Doctor Who: Meglos

Part One

“He sees the threads that join the universe together, and mends them when they break.”

And here it is- drumroll please- the very last time during this marathon I’ll be watching a story for the first time! Well, apart from K-9 and Company. But that’s not technically Doctor Who and this is. So, the pressure’s on. It’s going to be a good ‘un, right? He asked, rhetorically. Smell that dramatic irony…

Anyway, an alien planet. A familiar-looking science v. religion subplot, which is fine as long as it’s going to be a bit of texture rather than the main focus. And then- OMG it’s Jacqueline Hill! Never have I been more pleased to see a guest performer. And she’s fantastic.

The whole thing between the Deons and the scientists is actually quite well done- the scientists are clearly right about everything, but they’re also insufferably arrogant and boringly dressed, while the Deons may be completely deluded about everything but they’re eloquent, with cool clothes and a poetic turn of phrase, hinting that their beliefs, however absurd, have given birth to a lot of great art and culture. This is a nice balance: the script sides firmly alongside science as you’d expect from Doctor Who, but still allowing its opponents to have dignity. Oh, and Jacqueline Hill is great as Lexa, and I probably wouldn’t have read all that into the situation if not for her magnificent performance.

Incidentally, the quote I used up at the top there made me grin, as I recognised it from somewhere in the text of Peter Haining’s 25 Glorious Years, a book which gave me a great deal of pleasure when I was 12. A less welcome recognition was the Doctor’s question mark lapels, which I noticed for the first time. I hope they get rid of them quickly, and don’t keep them around for, say, six years or something.

Things take a worryingly silly turn with the appearance of Meglos and a human, transported across the universe for some reason. Worryingly because, silly though all this is, it’s being played dead straight, which instantly feels wrong.

Part Two

“I thought for one awful moment you’d forgotten your lines.”

Also worrying is that it’s the start of part two and the Doctor and Romana haven’t even left the TARDIS yet. The whole chronic hysteresis is a mildly entertaining bit of filler, but it’s pretty much there to slow the story down so things can happen elsewhere. And it’s not the last time this sort of thing happens either.

Still, eventually not only does the TARDIS land but Romana actually changes her clothes. But things take an even more distressing turn, as Meglos disguises himself as the Doctor and it becomes obvious that the Doctor’s going to be accused of things he didn’t do. Oh dear! I really hate it when that sort of thing happens in a drama- it’s not tense or exciting, just frustrating. And, in this case, yet another means of slowing the story down.

Worse of all, Lexa’s means of sacrificing the Doctor is too similar to Underworld for comfort, what with the ropes being burned by flames, although actually that’s next episode. Still, let’s not get carried away- this story’s nowhere near as bad as that, merely the epitome of meh. Besides, Jacqueline Hill’s still in it and she’s still brilliant.

Part Three

“…Or is it this way?”

Whatever the faults of the story itself this is very well-made, again looking much better than anything from the previous couple of seasons. This is possibly the finest alien jungle since Planet of Evil. And Jacqueline Hill is great.

The bit with Romana tricking her captors into walking into the Venus flytrap thing is entertaining, but yet again it’s basically there to keep a major character away from the main plot while things happen elsewhere. And, come to think of it, the same could be said of the whole bit with the Doctor’s accusation and attempted sacrifice. Although at least we also got a cliffhanger out of that.

Part Four

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”

Suddenly- too suddenly- everybody believes the Doctor again. And just as suddenly we’re all off to Zolfa-Thura. And Jacqueline Hill’s character is dead, albeit nobly sacrificing herself. Noooo!

Very quickly it’s clear what this story is actually about: Meglos wants to steal a Macguffin. That’s it. There are no underlying themes or anything, not even the science versus religion thing, which is far too perfunctory to count. It all ends just as perfunctorily, but Romana’s just been called to Gallifrey- perhaps not too surprisingly given how she came to be aboard the TARDIS. What’s going to happen now.

Well… that passed the time, I suppose. I mean, it wasn’t actively painful to watch or anything. But it was littler more than a Children’s BBC style generic sci-fi runaround, and it just wasn’t about anything.

It says a lot about this story that the “Earthling”, whose presence could have done with a bit more explanation, didn’t even have a name. To be fair, it feels as though this story was originally designed as a shape around which a lot of Season 17 type silliness was to have been fitted,-which I can imagine working, actually- but the new regime vetoed all that, leaving us with this odd beast of a story that refuses to have any fun with its own silliness. Still, Jacqueline Hill was in it, and she’s great. 2/5.

Doctor Who: The Chase

The Executioners

"Is it good?"

"Yes, it's a bit far-fetched."


Nice to get another direct follow-on from the previous story, in fact an entire cliffhanger. Some nice character stuff at the start, with Vicki being very adolescent. Once the Time / Space Visualiser is switched on we get some scenes with Abraham Lincoln and Will Shakespeare but these are soon eclipsed by what is surely the highlight of the show so far: Ian strutting his funky stuff.

More episode one planet exploration ensues, with a great line from Ian which can only be appreciated by watching the stories in order: "At least it's not a pool of acid!" Meanwhile, Barbara, engaging in some fully clothed sunbathing with the Doctor, gets a great line of her own: "No, not that awful noise, the other one!".

Dialogue by the Daleks seems to place this story not long after their conquest of the Earth. I'll be holding Dalek continuity to this later. Arguably this story is the first time Dalek speech patterns have finally settled into their final and recognisable form.

Some silly talk about castles from Vicki is followed by a fantastic cliffhanger as a Dalek rises from the sands.

The Death of Time

"Don't stand there screaming, you fool- run!"

"Don't stand there gaping, you nit- come on!"


How very convenient the Daleks are there to locate the TARDIS- our heroes would have had trouble finding it otherwise. I love the thick Dalek! Although it must be said that their ruthless killing of their Aridian sense instantly restores any lost sense of menace; these are still Nazis, in spite of the more frequent injections of humour.

I shall be kind and not dwell on the awfulness of the Mire Beast, that fearful papier-mâché horror...

Nice line once again from Barbara as Ian pilfers her cardigan: "Oh no, not again!".

Flight Through Eternity

"You've come all over in blue spots."


The above quote from Morton Dill seems to confirm the colours of the Daleks we see in photographs to be, ahem, canon. Another interesting line from the Doctor: "It's my time ??? detector. It's been in the TARDIS ever since I constructed it." Is the Doctor claiming here that he made the Ship himself?

Cue stock footage of New York, and once again Ian and Barbara appear on twentieth century earth but are unable to stay. As for Morton Dill- words fail me!

The Mary Celeste scene is good fun, although of course I suspect it bears no relation whatsoever to the historical facts. Still, this episode may well consist entirely of filler, but it's all good fun. Oh look, Ian gets hit over the head again...

Journey Into Terror

"Where's your spirit of adventure?"

"It died a slow and painful death when those bats came out of the rafters".


At this point the story hits a lull, and starts to remind me of things I didn't like about The Keys of Marinus; the house of horrors stuff just lasts too long. Interesting comment by Ian though- "Daleks don't like stairs!" I think this is the first mention of this hoary old cliché in the show itself, although no doubt it would not have gone unmentioned by the contemporary media. The exhibits are seemingly more powerful than the Daleks, which is the wrong kind of silly.

Vicki gets left behind, just as she feared in The Crusade. This is quite a shocking moment. Almost as shocking is the amount of time her fellow TARDISeers take to realise! Still, Vicki shows her greatness by stowing away on the Daleks' time machine. Only a few stories in, and I'm getting to really like Vicki.

The Daleks' robot is a bit rubbish, isn't it? They're using Edmund Warwick in long-shot and Hartnell in close-up in an absurdly blatant way. Why use Warwick at all when Hartnell isn't on screen?

The Death of Doctor Who

"Advance and attack! Attack and destroy! Destroy and rejoice!"

So, another jungle, and our second planet named after its predominant feature? See below! Nice forest, although unfortunately you can clearly see the flat studio floor.

Oh, and incidentally, the title of this episode clearly proves that Hartnell is playing a character called Doctor Who. *ducks*

I'm not seriously trying to defend the imposter robot fiasco (the whole thing's blatant filler anyway). But at least the use of Warwick helps the viewer to tell which is which.

Oh look, an alien city in a Terry Nation script! I love the Dalek with a compass type thing instead of a sucker, mind.

Planet of Decision

"You'll end up as a couple of burnt cinders floating around in Spain."


I don't know about you, but I can't understand a word the Mechanoids are saying. Fortunately we have Ben Gunn lookalike Steven Taylor to do the exposition. He gets a great line: "Help yourself to a piece of eternity."

My, how convenient that there should be a convenient length of cable for our heroes to use in their escape!

Oh dear..."Am exterminated! Am exterminated!"

