tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87389342046802371502024-03-19T00:26:12.156-07:00Geekbat ReviewHis and Hers Thoughts.Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-22725879553795272472013-09-04T15:00:00.000-07:002013-09-04T16:37:37.283-07:00Doctor Who: The Claws of Axos<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kB-w7jgTzRs/UiecUSYFbLI/AAAAAAAACjM/gxq7bdOUSug/s1600/bk-3g-84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kB-w7jgTzRs/UiecUSYFbLI/AAAAAAAACjM/gxq7bdOUSug/s320/bk-3g-84.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Serial Title: </b>The Claws of Axos<br />
<b>Series:</b> 8<br />
<b>Episodes</b>: 4<br />
<b>Doctor: </b>Jon Pertwee<br />
<b>Companions</b>: <i>Jo Grant (Katy Manning), Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)</i><br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
An alien spacecraft appears, heading for Earth, and blowhard government official Chinn (why do they give all these pompous idiots the authority to take control of UNIT? Do you think they'd just let "Senator Sturmwell from Nebraska" (picking a state at random, here, so no offense intended, Nebraskites!) just take control of the US Military? Isn't that what you have trained, experienced military commanders for?) steps in and orders it shot out of the sky.<br />
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The attack fails and the spacecraft lands- and devours a homeless man, grabbing him with a giant claw and sucking him inside the spacecraft. It causes all sorts of freak weather activities as well. Off to a promising start in Earth/Alien relations, the Brigadier, the Doctor, Jo, and American agent Bill Filer, dispatched to coordinate with UNIT on the worldwide manhunt for the at-large Master (whom the Doctor continues to insist has left Earth now that he has a dematerialization circuit handy, but on whom the Earth is taking no chances), unaware of the spacecraft's hobo-appetite, head out to meet the alien spacecraft firsthand.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1XJrFp0w2w/UiecX51YXII/AAAAAAAACjU/npWgROvxMYU/s1600/d3-3g-041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1XJrFp0w2w/UiecX51YXII/AAAAAAAACjU/npWgROvxMYU/s320/d3-3g-041.jpg" width="320" /></a>Inside, they are met by the Axons, gold-skinned, faux-beautiful humanoids that have come to offer humanity a gift: Axonite, a miracle substance that can replicate and duplicate any material (including replicating food and power, ending all material needs). The material is taken to the nearby Nuton power plant for testing as Chinn starts getting delusions of Earth-revolutionizing grandeur.<br />
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Meanwhile, Bill Filer arrives separately from the group and is captured and held next to the Axon's other prisoner... the Master, captured soon after leaving Earth, who has led them back to this world as an easily-conquerable prize in return for his freedom (not yet granted). Filer has fulfilled his mission to find the Master, but is hardly in any position to do anything about it.<br />
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However, the Doctor suspects foul play, getting on Chinn's bad side, and insisting that he be allowed to join the team examining Axonite. Chinn, suspecting that UNIT and the Doctor will interfere in his becoming a global hero, retaliates by having the Doctor and UNIT placed... UNDER MILITARY ARREST...?!?!?! (SERIOUSLY, WHERE DOES HE GET THE AUTHORITY TO DO THIS?!??! I Did they elect a king of the entire planet, and this is his cousin or something?!?!) The Doctor, allowed to continue the examination under 'house arrest,' runs samples through an enormous 'light accelerator' machine.<br />
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The Axons create a false Bill Filer and send him to assassinate the Doctor, leading to a colossal battle around the light accelerator- but the real Bill Filer escapes and arrives just in time to destroy his duplicate by hurling them into the accelerator. The Axons are revealed to be horrific spaghetti-pile creatures, part of a collective intelligence, with the golden-beauties as false avatars... and, their evil plot revealed, they attack en masse, bulletproof, and armed with grappling claw-tipped tentacles that can explode a man simply by touching him. With UNIT under arrest, the standard military attempts to deal with them... and is slaughtered.<br />
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The Doctor and Jo are captured- the Axons know that the Doctor is a Time Lord, and want the secret of time travel (having captured the Master's TARDIS). They claim that they can restore the Doctor's knowledge of TARDIS operations, blocked by the Time Lords. Meanwhile, the Master escapes, and heads straight for the Doctor's TARDIS, intending to flee... but in the process of trying to make it operational, he is captured by the Brigadier! The Master bargains for his freedom in return for helping to defeat the Axons. He and the Brigadier make an excellent team, turning the power of the reactor and light accelerator, captured by the Axons to draw power form, back upon the Axon ship before they can activate the Axonite, a Trojan Horse that will envelop and devour the Earth.<br />
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The plan fails, but in the chaos, the Doctor and Jo escape... and the Doctor realizes that the avarice of the Axons could be used to trap them. In a ruse that even the audience almost believes, the Doctor convinces the Master that he is willing to team up to repair the TARDIS and escape the 'doomed' Earth, valuing a regained mobility over any loyalty to Earth. With the Master's help, the TARDIS is repaired, and the Doctor takes the two of them to the Axon ship.<br />
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The Doctor then offers his own deal to the Axons, double-crossing the Master: to link the power of his own TARDIS with the Master's captured unit and to give the Axons the power of time travel. However, he instead uses the power of the linked TARDISes to generate a time loop, trapping the Axons inside- because of their linked, interconnected nature, every bit of the Axons, including their foot-soldier avatars and the Axonite molecules throughout the world, is pulled in. The Doctor uses his TARDIS to escape the loop as it closes up, as the again-betrayed Master (seriously, for two serials in a row, he's been the honorable one that is double-crossed by a treacherous, lying, dishonorable Doctor!) escapes to his own TARDIS and likewise flees.<br />
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Oh, and that jerk Chinn...? No repercussions. He escapes the Axon attack, and is last seen alive and well with no repercussions for his absurdly heavy-handed, idiotic tactics. Talk about a flippin' loose thread...!<br />
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The Doctor returns to Earth, though not out of any loyalty to UNIT or Jo... instead, his TARDIS has been reprogrammed to rematerialize on Earth whenever it dematerializes. Even though, with the Master's help, the ship is functional again, the Doctor still lacks the knowledge to pilot it, and even if he could, it is irrevocably tethered to Earth- like, as the Doctor puts it, "a galactic yo-yo."<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
The Claws of Axos (also known as the far more generic ‘The Vampire From Space,’ which the first two episodes were produced as, animated titles and all, before they changed it; other candidates included ‘Doctor Who and the Gift’ and ‘The Friendly Invasion’) starts off with a blithering barrage of irritating illogic, and quickly (and unexpectedly) transforms into one of the best Third Doctor serials yet!<br />
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The beginning unquestionably starts off on the wrong foot- the alien spacecraft incoming, and UNIT ascertains a firing solution, which the (anti-military) Doctor (seriously, I wanted to punch his smug face in again for the first couple of episodes- thank goodness the likability meter was cranked again in the second half!) snipes at. "Just a precaution, Doctor," notes the Brig, reasonably. "Shoot first, ask questions later, eh, Brigadier?" asks the Doctor testily. Uhhhh... no. That is the exact OPPOSITE of what a precaution is, and exactly 180 from what the Brigadier just said!!! The Doctor's again just being hostile to prudence for no good reason, and demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of what a precaution is! To which Chinn responds by... immediately firing missiles at the as-yet-unidentified craft! Demonstrating that HE doesn't understand what a precaution is, either- proving the Doctor right by way of clumsy writing, despite having just given the Brig a line entirely contradicting this course of action! In fact, the whole first episode and part of the second is like this- characters behaving illogically, acting as if the last scene they were in or the last line given to them never happened, and generally doing things for no GOOD reason, only because plot contrivance told them to. It's all very ham-fisted and quite obnoxious.<br />
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And yet... somehow... at some point you don't even recognize, it begins to turn itself around. The Doctor and his obnoxious attitudes are taken out of center-stage, and Bill Filer and the Master- both entertaining and enjoyable characters, take his place. The narrative keeps up a brisk pace. The effects astound. The plot keeps interest. And when the Doctor does return, he's had a seeming personality transplant that's sanded down the prickles. And suddenly you find yourself saying "Hey, I LIKE this Third Doctor adventure! And not like Inferno or Ambassadors or Spearhead, where I can accentuate the positive because I'm loyal to the show... but like Terror of the Autons, where I genuinely ENJOY watching it! Except... more so!!" Before you know it, the Doctor is voyaging in the TARDIS again, the bad guys are being routed, explosions and plot twists galore, and all of a sudden, you LIKE this story!! The past transgressions are forgiven, and you can fully invest in the thrill of the serial. How did this happen? Well, let's explore some of the elements of the story and see if we can find out...<br />
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As per my quandary in the last serial, the Master returns- in quite an unexpected way- captured on his way off Earth. At the end, he departs again in a working TARDIS. In addition, the Doctor's dematerialization circuit is repaired, only for him to discover a new problem; his TARDIS is programmed to re-route to Earth. Still, now it is fully functional again, and potentially capable of travel across the globe. Both of these are extremely surprising developments- the expected status quo is being kept up (Doctor stuck on Earth, Master as recurring villain)- but without stagnating the story. The situations for both of them are continuing to develop, along paths that bring them back to the expected place through natural and well-thought-out plots instead of Gilligan's Island-style contrivances to keep everything from developing and resetting at the end of each episode. This is a good sign for the series- the writers are putting some effort into things! Still, is that it? The entire reason why things are so good...? Despite the detractions? I mean, everyone was acting pretty obnoxious at the beginning- All right, let's run down the characters, and see whether they helped or hindered.<br />
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Chinn... hindered. A lot. Here was General Carrington, Mark II- only this time, instead of an obsessed madman in charge, it's a greedy fool with bureaucratic power. Was there anything more satisfying than seeing his home office strip him of it, and offer his resignation for him to sign? Or when the soldiers turned on him? That the Brigadier didn't arrest HIM is a testament to his patience. This character was obnoxious, though more of a comic foil than a true antagonist. Again, once he was sidelined, the story got much better.<br />
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Bill Filer... helped. A great deal. He served more or less as the protagonist, taking some heroic actions, having a great (well-staged and well-realized) double-fight, and generally acting heroic- I was glad for his survival at the end, and wouldn't mind seeing him again.<br />
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The Master... was at his best here. He had some great sequences- his bridge-jump stunt sequence, his mulling over the TARDIS repairs, his taking a Doctor-like role in the first confrontation between the Master and the Brig, his working with UNIT and the Doctor, his disbelief that the Doctor would actually betray his friends- he had a lot to do, and carried much of the middle of the story on his own. The real surprise came when he actually fed the power to overload the Axons as promised- he had taken every previous opportunity to try and weasel his way into escape, it was the one bit of honesty that proved shocking! Again, with the Axons as the true villains, the master becomes more of a foil and a grudging ally- a role in which he does quite well.<br />
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Jo... must be really cold. Those location shots looked downright frigid (courtesy of an overnight snowstorm- out of continuity with the vagrant shots shot a few weeks before, necessitating an added line about ‘freak weather conditions’ resulting from the Axos ship’s arrival), and as short as that skirt was...! Jo continues the trend-reversal from Mind of Evil in this serial; though she is not as useful or active here as she was in that serial, she makes positive contributions (whilst not-understanding a lot in order to give the Doctor exposition opportunities). While certainly not the powerhouse that she was in the last serial- and rather reduced in role to accommodate the larger cast- her overall role was very positive- heaven help me, I think I'm actually beginning to like her as a companion!<br />
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The Brigadier... was likewise not the powerhouse of the last serial... but he is no-nonsense in his dealings, not over-reactive militarily, and you have to cheer when he gets the upper hand over that git, Chinn. And with both Chinn and the Master, he forgoes any kind of grudge, acting honestly, honorably, and practically to resolve the crises at hand. Again, a very positive portrayal.<br />
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And, the Doctor... oh, Doctor. So irritating in the beginning; why must you always begrudge the military prudent precautions against potential threats, especially those that turn out to be right every time? It was about the scene in the particle accelerator, facing off against that obnoxious and grating scientist, that I came to a realization about this Doctor- he is a jerk to everyone he comes in contact to, abrasive and rude. We like him when he is being a jerk to people we don't like (like Stahlman in Inferno), and get annoyed with him when he's a jerk to people we do (like the Brigadier, of late). Either way, he never stops being a jerk... he just re-directs it to targets we approve of sometimes. Well, the first half of the serial did him no favors, but the second half- starting with his escape with Jo (and use of number recitation to keep her conscious and rational), to his apparent-betrayal, and last-minute heroics, re-earned the good graces that he had in series 7. Overall, the second half fares much better for him than the first, and he ends the serial more likable than unlikeable... please, Doctor- keep up the trend!<br />
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Alright, More good than bad- and most of the bad centered in the first half. That could certainly account for things... but aren't we forgetting the two stars of the show?<br />
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The first, the Axons, are excellently realized- the pile-of-spaghetti true forms are a little clumsy, perhaps (reminding me of an unholy union between the Krotons and the Excalibans from the original Star Trek's "The Savage Curtain"), but the humanoid forms- with their golden skin, sculpted-looking hair, and strange golden bug-eyes, were quite effective (if goofily clad in flower-child hippie attire) and very alien- with excellent mannerisms and voices. Little alienesque touches abound- the biological technology and protruding claws, the use of tentacles primarily (resulting in a number of shocking moments, from the hauling in of the vagrant- WHY did they have to keep cutting to him so often? It got obnoxious- and Bill, to the stabbing of Bill with a tentacle in episode 3, to the explosive effects during the outdoor battle... all of which were superbly realized, creepy, alien, and disturbing), the wonderfully funny moment in which the Axons assume that frogs are one of our primary food animals, and embarrassingly continue with "Well, pretending that they were..." after finding out otherwise, the hanging alien eye (again, like an unholy crossbreed between a Star Wars dianoga and Max the computer from Fligth of the Navigator) with it's weird, biological, pulsing background, the round, mushroom-like protrusions making up much of the floor and the oddly-configured chair, and most excellently, the view screen!<br />
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A humanoid-Axon's head appears, slowly rotating left as it talks, then fading seamlessly to a straight-on gaze which slowly rotates to the right... then back to the center, rotating left, and so on... all done in one take with no rotation of the head, change in tone, or break in continuity- it is all one continuous take (probably accomplished with dual cameras)- it most definitely ISN'T the actor reciting part of the line, then going back to the middle and trying to mimic his own performance- it's one seamless, unbroken take that is marvelously alien and astoundingly creative; I have seen something this innovative and unique, yet simple and effective, since... well, since Matt Smith and new Doctor Who, actually. It's crackling full of Doctor Who brilliance- a little moment of conversation on a view screen that cold have easily been just a head talking, and no one would have thought twice about it- but instead, this little extra touch, just to make things more ALIEN, calls attention (in a good way) to the truly unfathomable weirdness of this species, to great effect. Everything involved with the Axons is brilliantly realized and tremendously creative; this is a totally alien culture and technology branch, and ti shows... and it WORKS. I cannot give high enough kudos to this effort- I haven't been this impressed with innovation in film-making technique and overall method to set a mood in Doctor Who (or anywhere else!) since The Mind Robber! And the effects (which we'll get to shortly) only add to the effect! (Ironically, the legacy of this serial, brand new as of 2011, goes completely WITHOUT any visual components- The Feast of Axos, a sixth-Doctor (why does he get all the legacy stories, seriously?!? Jamie, Zoe, Axons…) audio drama which features Bernard Holley reprising his role as the voice of the Axons.)<br />
