The Asphyx (1972)

 "I've failed!"

This film was, apparently, not a success on its original release, a serious horror film not dependent on spectacle was not wanted by the public in 1972. There's a lot to like about the film though, despite its flaws.

The concept is, in theory, interesting; a Victorian gentleman scientist discovers the secret of immortality, but discovers it has a terrible price. The immortality in question comes from capturing a supernatural "asphyx" (my subtitles said "ass fix"...), a tortured soul which looks quite terrifying) via a type of oh-so-Victorian pseudo-science. I love how very steampunk it is that reality obligingly behaves just as these Victorian "scientists" expect it to.

There's a strong cast, headed by Robert Stephens, but the characterisation very much takes second place to the ideas. And it feels weird that a film like this, based on a very horror concept and which requires an atmosphere of increasing foreboding to be at its most effecive, should not be shot like a horror film at all but just like a costume drama, with no attempt made to use the camera to create unease.

The cast is impressive on paper, but Robert Powell is fairly stiff and Jane Lapotaire (more recently seen as Prince Philip's mum in The Crown) doesn't have much of a character, The whole thing looks plush and expensive, but there are embarrassing moments: when Sir Hugo films his son's death, the resulting footage looks identical to the scene on the film, right down to the close-up.

Ultimately the film, a parable about the curse of immortality, is not quite so profound nor so deep as it thinks it is, and it would have been both much more enjoyable and, frankly, better, if it had been shot more like a Hammer-style high camp horror film by someone like Freddie Francis. This isn't a bad film, but there are reasons why it remains fairly obscure.

Blake's 7: Dawn of the Gods

“Perhaps he had an unfortunate experience with a computer.”

“Haven’t we all?”

This one is written by James Follett. Wikipedia tells me he’s a very successful novelist but he’s done very little TV. His script here is an intriguing sci-fi concept, and starts to develop the interactions of the new crew in interesting ways.

We start with a sitcom-like scene as everyone plays Space Monopoly and Orac is extremely competitive. Fortunately, things soon improve as a mysterious force starts to act on the ship, although both Zen and Orac, being computers and thus pedantic, insist that all is normal. In fact, the pedantry, annoyingness and frustration of computers seems to be something of a subtext.

The stress of the situation highlights an interesting development; Tarrant, with his military background, seems to be acting as the leader. This is very interesting; so far this season the Liberator has unambiguously been Avon’s ship! I wonder where this is going? Will there be conflict? Is Tarrant going to take over? Have the writers decided that having Avon as leader isn’t good for the character’s development? It’s intriguing, anyway. Unlike between Avon and Blake there seems to be no ideological dimension, at least not yet. And I notice Avon is the only character who isn’t ordered about by Tarrant.

Another interesting development is the obvious mild racism felt by our two newcomers towards Cally, an alien. It’s a small sign that Dayna and Tarrant are not quite settled in yet.

The ship is being drawn “outside” the galaxy, “into spiral space”. I’m not sure what this means- are we being told that the spiral arms are not part of the proper galaxy? Because Earth is in one! As well as all the Population I stars with the heavy elements needed for life…! Never mind. Whatever it is, it’s uncharted space, from whose bourn no traveller returns.

Eventually we realise that the ship is falling into a black hole, which is a bit of a problem. Worse, it turns out to be Orac’s fault; the black hole is not emitting x-rays, which makes it unique, and so Orac was curious! I must say, whatever the kamikaze characterisation of Orac, it’s a very science-literate script. Although of course I say that as an English graduate who got all my physics from television and A Brief History of Time…

Interesting that, as the ship faces what seem to be its final moments, Avon tries to get into a spacesuit and Tarrant fights to stop him, although he wouldn’t be any more or less dead if Avon were to survive! Afterwards he even says that “One day, Avon, I may have to kill you.” Ooh!

Initially, we seem to have that hoary old sci-fi cliché of the ship being the other side of the black hole in a kind of nothing dimension. But this is nicely undercut by the realisation that the ship is just in a very big, dark cave! There’s another nice, metatextual touch when the big, nasty monster turns out to be just special effects!

Eventually, though, the crew meet a man dressed in strange ancient regime type clothing. He says this is Krandor, an artificial planet, home to the mighty Thaarn. And he is the Caliph(!) of Krandor. What a bizarre choice of title! I wonder what Muslim viewers thought.

The Caliph, extremely polite though he is, is essentially enslaving Avon and co and stealing the Liberator, which he wants to break up for its precious unobtainium. His neuronic whip is rather nasty, although at least it only gets used on the rather annoying Tarrant. It’s distressingly early, but I’m taking quite a dislike to the character. Perhaps I’m intended to, though? Interesting to see if this looks plausible in the longer term.

Of course, Dayna and Tarrant are both rather clever in what they say about Orac, not lying (on pain of death!), but not revealing who or what he truly is. This means, of course, that Orac and Zen are able to kill the two redshirts who come to cut up the Liberator. No wonder the mighty Thaarn, Auron god or otherwise, hates computers.

