Doctor Who: Robot

Part One
 

“I think the nose is a definite improvement.”

New titles. They’re very impressive, not throwing out the baby from last season’s bathwater. Which is a good thing, because they’ll be around for quite a while.

New, new Doctor too. It’s nice that his first words relate back to The Time Warrior and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, reminding Sarah (and us) that this is the same character. New character too, with Ian Marter splendid as the immediately likeable Harry Sullivan.

Some very good directing with the robot POV shots,, and also good that the story’s threat is set up so early. There’s a lot of setting-up required for the new Doctor’ and some fun is had, but things stop short of self-indulgence.

One problem (or not) is that the plot requires the Brig to slip a lot of information to Sarah who is, however much a friend of the Doctor, a civilian and, more to the point, a journalist. The effect is that a closeness is implied which isn’t really justified elsewhere.

The establishing scenes with the Doctor- mirror, clothes, medical- are fun and, crucially, brief, nicely establishing this new Doctor’s very different personality without making this the plot itself. It’s notable that, although only last episode the TARDIS brought the Doctor “home” to Earth, having regenerated he’s now eager to get back into the TARDIS, a sign of things to come. Still, not only is this a fully-fledged UNIT story, and the first real one since Invasion of the Dinosaurs to boot, it’s the first time we hear the Brig’s full name: Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

We’re introduced to the key concepts of the plot by the end of the episode- Thinktank, Kettlewell and his perfect mad scientist hair, the Robot- but the thought that lingers is just how great this new Doctor already is.

Part Two

“I can’t thank you enough for the visit. It’s been most amusing.”

The Doctor’s mannerisms, not that the hat and scarf have been added, already seem established in only his second episode. Far from being erratic or disoriented, he’s very much thrown straight into the fray, with plenty of eccentric mannerisms and witty asides but always with something penetrating to say about the situation. And he just oozes charisma.

The sinister behaviour of Miss Winters, sadistically letting Sarah think the robot is going to kill her, makes no bones about the fact she’s a baddie, and the fascistic scientific Reform Society is equally obviously up to no good. It’s fascinating to see the contrast of the Doctor’s actions while visiting Thinktank to Sarah’s last episode. This Doctor is flippant, Bohemian, full of bon mots, always playing things by ear, but never misses anything. He’s fantastic.

It soon becomes clear, though, that the fact these baddies are so obvious very effectively hides the fact that Kettlewell is secretly with them. This came as a genuine surprise to me.

It’s fascinating to see the new Doctor still driving around in Bessie. And gratifying to see Benton promoted, albeit in a way which wryly acknowledges the cut-price nature of UNIT staffing!

Part Three

“The US Cavalry never got treated like this!”

The robot has become a figure of sympathy by the start of this episode, driven to despair by the way it’s forced to go against its “prime directive” and kill people. This is all taken from Asimov, of course (to do otherwise in a story about a robot would just be perverse, and an insult to the great man) but the robot is also an interesting amalgam of Frankenstein’s monster and King Kong.

Britain being entrusted with the nuclear launch codes of every nuclear power is, to put it mildly, the most far fetched thing yet seen in all of Doctor Who. And yet we’re made to accept it by the clever tactic of smothering the exposition in witty banter between the Doctor and the Brig: “Well, naturally. The rest were all foreigners”.

We get the first scene with the Doctor playing for time by emptying his capacious pockets, and a fine scene it is too, shortly followed by the revelation of Kettlewell’s baddie status. The funniest scene in the entire story, though, has to be the sight of the Brig’s walkie-talkie. How very Trigger Happy TV.

There are some interesting developments of elements from the Pertwee years; the bunker is yet another relic of “the cold war days” while Sonic Screwdriver Mission Creep continues unabated- this time it’s a sonic lance, apparently. Would have come in handy during Monster of Peladon then…

Oh, and the CSO’d Action Man tank- you know, I think they actually get away with it!

Part Four

“You know, for once I’d like to meet an alien menace that wasn’t immune to bullets.”

Sarah and Harry are to be killed. But, for reasons which make no sense but are a rule of the genre, Miss Winters decrees that it is to be later and not now for some reason.

It’s fitting that the robot should kill Kettlewell in the most Frankenstein moment yet. And convenient that the countdown to Armageddon, once stopped, should start again right at the beginning on 300.

The robot’s suitably tragic in this episode to be believable (“Machines do not lie!”) but is enough of a well-known trope (King Kong and Frankenstein again) not to trouble us unduly and stop us enjoying the light-hearted fun.

I love Kettlewell’s lab- every bit as stereotypical as his hair, with all that bubbling liquid. It’s been a long wait for a proper mad scientist story so it’s good to see it done with gusto.

I had to chuckle as soon as the Brig was heard to exclaim “I think just for once we’re not going to need the Doctor”- the robot growing to giant size is funny precisely because it’s exactly what you expect to happen. And it’s when it picks up Sarah in the most King Kong moment yet that it occurs to me- there’s an awful lot of CSO in this story!

The threat is ended, perfectly, by a nice bit of teamwork between the new Doctor and Harry, who’s been great.

The final scene is fantastic. The Doctor offers Sarah a jelly baby at the end and she accepts, seeing his meaning straightaway. Much as I liked Jo, it’s nice having a companion who actually enjoys travelling in the TARDIS! And, excitingly, they’re joined by Harry. This TARDIS team looks very promising indeed. And it seems the TARDIS is where the future lies, as the Doctor seems determined to the point of childishness to cut his ties to UNIT, or at least the boring bits. Cue one of my favourite lines: “There’s no point being grown-up if you can’t be childish sometimes.”

Wow. That was great fun, and a perfect introduction to this exciting and great new Doctor,. It may have been light and fluffy, but I see no reason not to give it a 5/5.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders

Part One
 

“Ah! Doing a bit of hairdressing on the side?”

We start with an unexpected sight- Mike Yates may no longer be part of UNIT, but he’s back. It’s also unusual, and refreshing, to see the Doctor and the Brig watching some kind of variety show, even if it’s not entirely recreational.

Yates has infiltrated himself into a hippyish group of Buddhists whose general appearance is absolutely as ‘70s as it’s possible to get. Clothes, hair, moustaches: all look like something from a contemporary parody of the decade, but there they are.

It’s great to see Cyril Shaps again, playing another nervous character, this time someone with psychic powers. We hear than the Brig has been involved with someone called Doris, and get to see some clips from Carnival of Monsters, something which is always to be welcomed. It’s also nice to get a letter from Jo telling us how she’s been getting on. She’s returned that blue crystal, though, for reasons which seem ominous.

We get an interesting speech from the lama, Cho-Je , about becoming a “new man" only to realise you’ve “never existed”. It’s almost as if something’s being foreshadowed in Buddhist terms. I wonder what?

Suddenly Cyril Shaps is dead- and it’s hard to escape the conclusion that it’s pretty much entirely the Doctor’s fault, collateral damage from his desire to satisfy his curiosity. Again, foreshadowing.

It’s a great big spider…

Part Two

“Of course we’re flying!”

Spiders which jump on your back, turn invisible yet exert control… a brilliant idea, and one I’m sure we won’t ever be seeing again in the future, such as, for example, in thirty-four years time.