Steven clearly has his priorities right- Hi Fi the Panda is clearly more important than ensuring Vicki doesn't plunge to her doom. These scenes are extremely vertigo-inducing, especially when Ian nearly slips over.

Cue a massive fight between the Daleks and the "Mechons" in which all the Daleks die. Why does this mean the story is over? Why don't the Daleks keep sending time machines?

It's a real wrench after all this time to have to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara. They were truly magnificent, and arguably up to The Dalek Invasion of Earth they were the real stars of the show. The leaving scene is good, and the scenes of them back on Earth are fun, but I was left wanting more. This departure scene felt like far more of an afterthought than Susan's did, which was a crying shame. Jacqueline hill and William Russell- you were magnificent!


Overall, well... very uneven. The middle episodes were all filler and much of the story was overly silly and poorly realised. Still, it was often intentionally funny and had nice character moments. I enjoyed watching it, if not always for the right reasons, so I'll be kind and let it scrape a 3/5.

Doctor Who: The Space Museum

The Space Museum

"You wouldn't say that, young lady, if we ever meet [the Daleks] again. Which to say the least is very unlikely."


Nice opening model shots, and an intriguing conceptual mystery from the start. The Doctor's continual refusal to explain is most amusing. Vicki's dropped glass un-breaking and jumping back into her hands deepens the mystery, and it's good to see the food machine again. It's also great to see the Dalek, and Vicki's lines about the Dalek invasion happened over three hundred years ago is our first explicit suggestion that all the TARDIS's landings in the future take place in the same timeline which should in theory be internally consistent.

This is a great episode driven by fantastic concepts, for once making actual use of the time travel premise of the show. Great cliffhanger, too.

The Dimensions of Time

"Chesterton, this is no time to be playing cowboys and Indians!"


Suddenly this story is looking a lot less visually interesting, with some very dull corridors and costumes. The actors playing the Xerons don't exactly imbue them with charisma either. The time travel concepts now fade into the background, although the TARDISeers' attempt to avoid their preordained fate will remain as an intriguing element.

The Doctor namedrops James Watt here, although Jacqueline Hill has to prompt Hartnell for the line. Nice line from Barbara: "All the doors and corridors are exactly alike." No doubt this is the one and only time we'll be hearing such sentiments...

The Doctor'd monocle is very cool indeed, but is very quickly topped by his antics in the Dalek. This story may look dull, and have Xerons in it, but otherwise I must admit it's keeping me interested.

The Search

"It's nothing to do with me! I'm just a simple soldier!"

So, no Doctor in this episode! it's good to see Vicki getting a chance to shine though. Her attitude is great: "Sitting here planning and dreaming of a revolution isn't going to bring your planet back!" It's rather arresting to see this revolution taking the form of acquiring guns though- certainly not something you'd see in later eras!

Why do the Xerons, just because they're the goodies, have to be a perfectly peaceful people, free from all want? Can't they be allowed just one tiny flaw?

The Final Phase

"Have any arms fallen into Xeron hands?"


Vicki continues to be great here, effectively directing the revolution. We get a nice ending, with the TARDISeers all imprisoned but Vicki's already ensured their release- she's the real star of the story.

The last scene comes as a real surprise though- Daleks! With a time machine! And now with vertical slats- it seems that the lost old style Dalek we saw was the one in the exhibition.


Overall, I quite enjoyed this. The first episode was great, with the others not being as good (par for the course for the science fiction stories so far), but a lot of the dullness was the fault of the design and some of the guest actors- the script was good throughout. This is nowhere near as boring as its reputation- a solid 3/5.

Doctor Who: The Crusade

The Lion

"I have a hopeful heart and, which is better, a lucky king."


I'm watching this on a combo of the video release and Loose Cannon, so the first thing I see is the nice little intro by William Russell. He looks very young and sprightly for his age.

This is the paciest start yet; no TARDIs intro scene. The TARDISeers step right into a forest (once again the pokiness of Lime Grove is cleverly obscured) and straight into trouble. Ian, and even more excellently the Doctor, are thrust into swordfights while Barbara is kidnapped within seconds- is this a record? The greatness of the dialogue is established very early: "A king at liberty may give commands. A captured one obeys them."

The Doctor's very naughty in this episode, what with the blatant thieving. Still, I love the way Hartnell plays it.

This is a very strong first episode, and the dialogue appeals hugely to a Shakespeare obsessive like myself. Nice referencing of Arabian Nights by Barbara- the show's still fulfilling its educational remit.

The Knight of Jaffa

"By my father's name, you have wit, old man."


"Your heart calls for England, Richard!" says Joanna. Of course, in reality he didn't give a damn about the place, but I'll let that pass as frankly this is great. Also, Richard's "This bloodletting must stop!" is a bit rich coming from him but, again, the historical inaccuracies aren't bothering me as I'm too preoccupied with the general excellence of everything.

Nice to see Bernard Kay again, playing Saladin. And also nice to see that the Saracens are as blessed with exalted dialogue as the English Normans. Also interesting to see that Walter Randall, who was frankly rubbish in The Aztecs, seems to be doing a much better job as El Akir.

The Doctor's managing to get out of stealing the clothes last episode is most amusing, and once again most excellently played by Hartnell.

Once again, Barbara's in dire peril, and of an unusually dark and adult kind, to boot. But once again she's irrepressible, and tries to escape. Yay!

The Wheel of Fortune

"There's something new in you, yet something older than the sky itself."

Vicki doesn't exactly look like a boy here, but of course, along with the style of the dialogue, this merely signals that, just as The Romans was a farce, this story is in the style of Elizabethan theatre.

Interestingly, we get our first bit of characterisation for Vicki since The Rescue; she says to the Doctor "You wouldn't go off and leave me, would you?". We're reminded of how rootless and vulnerable she is, perhaps even over-dependent. Still, there's no denying by this point that Vicki has a much more superficial characterisation than even Susan did, great as Maureen O'Brien's performance is.

Barbara gets a horrible dilemma as Haroun gives her a knife to kill Saliya and herself if necessary- this is a horrible dilemma, but fantastic drama, and once again Jacqueline Hill shows us what an excellent actress she is.

The debate at court over Richard's plan to marry Joanna to Saphadin is another dramatic, well-written, well-acted and, as we shall see, pivotal scene. The dialogue between the Doctor and the Earl of Leicester sparkles, although the Doctor is a bit gratuitously insulting: "You stupid butcher! Can you think of nothing else but killing, hmm?" Leicester replies with a wonderful line; "When you men of eloquence have stunned each other with your words, we, the soldiers, have to face it out." The Doctor's in an awkward position, though: he's sworn to tell Joanna of her brother's plans for her, and has now found out, but he's damned if he tells her and damned if he doesn't. And, it must be said, from a contemporary perspective it's unsettling to see the Doctor supporting what is in effect a forced marriage, even set against the potential cost to countless lives. Cue excellence from Jean Marsh.

We only see Sir Ian in a single film sequence. By now, I've become a seasoned veteran at spotting cast holidays.

In the event it's Leicester, not the Doctor, who tells Joanna of Richard's plans, but it doesn't matter- through his rash promise to Joanna he ends up alienating both parties.

The ending is quite disturbingly dark: "The only pleasure left for you is death. And death is very far away".

The Warlords

"I must see Jerusalem. I must."


El Akir is extremely sadistic, disturbing, and, surprisingly, reasonably well acted by Walter Randall of all people. Ibrahim, meanwhile, is merely an annoying stereotype, and this is the fault of actor Tutte Lemkow rather than the script. Still, Sir Ian faces a gruesome fate, being slowly eaten by ants.

King Richard, in conversation with the Doctor and Vicki, turns out to be cleverer than we might have supposed; he knows of Leicester's duplicity but needs him for the upcoming war. This conversation has an interesting postscript as the Doctor states that "history must take its course". It seems this story sides with The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror in The Great Changing History Debate, and they're all going to team up to give The Romans a good kicking.

Nice that Haroun's daughter Maimuna turns out to be one of the women who saves Barbara in the harem- the plot threads are all very neatly tied up.

The way the story ends, with Sir Ian's quick thinking allowing our heroes to return to the Ship, is most amusing. Nice little Billy-fluff at the end; "Oh, my good woman! Why don't you go and have a cup of... tea or something?"

Ooh, we end with another cliffhanger!


Overall, it was quite fitting that the... challenge... that was The Web Planet should be followed by the best story so far not to have been written by John Lucarotti. Quite sublime, its main fault being that, almost uniquely, for a four part story it seemed too short.

Doctor Who: The Web Planet

The Web Planet

"Chesterton! What are you doing, dear boy? Fiddling and gaping over there! Come over here and learn something!"