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But, what of the other star of the series... the TARDIS. My jaw hit the floor when the Master entered into the TARDIS... and the camera followed him in! I was not expecting to see a TARDIS interior until The Three Doctors in series 10; the Earth-exile is not ended, but here we have the new console room, a new console... the first TARDIS interior we've seen since the War Games, and the VERY FIRST TARDIS interior in the color era! What a milestone- and it looks great! The cannibalized, under-repair TARDIS as the Doctor left it, the repaired and function version- the old girl actually FLYNG again!- one of the roundels functioning as a view screen just like the end of The Wheel In Space... and oh, OH, OH!!! did it feel good to be flying in the TARDIS again!!! This is the way it was always meant to be, and the thrill of the Doctor escaping in the TARDIS at the end was truly tangible! It was familiar and wonderful, and I think we shall be rushing through the remainder of Series 8 and all of Series 9 in order to get to the return of that era; it's truly been missed. This, then, supercharged the already exciting atmosphere and perhaps pushed the serial over the top- this is what the audience wanted, and it feels GOOD.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhiKrEqJpBskFdnZGJ1sFCXxChlaNHCFMFC-oYlg79MP-2HwUIqUKgoWAG2mdJazWNFouwRyWtCNAJQuk84eGce5Q78EuG0mrNxyg-rWoMepHlSstBFq-3cI2TTfeVh-QlUhvwevF4YI/s1600/Claws+of+Axos+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhiKrEqJpBskFdnZGJ1sFCXxChlaNHCFMFC-oYlg79MP-2HwUIqUKgoWAG2mdJazWNFouwRyWtCNAJQuk84eGce5Q78EuG0mrNxyg-rWoMepHlSstBFq-3cI2TTfeVh-QlUhvwevF4YI/s1600/Claws+of+Axos+4.JPG" /></a>Added to that, of course, is an unflagging pace. (Which is ironically only an after-effect of the over-budget preceding Mind of Evil; its expense caused the original seven-episode serial- already whittled down to 6 by the producers who were starting to realize that 7 parts was too long- to be whittled down to 4, the action relocated from the originally-planned later-Doctor Who cliché of Battersea power station, and overall tightened up). The plot keeps along at a fair clip in this shorter, 4-part serial... and it takes numerous twists and turns; first an alien-visitor story in which it is UNIT vs. Chinn, the foolish bureaucrat- then, just as that is getting resolved, we discover that the aliens aren't what they seem, and the Master is involved, having sold out Earth... and our characters are prevented from finding out about it, as Chinn takes over and unlawfully imprisons our heroes- now, it's a race to escape and a tense journey of exploration, to see if they can discover the plans of the Axons before it's too late, with a 72-hour ticking clock... then, a brief plot about doubles and the Doctor's abduction segues us into a marvelously clever Master and UNIT vs. the Axon invasion- a standard army-vs-aliens plot enlivened by fantastic effects and an uneasy alliance- then, the Doctor escapes (and you have to love that moment where he strides in the door just as the Master reaches it, foiling the latter's escape; it was a bit of a cheer-out-loud, "I am that man!" moment)... and it becomes an apparent conspiracy, the Doctor and the Master working together to escape a doomed Earth- you know that each is playing the other, but you don't know HOW- (between this and the Mind-of-Evil-climax exchange betrayal, the two can never have any trust between them; or, I'd suspect, work together ever again!)- and then, it becomes a traditional, and much-appreciated, Doctor Who ending- the Doctor in the TARDIS, pulling a last minute trick to defeat the bad guys and escape... with a fine little comedy ending in which the Doctor finds he can't explain the concept of a time loop to the Brig, and that he's stuck on Earth due to TARDIS programming (another great moment that, like his entrance above, probably should've gone into the Doctor's paragraph as examples of some of his positive moments). It goes all over the place, offering us so many different KINDS of stories within its short run- so much variety and fun, it never fails to keep interest.<br />
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And, of course, all of this is aided by fantastic effects. They blew the budget on this one, I imagine- not only is it bluescreen-crazy, but we have the opening (okay, a little cheap-looking) model shot of the ship, that fantastic entrance with its irised-portal, a magnificent matte-painting establishing-shot for the particle accelerator, and best of all, some fantastic practical effects in battle. The moment in which an Axon tentacle stabs a man, who instantly explodes, is incredible- one of the most seamless effects I've ever seen- with no jump or awkward cut; it's very smooth, and very effective. Shots of the Axons outside- including one strange, dream-like shot of an Axon marching down a tunnel from far off, and with a strange frame-rate- compliment the action well, and the practical-effect work of the deflating heads sucking into themselves is gruesome and appropriately creepy. There was only one major effects failure, and that was the scene of the Axons taking over a jeep (which was excellently staged, with great stunts and pyrotechnics)- the blue background behind the truck (either supposed to be a dark sky-blue background, or an unkeyed bluescreen that hadn’t been replaced with anything- accounts differ) doesn’t even REMOTELY match the overcast gray/white sky of the exterior scenes; the effect is quite jarring and confusing, even after one realizes what one is looking at. It’s a severe and disorienting mismatch. Of course, it's all accompanied by the same awful music; this lot is better than Mind of Evil, with some actual melodies and tone-appropriate-ness, but my long-desired GOOD score to a Pertwee serial, it ain't.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6JI7kWyrOuA/UiedExXPX5I/AAAAAAAACkc/SGIIYgdym-4/s1600/clawsofaxos_610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6JI7kWyrOuA/UiedExXPX5I/AAAAAAAACkc/SGIIYgdym-4/s320/clawsofaxos_610.jpg" width="320" /></a>All in all, Claws of Axos blew me away with its great story, excellent pace, amazing effects, aura of excitement, and incredibly creative Axon effects. It's a winner for sure, and exactly the kind of serial that the Third Doctor needed to inject the sense of adventure back into the show.<br />
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<b>Great Moments:</b><br />
The fight in the particle accelerator. The Doctor and Jo’s recitation-escape through the disorienting vessel. The Axon on the catwalk.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
I want to subtract some points for the obnoxious opening and annoying Doctor characterization in the first half... but I can't. I honestly can't justify taking a single point off for this serial, and though the opening isn't perfect, the overall serial more than makes up for it's flaws. 5 out of 5 Tumbling Autons- the second perfect score, and the first true classic on the level of Marinus and Mind Robber, for the Third Doctor's era.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
With its high-tech accelerator, international manhunt for the Master, and general high technology throughout, I think I'm going to have to give this one a near-future-80s vote by a narrow margin.Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-88252929932875944112013-08-06T15:15:00.000-07:002013-08-06T18:41:41.775-07:00Doctor Who: The Mind of Evil-<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Serial Title:</b> The Mind of Evil<br />
<b>Series:</b> 8<br />
<b>Episodes:</b> 6<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Jon Pertwee </i><br />
<b>Companions:</b><i> Jo Grant (Katy Manning), Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)</i><br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
The Doctor takes a jaunty trip to a maximum security prison, and decides that it would be a wise idea to bring a naïve young girl along with him. In Stangmoor Prison, the Doctor and Jo are attending a demonstration of the Keller Machine, a miracle device that removes ‘evil impulses’ from the criminal brain, curing them. The test subject in the demonstration, Barnham, is nearly fried, rendered comatose when the machine overloads, and the Doctor’s skepticism (and the audience's) seems to be well justified.<br />
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In the mean time, UNIT is handling security at the First World Peace Conference- and doing a bang-up job of it, as the Chinese delegation is complaining first that sensitive documents have been stolen (well, maybe you shouldn't have brought top secret documents to a foreign gathering of rival nations…) and then that one of their delegates is dead. Things are looking better for the Keller Machine’s FDA approval than they are for world peace.<br />
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Concurrent to this, Mike Yates is leading a bomb disposal team in dismantling and destroying the Thunderbolt, a deadly nerve gas missile seized from terrorists. One can only hope that all of the competent UNIT staff were assigned here instead of the peace conference, because otherwise, judging from their overall success rates so far…<br />
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At the prison, a man is found dead next to the Keller machine, one of the demonstration audience, covered in rat bites and scratches… a vermin that his file shows he was terrified of. The professor in charge of the demonstration, a hydrophobic, soon dies too, of the apparent symptoms of drowning, next to the machine. The prisoners are growing restless and agitated, and the Doctor fears that a revolt may be in the works. His investigation of the machine is halted by the apparition of the world in flames, a haunting reminder of the terrifying fate of Earth he witnessed in ‘The Inferno.’ Fortunately, the attack is halted by Jo’s intervention before it can prove as fatal to the Doctor as it has for others.<br />
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When Mike Yates comes to fetch the Doctor for assistance at the conference, the Doctor decides the best approach is to leave the young woman that accompanied him at a maximum security prison by herself and return to the conference, leaving Jo with the agitated prisoners on the verge of revolt and the certified fear-killing machine.<br />
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At the conference the multi-lingual Doctor charms the Chinese delegates, while their security minister incapacitates Yates with her mental powers and turns into a dragon. She makes a move to assassinate the American delegate, but is thwarted… and a telepathic amplifier, both controlling her, and allowing her to project illusions relayed by the Keller Machine, clue the Doctor in to the culprit behind this dastardly scheme… ‘Professor Keller of Switzerland’ is none other than the Master, who is hiding nearby, observing the conference! In fact, he’s already overheard the UNIT plans to dispose of the Thunderbolt missile…<br />
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At the prison, Barnham wakes up- once a violent and loathsome criminal, he now like an innocent child… but he is the only one, as the other prisoners, led by the next-in-line for the Keller Machine, terrified of suffering the same fate, riot- taking Jo and the prison physician, Summers, hostage. The Master, aware that he’s been found out, arrives at the prison and supplies weapons to the rioting prisoners! The Doctor arrives shortly and is captured by the armed and dangerous prisoners, who now run the prison.<br />
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The Doctor is chained to the Keller Machine for execution-by-fear, as the Master gloats about his plans to steal the Thunderbolt missile with the aid of the armed prisoners, and destroy the peace conference with it, plunging the world into a state of war! For some reason! Unfortunately for the Master, the Keller Machine has been growing in power- and when activated, nearly destroys the entire prison. (The Doctor is menaced by visions of his enemies, including the Daleks, the Cybermen (one of only two appearances in a Pertwee serial, and never actually in person with this Doctor) and… the Zarbi…? Well, the Web Planet was horrifyingly bad, but… are the ‘Zaarrrrrr-beeeeee!’ really one of the Doctor’s greatest fears? …While the Master is menaced by visions of an all-powerful, indifferent, mocking Doctor that is clearly his superior.)<br />
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The Master barely manages to shut the machine off and revives the Doctor from the brink of death (something that, come Pertwee’s last season, will become rather a theme for him… this is the beginning of a trend!), enlisting his help (something that, in this season, has already become something of a theme for the Master, biting off more than he can chew and requiring the Doctor to bail him out of it).<br />
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The machine is blockaded in a lecture hall, to be starved by lack of victims. It overcomes this limitation by developing a teleportation ability (necessity is the mother of spontaneously developing superpowers, as they say) and attacks the Doctor and Jo as the Master departs with his Convict Army, taking the missile convoy with ease. A defeated Mike Yates pursues the Master to a nearby airbase, but is captured before he can report the stolen missile’s location.<br />
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The Doctor manages to escape the machine, which is drawn to the greater evil of the convicts. The Master and the Doctor construct a machine to subdue it, but with its growing power, it will not be contained for long.<br />
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Meanwhile, the Brigadier makes a raid on the prison, sneaking in with soldiers disguised as a repair crew while a second team tunnels from underground. The raid is a spectacular success, with the Brigadier himself stepping in to save the Doctor from an inmate with a gun and murderous intent at the last minute. The Doctor responds by chastising him as a fool and revealing that the missile is not at the prison. (This was the moment, I think, when I decided I didn't like Pertwee… the ungrateful git.) The Master has escaped and goes to ready the missile… but so has Yates, who calls in and informs the Brigadier of the missile’s location.<br />
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The Keller Machine overcomes the Time Lord-inspired jammer and attacks Jo and the Doctor again… but the arrival of Barnham, the childlike victim of the demonstration, shuts it down. The Doctor realizes that the complete lack of evil impulse in Barnham counteracts the machine, neutralizing it- and that with this control, they can use what is revealed to be an alien organism within the machine, the true power of the supposed ‘Keller Machine,’ against the Master.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHOWI5vMP3tBwG-LgIUShK3lOGP_3gbKLDBoe_h2BSH5bgvQv9cekrWZpV3UWE5xEDzHPeqAYEwucT_8vycsgTopI0ZgfB8Wiks-r3Qh1txVpjAMSH7ZIjEENKPjt_D6SunZrUXIVCYI/s1600/p01b8ggn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnHOWI5vMP3tBwG-LgIUShK3lOGP_3gbKLDBoe_h2BSH5bgvQv9cekrWZpV3UWE5xEDzHPeqAYEwucT_8vycsgTopI0ZgfB8Wiks-r3Qh1txVpjAMSH7ZIjEENKPjt_D6SunZrUXIVCYI/s320/p01b8ggn.jpg" width="320" /></a>The Doctor makes a deal with the Master via phone- in exchange for the Thunderbolt missile, he will return the Master's de-materialization circuit, absconded with during the end of the Auton business. The Master agrees, but this is a ruse- while the Doctor brings the circuit, he also brings the Keller Machine organism and Barnham. When he and Barnham step back from the ‘trade,’ away from the Master and the Machine, the Keller Machine reactivates, attacking the Master. However, the innocent, good-hearted Barnham charges in to help the Master- his presence deactivates the Machine, and the Master repays his kindness by running Barnham down with his escape van, killing the ex-con, and escaping with his de-materialization circuit. UNIT detonates the Thunderbird missile, ending its threat and taking out the Keller Machine and the organism within in the blast.<br />
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Though war has been averted and the prison riot halted, the Master has escaped, regained TARDIS functionality (which the Doctor is still denied), and a good man has been killed. It seems, as the Master calls the Doctor to gloat before leaving to resume roaming the cosmos, that the bad guys have truly won this round.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
Though I could hardly know it at the time, this serial is more or less the prototype for all of the Pertwee clichés: The Doctor being a jerk to UNIT but then needing their ‘thuggish firearms’ to be his rescue at the end, The Doctor appearing dead and being revived miraculously at the last minute (this iteration is without the optional ‘Weeping Companion’ attachment), the Master grabbing hold of the ultimately powerful alien creature, then finding it far too powerful for him to control… it’s all here, laying the pattern for everything to come.<br />
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The Mind of Evil (or The Pandora Machine, as it was almost known… which sounds a lot more like an original Star Trek or Trek Animated title) is... not exactly what I'd call slow-paced (it certainly moves along at a brisker clip than Ambassadors of Death), but it does take its time in developing- as six-parters are wont to do- perhaps a little too much time to properly build the suspense it's trying to. The last third, however, is practically a different story- far better paced, and more attention-grabbing; it rescues the overall product.<br />
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This six-part throwback is also entirely in Black and White, the original color prints having been destroyed along with all of the lost Hartnell and Troughton classics. (Note from Andrew, 2013: They just put a color version out on DVD). The change in pigmentation helps this to feel a little more classic, and helps one to realize that the film and production values may not have changed so much for the Pertwee era as they originally appeared to- the addition of color just made it seem that way. Viewed in monochrome, they still look fairly similar to Troughton's era.<br />