This is actually the last full on UNIT episode of the Pertwee years, and although there’s no real marking of this fact it’s not a bad way to go. The Brig’s hair may be a bit long (I’m one to talk, mind…) but there’s some good stuff, especially a nice line from Benton about how “I’m expendable and you’re not.” And the Brig’s on the phone to a medical officer called “Sullivan”- who he?

We get another mention of the Doctor’s hermit guru from halfway up that mountain, again foreshadowing later events. But basically this is a chase, involving land, sea, air, Bessie and the Doctor’s fantastic flying new car. And I like it- it’s fun, it’s appropriate as a celebration, so who cares if the plot is not advanced one iota, especially as Lupton just teleports away at the end?

Oh, and towards the end, we get our final comedy tramp of the Pertwee era. Not that there were really all that many of them in the end.

Part Three

“You are cleverer than the Two-Legs on Metebelis 3!”

Now there are loads of spiders, and after last week’s high jinks the plot is heating up. We get to hear enough of Lupton’s history to establish that he’s a nutter. I love the scene where both he and the spider attack each others’ minds in turn.

It’s a shock when Sarah is suddenly transported to Metebelis 3, the fabled planet which has been gradually seeded, Bad Wolf style, throughout the last couple of years. Things have changed since the Doctor was last here in The Green Death- it’s now inhabited by human colonists with Mummerset accents who are under the tyrannical rule of the mysterious spiders. Sarah’s quite extraordinarily brave at being suddenly transported to another planet and a bit of extreme peril- she’s quite clearly great by this point.

Interesting to have the Doctor explain to Yates something that’s always bugged me a bit- how come the TARDIS always lands at the right place on a given planet?

Part Four

“Oh dear. This is getting monotonous.”

The above quote most definitely does not sum up my feelings on this story- I think it’s great so far!

We get some nicely and economically sketched details of society on Metebelis 3. It may be a fairly generic Doctor Who trope, a society oppressed by monstrous rulers, but it’s only a minor subplot here. Incidentally, the Metebelis 3 colonists look every bit as uber-70s as the Buddhist group on Earth.

Tommy has a good look at the crystal and goes all Flowers For Algernon, a subtle hint of what’s happened to the spiders on Metebelis 3- they’re Earth spiders made larger and cleverer by the crystals, a big plot bombshell- and just how significant the crystal will turn out to be.

Sarah risks her life for the Doctor by going to get the machine for him, while the Doctor suddenly looks very old whilst lying there. Still, once cured he briefly reverts to some of the old Season Eight style rudeness by loudly waking his hosts at the crack of dawn.

The Doctor gets straight to work. This is good stuff!

Part Five

“Much as I admire your stoic acceptance of the inevitable, I’d appreciate it if you’d shut up for a moment.”

This is a very long reprise indeed, but the effect is that both Sarah and the Doctor end up in the “web”, waiting to be eaten. The Doctor escapes, but his confrontation with the Great One- all the more effective for being unseen- is deeply effective as the Doctor himself is clearly very frightened indeed. The story’s themes are starting to come together nicely; the Great One says to the Doctor “You are proud, little man.”

There’s a nice bit with our heroes about to leave Metebelis 3, as the Doctor briefly panics that he’s lost the key only for Sarah to calmly reveal that she has it. There’s also a nice touch with Tommy; Sarah suggests he might be “normal”, and he replies “I sincerely hope not.”

And then the crux of the whole story arrives as the Doctor and Sarah finally meet the mysterious K’anpo. (Incidentally, for future reference, the Doctor speaks fluent Tibetan.) It becomes clear that the Doctor is the cause of everything that’s going wrong, just because he found that crystal on Metebelis 3: “Found?” “Well, perhaps ‘stole’ might be a better word.”

Part Six

“Not all spiders sit on the back.”

Not only is the reprise very long, it also has scenes fitted around it which weren’t there last episode, which is sort of cheating. But it’s exciting stuff from beginning to end, one of the finest individual episodes yet. K’anpo reveals who he really is- the old Time Lord hermit who tutored the Doctor all those years ago. It seems he’s “regenerated” (the first use of the word- it gave me a thrill!) and that Cho-Je doesn’t technically exist at all but is some kind of avatar, some kind of “projection” of his next life. I’m sure there are Buddhist allusions here that I’m not getting, but it’s cool nonetheless.

The Doctor must face his fear and atone for what he’s done. There a real sense of inevitable doom as he sets off for Metebelis 3. Meanwhile, K’anpo is hurt after being attacked, and “regenerates” into Cho-Je. Cool!

The Great One is huge, and looks very impressive indeed. She’s overreached herself though, and the crystal is too much for her, just as K’anpo thought it would be. All the spiders are killed, but the Doctor’s been fatally affected by the radiation…

UNIT HQ. Three months later, and the TARDIS has finally brought the Doctor “home”- it’s fitting that this Doctor, having got over his exile, is now ready to admit just how attached he’s become to this one place and time. K’anpo gives the process a push and the Doctor’s face change. It may not be that visually impressive, but in context it’s a huge dramatic moment. Wow.

Well, that was great. I’m sure most of the Buddhist stuff went over my head, but it was a perfect framework for this Doctor’s swansong in a story which was truly about him as a character. 5/5.

The season as a whole scores 4.2/5, giving it fourth place so far. It’s been a season of four 5/5s and one 1/5, a strange combination!

Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon

Part One

“I don’t want to leave Peladon without having a word with my good friend the king…”

“Namedropper!”

The first shot instantly tells us we’re on Peladon again, although this time it’s far more obvious that the citadel is just a matte painting. We get miners, bizarre hairstyles, and this rather cool looking alien from Vega who quickly gets killed. We also get Alpha Centauri, now far more annoying, and a very fit looking queen. Oh, and the Doctor’s hair has never been bigger.

This is a story made about miners in 1974, so it’s clear there must be a subtext about Edward Heath and the miners’ strikes of the time, but sadly I’m not so read up on this to be able to spot any parallels. This seems to be a very left-wing script though, especially from a post-Thatcher perspective. The Doctor even states at one point “When miners have to take up arms to protect their rights, they probably have reasons.”

Part Two

“How unfortunate! What a catastrophe! Has she been harmed?”

The Doctor rather stupidly lets the miners know how to open the armoury door, in an alarmingly lazy bit of plotting which hints to us that this may not turn out to be any good. There’s also a lot of tiresome mistrust of the Doctor by Ortron to fill up time- I hate this kind of thing; only Malcolm Hulke is really able to pull it off. And Alpha Centauri is getting really annoying.

It’s interesting to compare what this story is saying about the Federation to what we heard in The Curse of Peladon- if the European Union metaphor is still in operation then this story seems much more Eurosceptic, implying that membership has benefited the Peladonian aristocracy but not its people. I’m not sure how much relevance that has to 70s Britain, mind.

Part Three

“Since she is only a female her activities are of little importance.”

