TERROR OF THE AUTONS continued
Or 'Lack of the Autons' to be honest - whatever this story might have meant for the future of Doctor Who, by no stretch of the imagination is it really an Auton story. Undoubtedly, it is an effective vehicle to introduce the Doctor's eternal nemesis the Master, charming new companion Jo Grant, and solidify the UNIT 'family' with Captain Mike Yates filling the rather large ranking gap between Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and Sergeant Benton. The Doctor's early description of Jo as a "ham-fisted bun vendor" is so inexplicably worded and hilarious it never fails to make me laugh when I think of it, but from this inauspicious start Miss Grant quickly establishes herself as a useful sidekick for the Doctor. The introduction of another Time Lord character means the enemy is for once on something of an equal footing with the Doctor, and in a way it is a shame this is diluted by his opening story being shared with the returning threat of the Nestene Consciousness. I can see why 'living' armchairs, telephone cables and Auton policemen would have been more than averagely unnerving for the young fans of the time, but the psychological horror of the expressionless mannequins roaming the countryside in their debut appearance is lost due to their infrequent sightings this time round - although those giant costume heads are quite freaky. There is one great moment where an Auton takes an enormous plunge down a quarry side, only to rise to its feet and doggedly begin to ascend again, but all in all this seemed to fall between stools too much for my liking - and the Master gives in far too easily at the end!
6/10
Episodes watched: 174
Episodes still to watch: 548
Sunday, October 02, 2005
'Terror of the Autons' episode I
TERROR OF THE AUTONS
4 episodes
Finally - after all this time I've finally seen an episode of Doctor Who featuring Roger Delgado's original incarnation of the Master. What was surprising was the distinctly underwhelming nature of his entrance - the Master merely materialises his TARDIS and walks into a scene near the beginning of the episode, introduces himself, and that's it - no build-up, no intrigue, no suspense, no nothing. Maybe they didn't realise what a big deal they were going to have on their hands... Delgado's performance is marvellous - restrained, civil, polite, persuasive, without ever turning into maniacal caricature as one might expect of a 'super-villain'. Of the titular Autons, there is no sign, which was also slightly surprisinng, so I look forward to seeing where they turn up!
Episodes watched: 171
Episodes still to watch: 551
Oh dear - only one episode tonight, as I was again distracted by an old friend visiting town and went out for the evening instead!
4 episodes
Finally - after all this time I've finally seen an episode of Doctor Who featuring Roger Delgado's original incarnation of the Master. What was surprising was the distinctly underwhelming nature of his entrance - the Master merely materialises his TARDIS and walks into a scene near the beginning of the episode, introduces himself, and that's it - no build-up, no intrigue, no suspense, no nothing. Maybe they didn't realise what a big deal they were going to have on their hands... Delgado's performance is marvellous - restrained, civil, polite, persuasive, without ever turning into maniacal caricature as one might expect of a 'super-villain'. Of the titular Autons, there is no sign, which was also slightly surprisinng, so I look forward to seeing where they turn up!
Episodes watched: 171
Episodes still to watch: 551
Oh dear - only one episode tonight, as I was again distracted by an old friend visiting town and went out for the evening instead!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
'Inferno'
INFERNO
7 episodes
Wow - how have I never heard about this story before now? Things start auspiciously, with special title/writer/episode number inserts mirroring those of 'The Ice Warriors', but with the earlier serial's background icefields replaced by erupting volcanoes and oozing lava flows. The basic plot is compelling enough, with the Doctor, Liz and UNIT facing doom in a facility where the obsessed Professor Stahlman is boring his way through the Earth's crust to tap the vast energies beneath as an unlimited power source for the country - but a primordial slime is oozing from the machinery and turning those is touches into unthinking savages who can infect others with the same taint with only a touch; and the plant's computer indicates the process is dangerously flawed, but Stahlman is insistent upon faster and faster drilling. The performances are all top-notch, from Olaf Pooley's increasingly unhinged monomaniac Stahlman to Christopher Benjamin's well-meaning but helpless Sir Keith Gold, and especially Derek Newark (caveman Za all the way back in 'An Unearthly Child') as engineer Greg Sutton, who from the first finds himself fiercely antagonistic to Stahlman but engaged in a touching romantic subplot with his assistant Petra. The industrial locations, like the last story's, are excellent, and the Doctor gets to spend the spare moments when he isn't occupied in slanging matches with Stahlman tinkering with the TARDIS console using a borrowed nuclear power supply.
Then, the whole adventure gets tipped on its head. This last, apparently shallow side-story seems to be serving only to remind us that the Doctor is on Earth under sufferance and is still trying to get away again - but then he actually does and it totally surprised me. Slipping 'sideways' onto a parallel-universe Earth, he finds that everything is superficially the same except that he is in a totalitarian Britain where a republic came into being thirty years before and his associates, while physically recognisable, have become very different to their 'real-world' counterparts. Plus, the drilling operation is much closer to finally cracking the crust and unleashing the uncontainable power of the mantle layer beneath, and one thing unchanged is that this universe's Stahlman (or Stahlmann) still won't listen to reason since he too has been infected by the green goo and has only a little while before he reverts to bestial primitivism.