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The central tenant- a creature that feeds on evil- seems almost more spiritual or theological than scientific, (and like the Keys of Marinus, treats evil as a set of specific impulses that can be skimmed off the top off the mind like dross- as opposed to a part of human nature, or a series of choices- if only evil was a tangible thing that could be removed from man, instead of something generated by specific choices and nurtured by our sin nature- life might be quite a bit easier...) and the methodology of death- bodies spontaneously generating H2O to fill up lungs or skin spontaneously splitting to mimic rat bites- is likewise more supernatural than plausible physics. (As the hero, the Doctor did NOT spontaneously develop first-degree burns after his first nightmare, I notice…)<br />
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Still, the overall story does build the mystery (a little bit- though it's pretty obvious from the start) and the developing plot nicely. And the action-packed finale, with the creature assaulting people in the halls, the UNIT invasion (featuring some more impressive sharp-shooting by the Brigadier), and the end confrontation, is a fun and exciting ride.<br />
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The Master returns here- I suspected I'd soon stop noting that in these serials, as I suspected it would be a common occurrence- and then, the elegantly set-up co-exile, courtesy of the stolen de-materialization circuit, leaving the master as a permanent nemesis for the Doctor, was suddenly broken at the end almost as an afterthought! I was quite surprised and dismayed- we shall see how this turns out. The Master does return here, though, with a great entrance. His involvement in the story is a bit more suspect, though- I'd considered, and rejected, the Master as the secret identity of the machine's 'inventor'- as the warden references it as being installed a year ago (perhaps I misunderstood and it was 'last year?')- surely it hasn't been THAT long since Terror of the Autons? A year-long time-skip between serials is somewhat abrupt...!<br />
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The Master's nightmare is cleverly and effectively shown to be an all-powerful Doctor, hovering above him in absolute triumph... a nightmare cleverly fulfilled in the New Series' Third finale, Last of the Time Lords. He is oddly subservient, obedient, and friendly with the Doctor towards the end, while they are working to contain the creature- it felt a bit off. However, he is smugly confident in the final confrontation, as befits him well.<br />
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I feel sorry for poor, child-like Barnum, who was simply trying to do his best- defending the Doctor in an almost zombie-like manner after he and Jo were hauled inside (and the poignant moment where the Doctor paralyzes him with his Venusian karate to prevent him being hurt by the villains), overcoming his fear to help with the device, and in the end, allowing the Master to escape and getting killed all because he instinctively went to help whoever was in need. Just like the last serial, a poor dupe with a good heart caught up in the Master’s machinations and dying because of it. Poor fellow… Barnham, to me, felt like a trial run (in retrospect) for Tommy in Planet of the Spiders. Same character type, but much better executed the second time with the benefit of experience- and seeing in Tommy what they were TRYING to do here gives the character a bit more poignancy, if only imagined.<br />
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(Meanwhile, his task-master, the harsh Dr. Summers is in fact Michael Sheard- Admiral Ozzel to Star Wars fans, and a well-known thespian of the time making a cameo).<br />
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One thing I didn't understand at all in this story was WHY in the world Jo continued to hang about the prison<br />
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for the entire serial (and why in the world did pairs of guards keep playing chess in a condemned man's cell with their back to him???)- after the second prison break in 10 minutes, one would think they'd start evacuating the civilians... Still, Jo was a fair sight better in this serial than the last- coming up with ideas, being useful (and considerate), staging a couple of nice prison breaks, being surprisingly aggressive in breaking the hostage situations twice in this serial, instead of being a passive prisoner… even beating the Doctor at checkers. She’s on the ball, putting up a very good showing; she even has a very sweet scene sharing a late ‘breakfast’ with the Doctor and bonding with him, reminiscent of the conversation with Victoria in Tomb of the Cybermen or the heart-to-heart with Vicki in the Crusades- a first real acceptance, and a very sweet bond.<br />
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The Doctor... well, it's no fault of Mind of Evil's, but this serial is really where I realized the Jon Pertwee just doesn't do it for me as the Doctor. It's not that I dislike him, he's a nice fellow, but as the Doctor, he doesn't have anything to 'look forward to,' as my wife noted- not Hartnell's gruff or giddy statements, not Troughton's manic comedy or elastic face- no quirk or routine to sit there saying "I can't wait for the part of the episode when he does his shtick," nor any real standard comedic moment- his humor is minimalist and fairly dry, and his character rather even and by-rote; he's not unpleasant, but thus far, he seems rather... bland. A bit dull. Not unlikeable, but, like Liz, not very able to stand out in the crowd. Perhaps that's why I find myself looking more forward to scenes with the Master than with him. It's unfortunate, but I think he's my least favorite Doctor to date. Plus, he’s a real jerk to anyone in the military, and I don’t like that. Not at all.<br />
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On his merits in this episode, though... well, he still doesn’t fare so well. He’s at his most interesting in the action scenes against the machine (and I’d have liked to see the barrage of his former enemies in color!), but he’s rather bland and uninspired, and most of all… a grumpy ingrate. The Brigadier saves his life with a nick-of-time entrance and sharp-shooting victory, and the Doctor gives a grumpy “Can you, for once, show up BEFORE the last moment?” Okay, begrudging witty banter between friends, no problem… the Brigadier is surprised (with a great expression) to find out that the stolen missile isn’t there as he surmised- “Except for missing the Master and the missile, you’re doing quite well, Brigadier…” the Doctor dourly quips. The one whose life the Brig saved less than a minute before. And he continues like this for the rest of the serial- yelling at the Brigadier for not realizing that he has an alternate plan for the exchange for the Master (despite having given no indication whatsoever that he did, and not having had one until a minute or so before, given to him by Jo, no less…) He’s just kind of a jerk. Not very likable, not very funny- and unfortunately, no out-of-character writing ala ‘Doctor Who And The Silurains’ to blame it on this time. Which is a pity- I wanted to like him. I’m hoping he’ll find a better niche, because right now… he’s not doing so well. Still, kudos to his reactions to the various fear images, and for the continuity of the parallel Earth’s fiery demise from ‘Inferno’ being the source of his initial fire-based nightmare. (In addition, based on his performance in the first few serials, I genuinely believe that he’d have blamed a parking ticket for Bessie, a flat tire, or a bad economy on the Keller Machine, too.) Okay, it’s not all bad- he had a nice escape from the Master, at least…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdu9H5rsop66o6WbWea2oTIasNlxx7FI33jI8p6_KOMd18w_yox4ouPkUd9HzIwLy_Yfa3B6ov7BgxCZ2sqZpthptSeT-hW7p4Dr10O4tu174AupD4kbnXP-EgDIKQBZRZmzYuw4rSMso/s1600/st--3f01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdu9H5rsop66o6WbWea2oTIasNlxx7FI33jI8p6_KOMd18w_yox4ouPkUd9HzIwLy_Yfa3B6ov7BgxCZ2sqZpthptSeT-hW7p4Dr10O4tu174AupD4kbnXP-EgDIKQBZRZmzYuw4rSMso/s320/st--3f01.jpg" width="144" /></a>It’s the Brigadier, along with Jo, that fare the best in this serial. The Brig here is competent, clever, cool, confident, no-nonsense, skilled, and funny. He deduces the lie in the Chinese Delegate’s story easily, (apparently, the entire Chinese delegate subplot was written to pad out the episodes, which were too short for a 6-parter, and designed to showcase the writer’s wife, Pik-Sen Lim, who is the dragon-woman in this serial) with no prompting, instigates a great raid on the prison with more of his signature sharp-shooting and 45-degree instant-turn-and-shoot maneuvers, saves the Doctor’s life with a last-minute shot- all standard Brigadier-type functions. Plus, he plays the delivery driver in the ‘Trojan Horse’ operation, struts around like a peacock proud of his cleverness, and has a great comic double-take and deflated little “oh…” when he discovers that his guess had been wrong, great little comedic touches and fun scenes all, with the Brig acting out of character (or, more accurately, pretending to be another character)… all very UNexpected, and a major treat! We also have great scenes just after Yates’ escape and when Benton is assigned to the prison where the Brigadier bonds with and shows concern for his men- wonderful, humanizing moments shared with our recurring-but-minor UNIT characters. His plans work out (minus finding the missile), he’s level-headed and helpful, and gets a chance to stretch his character muscles in a way that he hasn’t been able to since Inferno.<br />
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Speaking of which, Yates gets a great turn here, escaping with gusto, breaking out cleverly, demonstrating great fighting skills, and even verbally sparring with the Master- I LIKE this kid! Sergeant Benton, the one actually ON payroll, doesn’t have much to do- a brief, slightly-comedic (but not all that funny) segment, but really, a minor presence this time around.<br />
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Effects were a mixed bag. The device dispatched victims in the latter serials with a unique overexposed/static effect that I am curious as to the look of in color. There was a wavy transition- rather overused- that was fairly stock (though I am curious how it was accomplished non-digitally), a scene in which the machine was breaking out with a VERY odd skewing, point-of-view, dancing-cameraman movement, and a lot of superimpositions. All fairly stock stuff, nothing groundbreaking, save perhaps for the unique look of the static.<br />
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But none of that matters because we got a HELICOPTER!!! Moving! In video! And, by a quirk of fate, in Black and White! Hooray for another surviving copter clip! In addition, the Dragon-suit was impressive, though odd, and while it felt a little surreal, it was nicely constructed- and it’s unexpected full-body appearance to the Doctor and Co. (whom you would expect to see through the illusion instead of sharing in it) adds to the shock value of the scene. Oh, and kudos on the ‘artful’ transition in Episode 4, fading from the Doctor’s face to the Master’s.<br />
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That said, the budget for this episode went so far over budget (partially due to the aforementioned copter sequence) that the director, Timothy Combe, was actually forbidden from consideration for directing any future Doctor Who work- he was, in essence, blacklisted for being too spendy. One place that said budget was NOT lavished on, however, was the music- which was, in a word, AWFUL. Not grating, like in the Silurians, but it sounded like a synthesizer on demo mode, and various bits- like the anthem played as UNIT storms the prison, are wildly inappropriate. Someday, perhaps we’ll find a Pertwee serial with a decent score…?<br />
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And lastly, as usual, the disassociated story notes that don’t fit anywhere else…<br />
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<br />
-In irony, this episode mocks the foolish scientists who claims that modern science has made capital punishment outdated. Though I’m certain the Doctor would agree with the sentiment, just not the Keller machine method, I find it a good illustration of the foolhardiness of this movement- a rare accidental conservative message in a science fiction show.<br />
-The American ambassador had another strange accent, which sounded like a slightly-mellowed version of Milo Clancy from The Space Pirates- less pronounced, but from the same branch of slightly-texan-british-attempting-amercian. It’s been long enough that I must poke through the archives to remember if Peter Purves fell prey to this same odd hybrid accent in The Chase…<br />
-The use of the prisoners making noise every time the device activated, even when they didn’t know it was being used, was a nice, creepy plot device that added to the eerie atmosphere and the strange, almost omnipresent-seeming power of the Keller Machine.<br />
-Why, oh why, does the Doctor actually bring the real de-materialization circuit to a fake exchange, opening the door for the Master to somehow abscond with it? Why not a fake, or why not disable the circuit first…?<br />
-We have a nice little comic roll in the form of Major Cosworth, who is so enthusiastic and prone to stating the obvious that one can tell that the Brig is slightly unnerved by him. It’s a very subtle humor, and very well-played; the kind of layering we’ve rarely received from performances in Doctor Who, and an excellent bit of comic business precisely BECAUSE it isn’t overplayed or oversold. Another nice subtle moment belongs to the Doctor (who does deserve some due)- being cast into his cell for the second time in Epsiode 5, one harkens back to the first incarceration, where he struggled, paused on the threshold, and was pistol-whipped into submission, clubbed on the back of the head. This second time around, as he enters willingly, the same guard raises his pistol to repeat the gesture- and the Doctor glares him into lowering his hand without incident. It’s a small moment, not lingered-on or emphasized, without a closeup or musical cue to highlight it- but it’s an excellent character moment and detail to watch for.<br />
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<b>Great Moments:</b><br />
The Brigadier’s last-minute rescue!<br />
<br />
<b>Rating:</b><br />
Overall, Mind of Evil would have rated as an average, middling serial- but the fun and action-packed last two episodes bump it up to a final total of 3.75 out of 5 Tumbling Autons; not quite highly-recommended (save for that last third), but still highly enjoyable overall. The Doctor, however, had better find a way to become more likeable and more interesting whilst dodging the Claws of Axos; we can always hope that this serial was simply a Silurian-style bad-characterization story, and that all will be well next serial… this one is clearly a headliner for The Brig, Jo, and Yates, however- if they were all a bit lukewarm last serial, this is the one that really makes me like them! But the Master gone…? Just when I thought I had the direction for this ‘gentle reboot’ worked out, they pull the rug out from under me! Where will they go next…?<br />
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<b>Dating:</b><br />
Everything about this episode screams ‘contemporary,’ with the only high-technology provided by the Master based on an alien life-form. Contemporary 1971, for sure.Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-4737693170865601302012-12-12T17:29:00.000-08:002012-12-12T18:11:53.045-08:00Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-vC-2NfvAE9crgxhfu3NKhCKW0dkwwZt-w8SApwjKX6SR8c9_Ftk5XRiaeAe05pDHJHu9qxrNrNc7NZW9g8al0nsV6DosDCZj2jxFC6UZHS4uJOkkBEk0qsyctdYPut1ZloNq8ekTvM/s1600/bk-3e-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP-vC-2NfvAE9crgxhfu3NKhCKW0dkwwZt-w8SApwjKX6SR8c9_Ftk5XRiaeAe05pDHJHu9qxrNrNc7NZW9g8al0nsV6DosDCZj2jxFC6UZHS4uJOkkBEk0qsyctdYPut1ZloNq8ekTvM/s320/bk-3e-75.jpg" width="191" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Terror of the Autons<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> 8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> 4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Jon Pertwee <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Jo Grant (Katy Manning), Brigadier
Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We open to a circus, and a familiar groaning and wheezing sound, as something
fades into view. Could it be…?! But no, the sound is slightly different… and
this is no policebox, but a horse-trailer. And the man who emerges is
definitely not the Doctor. A dark-clothed, goateed, sinister-looking man
immediately compels the circus owner to do his bidding- stealing the remaining
Nestene meteorite (from Spearhead from Space) from display at a local museum. This is the Master, a rogue
Time Lord who is perhaps even more brilliant than the Doctor, a thorn in his
side, and a familiar foe. After commandeering a radio telescope, he connects
the meteorite to it and transmits a signal…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Back at UNIT HQ, bad news reaches the Doctor in spades- the theft of the
meteorite, the ruination of his newly-constructed dematerialization circuit,
and most of all, the woman responsible for it- Jo Grant, an intended
replacement for the recently-departed Liz, a nepotism-hired ditz who ruins the
delicate microcircutry with a fire extinguisher (Doctor Who is doing its part
to raise public awareness of all of the dangerous applications of fire
extinguishers lately…) due to assuming that the smoke from the Doctor’s
micro-welding was in fact a fire of some sort. And later that day, the news
just gets worse, as a Time Lord from Gallifrey appears (incognito) to warn the
Doctor about the Master’s arrival, and about a bomb planted within the radio
telescope center that he’s investigating. (Awwwww, they really DO care…)
Disarming the bomb with some heroic acrobatics (don’t ask), the Doctor ponders
the arrival of his old nemesis… and finds his calling card, the shrunken corpse
of one of the telescope technicians.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At a local plastics factory, owner Rex Farrel has fallen under the sway
of “Colonel Masters,” fully hypnotized into doing his bidding. His production
manager, James McDermott, confronts him about his erratic behavior, and is soon
killed by an invention of the Master’s, a lethal self-expanding plastic couch.