This instantly looks eerie and weird, with the sets, the Zarbi and the beeping. The episode is very creepy and atmospheric, with the strange planet affecting the Ship. It's interesting here how the Doctor's ring suddenly assumes a significance it hasn't really had before. You get to see an awful lot of the TARDIS interior without roundels here- what's that bit that Barbara spring cleans.

I like how the ring given to Barbara by Nero in the previous story becomes important in this one. There's a real sense of all this being one big adventure.

It's an effective ending with a nice build-up, with both Barbara walking into the acid (shades of Marinus!) and the TARDIS disappearing.

The Zarbi

"Really, you must learn to pay attention, dear boy. How on Earth do you expect to ever learn anything from our time together if you don't listen to a word I say?"



Well, the resolution to Barbara’s cliffhanger is a bit of a cop-out, but then I suppose it had to be. The resolution to the TARDIS disappearing works though. Interesting once again that the interior of the Ship is affected by external movement.

The Menoptra are interesting, their movement being very stylised. The whole look of this story may have dated, but if you accept it in the spirit of a theatrical production rather than an attempt at being cinematic the design is actually quite effective.

Vicki leaves the TARDIS halfway through part two of a story- is this a record?

I’m not sure about the ecosystem of Vortis- surely giant insects would need more oxygen in the atmosphere, not less? And how come such a barren world can support such large creatures?

This is still entertaining, but by the end it’s looking a bit worrying that we have a full four episodes left!



It might be a few days until I post about the next parts, but that’s because of general Christmas chaos- the story hasn’t defeated me!

Escape to Danger

"Come on- drop this hairdryer or whatever it is!"


Love the title- so bad it's good! Also loving the way the fluid link gets another mention as Vicki fortuitously realigns it. I wonder if we'll hear of it again? on the other hand, the line "If only Barbara were here we could go" signals we've now reached a point equivalent to The Daleks: The Expedition in that from now on everything will feel padded and give off a sense of treading water until the end, and it's only episode three. Which is a shame, as the design and even much of the dialogue in this story is often wonderful.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Doctor telling the Animus that "I have great secrets in my ship. We could help you" may feel out of character from a contemporary perspective but by this point it's hardly out of keeping. More surprising is the fact that the Menoptra's realising the Doctor (albeit under coercion) has betrayed the landing point of the invasion is not followed up when they finally meet. But again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

An interesting fact about the TARDIS is relayed to Ian by the Doctor- the time and relative dimension link, apparently, must under no circumstances be broken. Which means, in practice, that it should never be, er, unplugged...

Barbara's not in this episode, and frankly I miss her. And already the Zarbi are becoming familiar enough to seem comical rather than threatening. The Doctor's mind games with the Animus are interesting, I suppose, but this is beginning to drag. It looks great, but it's becoming very dull.

Crater of Needles

"Yes. That is the... question, isn't it?"


Barbara! Yay! She and her Menoptra mates get to do a lot of standing around talking considering they're supposed to be slave labourers. Er, "Isop-tope"?

It's cool that with the Optera we now have beetles to add to ants (Zarbi) and wasps (Menoptra). Although this whole section of the plot is of course pure padding and openly so.

I can't emphasise enough how weird it is to see Martin Jarvis as a Menoptra. Although "see" is perhaps not the word as I was forewarned. But still...

The plot is now reaching a glacial pace. The Animus has now rumbled the Doctor's cunning procrastination, but he and Vicki "will be dealt with when the invasion has been repelled". Although it's rather alarming when they're both apparently lobotomised by having those gold things round their necks.

Amusing to see that, although a mass invasion of Menoptra is taking place on the plateau, we never see more than two Menoptra on screen at once.

Invasion

"Hilio, the Menoptra have no wisdom for war".


The situation is dire at this point, there seems to be no hope, but rather awfully I don't much care by this point as the story is just dragging so much. Which feels in some ways an awful thing to say as much of the design is magnificent and much of the dialogue is wonderful, of which more shortly.

It's most interesting how the Doctor's ring gains an enormous significance in this story which it never has before: "...I can control that necklace with this power of my ring." I hope we see this developed.

The Menoptra, although by this point beginning to truly annoy as ineffective drama queens, are given some wonderful dialogue in this episode'; they speak of "song-spinners". But even better is the dialogue of the otherwise insufferable Optera: "A silent wall! We must make mouths in it with our weapons. Then it will speak more light".

The Centre

"What Vortis is, I am. What you are, I become".


The centre of the Animus looks great in the way this story often does, by which I mean on the level of design rather than any modern notion of special effects. But then "realism" in the context of something this fantastic, on television in 1965, could not have been the intent; take it as intended and the look of this story is a wonderfully successful experiment. Which is a shame, frankly, as it drags so. It's noticeable in these final scenes how poorly served the character of Vicki has been.

Interesting, though, that the Animus should specifically target Earth to "take from man his mastery of space". but, er, why exactly does the Animus die?


Overall, well... the design and elements of the dialogue are so wonderful, and the first episode so genuinely eerie, that I thought long and hard for reasons not to give the story a 1/5. But I couldn't- the plot just drags and the alien characters just don't function as dramatic characters. Which is a shame: the experiment may not have succeeded other than on the visual level, but I'm glad it was attempted.

Doctor Who: The Romans

The Slave Traders

"There's a great difference between resting and... being sort of bone idle."


So, falling off a cliff can be felt inside the Ship. No doubt this will be adhered to with absolute consistency from now on.

The early scenes are fun, and do the important job of establishing Vicki very quickly by having a whole month pass. One comment by Barbara to Vicki raises an eyebrow though- "Are you any good at dressmaking?". 1964 suddenly feels a long time ago- I'm reminded of the episode of Torchwood with the time travellers from the 1950s.

Hartnell mispronounces Ian's surname for the first time in ages, but generally spends the whole story being superb. If there's one thing he does really well, it's comedy. It's also noticeable how differently he acts towards Vicki than towards Susan- much more fond and indulgent, with none of the friction we're used to, continuing the process of the Doctor becoming ever more likeable.

Dennis Spooner seems to have officially founded Ian and Barbara shipping here; they're clearly a couple by now. I love the "fridge" line. It's very noticeable that Spooner has produced a much more overtly comedic script than with The Reign of Terror, using tragic elements to counterbalance the comedy rather than vice versa.

All Roads Lead to Rome

"You know, I'm so consistently outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delights and satisfactions of the art, the gentle art, of fisticuffs!"


The Doctor's fight with Ascaris is hilarious, played with perfect comic timing by Hartnell. With this episode it becomes clear that the story is to be a tightly plotted farce, with the TARDISeers forever just missing each other. The story is not without a sense of threat, but it never loses the sense of being a comedy, and ends up being fun and undemanding to watch.

Conspiracy

"Now, close your eyes and Nero will give you a big surprise!"

"Pardon?!"


Vicki's very innocent, isn't she? She's the only character forever protected from any threat or unpleasantness, able to walk around completely impervious, casually poisoning Nero along the way. Not only Maureen O'Brien but the entire cast plays it brilliantly- Hartnell, the actor playing Tigillinus with such brilliant physical comedy, and Derek Francis as Nero. The scene with Nero forcing Tigillinus to taste his poisoned drink is comedy gold, as is the entire scene with the Doctor's lyre playing.

Another namedrop from the Doctor here, this time Hans Christian Anderson.

Inferno

"I've got a friend who specialises in trouble. He dives in and usually finds a way."


I'm not sure the business about Nero setting fire to Rome is good history, but it's certainly good farce. The fun doesn't let up in the final episode- my favourite bit is the Doctor's punning to Nero on his imminent mauling in the arena. Of course, the Doctor, in changing history, seems to contradict what we were told in both The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror. But it's worth it for the moment when the Doctor starts chuckling insanely and the laughter then segues into Nero's.

The end is priceless, with the Doctor believing Ian and Barbara to have been carousing in the villa all this time. Once again Ian and Barbara seem very couply.


Overall, it may not have been big or clever but it was fun, and an admirably constructed farce. 4/5.

Doctor Who: The Rescue

The Powerful Enemy

"But Doctor, the trembling's stopped!"

Oh, my dear, I'm so glad you're feeling better."



At last we hear the TARDIS dematerialisation sound from outside as the TARDIS lands. It's fitting that this should happen for the first time in this story, which seems to signal that the series has come to a few definite conclusions about its format.

It's very noticeable that the aesthetics of spacecraft in this story are very Gerry Anderson- a nice bit of Sixtiesness. The first person we meet inside it is Vicki, and she's immediately likeable.

This story is so much more comfortable with the basic tropes of futuristic science fiction than, say, The Sensorites. The basic situation surrounding the ship and its situation is dealt with so much more casually, with an absence of clumsy phrasings.