As well a completely refreshing the tale and giving it new impetus into the middle section of the seven episodes, this flipside world is an ingenious way of providing the Doctor with something to struggle against without throwing another 'invasion of the week' storyline at him: not only are the Primord creatures largely peripheral to the plot, but the green gunge is never followed-up or explained, and there are no alien enemies in sight - so what better way to subvert expectations and provide a unique slant on the Doctor's relationships with his friends than to make them the enemies? The decision to use the regular support cast in parallel roles where they become the Doctor's adversaries is inspired, as he suddenly finds he can no lomger trust those who were closest to him and really has to think on his feet to outwit them, escape this version of Earth and prevent the 'real' one being ravaged by the volcanic forces that will erupt from the mantle if the crust is breached by Stahlman's machine. We get a terrific chase in cars (Bessie also having been transported across), where Jon Pertwee really gets to show off his daredevil stunt driving skills, and across the oil refinery location's rooftops where the Doctor also has to deal with a loose Primord. His flight is ended when he makes the mistake of trying to communicate with this world's Liz Shaw, only to find that here she is a hard-bitten military type who wastes no time hustling him into captivity. Caroline John shines in the alternative role, with a noble streak appearing later through the tough exterior, and she is matched by John Levene's thuggish version of Benton in a performance far removed from the amiable Sergeant in the normal UNIT. Both, however, are outdone by Nicholas Courtney's jawdropping transformation into the moustache-less, eyepatch-wearing, sadistic Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewat. The character's brutality and coldheartedness are brilliantly shown in the likes of the interrogation scenes with Shaw where the Doctor is really put through the mill (surely uncomfortable viewing for the younger Who fans), and when the action intermittently reverts to the 'real world' the familiar performances of Courtney and the rest seem shockingly different in comparison. The Brigade Leader's undesirable traits as mentioned are finally revealed as fronts for an inherent cowardice that is harshly shown up as the apocalypse overwhelms the parallel Earth, whereas most of the others find a kind of redemption in the face of approaching doom. Admittedly Stahlman, though equally looking different, retains most of his single-minded obsessiveness, but Section Leader Shaw's humanity breaks out in the end, and it is in the still-sympathetic version of Greg Sutton that the Doctor finds his ally and ice-maiden Petra finds her hero before catastrophe seemingly overwhelms them all. The Doctor, though, manages to escape in the nick of time and avert a similar fate for his real-world companions, and at the end of everything tries to get away again using the TARDIS console - but fails, is deposited on a nearby rubbish tip and sheepishly reconciles with the Brigadier to the laughter of Liz Shaw, in a nice final appearance for her in the series.
I was told beforehand it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be that good! Didn't start watching until 11:30 at night, but sat through seven episodes straight without a hint of falling asleep. Engrossing and marvellous.
10/10
Episodes watched: 170
Episodes still to watch: 552
7 episodes
Wow - how have I never heard about this story before now? Things start auspiciously, with special title/writer/episode number inserts mirroring those of 'The Ice Warriors', but with the earlier serial's background icefields replaced by erupting volcanoes and oozing lava flows. The basic plot is compelling enough, with the Doctor, Liz and UNIT facing doom in a facility where the obsessed Professor Stahlman is boring his way through the Earth's crust to tap the vast energies beneath as an unlimited power source for the country - but a primordial slime is oozing from the machinery and turning those is touches into unthinking savages who can infect others with the same taint with only a touch; and the plant's computer indicates the process is dangerously flawed, but Stahlman is insistent upon faster and faster drilling. The performances are all top-notch, from Olaf Pooley's increasingly unhinged monomaniac Stahlman to Christopher Benjamin's well-meaning but helpless Sir Keith Gold, and especially Derek Newark (caveman Za all the way back in 'An Unearthly Child') as engineer Greg Sutton, who from the first finds himself fiercely antagonistic to Stahlman but engaged in a touching romantic subplot with his assistant Petra. The industrial locations, like the last story's, are excellent, and the Doctor gets to spend the spare moments when he isn't occupied in slanging matches with Stahlman tinkering with the TARDIS console using a borrowed nuclear power supply.
Then, the whole adventure gets tipped on its head. This last, apparently shallow side-story seems to be serving only to remind us that the Doctor is on Earth under sufferance and is still trying to get away again - but then he actually does and it totally surprised me. Slipping 'sideways' onto a parallel-universe Earth, he finds that everything is superficially the same except that he is in a totalitarian Britain where a republic came into being thirty years before and his associates, while physically recognisable, have become very different to their 'real-world' counterparts. Plus, the drilling operation is much closer to finally cracking the crust and unleashing the uncontainable power of the mantle layer beneath, and one thing unchanged is that this universe's Stahlman (or Stahlmann) still won't listen to reason since he too has been infected by the green goo and has only a little while before he reverts to bestial primitivism.
As well a completely refreshing the tale and giving it new impetus into the middle section of the seven episodes, this flipside world is an ingenious way of providing the Doctor with something to struggle against without throwing another 'invasion of the week' storyline at him: not only are the Primord creatures largely peripheral to the plot, but the green gunge is never followed-up or explained, and there are no alien enemies in sight - so what better way to subvert expectations and provide a unique slant on the Doctor's relationships with his friends than to make them the enemies? The decision to use the regular support cast in parallel roles where they become the Doctor's adversaries is inspired, as he suddenly finds he can no lomger trust those who were closest to him and really has to think on his feet to outwit them, escape this version of Earth and prevent the 'real' one being ravaged by the volcanic forces that will erupt from the mantle if the crust is breached by Stahlman's machine. We get a terrific chase in cars (Bessie also having been transported across), where Jon Pertwee really gets to show off his daredevil stunt driving skills, and across the oil refinery location's rooftops where the Doctor also has to deal with a loose Primord. His flight is ended when he makes the mistake of trying to communicate with this world's Liz Shaw, only to find that here she is a hard-bitten military type who wastes no time hustling him into captivity. Caroline John shines in the alternative role, with a noble streak appearing later through the tough exterior, and she is matched by John Levene's thuggish version of Benton in a performance far removed from the amiable Sergeant in the normal UNIT. Both, however, are outdone by Nicholas Courtney's jawdropping transformation into the moustache-less, eyepatch-wearing, sadistic Brigade Leader Lethbridge Stewat. The character's brutality and coldheartedness are brilliantly shown in the likes of the interrogation scenes with Shaw where the Doctor is really put through the mill (surely uncomfortable viewing for the younger Who fans), and when the action intermittently reverts to the 'real world' the familiar performances of Courtney and the rest seem shockingly different in comparison. The Brigade Leader's undesirable traits as mentioned are finally revealed as fronts for an inherent cowardice that is harshly shown up as the apocalypse overwhelms the parallel Earth, whereas most of the others find a kind of redemption in the face of approaching doom. Admittedly Stahlman, though equally looking different, retains most of his single-minded obsessiveness, but Section Leader Shaw's humanity breaks out in the end, and it is in the still-sympathetic version of Greg Sutton that the Doctor finds his ally and ice-maiden Petra finds her hero before catastrophe seemingly overwhelms them all. The Doctor, though, manages to escape in the nick of time and avert a similar fate for his real-world companions, and at the end of everything tries to get away again using the TARDIS console - but fails, is deposited on a nearby rubbish tip and sheepishly reconciles with the Brigadier to the laughter of Liz Shaw, in a nice final appearance for her in the series.