This use of mythology is a nice spin on the old Arthur C Clarke idea of sufficiently advanced technology being indistinguishable from magic, but I have to say the idea of an advanced technology having banned computers looks a lot less plausible in 2011 than it would have done in 1980.

Thaarn, in the end, turns out to be a rather vulnerable, lonely old man, defeated by Cally and her resourcefulness in a Wizard of Oz type climax. I love this kind of metatextual stuff, and there’s some nice character stuff too; it’s a good episode. Still, a non-arc episode seems odd at this point!

Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death

Part One


"Look at the size of this one, Doc!"


The last Troughton story on DVD. Blimey- we're getting very near the end. We start with one of those funky sequences based around the title that this era has been doing so well, and then we get eight full minutes (I checked) before the TARDISeers turn up- surely a record. Still, the characters are engaging, from the cold, efficient,, yet sexy and charismatic Miss Kelly to the sympathetic coward Fewsham. For the first time in a while all the guest characters are at least memorable, and there are some nice touches- I love the briefcase!

The way the identity of this story's returning foe is hidden from us is rather clever in terms of concept and its execution by Michael Briant. As usual in these circumstances it's suspense, not surprise, that's the real point, but it leads to an effective cliffhanger. These Ice Warriors are immediately sleeker (well, relatively!) and more deadly than they were before.

The scenes with Eldred are mainly plot filler, of course, but the world's backstory is being sketched out for us, and we get some interesting stuff- notably that mankind hasn't yet gone beyond the Moon, and it's arguably implied that this is after Zoe's time. There's a definite character to the futures of this era, from artificial food (here we get a "synthetic carbohydrates factory") to moonbases to rockets to an uber-planned utopian society which is vulnerable to elements from outside the plan. And here' of course, the Doctor's dislike of computers (big, centralised society-directing things) and championing of individualism comes forth. It's a fascinatingly dated idea of the future.



Part Two


"She's after your job, Julian!"



Eldred's refusal to allow his rocket to be used is pure padding ("It's nowhere near ready, woman!"), but it's quite an effective way of fleshing out some of the major characters so it gets away with it. There's a parallel with The Wheel in Space here in that the main plot won't really get started until next episode, but unlike in that story things may be slow but there's excitement and tension, and we're actually getting to know these people and their world.

Interesting admission from the Doctor: "I'm afraid the TARDIS is not suited to short range travel." We also get a very silly line from Eldred about how there's "only enough food and water for three days". Er, oxygen, anyone?



Part Three



"We've been invaded. Aliens have taken over!"



A rocket landing on the moon- how very 1969! And the cliffhanger ending to part three signifies the actual beginning of the plot- how very this era! but it's still chugging along nicely in spite of that. Mind you, isn't it convenient that the seed should be transported to, of all cities, London.

Otherwise it's more of the same: Miss Kelly is still efficient, kick-ass and oddly sexy, the Ice Warriors are still more of a threat than in their previous story, and the direction is still good. We get an interesting line from the computer about "primitive areas". It's political correctness gone mad...

Oh, and finally the Doctor gets to confront the baddies, after a rather fun chase scene and the rather magnificent "I'm a genius". And then gets knocked unconscious, no doubt for the whole of the coming episode. ho hum.

Part Four



"All these tunnels look the same!"


Foam? In a Patrick Troughton story? Well I never...!

Terry Scully continues to be excellent as ashamed coward Fewsham- his reaction when Slaar gloats he's just destroyed his own species is superbly done. Other great things are the Ice warrior wandering around London, seemingly impervious to all harm- these monsters really present a physical threat, something often forgotten.

We get a great cliffhanger, also a great Zoe moment...




Part Five


"You know, I find T-Mat travel rather disappointing."



Fewsham's arc can't help but be believable and genuinely affecting, no matter how entirely predictable it may be. He turns a corner when he saves Zoe, and we instantly knows he's going to a) redeem himself and b) die. Cos this is Doctor Who and them's the rules. But the moment, when it comes, with Fewsham being shot by Slaar after revealing vital information that will genuinely save the world, is suitably heroic.

40°? That's a bit warm, innit?

So, foam, a moonbase, weather control- this is Patrick Troughton's greatest hits! There's even a bit of traditional bad science as the Ice Warriors' Grand Marshal says that "If we overshoot the Moon, nothing will stop them going straight into an orbit around the Sun". Yeeees...



Part Six


"Oh, there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip."



The story ends satisfactorily with the Doctor getting a confrontation scene with Slaar and everything being nicely tied up. I can almost forgive the blatant re-editing of the cliffhanger. As is by now traditional our heroes slip off at the end as soon as the camera's off them. Interesting that there's still a Security Council of a United Nations at this point in the future, incidentally.




That was good fun overall, competently done if rather par for the course- 3/5. This is undoubtedly the story I'd pick as the most representative of the era to this point.


Incidentally, for the first time in the Marathon I've had to tamper with my pre-existing rankings by demoting The Dominators from 3/5 to 2/5- it was just too poor for the company it was keeping!