The Doctor states that "We haven't had much luck with these caves during our travels" as he heads back into the TARDIS for a nap. Surely the most postmodern and self-referential line so far. The early scenes between the Doctor and Ian and Barbara are as well written and performed as we've come to expect for such scenes by now. It's a nice touch when the Doctor half asks Susan to open the doors and Barbara gently offers to take her place. Hartnell plays the Doctor's grieving for Susan brilliantly.

Koquillion looks either fantastic or risible. I can't quite decide which.

So, the Doctor's been on this world before: "It'll be rather nice to meet these people again after all these years". "Years"? He's been travelling for quite a while then. With Susan? How old was she when they started? There's another interesting comment he makes to Ian in relation to medicine: It's a pity I didn't get that degree".

Koquillion is quite horrible to poor Vicki. I like her a lot; bolshie yet vulnerable, and looking very sixties with a hint of Scouse to match.

Everything about this story- the confident writing, acting and design, the Stockhausenesque incidental music-evokes freshness and confidence, the sense of a new start. There's not even a single mispronunciation of "Chesterton" throughout, but then again throughout all the stories so far there have been far fewer than received wisdom might suggest.

This Bennett seems a bit of a dodgy chap, and doesn't seem too pleased to see Barbara. I wonder why that should be?

It's most amusing how the Doctor refers to a "great chasm" which is just out of shot. The cliffhanger- the most obvious man in a costume yet- is less than great, but so far this story has been very good indeed.



Desperate Measures

"You destroyed a whole planet to save your own skin. You're insane."


Ian grabs a blade tightly with his hand before telling the Doctor they're "razor sharp"!

Barbara continues to be great, hardly having been around five minutes before she suggests overpowering Koquillion. Bennett's not keen, oddly...

Maureen O'Brien does a good job with the Sandy sequence; it would have been so easy for Vicki to seem wet and annoying here, but the balance is just right. And instantly the chemistry between O'Brien and Hartnell is there. A nice Billy-fluff here: "You must believe what Barbara did. try and understand, my dear. And why she did it." The Doctor is now firmly established as a kindly old buffer; a little curmudgeonly, perhaps, but fundamentally a nice old man.

The reactions to Vicki's line "1963? but that means you're about 500 years old!" are priceless. Ian cracks up, and Barbara's face is a sight to behold. It's often said that characterisation was dwelled upon less in the old series than the new, but scenes like this show that in the early stories that wasn't the case at all.

As the Doctor discovers the clues to Bennett's villainy we hear the music from the Daleks' city. Bennett's plan is full of plot holes but they don't matter; this is pacey and entertaining enough to mean they only reveal themselves on multiple viewings. it's sleight of hand, but the plot holes are glossed over successfully enough.

The confrontation scene at the end, with Bennett facing the Doctor alone, shows the Doctor unmistakably cast as hero, a statement of intent from the pen of the script editor. Once again there's a sense that some thought has been given to the programme's format after the experiments of the first year, and certain things are being more firmly defined. This is the fully-formed First Doctor; a kindly, sometimes irascible old scientist who roams the cosmos righting wrongs.

Grr! BBC video have edited out the cliffhanger and the "next episode" caption. It's enough to make me go all nostalgic for the DWM letters pages of the early 90s.



Overall, a very nice little character piece which I enjoyed a lot. An awful lot, in fact. It may not be the biggest or most epic story, but it's been one of my favourites so far, and so it gets a full 5/5. I notice I'm the only one to rank it so highly at the moment though- anybody care to join me?

Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth

World's End

""What you need is a jolly good smacked bottom!"


Wahey, back to DVD! A very "traditional" opening here from a later viewpoint, with a mysterious figure dying in a brief first shot which piques our curiosity. Still no dematerialisation sound from the outside as the TARDIS lands, I notice.

Oh look- our friends are cut off from the TARDIS. What were the odds of that then? Susan twists her ankle here, but I can't recall it happening often before this, if at all. That's one fan myth debunked.

Good Lord! Location footage! With the cast! They've thrown everything at this production. The flying saucer also looks great.

Great cliffhanger! It may make no sense, but I don't care.

The Daleks

"I think we'd better pit our wits against them and defeat them!"



The Doctor's show of defiance to the Dalek is utterly splendid. As is the very first "resistance is useless!" to be heard in Doctor Who. An interesting statement from the Doctor though: "What happened on Skaro was a million years in the future". Sounds pretty unequivocal. We'll see how the continuity works itself out! Apparently this is the "middle history" of the Daleks. The Daleks are very different here; they've changed from the paranoid, survival-obsessed creatures of their first appearance to obvious Nazi analogues. The whole mood of this story evokes Nazi occupied Europe.

Nice multi-coloured skirt being sported by the Dalek Supreme!

The necessary exposition (or "blab about Bedfordshire") to explain the Dalek invasion is nicely handled, with the camera cutting between Craddock and David Campbell. There's something very Day of the Triffids here, firmly within the mid-twentieth century British tradition of catastrophe sci-fi.

It's a very nice touch that the Dalek flying saucer interiors have not only the pulsating sounds from the previous story but also the same circular monitors playing a loop of the title sequence!

The Daleks seem totally in control here, with little apparent hope. This is undercut by humour though; the Doctor's rudeness towards the defeatist Craddock is most amusing. Hartnell is great with the puzzle. I'm not sure why the Daleks need intelligent people to be Robomen. Or is this simply a means of getting rid of potential troublemakers?



Day of Reckoning

"Why? What's so special about the Doctor? He doesn't wear some sort of invisible shield, does he?"


The Dalek Supreme now has a totally black casing. The world of Dalek fashion is clearly fast-moving. And the world of Dalek geography is more than a little wanting: Bedfordshire is not in central England!

Susan's scene with David is excellently written and played, and more than a little prophetic; it's good to see how the budding relationship gets proper development.

The location filming in London with all the landmarks didn't make much impression on me with previous viewings, but watching the story as part of a marathon really makes you appreciate the contrast with the studio-bound claustrophobia of previous stories. No wonder they milk these scenes for all they're worth.

The scene where the Doctor and Susan argue about David's plan is quite wonderfully done. The Doctor can see what's going on and is not without resentment: "You seem to place more reliance on that young man's word than mine". But in eventually suggesting what he knows to be David's plan he implicitly gives his blessing to the relationship. There's a lot going on in this scene.

We get to see six actual Daleks on screen together, suggesting this story had a relatively huge budget. And there's been no obvious use of cardboard cutouts either.

The End of Tomorrow

"Are you one of these 'brotherhood of man' kind of people?"


The scenes of slave labour inside the Dalek camp evoke certain very powerful associations, but in the overall context and mood of the story the Holocaust references never seem to be gratuitous or frivolous as they so easily could have.

Barbara ramming those Daleks with the old lorry is brilliant! I love Barbara's thrilled reaction afterwards.

The long scene of Daleks talking in the middle of the episode is extremely dull, and the Daleks speak so slowly in this story. Fortunately the guest cast are much better handled. David explains to Susan of Tyler that "He's afraid to make friends. He's known too much killing". This kind of line helps to give the characters the illusion of depth, and we get to know the likes of Jenny and Dortmund via similar methods.

The Black Dalek is the "commandant of the camp". Once again, the phrase has certain associations.

I love Susan's reply to David after he asks if she's ok, having just saved her from falling off a ladder into some stock footage: "Yes, swinging!"

I've just had a massive post about the last two episodes and the story overall just disappear into the ether. I suppose the moral here is to save everything before you post!

Grrr. I'll repost it all tomorrow.

The Waking Ally

"They dare to tamper with the forces of creation?"

"Yes, they dare! And we have got to dare to stop them."



So the "waking ally" of the title is in fact the Doctor, who woke up last episode? Okaaay...

Yay, the Dalek doors in Bedfordshire are the same as the ones on Skaro with those cool noises and Dalek-friendly opening mechanisms! The new, chunkier Daleks look great, especially the Black Dalek.

Interesting comment from the Doctor in relation to certain past events: "I never take life, only when my own is immediately threatened!"

The scene with the collaborator women is important here as its an essential element of any tale of Nazi occupation. I like the older woman's self-justifying comment as the Daleks take Jenny and Barbara away: "Oh well, she'd have been captured anyway".

It's an incredible coincidence that the Roboman turns out to be Larry's brother, but it's an effective scene so I'll let that pass. The Robomen don't seem to be all that physically strong, mind; all through this story they're being overpowered without much trouble.

It's nice to see more development of the relationship between Susan and David as we rush towards the end. Nice comment from the Doctor as he discovers the couple frolicking merrily: "Quite, quite! I can see something's cooking!" Sadly, after the Doctor's arrival the bad science bombardment starts the scene takes a turn for the worse. Most of the more egregious absurdities of the plot are laid bare here. So the Daleks' main base on Earth is in, er, Bedfordshire? Is the Earth's crust particularly thin there or summat? And Earth is the only planet with a magnetic core? Er, yeees...