I was told beforehand it was going to be good, but I didn't expect it to be that good! Didn't start watching until 11:30 at night, but sat through seven episodes straight without a hint of falling asleep. Engrossing and marvellous.
10/10
Episodes watched: 170
Episodes still to watch: 552
Friday, September 30, 2005
'The Ambassadors of Death'
THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH
7 episodes
Or, 'The Ambassadors...' whooosh - BOINGGG '...OF DEATH' as the opening credits would have it, in a unique version where the title sequence grinds to a halt each time to reshow the cliffhanger, before kicking back in for the story title, writer and episode number... of which there are a lot, but in fairness the leisurely pace of this story rarely equates to a drop in interest. There is a slightly surreal fading in and out of monochrome depending on whether the colour footage still exists for a given episode or scene, but this detracts surprisingly little from the presentation. That there are no clear-cut villains means there are an atypically high number of shades of grey (no pun intended) characterwise: the 'alien menace' are merely trying to retrieve their missing ambassadors, General Carrington is heroically misguided, Taltalion a pawn of Reegan, Quinlan an adjunct of those two, Reegan trying to exploit the existing situation for financial gain... Even the 'good guy' scientist Cornish seems as if he may suddenly turn on the Doctor and friends for substantial periods, without this ever actually happening - possibly from his early friction with the Doctor (although this is mostly the irascible Doctor's fault), and possibly this is just the aura that Ronald Allen gives off, considering his superb turn in 'The Dominators'. That the Doctor allows General Carrington to leave with dignity intact at the end, saying he "understands" his actions as they arose from his prior experiences on Mars, speaks volumes about the shading of motives and actions present here. Reegan fills the 'evil' role the most, manipulating his colleagues, the 'ambassadors' and the Doctor and Liz, and killing off opponents, but possesses an undeniable roguish charisma that makes him oddly likeable. When he is trying to thwart the Doctor's space mission and safe return, the sequence of him clambering on the huge industrial rigs of Space Centre is among the best location work yet seen in the series, with some superb camerawork in the 'puddle reflection' shot that enables us to follow his progress upwards without shifting the viewpoint. The spacecraft model shots are likewise the highest-quality seen to date, the alien mothership's surreal backdrops are used sparingly, which keeps their efficacy high, and the fact that the aliens themselves are never named, almost totally kept under wraps and largely sidelined means they are far more effective - the faceless, silent spacesuits are more spookily unnerving than any conventional 'monster' makeup and constume would have been. They are obviously incredibly powerful and can kill with a touch, but it is clear that they do so only because they are being controlled and not through their own volition.
One thing I also really liked was the weirdly wonderful incidental music, where violent action scenes with the aliens and gun battles are soundtracked by ethereal, atmospheric sweeps of melody in an inexplicably effective manner. Lastly, the use of the John Wakefield character to literally narrate the action onscreen is a brilliant device, as not only does he look and sound like a quintessential '70s TV presenter, but his 'telecast' pieces to camera are a very clever way of providing plot exposition bluntly but without seeming forced. That he is played by Michael Wisher means that, as Geoffrey Beevers crops up as a UNIT private, we have both a future Davros and future Master in this story!
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 163
Episodes still to watch: 559
Actually watched the first four episodes last night, but was so tired by that stage I couldn't be bothered to post an entry here then - hence this is one overarching view rather than two half ones!
7 episodes
Or, 'The Ambassadors...' whooosh - BOINGGG '...OF DEATH' as the opening credits would have it, in a unique version where the title sequence grinds to a halt each time to reshow the cliffhanger, before kicking back in for the story title, writer and episode number... of which there are a lot, but in fairness the leisurely pace of this story rarely equates to a drop in interest. There is a slightly surreal fading in and out of monochrome depending on whether the colour footage still exists for a given episode or scene, but this detracts surprisingly little from the presentation. That there are no clear-cut villains means there are an atypically high number of shades of grey (no pun intended) characterwise: the 'alien menace' are merely trying to retrieve their missing ambassadors, General Carrington is heroically misguided, Taltalion a pawn of Reegan, Quinlan an adjunct of those two, Reegan trying to exploit the existing situation for financial gain... Even the 'good guy' scientist Cornish seems as if he may suddenly turn on the Doctor and friends for substantial periods, without this ever actually happening - possibly from his early friction with the Doctor (although this is mostly the irascible Doctor's fault), and possibly this is just the aura that Ronald Allen gives off, considering his superb turn in 'The Dominators'. That the Doctor allows General Carrington to leave with dignity intact at the end, saying he "understands" his actions as they arose from his prior experiences on Mars, speaks volumes about the shading of motives and actions present here. Reegan fills the 'evil' role the most, manipulating his colleagues, the 'ambassadors' and the Doctor and Liz, and killing off opponents, but possesses an undeniable roguish charisma that makes him oddly likeable. When he is trying to thwart the Doctor's space mission and safe return, the sequence of him clambering on the huge industrial rigs of Space Centre is among the best location work yet seen in the series, with some superb camerawork in the 'puddle reflection' shot that enables us to follow his progress upwards without shifting the viewpoint. The spacecraft model shots are likewise the highest-quality seen to date, the alien mothership's surreal backdrops are used sparingly, which keeps their efficacy high, and the fact that the aliens themselves are never named, almost totally kept under wraps and largely sidelined means they are far more effective - the faceless, silent spacesuits are more spookily unnerving than any conventional 'monster' makeup and constume would have been. They are obviously incredibly powerful and can kill with a touch, but it is clear that they do so only because they are being controlled and not through their own volition.