(Don’t ask). When Rex’s father, summoned by McDermott before his death, comes
to investigate (and proves mind-control resistant due to his strong will), the
Master plants a hideous troll-like doll, about two feet tall, (no rhyme
intended) in his backseat as a ‘new product sample’ and turns up the heat… the
doll starts to animate with murderous intent, but Farrel, Sr. turns down the
heat, and the doll becomes inert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, as the Doctor surmises the connection between the Master and
the Nestenes, Jo goes off to investigate and prove her worth to the Doctor- and
is captured and hypnotized to take the crate that used to contain the meteorite
back to UNIT HQ… with a bomb inside! The Doctor recognizes her hypnotized
condition and the potential trap, and throws the bomb out the window just in
time; fortunately the window overlooks a small cliff over the sea. But the
Master still gains a victory, as the heat is high enough in Farrel, Sr.’s house
that the doll animates again, and completes its murderous mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Investigating the sighting of the other radio telescope technician (who
is missing) at a local circus, the Doctor is captured and threatened by the
strong man, but escapes with the help of Jo. He slips inside the Master’s
TARDIS (which he’s identified on the circus grounds), but emerges to find a
group of angry, hypnotized circus performers on the attack. The mob surrounds
him and begins to mercilessly beat him, but the Doctor and Jo are rescued by
the timely arrival of the police’s protective custody, with the Brigadier and
Captain Yates (a new young officer who has an eye for Jo) moments behind,
following in another car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, it’s out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the policemen
are disguised Autons! As the Doctor reveals their true appearance, they enter a
quarry (for once a quarry on Doctor Who actually represents a quarry!), and
crash during a struggle for control of the car. The Brigadier and Yates arrive
to engage the Autons, who are trying to kill the Doctor- but while small-arms
fire fails, Yates takes the initiative and rams the Autons with his car,
sending them tumbling (in a truly impressive display) down a steep bluff. By
the time they climb back up, the group has escaped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor takes the dematerialization circuit that he’s absconded with
from the Master’s TARDIS and tries to repair his own, but the unit is still
incompatible (keeping up the theme, as with the Monk’s TARDIS, that the
Doctor’s is an older, out-of-date model)- still, as long as he has it, the
Master is as stuck on this planet as he is. Meanwhile, the Master has fashioned
a plastic daffodil replica that Farrel and a number of carnival-masked Autons
begin to hand out on the streets, working from a large bus base-of-operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Investigating the death of Farrel, Sr. (whose name triggered something
in Jo’s hypnosis-repressed memory), the Doctor discovers the doll and takes it
for study due to its plastic nature. They also discover a leftover daffodil at
the now-abandoned plastics factory. While trying to decipher the meaning of the
gadgets, the Doctor receives a phone call from the Master- who uses Auton
technology over the line to get the plastic phone cord to strangle the Doctor.
The Brigadier cuts the phone line, disabling the signal, and saving the Doctor-
while the Doctor’s Bunsen burner, used by Yates to make him and Jo some hot
cocoa (that always seems to lead towards engagements in Doctor Who… could we be
looking at a future couple? A book I recently read noted that Doctor Who was
relatively absent of married couples, having none between Celestial Toymaker
(Hartnell, Steven, and Dodo) and Fury from the Deep (Troughton, Jamie, and </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Victoria</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">’s last serial
together). While the New Series is finally premiering a married couple aboard
the TARDIS (Note From Future Andrew: Yes, that was referring to Amy and Rory at the start of Series 6... I write these just a <i>little</i> while before I post them...) and Ian and Barbara were
certainly implied, could we be looking at the first companions (sorta- the term
is a little looser here in the non-TARDIS years) to actually get married
in-series? That may be a lot to read into a cup of cocoa, but we shall see…),
re-activates the murderous doll, which Yates is forced to shoot to pieces.
Since good things and plastic trying to kill you always come in threes, a radio
signal over the walkie-talkie activates the daffodil, which sprays a deadly
shield of plastic over Jo’s mouth and nose, suffocating her- and accounting for
a recent rash of suffocation deaths in the area. Fortunately, the Doctor
manages to pry it off in time to save her life, and the two are able to intuit
that the radio telescope will be used to activate them en masse… the deaths in
the area were premature triggers from portable radio sources like theirs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Brigadier plans an aerial strike on the located Auton bus, but
before this can be carried out, the Master breaks into the Doctor’s lab,
demanding the dematerialization circuit- and when Jo blurts out the plan, takes
the Doctor and Jo as hostages to his bus, in order to force the Brig to call
off the air strike- which he does. The bound and captive Doctor uses his feet
to manipulate the brake pedal, spelling out a Morse Code message to UNIT with
the brake lights. Jo manages to escape her bonds and free the Doctor after the
Master has left.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">UNIT engages the Autons (led by Benton and Yates- they’re straddling the
line between ‘Companion’ and ‘Jackie Tyler/Wilfred Mott/Mickey-the-Idiot’),
while the Brig, Jo, and the Doctor ascend the radio tower. Once there, the Doctor
convinces the Master that the Nestenes will turn on him and kill him, too, once
they invade- and with his TARDIS in need of repair before it can leave, he
can’t afford to be stuck on Earth during their invasion. The Master agrees, and
he and the Doctor work together to reverse the signal, expelling the Nestenes
into deep space, Moonbase-style.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Master flees to the bus, but is cornered there by UNIT. He emerges,
hands-up, but quickly draws a gun, and is shot down by UNIT. (I seem to be having to
describe a lot of people getting shot dead in the last few serials- if this
persists, I’ll have to come up with a few more colorful ways of saying it, lest
it get repetitive!) However, as the Doctor fears, this was not the Master, but a mind-controlled Farrel in a plastic mask- an innocent pawn slain in the Master’s cruel game as
he escapes in the bus. However, the Doctor has the last laugh- the
dematerialization circuit he gave the Master at gunpoint was his own unit- the
one Joe ruined with a fire-extinguisher. The Doctor still has the real circuit,
and the Master is stranded on Earth- he can hide out with his working chameleon
circuit, but he can’t leave. The Doctor is sure that they will match wits
again, and he looks forward to the contest…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Review:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqeiHTNsgQDfVaxDJiJIO69YsXygnHbldJMSZIp1PfCnYUlTe47KY0eVWgNlFmJnikZopTSk5qfXjywz3F6payw-_eRJtrhGfkP2kag04gEdIrTiZeSAeLY1NREiQv66tpeVTUpRUt4M/s1600/whomay0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqeiHTNsgQDfVaxDJiJIO69YsXygnHbldJMSZIp1PfCnYUlTe47KY0eVWgNlFmJnikZopTSk5qfXjywz3F6payw-_eRJtrhGfkP2kag04gEdIrTiZeSAeLY1NREiQv66tpeVTUpRUt4M/s320/whomay0.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Terror of the Autons starts off Series 8 by throwing a series of
milestones at us: a new companion, a new recurring villain, a new supporting
character (Yates), a recurring supporting character (Benton) becoming an actual
contracted-regular instead of an occasional guest, the first appearance of the
Time Lords and a functioning TARDIS in color, and the last appearance of the
Autons in the classic series. In fact, this serial is regarded as what's called
a "gentle reboot." Not an out-and-out restart of the Pertwee era that
says everything proceeding it didn't happen, but a restarting of nearly all
elements to bring things to a new paradigm, a resetting of all elements to zero
and a starting over, without denying the past that preceeded it. Just as Star
Trek II doesn't deny the existence of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but still
resets Kirk to a desk job, the Enterprise to someone else's hands, etc. and
starts over as if from the beginning, so the new paradigm of the Doctor and Jo
vs. the Master resets the Doctor, working for UNIT (and introducing new
uniforms for them, the design that eventually became their classic look), to
what could easily be the start, and then sets him off in this new direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Jo Grant has possibly the worst introduction a companion could ever ask
for unless their name is Dodo. Her fire-extinguisher mistake is perhaps
understandable, but having her ruin the Doctor's work through incompetence does
not endear her to the audience, her absolute stupidity does nothing to further
it, and the fact that she is outright declared to be here solely as the result
of nepotism doesn't help, either. And then, she decends into the greatest
stupidity on record for any companion ever by pointlessly blurting out to the
Master about the airstrike... as some sort of tactical advantage...? Not sure
at all why she did that, but it was utterly idiotic and very annoying. So,
all-in-all, airhead Jo may be a good character- her heart seems to be in the
right place- but her introductory serial seems to be doing everything it
possibly can to bias the audience against her from the start; an odd creative
choice. She can certainly fill the 'be dumb and require exposition/need
rescuing' role that Liz failed in quite well. The one ray of light for her
character comes in a later scene in which she is very upset, whining and
carrying on- and someone tells her that she's acting like a child. She responds
with incredible maturity- stopping short, considering, agreeing, and
apologizing; a far better reaction than I would have were I upset and someone
told me the same thing! This gave me hope for the future of her character
beyond this rocky start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the Doctor sulks and defends being childish- but then, he has
lots of great quotes in this serial. He’s also a clever investigator and a bit
of an action hero with the bomb defusal. The brake light Morse Code was a thing
of beauty, a very creatively written and extremely clever ploy- my compliments
to the writers. Most significantly, he first suggests “Reversing the polarity”
here, the other half of his famous catchphrase- but this time without the
“Neutron flow” bit pioneered in the Silurian serial. Hopefully, soon, we shall
hear the entire piece joined together…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Otherwise, the Doctor does rather annoy me a bit in his continued
opposition of the millitary simply in order to oppose the military. His
objections to the airstrike are completely unfounded- the plastic-animate
Autons have distributed hundreds of deadly weapons and are capable of
triggering them at any minute- there is no reason whatsoever that their
destruction before they can act would be a bad thing; in fact, the only thing
that makes the strike a bad plan at the last minute is the Doctor and Jo
getting captured and placed into harm's way. The Doctor's earlier objections
have no grounding and no merrit, and are thrown in just so that the Doctor can
disparige violence once again. Like simillar counterpart in the New Series
(David Tennant's insulting, shortsighted, and hypocrticial "You carry a
gun- that makes you a bad guy in my book" to another UNIT soldier, for
instance (funny how he never complains thus when visiting WWI, WWII, or being
the coolest Doctors- Hartnell weilded a gun (while showing distaste for it),
Matt Smith has used one, and Troughton was practically Rambo in Seeds of
Death!)), this really irritates me, especially when done in such a clumsy,
propaganda-style manner for no good reason other than to spread a
self-important message. When it's organic to the story (say... *SHUDDER* Doctor
Who and the Sillurians), fine. But when it's shoehorned into a story even when
the military thing is also the logical and propper thing to do in order to save
lives, then it just looks foolish and ticks me off. The knee-jerk response to
the military actually being PRUDENT is getting annoying. Likewise, I can’t
decide if the Doctor boiling away the contents of the defused bomb to keep UNIT
from getting to it is wise, or his inner jerkish Time Lord showing through. Who
is he to keep technology out of Earth’s hands? He didn’t seem to object to
Earth getting new, advanced technology if it came from the frickin’ Silurians… Basically, though it is true that Earth doesn’t need another kind of bomb… that’s not
really his call to make, it’s Earth’s. Perhaps it could have replaced nukes as
a non-irradiating equivalent that would have ended nuclear waste, or been
harnessed as a new and powerful energy source. It’s a little insulting (and
continuing with the pointless anti-military diatribe new to this Doctor) to
imply that he has to make that decision for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New (recurring) villain The Master is introduced here, played by Robert
Delgado (born </span><span lang="EN">Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo
Roberto, who left a job at the bank to take up acting- and thank goodness he
did!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">).
He is an interesting villain, with a flair for hypnotism, a fatal shrinking
gun, and as high (or higher) affinity for science as the Doctor. He is also
stranded on Earth in a very logical way within the story, ensuring his presence
as an ongoing villain. He has good dialogue and a strong presence, and I look
forward to seeing more of him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And then we have the Master's poor henchman in this serial. Poor fellow.