Another implausible coincidence as Ian happens to run into Barbara at the mine. Once again though, I don't particularly mind as I'm enjoying myself. I like the way we see how utterly magnificent and indomitable Barbara is by partnering her, not with a comparative wimp as would seem obvious, but with Jenny, who's no shrinking violet herself yet by this point is in awe of Barbara.

We end with more bad science from the Daleks' conversation being rendered entirely forgivable by a magnificent cliffhanger.


Flashpoint

"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, let there be no tears, no regrets, no anxieties. Simply go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."



So Ian avoids plunging to his doom by the fact that he happens to be crouching. I love this programme.

It's suddenly noticeable that the Daleks seem to be speaking in truncated sentences, missing out a lot of indefinite articles. Has it now been decided that Daleks are dull speakers and their dialogue should be cut down? We get some chilling dialogue here though: "Then arrange for the extermination of all human beings." "The final solution." "Kill, kill." The human slaves are then effectively herded into the gas chambers. These are very powerful themes for Saturday teatime.

I notice the same neck braces from the earlier story being used to restrain Barbara and Jenny in the Dalek control room, which is designed in such a fashion to induce nostalgia for, er, a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately there are a couple of dodgy bits here, as the Daleks' bomb is clearly a model and a Dalek obviously sees the Doctor in his hiding place. Also, more bad science: "if they succeed, it means they will upset the entire constellation". All this is immediately forgiven by virtue of the Dalek POV shot though- this is The Coolest Thing Ever.

The Daleks seem to be defeated very suddenly. Have they really been defeated worldwide? We're treated to a lot of stock footage of random natural disasters here.

The final scene is brilliantly written, directed and acted, with the physical acting and positioning of Susan and David particularly well done. I didn't think I would at the start of this marathon, but I'll miss Susan. I've come to side with the character and with Carole Ann Ford in their struggle at the pipe smoking male writers who haven't a clue how to write teenage girls.



Overall I've enjoyed this story very much, which has surprised me as I remember being distinctly underwhelmed when I last saw it a few years ago. Perhaps seeing it in context has made me appreciate its epic feel. A strong 4/5.



Rankings

The Aztecs 5/5
Marco Polo 5/5
The Reign of Terror 5/5
An Unearthly Child 5/5
The Dalek Invasion of Earth 4/5
Planet of Giants 4/5
The Daleks 3/5
The Sensorites 3/5
The Edge of Destruction 2/5
The Keys of Marinus 1/5



And it's also time for...

The Terry Nation Cliché Count

Mysterious figure follows female companion but later turns out to be a goodie: 1
Anti-radiation drugs: 1
Countdown: 2
Daleks at the cliffhanger to part one: 2
Our heroes unable to return to the TARDIS: 3
Trek through hostile environment: 2
Cowardly character dies a heroic death: 1
Part 1 spent exploring: 3
Jungle: 2
Character displays a grave moral failing making their death inevitable: 2
Episode opens with the strange death of a mysterious figure: 1
Big bomb: 2

Doctor Who: Planet of Giants

Planet of Giants

"The space pressure was far too great".


The Doctor's wearing his cloak again! And what with the Fault Locator and the TARDIS doors opening I'm almost getting nostalgic about The Edge of Destruction. Still no dematerialisation sound from outside.

Again we get some nice character stuff at the start. There's friction between the TARDISeers but we know that by now they all like each other underneath. That this is consistently done shows how good a job David Whitaker has been doing as story editor. Other large TARDIS crews in future years won't be handled nearly as well.

It's noticeably in this story that the Doctor's much more proactive, and seems to be the leader. It'll be interesting to see how permanent this is.

Farrow and Forrester look very Mad Men with the clothes and all the smoking. Forrester's a very cut price Don Draper, mind...

Oh dear, that photo used for Farrow's corpse looks a bit embarrassing. Still, great cliffhanger.

Dangerous Journey

"Yes, I'm fine. I told you I hadn't eaten for ages. I think that's what it must be. Don't make a fuss!"


Hmm, the cat's never in the same shot as our heroes! Interesting that the Doctor says of finding the murderer that "Normally I wouldn't hesitate"- in hindsight will this turn out to be a watershed moment in the Doctor's characterisation? He's much more of a hero here than he's been before.

The scenes between Forrester and Smithers are well-acted and played. Forrester's a great villain, all the better for his small-scale motives.

Oops, I don't think Barbara should have touched that seed! The fly looks great, but Barbara fainting... oh dear. I love Barbara's stiff-upper-lip determination not to make a fuss about her certain death from poisoning.

Crisis

"Why didn't she tell us?"


What a cheat this cliffhanger resolution is.

These scenes in the telephone exchange really show how long ago 1964 actually was. No previous story has seemed so obviously dated as this and it's mainly down to this bit of period detail. That, and the policeman's helmet with the strap not quite managing to reach beneath the chin in true Dixon of Dock Green fashion.

The Doctor's very mischievous and anarchistic here- there's no doubt about it, he's suddenly very Doctorish, right down to the pyromaniac tendencies! Speaking of which, it's very noticeable that once Ian and Susan strike the match the flaming part is always off-screen!

Hmm, Forrester sounds absolutely no different as Farrow. He's not even trying to sound Scottish, for a start...

So the Doctor and Susan have experienced an air raid in an untelevised adventure, presumably during the Second World War? Interesting. Of course, to the viewing public this would have been as recent an experience as the 1980s are to us.

Strange ending- the heroes are the telephone operator and the policeman; Farrow would've been caught whether or not the TARDISeers intervened. And there's no talk from Ian and Barbara that they've been cruelly deprived of a return to their own time by being shrunk- could they now be rather enjoying their new life?



Overall, the first story to be scripted by a writer who's still with us (?) is a delight. nicely paced, well-acted and great fun to watch, although I don't really see how this could have been padded out to four episodes. An amazing example of the sheer variety of the format at this point. 4/5.

Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror

A Land of Fear

"When you entered our hideout you entered our lives!"



No reprise at all this time. And I notice the TARDIS lands without the “vworp vworp” sound- it'll be interesting to see when exactly that convention becomes established.

In spite of the last episode's ending there's no real animosity towards the two schoolteachers from the Doctor- significantly neither of them seem worried about being abandoned and the scene is played for laughs to an extent- nice bit of comic acting from Jacqueline Hill as she fusses over the Doctor while Ian placates him! The Doctor has long since been incapable of any real malevolence towards them. And Ian and Barbara are noticeably much more sanguine about their fate.

So this is the Doctor's favourite historical period. Interesting.

This episode ends with a real sense of threat for Susan, Ian and Barbara which feels very real. I'd like to comment on whether it's obvious or not that the Doctor will be rescued by the boy, but having seen the story before I'm not qualified to comment!

Guests of Madame Guillotine

"I suppose you think you're very clever?"

"Well, without any due modesty, yes. Would you mind standing aside?"



Very truncated opening titles here- I assume the episode overran? The opening scenes, of woodcuts and stock footage, look cheap yet effective in setting the mood. There's a real sense of peril here; any sense of comedy from Jack Cunningham's inexplicably Lancastrian gaoler is immediately undercut by his obvious propositioning of Barbara and his attitude when he doesn't get his own way. For all his ridiculousness the character has real power.

The rescued Doctor begins an epic journey to footage, and this special occasion is marked by some actual location footage! Although they have to use Edmund Warwick in long shot instead of Hartnell, of course. Whenever we do see Hartnell he's clearly back in Lime Grove. The scenes with the overseer (with his rather excellent sombrero) are most entertaining. This is the first time I can recall in the series where the Doctor is unambiguously made to play the part of the hero, and it suits him.

The scenes with Barbara and Susan in the cell are nice character scenes, and very well acted by Ford and Hill. There's no real sense of hope for them; even the escape attempt feels more of a token effort.

The Doctor's plan is most clever, but the blow on the head the overseer receives with his spade seems to have rather gruesome results going by the reactions of the others.

Hmmm... so the Doctor's 5km from Paris? Wasn't it 4km from the house last episode?

Genuinely effective cliffhanger- I have no idea (and can't remember from before!) how Barbara and Susan will be able to get out of that!

Oops! Got behind again...

A Change of Identity

"It's a pity you're surrounded by fools."

"Exactly, Citizen, exactly."


Still rather enjoyable entertainment, but it's still highly convenient that not only does the Jailer leave the key in Ian's door, but Barbara and Susan get rescued by characters we haven't previously met. Still, there was no other way out of that cliffhanger, I suppose.

The sets look very convincing as the streets of Paris; once again the tininess of Lime Grove is successfully hidden.

The scene with the Doctor conning the shopkeeper is a delight, and a perfect comic performance from Hartnell. The Doctor gives away his ring- as far as I recall this is the first time the ring is treated as significant.