I think this is the point that it becomes obvious that the queen is so irredeemably wet that it’s completely implausible that she’s retained her position, especially in such a patriarchal (and don’t we know it) society as this one. Sarah’s “advice” to the queen on, ahem, “Women’s Lib” of course treats the subject with all the seriousness and gravitas that it requires. “It isn’t like that on Peladon”, indeed.

Meanwhile, Alpha Centauri continues to greatly annoy. Without Izlyr around to make snarky comments about him, you just want him to get off the screen. And why does he accept the Doctor so readily, especially after the ending to The Curse of Peladon?

We end with two momentous events- the sonic screwdriver being actually used as a screwdriver (shock, horror) and the appearance of some Ice Warriors. The very last thing we were all expecting, I’m sure.

Part Four

“I am the law!”

Suddenly, without warning, from coasting along on the trajectory to a 1/5 for three episodes, the story perks up a bit with the arrival of Judge Dredd- er, Azaxyr. His summing up of the situation is great, with Alan Bennion acting everybody else off the screen even with a bucket on his head.

And then we get an entertaining speech with a double meaning from Gebek, and a rather fun swordfight from the Doctor. Things still haven’t improved to the point of actually being any good, but a 2/5 is now looking possible if the standard can be kept up.

Part Five

“He was the most alive person I’ve ever met.”

Sarah believes the Doctor is dead, but it’s obvious from the shot of the explosion that the Doctor wasn’t anywhere near caught up in it.

It’s a genuine sock that Azaxyr, and especially Eckersley, are traitors working for Galaxy Five. For some reason I find it hilarious to hear Alpha Centauri say “Thank you, Eckersley, but you are still a traitor.”

Part Six

“You sure you don’t want to take the job, Doctor? Civil Service post, with a pension…?”

This episode spend most of its time just plodding on, waiting to end. The Doctor’s apparently dead again but we don’t care because the story cried wolf in this way only an episode ago. It’s hardly a surprise to hear he’s just put himself in a trance.

The story seems to have finished with Azaxyr dead, but oh no- Eckersley has to go and kidnap the queen, just to pad things out for a few more minutes. Still, he gets a nice ending- Death by Aggedor.

That was awful. I’d probably have to go all the way back to The Underwater Menace to find a story I disliked so much. A half-hearted rehash of Curse of Peladon but without any of the charm or characterisation, and with six episodes to fill and a plot which is really quite thin, most of the story is just padding. Dull and boring, with even the coolness of Azaxyr not raising it from a 1/5.

Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks

Part One

“You won’t go away, will you?”

The story starts with a random bloke running for a bit and then getting killed- must be a Terry Nation story then. And if that wasn’t enough, things suddenly start going wrong with the TARDIS- yep, it’s Terry, all right.

Thing is, though, the scene where the TARDIS goes wrong and strands the TARDISeers may be predictable, but it’s fun, and shows what a surprisingly good pairing the Pertwee Doctor and Sarah Jane actually make. Sarah Jane (or “Sarah” as everybody seems to actually call her), on her very first visit to an alien world is stranded, and taking it extremely well. The fact that this is believable is more down to Lis Sladen’s performance than the script, but believable it is.

Sarah returns to the TARDIS while being followed by a sinister figure who, for once, doesn’t turn out to actually be friendly. Still, there’s a big alien city to remind us who wrote this story. The dialogue’s a lot sharper than you’d expect from Terry Nation though, a reminder that Robert Holmes unofficially script edited this.

I like the fact that the story starts at night but it becomes gradually lighter as the episode progresses, the sort of detail which can be so easily forgotten.

This is a typical Nation first episode in which our heroes explore their surroundings for a while, only meeting any other characters later if at all, but it’s a proven formula. We finally meet some stranded humans, and they include a character called Jane Tarrant, surprisingly our first Tarrant of the marathon. Apparently there’s a space plague, no doubt requiring doctors of space medicine.

This is very well directed, with lots of good handheld bits and even an impressive-looking dissolve. The Daleks’ flying saucer looks good too, and is immediately recognisable from The Dalek Invasion of Earth, another surprising example of continuity from many years ago. We’re seeing a surprising amount of this sort of thing- presumably the Radio Times Tenth Anniversary Special has had an influence. But it also goes to show that the reveal of the Daleks is not supposed to be a surprise, but a dramatic climax, and the saucer is a hint of what’s coming which whets our anticipation.

Sadly, once the Daleks appear their voices are nowhere near as good with Michael Wisher doing the voices on his own, and for some reason they’ve been painted silver. And this should have been a good cliffhanger- in fact a double cliffhanger with Sarah about to be sacrificed- but we can clearly see that either the Dalek guns don’t work or they’ve forgotten to do the effects.

Part Two

“Inside each of these shells is a living, bubbling lump of hate.”

Slight problem here- the Daleks’ weapons don’t work, but the lights on their domes apparently do. But aside from that things are still great. There’s some nice tension inherent in this uneasy alliance between humans and Daleks- we know the Daleks will betray them once their weapons are working again.

There’s more great direction on show early on as we get our first Dalek POV shot and our first Dalek to be attacked and set on fire, both of which look great and recur throughout the story.

Galloway’s an interesting character, resenting the Doctor for challenging his status as the alpha male. And he renders himself beyond the pale by trying to fit in with the Daleks and agreeing to the extermination of some Exxilons.

The sacrifice scenes are brilliantly done, very atmospheric with the chanting, the incense, the cages and the attention to detail all round. This story was the second BBC video I ever owned, I think way back in 1989, so I’ve seen it many times. But this is the first time in many years and I’m surprised just how good I’m finding it.

I love the model TARDIS the Daleks use to test their new guns. This makes it seem doubly ironic that it’s the Daleks who rescue Sarah and the Doctor from being sacrificed. The Doctor and Sarah are forced to flee to a tunnel with something nasty, leading to a nice line from Sarah: “I just heard your wind effect gnashing its teeth.”

 Part Three

“Yes, a palpable hit.”

Seeing Bellal, an Exxilon without the rags, makes me realise what a fantastic alien costume this is. Admittedly we also get a strangely mannered performance, but yet again everything about this story proves to be far more impressive than I remember.
 
Annoyingly, though, we get yet another story trying to tell us that “primitive man” could not possibly have built all those ancient monuments, so aliens must have done it. Grrr. One of my pet hates, that.

I love the whole thing with the city- the tests are fun in themselves, and I think the element of being chased by Daleks would be an exciting addition to IQ tests in real life.

Surely the most terrifying cliffhanger so far… the floor of doom.

Part Four

“Now the universe is down to 699 wonders.”

More tests, culminating in some groovy psychedelia. This episode is as great as all the others, and a real eye-opener about Terry Nation. Being script edited by Robert Holmes really does seem to pretty much compensate for all his faults. Admittedly, the “I have failed- self-destruct” Dalek suicide scene is just silly, but this is a fantastic ending, with even Galloway redeeming himself as all the plot threads are nicely drawn together. Although it’s ironic that the Doctor and Bellal are once again saved by the timely arrival of some Daleks, and Jill and Sarah seem to fill the Daleks’ sacks with sand and move the parrinium awfully quickly.

Oh, and I notice that pulsing sound is heard briefly inside the Dalek ship. It’s maintained its 100% record in Dalek stories so far.

