Yep, the two recently rediscovered episodes just dropped on to iPlayer this morning, and you probably knew this blog post was coming.
Before I get into the episodes themselves, though, plus revisiting Day of Armageddon because it would have been silly not to, a huge shout out to Film Is Fabulous, a splendid little charity from my neck of the country who specialise in preserving and locating films, telly and other footage for posterity, much of which may otherwise be lost. Importantly, there's no cherry picking or treasure hunting. Instead, they catalogue and preserve entire collections, treating every item with equal respect.
Through their work, we now have these two episodes, previously thought lost. And, while we should just enjoy these for the time being, there may be more hope for the future, as we now know that cutting copies are a thing. For now, though, please do check out Film Is Fabulous' splendid website, do consider donating if you can, and please don't hassle them- they clearly know what they're doing, and their work can't and mustn't be rushed.
Anyway...
The Nightmare Begins
"If it's brain... or brawn, rather, versus brain..."
This episode, more than anything else, looks AMAZING. Douglas Camfield truly excels himself here. Much as we know damn well that the forests of Kembel are just a tiny studio in Lime Grove, his claustrophobic direction, as well as Brian Cant's desperate acting, really sells the sense of peril for Kert Gantry in particular. It's great to see him and Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon in action. We hardly have time to notice that Varga plants are only spoken of, not seen, and how tense, claustrophobic direction means we don't actually see much of the forest set- a wise decision.
It's amusing to see Mavic Chen being interviewed and discussed by a couple of lazy civil servants whose casual attitude contrasts with the selfless dedication of Gantry and Vyon, and the lady in particular looks very Swinging Sixties indeed. Such a contrast from the very bleak shot of Gantry after the Dalek kills him.
It's fascinating to see the dynamic between the Doctor and Katarina here- he's as affectionate as ever, but she interprets everything in terms of her own culture- she's in the afterlife, heading to the "Place of Perfection". As she says to Bret, they're "on our way through the underworld".
Then there's the visual of the Doctor's magnetic chair, the city, the framing of the shot where the Doctor sees the Daleks for the first time... we're so very lucky to have this back.
Day of Armageddon
"His ambitions exceed his usefulness."
I'm conscious that I've already blogged this, way back during the marathon days, but it would be silly to leave out the middle of three consecutive episodes, especially when this episode contains the key moment with the Doctor swiping the Taranium core. That aside, though, it's marked by three extraordinary performances. Hartnell, of course, but also Nicholas Courtney as the firm but brave Bret Vyon, and the always magnificent Kevin Stoney, whose performance as Mavic Chen is a joy to watch, both because of his line delivery and his physical mannerisms. We're lucky to be able to see his performance.
The Daleks setting fire to the forest is an extraordinary visual, so much so that you can even forgive the fact that there are only three of them. All the scenes with the delegates are brilliant. And the whole thing is just so damn tense. Then there's the ever-extraordinary musical score from the underappreciated Tristram Cary, whose music both borders on the avant-garde and works perfectly in context.
And the inside of the Spar is a perfectly Sixties space opera future, with the design of the controls being, well, not quite as charming as the fridge magnet-based technology of the baddies in The War Games, but as close as you can get.
Devil's Planet
"All is ready for their space extinction!"
We've had quite a few Terry Nation-isms thus far. Hostile plants, the constant use of "space" as an adjective ("Excuse me while I nip to the space loo for a space number two"), and even a countdown. Here we get a lesser spotted one, later to be reused in the opening episodes of Blake's 7- the prison planet with no guards, where prisoners are just dumped into a Hobbesian existence. It's a rather bleak situation into which to crash one's spaceship.
Everything still looks great, though. The gripping scene leading up to Zephon's killing, for example, showcases Camfield's sublime qualities as a director- particularly his skill at the now-lost art of blocking. And even the (thankfully not overly drawn out) bleak scenes with the hostile convicts are absolutely gripping. So, of course, of more footage of Kevin Stoney's physical mannerisms and facial expressions as Chen.
And then there's Katarina, of whose five episodes, none of which once remained, we now have an incredible three. Yet, when she says to the Doctor, with those trusting eyes which we can now see, we feel a pang...
This episode, as with all of them, is bloody brilliant.
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