Ooh, Edward Brayshaw! Once Barbara and Susan have been rescued the actual plot (aside from Ian receiving the message in his cell) starts, but it must be said the story until now, while essentially just a series of set pieces, has been thoroughly entertaining.

That Leon's a bit creepy, isn't he? Still, a very nice directorial touch cutting from Barbara and Leon about to have some wine to the jailer gulping down some cheap plonk from a jug.

The final scenes with Hartnell impersonating the provincial governor are class, and once again brilliantly played by Hartnell. A fantastic cliffhanger: "We must not keep Citizen Robespierre waiting."

The Tyrant of France

"Even now, Convention members are at work plotting my downfall. But I will triumph, even if I have to execute every last one of them!"


So, to the Loose Cannon recon, and it's a bit of a jolt after all the footage we've been spoiled with. Is it me, or is the Doctor's bravery in arguing with Robespierre the first genuinely heroic act we see from him? Not aimed just at the preservation of himself and his friends, but just being, dare I say it, Doctorish? Hartnell is fantastic here, and indeed throughout the whole story.

Leon's dismissive attitude towards the servant girl (asking Barbara why she wants to be everybody's friend) suggests he's something of a bad sort, and that the Royalists are not necessarily going to be portrayed as the goodies as they generally have so far.

Our first bits of off-air footage here, alongside loads of shots of that door opening and closing. This is clearly an earlier recon, but nevertheless invaluable.

A Bargain of Necessity

"You check your history books, Ian, before you decide what people deserve."


It would be great to see Edward Brayshaw's face as he betrays Ian...

The Doctor's plotting here is very clever- has he ever been this proactive before? He seems to have turned a corner in this story; this is the First Doctor, more or less fully-formed.

An uncharacteristically obvious history dump: "If this plot is successful, tomorrow, the 27th July 1794, will be a date for history".

Nice comment by Ian, very characteristic, when he hears about the Doctor from Barbara: "I don't know how he gets away with it half the time!" The following scene is magnificent, as Ian and Barbara debate the issues surrounding Leon's shooting. Barbara shows a much more nuanced understanding of history than she did in The Aztecs, while Ian is more interested in the friendships he's made than the wider historical implications. Of course, given the previous scenes between Barbara and Leon there's also an undercurrent of sexual jealousy. This scene is excellent drama.

For all that this story is often criticised for being a series of set pieces, in spite of the unusual structure the plotting is actually quite clever. And the characterisation is well done, not just for the regulars but for the guest characters; it's nice that we get a sense of Jules Renan's motives before the cliffhanger. And what a cliffhanger! Not least because we suddenly are treated to some actual footage.

Prisoners of Conciergerie

"Events will happen just as they are written".

(Incidentally, this is the only episode of the story I'm watching for the first time due to the homicidal tendencies of a certain VCR- the big plot twist is new to me.)

It's rather amusing how immediately after we reach the dramatic peak of the Doctor's apparent treachery being revealed everyone pauses for the episode title and Dennis Spooner's credit to appear on screen.

Good God- Lemaitre is James Stirling? That I was not expecting! But..."The Sinking Ship"? I thought it was "Le Chien Gris"...

Ooh, Napoleon! Surely the actor's a bit old to be playing a 25 year old though? Is all this stuff about Bony being a member of the triumvirate this early actually historical?

I love the conversation about changing history between Barbara and the Doctor- a nice role reversal and a nice character moment.

Hmmm... the set's a bit wobbly outside Robespierre's office. Are we witnessing the birth of a stereotype?

We haven't seen Susan for a bit. I have a feeling we didn't actually see her at all last episode.

Great line from the Doctor to Susan as they witness Robespierre being led to a cell: "Everybody lived in fear, yesterday, of that man, and today..."

The final moments of this story give us more information on the rules of changing history than we ever got in The Aztecs, contrary to popular belief. I'm not sure this is all consistent with what we will be told in The Fires of Pompeii, mind...


Overall, fantastic. Very cleverly plotted, if oddly structured, with nice character moments for the regulars. The grimness is nicely balanced with the right amount of humour; the overall tone is just right and very cleverly judged. If Marco Polo was all clever dialogue and theatricality this was all Robert Louis Stevenson and action adventure, but very nearly as good. 5/5!

Doctor Who: The Sensorites

Strangers in Space

"There's not an ounce of curiosity in me, my dear boy. Tell me, why are you in danger?"


A very eerie and atmospheric episode in which the TARDISeers explore their surroundings. Already this is looking like a "typical" first episode, naturally including a scene in which our heroes are separated from the Ship. Great line from the Doctor: "I learned not to meddle in other people's affairs years ago." Ian's reaction is great.

Other observations; the women are doing the cooking, obviously; the guest actors are a bit cardboard; that door sounds exactly like the ones in the Dalek story- will we be hearing this sound effect often?

The Unwilling Warriors

"Isn't it better to travel hopefully than... arrive?"


We get mentions of two untransmitted adventures here, involving Henry VIII and the telepathic plants on Esto.

Oddly enough, this is the first real "space opera" story, but I very much get the impression that the production scene are not too familiar with the tropes, which are not being used in anything like the shorthand way we'll be seeing by the Pertwee era. The colonialism theme that seems to be developing is treated very oddly; in this episode the TARDISeers almost seem to be siding with big business against the native people.

The Doctor's speech about the melting points of iron and molybdenum... er, what? Mind you, the Doctor's confrontation with the Sensorites leads to some top lapel clutching action.

Once again, it's noticeably that once a script gives Susan some characterisation (not that I want to praise the scripting too highly, mind!) Carole Ann Ford puts in a good performance.

Hidden Danger

"I don't agree with all this splitting up. It always leads to trouble."


It's a shame, but the argument scene between the Doctor and Susan doesn't really work; the script treats Susan as being basically a child, not only perceived as such. The bargaining with the Sensorites seems odd, and the Sensorites oddly reasonable to the point of gullibility, which never quite rings true; they hold all the cards at this point. It's a shame, but although the story still entertains from this point, as soon as the Doctor, Susan and Ian reach the Sense-Sphere it becomes increasingly obvious that this is aimed at a very young audience. Funniest line so far: "Are the hearts of the human creatures on the right or left side of their bodies or in the centre, as in ours?"

As soon as Ian starts coughing, having drunk water from the plebs' supply, it's perfectly obvious that this is where the "plague" comes from and that Ian has just contracted it. We can already predict the cliffhanger and half the next episode.

A Race Against Death

"Who is to know that I am not the Second Elder now?"


Carol's line to the City Administrator about not knowing what she's do if the Sensorites swap their sashes all but reveals to us the half of the coming episode's events we didn't already know! The City Administrator's comment "I hadn't though of that" amused me no end- these Sensorites are not very bright, are they? Their certain eventual fate under earth imperialist rule already looks inevitable.

Incidentally, if the Sensorites don't like sound or darkness, who built the aqueduct? And surely it's obvious that the poison is being made there?

Still, this is all good fun, even though it's clearly aimed at very young kids!

Kidnap

"We have the perfect society. All are contented."


Interesting comment from the Doctor: "Something hit me under the heart and it was most unpleasant". Once again, that's heart, singular. Another interesting line from the City Administrator's underling: "I heard them over... over... talking!" The City Administrator seems to dispatch the Second Elder rather suddenly and easily.

Oh, more namedropping from the Doctor- Beau Brummell this time! This seems to be becoming quite a feature. And the cloak is rather fetching, it must be said.

Hmmm. So the TARDISeers recommend the City Administrator for the vacant Second Elder position, and the First Elder duly states: "And once this order is made, only a betrayal of trust can set it aside." That's the biggest problem with this story; dialogue can give away what's going to happen, sometimes a long way in the future. The story is hardly brimming with suspense. Fortunately though, the sheer predictability of it all is quite hilarious. A brief conversation between Carol and the scientist immediately gives away the identities of the baddies in the aqueduct!

It's quite a surprise that the cliffhanger happens to Carol, a supporting character. And the kidnap which gives rise to the title only happens in the last few seconds.

A Desperate Venture

"All they had left was the game they played- the game of war."


The City Administrator is hilarious whenever he refers to "The Man John".

Susan gets a wonderful speech describing her home planet to the First Elder- the first of a fair few good character scenes for the regulars in this episode: "It's quite like Earth, but at night the sky is a burned orange. The leaves on the trees are bright silver". Carole Ann Ford is really quite excellent in this episode, as she always is with good material.

Incidentally, Stephen Dartnell is also excellent as The Man John (as he must always be called!) especially as he really brings out the contrast after he's cured.