One thing I also really liked was the weirdly wonderful incidental music, where violent action scenes with the aliens and gun battles are soundtracked by ethereal, atmospheric sweeps of melody in an inexplicably effective manner. Lastly, the use of the John Wakefield character to literally narrate the action onscreen is a brilliant device, as not only does he look and sound like a quintessential '70s TV presenter, but his 'telecast' pieces to camera are a very clever way of providing plot exposition bluntly but without seeming forced. That he is played by Michael Wisher means that, as Geoffrey Beevers crops up as a UNIT private, we have both a future Davros and future Master in this story!
7.5/10
Episodes watched: 163
Episodes still to watch: 559
Actually watched the first four episodes last night, but was so tired by that stage I couldn't be bothered to post an entry here then - hence this is one overarching view rather than two half ones!
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
'Doctor Who and the Silurians' episodes II - VII
DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS continued
He's not called Doctor Who, and they're not Silurians - the production gaffe that enabled this story to go out under the kind of hack title normally reserved for Target novelisations is on a par only with the shoddy paleontological chronology that infects the plot like the Silurian's germ warfare infects commuters. But, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised: the story kept up the pace and interest very nicely considering the large number of episodes involved, not least thanks to the vivid characterisation - Dr. Quinn (despite his surprisingly early exit), Dr. Lawrence, Major Baker, Masters, the Young and Old Silurians... All have distinct personalities established, and the length of the story means that they all have time to play out their own mini stories without this seeming forced or rushed. There is an interesting morality play at work here: more than almost any other occasion I can think of, the villains are presented in shades of grey rather than being outright evil or insane, the two stock shorthands for 'bad person' in Doctor Who. The Old Silurian's touching connection with the Doctor seems to offer hope of peaceful coexistence before he is violently usurped, while even the Young Silurian, whose bratty attitude, adolescent voice and exaggerated movements bring to mind nothing so much as Harry Enfield's Kevin the Teenager, grows up a little at the very end as he decides to sacrifice his own hibernation to save his species.
The notion of the 'alien' race not only being from Earth but in some ways having a greater claim to it than the human race is explored nicely, with the conflicting views of those who wish to coexist with them and those who wish to blow them off the planet staying within their established characters, e.g. Miss Dawson's fire-and-brimstone hard line after her beloved (?) Dr. Quinn has been killed. Geoffrey Palmer's likeably flexible civil servant/politician Masters proves pivotal to the plot, as he first juggles the conflicting requests of those around him and then forgets to quarantine himself and returns to London, unwittingly spreading the virus/bacteria and dying himself. These scenes are fantastic, with the Brigadier frantically manning every phone he can reach intercut with a white-coated Doctor testing antidote adter antidote and with a sickening Masters weaving his way around London, with his fellows from Marylebone and elsewhere collapsing in the streets. The makeup for those 'infected' is great and helps bring a grotesque touch to the sudden proliferation and to individual deaths such as Lawrence's particularly tortured one. We alse see the Doctor and the Brigadier have their relationship pushed to the limit, with a great deal of mutual distrust culminating in the famous ending where the Brigadier detonates the Silurian's caves hideout to the Doctor's abject horror and disgust. That this takes place againsgt the backdrop of a 'comedy' scene with the Doctor giving the debuting Bessie a novel jumpstart only strengthens the impact and reinforces the theory that not all 'evils' are there just to be destroyed utterly by the Doctor and chums at the end of the last episode - the ending on display here is surely one of the bleakest of all Whos.
The directorial skill thus shown is also evident elsewhere - the unfortunate dinosaur model is used only fleetingly in bluescreen-style back-projection inserts (a first) after its initial appearance, while the merely average Silurian costumes are kept in subterranean gloom for the most part. The first view of the wounded Silurian surfacing against the sun is just ravishingly gorgeous, and the use of tripartite 'monster's-eye-view' camera shots in episodes 2 and 3 is a great touch. The Doctor, usually so elegant and dapper, is clad in a white T-shirt in the final episode, which besides being unsettling, combined with his expressed sentiments helps make him seem sufficiently 'different' for the Brigadier to doubt his motives. As I mentioned, the chronology is way off, though - Quinn's map showing the continents 200 million years ago depicts a world only half as old as the Silurian Period itself (that dating would have made them Triassics, give or take, I believe), while the reptiles' talk of apes would, if applied to proto-hominids, make them far far more recent than this again. Oh well - the rest of their science is up the spout too, since they (and Liz) believe that the Van Allen belts (Earth's magnetic field, if I'm correct, not part of the atmosphere) keep out UV rays rather than the ozone layer. Still, you can't have everything.
His name's still The Doctor, though...
8/10
Episodes watched: 156
Episodes still to watch: 566
He's not called Doctor Who, and they're not Silurians - the production gaffe that enabled this story to go out under the kind of hack title normally reserved for Target novelisations is on a par only with the shoddy paleontological chronology that infects the plot like the Silurian's germ warfare infects commuters. But, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised: the story kept up the pace and interest very nicely considering the large number of episodes involved, not least thanks to the vivid characterisation - Dr. Quinn (despite his surprisingly early exit), Dr. Lawrence, Major Baker, Masters, the Young and Old Silurians... All have distinct personalities established, and the length of the story means that they all have time to play out their own mini stories without this seeming forced or rushed. There is an interesting morality play at work here: more than almost any other occasion I can think of, the villains are presented in shades of grey rather than being outright evil or insane, the two stock shorthands for 'bad person' in Doctor Who. The Old Silurian's touching connection with the Doctor seems to offer hope of peaceful coexistence before he is violently usurped, while even the Young Silurian, whose bratty attitude, adolescent voice and exaggerated movements bring to mind nothing so much as Harry Enfield's Kevin the Teenager, grows up a little at the very end as he decides to sacrifice his own hibernation to save his species.
