Doctor Who: Horror of Fang Rock

Part One

“I’m not a Teshnician!”

An odd setting, this, In theory the lighthouse and surrounding rocks being all we see should make things claustrophobic and scary, especially as everything seems quite dimly lit. But I just had the impression of limited space and it being more obvious than usual that the story was studio bound.

In theory everything should work- we have a small guest cast in Reuben, Vince and Ben, three nicely differentiated characters. We have a mysterious thing that’s landed from the skies and which kills Ben, and we have some good Leela moments, especially the unselfconscious way she undresses in front of Vince. But in spite of everything from the script to the sets to the performances being perfectly good (Tom’s on particularly good, moody form- that’ll be Paddy Russell then!), the threat seems undefined somehow, making it difficult to engage with the story.

Part Two

“Gentlemen, I’ve got news for you. This lighthouse is under attack and by morning we might all be dead.”

A ship founders on the rocks and three new characters are injected into the story- Lord Palmerdale and Skinsale both provide intrigue as to what secrets each holds, while Adelaide Lessing is basically there as a comic contrast for Leela. Lord Palmerdale is desperate to get to London as money is at stake and it was his haste that caused the ship to founder, with lives being lost- we know at this point that he has zero chance of survival! The blackmail subtext between him and Skinsale provides us with something to happen this episode, as the threat from the alien is more talked about than seen at this stage.

It’s this episode that makes it clear that this is going to be a base under siege, but at least the character dynamic is different from the usual template. Again, though, although nothing seems exactly wrong there’s little definition to the threat.

Part Three

“That is what I thought. But of course, I am only a savage.”

The alien can’t become a direct threat until the very end of the episode because of how the story is structured, give or take the odd individual killing. But Terrance Dicks deals with this well by concluding the feud subplot between Palmerdale and Skinsale (“Some men make me nervous when I’m with them- Salibury, Bonar Law… but your employer has the opposite effect. It’s when he’s out of my sight.”) until Palmerdale is inevitably killed. There’s also a heartstopping moment as Vince is found morally wanting by taking Palmerdale’s bribe, thereby ensuring, by the logic of Doctor Who storytelling, that he can’t possibly survive.

There’s good Leela stuff here- I love the bit where she slaps Adelaide, surely one of the top Leela moments ever. But there’s also a good bit where she dismisses Adelaide’s astrological superstitions- “I, too, used to believe in magic. But the Doctor has taught me about science. It is better to believe in science.”

Part Four

“I don’t like your face either.”

Another good Leela bit at the start as she rolls her eyes at Adelaide fainting. And now that we’re at the final episode we can learn the nature of the threat- it’s a Rutan, a bright green spherical blob from the icy planet of Ruta 3, whose people once controlled “a whole arm of Mutter’s Spiral” (the Milky Way?) but are now losing their interminable war with the Sontarans.

Leela’s shown to be bright here, a quick learner who knows what a laser is, and I’m glad to see this- she may be a “savage” but she was presented as intelligent in Face of Evil and that needs to continue.

I notice the face of the dead Palmerdale is not visible, making it rather obvious that the actor hasn’t been contracted for this episode! Otherwise, though, it’s a good ending which arises logically, leaving everyone dead apart from Leela and the Doctor.

Oh, and Leela’s eyes change colour as she looks back at a bright light. I’m sure that’s exactly what would happen…

Difficult to rate, this. It was well made, cleverly plotted, with well-written characters, good performances and witty dialogue. And yet I never really felt much sense of threat somehow, and I can’t work out whether it’s the script or the direction that’s to blame. 3/5.

Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars

Part One

“I bring Sutekh’s gift of death to all humanity.”

After an appropriately horror film-esque teaser with lots of stock footage in an Egyptian bent, we get a brief shot of the TARDIS flying through space, Just as we did at the end of Planet of Evil. Sarah’s trying on Victoria’s old dress in a bit of gratuitous continuity that’s mind-bogglingly rare for the Hinchcliffe era. The Doctor, meanwhile, is such a mardyarse that the script cannot be the sole culprit- would Paddy Russell be directing this one, perchance?

Mardy or not, he gets a good line in just-this-side-of-pretentious dialogue from, ahem, “Stephen Harris”: “I’m not a human being. I walk in eternity.” Oooh! The reason for the Doctor’s foul mood (Tom Baker’s obvious foul mood is something else entirely!) Is that he’s got a massive strop on about running around after the Brigadier. Is it me, or is there some sort of running theme emerging here? Actually, I suspect there may be two, the other one being that he doesn’t want Sarah to leave.

The TARDISeers land in the Doctor’s lab at UNIT HQ, except they don’t because it’s 1911 and still “the old priory” before it mysteriously burned down. Gosh, I wonder, for no reason in particular, what the last shot of the story could possibly be?