Well, that was great, 5/5. With Holmes there to tart up the dialogue and presumably sharpen up the plots and characterisation, a Terry Nation script is revealed to be actually rather good, with some great ideas. So far this season, which I hadn’t had particularly high hopes for, has earned two 5/5s and a 4/5. Can it keep on with this sort of form?

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 Time Warrior

Part One

“Brigadier, a straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting.”

New title sequence- wow! This is the business. So much better than anything else we’ve seen.

Good to see Bob Holmes is back after not contributing to last season, although technically this is part of the last production block. And it’s good to see a story set in Earth’s fairly distant past, even if it is a fairly generic Middle Ages- in context it really feels like ages since we’ve seen anything similar.

We get a classic Homesian Double Act ™ with the great Irongron / Bloodaxe combo. They’re both well played and fun characters, and the scene with them discovering and investigating the “fallen star” nicely fleshes them out. Bloodaxe’s horse is a bit of an awkward sod, I notice.

We get a brilliant spaceship and a brilliant alien costume, and Linx is a great character from the start. I love the way he claims the planet for the Sontarans to general indifference.

We switch, after an almost Troughtonesque length of time, to a scene featuring the Doctor and the Brig, whose moustache has never looked so plastic. And of course it’s a rather interesting experience to see the debut of You-Know-Who for the first time since my pre-Marathon viewing of the on-screen debut of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Just when it can’t get any better Dot Cotton appears. And the cliffhanger’s rather good too- the Sontaran face mask is brilliant.

Interestingly, by the way, the TARDIS arrives where it’s supposed to- “for once”.

Part Two

“Young girl? I should’ve thought he was a bit old for that sort of thing.”

Sarah Jane’s refusal to believe she’s travelled back in time starts out funny but gets a little annoying after a while. First impressions are not great. Fortunately, this doesn’t last beyond the early part of this episode- before long she’s taking charge and telling Sir Edward what to do. Good stuff.

I love the concept of Linx using alien technology to give a mediaeval warlord advanced weapons. Still, Irongron seems to learn how to use a remote control awfully quickly.

We hear for the first time that Linx’s race, the Sontarans, are in an interminable war with the Rutans. And then, almost thrown away, the Doctor casually mentions the name of his home planet for the first time: Gallifrey. It’s incredibly low-key for such an important moment.

Part Three

“Is this Doctor a long shanked rascal with a mighty nose?”

We get an awfully long reprise. Still, this is all good stuff from the reliable pen of Robert Holmes, and the cast certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. There’s a nice chat between the Doctor and Sarah Jane in which they discuss time travel and their situation, a nice and necessary character moment. Amusingly, the Doctor refers to the Time Lords as “galactic ticket inspectors”. Holmes starts very early indeed in his bringing-the-Time-Lords-down-to-earth agenda.

The Doctor’s plan is great, as is the dialogue, consistently. This is great fun, and the perfect start to the season. Who says it was RTD who invented the “light and fluffy” series opener?

Part Four

“Not so much of that oatmeal, girl. It’s pikemen we’re feeding, not horses.”

Er, potatoes? In mediaeval England? And mentions of pikemen are a bit anachronistic, come to think of it. Plus the Doctor sounds nothing like Linx when he’s supposed to be doing an impression of him. And he spends an awfully long time in front of a firing squad getting shot at without getting killed. Still, minor quibbles. This is great.

A fantastic start to the season. A fun, light-hearted tale that may not be big or clever (and it’s certainly set in a very vague Middle Ages indeed!), but if it's meant to give the impression that Bob Holmes can just casually toss off a bloody fantastic story without seeming to try much at this point then it certainly does the trick. 5/5.

Doctor Who: The Green Death

Part One

“This fellow’s bright green, apparently. And dead.”

We get an immediate sense that this story is going to have significantly better dialogue than the last from Stevens’ Chamberlain spiel at the start. Slightly less impressive is the bizarre use of CSO for descending down a mine shaft, but this is good, and it’s also good to see UNIT again, especially the Brig. I would mention Jo dressing as Peter Davison, but I’m sure everyone else has by now so I won’t.

Interesting that the Doctor feels the need to establish his detachment from UNIT by briefly gallivanting off to Metebelis 3 for a bit of slapstick. Now his exile is over he clearly feels less attached to his old UNIT surroundings. Still, he says he’ll follow in a bit.

There’s an interesting parallel here with Jo, of course, who’s also feeling less attached to her circumstances than she was, as we’ve seen in recent stories. It was implied as early as Frontier in Space that she wouldn’t be travelling in the TARDIS again so it comes as no surprise to see her spurn a trip to the now-fabled Metebelis 3 for a more Earthly, and more serious, concern. The Doctor, freed from his exile, is more carefree than he’s been for ages while Jo, who’s clearly been following the environmental catastrophe in South Wales for some time, is moving in the opposite direction.

It’s a nice piece of foreshadowing that the Doctor and Jo don’t even listen to each other, and Jo also demonstrates her ties to UNIT are loosening. All this is clear to the Doctor: “So- the fledgling flies the coop”. There’s also an irony here; the Doctor, giddy with his new-found freedom, is neglecting his responsibilities for a pleasure journey, even if he does propose to follow on later. And while the Doctor engages in some slapstick on Metebelis 3, it’s actually Jo who’s the more Doctorish in her attitude.

There’s another symbolic parallel, of course, as she disrupts Professor Jones’ experiment, just as she did the Doctor’s back in Terror of the Autons. This pretty much tells us how she’s ultimately going to end up, right in the first episode.

Part Two

“I’m quite spry for my age, actually.”

Some interesting developments- Stevens has a “Boss”; Yates is mentioned so he’s definitely recovered from that explosion in The Time Monster- but although the plots moving along nicely there’s also some witty dialogue (“unauthorised footsteps”!) and of course we get to see the giant maggots. And this is the first time we hear the Doctor speak of Venusian Aikido, not Venusian Karate.

Part Three

“In the whole history of the world, there’s never been anybody just like Bert. And there’ll never be another…"

It’s a great relief to see that the Brig is back to his best after the unfortunate events of The Three Doctors. His confrontation with Stevens is a delight: “Are you threatening me, Mr Stevens?” “Yes, I think perhaps I am.” But Stevens has friends in high places, extending right to the prime minister, although I notice this is quietly dropped in later episodes. And the PM’s a Jeremy. Thorpe, presumably? Lock up your dogs...

There’s a bit of a Mad Men moment, reminding us just how long ago 1973 was, where the Brig and Stevens both drink whisky in the middle of the day as though it were tea or coffee. And a rather shocking Life on Mars moment, where the Boss causes Fell to commit suicide by jumping off a roof. You wouldn’t see that in a family programme these days.

The dinner party scene is fascinating. Jo is clearly getting closer to the Prof and distancing herself from the Doctor. It’s Jones who comforts her when she finds out Bert’s dead. And they’re clearly about to sleep together when the Doctor quite deliberately whisks the Prof away to the laboratory. That’s excellent writing. Can this really be the same people who wrote The Dæmons and The Time Monster?

Part Four

“Well, I’m not such a dunderhead as you all seem to think!”

