Doctor Faustus (1967)

 "Why, this is Hell, nor am I out of it".

I fear that, much though I enjoy the deliciously irreverent work of Christopher Marlowe, I've only read two of his plays (The Jew of Malta and Edward II), and until now had never seen a performance of any kind. One may certainly say that this isan odd place to start- a mostly amateur production from students at Oxford University (including one Ian Marter!), directed by a don, and somehow not only starring Richard Burton but, oddly, featuring Elizabeth Taylor as second billing despite the fact she has no lines and hardly appears.

The play is witty, delicious, but also odd- theologically deep, reflecting an age of alchemy rather than science, where the nature of academia itself was utterly alien to the modern mind. Marlowe is riffing on an existing German tale here, where the eponymous doctor sellshis soul to Lucifer for a mere four and twenty years in return for knowledge and... well, not much else. Not love, power or happiness. This is a version shorn of the comedic scenes, but both the power and irreverence of the play will speak for themselves in any production.

I'll admit this version is no classic. Burton is far too old to play the younger Faustus and his performance, while good, does not inspire. Yet the haunting music and the bizarre Hammer Horror style sort of actually work. The Seven Deadly Sins portion is well handed, with the masks echoing classical Greek theatre. And Andreas Teuber is a genuinely compelling Mephistopheles. This film isa bit mad, yes... but that's rather why I like it.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes: The Musgrave Ritual

 "And the singular affair of the aluminium crutch."

We have another splendid episode here- a delightful little gothic puzzle which provides us with some entertainment as the mystery is solved yet, for the unfortunate and proud Mr Brunton, his death, amidst a subtext of class (the butler is cleverer than his master by far yet must not be seen to go "above his station") and sexual passion (he's been a naughty boy).

There is a major change from the original Conan Doyle short story in that the whole thing take place in the mid-1890s of the present day, with Watson very much part of the story, although Holmes' early tease of the glorious titles of some of his early cases hint at the story's origins- a nice touch. It's also pleasing to see that, correctly, the servants and the inspector (Ian Marter, shortly before his awful death) speak in a West Country-type accent which we would not usually today associate with Sussex but once (with variations) spread all the way from Cornwall to Kent- although I'm in no way fit to judge the specific accuracy of the accents here. But the fact the Sussex accent is now extinct shows, sadly, how little respect the "Home Counties" have for their own regional culture and heritage. We in the Midlands ought to take note, me duck.

The cast is strong and the tale is a satisfying one both intellectually- I love how Holmes decodes the ritual- and in terms of character. And the final revelation, with the fireplace behind, is quite masterful.

Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons

Part One

“My family have served this country for seven centuries, but that seems not to count these days, does it?”

This was my first ever BBC video and the first ever “old” story I ever saw. I’ve seen this many, many times but never before in episodic format. And it’s good to see the short clip from Disney Time as well as the BBC globe.

This is great from the beginning, with an oil rig being destroyed to the sound of some fantastic incidental music. It’s great to see the Brig (in a kilt!) and Benton again. I can’t help thinking though- was there really enough time to install a space-time telegraph at the end of Robot?

The Doctor’s attitude is interesting- in this incarnation he feels much less attached to UNIT and 20^th century Earth, and has a bit of a go at the Brigadier for recalling him only to change his mind suddenly when reminded of the loss of life. This Doctor is fascinating- more individualistic and Bohemian than his predecessor, but with the same underlying principles. And there’s something very charismatic about his changes of mood. I love the oil speech.

It’s great to see Angus Lennie, of off of of The Great Escape, as the very Hammeresque pub landlord. And this is just so well directed by Douglas Camfield- the moor sets a real mood, and our first shot of the Zygons hands and eyes is great. Suddenly we have a story of tightly edited scenes and a very nice moment where the injured Harry cries “No… no…” as the Zygon advances on him, and we then cut to the Doctor on the phone calmly saying “No… no…”. This is top stuff.

Part Two

“Asleep? Impossible, I was on duty!"