The Doctor’s getting quite into his namedropping again, Marie Antoinette being this week’s lucky woman. The Doctor’s rather fond of 1911, “An excellent year, one of my favourites.” Sarah, meanwhile, is revealed to be from 1980. That exact year. Fact. She says it straight up. Still, it could really be any old year as UNIT chronology is arguably completely buggered up by this point anyway.

Aside from all this we get a splendidly atmospheric first episode, with a real sense of threat, and the Doctor’s brooding presence and sudden mood changes really help in establish this. The Doctor manipulates Lawrence Scarman (the excellent Michael Sheard) into helping him by being alternately rude and charming. Well, alright, he’s charming once. Oh, and the Doctor claims to never carry firearms. Liar!

Good stuff so far, and a cliffhanger that really raises the stakes.

Part Two

“Holy Moses!"

So the Egyptian gods were really “Osirans”, all-powerful aliens who were behind all of Egyptian culture and, presumably, built the pyramids. Grr! I really hate this stuff. Just for once, can’t we have some ancient monument somewhere just being a result of ancient humans being clever?

Still, that’s not all we get. In what I like to see as a nod to the era just gone we have a poacher getting killed. How nice! And there’s a great scene where Laurence Scarman gets to see the inside of the TARDIS, just to make up for the Doctor bullying him even more than he did last episode, if that’s possible. Blimey, Tom / the Doctor really is in a foul mood. Was the Coach and Horses closed for refurbishment or something? Gosh, this bloke is, clearly, in no way going to get killed. And there’s more accurate piloting from the Doctor, incidentally. 

The guff about the alternate 1980 is nice, too, and something the series had to do at least once. I’m not sure it really works though- surely Marcus Scarman would have found the tomb anyway whether the TARDIS landed in 1911 or not, so all this would always have happened anyway?

Oh, and why is all this happening in England anyway if all Sutekh’s stuff was originally in that tomb near Sakkara?

Part Three

“Perhaps he sneezes?”

This is my fave ever Tom/ Lis episode, as it consists of the Doctor going straight for an attempt of the world mardiness record while Sarah spends the whole episode mocking him. All this and a real sense of peril too. Sadly Laurence has to die (isn’t Michael Sheard magnificent?) but at least he won’t have to put up with any more nastiness from the Doctor. The worst thing is, the Doctor still manages to be likeable even when neither he nor Tom Baker are trying to be.

Sutekh is a uniquely terrifying villain; he doesn’t want to rule the universe but to destroy all life. And it’s made clear just how powerful he is; even the Doctor’s precious Time Lords wouldn’t stand a chance.

The Doctor (well, actually Lawrence) determines to blow up the rocket Marcus Scarman is building with some gelignite, so he dresses up as a mummy with some rags. I love Sarah’s comment that it must have been a nasty accident, although I can’t help wondering how come all that metal framework is clearly visible underneath.

The ending is fantastic- Sutekh stops the explosion through sheer force of will, but then the Doctor distracts him so the gelignite can explodes. But, it seems, only at the cost of his certain death…

Part Four

“Where I tread I leave nothing but darkness. I find that good.”

Gabriel Woolfe must surely have the greatest voice for a superbaddie that ever, er, walked the planet. Just imagine Stephen Thorne saying these lines and you realise just how peerless he is. I mean, he even manages to say the line “You pit your puny will against mine?” without hamming it up, a feat surely once thought impossible.

Interesting line from the Doctor about the TARDIS controls being “isomorphic”- they certainly never have been in the past. Either he’s been tinkering or he’s telling porkies. Can Sutekh actually be lied to, though?

Tom Baker is spine-chillingly good as the possessed Doctor in a scene which must have scared the kiddies out of their wits. This is a great last episode; until the last couple of minutes it looks as though our heroes stand absolutely no chance whatsoever. Still, at least the Doctor survives his possession by using yet another previously undivulged superpower, his “respiratory bypass system”.

Incidentally, I love the Doctor’s description of the Osirans as having “dome-shaped heads… and cerebellums like spiral staircases”.

The bit with the puzzles is nice (I especially like the use of the old “forked road” riddle) and doesn’t hang around long enough to outstay its welcome. Bits of it look uncannily similar to puzzles in Death to the Daleks, but that’s ok because Sarah gets to undercut this by actually pointing it out!

The time loop ending is a clever twist, although I have no idea whether it makes sense or not. But in dramatic terms it’s a triumph. Oh, and famously all the supporting characters have been killed!

Probably not quite as good as either of its two predecessors, but still earns the third 5/5 of the season. Is this going to be the best season ever?