Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

"It's a bit like one of those old houses in horror films."

"I see what you mean. It's like Boris Karloff's going to pop up any minute..."

Wow. A late '60s horror film with a very genre cast (what a cast though!) that manages to be not at all kitsch as its Hammer and Amicus cousins usually are but, in spite of being very much full of the usual cliched tropes, is actually a film of genuine quality. Then again, it's scripted by the two men behind The Web of Fear.

Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff both excel in roles that suit their perspective brands of silky, sinister charisma, although sadly Barbara Steele's role is too small to be worth much comment. Mark Eden does well as the hero, although it's a shame that Robert gets such a tiresomely and predictably rapey scene with Virginia Wetherell's Eve, something that dates the film every bit as much as the '60s fire engine at the end.

The true star is the script, though- this tale of a witch burned unjustly at the stake under Cromwell and seeking bloody revenge over the centuries involving violence, fear and, er, a fair bit of BDSM from the very start, and centred around an old house with a hidden past may be typically gothic fare with a huge number of horror film cliches all present and correct right down to the petrol pump attendant warning us off the house in question, but the execution is undeniably superb. Don't mistake it for one of the many films of a similar type with a similar cast at a similar time; this one is well worth watching.

Doctor Who: The Web of Fear (Revisited)

 So, here we are; I revisited Enemy of the World after Philip Morris unveiled its fiver previously missing episodes last October; now it's time for the obvious next step. Should Episode Three turn up soon then this blog could get very confusing...

Part One


"Is it safe?"

"Oh, I shouldn't think so for a moment..."


A direct continuation from The Enemy of the World, so we do get to see the aftermath after all. The Doctor and Victoria clearly aren't hanging on, and some of the roundels are clearly cardboard cutouts, but never mind!

I'm glad at least this episode survives so we can see Camfield's direction in all its glory- the scene with the Yeti transforming is great. And it's fun to see an older Travers with a beard and great, cantankerous dialogue- Jack Watling seems to be having a lot more fun this time around! I'm not sure about the character Silverstein here though- we seem to be getting a little too close for comfort to some rather dodgy stereotypes.

Actually watching the stories in order brings home just how soon it is for a sequel to The Abominable Snowmen to turn up. And it's rather odd that, if the Yeti are considered good enough to bring back, they then have to be completely redesigned!

This is great stuff, in large part a typical "exploring" part one, but also structured rather cleverly. We get the scene with Travers in the museum to establish the Yeti threat, but the next time we see him some time has passed, the army is involved and the threat is already underway with the minimum of exposition. In between these scenes, the web around the TARDIS in space adds tension and reminds us of the larger threat of the Great Intelligence- although why it lets go isn't made quite clear. All this, and the most postmodern line since a prisoner was kept in a corridor in the last story: "Funny, isn't it? How we keep landing on your Earth?"

We have a deserted London and lots of soldiers... this all feels very Quatermass.

Yes, we've seen Part One before, but this is the copy recovered by Philip Morris, and it's a notably superior copy. It's still obvious, sadly, that Silverstein is portrayed as the grasping Jew, but the episode is as gripping and as addictive as ever. The prospect of five more episodes of Douglas Camfield's direction is utterly gripping.

It must be said, though: the better copy makes it even more obvious that the TARDIS roundels are just blown-up photographs.




Part Two


"A right old Fred Karno's army".


Back to the recons, Joint Venture this time. It's fun to see, or rather hear, Travers' reaction to seeing Jamie and Victoria looking just as they did forty years ago- and The Abominable Snowmen is retrospectively dated back to 1935. Interesting, as I don't recall anything particularly in the story to suggest it wasn't contemporary. Well, aside from occupying Chinese people, obviously...

The Doctor's not in this much, is he? this is the first obvious time Troughton gets a holiday. Still, he had an awful lot to do in the last story.

We get a very odd line from one of the soldiers: "He reckons they're abominable snowmen." So how come everyone is calling them Yeti?

Our first "new" footage, then. It's fantastic to see footage of the soldiers vs. the Yeti and their web guns. The characters are all distinct individuals and the performances make them seem very real in this high stress situation, the web looks fantastic too in all its foamy-bubblewrappiness. It's quite arresting how quickly it moves through the ground. The cliffhanger is interesting: oh, look, foam!

The Doctor's absence is really felt, so it is left to the other characters to carry the story. It is amusing to see the 1960's attempt at depicting a professional woman; Anne may be a brilliant scientist, but it is she who makes the tea.

Part Three


"Good to see you don't take things at face value."

A small glass pyramid! There's a blast from the past. As is the Doctor, who it seems we haven't seen for ages. he seems to be accompanied by some mysterious, moustachioed soldier type called Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. we don't know where he came from, so he's probably a baddie.