The whole organic look of the Zygon ship is great- original and a triumph of both design and lighting. And there’s more great directing on show as we dissolve between the faces of Sarah and the Doctor as he hypnotises her to avoid asphyxiation. This is so well directed it almost distracts from the fact the Doctor seems to have acquired yet another superpower, one he’s never bothered to use before in similar circumstances for some reason.

We get lots of atmosphere with the fog and the great music, a bit of actual journalisting from Sarah, and generally enough excellence on show that I’ve decided to completely ignore the fact that the Skarasen looks crap.

Part Three

“Aliens! With wireless sets?”

The Doctor is saved by Harry! Yay! This man is great. And Sarah shows how great she is, too, in discovering the Duke’s secret passage to the Zygon ship, swiftly rescuing Harry and returning in time for tea. Unlike the Doctor, who attempts the same thing and promptly gets captured.

I love the Doctor’s line “Sounds like the Brigadier” as UNIT merrily lob bombs into the loch. It’s sad that this is the last ever “regular” UNIT story, but at least they’re going out on a high.

Part Four

“Was that bang big enough for you, Brigadier?”

There’s some great modelwork on show with the Zygon ship, especially the landing scene. And it’s good to get a reason for the fact that, as the Doctor points out, there are only about six Zygons. It seems their home planet was “destroyed in a recent catastrophe” and that Broton wants to terraform the Earth for the benefit of other Zygons who are to arrive in “many centuries”.

The prime minister is apparently a woman (Thatcher was already Tory leader at the time) so it seems Jeremy must have lost an election. 

The Doctor nearly loses his life by underestimating the power of organic crystallography- a common error, to be fair. I’ve almost lost count of the number of times I’ve done the same thing myself. Still, he manages eventually to escape, gleefully vandalise the Zygon ship, and release all the Zygons’ prisoners, although the bit with him operating the Zygons’, er, interestingly shaped controls certainly caused me to raise an eyebrow.

Fittingly for his last regular story, the Brig at last gets to shoot an alien baddie dead with an ordinary bullet. We finish with the Doctor claiming he’ll be able to make the short hop to London in the TARDIS an d offering a lift to both Sarah and Harry. Of course, it’s understood by everyone that the TARDIS will be doing nothing of the sort. Harry stays behind in an understated leaving scene, a little disappointing but probably in keeping with the stiff-upper-lip nature of the man, but Sarah, being fab, signs up for some further adventures in time and space.

Brilliant. Not only an easy 5/5, but the third best so far. Great story, great performances, awesomely well directed. This is Doctor Who at its very finest.

Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen

Part One

“I don’t want to lose my arm, I’m rather attached to it. It’s very handy.”

Another direct continuation, as with every story since Planet of the Spiders, and we’re back on Nerva. According to Sarah, the TARDISeers have just spent “weeks” on Earth and Skaro. But this is Nerva in a much earlier period (although the TARDIS is going to travel back to meet them) and it’s full of dead plague victims. Except this plague seems to show symptoms rather similar to those we saw in The Moonbase…

Nerva’s crew are using PCs which look hilariously dated to the modern viewer- although once again this could just be a retro design. Come to think of it, are these the first desktop computers seen in Doctor Who? Their operators are a rather dull bunch, if heroic, the sole survivors of the “plague” who are determined to keep Nerva running. Apparently it has a very important role as a “beacon” near Jupiter.

So, an asteroid, Voga, has drifted into Jupiter’s orbit? How completely unlike The Tenth Planet this script from Gerry Davis is. Already the story has a distinctly retro feel. There’s something very Wheel in Space about this first episode. It’s good to see more recent continuity being maintained though, with talk of “transmats”, but it’s even better, once we’re introduced to some Vogans, to hear mention of the Cybermen! It’s been so long!

Surprisingly early we discover that Kelman’s a traitor, and also that this 30^th century space station is using some very retro tape spools. Pleasingly, the TARDISeers aren’t treated with suspicion for very long (that sort of thing can get very tiresome), they get to work on the “plague”, and we cut to the Vogans for some exposition - the Cybermen died out centuries ago; there was a Cyber-war; Voga was attacked.