The notion of the 'alien' race not only being from Earth but in some ways having a greater claim to it than the human race is explored nicely, with the conflicting views of those who wish to coexist with them and those who wish to blow them off the planet staying within their established characters, e.g. Miss Dawson's fire-and-brimstone hard line after her beloved (?) Dr. Quinn has been killed. Geoffrey Palmer's likeably flexible civil servant/politician Masters proves pivotal to the plot, as he first juggles the conflicting requests of those around him and then forgets to quarantine himself and returns to London, unwittingly spreading the virus/bacteria and dying himself. These scenes are fantastic, with the Brigadier frantically manning every phone he can reach intercut with a white-coated Doctor testing antidote adter antidote and with a sickening Masters weaving his way around London, with his fellows from Marylebone and elsewhere collapsing in the streets. The makeup for those 'infected' is great and helps bring a grotesque touch to the sudden proliferation and to individual deaths such as Lawrence's particularly tortured one. We alse see the Doctor and the Brigadier have their relationship pushed to the limit, with a great deal of mutual distrust culminating in the famous ending where the Brigadier detonates the Silurian's caves hideout to the Doctor's abject horror and disgust. That this takes place againsgt the backdrop of a 'comedy' scene with the Doctor giving the debuting Bessie a novel jumpstart only strengthens the impact and reinforces the theory that not all 'evils' are there just to be destroyed utterly by the Doctor and chums at the end of the last episode - the ending on display here is surely one of the bleakest of all Whos.
The directorial skill thus shown is also evident elsewhere - the unfortunate dinosaur model is used only fleetingly in bluescreen-style back-projection inserts (a first) after its initial appearance, while the merely average Silurian costumes are kept in subterranean gloom for the most part. The first view of the wounded Silurian surfacing against the sun is just ravishingly gorgeous, and the use of tripartite 'monster's-eye-view' camera shots in episodes 2 and 3 is a great touch. The Doctor, usually so elegant and dapper, is clad in a white T-shirt in the final episode, which besides being unsettling, combined with his expressed sentiments helps make him seem sufficiently 'different' for the Brigadier to doubt his motives. As I mentioned, the chronology is way off, though - Quinn's map showing the continents 200 million years ago depicts a world only half as old as the Silurian Period itself (that dating would have made them Triassics, give or take, I believe), while the reptiles' talk of apes would, if applied to proto-hominids, make them far far more recent than this again. Oh well - the rest of their science is up the spout too, since they (and Liz) believe that the Van Allen belts (Earth's magnetic field, if I'm correct, not part of the atmosphere) keep out UV rays rather than the ozone layer. Still, you can't have everything.
His name's still The Doctor, though...
8/10
Episodes watched: 156
Episodes still to watch: 566
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
'Doctor Who and the Silurians' episode I
DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS
7 episodes
Bloody hell - there had only been six stories with seven or more episodes in the series' history to this point, but now there's three in a row! They'd better be good...
First reports say... interesting. This looked like being a trial to begin with: after a slow start, with not a huge amount happening, memories of the slick, expensive-looking 'Spearhead From Space' are instantly wiped out by a rubber prop dinosaur. But, after this it really begins to reel you in to the extent that you forget it ever seemed inferior. Tried three times to get through episode 2, but after falling asleep twice decided I'd be better off trying again tomorrow!
The characters are all well-drawn, with future Porridge stalwart Fulton Mackay's surprisingly pleasant and likeable Dr. Quinn (not the medicine woman) stealing the show in the early going, plus we get a pre-Blake's 7 Paul Darrow as Captain Hawkins, who has recently turned up in several guest roles in Little Britain. Which is of course narrated by the Fourth Doctor...
Anyway, I look forward to seeing what comes next...
Episodes watched: 150
Episodes still to watch: 572
7 episodes
Bloody hell - there had only been six stories with seven or more episodes in the series' history to this point, but now there's three in a row! They'd better be good...
First reports say... interesting. This looked like being a trial to begin with: after a slow start, with not a huge amount happening, memories of the slick, expensive-looking 'Spearhead From Space' are instantly wiped out by a rubber prop dinosaur. But, after this it really begins to reel you in to the extent that you forget it ever seemed inferior. Tried three times to get through episode 2, but after falling asleep twice decided I'd be better off trying again tomorrow!
The characters are all well-drawn, with future Porridge stalwart Fulton Mackay's surprisingly pleasant and likeable Dr. Quinn (not the medicine woman) stealing the show in the early going, plus we get a pre-Blake's 7 Paul Darrow as Captain Hawkins, who has recently turned up in several guest roles in Little Britain. Which is of course narrated by the Fourth Doctor...
Anyway, I look forward to seeing what comes next...
Episodes watched: 150
Episodes still to watch: 572
'Spearhead From Space' episodes III - IV
SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE continued
Hey, that was good... Slick presentation, great new Doctor, a good, sympathetic role for the Brigadier and an able new companion, plus an all-time great Doctor Who moment as the Auton shop window dummies come to life and silently slaughter their way down the High Streets of the UK! The rubber Nestene monster was a bit crap in comparison to the superbly-realised Auton mannequins (I love those guns built into their hands) and 'facsimiles', but even the appearance of that was made tolerable thanks to some first-class gurning from Jon Pertwee. The number of people shot in the back by Autons was quite worryingly high, from Ransome's vaporisation to frantic shoppers, which I thought was surprisingly full-on. The Doctor, once he has shamefacedly stopped trying to escape the planet and turned his full attention to vanquishing the alien threat, is at the forefront of the action, bravely entering the Auto Plastics factory and constructing a device to thwart the Nestenes, with Pertwee turning in a performance full of charm, wit and authority.
I want to go and watch 'Rose' now, just to see the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness in action again! Still, not long to wait until 'Terror of the Autons'...!
8/10
Episodes watched: 149
Episodes still to watch: 573
Hey, that was good... Slick presentation, great new Doctor, a good, sympathetic role for the Brigadier and an able new companion, plus an all-time great Doctor Who moment as the Auton shop window dummies come to life and silently slaughter their way down the High Streets of the UK! The rubber Nestene monster was a bit crap in comparison to the superbly-realised Auton mannequins (I love those guns built into their hands) and 'facsimiles', but even the appearance of that was made tolerable thanks to some first-class gurning from Jon Pertwee. The number of people shot in the back by Autons was quite worryingly high, from Ransome's vaporisation to frantic shoppers, which I thought was surprisingly full-on. The Doctor, once he has shamefacedly stopped trying to escape the planet and turned his full attention to vanquishing the alien threat, is at the forefront of the action, bravely entering the Auto Plastics factory and constructing a device to thwart the Nestenes, with Pertwee turning in a performance full of charm, wit and authority.