We see Benton for the first time in ages, and then Stevens’ man from the ministry turns out to be none other than… Mike Yates. I’d forgotten all about that- it came as a genuine shock. The Brigadier is no fool in this story.

I love BOSS’s dialogue, especially as it could easily have been a generic baddie. But it has a real personality and wit, and a knowledge of philosophy and music. And what makes the Nietzschean allusions so great is that they so clearly go right over “little Superman” Stevens’ head. The final reveal that it is in fact a computer (of charmingly antique design and filling a whole room) makes this even more impressive- we could have got another WOTAN but instead we get this great character.

Oh yes, and we get a Pertwee comedy turn as a milkman and a tea lady. Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any better.

Part Five

“Today Llanfairfach, tomorrow the world, eh?”

I love the fact that BOSS doesn’t want to personally take over the world, just maximise the profits of Global Chemicals by any means possible. Come to think of it, the character of BOSS is almost certainly intended as a statement on Big Corporations on the part of the writers.

The Doctor’s reaction to interrogation, by now something of a Pertwee era standard, is great, as per usual. Some great lines from the Doctor: “Freedom from freedom?”

More good stuff here, and I love it that Jo gets to repair the communicator in another indication of how far she’s come. On the other hand we get more gratuitous use of CSO (this story’s most glaring fault) as the Doctor drives through the slag heap.

Oh, and naturally, the delirious Cliff chooses to murmur “serendipity” rather than “it’s the fungus” or something.

Part Six

“Don’t worry Doctor, I’ll look after her.”

I’m really enjoying this story, so just this once I’m willing to overlook the fly. It’s pretty poor though. Fortunately, everything else rocks. I love the way BOSS quotes Oscar Wilde and discusses Wagner and Tchaikovsky. He has a real personality and wit yet is also strangely childlike. It’s quite effective to see him suffer pain while dying.

Jo’s extended leaving scene is great and entirely fitting, from Cliff’s clumsy proposal to the Doctor, too upset to stay, walking out of the party and driving off, if not literally into the sunset.

Fantastic, 5/5. Great story, great dialogue, great performances and particularly great treatment of the regulars in a story where it’s essential. For some reason Letts and Sloman, usually disappointing so far, really pull it out of the bag with this one.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Season 10 really rather a lot. In fact, with an average of 4/5 it’s in joint first place with Seasons 5 and 7.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Daleks

Part One

“I’m qualified in space medicine.”

Terry Nation is back! Oh, the nostalgia…

It’s a very odd beginning. It seems the last episode did indeed end in a cliffhanger, but it seems very disjointed. It’s also a very bad idea to have Jo speak into a tape recorder, extremely awkward in practice.

We get a jungle, hostile plants, and it all sounds a bit like Kembel. Yep, this is a Terry Nation story, all right. It’s impossible to take seriously. All the lines are functional and lacking in any sparkle whatsoever, especially Jo’s, but are as well acted as they can be. Plus, we get invisible creatures. And Space Thals. And Bernard Horsfall! Plus a jaw-droppingly gratuitous continuity reference which not only references The Daleks but mentions Barbara, Ian and Susan.

Shocking cliffhanger, the very last thing I was expecting…

Part Two

“I’ll dismantle the circuitry, reverse the polarity…”

I’ve just realised where I’ve seen Tim Preece before- he’s Tom from The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin!

More old Terry Nation tropes are dusted off: the Thals' commander was killed in the landing; there’s a nasty tentacled thing in the jungle; Jo is stalked by a menacing and mysterious figure who turns out to be a goodie. But better than that, there are loads and loads of Daleks, not one of them cardboard. Have we ever seen so many? Plus their voices are much better, they have a cool looking city, and we get to hear that pulsating sound again. 

There’s a rather good scene with the Doctor and Codal discussing courage in the cave. And you really feel for the Doctor and Jo, each thinking the other dead. There’s also some very effective use of CSO as the invisible Wester pours some medicine into a bowl for the infected Jo.

This is very by-the-numbers, but fun nonetheless. And the Daleks, with their talk of Mengele-style genetic experiments on their prisoners, are suitably evil. 

The episode ends with some more Thals arriving. And the Doctor deciding to use an ordinary screwdriver mere seconds after brandishing his sonic one.

Part Three

“You know, for a man who abhors violence, I took great satisfaction in doing that.”

This is almost certainly the last time I’ll ever watch this episode in black and white.

This story shouldn’t have been called Planet of the Daleks- Terry Nation’s Greatest Hits would have been a much better title. Even the original bits, like the water which stays molten at below zero, just feel like the sort of thing we’ve seen before. And when we get to the bit with the lifts… well.

It doesn’t all make sense, of course. The Doctor tells Codal while planning their escape that once they’ve put the Dalek out of action they might just have enough time to escape. But as soon as they’ve done it they just stand around chatting for a bit. And it’s also clear that, in this Dalek city, all roads lead to one particular corridor for some reason.

It’s such fun though. I had to laugh out loud once the Dalek started cutting through the door. This is a blatant remake of a story that was actually directly referenced a couple of episodes ago- you have to admire the sheer cheek of the blatant self-plagiarism on display here. I love the Doctor’s mad escape plan. And just when it can’t get any sillier, 10,000 Rolykin Daleks turn up.

Part Four

“Should be a long slow haul”

Er, is the cliffhanger quite the same in the reprise? Never mind, it’s forgivable in this story, even more of a 1930s movie serial than The Daleks, as seen in the way the plot stops for several episodes while our heroes encounter a series of perilous situations. It’s all very silly, but fun.

We briefly get a bit of attempted characterisation as Taron whinges at Rebec for being in love with him- what a git! Still, this being a Terry Nation script, we never again get any reference to their being a couple.

The Daleks are preparing a virus to kill all their foes with, which is a surprise- it’s usually radiation. Bet you it takes several whole episodes before it’s ready.

At last, in a highly visible display of script editing, we get some dialogue linking this, more or less plausibly, to Frontier in Space. Interesting that the Doctor needs Time Lord help to steer the TARDIS properly at this point.

I’ve just noticed in the end credits- the middle eight’s not there any more. When did that happen?

Part Five

“We can never leave here. Never. Never. Never.”

More of the same, really. Not much to say about it. And it’s damned difficult coming up with quotes for each episode in a story with such bland dialogue as this.

The only notable moments are Rebec doing her best Ian impression inside the Dalek casing, and the impressively acted distress of the Daleks trapped in a room with the virus. One of the Dalek voice actors has been particularly excellent this story, and it’s noticeable how many long scenes of Daleks talking actually seem to work well.

Part Six

“We are abandoning! We are abandoning! We are abandoning!

Ooh, the Dalek Supreme is coming! And he’s a movie Dalek. And the invasion’s set to start right now, just in time for the last episode! With a countdown! Never have I been so bludgeoned with such Terry Nation-ness.

This is fun and well enough handled, with the tiresome, half-hearted obligatory love interest stuff between Jo and Latep kept to a minimum. I like the Doctor’s speech about not glorifying war, and better still the Dalek Supreme’s speech about the Daleks never being defeated.

