Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora

Part One

“You humans have such limited minds. Sometimes I wonder why I like you so much.”

Once again we get a tale by Louis Marks, author of a bizarrely spread out run of stories. But having seen this story for the first time (now there’s only Underworld and Meglos that I’ve never seen from all of Doctor Who!), I’d probably call it his best.

We start, rarely for this era, with an extended TARDIS scene, in which we get to see places other than the control room for what I think is the first time since Hartnell’s day, more than six years, er, months, ago. The point of this, of course, is to introduce the new and rather excellent looking control room. And it has a recorder in it, so apparently the Doctor used to spend a lot of time here when he was Patrick Troughton, but only when the camera wasn’t looking. I particularly like the new scanner.

All this is admirably rounded off before it can degenerate into fanwank, and we’re off into the plot, with the Mandragora Helix, a strange void, and a fantastic looking late mediaeval / early Renaissance Italy. I have to praise the costumes here, and also the excellent location- Portmeiron, I think.

We’re introduced to our guest characters with admirable economy, and at the same time it becomes clear that this story is about reason versus both superstition and tyranny, hence it being set at such an appropriate time and place. The pace is very fast indeed, with Sarah being captured almost as quickly as good old Babs was, way back in The Crusade. There’s definitely something about mediaeval settings and fast paced plots for some reason.

The Doctor gets a great scene putting an apple on the end of Count Federico’s sword and using a football rattle (what else?) to effect his escape.

Part Two

“They say there are places where the bat droppings are as high as a man.”

We get a case of escape by scarf for the first time in ages. A completely implausible method of escape from the executioner’s block, of course, but easily cool enough to get away with it.

There’s a lot of excitement this episode, but it’s also where the pieces start to be put into place- Heironymous is, rather unsurprisingly, revealed as the cult leader, the Doctor makes friends with Giuliano and his hot-headed boyfriend, and conflict is sown between Heironymous and Count Federico. It’s all rather neatly done, and it all looks so sumptuous too. It’s also worrying me a bit though- I’m loving this, it’s bringing back good memories of John Lucarotti and the like from long ago, but that’s because it practically is a pure historical; the sci-fi elements are thin, perfunctory, and a rather obvious metaphor to boot. What is there here to attract the kiddies? Is there enough buckling of swashes to do the job?

Part Three

“You can’t count, Count!”

Giuliano shows himself to be a damn good swordsman, and then along comes the Doctor to show us that he may have regenerated since The Sea Devils but he’s pretty handy with a sword. Perhaps there is enough swashbuckling after all.

I really like Heironymous’s beard. In fact, I think I want one. There’s nothing quite like a good villainous bit of high maintenance facial hair. He’s quite barmy, of course, but then as an astrologer he would be. But there’s one point in his favour- it must be quite nice for Sarah to be hypnotised by someone other than the Doctor for a change.

We get an important first- Sarah asks how come she can understand Italian as she can’t speak it, alluding to a problem which has been successfully brushed under the carpet by the programme for the last twelve and a half years. Apparently it a “Time Lord gift” which the Doctor “allows” Sarah to share. Well, that explains everything perfectly. And it seems it’s Sarah asking this that makes the Doctor realise she’s been hypnotised. Eh?

Meanwhile Marco gets tortured, and even though this actually happens offscreen it feels a bit nasty for a family show. And things are set up for the finale, with Heironymous foretelling Federico’s death, a “prophecy” fulfilled at the end of the episode; superstition has triumphed against the Machiavellian use of power, how will it prevail against the upcoming values of the Renaissance?

Part Four

“You know, the worse the situation, the worse your jokes get.”

It’s nice to see Giuliano’s authority being affirmed on the death of his uncle; this is the episode where he has to come of age. He’ already shown he’s intelligent and rational, but here he has to find the judgement to rule. The discussion with Marco on the need for the masque to go ahead to maintain appearances is important, and shows a rather subtler kind of Machiavellian thinking than Federico.

The ending works, being satisfying and twisty-turny enough to wrongfoot us at the end, plus everyone (including Sarah) looks great in their fancy dress costumes.

Magnificent, and not at all the sort of thing I was expecting at this stage of the marathon. Easily a 5/5. I’ll certainly be watching this again- it’s obvious there’s an awful lot going on in this script that calls for multiple viewings. I suspect it might have bored the kids, mind.