I want to go and watch 'Rose' now, just to see the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness in action again! Still, not long to wait until 'Terror of the Autons'...!
8/10
Episodes watched: 149
Episodes still to watch: 573
Monday, September 26, 2005
'Spearhead From Space' episodes I - II
SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE
4 episodes
Oooh - colour! Suddenly, Doctor Who takes a great leap forward - new Doctor, new decade, new titles, new theme arrangement, the first story after the Doctor has finally been given a background and a context, the first story with a wholesale changeover for the core cast - and it's all in full glorious colour for the first time. Immediately, 'The War Games' seems a very long time ago... Incidentally, it's also the first non-'The...' story I've seen since 'Planet of Giants' eighteen days ago!!
Other than the totally fresh feel all the above gives the start of 'Spearhead From Space', the most noticeable thing is how fantastically glossy and 'expensive' it looks - this was the rarest of things, a Doctor Who episode shot entirely (out of necessity) on film and on location, so it automatically looks bigger and better than those shot on sets using videotape. It all helps reinforce the notion that you're watching something of a new dawn for the programme. Otherwise, the most surprising thing about part 1 is how much it holds back from rushing into the plot, or indeed introducing us to the new incarnation of the Doctor. Jon Pertwee's debut in the role sees him spend almost all of his early scenes either unconscious or otherwise less than talkative, firstly following his regeneration and secondly after he is shot (!) by a UNIT soldier. Consequently his doctors and a sceptical Brigadier learn very little about this mysterious figure and we surprisingly learn very little about his characterisation until this first half has all but elapsed. There is a rather grown-up atmosphere to proceedings, too - from the slicker look (the Brigadier's press conference at the beginning has an almost documentary feel) to a more mature 'companion' in Liz Shaw, plus we get blood on the cracked windscreen when a UNIT soldier crashes his Jeep early on, and the Autons are extremely creepy, with waxy skin, hollow eyes and stilted movements. There is humour too, though - the Doctor's antics in hospital with his shoes, the shower and his stolen outfit and 'borrowed' car, for instance. All in all, Pertwee shines as the new incumbent, while he is matched by an excellent Nicholas Courtney, slipping effortlessly back into the role of the Brigadier, and there is a promising start for Caroline John as Liz Shaw plus excellent support turns from Hugh Burden's Channing (staring eyes, looks like he's listening to the voices in his head), John Woodnutt's Hibbert (deeply conflicted) Neil Wilson's Seeley (shifty West Country yokel in Essex) and more.
Looking forward to the adventure proper in the remaining two episodes!
Episodes watched: 147
Episodes still to watch: 575
Damn - so much effort to catch up, and then I only watch one episode yesterday and two today, my worst sequence yet... Nine behind again!
4 episodes
Oooh - colour! Suddenly, Doctor Who takes a great leap forward - new Doctor, new decade, new titles, new theme arrangement, the first story after the Doctor has finally been given a background and a context, the first story with a wholesale changeover for the core cast - and it's all in full glorious colour for the first time. Immediately, 'The War Games' seems a very long time ago... Incidentally, it's also the first non-'The...' story I've seen since 'Planet of Giants' eighteen days ago!!
Other than the totally fresh feel all the above gives the start of 'Spearhead From Space', the most noticeable thing is how fantastically glossy and 'expensive' it looks - this was the rarest of things, a Doctor Who episode shot entirely (out of necessity) on film and on location, so it automatically looks bigger and better than those shot on sets using videotape. It all helps reinforce the notion that you're watching something of a new dawn for the programme. Otherwise, the most surprising thing about part 1 is how much it holds back from rushing into the plot, or indeed introducing us to the new incarnation of the Doctor. Jon Pertwee's debut in the role sees him spend almost all of his early scenes either unconscious or otherwise less than talkative, firstly following his regeneration and secondly after he is shot (!) by a UNIT soldier. Consequently his doctors and a sceptical Brigadier learn very little about this mysterious figure and we surprisingly learn very little about his characterisation until this first half has all but elapsed. There is a rather grown-up atmosphere to proceedings, too - from the slicker look (the Brigadier's press conference at the beginning has an almost documentary feel) to a more mature 'companion' in Liz Shaw, plus we get blood on the cracked windscreen when a UNIT soldier crashes his Jeep early on, and the Autons are extremely creepy, with waxy skin, hollow eyes and stilted movements. There is humour too, though - the Doctor's antics in hospital with his shoes, the shower and his stolen outfit and 'borrowed' car, for instance. All in all, Pertwee shines as the new incumbent, while he is matched by an excellent Nicholas Courtney, slipping effortlessly back into the role of the Brigadier, and there is a promising start for Caroline John as Liz Shaw plus excellent support turns from Hugh Burden's Channing (staring eyes, looks like he's listening to the voices in his head), John Woodnutt's Hibbert (deeply conflicted) Neil Wilson's Seeley (shifty West Country yokel in Essex) and more.
Looking forward to the adventure proper in the remaining two episodes!
Episodes watched: 147
Episodes still to watch: 575
Damn - so much effort to catch up, and then I only watch one episode yesterday and two today, my worst sequence yet... Nine behind again!
'The War Games' episode X
THE WAR GAMES continued
And so it ends - 'The War Games', the Patrick Troughton era, the Sixties era, Doctor Who in black-and-white... The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe manage to gain the TARDIS and make their bid for freedom, but despite the Doctor's most valiant efforts to dodge the dubious justice of his people, they are drawn inexorably to his home planet. The Doctor does a good job here of setting out the truisms which are to become widely accepted facts - the Time Lords forbid intervention in temporal affairs, preferring to sit outside these matters and only observe, while he found this far too restrictive when there are so very many worlds and times to explore, so long ago he just stole away... He notes later that the Time Lords "like making speeches", too; the difference between his endless restlessness and their inert, impassive bureaucracy becomes very clear during this episode, and you could in many ways call it a neat template of the years to come. Watching these stories in order, though, it is easy to almost put out of your mind all thar came after and accept it as if it were new; and, although these programmes were made long before anyone ever thought in 'story arcs', it is extraordinary to suddenly find so much information coming out of the woodwork as if it had been waiting there, carefully buried, to be found all along, sfter holding out for six years of almost totally opaque mystery up to this point.
