Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos

Part One

“When did they last show anything worth watching anyway?”

Now that’s much more like it!

I’m intrigued about watching Philip Martin’s other work after seeing this again. Anyway, we begin with a topless Jason Connery chained to a wall in a nod to the ladies, and as he dodges a laser beam we see that he’s on camera. 8.28 in the Big Brother House and Jondar is dodging laser beams. How prophetic.

We cut to our fantastic Greek chorus of Arak and Etta, whose lines are all brilliant. The first words spoken are “Not him again”! I love this kind of postmodern stuff, especially when done with wit as it is here. They have the right to vote, but this is democracy without liberty, including freedom of speech as Etta makes very clear, much more akin to voting for a reality show than a government. This is grippingly contemporary and already feels like satirical science fiction at its best.

Nabil Shaban as Sil is also superb, the perfect Thatcherite villain for the ‘80s with a great look and played quite brilliantly. And his Yoda-isms I love. His opening scenes with the Governor- Martin Jarvis, also brilliant- is also gloriously satirical in its way, as we learn that the torments of political dissidents and criminals in the Punishment Dome are not only broadcast to the population but are to be sold throughout the galaxy. “Are they really disturbing, these videos you sell?” asks Sil, making explicit the “video nasty” theme said to be behind the script.

If that’s not enough great concepts already, whenever the Governor loses a vote on one of his decisions he’s immediately subjected to a burst of cellular disintegration that can kill him! Already the nightmare of the previous stories feels very different. Oh, this is dark, even cynical, but it’s done with wit and, importantly, purpose.

The Governor survives to this time, to the disappointment of Arak, who reminds me of a number of taxi drivers I’ve known. The Governor needs a crowd-pleasing policy quickly, and an underling called Bax comes up with the answer; a particularly entertaining method of execution for Jondar. “I’m sure the video of his execution would sell” he notes.

We’re introduced to Areta and her oh-so-‘80s hair, as she reveals to us the rather intriguing back-story of the planet; originally a prison colony, it is ruled by a caste descended from the original prison officers. Another brilliant concept.

Meanwhile, after intermittent scenes of moping a\bout in the TARDIS, the Doctor and Peri finally arrive on Varos, in desperate need of the Zeiton 7 it produces. Jondar’s televised execution is being televised and, wonderfully, the TARDIS materialises on camera; the scenes in the punishment dome are being watched by the entire population of Varos, who thus become identified with the viewer. “I like that one, the one in the funny clothes” notes Etta.

I think my love for this episode was finally confirmed by Peri’s line “All these corridors look the same to me” as she and the Doctor run down the exact same set they’ve already run down several times. But even better is the cliffhanger, in which the governor usurps the role of the director: “And cut it… now!”

Part Two

“We’re free!”

“Are we?”

“Yes.”

“What shall we do?”

The acid bath scene is often criticised but personally I see little wrong with it; the Doctor isn’t responsible for anyone’s death and I’m more than prepared to forgive the little quip in the circumstances.

The Doctor, Jondar, and the ex-guard whose name I didn’t catch are to be hanged, and Colin Baker excels in this scene. “Do you always get the priest parts?” he enquires of the man who is to give him the last rites, in a brilliantly witty bit of self-referentialism. Oh, and the deity being appealed to is the “Great Video”. I love this script.

The Doctor, declaring truth on Varos to be a “very flexible commodity” speaks on the gallows of Zeiton 7 and how it is in fact worth a lot more than Sil and his Galatron Corporation masters are telling the Governor. This proves rather fortunate, as it turns out the hanging was a mock execution, and the Governor is now suspicious of what Sil has been telling him.

Peri and Areta are to be transmogrified into a bird and a reptile respectively, so the Doctor and Jondar immediately seize some guns and engineer a hostage situation in order to escape. If there’s one thing this marathon has taught me, it’s that I don’t necessarily have a problem with the Doctor using firepower if it feels right, and this is one of those times.

The Chief, unfortunately, is able to engineer a coup against the Governor and insist upon a compulsory vote, which will inevitably result in his death by cellular disintegration. The Governor’s appeal to the Guard to spare Peri and himself ultimately fails, but shows he has faith in the Doctor.

The ending is neat and satisfying, with the Doctor even getting away with an atrocious pun (“I think he needs more than water, Peri, eh?”

It’s quite a relief, after the worst start of any Doctor’s tenure, to see a Colin Baker story that comes up trumps. Not one of the very best, perhaps, but easily a 5/5.

Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs

Part One

“Age?”

“You’d never believe me.”

An episode in black and white for what I think is the last time. It’s tempting to say something about how it enhance the atmosphere of this particularly atmospheric episode, but of course that’s wishful thinking. These episodes should be seen as they were meant to be seen.

London is deserted, something we tend to think of as a standard Doctor Who trope, although this is only the second time it’s happened, the first being The Web of Fear. But the situation is handled very well, with a real mood being created. The bird noises on the soundtrack are particularly effective.

The pterodactyl scene is one that’s probably best seen in black and white, I must admit. But this is very good- Malcolm Hulke seems to have a particular talent for creating situations where no one believes the Doctor without being annoying, mainly because the suspicion arises naturally and believably out of the situation.

