow, as the Doctor points out that after all "we are both Time Lords". I genuinely couldn't see how he was going to resolve things at that point. Even though it was only a front, I love that the Doctor admits at the end that if he had had the chance to follow the escape route he would have taken it!
6.5/10
Episodes watched: 184
Episodes still to watch: 538
A monstrous 26 episodes behind schedule now, what with one thing and another. Days off coming up, though, so will have to see I can start to bridge the gap...
4 episodes
Struggled to get through this one as well - started last night, watched a bit more before going out to work, another bit on my lunch break and finally finished it this evening! Not the most riveting of adventures, which although it clearly had a clever plot was undermined by some of the visuals. I know that pointing out Doctor Who sometmes had its scripting overreach its budgetary constraints is pretty much redundant criticism, but I still found the well-realised, freakily bug-eyed, golden alien Axons contrasted rather too much with their nondescript 'tentacled lump' monster forms - even if the physical variance is undouubtedly part of the point of the story, i.e. don't always go on friendly first appearances. Talking of which, it's nice to see the ever-watchable Master again, and while it rehashes the same plot of him collaborating with this month's alien menace to overthrow the human race, it comes with the nice twist that they've already turned on him before we even get into the story!
There are numererous good points to flag up, I must say; it's just that once more the whole thing didn't hang together enough to command my attention (and wakefulness) for more than an episode or so at a time. The Axons are clearly powerful, with their ability to shape-shift, clone Filer and drain the Earth of its resources, and with the firepower they possess in the running battle with UNIT troops. These action scenes are well-done, particularly where (despite the risible blue backgrounds that look nothing like the sky in alternate shots) Yates and Benton manage to outfox their adveraries by detonating a Land Rover!! The external views of Axos are good, with the pod half buried and surrounded by its own localised snowstorm, although the interior is a little too hallucinogenic for my liking. The support is variable - forgettable except for the self-important Chinn, whose head is so far up his own backside he could watch his stomach working but whose desire to contain the axonite turns out to be right for the wrong reasons, and the likeably loose-cannon Filer, uber-'70s hair and all, who gets to run around like a regular and have a superbly-shot fight with his own double, the existence of whom seems to be entirely pointless except to allow said punch-up to occur...
And then there's the Master. Compulsive viewing whenever he's on screen, the black-tunic-wearing, ruthless yet charming Time Lord is a joy. Seeing the Master and the Doctor again working together, to trick the Axons (or Axos, given that 'they' are a gestalt entity) and escape Earth, is marvellous for the second story in a row, and coupled with the fact that the latter has been more and more irritable, rude and arrogant these last few stories, reinforces the view of them as alike, contemporaries and equals. It is here that this adventure suddenly becomes great as the Doctor turns his back on his friends - the gap between Doctor and Master visibly shrinks while that between the pair and the humans seems to grow, as the Doctor points out that after all "we are both Time Lords". I genuinely couldn't see how he was going to resolve things at that point. Even though it was only a front, I love that the Doctor admits at the end that if he had had the chance to follow the escape route he would have taken it!
6.5/10
Episodes watched: 184
Episodes still to watch: 538
A monstrous 26 episodes behind schedule now, what with one thing and another. Days off coming up, though, so will have to see I can start to bridge the gap...
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
'The Mind of Evil' episodes IV - VI
THE MIND OF EVIL continued
Clever premise - machine that removes 'evil impulses' from criminals brains to leave them paragons of virtue but with an apparent mental age of about eight. Machine turns out to be alien 'mind parasite' that feeds off negative thoughts and kills by confronting victims with their greatest fear. How it actually drowns a man through the power of suggestion alone baffles me, though. Still, it's been brought to Earth by the Master, who hasn't learnt from his experience with the Nestenes and thinks he can control it - but can't, and has to resort to asking the Doctor for help despite wanting to destroy him. That the Doctor's scorn and ridicule are presented, most surreally, as the Master's own worst fear is compelling explanation for some of the latter's behaviour over the series' history! Good direction - things like the inmates rattling their bars whenever the machine is active, and making the inanimate object seem actively malevolent. Great pitched gun battle at Dover Castle 'prison' locations, with UNIT soldiers cutting down their adversaries at wince-inducingly point-blank range. Nice Trojan Horse disguise for the Brigadier. Slight overcomplication with the peace conference/missile plot, but needed something to make it stretch the duration I guess. Interesting to see prominent Chinese characters, when hitherto non-Caucasians have been a rarity. Lovely to see Doctor and Master working together, so effectively and committedly that for a minute or two they seem more like old friends that bitter enemies, and you see how their two personalities are really flip sides of the same coin.
Good stuf, but never truly attention-grabbing enough to stop me falling asleep for more than an episode or two at a time! Got invited round to friends' for dinner and stuff this evening too, so really struggled to finish this one...
7/10
Episodes watched: 180
Episodes still to watch: 542
Clever premise - machine that removes 'evil impulses' from criminals brains to leave them paragons of virtue but with an apparent mental age of about eight. Machine turns out to be alien 'mind parasite' that feeds off negative thoughts and kills by confronting victims with their greatest fear. How it actually drowns a man through the power of suggestion alone baffles me, though. Still, it's been brought to Earth by the Master, who hasn't learnt from his experience with the Nestenes and thinks he can control it - but can't, and has to resort to asking the Doctor for help despite wanting to destroy him. That the Doctor's scorn and ridicule are presented, most surreally, as the Master's own worst fear is compelling explanation for some of the latter's behaviour over the series' history! Good direction - things like the inmates rattling their bars whenever the machine is active, and making the inanimate object seem actively malevolent. Great pitched gun battle at Dover Castle 'prison' locations, with UNIT soldiers cutting down their adversaries at wince-inducingly point-blank range. Nice Trojan Horse disguise for the Brigadier. Slight overcomplication with the peace conference/missile plot, but needed something to make it stretch the duration I guess. Interesting to see prominent Chinese characters, when hitherto non-Caucasians have been a rarity. Lovely to see Doctor and Master working together, so effectively and committedly that for a minute or two they seem more like old friends that bitter enemies, and you see how their two personalities are really flip sides of the same coin.
Good stuf, but never truly attention-grabbing enough to stop me falling asleep for more than an episode or two at a time! Got invited round to friends' for dinner and stuff this evening too, so really struggled to finish this one...
7/10
Episodes watched: 180
Episodes still to watch: 542
Monday, October 03, 2005
'The Mind of Evil' episodes I - III
THE MIND OF EVIL
6 episodes
Good so far, without being terrifically exciting. Had to break off for Monday night Doctor Who roleplay, and only managed one more afterwards before getting too tired. I get the feeling that my reviews may degenerate slightly hereabouts as I'm invariably knackered when watching, which creates the twofold problem that I'm falling further and further behind schedule due to being unable to sit through six episodes a day, plus I can't be bothered doing a proper write-up afterwards!
Episodes watched: 177
Episodes still to watch: 545
6 episodes
Good so far, without being terrifically exciting. Had to break off for Monday night Doctor Who roleplay, and only managed one more afterwards before getting too tired. I get the feeling that my reviews may degenerate slightly hereabouts as I'm invariably knackered when watching, which creates the twofold problem that I'm falling further and further behind schedule due to being unable to sit through six episodes a day, plus I can't be bothered doing a proper write-up afterwards!
Episodes watched: 177
Episodes still to watch: 545
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