The War Lord is on trial, and despite his flat refusal to acknowledge the authority of the Time Lords' court and a spirited defence, and even the intervention of his fetish-suited guards and an escape bid using the Doctor's TARDIS, he is found guilty of heinous crimes against those he took out of time and those he would have used them against, and he is dematerialised and himself removed from history as if he had never existed. The Time Lords then turn their attention to the Doctor, who mounts his own impassioned defence of his action in defending innocents against the likes of the Quarks, Yeti, Ice Warriors, Cybermen and Daleks (all of whom we glimpse in action) and indicts the Time Lords for their own lack of action where he believes it is needed. The Time Lord quality of self-righteousness is much in evidence as neither side is willing to change its views, and eventually, following a last-ditch attempt by Jamie and Victoria to spring him from captivity, the Time Lords sentence the Doctor to exile on his frequent destination Earth in the 20th century, without the use of his TARDIS - and in a new body with a new face. For his companions there is only a return to their old lives at the moment they left them, their memories of their adventures gone - so we see Zoe return to the Wheel and Jamie to the Highlands, and there is a real sadness is not only their goodbyes but in seeing all their growth and change in their travels with the Doctor undone, especially Jamie after his never-to-be-equalled three-year stint in the TARDIS. Amusingly, the Doctor rejects all the new visages the Time Lords offer him; their patience runs out, and the last we see of the Second Doctor is him spinning off into a void, his features contorting; no matter how much he may fight it, he is about to change once again...
As I say, watching all the episodes in order you really get the feeling like you're 'discovering' things without being aware of the future history of the programme, and for a second time I found it a wrench to say goodbye to a Doctor who I had come to take for granted. After all these years, it's been great to finally familiarise myself with Patrick Troughton's Doctor, the funny, energetic, wildly anarchic prototype of so much that would define the character in decades to come. I only ever saw him play his famous recorder once, though...
9/10
Episodes watched: 145
Episodes still to watch: 577
And so it ends - 'The War Games', the Patrick Troughton era, the Sixties era, Doctor Who in black-and-white... The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe manage to gain the TARDIS and make their bid for freedom, but despite the Doctor's most valiant efforts to dodge the dubious justice of his people, they are drawn inexorably to his home planet. The Doctor does a good job here of setting out the truisms which are to become widely accepted facts - the Time Lords forbid intervention in temporal affairs, preferring to sit outside these matters and only observe, while he found this far too restrictive when there are so very many worlds and times to explore, so long ago he just stole away... He notes later that the Time Lords "like making speeches", too; the difference between his endless restlessness and their inert, impassive bureaucracy becomes very clear during this episode, and you could in many ways call it a neat template of the years to come. Watching these stories in order, though, it is easy to almost put out of your mind all thar came after and accept it as if it were new; and, although these programmes were made long before anyone ever thought in 'story arcs', it is extraordinary to suddenly find so much information coming out of the woodwork as if it had been waiting there, carefully buried, to be found all along, sfter holding out for six years of almost totally opaque mystery up to this point.
The War Lord is on trial, and despite his flat refusal to acknowledge the authority of the Time Lords' court and a spirited defence, and even the intervention of his fetish-suited guards and an escape bid using the Doctor's TARDIS, he is found guilty of heinous crimes against those he took out of time and those he would have used them against, and he is dematerialised and himself removed from history as if he had never existed. The Time Lords then turn their attention to the Doctor, who mounts his own impassioned defence of his action in defending innocents against the likes of the Quarks, Yeti, Ice Warriors, Cybermen and Daleks (all of whom we glimpse in action) and indicts the Time Lords for their own lack of action where he believes it is needed. The Time Lord quality of self-righteousness is much in evidence as neither side is willing to change its views, and eventually, following a last-ditch attempt by Jamie and Victoria to spring him from captivity, the Time Lords sentence the Doctor to exile on his frequent destination Earth in the 20th century, without the use of his TARDIS - and in a new body with a new face. For his companions there is only a return to their old lives at the moment they left them, their memories of their adventures gone - so we see Zoe return to the Wheel and Jamie to the Highlands, and there is a real sadness is not only their goodbyes but in seeing all their growth and change in their travels with the Doctor undone, especially Jamie after his never-to-be-equalled three-year stint in the TARDIS. Amusingly, the Doctor rejects all the new visages the Time Lords offer him; their patience runs out, and the last we see of the Second Doctor is him spinning off into a void, his features contorting; no matter how much he may fight it, he is about to change once again...
As I say, watching all the episodes in order you really get the feeling like you're 'discovering' things without being aware of the future history of the programme, and for a second time I found it a wrench to say goodbye to a Doctor who I had come to take for granted. After all these years, it's been great to finally familiarise myself with Patrick Troughton's Doctor, the funny, energetic, wildly anarchic prototype of so much that would define the character in decades to come. I only ever saw him play his famous recorder once, though...
9/10
Episodes watched: 145
Episodes still to watch: 577
Sunday, September 25, 2005
'The War Games' episodes IV - IX
THE WAR GAMES continued
Phew - this is a long haul, but I'm really enjoying it. The knowledge that you're working up to a pivotal moment in Who history means that the leisurely pace the story is taking in getting there doesn't feel tiresome. It would admittedly be an understatement to say that there are repetitive elements, with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe getting caught in an almost endless cycle of capture and recapture, and there are a huge number of firefights, brawls and other skirmishes - but then, these are war games, after all. Our heroes manage to infiltrate the alien base from where the games are being manipulated and we find out all the combatants in the various zones have been lifted wholesale from their own times and placed here, brainwashed, to eliminate each other until only the elite are left to form an unbeatable fighting force to use in galactic conquest. The truly creepy scarred German general von Weich turns up again as a Confederate general, whose use of his monocle to focus his hypnotic suggestions is really unnerving, and and there is later on a glimpse of Patrick Troughton's son David as a nervous private holding him prisoner immediately before von Weich thankfully suffers an abrupt demise. Likewiase does the nasty 'British' general Smythe, as Jamie leads a band of control-resistant freedom fighters from the various zones to form a resistance base at the 1917 chateau, and despite the best efforts of the aliens back at the command centre to rout them out.