Of course, the best scene is where the Dalek Supreme exterminates an underling for failure. I love it when they do that.

Overall I enjoyed that, load of old rubbish that it was. Nothing happened, but nothing happened in an exciting way, and it was very good of Terry to play us all of his hits again. 3/5.

Doctor Who: Frontier in Space

Part One

“Well, I’m never going in that thing again.”

 I’d always assumed I’d seen this story before at some point in the 90s, but watching this first episode I don’t think I have. So I genuinely don’t know what to expect.

 We start with some superb modelwork, and what I think is the first mention of hyperspace in Doctor Who. This looks set to be our first real space opera since The Space Pirates. And while we’ve seen glimpses of Earth’s future recently with Colony in Space and The Mutants, this is the first indication we get that there’s supposed to be a coherent future history, as the Doctor explain to Jo that these are the early days to the Earth Empire seen in The Mutants.

 This is good; the Draconians look great, the situation is intriguing, and we even get to see a Drashig again. I like the newscast, a tried and tested Hulkean method of doing a bit of world-building.

 Ogrons! Although of course the Doctor is quick to pooh pooh any idea that this necessarily means the Daleks are behind it all.


Part Two

“Jo! Will you stop pacing up and down like a perishing panda!”

 This seems to be a very long reprise. It’s good stuff though, further establishing the premise of the story and making wider hints about the nature of 26^th century Earth, which seems to be some kind of Putin-style “managed democracy”. We also get to see a lot of the South Bank of the Thames as it was then!

 The presentation of the Draconians is very well handled- they’re clearly based on Japanese samurai as far as their props and costumes are concerned, and are clearly allegories for Eastern civilisations as seen through western eyes. There’s a particularly good line from the Draconian prince, of humans: “They’re an inscrutable species.”, nicely undercutting a common stereotype.

 Of course, there’s the usual cold war allegory going on as well. Malcolm Hulke did write it, after all.


 Part Three

“Well, I mean, criticise the government and you’re for it, aren’t you?”

 I like the scene with the Doctor and the mind probe, very Doctorish, and this is still very good, but I’m starting to wish the story would start to move on from all these cells and interrogations. There are certainly lots of escapes and recaptures.

The Doctor is sent to a lunar penal colony, without a trial, and it soon becomes clear that it’s a dumping ground for political prisoners, a nicely dystopian touch. And then, of course, there’s the Master. In a position of authority, naturally.

 It’s a relief when the Professor actually believes the Doctor’s story after three episodes of no one doing so. And it’s good to see the story move on. All the same though, the fact that the Doctor and Jo seem to spend all their time in cells, and the slow pace of the story, are surprisingly unproblematic for me, mainly because Hulke’s script has so much good character stuff for the Doctor and Jo.

 Oh, and doesn’t the Doctor’s hair look bushy in his prison uniform?


 Part Four

“I seem to be quite the master criminal, don’t I?”

 Poor Professor- condemned to a year in solitary and then the story forgets about him!




 Firstly there’s a nice scene between the Doctor and the Master in which the Master, played even more brilliantly than usual by Roger Delgado, remarks on the reversal of roles since the Doctor visited him in his cell in The Sea Devils. We also get hints of the Master’s mysterious employers and a sense of the story broadening in scope.


But fundamentally this episode is about the development of Jo, and her relationship with the Doctor. We start with the Doctor briefly summarising the plot of The War Games to Jo, and then we move on to his recent exile, where he met Jo, “and that alone made the exile worthwhile.” By the standards of early ‘70s Who this is practically Bad Wolf Bay territory. I don’t think they’re lovers at any point, but there’s a relationship developing between them. They clearly care a lot about each other, and they’ve both changed as people by being together in a very New Series sort of way. The Doctor has softened notably since meeting Jo, while Jo has developed into a stronger and more confident person. But at the same time, it’s implied that Jo won’t be around for much longer- for the second time this story she tells the Doctor “I’m never going back in that TARDIS with you again.”

Of course, this is all hilariously undercut by a firing-on-all-cylinders Delgado; “In reminiscent mood are you, Doctor? Poor Miss Grant, you have my deepest sympathy.” And just to make things perfect, he’s reading War of the Worlds!

The escape scene between the Doctor and Jo is brilliant, with Jo’s magnificent monologue fully showing the greatness both of Katy Manning and the character, at least when written as well as this. And, of course, the monologue works as a commentary on her own character, how far she’s come since Terror of the Autons, and hints at how she’s very soon not going to need the Doctor any more. It’s an excellent piece of writing.


Part Five

“An emperor who does not rule deposes himself.”

I’m watching this on the Australian version of the video release that I got from eBay a few years ago, and bizarrely it has the Delaware theme for this episode. I’m glad I’ll only be hearing it this once- it’s awful! Still, another good episode. I love the scenes with the Doctor and the Master trying to convince the Draconian Emperor, archly played by John Woodnutt. Interesting that it should be the Draconians, not the humans, who finally believe the Doctor.

The issue of the position of women in Draconian society is admirably summed up with great eloquence and gravitas: “I think it’s about time that Women’s Lib was brought to Draconia.” Surely one of the great dialogue triumphs of the age.

There are problems here: the Doctor is captured again by Earth police; the Ogron masks are a bit poor; and the Draconian prince manages to convince General Wotsisname rather too easily. But there’s also greatness. Delgado is fantastic. And it’s great, and hugely symbolic, to see that Jo can now resist the Master’s hypnotism.


Part Six

“No doubt you’re a qualified space engineer too, Doctor.”

“Naturally.”

More development for Jo, as she overcomes her fears of several monsters for which the costumes are readily available, and then cheerfully sets about escaping from yet another cell. Unfortunately, the Master may not be able to control her but he’s an, er, master of the art of manipulation.

It’s a satisfying ending, with the Daleks revealed as the Master’s mysterious employers, and turns out to be an appropriate ending for Delgado, whose impression of the Daleks (“stupid tin boxes”) is hilarious. The very final scene is very odd though- it’s not clear whether it’s a cliffhanger or not. And the Doctor seems to be requesting the help of the Time Lords a lot these days.

Overall, great- a brilliant script with great development of the regulars, the Draconians are fantastic, and Delgado bows out at the very top of his game. He’ll be missed. It loses a point for too much time spent in cells, but this isn’t enough to stop this story being very good indeed. 4/5.

Doctor Who: Carnival of Monsters

Part One

“Our purpose is to amuse. Simply to amuse. Nothing serious, nothing political.”

This instantly looks good, and not just because it’s an alien planet for once. Grey, balding bureaucrats and “Functionaries”. An interesting opening, too, in the context of the marathon- watching the stories in order the characters of Vorg and Shirna seem very Space Pirates. Robert Holmes themes of the individual versus bureaucrats become very obvious and seem very consistent watching the stories in order.

We see the TARDIS land! And even better, it’s genuinely random as the Doctor’s clearly landed here by accident. Apparently he wanted to go somewhere called Metebelis 3- wonder if we’ll ever hear of that again?

This is great- a fantastic concept, Ian bloody Marter, more escapology from Jo and a fantastic cliffhanger.