Finally we get to see some Cybermen! In colour! A bit more hydraulic in appearance, but not that much different from last time. But last time was ages ago- it’s good to see them again!

Part Two

“The beacon is ours!”

Amusingly, the Cybermat attacking Sarah is clearly being moved by Elisabeth Sladen. But there’s not much else to amuse in this episode, much of which is taken up with a dull Vogan power struggle. After a promising first part things are getting a bit dull. 

Still, we get our traditional end of part two reveal of the Cybermen, and they still seem pretty cool at this stage, with their immunity to gunfire and guns in their helmets.

Part Three

“You’ve no home planet, no influence, nothing. You’re just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers scuttling about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship.”

So far there’s not much that’s fundamentally wrong with this story, but the guest characters just all seem dull. Unfortunately, from this point on things start getting worse. For a start, the Cybermen open their mouths; This is a problem: their voices are awful.

We discover the Cybermen have a weakness to asphyxiation by gold dust- not necessarily a problem at this stage as gold dust is rare and only effects them in a specific way for which you have to get close. 

Unfortunately the Cyberleader seems genuinely riled by the Doctor’s taunting, completely unlike the logic-driven, emotionless creatures we’ve seen before, as shown in dialogue such as “Only stupid Earth brains like yours would have been fooled” and “Clever, clever, clever”. Er, yes.

But what is a serious problem is that these Cybermen seem indeed to be “total machine creatures”; they have “parts” to “build” a Cyber army. Cybernisation and body horror is no longer an issue and the Cybermen are just robots. Oh dear. Still, not to justify it, but perhaps there could be an explanation? We’ve never had a Cybermen story set this far into the future before, so perhaps they did indeed die out centuries before, after or even before the events of Tomb, and these few “total machine creatures” are just the remnants?

The plot thickens- Kelman is really working for these dull Vogan chaps. And the Cybermen have bombs. Unfortunately there’s an embarrassing example of as-you-know-Bobbery here as two Cybermen explain their plans to a listening Sarah.

Part Four

“We’re still heading for the biggest bang in history.”

I love the “Harry Sullivan is an imbecile” scene at the start. The Doctor’s being a bit of a git, of course, but there’s no real nastiness. Tom Baker can get away with this sort of thing in a way Pertwee couldn’t.

There’s a bit of NASA stock footage as the Skystriker rocket is launched, and the Cybermen escape from the rocket. There’s an interesting comment here from the Doctor: “Nice sense of irony. I thought for a moment he was going to smile.”

We end with a summons from the Brigadier from the “space-time-telegraph”…

Something of a missed opportunity, this. The plot was actually ok but the characters were too dull to care about, both because of the writing and because of some workmanlike performances. And although we got lots of Cyber-tropes these “total machine creatures” just didn’t feel like Cybermen. 3/5.

Season 12 overall gets 3.8/5, giving it a surprisingly lowly eighth place. Still, I have reason to believe things might be about to pick up…

Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks

Part One

“We Time Lords transcended such simple mechanical devices when the universe was less than half its present size.”

The story starts in what could be a First World War trench, a good location and an atmospheric beginning, as is to be expected from the director of The War Games. A Time Lord, dressed most peculiarly and not unlike a jester, asks the Doctor to perform a task, to his strong resentment- this is an arc which has been running since The War Games, when Doctor Who was less than half its present age, and the resentment has festered. Only at the mention of the Daleks does the Doctor agree to help, although his agreement has, naturally, already been assumed.

The first episode essentially serves to introduce the TARDISeers to the situation on Skaro; a thousand year war between Kaleds and Thals, regression of technology, mutos. But this is done, in a nice fusion of Nation and Holmes, by means of peril (soldiers, a landmine) and an escape and recapture. Nyder’s introduction is very effective- Peter Miles is magnificent- and his iron cross shows us what Kaled society, or at least its scientific “elite” is like, reinforced by the line “We must keep the Kaled race pure.” If that’s not enough, we even get a young Guy Siner.

And then we get a sight of the mysterious Davros. And a Dalek…

Part Two

“No tea, Harry.”