And then we get to see the dinosaurs. Yeeees…. they never fail to remind me of a certain TV advert I remember from my youth. Type “Chewits advert 1986” into a popular video site and you’ll see what I mean…

Part Two

“…And pink for your actual pterodactyl.”

The appearance of the 12^th century man is a little incongruous in the context of the whole story, but at least it serves a purpose for the plot. And after last episode’s establishment of the mood the plot can start- the sudden and welcome appearance of the Brig immediately puts a stop to the business about no one believing the Doctor before it becomes tiresome. 

Just how many sugars does the Doctor take in his tea?

UNIT are back to their best from the start here- it seems the lessons of The Three Doctors have been well and truly learned. And in a pleasing piece of continuity Yates has had a “spot of leave” after his ordeals during The Green Death. 

There’s a first class guest cast here- a suitably sinister John Bennett as General Finch- an obvious baddie, but clearly supposed to be- and Peter Miles and Martin Jarvis in charge of the main moustache-twirling duties. 

This is impressive stuff. There’s some very good writing on show here, from the Doctor’s continuous interruptions (introducing Noel Johnson- General Smythe- as Charles Grover) to the shock revelation that Yates is a traitor.

Part Three

“Well, sometimes that girl baffles me.”

This is, sadly, the last ever story by Malcolm Hulke, and well up to his usual excellent standard. And after seeing so many it’s easy to spot recurring features- the serious tone, the good treatment of UNIT, the believable motivation for every character, and the sceptical treatment of the Doctor- in fact the first episode of this story reminds me very much of the first part of The War Games. But the characterisation in this episode is always good, from Yates’ stricken conscience as he insists the Doctor not be harmed to Sarah’s journalistic background coming into good use as she researches the scientist Whittaker.

Interesting line, “Back in the cold war days”, the first indication we’ve had for a very long time of these stories being set in the near future. Charles Grover is a great character, believably written by Hulke and extremely well portrayed by Noel Coleman, in a very different performance from his role as General Smythe so long ago.

That’s a fantastic cliffhanger, something no one could possibly see coming.

Part Four

“If she fails to respond to the re-education, we shall have to destroy her.”

This is the second time I’ve seen this story, and I’ll admit I’m a little less blown away than I was the first time, with the padding a lot more obvious. But still, this is great. The Doctor’s new car is fab, for a start, although its existence seems to contradict the impression we’ve recently been getting that the Doctor is loosening his ties to Earth with the end of his exile.

Crikey, it’s Carmen Silvera! The idea of the spaceship being a fake is great, and Sarah’s realisation that she can’t have been out for three months because she’s still got her scar is inspired. Meanwhile, the Web of Fear parallels continues as the Doctor skulks around in the underground, to be faced with a pterodactyl that’s obviously on wires. Oh dear…

The people on the ship are against “moral degradation, permissiveness, usury”… all my favourite things, in fact. This completely changes our impression of the villains- they’re not just environmentalist hippies but they have a scarily authoritarian social agenda too and want to establish a version of Franco’s Spain in the Jurassic. Or Cretaceous, or whenever.

You just have to groan as the Doctor walks into such an obvious trap…

Part Five

“So it was you, Mike.”

It’s a nicely underplayed moment, the Doctor’s realisation that Yates has betrayed his friends. It showcases just how brilliant Pertwee has been in this story, giving possibly his best performance since Season Seven. Could it be that his final series will see a sustained upturn? We’ll see…

Benton, on the other hand, is as loyal as ever, and the scene where he lets the Doctor overpower him gives us hope. The method the Doctor used seems awfully Star Trek, mind…

There’s more good stuff on the “space ship” as the bonhomie of the prospective “colonists” begins to look ever more sinister- they may regret having to do it but Sarah is clearly set to be the first dissident to be executed, and the very concept of the “reminder room” illustrates just how totalitarian this little society is.

Sarah escapes, only top be recaptured after making the same mistake with Finch as she did with Grover. For the first time we see the chief conspirators all together after we’ve been put fully in the picture about what’s going on. It’s strangely believable that such a scheme could come about, if we ignore the science being nonsense. A few reactionaries reinforce each other’s prejudices, they agree that something must be done, groupthink takes hold… it could happen. Except for the small point that the timey-wimey stuff is completely impossible, of course. Interestingly, this was made only a year or so before there are supposed to have been murmurings of a coup against the Wilson government. Probably mythical, of course, but presumably there was something in the zeitgeist.

Oh, look, a tyrannosaurus. That’s an original cliffhanger.

Part Six

“Don’t worry, Brigadier. I’m never wrong.”

Before we end the story we get to see a big fight between the two dinosaurs. Personally, I’m quite fond of the modelwork and, for what it is, it’s actually very good. And, aside from Sarah finding a too-convenient air vent through which to escape, so’s the episode.

The Doctor’s speech to Yates is brilliant, in terms of both script and performance. We get the fabled “There never was a golden age, Mike. It’s all an illusion.” but also, more to the point, the advice to “take the world you’ve got and make something of it.”

We get a nice ending, with the “passengers” getting to confront those who manipulated them and, most appropriately of all, Grover and Whittaker get transported back to their “golden age”.

That was absolutely brilliant. Great ideas, great characterisation, great performances. An easy 5/5. I’ll miss Malcolm Hulke.

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.