He was just a pawn- we only saw a few seconds of him as himself, if that- and
even when his colleague tried to snap him out of it, you got the sense that he
could get no more than halfway there- the Master's brainwashing was that
strong. (And apparently blinds both parties, if they didn't see Jo Grant's head
sticking out a foot above those barrels until after they passed her...!) Still,
one robotic scene aside, he was very interesting- passionately committed to his
indoctrinated cause- not just a blank automotaun (Autonmoton?) carrying out
orders, but a man not only whose mind and will were bent to the Master's use,
but his personality and his passion, as well. This is new- typical hypnotism
victims act unimaginatively and under duress in these kind of stories- but
here, we see a kind of hypnotism that retains the ingenuity and willpower of
the individual, just re-directing it to a new goal- dangerous indeed! While I
predicted his decoy-mask end, I really pitied this man- he was a complete
innocent in all of this. (As a side note, the carnival strong man under the Master's control was described as incredibly strong, but not talking much, and I
sarcastically quipped while viewing “Oh, another Toberman.” Turns out it
actually WAS Toberman- the same actor from Tomb of the Cybermen, typecast in a
similar Earth-bound role that I am choosing to believe is Toberman’s distant
ancestor).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Talking of villains, the Autons themselves are relegated to a bit more
of a background presence because of the Master. We do hear a non-human-form
Auton speak for the only time, get a really effective reveal of the false
policemen (it made two of my three viewing companions gasp out loud in unison),
and a great fight scene that includes a truly impressive (unintentionally so,
as it got out of control) pel-mel tumble down a steep embankment that was truly
a highlight of the episode. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other effects of note were largely blue-screened in this serial, which
seems to be turning into a Doctor Who staple. While a few of the effects
demonstrate some terrible fringing and bleeding again, they overall work to
create an effective sense of scale- you really believe that there is a tiny
two-foot doll running around the set and interacting with people (pretty creepy
in its own right), the standout effect of the episode. For the radio telescope (the
Doctor and the Master have a final climactic confrontation on a radio
telescope. Oh, the irony... such confrontations will not always work out well
for you, Doctor!), while the locations on top of the catwalk never look real,
the bluescreening provides a believable locale that doesn't feel studio bound
(though the cartoon lightning is another story, triggering off an ending one
part Seeds of Death and ALL PARTS the Moonbase, only cheaper, as we don't get
to see the invading fleet repulsed into space this time). Even the scene in
which a nervous henchman waits in the bus is noteworthy, as a bluescreened background
is visible over his shoulder. Again, it didn't look real, but it impressed me
with the work ethic, as it is a tiny, tiny patch- barely noticeable- that could
easily have been covered up with framing or cheaped out with a false wall
behind it- that the team went to all the effort of matting in a background in
such a tiny window to try and sell the location is an impressive testament to
the focus and commitment of the FX team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As usual, we do still have a few moments of oddity. We get another Time
Lord (an insufferable prig that cements my previous War Games impression that
the Tme Lords are JERKS), followed by a bomb-dilema with probably the least
well-thought-out solution ever presented to us on Doctor Who. Nearly any option
would have been preferable, and just because the Doctor had nothing on-hand...
contrived as it was, though, it featured a nice stunt (a truly impressive
dive)- though it was outshadowed by the later, more-impressive Auton stunt. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And
the flower-masks... dissolved by carbon-dioxide from the lungs, almost
instantly???? That is so completely illogical and stupid- the trapped breath in
the wearer's mouth would immediately cause the mask to dissolve within seconds,
making suffocation impossible! What were they <i>thinking?</i> That's like trying to
drown a man by holding him under with paper-mache hands that instantly dissolve
in water! It was very poorly explained and executed, and makes the whole
premise completely absurd. And doesn’t the conjecture of the Nestene
Consciousness’ natural form as an octopus-like creature, while consistent with
Spearhead From Space, mean that the New Series’ premiere “Rose” got it totally
wrong, and wasn’t even trying? If so, it’s really rather disappointing that
show-runner Russel T. Davies didn’t at least TRY to match the descriptions
given here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And is there any reason that the inflatible chair seemed so cool when it
was clearly just a blowup chair being inflated? Because it wasn't supposed to
be, I suppose? For whatever reason... it was pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvQLZILAP-hg6yfCfDs84-jE4zrFR5vylDYQiips_-ZlrHAjazDCqmdglFqqZmyP7KC-LibKteHQfdeGNPyOYilzQTmy7vvuyKo2HdLoXD3yq76DYDo3PLBBTOG8wtgcJtClC4YACo5w/s1600/TERROR-OF-THE-AUTONS-COL-Fi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSvQLZILAP-hg6yfCfDs84-jE4zrFR5vylDYQiips_-ZlrHAjazDCqmdglFqqZmyP7KC-LibKteHQfdeGNPyOYilzQTmy7vvuyKo2HdLoXD3yq76DYDo3PLBBTOG8wtgcJtClC4YACo5w/s320/TERROR-OF-THE-AUTONS-COL-Fi.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Overall, despite a few odd complaints of stupid plot points or
anti-millitary stances, and an extremely un-promising companion introduction,
this was a fun serial. It kept a good pace and held my attention, had a fun and
memorable villain, and lots of witty dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Great moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The animate doll, the first appearance of the Master, the quarry fight,
the opening, the bomb dive, and the finale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I give this one </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">5 out of 5 Tumbling Autons; I
wouldn't necessarily call it a classic like Keys of Marinus or The Aztecs, but
definitely a milestone, extremely entertaining, great characters, good writing,
and a pace that didn't flag.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dating: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Nothing noteworthy, though the technology demonstrated seemed to be
distinctly contemporary and not futuristic. I’m arbitrarily calling this one a
1971 vote.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-58861328988417649442012-11-14T16:56:00.000-08:002012-11-14T17:24:11.510-08:00Series 7 Overview<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Series 7<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Clocking in at only 4 serials long, Series 7 introduces the Third
Doctor, begins the UNIT/Earth exile era, is the first in color, without TARDIS
travel, with companion Liz Shaw, and a whole host of other changes- including
introducing recurring villains the Autons and the Silurians (both of who only
show up once or twice more in the classic series, I believe, plus two episodes
in the New Series (though if you count Auton Rory it’s three, and the brief
cameo in Love and Monsters would make it four, but for simplicity’s sake, and
because I’ve worked so hard to try and FORGET Love and Monsters, let’s just
count it as two.)) </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">So, how did it go down?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Companion Liz Shaw started out a bit grating to me, but soon mellowed into
a sympathetic (not just sympathetic to the audience, but her character was
sympathetic toward other people), supportive, strong-yet-silent companion- she
isn't outspoken or loud, and often more of a background presence, but she is
competent, confident, and quietly supportive- so overall, I'd call her a
positive- if slightly forgettable at the time due to her tendency not to be as
outspoken as everyone else on the show- companion. This was her only season,
so we’ll see how Jo Grant stacks up against Liz next series... Liz was written
out for being entirely too <i>competent</i>- not needing exposition to explain things
to her, and seldom needing rescue- seen as the two primary tasks of a
companion. So, she was 'let go' (and, being pregnant, might have left that
season anyhow). In-universe, Liz felt that she was redundant and not really
needed around the Doctor, and returned to Cambridge from whence she’d been
recruited. Liz did eventually get one ride in the repaired </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, later in the
Third Doctor’s tenure, and eventually went to work for P.R.O.B.E., another UNIT
and </span></span>Torchwood<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">-like organization (as seen in the </span></span>Doctor<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Who </span></span>spinoff<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> P.R.O.B.E.).
It didn’t take long for her to return to UNIT, however, and like Ben and Polly,
Sarah Jane, and the </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">Brigadier</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, she is one of the few companions with an onscreen
canon future to be established- as of the modern day, she is still with UNIT,
and at the time of the 11</span></span><sup style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Doctor’s first visit to Sarah Jane
Smith, was working a shift at the UNIT </span></span>moonbase<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qkGQNY3kAB_FnqoGIe73qCLwXmYMO9ZSDjA8TY0xyQ5juytWl7Y1MSL8Pbz4NOHAEi2TsYPArib_RQTAOjzmiArPX8w_gOt8ksDSvKqzbuyAxN5Ko0UekAl1gTKSj2dGg70po9McXgg/s1600/pertwj03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qkGQNY3kAB_FnqoGIe73qCLwXmYMO9ZSDjA8TY0xyQ5juytWl7Y1MSL8Pbz4NOHAEi2TsYPArib_RQTAOjzmiArPX8w_gOt8ksDSvKqzbuyAxN5Ko0UekAl1gTKSj2dGg70po9McXgg/s320/pertwj03.jpg" width="198" /></a><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Meantime, the Brigadier seems to be having a little bit of an image
problem- unlike his </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">appearances</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> in Web of Fear, Invasion, and the first serial
of this series, in which he was open-minded, friendly, and competent, in the
latter 3 serials he seems to be suspicious, antagonistic, doubtful, and
especially </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">possessed</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of that </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">ineffable</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> quality usually reserved for Miss Marple, Brother </span></span>Cadfael<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, Mr. Monk, and other famous quirky detectives... in
which the fellow that's never been wrong before and saved the day (and the
lives of his associates) MULTIPLE times is doubted and derided as being out of
his mind or </span></span>overexagerating<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> every time that he comes forward with a new theory,
as if all of his past </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">successes</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> count for nothing. This same
skepticism-without-reason is applied to the Doctor, sadly putting the Brig, who
I want to like (and sometimes do) closer to the villainous madmen (see below),
who also go forth in belief and action completely unswayed by logic, reason,
evidence, experience, or history, when it's really unrealistic for anyone
without a major mental problem to not factor in the experiences and sound
advice that <i>ought</i> </span></span>to<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> be changing their position. The culmination of all of this
is the unfortunate effect of rendering the Brigadier rather a different
character than his first three </span></span>appearances<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, and </span></span>intermittently<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> rather
unlikeable; headstrong and willing to challenge the Doctor is one thing, but
outright doubting him, ignoring him, disbelieving him, acting as if he doesn't
have a track record of </span></span>success<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> but is some new, unknown, unproven quantity EVERY
time- that's not doing the character ANY favors; and in the closing minutes of
the series, the Doctor calls him on it, </span></span>unsuccessfully<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> leaving in a huff...
whether this will result in a change for the next series, we shall see.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">I must admit to surprise- they tease us with the TARDIS and time/space
stories more often than I thought they would!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The theme of Series 7 seems to be "Madmen in charge"- obsessed,
single-minded-to-the-point-of-absurdity villains who have gone slightly insane
(Spearhead From Space being the exception unless you consider the Doctor or the
Brig to fit that description...) This makes the season, unfortunately, more
than a little annoying- "The generator must be reactivated/aliens must be
killed/drilling must continue, no matter what!" can only be thrown in the
face of reason so many times before it gets grating (usually... about once). </span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Everyone
is stuck in a position of no authority over this obsessed madman, and while it
makes an effective story trait for a villain (absolute power), it makes for an
obnoxious watch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"Sir, your infant son seems to be sleeping under the drill..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"Stop bothering me with your foolish excuses! Double the rate of
drilling! We will NOT slow down!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"Sir, your hair is on fire!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"Stop trying to distract me! The reactor MUST be kept online! We have
no room in this operation for hair fires!!!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">These guys are in defiance of all reality, and unfortunately, the character
type of an obsessed despot project leader that won't listen to reason or act
reasonably is becoming a stock Doctor Who character. The RPGP, as I coined it
in the Silurian review, MUST be stopped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">On the plus side, we're in color. The
stories are generally more good than bad (with the Silurians being the only
truly-unlikeable one), and while some effects production values seem to have
decreased, most of them- especially in terms of physical effects, seem to have
increased dramatically. It seems that they're now doing more than one take and
filming this in a more traditional style- meaning less flubs in the final
product, more closeups, better editing, more practical effects and stunts...
it's more professional and a lot smoother, no longer like a live theater
production on TV with every gaffe noticeable and only basic editing available.