No reprise, surprisingly. But Michael Wisher is great from the off, and the plot’s kicking off in earnest. Terry Nation is writing this, so naturally the muto following Sarah (Sevrin) turns out to be a goodie. He and Sarah are captured, and forced to work on a rocket, where they risk contracting something called “distronic toxaemia” instead of radiation for some reason. Meanwhile, we’re introduced to Ronson and his fellow dissident scientists, who are uneasy about Davros’ Dalek project. 

There’s some dodgy science on show; the Kaleds’ evolution is headed towards a “final form” apparently. Time to just smile and nod, I think. We get some more Nationisms as the Doctor and Harry trek through an underground passage marked by monsters and peril, while Sarah leads the Thals’ slaves in an escape attempt so exciting it happens on film. And what a cliffhanger.

Part Three

“Excuse me. Can you help me? I’m a spy.”

Well, it’s a disappointing resolution as Sarah just lands on a ledge, but as far as I can see there’s no re-editing as legend would have it. And it’s also disappointing that, having jumped over a chasm, Sarah and Sevrin are swiftly recaptured by a couple of sadistic Thal guards.

Harry, meanwhile, is menaced by a giant clam in a scene which has rightly assumed legendary status, but he and the Doctor eventually get to Thal dome. Now, is it me, or does it stretch credulity somewhat that, firstly, the Doctor, a non-Kaled and a non-person in a time of war, would be allowed to address the Kaleds’ ruling castle, let alone manage to convince them? Surely, from their point of view, his tale of time travel and other planets would result in at least some scepticism?

Agree they do, however, and Davros is ordered to suspend his work. Michael Wisher is outstanding in Davros’ speech to Mogran, apparently agreeing to his demands. But he is in fact ready to kill all Kaleds ouside the bunker of the elite. It’s a genuine shock to see Davros in the Thal dome betraying his own people.

Incidentally, it’s often pointed out that the Kaled and Thal domes are rather close to each other, which is said to be implausible. I’m not sure, though- both civilisations seem to consist of only one city, with the rest of the planet apparently depopulated (either that or just not taken into account by Terry Nation, of course!), so surely the fact these two city-states are at war at all would indicate they’re quite close together?

Part Four

“Thank you. That’s what I wanted to know.”

This story is great, don’t get me wrong, and I’m not going to pretend it stands a chance of getting any less than a 5/5 in spite of a few of Terry Nation’s usual foibles being there, but the tone’s a bit odd. The Kaled dome is destroyed in scenes of pure horror which touch some dark themes, and as the story progresses we’re going to see the tone darken and lots of basic moral philosophy. But all this co-exists with the usual Terry Nation Flash Gordonness and functional dialogue in a rather odd way. The story deals with some very adult themes in some places and feels very much pitched at young kids in others.

Things get even darker as Daleks turn up at the Thal dome and start shooting everyone, but at least Sarah and Harry are alive. There’s a genuine feeling of hopelessness, not least because Gharman and his fellow rebels are so wet. It couldn’t be more obvious that Nyder, who couldn’t not be sinister if he tried, is tricking him. But even the menace Nyder exudes pales in comparison to the threat posed to Harry by some motionless giant clams on the way back. The welcoming committee of Davros and Nyder (bit of a coincidence, that!) pale in comparison.

The ending is chilling, with Davros demanding the Doctor gives him the reason for every future Dalek defeat (“You will tell me!”) or he’ll inflict more pain on Sarah and Harry. But why doesn’t the Doctor just lie?

Part Five

“Yes, I would do it! That power would set me up above the gods!”

The Doctor gives Davros what seems to be unnecessarily thorough account of future Dalek defeats, although he makes a continuity blunder in claiming that The Dalek Invasion of Earth takes place in 2000. this scene takes an odd view of time travel and causality, too- surely if the future is changed once, the other defeats won’t arise in the same way because of the butterfly effect? Nevertheless, Michael Wisher is magnificent in these scenes.

Gharman shows himself to be very pacifistic, probably too pacifistic to stand a chance, particularly in a story written by Terry Nation. We can see from the start that he’s a weak character who clearly stands no chance.