Doctor Who: Planet of Evil

Part One

“Can’t… breathe…”

So, this is set in the year 37,166 much further into the future than we’ve yet seen- and it’s implies this is indeed 37,166 C.E. as the Doctor tells Sarah they’ve overshot by 30,000 years and all other characters are clearly human by their names. In fact we’re on the edge of the known universe where things start to shade into anti-matter. Never mind the dodgy science- this is very creepy indeed, and there’s a real sense that the Doctor and Sarah are very far away in terms of both time and space.

On the other hand, for the first time since Planet of the Spiders we get to see the inside of the TARDIS. It’s looking very Spartan these days…

There’s a nice sense of mystery and creepiness with Professor Sorenson’s odd behaviour and the general weirdness of the planet, made very effective indeed by the jungle set and great lighting.

Prentis Hancock’s Salamar should be an irritating character, insisting the TARDISeers must be murderers on very little evidence, but while this sort of thing is usually intensely annoying, here it’s clear that Salamar is supposed to be a pillock.

Part Two

“It doesn’t live anywhere. It just is.”

The jungle is still looking great, incredibly so for an all-studio story. Even the “oculoid tracer” looks fab. Doctor Who suddenly seems incapable of not being great. The Forbidden Planet elements become particularly obvious this episode- although it’s a pity that the Doctor, having namedropped Shakespeare (“dreadful actor”) proceeds top quote from Romeo and Juliet instead of The Tempest.

The pool of nothingness is great, in both conception and realisation. This is the scariest story yet, achieving this by keeping us constantly unnerved about how the usual rules don’t work in this place. Here, there’s no need for monsters as such- it’s the planet itself that’s the threat. Perhaps this is the firs out-and-out horror story yet.

I love the Doctor’s speech to the Morestrans: “You call it nothing, a word to cover ignorance.” And of course it’s their meddling- Sorenson’s ambition and Salamar’s imbecility- which is the root of their problems.

Part Three

“If we don’t make it this time, they never will.”

Wow! I can’t believe the cliffhanger resolution wasn’t a cop-out. The Doctor really does plunge into the anti-matter pool, and stays there for some time.

This is the episode where Sorenson comes more to the foreground, and rather amusingly starts acting out all the tropes of cinematic representations of Jekyll and Hyde, even to the point of swigging from a bottle of bubbling liquid. Salamar continues to be an arse, but by now even his own crew are starting to realise what a liability he is, particularly Vishinsky. His decision to eject the Doctor and Sarah into space just makes him look paranoid, and caused Vishinsky to snap. It’s only this that makes me realise this is basically the quintessential base under siege, but done brilliantly.

Part Four

“You and I are scientists, professor. We buy our privilege to experiment only at the cost of total responsibility.”

Salamar, relieved of command, has nothing to do but go completely mad and die pointlessly, as this is the done thing in these circumstances. With Sorenson and his clones on the earth and the ship counting down to impact there’s a real sense of hopelessness- this is a gripping conclusion. All the same, considering the Doctor and Sarah are only here because the TARDIS has overshot, it seems rather implausible that the Doctor makes two short hops without trouble at the end of the episode.

It’s quite surprising that Sorenson actually survives- by all the normal rules of the programme he should be dead!

That was great, genuinely scary and atmospheric. 5/5.

Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks

Part One

"Yes, a most good-humoured wine. A touch sardonic, perhaps..."

A story by Louis Marks, whose one and only previous story was back in 1964! And as we'll see, while fully in tune with the programme as it is in 1972, in a number of ways this is written like a Hartnell story- and that's no bad thing.

Another bleeding peace conference looms, but at least this time the apparent presence of the paranormal means there's a reason for UNIT to be involved. And in spite of such allusions to the recent past there's something forward-looking about this season opener, not the least of which is a growing impatience with the series' now well- established Earthbound format.

The Doctor and Jo discussing the events of Colony in Space, and the Doctor's irritation with the Time Lords ("No one's going to turn me into an intergalactic puppet.") isn't just a nod to the events of last season- it's looking forward to an immediate future in which the Time Lords will use the Doctor to carry out missions on other planets in two of the next three stories. Plans are being laid. But it's not just that; already it feels as though the UNIT family is no longer a full time fixture.

There's more foreshadowing, of course, with the silly time accident with the Doctor and Jo, but this time looking forward to the events of this story. For now though, this is an excellent build-up; strange futuristic paramilitaries, alien gorilla people, and best of all, after four and a bit years and for the first time in colour, a Dalek. It's such a more powerful moment in the context of the marathon than it has been my many previous viewings.