This script is fun, it’s witty, it’s very very clever but best of all it’s done with a real lightness of touch. Best first episode since Spearhead From Space, easily.

Part Two

“The Drashigs! My little carnivores! They’re great favourites with the children.”

Ogrons! But never mind them, this script is brilliant, simultaneously light and fluffy yet with depths if you look for them. The characters on the Bernice are caricatures of the carefree elite of the British Raj, but they are simultaneously colonial rulers and zoo animals. And it’s strangely realistic that they should be over-the-top caricatures designed to amuse, as in the story that’s exactly what they are. I love the boxing scene between the Doctor and Andrews- “Queensberry rules?” “Naturally”; the whole thing is hedged about by notions of how these things are done properly, and yet to the observers outside the scope it’s simply the primitive creatures getting aggressive. 

A Cyberman, even if we can’t see it very well! Reduced to an exhibit for entertainment purposes, but was it ever anything else? I’m loving all this postmodern stuff.

Part Three

“Merciful and compassionate?”

“One has… twinges.”

More redefinitions of the Doctor’s role vis-à-vis the Time Lords- apparently it was him who got the miniscopes banned, which gives us a rather different impression of him from that in The War Games where he ran away because he “was bored”. And on top of that, of course, the Time Lords don’t usually interfere “as a rule”. Then again, he could be making it up to impress Jo? Actually it seems plausible…

This is a great episode for Jo- it’s her idea to get rope from the ship to escape the miniscope, and she has a good stab at getting the Bernice people to realise they’re in a time loop. Plus all the general postmodern witty goodness. And I’m beginning to wonder- are Vorg and Shirnas some kind of parallel to the Doctor and Jo, and what sort of comment is Holmes making if they are?

Part Four

“One has no wish to be devoured by alien monstrosities, even in the cause of political progress.”

The story continues to be great right up to the final episode, and even a civil servant like myself can appreciate the brilliance of the Inter Minorian civil servants’ dialogue: “The tribunal will not tolerate insolence from unauthorised life forms”. Plus, we get to vada some dolly old palare. Bona! 

That was fantastic, an easy 5/5, and the best story for ages. The script is wonderful- a great central concept, great characterisation, great dialogue and loads of postmodern fun. This is the point at which Robert Holmes becomes truly touched by genius. A great start to the Doctor’s new-found freedom. This feels like a different programme.

Doctor Who: The Three Doctors

Part One

“I am he and he is me.”

“And we are all together, goo goo goo joob?”

An interesting footnote at the start, courtesy of the extraordinarily uber-70s Open University lecturer supreme that is Dr Tyler. “We may not be NASA, but we still get results” he says, implying no British space programme. We’ve come a long way since Ambassadors of Death. In fact, by now there seems to be little or no attempt to make it appear that these stories are set in the near future.

We’ve also come a long way since UNIT was something to be taken seriously, of course, and this is not a situation which can be sustained. The Brigadier has now been reduced to comic relief, passing the Doctor a silver rod to stir his tea with. And he gets lines which hardly help either the character or the format: “Make yourself at home. We’re only supposed to be a top security establishment. Liberty Hall, Dr Tyler. Liberty Hall!”

But of course all this doesn’t matter, as the format is about to be pretty much dispensed with anyway. And besides, it’s all such good fun. And it’s odd, because before the marathon I always had a particular dislike for this story. But seeing it in sequence it’s such fun. Never has a story risen in my estimation so much during this marathon.

Anyway, back to part one. It’s all very Pertwee- weird music, magnificently bizarre plot courtesy of the Bristol Boys- but then we get a foreshadowing of what’s to come as the Doctor says to Jo “When I tell you to run, run!” It may not be intentional, but it certainly got me into a frenzied state of anticipation.

Incidentally, where’s Yates? Still in hospital after being blown up in The Time Monster? Benton, meanwhile, finally gets to see the inside of the TARDIS. And it’s been redesigned for the second story in a row. Blimey.

It’s a bit odd to see the Doctor call upon the Time Lords for help for only the second time- the stakes don’t feel anywhere near as high as they did in The War Games. There’ve been eight fewer episodes by this point, for a start. And we see the Time Lords’ planet (we don’t know what it’s called yet, of course) for the first time in colour. Is it me, or is there a very ‘70s-looking brown and orange curtain on the wall to the right? It’s all getting very exciting indeed: one of the Time Lords is a judge from the Doctor’s trial, the Time Lords are in trouble, and they suddenly start talking about bringing back the Trout! Apparently, the first law of time is “Thou shalt not cross thine own time stream”, but nobody cares much about the law at times like this.

It’s the Trout! Yay! And suddenly, after years of assuming the Troughton seen here to have been a caricature of his previous performance, in the context of the marathon I now realise I was dead wrong. Before, I thought of the second Doctor as the character seen in Season Six, because those were the stories I’d seen. But this Doctor, with his whimsicality, his recorder, his intelligence hidden behind a clownish exterior, is the Doctor I remember from recently watching all his stories in order. He’s just right. Extraordinary.

It gets even better though. Soon the Time Lords are talking about “the earliest Doctor” (interesting- it’s explicitly stated he was the first) and there he is. And it’s great to see him.

“So you’re my replacements. A dandy and a clown.” Fantastic!

Part Two

“Because he told me to. And I’ve always had great respect for his advice.”

The Brigadier’s face when he first claps eyes on the Trout is truly a sight to behold. And while his flat refusal to believe what he’s told seems less of a shark-jumping moment in context, it’s still a low point for the character. And his reaction to the TARDIS is even worse. Still, he gets a good line about the Doctor being his own assistant.

A very interesting first; the first Doctor to offer jelly babies is Troughton… in a Pertwee story. I wasn’t expecting that!

We get to see Hartnell again. Fantastic, utterly wonderful in context. There’s a parallel here in my reaction to Troughton this time around; I used to find the Hartnell scenes embarrassing, even wrong, as Hartnell is so clearly ill and struggling with his lines. And yet, in context, it’s really great to see him again. And yes, he may be struggling a little, but there’s something triumphant there too. His scenes are magical.

Part Three

“I’m fairly sure that’s Cromer…”

For the second story in a row we’re introduced to some important Time Lord mythology- Omega, a “solar engineer” who created time travel for the Time Lords by blowing up a star and creating a singularity. Those Bristol Boys and their big, big ideas!

Trout says “Oh, my giddy aunt”! This is such a nostalgia fest. Who cares if the Brig is a buffoon and the cliffhanger is pointless? 

Part Four

“All things shall be destroyed! All things! All things! All things!

It’s genuinely shocking and effective that Omega has nothing under his helmet and only exists through sheer will. Somehow this is such a fantastic idea that it doesn’t even matter that Omega has never once, in his thousands of years in this world, looked into the mirror directly opposite his throne. Those Bristol Boys and their big ideas!

This is as fantastic as all the other episodes, aside from the fact that everyone who walks through the smoke arrives on Earth at once. Troughton’s great, acting Pertwee completely off the screen. The Brigadier says “Wonderful chap. Both of him.” And best of all, the Doctor’s exile is over.