The trade-off...? Fewer serials per season- 4 for this one, 5 for the next few,
as opposed to the typical 8 or 10. In addition, they’re long ones; there are so
many 7-parters this series simply because longer stories can keep using the
same sets, writers, and cast- so we have deliberately long, slow stories to
save money! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">(Also, there only seems to be 1-2
special effects of note per serial, as a trade-off for all of the stunts. Being
primarily Earth-based, they only have 1 or 2 showcase effects sequences per
episode, whereas many BWWs had a dozen or more to comment on. Here it’s “The
explosions and the alien” or “The dinosaur and the burning tunnels” or “The
travel effect and the lava at the door”. Just two, and only two. Very odd.) I
don't know, though... not necessarily a bad thing. Less stories is sad, but... ideally, higher production values will mean less BAD stories to make up for it.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">This series was nearly the end of the
program- due to low ratings, the unproven new format nearly spelled the end of
the series... and thus, Doctor Who will, next series, reinvent itself yet again-
retaining the Earthbound/UNIT setting, but switching companions and shifting
tones...</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">As we move on to the Third
Doctor's second year, and serials begin to gradually get shorter in length (a
GOOD thing!), we shall see how all of these new trends pan out...! <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">As for the date, serials seem split
down the middle: 2 for 1970, 2 for the ‘near future’ 1980s. We’ll keep a
running tally as the series progresses and see if we can’t pin down which time
period we consider the era take place in...</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Overall, I found one story to be
horrifically bad, and the other three to be fairly good. While I can’t say that
this particular series has grabbed me as much as the Hartnell/Troughton era
yet, there is a definite and appreciable upturn in quality- if the upturn in
writing can match and the serial length come down just a bit, then this era
could truly be something to behold. It has promise, and while not my favorite
of the series thus far, I enjoyed it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-41566131371020980662012-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:002012-11-07T18:09:52.047-08:00Doctor Who: Inferno<br />
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<b>Serial Title:</b> Inferno<br />
<b>Series:</b> 7<br />
<b>Episodes:</b> 7<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> Jon Pertwee<br />
<b>Companions:</b> <i>Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
Crazy Professor Stahlman has this nutty dream to drill down to the core of the Earth to mine pockets of gas he suspects there to create a new energy source. He also has government funding, a bevy of experts he ignores, a UNIT presence he resents, and an abrasive personality and tendency to ignore all reason in the pursuit of his dreams. Lovely.<br />
<br />
Still, the Doctor is onboard as one of those ignored advisers in order to get him access to the base’s nuclear generator, which he is using to experiment with re-activating the TARDIS console which he has removed from the ship. Liz is there to assist him. The Brigadier is there in an official liaison capacity. Sir Keith Gold, Executive Director, is there to provide oversight that Stahlman ignores. Petra Williams is there as Stahlman’s personal assistant. And newcomer Greg Sutton, an oil drilling expert, is there to provide practical experience in case of emergency… which Stahlman ignores. Suffice it to say, of the above list, only Petra is happy to be there… though, once he lays eyes on her, Sutton doesn’t seem to mind sticking around too much.<br />
<br />
Problems (beyond the personal ones) arise when a toxic green slime begins spewing from the drilling pipe- one of the workers touches it and begins to mutate into a feral creature, radiating incredible heat, and going entirely and murderously berserk. While the Brigadier and returning character Sergeant Benton investigate (he was in Ambassadors of Death as the nitwit who let Lennox die on his watch…), the Doctor is testing the TARDIS console- and an unexpected surge of power due to a struggle between the mutated man and a technician in the reactor control room sends the Doctor and the console hurtling through a strange dimensional void, which he barely escapes from thanks to Liz. The Doctor is certain that he had almost reached somewhere, possibly somewhere important…<br />
<br />
The mutated creature is killed by a UNIT soldier in self-defense when the group goes to investigate the reactor room, and the Doctor recognizes its eerie sound from something he heard once… in 1883 at the explosion of Krakatoa. Outside, the Doctor encounters another mutated creature (the technician attacked by the first man) which falls to its death from a catwalk- but doesn’t see a third creature, lurking in the shadows.<br />
<br />
In the shadow of multiple murders and the strange green goo, Stahlman… refuses to listen or halt the drilling. (The nuclear station must be restored! The Wheel must run smoothly! The gas-flow will NOT be shut down!!!) Instead, he manhandles a canister of the stuff and almost-bravely gets it inside a containment box as the container begins to fracture from the heat- his hand is briefly exposed, and he begins to mutate very slowly, hiding his condition. He also sabotages the project computer, which was reading unsafe conditions and recommending a shutdown. He also throws the Doctor out of the project, cutting off the power, and then orders the drilling ACCELERATED. Then, a baby seal shows up with a warning to slow down the project, and he axe-murders it, followed by a message from God written in the clouds that says “STIOP YOUR DRILLING,” which he responds to by ordering a dome be built over the drill-site so that no one can see the sky.<br />
<br />
Okay, maybe those last two didn’t happen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did, just off screen.<br />
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The Doctor surreptitiously restores power when no one is looking and flees to his lab; Liz arrives just in time to see him and the TARDIS console vanish from reality. The Doctor, obsessed with finding out where his trip was leading, has ditched this dead-end world for… the same place? No, as he explores the area with Bessie (pulled along for the ride with him for some reason), he comes under fire, battles one of the mutated creatures atop a water tower, and finally finds Liz- a brunette Liz who pulls a gun on him- the Doctor comes to realize that he’s side-slipped onto a parallel Earth. Here, the Brigadier is the cruel and thuggish Brigade Leader, clean-shaven and wearing an eyepatch (and a large scar to prove that it’s not just for show- see, this guy I could believe committing the Silurian Genocide- okay, okay, I’ll let it go…), Liz is a fascist officer under his command, Sutton is a rebel against the totalitarian government given one last chance to be useful by aiding the slave-labor-manned drill project, Petra is a doctor with a severe dress sense, Sir Keith Gold is dead (killed in a staged car accident to prevent his attempts to shut down the project), and Stahlman… really isn’t any different. (No, that’s not just dry wit condemning his character- he really isn’t different!)<br />
<br />
The same shenanigans have been going on in this alternate universe, but now the danger readings, mysterious murders, strange creatures, and broken computer are blamed on a saboteur- the Doctor. He is repeatedly interrogated, and even though he saves the day during a crisis with pipeline pressure, he is still thrown in a cell. His cellmate is a green, feral, beast-like creature; a Primord (so named only in the credits- like the Ewoks of Star Wars, the name is official and canonical but never spoken or known by anyone onscreen), the full result of the green slime mutation- an animalistic savage radiating incredible heat. When it kills one of the guards, the Doctor is able to escape- too late, as penetration of the crust is achieved. The Earth rocks and the bore-hole screams in howling fury; tremors and eruptions wrack the globe. In short, the Earth retaliates with a fiery fury unrivaled in all of human history. Stahlman (already infected as in our universe) enters the heated, boiling drill chamber and is sealed in… he, and the others trapped within, soon emerge as Primords and begin to attack the survivors, as the Doctor calculates that this world is doomed, and will soon tear itself apart from the crust-breaching. However, the survivors latch on to the Doctor’s plan to restore power to the TARDIS console and return him, at least warning the other Earth to prevent its following in their footsteps.<br />
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Fighting off Primords with fire extinguishers (cold is more effective against them due to their heightened heat), Petra and Greg- blossoming in a doomed romance- manage to get the power restored- but the Brigade Leader pulls a gun on the Doctor, demanding safe evacuation for the group back to his universe. The Doctor dearly wishes to save them, but can’t, as bridging the dimensional barrier with them could prove catastrophic (even though it wasn’t when he crossed over…)- when his arguments fall on the deaf ears of the desperate thug, Parallel Liz, whom he has reached, shoots him down and gives the Doctor the time he needs to escape. The Doctor begins the crossover as flowing magma roars through the complex and the end of the world accelerates…<br />
<br />
But it may be too late- in our universe, a few hours behind its counterpart (and thus drilling has not yet reached the critical point), Sir Keith Gold has also gone to his superiors to lobby for shutting the drilling down, and after his driver’s bribe and orders from Stahlman to delay him are discovered, the car gets into a crash- perhaps the events the Doctor has seen ahead in the other universe are inevitable! And even if it isn’t, the Doctor arrives in our universe, comatose from the traumatic crossing… with only three hours left to go on the drilling, the time is ticking down.<br />
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Murmurings in his sleep get the attending Liz thinking about concerns to the drilling project, especially as things he half-coherently warns of begin to happen. When the Doctor awakens in a half-manic state, he spurs into action, and begins smashing equipment in the drilling control room. Judged to be still delirious, he is restrained by UNIT soldiers and removed from the buildings- but Liz finds evidence to confirm his ravings, an realizes that the Doctor is right on the money. Repairing the computer, she is able to confirm the Doctor’s dire warnings- as outside, the Doctor uses his Vensuian Karate to escape his escort and return to the drill shaft, as Sir Keith shows up- alive, but with a broken arm, showing the Doctor that events CAN be changed.<br />
<br />
One thing is destined to happen, though- Stahlman reaches a critical point in his mutation, and instinct takes over- smearing himself with more of the goo, he completely hulks out into a full Primord. He emerges to attack as the drill reaches critical and warnings sound all over the complex…<br />
<br />
The Earth is then destroyed.<br />
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Not buying it? Okay, no, actually Stahlman is subdued with a fire extinguisher and Greg Sutton manages an emergency shutdown of the generator. The Doctor announces that, with the console functional again, he is leaving. He and the Brig exchange harsh words when the latter objects to his departure, and the Doctor vanishes… only to reappear, bedraggled, moments later, having made a jump directly into the nearby garbage dump and breaking down. Chagrined, he mends fences and grovels a bit to get the Brigadier’s help in retrieving the console, as an amused Liz looks on.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
The season-ending Inferno is quite an interesting story which at first seems to be shaping up as something quite different than what it turns out to be. We dip into the Star Trek Mirror Universe conceptual spring for this parallel-Earth tale about a brunette Liz and a clean-shaven, eye-patched Brigadier on an alternate, totalitarian and oppressive Earth, the manically obsessed professor drilling through the Earth’s crust to reach the mantle in both worlds, and to a lesser extent, a mysterious green possibly-sentient goo that mutates humans into green-skinned versions of Lon Chaney’s Wolfman makeup. Yikes! Let’s get into it…<br />
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The story does a good job of bait-and-switch, setting up what seems to be a standard-beyond-standard by-the-numbers alien invasion/zombie plot- and then throwing things in a totally different direction, doing enough establishing work to get you good and familiar with the scenario so as to recognize it in the parallel world, and then cutting loose with, essentially, a cautionary tale- not only a disaster story in the alternate world, but a picture of what the Doctor must return in time to PREVENT in our own world. They even throw in another twist, as the story in the parallel world lasts long past the drilling and into an Armageddon-survivor post-apocalyptic scenario, trying to get the Doctor home while under siege by monsters overrunning the base.<br />
<br />
The Brigadier has another unfortunate serial in which he is sometimes on the Doctor’s side but sometimes not, though certainly far more positive than the Silurian madness. He is firm and authoritative (as much as his position allows) in dealing with the mad professor, but he’s still in Ms. Marple Mode (MMM), doubting or mistrusting the Doctor who has yet to be wrong (unless you count the Silurian incident, which the Brig might- but since the Doctor doesn’t show any evidence of acting or being motivated based on those events, why should we assume the Brig is?)- which the Doctor calls him on at the end, and rightly so. Does their reconciliation mean a change in the Brig’s character for next series? We shall see. Meanwhile, Nicholas Courtney gets a chance to stretch his acting legs with a turn as the nasty, cruel, thuggish, and selfish Brigade Leader, who becomes the piece’s secondary villain by the end- a nice evil mirror universe character to have fun with.<br />
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Liz – in her swan song, after a very brief 4-serial run- gets a bit more to do as the sinister-but-smart evil counterpart of herself, who, just like the real article, is the first to give the Doctor a chance and believe in the possibilities. In the end, she’s the one that takes charge and acts as the voice of reason (shooting the Brigade Leader), allowing the Doctor to escape and warn our Earth. (In fact, the actress said she had more fun playing her evil doppelganger than she did her regular role!)<br />
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In the real world, she only has the first and last episodes and a few cutaways, but manages to be both supportive and stern in warning the Doctor off of another ‘test run,’ and has a great scene in which she realizes what he’s up to. So… still fairly background in her this-universe incarnation, but in her alternate persona, the actress finally gets a chance to break out of the background. I think Liz may end up going down as one of the meekest and mildest companions in Doctor Who history (save for her initial appearance). She hasn’t given me a strong character impression to counteract her initial noxiousness, but while I still don’t have a strong positive impression of her character, her gently supporting and sympathizing nature, and tendency not to call much attention to behavior negative or positive, has managed to soothe away the initial feelings. To put it more simply, she hasn’t done anything to make me ‘love’ her the way Jamie, Zoe, Steven, Ian, Barbara, etc. have… but I don’t dislike her, either. She’s on my good side in general, but more towards the middle neutral ‘I don’t mind them one way or another’ median than towards any extreme of like or dislike.<br />
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The Doctor has a number of moments, from his Karate bits to several good action and chase scenes in both worlds to his taking charge and smashing the controls at the end to his TARDIS trip and surreptitious theft of power to complete the TARDS-console trip midway through, a very clever gambit. He has an excellent farewell/exit scene at the end that we, as the audience, know won’t pan out, and indeed his situation gets reset seconds later, denying him time/space travel once again- and he has yet another great scene to end with. He also has a wonderful moment describing himself as feeling like a ‘shipwrecked man’ without the TARDIS and his ability to travel in time and space- a lovely and moving picture of the Doctor’s torment in exile. He is take-charge in this serial in a way not seen since Troughton in Seeds of Death, active and in-charge, even as a prisoner. He has great moments in his interrogation and escape, as well. He also has a number of great quotes- about computers “I don’t care for them myself, but they are tools, and if you have a tool, it’s stupid not to use it,” about the console’s humble appearance “You were expecting a rocket ship with Batman in it?”, and about the professor himself… when he announces to the professor that “You, sir, are a nitwit!” you want to cheer and give him a high-five, because you’ve been wanting to say the same thing to him for the last hour! (In addition, the radio announcement scene near the end in the mirror universe is clearly Pertwee’s voice- and was indeed cut from the original British broadcast for being too recognizable).<br />
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Yes, Professor Stahlman is a pain in the neck, another stock RPGP character in the Robson/Lawrence/Carrington mode, driven by Hollywobsession, the kind of obsession that presumably occurs only in TV shows and movies, and involves a completely unreasonable degree of insane, unyielding, driving obsession which not only cannot stop, but cannot slow down long enough to take measures that will ensure its own success in the long run until you begin to suspect that the character is not so interested in their end goal (drilling through to penetration) as they are to the action that they seem to be contributing more to (running the drill as fast as they can without stopping EVER) since their choice to repeatedly endorse the latter action is actually endangering the success of the former goal! And he does so to a dangerous degree, actually smashing safety equipment and the like! Strangely, in the parallel universe of evil counterparts and fascist, totalitarian doppelgangers… he doesn’t really seem any different.<br />
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Stahlman is among the more annoying of the specimens of this already-annoying archetype, as he is in active denial whereas others like Lawrence and Robson seem to simply gloss over the valid points that others make instead of acknowledging them and then refuting them based on total illogic. His insistence on doing so, however, is his downfall- when he picks up the canister the Doctor warned him to avoid (a very cool scene with the fracturing container, by the way) for apparently no other reason than to SPITE THE DOCTOR who was telling him not to touch it for his own safety. It’s the only explanation for his not grabbing a glove, some cloth, simply turning the box upside-down on top of it, etc.- the infection that turns him into a monster and kills him (I think? Or paralyzes him? The monsters of this serial, their nature, and their fate, are really not well elaborated-upon) comes from his own insistence on doing a completely illogical thing contrary to his long-term goals simply for the express purpose of NOT doing the smart thing that someone else just told him to do, very much like a pouting, petulant child.<br />
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The monster concept was pretty cool, as is the notion of intense heat radiating from them, which I don’t think was always consistently portrayed, but was very neat whenever it was. Funnily enough, the Primords were an addition to the script to help pad out the 7-episode length.<br />
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As for his staff, though, I have to ask, just as I did for Robson, Charles, and Carrington (and many others)- just how loyal are his staff? At point do you just say “This guy is nuts and clearly very ill, staring off into space and groaning, doubled-over, while racked with pain- I am going to have to say that this guy is not in his right mind and I am not going to listen to him anymore, I’m going to follow established safety procedures.”? Loyalty is great and all, but- what have these RPGPs, these ranting, obsessed, insulting, belittling, decidedly-non-people-person, non-confidence-inspiring, selfish, introverted, demanding, impatient, short-tempered cruel bosses done to inspire their workers to follow them into the very gates of Hell? I mean, leaders like Washington, Patton, and Macarthur likely had trouble inspiring such loyalty in their troops; what the heck would these people- hired employees in all cases but General Carrington- have POSSIBLY done to inspire such loyalty and unwavering, unquestioning obedience in the men whose lives are being actively endangered by their ignoring every safety protocol and scrap of prudence?<br />