The Doctor seems much mellower and much likeable in this story- arrogant, certainly, and prone to be somewhat patronising to Jo, but the nasty edge he has acquired of late seems gone. Perhaps it's the writing. This is a good, old-fashioned script with all the hallmarks of the best of mid-sixties Who; a clever plot, great ideas, good characterisation and fast pacing.

The Doctor with his wine and cheese is one of my few favourite moments of the Pertwee years so far. It's so perfect for this Doctor. I also like the "RHIP" scene between Jo, Benton and Yates, although it seems to be there to give Yates and Benton at least one scene where they do something that's not utterly functional to the plot. Nice though it is, it's a sign of the UNIT family starting to become decentred from the programme.

There's so much happening in this episode, and just to top it all, the Third World War's about to start. But the last five minutes ratchet things up even further. The Doctor's attacked, uses some Venusian karate on his attacker, finishes his wine (classy, although a little early in the day!) he and Jo are captured- and then we cut to three Dalek. And that noise pulsating just like it used to. I'm pleased they brought the sound back- i hadn't registered before the marathon that it was in this story. But never mind that- the Daleks are back! In colour! Shame about the voices...



Part Two

"Changing history is a very fanatical idea, you know."

Hang on, something's wrong. Something's very wrong. Yes! That's it! No cardboard cutout Daleks! How could they? Now Doctor Who is ruined for me forever. The voices really are a bit crap: "en-e-my of the Daleks". Still, the plot thickens. This is still good; an intriguing mystery plus excitement. I'm trying to see this from the point of view of someone who doesn't know what happens, probably not very well, but I remember being impressed when I first experienced the twists and turns when I first saw this story. Twenty years ago.

Interestingly, although Louis Marks certainly gets the Third Doctor right and certainly has a handle on the show's current style, there's a Hartnellesque quality to the way he writes the Doctor, which seems to make him more likeable. Other interesting things are the first mention of the Blinovitch Limitation Effect and the Controller's line "Now, you've told me the year...", so brilliantly useless for purposes of UNIT dating.

Part Three

"Doc-tor? Did you say 'Doc-tor'"?

The first bad thing I really have to say about this episode is something very odd- the "sting" to the cliffhanger is still there with the reprise for the second episode in a row. Very odd. And while it's great to hear the music from the Dalek city in Skaro again, why is it used for the tunnel by Auderley House?

There's a nice scene where the Daleks snap at the Controller by using the same line he used earlier with the Ogrons: "Wait! You have not been dismissed!" There's a clear pecking order here. Also interesting is the Dalek line "production targets must be maintained!" This story seems to have had an uncanny influence on senior management techniques in the public sector. This theme turns more serious with the exchange between the controller and the factory boss though, establishing very effectively, as much in this story does, the human reality of a totalitarian state.

There are some great Doctor scenes in this episode, not least his exchange with the Controller about the true nature of this society. The Controller is very well written, if no more than competently acted, and his arc works well.

Interesting that this time around the Daleks don't recognise the "new" Doctor. And so for the first time ever we get to see some pictures of the other two Doctors! Never before in Doctor Who has there been so much nostalgia.



Part Four

"You, sir, are a traitor!"

An odd line from the Daleks: "We have invaded Earth again." it's subtle, but nevertheless it's an actual reference to a story from seven years ago. Extraordinary.

More nice developments in this episode, not least of which is a satisfactory dénouement to the Controller's arc. His character illustrates something central about this story; the Daleks don't get much screen time and are often represented by proxies, but the story is about them, and the things they've always represented, so in a sense it doesn't matter.

"Vain to the point of arrogance, a trifle obstinate perhaps, but basically a good man." Sorry, but who's the Doctor talking about here again? Pot, kettle...

We manage to squeeze in a quick fight scene between UNIT and the Daleks before everything's wrapped up very nicely indeed. Not only is it a great twist that it was the guerrillas themselves who paradoxically caused everything in the first place, but Marks even manages to find a plausible way of quickly blowing up the Daleks at the end.



A magnificent story, a 5/5 and no ordinary one at that. Perhaps the most satisfyingly plotted story yet to be seen, with a nice use of time travel, an unusually fast pace for this era and nice handling of the regulars. All the same, I can't help notice that yet again a story manages to be excellent only by escaping the show's Earthbound format...

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.