The way the humans in the aqueduct are depicted is interesting; they remind me of those Japanese soldiers who remained deep in the jungle after the end of the Second World War. And for once the script seems to indicate an anti-colonialist viewpoint on the author's part, something we can take for granted in later eras. It's still interesting how the tropes of space opera are being handled with kid gloves here; little things like the constant use of "space ship" rather than "ship" stand out.

The conversation between Susan and the Doctor in the TARDIS at the end is fascinating, and capable of multiple interpretations- do they both want to get home if only the Doctor could steer the TARDIS, or is the Doctor just saying these things for Susan's benefit? It's very difficult not to relate this to the revelations of later eras but I shall try to resist! It seems Susan's eventual departure is being prepared for: "Sometimes I feel I want to belong somewhere, not just be a wanderer".

The Doctor gets a bit stroppy at the end, threatening to put Ian and Barbara off the Ship! The thing is, though, we've moved on a lot since The Edge of Destruction; we know he doesn't mean it.



Overall... well, that was all very silly, but rather enjoyable just the same. I know I've been ripping the proverbial out of it, and some of the exposition was laugh-out-loud hilarious, but at least it was never dull. Plus the TARDISeers were all well treated by the script. I'm in a good mood- 3/5.

Doctor Who: The Aztecs

Temple of Evil

"What you are trying to do is completely impossible. I know. Believe me, I know."

Very nice opening shot of Yetaxa's tomb. John Crockett does a very good job throughout the episode, making the sets look expansive despite the tininess of Lime Grove. The initial dialogue between Barbara and Susan rather cleverly drops in a lot of educational titbits without feeling forced.

Oh, what a surprise, the TARDISeers are separated from the Ship. It's noticeable how Hartnell congratulates Barbara on engineering the perfect situation- the women are safe in the temple so the men can go out and explore!

The scene between the Doctor and Barbara about changing history is a delight. Both Jacqueline Hill and William Hartnell play it utterly convincingly.

Once again, a crowd appears off screen.

I can understand Barbara's moral revulsion at human sacrifice, but for a historian some of her assumptions are a little naive- I hardly think that ending human sacrifice in Tenochtitlan would in any way mitigate Spanish imperialism!

Great ending, with the suicide of the sacrifice: "You have denied me honour!" Tlotoxl's final speech is chilling. John Ringham is a fine Richard III.

The Warriors of Death

"What better way to destroy your enemies than to let them destroy themselves?"


Great scene between the Doctor and Barbara, superbly acted by Hartnell and Hill as usual. As the Doctor points out, Barbaras actions have now put them all in danger. The scene in which Ian calmly dispatches Ixta with his thumb also oozes coolness. I'm really liking this so far; well-paced, well plotted and well characterised with excellent dialogue and set pieces. John Crockett's direction is also impressive.

The Bride of Sacrifice

"For once the high priest of knowledge shall be in ignorance."


Autloc's words are awfully pregnant with tragedy: "In all humility, I beg you- do not deceive me or prove false to me". Like Marco Polo, he is a good man but weak. Jacqueline Hill is excellent here. As also is Ixta's hair, and pronunciation of "Ian". I love his genial, back-slapping threats to Ian's life.

The Doctor's romantic interlude with Cameca here is fascinating, as I suspect we shan't be seeing its like again, or at least not without the involvement of fireplaces. Another interesting relationship is the one between Ian and Barbara who are getting noticeably closer over time. Significantly it's Ian in this episode, not the Doctor, who finally convinces Barbara of the futility of trying to change history. He's right that it's Tlotoxl, not Autloc, who is the conventional one.

The scene where Barbara confesses to Tlotoxl that she is not Yetaxa shows just how outstanding Jacqueline Hill has been ever since the series started. She really has been fantastic, and stands out even from Hartnell and Russell.

Heh: "Yes, I made some cocoa and got engaged". Ian's reaction is priceless- after spending the whole time on Marinus acting the generic action hero, he now has the constantly raised eyebrow again. I like him much better with his tongue in his cheek.

The Day of Darkness

"As the gods appear, may they not also disappear as suddenly?"


This is the first story where I've noticed the incidental music- it's really quite effective. This is the most impressively produced story so far, not counting Marco Polo for obvious reasons.

Autloc's disillusionment is genuinely tragic- the priest who loses his faith and his place in his society and the collateral damage from Barbara's actions. Cameca's tale ends unhappily too- we can sympathise with the Doctor's motives, but he has deceived her The TARDISeers may make their escape in the end, but there's no happy ending here: Tlotoxl wins.


Overall, this was pretty much flawless, and my favourite so far. The script, the direction, the main performances- all were first rate. I'm ranking this above Marco Polo as the story seems more satisfying as a whole, but it's a close run thing. More John Lucarotti please!

Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus

The Sea of Death

"And if you'd had your shoes on, my boy, you could have lent her hers."




The island in the sea looks simultaneously cheap and fantastic, as is possible only in black and white. Silent TARDIS landing, I notice. Good to see the good-natured banter between the crew- their relationships now seem settled for good. Ian's still wearing his clothes from Cathay, although there was no cliffhanger. Hang on... the TARDIS scanner is in black and white?

This is possibly the biggest episode for Billy-fluffs ever; "Yes, I don't think... I don't see why not. There's nothing no danger about". The submersible models look cool, although also giving away the true nature of the model island. Very Gerry Anderson. Oh, and another one: "No, impossible in this temperature. Besides, it's too warm".

I like the glass sand and acid sea. A truly weird environment. The Voord look cool too. I love these Terry Nation exploration first episodes! We get some real horror with the implied terrible death of the Voord in the submersible- once again rather eyebrow-raising for a family show.

The pyramid looks good, with the corridors looking almost but not quite like an expressionist set from a German silent film. The environment is once again cool; a Mexican style pyramid littered with traps.

The Conscience of Marinus... hmm. Civil liberties not big on Marinus then? Arbitan is quite excellently played by George Coulouris, who manages to make something of a character whose sole purpose is exposition and starting up the plot.

Good Lord! Our heroes are separated from the TARDIS. In a Terry Nation script. Who'd have thunk it. I'm most amused by this invisible force field acting. And also the proto-Blake's 7 transportation bracelets! Once the quest is established the whole thing suddenly feels very Irwin Allen.

Arbitan's death scene... oh dear! This is all good fun though.

The Velvet Web

"I believe you're under some deep form of deep hypnosis."

Suddenly, everything changes from Doctor Who to Abigail's Party. Barbara's managed to get changed, meet her host and everything in about thirty seconds- is there anything the woman can't do? I notice Ian leching at the young ladies...

Is it me, or do I get the impression from the dialogue there's bound to be a "bill" of some kind, wrapped around some kind of moral? This is rather well done, all the same- very sinister. The paranoia of Barbara being the only one who can see things as they are is brilliantly played by Jacqueline Hill.

Cool! Brains in jars! This is great. For a moment I thought there might be some kind of subtext about all materialism being, like, illusory, man, but then I remembered this was scripted by Terry Nation.

So what would have happened if that disc hadn't fallen off Barbara? She saves everyone, of course, being great, but aren't the baddies ("Our brains outgrew our bodies". Er, okay...) leaving themselves rather vulnerable though? They can't be very bright.

Interesting how the Doctor takes charge at the end. There's been a definite change at some point in his character. Dodgy plan though. You're in "a very dangerous situation" so you split up. Yeeeesss.



This is one I'd been dreading, but I'm actually quite enjoying it so far. it's all very silly, of course, but fun.

The Screaming Jungle

"Nature has a fixed tempo of destruction".


Susan's getting hysterical again. It must be a Terry Nation script. Fortunately we get Ian, Barbara and the two Planks arriving to calm her down.

Oh, look at that statue with the key in it. Do you think it might be, I don't know, a trap at all? A very naughty trap, too, sexually harassing first Barbara and then Ian.

Oh, look at that knight with the massive halberd, Ian. Do you think it might be, you know, a trap? Yes, that's right, you just turn your back on it, nothing bad will happen...

These traps are fun, if very silly. Those spikes falling in to Barbara don't look all that deadly, mind...

That bloke played by Edmund Warwick gets the coolest exit possible. That's how I want to depart this mortal coil; with some gratuitously cryptic last words.

The Snows of Terror


"I'm afraid you'll have to entertain them alone, Vasor. We have to leave."


Vasor is an extremely unpleasant character, especially after he's left alone with Barbara. There's clearly an implied threat of rape which doesn't feel at all tonally right for what is basically an old 1930s movie serial.

Oh, look- crossing chasms in a Terry Nation story again! Although it's still managing to entertain, the story's beginning to drag.

Why doesn't Vasor lock the door at the end as he did earlier?

Oh dear, I'm no fan of that old cliché of the hero being falsely accused of murder- I don't like the implications of this cliffhanger at all...



Overall, after an entertaining first two parts the story's beginning to pall. Each episode seems slightly less good than the one before, and I miss William Hartnell.