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Then there’s Greg Sutton, the oil rig driller. (Whose actor is a Who veteran, having first appeared as Za in An Unearthly Child) Not exactly Mr. Congeniality (at least to the prof. he’s nice to everyone else, and it’s only after he’s snubbed that he gets caustic), he says things like they are, and seems intent on the roughest, most drag-her-out-of-the-cave-by-the-hair, least tender, most-aggression-based romance ever seen on the face of the Earth (or as we Trek fans call it, a Kahn/McGuyvers romance) with the prof’s assistant, who he lumps into his aggressions for being a meek sheep to the crazy boss.<br />
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In the alternate universe, he is quite right in pointing out everyone’s futility in continuing on with their actions in the face of Armageddon, and at first seemed like the bloke to root for, bucking the tiresome totalitarian authority, beyond caring about the consequences… but he became quite obsessed in his own way with a completely and equally illogical need to escape. Considering that everywhere was equally doomed, is there any reason that his last days couldn’t be more fulfilling NOT risking his life in escape attempts to nowhere? Perhaps pursuing the potential romance he had right where he was? So, he became a bit annoying in his hypocrisy, challenging the illogical adherence to orders in the face of death to advocate his own illogical need to escape the compound in the face of death.<br />
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Sir Keith Gold was a nice and likable fellow who didn’t get much focus- save for the bizarre driving/chauffeur scene, but he was polite, considerate, concerned for others, safety-conscious, and acted as the voice of reason- not quite an everyman, but one that the everyman can easily identify with emotionally, if not in terms of position. It’s little surprise that such a reasonable fellow was killed off in the alternate universe, but it was nice when they threw us a curve in our world and spared his life. I liked him.<br />
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And lastly, the professor’s assistant, a passive-aggressive woman with a strangely vulnerable side in the alternate universe. Too much of a minor character in our own world to really review, she was a heroic and brave character- like alternate-Liz, a far more open and reasonable (for some reason, all of the parallel-males are just thick and obstinate- I suppose some might say that it’s a trait not reserved solely for the parallel Earth…) character who saw what needed to be done and risked her life to do it.<br />
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As far as production values, there were some great clearly-a-real-person fall stunts (in fact, the shot of a Primord falling off of a tank/catwalk near the end was, at the time, the highest fall ever performed by a British stuntman- not exactly the traditional perception of Doctor Who as a show made on-the-cheap), some nice combat, and a great chase sequence with the Doctor and Bessie. The introduction of Venusian Karate, giving the Doctor a chance to finally have something other than fast-talking to aid him in various confrontations, was a welcome change, a cool concept, and made for several fun moments- “Have you ever seen anything like THIS?” Sets and locations were good.<br />
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Music was minimalist, but good when used. Sound effects were pretty good- especially compared to the recent ear-piercing Silurian hogwash. I had hoped that we were seeing the Third Doctor Sonic Screwdriver with the ‘door handle device,’ but since there were two, I’m guessing it was a separate device.<br />
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Effects were generally positive- though the first travel sequence made use of some fairly stock camera/mirror tricks, it used them to generally good effect- reminiscent of the travel sequence from The Daleks’ Master Plan, actually. The curtain-of-bubbles transition was a simple but effective way of identify transitions between universes, and the parallel narrative, while it surprised me, was good at building the suspense. The volcano footage was put to good effect, and the lava-flow-through-the-doorway was rather impressive- technically simple but visually striking, a very iconic and effective image. Even the camera shake for the earthquake long shots was far more natural than such shots normally look, a very smooth execution for an often slipshod camera technique. And the man responsible for it all, VFX supervisor Jack Kine, is forever immortalized… as the face of the totalitarian regime leader on the posters.<br />
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The cliffhangers on this one felt a little sloppier, not quite as effective as the Ambassadors of Death, and the makeup- though it looked pretty good in patches or partial-mutants, was pretty hokey in its final form. Still, that lava/doorway shot… man, was that cool!!! And of course, we’re left with a deep-Earth menace never explored or explained, a menace bubbling deep beneath the surface that may return some day…<br />
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And speaking of returning someday, as per the novels, the Doctor’s estimates of mirror Earth’s destruction were a bit exaggerated… and though it was rendered nearly uninhabitable, a group of survivors managed to steal the TARDIS of the alternate-Master (a good guy in that universe) and bridge the gap to our universe- where they were (understandably) enraged that their crossing over did no harm, thus meaning that the Doctor could have saved them, and went on a campaign to destroy the Doctor, eventually being thwarted by UNIT, in conjunction with a 20-years more aged Ian and Barbara. Of course, as with all novels, this is not canon. Still, an interesting notion (that makes the ending here a bit bitter).<br />
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<b>Great moments:</b><br />
Venusian karate, the Doctor calling Stahlman a nitwit, and the lava through the doorway.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhQti0J21V2cIz7VwCW5YZQu85JhK6LplmcRVvkFs94e1HZQOViQmRmnAFkJpQRaPDtFFiBiVSGEsrYaCanfSSzRFZnIV4gUu2PIXSJ7UUbFfvRAM98tgtQTBKJ725rCQ0SqnO9cKzDg/s1600/Doctor+with+original+console+for+last+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqhQti0J21V2cIz7VwCW5YZQu85JhK6LplmcRVvkFs94e1HZQOViQmRmnAFkJpQRaPDtFFiBiVSGEsrYaCanfSSzRFZnIV4gUu2PIXSJ7UUbFfvRAM98tgtQTBKJ725rCQ0SqnO9cKzDg/s1600/Doctor+with+original+console+for+last+time.jpg" /></a>This story ends the series on a high point, garnering 4 out of 5 “Shoes!”, marred only by slightly slow pacing at first and a patently obnoxious stock villain. Still, this is a very good showing for the Third Doctor’s era, and a recommendation to watch. Most significantly, this is the final appearance of the original TARDIS console, which has been in use since An Unearthly Child all the way back in the pilot- it is fitting, then, that the console become a centerpiece of this particular story. Farewell, TARDIS v1.0- it shall be a long time until we see your like again. Or even the TARDIS again. Rats.<br />
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<b>Dating:</b><br />
Nothing in particular implies a date. Slightly futuristic drilling technology and computer capabilities are offset by the fact that the computer technology is decidedly contemporary. Sure, there’s nuclear power, a drill that can reach the Earth’s core, etc., but nothing to suggest these aren’t meant to be contemporary. Still... the Doctor does end it by referencing the years he’s known the Brigadier, so I’m going to have to give this one the future-1980s nod.<br />
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Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-67115707018460575142012-10-24T16:50:00.000-07:002012-10-24T18:51:28.331-07:00Doctor Who: The Ambassadors of Death<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKeBm9U_6UyijZXRIXWXEhuEHBnPxYfYgI1eRndzrBFFuz0cz2LJb9id5SHptFwZqnkS_EhomOJXTi4VHsC1erJ9fiEqk9guiSCjkt552eCHFhmFvf-rnaxQW9xXp6DHVf-rhswAcxl8/s1600/bk-3c-87.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTKeBm9U_6UyijZXRIXWXEhuEHBnPxYfYgI1eRndzrBFFuz0cz2LJb9id5SHptFwZqnkS_EhomOJXTi4VHsC1erJ9fiEqk9guiSCjkt552eCHFhmFvf-rnaxQW9xXp6DHVf-rhswAcxl8/s320/bk-3c-87.jpg" width="192" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Ambassadors of Death<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Jon Pertwee <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Brigadier
Alistair </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lethbridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">’s space program’s
third ship to Mars (you remember when that happened, right?) is nearing its
intended target- </span><st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">’s second ship to
Mars, which has been in trouble and communicating erratically. In mission
control, that genocidal maniac the Brigadier (okay, henceforth, how about we
pretend that abomination never happened so that I don’t have to hate the Brig
for life?) watches as the rendezvous goes horribly wrong, and the capsules are
cut off by a terrible noise. The Doctor soon arrives with Liz, having heard the
sound on the live TV broadcast- when it comes again, he identifies it as a
message of some sort, of non-terrestrial origin. And what’s more- it’s being
answered. The signal is triangulated to a nearby warehouse- and when UNIT
investigates, they find themselves engaged in a running firefight with plainclothes
military troops. Meanwhile, in the space center, technician Taltalian pulls a
gun on the Doctor and attempts to steal the recording of the message the Doctor
has. He’s thwarted, and runs off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The capsule, Recovery 7, returns to Earth, and UNIT escorts it back to
the center when they discover that it’s locked from the inside and they cannot
get in. However, a military raid by more of the plainclothes troops steals the
capsule away. The Doctor gives chase to the truck (lorry) in Bessie and manages
to get the capsule back. However, when the capsule is opened, it is revealed to
be empty, save for a tape recorder playing back faked recordings of the
astronaut’s voices over the radio. The interior is also highly irradiated…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Army General Carrington has the three space-suited figures, removed
during the raid (he’s been responsible for the military actions thus far) and
are irradiating them further; as per him, they need radiation to survive. Sir
James Quinlan, Minister for Technology (FOR Technology, mind you, not ‘of’-
clearly his job is to represent the province of ‘Technology’ in parliament and
govern it wisely) introduces the Doctor to Carrington, who feeds him a false
story about a contagious form of radiation that the astronauts had been
infected with, necessitating their enforced quarantine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">However, the three suited figures are abducted by a violent criminal
that kills the scientists attending them- and he himself is found, dead and
irradiated, in a gravel pit sometime later. Someone has abducted the astronauts
without a trace and killed all the witnesses! In fact, this man is </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">, a disgraced </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> professor (I sense
Liz back story coming up!), who maintains them with high radiation. His partner,
a thug named Reegan, abducts Liz to assist </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">. Taltalian also
works for him, and sets a bomb to kill the Doctor- but is himself killed by it,
the timer having been set to ‘0,’ despite what he’d been told- another witness
eliminated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">One of the astronauts appears at the space center, demonstrating a
deadly and lethal explosive touch. Quinlan is killed, and when the Brigadier
tries to intervene, the astronaut is proved to be bulletproof. It escapes… and
so does </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">, back at the secret holding cell. These
astronauts are not astronauts, but alien beings who have taken their place. Liz
and </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> have built a device capable of
communicating with them (though not understanding them) and forced one of them
into this raid under threat of cutting off the radiation… they themselves under
threat from Reegan to accomplish this. Now, </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">’s conscience has
got the better of him, and he defects to UNIT for protective custody… but there
are agents on the inside, and one slips a radioactive canister into </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">’s cell, killing
him in a fit of poetic justice before he can testify.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor decides that the answer to all of this madness must lie with
the other capsule (the one Recovery 7 was initially sent to rendezvous with)
still up in orbit, having been towed there by the recovered capsule. Recovery 7
is fitted to a new rocket, and the Doctor decides to take it up using the new
M3 variant fuel, a powerful accelerator. Reegan attempts to sabotage the launch
by flooding the tanks with M3 variant (instead of a small additive amount as
planned), making the launch far more powerful than anticipated and killing the
Doctor with the increased G-forces. The Brigadier manages to drive </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 18px;">Reegan</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> off
before he can finish (though he gets away); the launch is rough, but the
Doctor survives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">As he maneuvers to investigate the other capsule, however, both ships
are dwarfed by a gigantic alien craft that takes him aboard. There, he finds
the three missing astronauts, in hypnosis to believe that they’re simply in
post-mission quarantine back on Earth. The aliens of the craft demand the return
of their ambassadors on Earth within one day, or they will destroy the planet.
These ambassadors (the three in the suits) were sent to Earth to broker a
treaty between this unnamed race and mankind, but their abduction has seriously
jeopardized this agreement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Immediately upon landing, the Doctor is abducted by Reegan (WHAT
NINCOMPOOP IS OVERSEEING SECURITY FOR UNIT?!?!?!) and taken to Liz, and to his
employer- Reegan is working for Carrington. As it turns out, Carrington was an
astronaut on the first Mars mission, where they met this alien race- not native
to Mars, but likewise exploring the planet. (Lucky for him he didn’t run into
any Ice Warriors…). In what was meant to be a peaceful contact, one of the
aliens returned the handshake of Carrington’s partner, Jim Daniels- and the
unexpected explosive touch killed Daniels instantly and gruesomely. The
traumatized Carrignton, convinced that these beings were of the purest evil,
then falsely accepted their sincere apologies and made arrangements for them
to travel to Earth and sign a treaty (the second capsule’s mission all along,
which only seemed to go haywire because only Carrington knew about the planned
loss of communication and astronaut-swap) all under false pretense; believing
this treaty to only be a prelude to invasion, Carrington laid these plans to
capture the ambassadors and coerce them into violence (what he believes to be
their true nature anyway), revealing their ‘hostile intentions’ to the world at
large and allowing him to wage war against the aliens, rather than letting the
world be ‘duped’ by their peaceful intentions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Carrington takes one of the Ambassadors to wreak havoc at mission
control on live television, planning to unmask their hideous appearance and
galvanize the world against them. The Doctor and Liz (kept on as replacements
for </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lennox</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">) are put to work on an improved
communications device- the Doctor instead rigs up a morse code transmitter and
sends an SOS to UNIT under the guise of testing the alien translation device.
The Brigadier- arrested by Carrington for opposing his insane agenda- pulls off
an impressive escape, and frees a handful of his UNIT men. Short on transport,
they ride to the rescue in Bessie and shoot their way in, arresting Reegan and
freeing the Doctor and Liz. The entire group races to mission control with the
Ambassadors, where the Doctor uses their impervious nature to smash through
Carrington’s troops and demolish his defenses. Carrington is forced to stand
down, and is taken under arrest. The last ambassador is rescued, and the three
are returned to their people in exchange for the astronauts- the Doctor
remembering NOT to shake their hands as they depart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Review:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tGoc4GFYDh_ms3iTxDR4dreyvEoFUFfwBSH_2qfJz1jOGmd6FgyeFldDDD8vgI5Kik7_Q1vyUZQvfi7pyFxR9jQAPr6VLIIUvQ8IsGDbRhTDxJoKTt9Zx_YmwtDbY3ZWQtVlU3Vx7lY/s1600/guy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tGoc4GFYDh_ms3iTxDR4dreyvEoFUFfwBSH_2qfJz1jOGmd6FgyeFldDDD8vgI5Kik7_Q1vyUZQvfi7pyFxR9jQAPr6VLIIUvQ8IsGDbRhTDxJoKTt9Zx_YmwtDbY3ZWQtVlU3Vx7lY/s320/guy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Ambassadors of Death was, perhaps, slower than it ought to be. Don’t
get me wrong; it was a good conspiracy/spy/mystery story, with plenty of
espionage, and the space program junkie in me simultaneously laughed and lauded
the portrayal of a </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">British</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> </span><st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Mars</span></st1:placename><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Landing</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> program in the
1980s. The Doctor as an astronaut? Awesome. The Brigadier rocking some battle
scenes? Right on, man! Mysterious signal triangulation? I’m down with that! 2-3
episodes shorter? Absolutely warranted. A little more abbreviated, and this one
would have been spot on. As it is, its spy-thriller,
government-conspiracy-you-can’t-trust-anyone, and ethereal ET-like strange
alien visitors flavoring (complete with great ethereal music for the latter)
are very strong and have a lot going for them; it’s just not as excellent as it
could’ve been with some flab trimmed. And UNIT doesn’t look terribly competent
between ignoring a prisoner with information and then letting him be killed
while in custody (but hey, look, major </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Benton</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">! He will grow in
importance in the series as time progresses, I’m told), and the warehouse
battle in which they make the defenders of the Chateau in The War Games look like a
mash-up of the A-team and the Expendables being led by Rambo and executing a
plan co-authored by general Patton and Grand Admiral Thrawn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Though, to be fair, it wasn’t bad UNIT tactics, just bad scriptwriting
and filming. UNIT soldiers were behind cover, with machine guns, and military
training- losing against a mongrel mutt squad comprised of street-clothes soldier and
petty crooks, firing hand guns from behind… nothing. They were standing right out
in the open. Yet half a dozen UNIT men fall- mostly from suddenly standing up
and running straight at the enemy, chest thrust forward and gun pointed at the
ground, until they were killed, in the standard movie nonsensical soldier-death
move- before a single one of their enemies is brought down. If they’d just
staged things in the reverse- UNIT with no cover, the mongrel-mix behind boxes
with superior weapons, it might’ve been believable. Likewise, the ridiculous
bungling of the Mexican standoff between the Brigadier and an enemy leader- in
which a soldier sneaks up behind him with a heavy swinging weight, and somehow
in the ensuing scuffle manages to hit and knock over the Brigadier, disarming
him of his pistol, while the barely winged enemy holds onto his with ease,
putting both of them at his mercy, is just plain SAD. Yes, it’s necessary for
the surprise moment where he drops his gun and surrenders to them despite
having both of them unarmed and at his mercy, but this surprise turnabout
could’ve been set up with much better staging that doesn’t make UNIT look like
the squad drilled out of the Three Stooges for being too clumsy. All that said-
and the major complaint (other than the pacing) for the serial now aside, the
Brigadier almost singlehandedly makes up for this with an awesome stalwart
display of fighting machismo and skill (if I used the term Bada… errr… Bad-bum,
then it would most certainly apply here)- firing his pistol thrice- straight
out to his left, forward, and out to his right, and apparently felling one man
with each shot, sending the first tumbling down the stairs in-frame behind him.