It may be Gharman giving the ultimatum to Davros from an apparent position of strength, but Davros speaks and behaves as the one in control at all times, giving an impressive speech. He simply decides that the meeting is to take place in one hour and Gharman lets him. In a simple but clever piece of dialogue Davros ends the scene by saying to Gharman “You may go.” It’s obvious what Davros is planning, and that he will succeed, but there’s a horrible fascination in how he sets about doing it. This is a perfect portrayal of a high-functioning psychopath.

Part Six

“Pity? I have no understanding of the word.”

The Doctor’s dilemma, over whether to commit genocide by destroying the Dalek embryos, is a powerful moment, however unpolished the lines may be. Significantly, the Doctor doesn’t get to decide, being interrupted by Gharman- but perhaps he’s too quick to wash his hands of it, and it’s partly wishful thinking that makes him believe Gharman stands a chance. We, the viewers, know perfectly well he doesn’t, and are not at all surprised to see the Daleks exterminate all those not loyal to Davros.

Appropriately, it’s a Dalek, not the Doctor, who connects the wires and destroys the Dalek embryos, but it’s too late to avert their creation. In fact, everything about the end of this story seems fitting, with the Daleks’ final betrayal of Davros being the perfect ending. The Doctor has achieved something; blowing up the Daleks’ incubator room as apparently delayed them by “a thousand years”. But the story ends with us in no doubt of the Dalek threat.

Well, that may not be as deep as its reputation among fans would suggest- it’s a Terry Nation script, not Edge of Darkness- and it may have functional and sometimes poor dialogue at times, but it has to be an easy 5/5 in spite of everything.

Doctor Who: The Sontaran Experiment

Part One
 

“I feel a bit like a Morse message- slightly scrambled.”

Hmmm. So there’s been no life on Earth for ten thousand years. How come we can see an awful lot of grass and moorland then, eh?

This is another nice little character piece for our three regulars, with the all location filming giving us a nicely atmospheric location. The TARDISeers are soon split up, just like old times, and the mystery is soon set up- who are all these Sith Efrican voortrekkers from space, and what’s this odd looking robot?

The reveal of the creature’s hand, via the camera on Vural’s chest, is nicely done, a very good bit of directing. There’s also some nice world-building, with the Galsec contingent clearly having a chip on their shoulder about Earth.

The Sontaran ship is the moment of the big reveal, and it’s good to see the Sontarans again. Although, bizarrely, we get exactly the same cliffhanger ending as for part one of The Time Warrior.

Part Two

“I’ll get you out of there if I have to knock his bally head of and grab his keys.”

I’m not entirely sure why Styre’s come to earth to “test” humans if it’s empty and he has to lure humans here from elsewhere. Perhaps to avoid interruption? I suppose it just about passes muster.

Styre’s not very popular; the Marshal’s getting impatient with him while the Doctor is morally outraged- the first real show of great moral indignation from this Doctor, and something Tom Baker does very well. It’s implied in both cases that Styre is enjoying his “experiments” too much- again, something much darker than anything we would have seen under Barry Letts.

The two episode format enables the story to rattle along at a furious pace, with no padding whatsoever. We only met Vural an episode ago, but now we discover that he’s a traitor.

There’s a great exchange between the Doctor and Harry where the Doctor says “Never throw anything away, Harry”, swiftly followed by “It’s a mistake to clutter one’s pockets, Harry.” The performance is very difference, but this new Doctor owes a fair bit to Troughton- he even has a 500 year diary.

There’s an awkward moment where, in a blatant outbreak of as-you-know-Bobbery, the Marshal and Styre tell each other things both already know while being overheard by the Doctor. This sort of thing can be done far more subtly.

Unusually, the Doctor saves the day by engaging in fisticuffs, and Vural, inevitably, redeems himself at the end. It’s not an entirely satisfying ending, what with Styre’s deflating head being something of an embarrassment and the Marshal giving up rather too easily.

Not a bad runaround, in spite of some niggles with the plot, and too formulaic to stand out from the crowd, so a 3/5. All the same, a nice little interlude, and another sign of the darker themes we can expect from Hinchcliffe and Holmes.