During this we get to see a lot more of the War Chief and the Security Chief, the two main controllers of the experiments, who delightfully happen to hate each other. The former, with magnificently sculpted facial hair, is a joy as he schemes with a seemingly-duplicitous Doctor to take sole control of the project, and it is revealed that he is the first person we've seen since the Meddling Monk who is of the same race as the Doctor. The powerplay between the Chiefs is highly enjoyable, although the Security Chief has a bizarre, slightly-Germanic accent and delivery reminiscent of Von Smallhausen in 'Allo 'Allo at his most pompous... The shifting dynamic between the two is thrown into sharp relief, however, by the arrival of their superior and ultimate commander the War Lord. A brilliant performance by Philip Madic (making a swift return after 'The Krotons'); what might have been expected to be a raving dictator is portrayed as a quiet, unassuming figure, whose pronouncements only seem more emphatic for being so softly delivered. The fued between the War Chief and Security Chief ultimately results in the latter's death at the hands of the former when the resistance - comedy Mexican and all - storm the base sector via the SIDRAT (silly name!) travel devices, the Doctor's easy use of which makes him rather uncomfortable to explain. Oddly, these seem to have replaced conventional control panels with fridge magnets. It is a real shock to see the War Lord suddenly snap and order the execution of the War Chief for his devious actions - maybe it's just the odd magnifying spectacles, but there is momentarily a bug-eyed lunacy floating dangerously close to the urbane surface.
Meanwhile, the Doctor is finally forced to admit he cannot resolve the plight of all the displaced fighters. We discover the seminal truth that the Doctor is of a race of people known as the Time Lords, but exactly who are they and what is it about them that is worrying the Doctor so much? He summons them only with the greatest reluctance; Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor's total terror at the thought of running into his own kind is tremendous from here on in. He promptly flees in a SIDRAT for the safety of his TARDIS - and the nebulous power of the approaching figures is wonderfully conveyed by the airborne throbbing sound that follows, and the War Lord's almost-awed, foreboding "They're coming...". The cliffhanger is superb, as the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe stumble as if through treacle towards their ship, the Doctor desperately reaching in slow-motion for the keyhole, and at the very last his fingers slip from the key...
Episodes watched: 144
Episodes still to watch: 578
Phew - this is a long haul, but I'm really enjoying it. The knowledge that you're working up to a pivotal moment in Who history means that the leisurely pace the story is taking in getting there doesn't feel tiresome. It would admittedly be an understatement to say that there are repetitive elements, with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe getting caught in an almost endless cycle of capture and recapture, and there are a huge number of firefights, brawls and other skirmishes - but then, these are war games, after all. Our heroes manage to infiltrate the alien base from where the games are being manipulated and we find out all the combatants in the various zones have been lifted wholesale from their own times and placed here, brainwashed, to eliminate each other until only the elite are left to form an unbeatable fighting force to use in galactic conquest. The truly creepy scarred German general von Weich turns up again as a Confederate general, whose use of his monocle to focus his hypnotic suggestions is really unnerving, and and there is later on a glimpse of Patrick Troughton's son David as a nervous private holding him prisoner immediately before von Weich thankfully suffers an abrupt demise. Likewiase does the nasty 'British' general Smythe, as Jamie leads a band of control-resistant freedom fighters from the various zones to form a resistance base at the 1917 chateau, and despite the best efforts of the aliens back at the command centre to rout them out.
During this we get to see a lot more of the War Chief and the Security Chief, the two main controllers of the experiments, who delightfully happen to hate each other. The former, with magnificently sculpted facial hair, is a joy as he schemes with a seemingly-duplicitous Doctor to take sole control of the project, and it is revealed that he is the first person we've seen since the Meddling Monk who is of the same race as the Doctor. The powerplay between the Chiefs is highly enjoyable, although the Security Chief has a bizarre, slightly-Germanic accent and delivery reminiscent of Von Smallhausen in 'Allo 'Allo at his most pompous... The shifting dynamic between the two is thrown into sharp relief, however, by the arrival of their superior and ultimate commander the War Lord. A brilliant performance by Philip Madic (making a swift return after 'The Krotons'); what might have been expected to be a raving dictator is portrayed as a quiet, unassuming figure, whose pronouncements only seem more emphatic for being so softly delivered. The fued between the War Chief and Security Chief ultimately results in the latter's death at the hands of the former when the resistance - comedy Mexican and all - storm the base sector via the SIDRAT (silly name!) travel devices, the Doctor's easy use of which makes him rather uncomfortable to explain. Oddly, these seem to have replaced conventional control panels with fridge magnets. It is a real shock to see the War Lord suddenly snap and order the execution of the War Chief for his devious actions - maybe it's just the odd magnifying spectacles, but there is momentarily a bug-eyed lunacy floating dangerously close to the urbane surface.
Meanwhile, the Doctor is finally forced to admit he cannot resolve the plight of all the displaced fighters. We discover the seminal truth that the Doctor is of a race of people known as the Time Lords, but exactly who are they and what is it about them that is worrying the Doctor so much? He summons them only with the greatest reluctance; Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor's total terror at the thought of running into his own kind is tremendous from here on in. He promptly flees in a SIDRAT for the safety of his TARDIS - and the nebulous power of the approaching figures is wonderfully conveyed by the airborne throbbing sound that follows, and the War Lord's almost-awed, foreboding "They're coming...". The cliffhanger is superb, as the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe stumble as if through treacle towards their ship, the Doctor desperately reaching in slow-motion for the keyhole, and at the very last his fingers slip from the key...
Episodes watched: 144
Episodes still to watch: 578
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