Sentence of Death

"Yes, I do know somebody, if I can find him."

"Who is he?"

"Who?"


Blimey, this is the longest reprise so far.

If Ian's suspected of murder, why does no one suspect the other TARDISeers (for I too shall nick this splendid phrase)? There should at least be questions about who they are and where they came from.

Oh, it's Fiona Walker, in Doctor Who! All will be hers...

Suddenly things get nasty (and tonally jarring) as Anonymous Bloke is heard hitting his wife. We know at this point that he's not going to be allowed to survive. One problem with this story is it's hard to tell apart the different men in uniforms.



The Keys of Marinus

"I am suffering from a deadly disease!"


Good grief! Kala, one of only two suspects, has kidnapped Susan! Still, the only other suspect, the prosecutor (whose name I never catch, but I spent half of last episode thinking all the men in uniform were Tarron) seems a nice bloke, commiserating with the Doctor in a scene in no way meant to deflect suspicion.

William Russell's not having an overly taxing week, is he?

Another namedrop by the Doctor- Pyrrho.

Back to the island, where we meet Yartek, Leader of the Alien Voord. Interesting how Ian takes charge, directing the TARDISeers to split up.

I'm utterly dumbstruck by the scene in which Barbara suggests to the Doctor that he carry a knife, and he casually agrees.

Yartek, Leader of the Alien Voord's disguise had me in stitches. Who exactly is this bloke, incidentally? He's just a generic baddie who turns up with no build-up and no real motivation.




Overall, not very good for me, I'm afraid. I feel guilty about awarding a 1/5 but that's what I felt. The first couple of episodes were at least entertaining but everything since has felt tired, disjointed, and perhaps worst of all the regulars didn't feel quite in character. Barbara was far too passive- Terry Nation doesn't seem able to write strong women so far. And again Nation gives us "action hero" Ian rather than the wryly humorous character I'd come to like. Worst of all, Susan was as annoying as ever in this story.

On a positive note, though, I enjoyed it more than I was expecting, although not necessarily for the reasons which were intended!

Doctor Who: Marco Polo. Or Journey to Cathay. Gah!

Phew! Seven episodes in one day...!


The Roof of the World

"I command you in the name of Kublai Khan!"


First up, I love Loose Cannon and I want to have their babies. Damn the physical impossibilities! There's no denying that the lack of footage, especially from this of all stories, detracts hugely from the experience. But the recon is quite magnificent. I particularly love the groovy colour title sequence, which rocks.

Hmm, shortly after the Fast Return Switch debacle it doesn't take much time for another serious problem to arise with the Ship. But this is top stuff. Mark Eden, and especially Derren Nesbitt, are immediately compelling. Right from the start the writing and acting are top-notch.

I love Susan's use of the word "fab". Clearly she went native somewhat during her time in the 60s.

Marco immediately comes across as an interesting and layered individual. He blatantly steals the caravan yet remains likeable to a degree, a credit to both Eden and Lucarotti, as this is going to have to be sustained for quite a while...

The Doctor's hysterical laughter is... most extraordinary! But it's most reassuring to see that the rift between him and the two schoolteachers appears to have gone.

Incidentally, anybody know exactly know exactly where the Plain of Pamir is? Somewhere in Central Asia near Samarkand? I don't recognise many of the geographical references in this story.

The Singing Sands

"The bones of many many men who thought they had enough [water] lie bleached in the desert sands..."


The dialogue in this story is wonderful. I love the double edged comments made by Tegana while Marco and Ian play chess: "It means 'The king is dead'"; "Marco, can you save your king?". Also wonderful is a line of Susan's: "One day, we'll know all the mysteries of the stars and stop our wanderings". This harks back to her desire to stay on Earth in An Unearthly Child- fundamentally Susan doesn't share the Doctor's wanderlust and eventually will opt for stability. Mind you, that still picture we constantly see of Susan gurning is a sauce of great amusement.

Blimey, the Doctor makes only a token (pre-filmed?) appearance in this episode. Marco is the central character for the moment, and an interesting one. He's the one with authority, but is fundamentally quite weak and credulous. The dynamics of this small, claustrophobic group of people, thrust together by chance, is compelling, especially as they're all so well written.

Oh, "Our fate rests with Tegana."- oh dear! A truly terrifying cliffhanger, the prospect of death by thirst. Something very real and horrific.

Five Hundred Eyes

"With such a caravan, Noghai would be invincible!"

The resolution to the cliffhanger, with the condensation, is very impressive indeed. The TARDIS crew now all suspect Tegana but Marco, for reasons essential to sustaining the plot, does not.

Nice that the slow pace allows us the digression on the hashashin (who of course foreshadow Tegana's behaviour in the final episode). Ping-Cho's performance is quite wonderful.

Nice cliffhanger- the threat to Barbara is again grounded in the very real, with nothing of the fantastic about it. Strong stuff for Saturday teatime.

The Wall of Lies

"The old magician. How can you kill him?

"With a stake through the heart."

Interesting how Marco's authority over the travellers is undercut by his obvious guilt; we instinctively know that he will never carry out his threats to the travellers. A format of losing the TARDIS seems to be established, following on from Susan's comments about nearly losing the Ship on Quinnis in The Brink of Disaster. Incidentally, Susan is at no point annoying in this story, which is largely down to the writing. When given a script that can be played well, Carole Ann Ford puts in a good performance.

Marco proves easily swayed by Tegana's persuasiveness, but once again behind his bluster he knows he's in the wrong. His desperate "Obey me!" to Ping-Cho is very revealing. It has to be said though, the constant mistrust between Marco and the TARDIS crew, although well-executed, is also quite annoying.

This story seems to be taking a long time in terms of days- I wonder how long it takes chronologically?

Rider From Shang-Tu

"What does he think it is, a potting shed or something?"

Ian's plan with the bamboo is very clever indeed. As is the storytelling and characterisations- during the situation with the bandits it becomes clear that Marco makes no independent decisions aside from stealing the TARDIS, being buffeted this way and that by Ian and Tegana. Of course, Tegana is the more persuasive of the two...

Oh, a swordfight involving the Doctor! If only we had footage...

Great line by Tegana: "Work your magic against him if you will. But make no move against me." Derren Nesbitt is fantastic as Tegana, with a real silky menace in his delivery.

I love the minor characters introduced here, the wonderfully camp Wang-Lo and Kuiju with his eyepatch and the monkey on his shoulder! The incidental details in this story are wonderful. I'm sure there's a huge amount of visual texture we're missing- the sets seem magnificent, and this was directed by Waris Hussein...

The TARDIS crew attempting to escape is becoming boringly repetitive by now. We know perfectly well that Marco is too weak to follow through with his threats.

Mighty Kublai Khan

"And you don't believe me when I say I come from another time?"

"If I did, Ian, I would give you the key."


Ironic that the TARDIS is almost nicked by someone allied to neither Marco nor the Doctor. We get more of Wang-Lo's campness here, which come to think of it is quite interesting; gay sex would remain illegal in Britain for another three years after this story's broadcast, but there is still Julian and Sandy style campness in popular culture.

Very nice ending, with the frail Kublai Khan. Also, by a later definition, a somewhat Doctorish moment. Once again, an excellent cliffhanger.


Assassin at Peking

""What of I that the Khan should fear?"

"The power of persuasion."



Once again the dialogue sparkles- the Doctor's winnings at backgammon are hilarious, and the lines perfectly delivered by Hartnell. "All the commerce from Burma for one year" indeed...

Nice touch, that; as the Doctor loses his gamble with Kublai Khan for the TARDIS, he once again bursts into laughter. The Doctor has noticeably mellowed in this story. He's still far from the active hero, primarily being motivated by escape to the TARDIS with no thought for Tegana's designs, but nevertheless the real nastiness has gone.

Great scene as Kublai Khan effectively calls Marco on his weakness. It's also clear that he sees through Tegana's rhetoric; in spite of his physical frailties and genuine comical qualities he's no fool.

The greatest line in all of Doctor Who so far: Your beloved husband to be, so anxious to be worthy of your love, drank a potion of quicksilver and sulphur, the elixir of life and eternal youth... and expired."

Once again, a swordfight makes the lack of footage very apparent indeed. The conclusion satisfies, and Marco gets the last word: "No, my Lord, they will not believe half the things I have seen in Cathay."





Overall, then? Admittedly there are certain... challenges to watching a recon, and I won't pretend there weren't points where the photos inevitably became repetitive, or times where the lack of footage became especially frustrating. But the script and acting were magnificent. The dialogue, the acting, the characterisation- all were magnificent. Admittedly there were times where the dynamic between Marco and the crew vis-à-vis the TARDIS became repetitive and annoying, but then I did watch the whole thing in one go. It would have been churlish not to give this a much-deserved 5/5. The best yet.