Doctor Who: The Ark in Space

Part One
 

“You’re improving, Harry!”

“Am I?”

“Yes, your mind is beginning to work. It’s entirely due to my influence, of course. You mustn’t take any credit.”

From the start it’s clear that, great though the sets are, the special effects for this story look particularly dated from a modern perspective- from the start the space station is clearly a small plastic model on a wire and the camera has been sprayed with green stuff. I don’t usually bother about such things in old Doctor Who but in this story they are essential to the atmosphere the story is trying to create. Not necessarily a problem at the time, but it keeps me from feeling the suspense.

Not that it’s a problem with this first episode, which may be mostly padding but it explains where we are and gives us a chance to get used to this new and rather splendid TARDIS crew. The dialogue is fantastic, all three actors are great and there are lots of nice character touches, from the Doctor using a yo yo (a first!) to check the gravity to Harry showing us just how old-fashioned he is by suggesting brandy for Sarah’s recovery from oxygen starvation. But the Doctor’s speech is of course great, and a real high point.

Sonic Screwdriver mission creep continues, although we actually see the unscrewing of screws this episode. And I wonder if the voice of the High Minister is based on Thatcher, well known at the time for the snatching of milk?

Part Two

“Gremlins can get into everything, old girl. First law of the sea.”

I was expecting this story to be great, so I was surprised that I found it quite slow and tiresome. Not a lot happens, there’s too much talking, there’s little sense of threat, and most of the drama comes from a character (Noah) becoming irrationally suspicious of the Doctor, something which really annoys me. It’s frustrating for the viewer and seldom achieves much but to hold up the plot.

Oh, and the bubble wrap is somewhat unfortunate from a modern perspective! I’ll let that lie though.

There are some interesting bits though- Noah was given his nickname as a reference to mythology even though his real name, Lazar, rather appropriately recalls Lazarus. I bet that was deliberate. And the concept of alien insects laying eggs in people’s bodies is indeed horrible, as the Doctor says- an early sign of the programme going to darker places than would have been allowed under the previous regime.

Part Three

“Well, fancy a member of the fair sex being at the top of the totem pole.”

There’s a hint that the society that built the ark was not exactly utopia- the TARDISeers are “degenerates” and “the genetically impure don’t count.” But this episode is where the threat posed by the Wirrn becomes established, in a tightly scripted thriller that would’ve been great if it wasn’t so overlit and we didn’t see so much of the rather unconvincing monster. There’s also a great line from the Doctor: “It may be irrational of me, but human beings are quite my favourite species.”

Oh, and I think this is the first time we hear the word “transmat”.

Part Four

 

“How do you think I’m doing? Twit!”

So the Wirrn are from Andromeda? I can accept them surviving without oxygen for years and drifting through space, but the space between galaxies? That’s a very long way!

I love the scene with the Doctor “encouraging” Sarah to get through the vent. And there’s a satisfying ending with Rogin’s heroic self-sacrifice, which strangely echoes the way the BBC worked at the time: “We don’t want trouble with the space technicians’ union, Doctor. That’s my job.” And of course Noah sacrifices himself too. The human spirit indeed triumphs in the end.

I was surprised to feel a little ambivalent about this one. There’s much that’s good, great even, about Holmes’ script, but episode two drags a bit, and it just isn’t directed or lit like the thriller it should be. 3/5.

Doctor Who: Robot

Part One
 

“I think the nose is a definite improvement.”

New titles. They’re very impressive, not throwing out the baby from last season’s bathwater. Which is a good thing, because they’ll be around for quite a while.

New, new Doctor too. It’s nice that his first words relate back to The Time Warrior and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, reminding Sarah (and us) that this is the same character. New character too, with Ian Marter splendid as the immediately likeable Harry Sullivan.

Some very good directing with the robot POV shots,, and also good that the story’s threat is set up so early. There’s a lot of setting-up required for the new Doctor’ and some fun is had, but things stop short of self-indulgence.

One problem (or not) is that the plot requires the Brig to slip a lot of information to Sarah who is, however much a friend of the Doctor, a civilian and, more to the point, a journalist. The effect is that a closeness is implied which isn’t really justified elsewhere.