Our heroes are by now entirely surrounded by fungus. at this point it becomes clear that we are indeed watching another base under siege.

Crikey, one of our heroes is a traitor, using the model Yeti- I bet it's that sinister Lethbridge-Stewart. But really, aside from the Doctor, Anne Travers and Victoria, it could be anyone. This is feeling even more Quatermass by the minute, and Pat Troughton makes a splendid Bernard. Good stuff.

This episode is not only still a recon, but a considerably worse recon than the version I watched above. It was clearly made in a hurry; there are NO captions- except one right at the very end! Things are very hard to follow,which is generally not the case for recons made my amateurs. Professionals, eh? Most revealingly, the reprises at both ends are not included, a sign of rushing.

It is of course frustrating that we are introduced to Lethbridge- Stewart in recon form. The character shines from the beginning, and is, from the start, a little more vulnerable than he would later become.


Part Four


"I have a craft that travels in time and space."


The Doctor's description of the great Intelligence to the Colonel (and us) is creepy, well-delivered stuff. Even more chilling is the realisation that the Yeti just came, took what it wanted (Travers) and went- it just doesn't see the army as a threat.

We get an extraordinary scene here in which the Doctor tells the Colonel about the TARDIS- and Lethbridge-Stewart believes him, showing not only an extraordinary amount of faith in the Doctor but also good judgement. But conversely, having sent a squad of troops to look for the Doctor's police box (!), he's entirely deflated and defeated once the others are all killed. This is a well-rounded and well played character, but not quite the one he would become.

I'm sure the long battle scene between the soldiers and the Yeti looked great, but I couldn't see it! but it was very long. And used the Cybermens' signature tune for some reason...

The cliffhanger is fantastic here. Unlike in The Abominable Snowmen, in this story the Yeti most certainly do pose a threat.

 At last we get to see Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, complete with his Scottish regimental headgear. It's great to see him, and moving pictures. Everything looks amazing, from the bits of web on the camera (Camfield was a genius) to the sheer awesomeness of the Battle of Covent Garden. Best of all, though, is Troughton's performance; his little monologue about the Great Intelligence is truly awesome.

The Colonel is awesome too, open-minded and pragmatic, although yet again the signs of stress are visible in this story in ways which later stories will not show. This is certainly a better story than The Enemy of the World, in spite of its inferior script, and that is entirely down to Camfield. This episode simply looks amazing.



Part Five


"You'd better stay here. Evans. And don't go taking any chances."


I haven't mentioned Evans yet, but he's a nice character: at the same time comic relief and fulfilling a serious function. He reminds us how scary the situation is, shows us how brave everyone else is in contrast, and is himself quite tragic.

The Intelligence, issuing his ultimatum to the Doctor, is a very powerful adversary indeed, and the situation is about as hopeless as I can ever recall it being. This story is superb.

I'm liking the Colonel more and more. He and Jamie make a particularly good team. Incidentally, in a story broadcast while Syd Barrett was still in Pink Floyd, we get two characters called Arnold and Lane...

This may be black and white, but by Jove it's psychedelic, not something one would have guessed from the recon. It is arresting, too, to see the Intelligence speaking through Jack Watling having recently seen Richard E. Grant in the same role. The Web of Fear is a slightly different experience with Steven Moffat having used the Great Intelligence as the Big Bad for Season 33.

Nick Courtney is truly fabulous here; even my semi-fan wife singled him out for high praise. It's still a pity, though, that we know he's going to become a regular and can't be the mole, as is often pointed out. It's interesting to see Lethbridge-Stewart and Jamie getting on as well here as they will in The Invasion. 



Part Six



"Prepare for a great darkness to cloud your mind."



So Arnold is the traitor? I'd forgotten about him- I'd genuinely though there were no plausible suspects and so there must not have been a traitor after all. Although I'm sure it would have helped if I was genuinely able to suspect the Colonel, as the original viewers must have done!

There seems to be no hope as the Intelligence starts to drain the Doctor's mind. But we get a great ending as Jamie heroically saves the day only for it to be revealed that the Doctor would have drained the Intelligence's mind into his simply by switching the wires.

More visual treats, then, in the middle of the tension as we are treated to rare footage of the Doctor playing his recorder. More to the point, the presence of actual visuals makes this episode much, much easier to follow. Once again I'm left with the strong impressions that watching recons doesn't help you to follow what is actually going on as it seems to at the time.

The final showdown is tense and awesome, and it's equally awesome to see Troughton's facial expressions during his extraordinary performance.