Wow. I thought I was going to give this 1/5. I’ve always hated this story. And yet, this time it didn’t matter that much of it made no sense, that Ollis and Tyler have no reason to be there or that the treatment of UNIT and the Brig was unforgivable. Far more important was the fun of the big, big ideas and, best of all, the old Doctors. It really was great to see them again.

Doctor Who: The Time Monster

Part One

“Look, I know I’m exceedingly dim, but would you mind explaining?”

What a very odd beginning. The dream sequence, that is, not the stock footage, obviously. Quite a good beginning too, and not a bad first episode. Of course, UNIT is by now far too cosy an organisation to be taken as seriously as it was earlier this season, and the comedy feminism has dated quite as much as Stuart Hyde’s entire appearance. There’s no way at this point I can avoid quoting the line “May God bless the good ship Women’s Lib and all who sail in her.” Mind you, Stuart’s studenty pseudo-Marxism has dated just as much: “That’s all right, Prof- you go and enjoy your nosh. Leave it to the toiling masses.”

There’s a worrying undertone of sameyness and watering down of the established format though- yet another example of the Master posing under an obvious assumed name, too much silliness (souped up Bessie) and the Brigadier continuing his metamorphosis into a figure of fun.



Part Two

“You know, it’s a long time since I came across a hypnotic subject who turned out to be as good as you are. It’s just like old times.”

The above line, with its postmodern references to the by now established clichés of the programme in its present format, is just one of many examples right through the story. And this is simultaneously a big part of what makes this story both genuinely fun to watch and deeply problematic- the show can only really afford to have that sort of fun with the fourth wall if the core elements are solid. And here they clearly aren’t- the plot is just a series of set pieces and the overall tone is that of a Hanna Barbera cartoon- the Master’s telephone trick on Benton is a case in point.



Part Three

“Get on with it, you seventeenth century poltroons!”

Atlantis, eh? Perhaps this time it’ll be a case of third time lucky. Certainly, one promising sign in that our 500 year old king seems to have the great Ozzy Osbourne as an advisor. And it’s most convenient for the viewer that the king should contrive to explain how he’s 537 years old at this exact point.

We’ve now reached the point where thinking about the plot is a very bad idea, and the Doctor’s tea leaves-powered wine bottle machine is too silly for words. But there’s more- apparently the Doctor and the Master used to make these at school to spoil each others’ time experiments. Such an evocative addition to the show’s mythology.

Just when things can’t get any sillier we get UNIT versus a mediaeval knight, UNIT versus some roundheads and UNIT versus a V2. This is technically an awful episode, as bad as things have ever got, and yet it still manages to entertain, mainly with the humorous dialogue- some intended, some probably not, and the infectious sense of fun.



Part Four

“I’m sorry about your coccyx too, Miss Grant.”


It’s a nice touch that, just before the bomb apparently hits Yates, the Brig calls him “Mike”. But Yates has survived, if not entirely unharmed, as witnessed by a standard Pertwee era comedy yokel. We get more funny lines here to counterpoint the general shoddiness of everything: “Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?”; “I’m Stuart Hyde- registered, card-carrying, paid-up coward.”

We get to see the inside of both the Master’s TARDIS and the Doctor’s, and they both seem to be using the same, rather groovy, never-before-seen desktop theme. I wonder what it’s called. I also notice Jon Pertwee doesn’t know how to pronounce “nanosecond”. Still, this Time Ram thing sounds a cool idea, and I like Jo’s bravery in wanting to accompany the Doctor in full knowledge of the dangers. Awful though it is, this story actually treats Jo’s character rather well.

We get an odd paradox with the Doctor’s TARDIS and the Master’s both ending up inside each other. That’s brilliant. And weird. No doubt we’ll never see anything like this again…

There’s plenty more silliness, of course, Benton as a baby, the Master once again dispensing with the fourth wall as he turns down the Doctor’s sound because he’s “a bore”…



Part Five

“How about ‘Curses! Foiled again’?”

At last, stuff is happening on Atlantis. And we get Ingrid Pitt! Ooh! I was surprised at the scenes of the Master flirting with Galleia, mind- it seems to amount to rather less than fan mythology would have us believe.



Part Six

“It was the daisyest daisy I’d ever seen.”

Oh dear, it’s the Minotaur, and the Doctor’s using his red cape! We get one very nice scene in this episode though- the Doctor reveals a hitherto unknown Zen Buddhist, Barry Letts-influenced side as he recounts a tale of a hermit who lived on a mountain when he was a “little boy”. The rest of it’s some very clichéd Doctor / Master stuff though, very Hanna Barbera indeed. And with the final reveal of a naked Benton we get the most Hanna Barbera ending yet seen.




Well, technically I suppose that was the worst story yet. The plot, the tone, the treatment of the format and the regulars- all were utterly risible, and clearly pitched at the level of a Saturday morning cartoon. And yet, awful as it is, it still manages to be fun to watch. So much so that I haven’t got the heart to give it less than 2/5.

Season Nine as a whole scores 3.6/5, slightly better than Season Eight but still below every other season so far.




Rankings

The Massacre 5/5
The War Games 5/5
Spearhead From Space 5/5
Fury from the Deep 5/5
The Evil of the Daleks 5/5
The Myth Makers 5/5
The Aztecs 5/5
The Tomb of the Cybermen 5/5
Marco Polo 5/5
The Crusade 5/5
Day of the Daleks 5/5
Inferno 5/5
The Highlanders 5/5
The Daleks’ Master Plan 5/5
The Time Meddler 5/5
The Invasion 5/5
The Power of the Daleks 5/5
The Mind Robber 5/5
The Web of Fear 5/5
The Rescue 5/5
The Reign of Terror 5/5
An Unearthly Child 5/5
Colony in Space 5/5
The Macra Terror 5/5
The Savages 5/5
Mission to the Unknown 5/5
The Ambassadors of Death 4/5
Doctor Who and the Silurians 4/5
The Curse of Peladon 4/5
The Gunfighters 4/5
The Claws of Axos 4/5
The Tenth Planet 4/5
The Moonbase 4/5
The Dalek Invasion of Earth 4/5
The Romans 4/5
Terror of the Autons 4/5
The Krotons 4/5
The Ice Warriors 4/5
The War Machines 4/5
The Smugglers 4/5
The Abominable Snowmen 4/5
The Sea Devils 4/5
Planet of Giants 4/5
The Daleks 3/5
The Seeds of Death 3/5
The Enemy of the World 3/5
Galaxy Four 3/5
The Space Museum 3/5
The Mutants 3/5
The Chase 3/5
The Space Pirates 3/5
The Sensorites 3/5
The Edge of Destruction 2/5
The Dæmons 2/5
The Time Monster 2/5
The Mind of Evil 2/5
The Faceless Ones 2/5
The Ark 2/5
The Wheel in Space 2/5
The Dominators 2/5
The Web Planet 1/5
The Keys of Marinus 1/5
The Celestial Toymaker 1/5
The Underwater Menace 1/5

Season 5: 4/5
Season 7: 4/5
Season 3: 3.9/5
Season 4: 3.889/5
Season 6: 3.857/5
Season 2: 3.778/5
Season 1: 3.625/5
Season 9: 3.6/5
Season 8: 3.4/5