The establishing scenes with the Doctor- mirror, clothes, medical- are fun and, crucially, brief, nicely establishing this new Doctor’s very different personality without making this the plot itself. It’s notable that, although only last episode the TARDIS brought the Doctor “home” to Earth, having regenerated he’s now eager to get back into the TARDIS, a sign of things to come. Still, not only is this a fully-fledged UNIT story, and the first real one since Invasion of the Dinosaurs to boot, it’s the first time we hear the Brig’s full name: Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

We’re introduced to the key concepts of the plot by the end of the episode- Thinktank, Kettlewell and his perfect mad scientist hair, the Robot- but the thought that lingers is just how great this new Doctor already is.

Part Two

“I can’t thank you enough for the visit. It’s been most amusing.”

The Doctor’s mannerisms, not that the hat and scarf have been added, already seem established in only his second episode. Far from being erratic or disoriented, he’s very much thrown straight into the fray, with plenty of eccentric mannerisms and witty asides but always with something penetrating to say about the situation. And he just oozes charisma.

The sinister behaviour of Miss Winters, sadistically letting Sarah think the robot is going to kill her, makes no bones about the fact she’s a baddie, and the fascistic scientific Reform Society is equally obviously up to no good. It’s fascinating to see the contrast of the Doctor’s actions while visiting Thinktank to Sarah’s last episode. This Doctor is flippant, Bohemian, full of bon mots, always playing things by ear, but never misses anything. He’s fantastic.

It soon becomes clear, though, that the fact these baddies are so obvious very effectively hides the fact that Kettlewell is secretly with them. This came as a genuine surprise to me.

It’s fascinating to see the new Doctor still driving around in Bessie. And gratifying to see Benton promoted, albeit in a way which wryly acknowledges the cut-price nature of UNIT staffing!

Part Three

“The US Cavalry never got treated like this!”

The robot has become a figure of sympathy by the start of this episode, driven to despair by the way it’s forced to go against its “prime directive” and kill people. This is all taken from Asimov, of course (to do otherwise in a story about a robot would just be perverse, and an insult to the great man) but the robot is also an interesting amalgam of Frankenstein’s monster and King Kong.

Britain being entrusted with the nuclear launch codes of every nuclear power is, to put it mildly, the most far fetched thing yet seen in all of Doctor Who. And yet we’re made to accept it by the clever tactic of smothering the exposition in witty banter between the Doctor and the Brig: “Well, naturally. The rest were all foreigners”.

We get the first scene with the Doctor playing for time by emptying his capacious pockets, and a fine scene it is too, shortly followed by the revelation of Kettlewell’s baddie status. The funniest scene in the entire story, though, has to be the sight of the Brig’s walkie-talkie. How very Trigger Happy TV.

There are some interesting developments of elements from the Pertwee years; the bunker is yet another relic of “the cold war days” while Sonic Screwdriver Mission Creep continues unabated- this time it’s a sonic lance, apparently. Would have come in handy during Monster of Peladon then…

Oh, and the CSO’d Action Man tank- you know, I think they actually get away with it!

Part Four

“You know, for once I’d like to meet an alien menace that wasn’t immune to bullets.”

Sarah and Harry are to be killed. But, for reasons which make no sense but are a rule of the genre, Miss Winters decrees that it is to be later and not now for some reason.

It’s fitting that the robot should kill Kettlewell in the most Frankenstein moment yet. And convenient that the countdown to Armageddon, once stopped, should start again right at the beginning on 300.

The robot’s suitably tragic in this episode to be believable (“Machines do not lie!”) but is enough of a well-known trope (King Kong and Frankenstein again) not to trouble us unduly and stop us enjoying the light-hearted fun.

I love Kettlewell’s lab- every bit as stereotypical as his hair, with all that bubbling liquid. It’s been a long wait for a proper mad scientist story so it’s good to see it done with gusto.