Overall, simply magnificent, full of twists and turns as a six-parter should be, action-packed and generally very Quatermass and the Pit. An easy 5/5.

No arguing with my past self there. A triumph from beginning to end. Douglas Camfield is without a doubt the finest director ever to work on twentieth century Doctor Who. 

Doctor Who: The Dominators

Part One


"Running aground on an atomic island isn't my idea of fun."


We've reached season six, so from now on all episodes will mostly exist. Hooray! So it's the first BBC Video release of the Troughton era (!), and it's immediately apparent how poor a condition the prints are in. It's times like this you really come to appreciate the Restoration Team. The model work is instantly impressive, though.

We can tell from very early on that this is going to be silly and fun- squabbling, moustache twirling Dominators versus several men in dresses and a rather attractive blonde. But all the same it's a relief when Zoe's finished watching The Evil of the Daleks and the TARDIS arrives, for a "nice peaceful holiday".

The Dulcians are already showing themselves to be so wet that I'm on the Dominators' side.



Part Two


"Just act stupid- if you can manage that."


I love the sight of those stumpy little Quarks walking!

Interesting that this is the first story to mention two hearts- but not in relation to the Doctor. We also get the first scream from Zoe at the end which can truly be said to be up to Victoria's considerable standards. She's settling in nicely though, a more intelligent, proactive character than Victoria but with as good a rapport with the Doctor and Jamie.

I love the Dominators' quibbling, and the way it's performed. Depth of characterisation is all well and good, but sometimes there's nothing wrong with some good old fashioned pantomime villainy! The Dulcians, meanwhile, are not only wet pacifists but, even worse, seem to have no curiosity about the world around them, and no propensity to actually think about things. The mind-bogglingly stupid manner in which a bunch of them just walk up to the Dominators' spacecraft shows that natural selection must have been on the blink on this planet.

I'm enjoying this, though, much as it's a load of old cobblers. Could this be the first "so bad it's good" story?



Part Three


"Better to do nothing than the wrong thing."



Is it just me or is it completely impossible to understand a word the Quarks are saying?

More fun and silliness this episode, with the Doctor doing a lot of gurning in the capsule while Zoe gets an early chance to show how great she is by plotting escape with Cully. And we get more evidence of natural selection being on the blink when it comes to the Dulcians as it seems they happily leave live guns lying around as exhibits in museums.



Part Four


"I warn you- a Dominator must be obeyed".

I just love the little spats between Rago and Toba. Such naturalistic dialogue. Also great are the scenes with Jamie and Cully throwing rocks at the Quarks. Of course, this doesn't actually achieve anything except to make the Dominators kill the old bloke, but still...



Part Five


"It's so simple only you could have though of it."


So, another scene with Jamie and artificial food, for the second story in a row. Heigh-ho. I love the way Jamie comes up with the plan to defeat the bad guys and save the day here though. The scenes with Jamie and Cully chucking home made bombs at the Quarks are also fun.

We see the sonic screwdriver for only the second time (although we don't really get a clear look at it) and already it's "a little more than a screwdriver."



Well, I really enjoyed that. It was very, very silly, of course, and if I was being sensible I'd point out that the guest characters were just ciphers and much of the plot made no sense. But there's nothing sensible about this story which kept me amused all the way through, and I don't care whether the humour was intentional or not. Great fun, 3/5.

Doctor Who: The Web of Fear

Part One


"Is it safe?"

"Oh, I shouldn't think so for a moment..."


A direct continuation from The Enemy of the World, so we do get to see the aftermath after all. The Doctor and Victoria clearly aren't hanging on, and some of the roundels are clearly cardboard cutouts, but never mind!

I'm glad at least this episode survives so we can see Camfield's direction in all its glory- the scene with the Yeti transforming is great. And it's fun to see an older Travers with a beard and great, cantankerous dialogue- Jack Watling seems to be having a lot more fun this time around! I'm not sure about the character Silverstein here though- we seem to be getting a little too close for comfort to some rather dodgy stereotypes.

Actually watching the stories in order brings home just how soon it is for a sequel to The Abominable Snowmen to turn up. And it's rather odd that, if the Yeti are considered good enough to bring back, they then have to be completely redesigned!

This is great stuff, in large part a typical "exploring" part one, but also structured rather cleverly. We get the scene with Travers in the museum to establish the Yeti threat, but the next time we see him some time has passed, the army is involved and the threat is already underway with the minimum of exposition. In between these scenes, the web around the TARDIS in space adds tension and reminds us of the larger threat of the Great Intelligence- although why it lets go isn't made quite clear. All this, and the most postmodern line since a prisoner was kept in a corridor in the last story: "Funny, isn't it? How we keep landing on your Earth?"

We have a deserted London and lots of soldiers... this all feels very Quatermass.



Part Two


"A right old Fred Karno's army".


Back to the recons, Joint Venture this time. It's fun to see, or rather hear, Travers' reaction to seeing Jamie and Victoria looking just as they did forty years ago- and The Abominable Snowmen is retrospectively dated back to 1935. Interesting, as I don't recall anything particularly in the story to suggest it wasn't contemporary. Well, aside from occupying Chinese people, obviously...

The Doctor's not in this much, is he? this is the first obvious time Troughton gets a holiday. Still, he had an awful lot to do in the last story.

We get a very odd line from one of the soldiers: "He reckons they're abominable snowmen." So how come everyone is calling them Yeti?

Part Three


"Good to see you don't take things at face value."



A small glass pyramid! There's a blast from the past. As is the Doctor, who it seems we haven't seen for ages. he seems to be accompanied by some mysterious, moustachioed soldier type called Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. we don't know where he came from, so he's probably a baddie.

Our heroes are by now entirely surrounded by fungus. at this point it becomes clear that we are indeed watching another base under siege.

Crikey, one of our heroes is a traitor, using the model Yeti- I bet it's that sinister Lethbridge-Stewart. But really, aside from the Doctor, Anne Travers and Victoria, it could be anyone. This is feeling even more Quatermass by the minute, and Pat Troughton makes a splendid Bernard. Good stuff.



Part Four


"I have a craft that travels in time and space."


The Doctor's description of the great Intelligence to the Colonel (and us) is creepy, well-delivered stuff. Even more chilling is the realisation that the Yeti just came, took what it wanted (Travers) and went- it just doesn't see the army as a threat.

We get an extraordinary scene here in which the Doctor tells the Colonel about the TARDIS- and Lethbridge-Stewart believes him, showing not only an extraordinary amount of faith in the Doctor but also good judgement. But conversely, having sent a squad of troops to look for the Doctor's police box (!), he's entirely deflated and defeated once the others are all killed. This is a well-rounded and well played character, but not quite the one he would become.

I'm sure the long battle scene between the soldiers and the Yeti looked great, but I couldn't see it! but it was very long. And used the Cybermens' signature tune for some reason...

The cliffhanger is fantastic here. Unlike in The Abominable Snowmen, in this story the Yeti most certainly do pose a threat.



Part Five


"You'd better stay here. Evans. And don't go taking any chances."


I haven't mentioned Evans yet, but he's a nice character: at the same time comic relief and fulfilling a serious function. He reminds us how scary the situation is, shows us how brave everyone else is in contrast, and is himself quite tragic.

The Intelligence, issuing his ultimatum to the Doctor, is a very powerful adversary indeed, and the situation is about as hopeless as I can ever recall it being. This story is superb.

I'm liking the Colonel more and more. He and Jamie make a particularly good team. Incidentally, in a story broadcast while Syd Barrett was still in Pink Floyd, we get two characters called Arnold and Lane...



Part Six



"Prepare for a great darkness to cloud your mind."



So Arnold is the traitor? I'd forgotten about him- I'd genuinely though there were no plausible suspects and so there must not have been a traitor after all. Although I'm sure it would have helped if I was genuinely able to suspect the Colonel, as the original viewers must have done!

There seems to be no hope as the Intelligence starts to drain the Doctor's mind. But we get a great ending as Jamie heroically saves the day only for it to be revealed that the Doctor would have drained the Intelligence's mind into his simply by switching the wires.




Overall, simply magnificent, full of twists and turns as a six-parter should be, action-packed and generally very Quatermass and the Pit. An easy 5/5.

Phew! I admit that review was a bit rushed but I've got some catching up to do...

Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen

Part One


"The welcome of a lifetime?!"



So, the first story co-written by Henry Lincoln, he of the... interesting Grail theories! Should be interesting. Also, this is a story I know relatively little about.

It's good to see the BBC continuity announcement on the new Loose Cannon recon, which looks as though it's going to be excellent. The early TARDIS scenes with the chest too, giving Victoria another chance to bond with her new companions.

The Doctor says they're assured of a friendly welcome at the monastery. No need to worry about that then! Oh, and no doubt Jamie and Victoria will remain in the TARDIS just as they're supposed to.

I like the way the episode features only the main cast for most of its duration- reminds me of early Hartnell stories! But here it helps to develop the developing relationship between Jamie and Victoria. And, far from being the terrified screamer of repute, Victoria seems to have quite the sense of adventure.


Part Two


"This wasn't the welcome I expected, you know!"