I had to chuckle as soon as the Brig was heard to exclaim “I think just for once we’re not going to need the Doctor”- the robot growing to giant size is funny precisely because it’s exactly what you expect to happen. And it’s when it picks up Sarah in the most King Kong moment yet that it occurs to me- there’s an awful lot of CSO in this story!

The threat is ended, perfectly, by a nice bit of teamwork between the new Doctor and Harry, who’s been great.

The final scene is fantastic. The Doctor offers Sarah a jelly baby at the end and she accepts, seeing his meaning straightaway. Much as I liked Jo, it’s nice having a companion who actually enjoys travelling in the TARDIS! And, excitingly, they’re joined by Harry. This TARDIS team looks very promising indeed. And it seems the TARDIS is where the future lies, as the Doctor seems determined to the point of childishness to cut his ties to UNIT, or at least the boring bits. Cue one of my favourite lines: “There’s no point being grown-up if you can’t be childish sometimes.”

Wow. That was great fun, and a perfect introduction to this exciting and great new Doctor,. It may have been light and fluffy, but I see no reason not to give it a 5/5.

Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters

Part One

“Our purpose is to amuse. Simply to amuse. Nothing serious, nothing political.”

This instantly looks good, and not just because it’s an alien planet for once. Grey, balding bureaucrats and “Functionaries”. An interesting opening, too, in the context of the marathon- watching the stories in order the characters of Vorg and Shirna seem very Space Pirates. Robert Holmes themes of the individual versus bureaucrats become very obvious and seem very consistent watching the stories in order.

We see the TARDIS land! And even better, it’s genuinely random as the Doctor’s clearly landed here by accident. Apparently he wanted to go somewhere called Metebelis 3- wonder if we’ll ever hear of that again?

This is great- a fantastic concept, Ian bloody Marter, more escapology from Jo and a fantastic cliffhanger.

This script is fun, it’s witty, it’s very very clever but best of all it’s done with a real lightness of touch. Best first episode since Spearhead From Space, easily.

Part Two

“The Drashigs! My little carnivores! They’re great favourites with the children.”

Ogrons! But never mind them, this script is brilliant, simultaneously light and fluffy yet with depths if you look for them. The characters on the Bernice are caricatures of the carefree elite of the British Raj, but they are simultaneously colonial rulers and zoo animals. And it’s strangely realistic that they should be over-the-top caricatures designed to amuse, as in the story that’s exactly what they are. I love the boxing scene between the Doctor and Andrews- “Queensberry rules?” “Naturally”; the whole thing is hedged about by notions of how these things are done properly, and yet to the observers outside the scope it’s simply the primitive creatures getting aggressive. 

A Cyberman, even if we can’t see it very well! Reduced to an exhibit for entertainment purposes, but was it ever anything else? I’m loving all this postmodern stuff.

Part Three

“Merciful and compassionate?”

“One has… twinges.”

More redefinitions of the Doctor’s role vis-à-vis the Time Lords- apparently it was him who got the miniscopes banned, which gives us a rather different impression of him from that in The War Games where he ran away because he “was bored”. And on top of that, of course, the Time Lords don’t usually interfere “as a rule”. Then again, he could be making it up to impress Jo? Actually it seems plausible…

This is a great episode for Jo- it’s her idea to get rope from the ship to escape the miniscope, and she has a good stab at getting the Bernice people to realise they’re in a time loop. Plus all the general postmodern witty goodness. And I’m beginning to wonder- are Vorg and Shirnas some kind of parallel to the Doctor and Jo, and what sort of comment is Holmes making if they are?

Part Four

“One has no wish to be devoured by alien monstrosities, even in the cause of political progress.”

The story continues to be great right up to the final episode, and even a civil servant like myself can appreciate the brilliance of the Inter Minorian civil servants’ dialogue: “The tribunal will not tolerate insolence from unauthorised life forms”. Plus, we get to vada some dolly old palare. Bona! 

That was fantastic, an easy 5/5, and the best story for ages. The script is wonderful- a great central concept, great characterisation, great dialogue and loads of postmodern fun. This is the point at which Robert Holmes becomes truly touched by genius. A great start to the Doctor’s new-found freedom. This feels like a different programme.