Actual footage, and suddenly it's very clear that this was filmed in Snowdonia, which unfortunately looks very unlike the Himalayas! It's still very good, though, plus we get the Doctor playing his recorder again.

We settle down to the actual plot, and it's most intriguing- who exactly is Padmasambhava, and what's that evil voice he occasionally switches to? Very creepy.

It's Jamie's plan that leads to the capture of the Yeti- he may be no intellectual but the last few stories have shown he's far from thick, despite his reputation.

Hmmm... Travers seems to recognise the word "robot". [pedantic smartarse mode] If I recall correctly from general fan osmosis, this story was supposed to be set in 1935 (although we've had no date yet). If so, it should predate the coining of the word by Karel Capek by a full three years [/pedantic smartarse mode].

Part Three


"They came to get their ball back!"


Great as these recons are, I think this is the point at which recon weariness is starting to sink in. Still, not that far to go now! Besides, this recon is quite superb, with lots of moving CGI Yeti.

The plot is thickening- I love the mysterious hand moving the model Yeti about on the board. And we get some interesting revelations about a "great Intelligence" which wants to end its days wandering space to take on physical form.

Khrisong is turning out to be a more interesting character than the simple plot-serving adversary of earlier, as he learns to trust the Doctor. It's nice to see the chatracter developing a bit.

Once again Victoria shows far more of a sense of adventure than her reputation would have us believe, trying to sneak into the inner sanctum


Part Four


"Are you sure it's quite safe?"

"Well, quite frankly, Jamie, no. But there's only one way of finding out."


We're spoiled with a fair few actual clips this episode, and a most amusing scene where the Doctor and Jamie find the TARDIS blocked by a Yeti: "What are you going to do?" "Bung a rock at it."

Interesting stuff with Travers in the cave, the pyramid glowing, and things looking generally scary. Which is good, because there's not much of a sense of threat from the Yeti so far, frankly. Either they're inactive or they just barge straight through without harming anyone. In fact, it's already part four and nobody's dead yet! Is this a record?

There's far less of the Doctor's manipulative side on display in this story, although he notably would rather trace the sphere to its source than deal with the Yeti he knows to be potentially at large in the monastery! We get an interesting moment with Victoria too: "This Doctor- is he your guardian?" "I suppose he is, in a way."

I'm beginning to quite like Khrisong, with his defiance of the Abbot's apparent defeatism- quite a turnaround for such an initially annoying character.


Part Five


"I'm going to see a very old friend."

It's a particular tragedy that the visuals for the scenes with Padmasamhava speaking through Victoria no longer exist- this is chilling enough just on audio but it would be great to see it. It's a shame that so much of Padmasambhava's dialogue is pretty much inaudible, although much of that is probably down to my hearing.

The Doctor's visited the monastery before, of course, so this is the first ever reference to an untelevised adventure. But where does it fit in? Confusingly, Padmasambhava seems to recognise the Doctor by sight ("Good to look upon your face again.") so presumably it happened since his "renewal"?

We get another slice of plot exposition here; the Great Exposition came to Padmasambhava whilst he was meditating?! That's a scary and not uncool concept.

The Doctor seems almost most more interested in Padmasambhava than Victoria's catatonic condition, and has to be gently chided by Jamie! Although this Doctor's a genuinely nice chap, and genuinely cares about his friends, he can be quite shockingly "big picture first" at times.

Everything seems to be coming to a head...


Part Six

"Such a brain as yours is too small to grasp my purpose."


Again the recon gives us a continuity announcer! "And now, Doctor Who, and the final episode of The Abominable Snowmen." Is it just me who finds it impossible not to think of the many Monty Python continuity announcer skits while watching this?

A cool Doctor / Victoria moment before he explains his plan. The Doctor essentially makes a token gesture of sending Victoria away before the dangerous stuff starts, but then cheerfully admits he knew full well she'd refuse to do any such thing!

The situation by the end, in spite of the robotic trappings, essentially feels more supernatural than sci-fi, which is not necessarily a bad thing and certainly gives this story a refreshingly different feel.

The threat is finally defeated in a satisfying way, marred only by the fact we're shown so many close-up photos of Padmasambhava which make it very clear that his aged face is a mask!

Nice last few scenes with the real Yeti and the Doctor playing his recorder again (yay!). And a nice bit of foreshadowing from Jamie: "can you not land us somewhere warmer next time?"



Overall, a nicely done story with a very different feel which, compared to certain other six-parters I could mention (The Faceless Ones, I'm looking at you!), never seemed to flag. Perhaps not quite up there with the best (I suspect because none of the guest characters were ever quite interesting or layered enough), but nevertheless very enjoyable. 4/5.