Likewise, his escape from armed guards and fighting prowess in the final
episode’s combat really suggests that the rest of UNIT is just slowing him
down. So, a bad episode for UNIT’s competency, but a great one for the Brig.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">There are a lot of little bits and notes, so forgive me if I jump around
a bit more than usual. Let’s start with the visuals…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The models are all very good. Nicely detailed, Apollo-mission looking
(not sure if they’re originals, kit-bashes, or just straight-up builds of an
off-the-shelf-but-somewhat-inaccurate Apollo command/service module model),
which is a major plus to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">That said… the capsule wobble visibly on their strings in space,
something that there’s no excuse for in 1970. The rocket liftoff has a terrible
animated flame and really stiff, fake-looking 70s bluescreening that was
roughly on par with the Star Wars Holiday Special- it somehow manages not just
to be fake, but ultra-fake. (Though it’s an awesome sequence and they did a
great job with the Doctor in G-forces) The main screen in mission control,
though nicely done, suffers from major blue screen fringing and breaking up
around the railings, giving it away rather plainly. On the plus side, the mini
pop-up screen with a venetian blind transition on is executed flawlessly. Also
excellent is the alien spaceraft model (if a bit
2D-cutout-moving-around-the-screen looking, it’s still a very cool design that
reminds me of a cousin of the later Sycorax ship in the New Series Christmas
Invasion) and the model of the interior was very, very well realized. The
bluescreening of the Doctor walking along the corridor was flawlessly done for
the time, and while obvious as bluescreening to modern eyes, it holds up
incredibly well for a period effect, and the angle of plane-matching up to the
floor is spot-on. This is easily the best effect I’ve seen in Classic Who thus
far, and creates a fantastic, expansive alien environment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Not so fantastic?
The alien’s killer touch, which is just a flash-frame of red using that
paintbrush from MS Paint that has pixelly starburst coming off the sides, like
it’s supposed to be a spray or something. Except, you know… done long before MS
Paint was around. Still, it looks cheap. Practical effects for the aliens are
FAR better- excellent (only occasionally glimpsed, heightening the alien
feeling) makeup, practical explosions well-timed and well-filmed, a seamless
telekinetically-lifting-the-gate effect at the end… these are all pulled off
fantastically, and really sell the alien ambassadors. And one last practical
effect, the James-Bond-ish cargo truck (errr… Lorry) that changes it’s plates
and then it’s sidewalls… doesn’t come off quite so well, as the jump-cut transition
tricks also have significant background changes that ruin the effect. (Plus,
it’s never explained in the end… is this army technology…? Alien…? How did they
change the appearance of the truck instantaneously? Do they have holograms in
this world, and we’re never told about it?)
Much better jump-cut effects accompany the Liz/Doctor time displacement
scene, and the near-perfect ‘displacement’ scene with the tape recording, which
looks FANTASTIC- a testament to Pertwee’s miming ability, it really creates a
believable effect of Pertwee simply pulling the disc out of the air. Major
kudos. Likewise, good miming work for Bessie’s ‘Anti-theft device’ (a fun and
very whimsical Doctor scene, as detailed below).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisP3Akx0ON_H6rjzwjCrLlw72gfGXt1rzVSZHFVtbLcP2Km8yBhGj_yCn21IgRYOkubCX6RfsE-26hyphenhyphenYOW5PrEQ8dDaFiowfjduOcqij6jsW8jlORhekIQujpF4SQmD4NcXQ5UR3alWjQ/s1600/67683-doctor-who-the-ambassadors-of-death-2-episode-screencap-7x13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisP3Akx0ON_H6rjzwjCrLlw72gfGXt1rzVSZHFVtbLcP2Km8yBhGj_yCn21IgRYOkubCX6RfsE-26hyphenhyphenYOW5PrEQ8dDaFiowfjduOcqij6jsW8jlORhekIQujpF4SQmD4NcXQ5UR3alWjQ/s320/67683-doctor-who-the-ambassadors-of-death-2-episode-screencap-7x13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And lastly, on a visual note of another kind… this is the first of Third
Doctor lost episodes. However, unlike the Hartnell and Troughton missing
episodes in which all video is lost, only the color prints were lost for some
Third Doctor stories. This means that the serial fluctuates back and forth from
black and white to color, sometimes fading mid-scene, often cutting
disorientingly along with a change of location- we just pop from a black and
white scene in a field to a sudden color interior; it makes for a very odd
viewing experience. It doesn’t affect the watchability, just makes things
slightly surreal. (And just this month, the new colorized version is being released on DVD at long last!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">This was also a strong episode for the audio… sort of. It premieres the
‘rising whine’ sound that any viewers of the New Series will know always leads
into the opening credits and ending credits, a high-pitch piercing… I don’t
know, it’s too sharp a sound to call a whine. Let’s call it a… ‘Pirr.’ You
know, like Christopher Eccleston regenerates into David Tennant, and he says a
great line about new teeth, and then: “Where were we? Ah, yes… Barcelona.”
Pirrrrrrrrr… bad-dur-um-dum, Dun-dun-duh-duh-duh, dun-dun-duh-duh-duh,
dun-dun-duh-duh-duh, DUN-dun-duh-duh-duh… whooooo-eeeee-ooooooo,
weeee-ooooo-oooo… dum dum dum, DUMMMMMM-dum dum… you know, the ending credits
music? Yeah, it’s that sound. That totally starts here. (Who fans call it 'the scream.') Unless they changed it
for the DVD or something. The next serial will tell. As does the clever
practice of cutting straight to the credits, no fade (We’ve gone from ‘Hold
awkwardly on a long shot while next episode’s title is superimposed over the
actors holding position for way too long’ to ‘hold the shot for too long and
fade out on it’ to ‘run end credits over the last shot and fade it out pretty
quickly’ to ‘awkward half-second fade to black, then fade in the credits’, and
now ‘jump cut from cliffhanger moment directly to credit title card’, which is
very effective at increasing the cliffhanger tension.) And the practice of
doing the opening credits, showing the cliffhanger recap, then cutting to the
serial title, and finally to the resolution- a nice solution for the format.
(Sadly, retrospect has demonstrated that this was a one-time experiment in this
serial- a pity, as I like this format best of all! Still, the next serial will
go right back to the ‘opening sequence followed by a long title card and
credits showing the serial title and then finally cut back into the cliffhanger
from last week and its resolution’ format. Rats!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">(Speaking of the aforementioned cliffhangers, they have these down pat-
the Third Doctor serials have had some of the best cliffhangers I’ve seen. The
end of Episode Two, as the Doctor spouts nonsense phrases into the radio and
receives the same static replies from the astronauts, the camera dollying in on
his face, his expression growing more tense, the music building in a slow, low
rumble, until his head snaps up and he tersely announces “All right, cut it
open!” in almost a cold fury, is a sight to behold- magnificent in that it’s
not a cliffhanger from danger or a sudden revelation, but simply from the
tension of the situation and fantastic acting. A description is guaranteed not
to do it justice- do yourself a favor and go see it in-context! I literally
exclaimed out loud when I saw it. (Note from Future Andrew: And essentially a cliffhanger unrivaled until Colin Baker almost 20 seasons later- and even then, more or less a tie! This is one of the </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">best</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> cliffhangers of all time!))<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Also, this serial is notable for its music. Sometimes good… and
sometimes utterly horrible. What’s with the jaunty organ music for all of the
space capsule shots during a tense rendezvous? Seriously, what is UP with that?
Tonally inept, to say the least, but unintentionally hilarious in its
juxtaposition. Most of the score falls into this so-good-it’s-bad category;
it’s not bad music, just bad music for the scene it’s attached to. Still, parts of it are quite good, such as
the aforementioned ethereal ET/Mac and Me/etc. theme for the aliens, which is
otherworldly and slightly magical- the perfect ‘aliens with incredible powers
walk among us’ wonderment for this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Then, there are stunts and performances:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">During the bizarre assault on UNIT, we are treated to a truly cool
helicopter sequence (the Jihad has ended! Hoorah!) in which a UNIT man tries to
break inside, riding on the strut before being thrown off- something I can’t
see BWW accomplishing on its budget!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Time Displacement bit at the beginning, though a little silly, is a
fun little bit to remind us that Time/Space travel haven’t left us for good,
just taken a little vacation. Nice touch!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Liz chase in a water treatment plant… or park… or something… was
well done, if a little clumsily choreographed. It was fun. Likewise, while
there’s nothing especially standout about the assault on the fuel depot, it was
nicely executed with some good stunts and a solid ending chase/finale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Whether intentional ironic humor or unintentional bad writing humor, I
liked the running gag that the order to shut the gates always comes to the
checkpoint seconds after they’ve waved the vehicle-to-be-stopped through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And the best bits were definitely in the last episode- the Doctor’s
gambit of pretending to build an alien comm. device and building an SOS
telegraph instead (a signal my lovely wife recognized immediately) was
intelligent and funny, a deftly written twist subtly conveyed and brimming with
humor; major kudos. And in the much less subtle, brazenly comedic vein, the
notion of having all of the transport seized, followed by the suggestion “Well,
sir, there’s always the Doctor’s car…” The expression on Lethbridge-Stewart’s
face, followed by the immediate jump cut to armed UNIT cavalry riding to the
rescue in Bessie, was absolutely and utterly priceless. (Secondary kudos to
acknowledging the fact that having your car all shot up in the escape might
adversely affect its performance!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And last in the potpourri, a few conceptual complaints…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">So, this is UK Mission Control. Because England has always had such
great space ambitions. Now, I know we find out this is hardly their first
launch- 3<sup>rd</sup> at least heading to Mars- but, really? Three people in
one room is their mission control? If you watch Apollo 13 or From the Earth To
The Moon, you see row after row of technicians at computer stations- 3-4 banks
of them, each with a different section to monitor… and what you don’t see is
the entire rooms of people receiving the same telemetry, working for each of
those men and communicating by radio. Each of the dozens of controllers at
Houston is like the Electoral College member for a US state- one person
representing many, many more. It takes hundreds to man a rocket flight, and
here they have… like, 3? Then again, perhaps that’s how it works when it’s
modeled after a Parliamentary system? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And they’re even more short-staffed, because one of the three is a
certified IDIOT- he continues to insist that the SPECIFIC SIGNAL WITH
PICTOGRAPHIC DATA ENCODED IN IT THAT REPEATS EXACTLY AT SPECIFIC INTERVALS is
random static. So, not exactly a rocket scientist, then… which is precisely
whom you would want to have staffing mission control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Oh, and they only have one computer? A singular one, so that sabotaging
it will put a serious dent in the investigation? I know at the time computers
were rare, but this is MISSION CONTROL FOR A MARS MISSION. Surely there must be
more than one computer? It’s certainly too technologically early for a virus to
be on the network…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">They also decided to go Russian-style and have the capsule land on land,
out in the middle of a field. Not really a complaint, just an interesting note.
And they did remember the Service module/capsule difference, showing a Service
module in orbit, but just a capsule on land, implying an orbital jettison. So,
points for that. That the hatch was sealed and couldn’t be opened without
cutting through with a welding torch? And they just had to put it on a truck
(tumbling around the astronauts inside who-knows-how-badly) and haul it back to
base (Mission control, the launch facility, forensics, and astronaut training
seem to be all combined into one facility- they weren’t in real life) to do
anything with it? This is almost as poor design as the controls (see below); in
real life, capsule hatches were sealed from the outside, and I’m pretty sure
designed to be opened from the outside in case of emergency. You know, in case
the astronauts are incapacitated, you’d kind of want help to be able to get to
them? Unless they’re saying the aliens sealed it in a way it wasn’t designed to
be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Finally, the interior design of the capsule as the Doctor is preparing
to go is simply atrocious; the astronaut cannot physically reach the controls
without unbuckling, getting up, and walking over to them- they are far out of
arm’s reach, and impossible to get to while on their back. This is the
equivalent of making your airline cockpit out of a stretch limo cabin, with the
pilot seated at the back, and the control stick on the front wall, so that
while seated, the pilot cannot actually fly the plane. It’s so absurd that
words fail me on how absurd it is. Oh, wait… as absurd as UNIT’s combat skills
in the first few episodes. Yep, that about describes it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Anyhow, gripes aside, we did have a wide cast of memorable characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">They range from the minor (the three hypnotized astronauts who can’t see
their true surroundings are effectively creepy just for how normal they’re
acting in bizarre surroundings), to small (the crazy bearded guy who sabotages
the computer and threatens the Doctor at gunpoint- and then meets a pretty
impressive explosive end, and the poor incompetently-handled defecting scientist
who knew Liz, who more or less dies from UNIT neglect) to major… like our crazy
general.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">While a bit of a cliché, he works as a character- someone who saw a best
friend killed instantly and brutally by a single touch of an alien being, who
now wants to defend Earth from them. His methods get a little over-the-top and
start to fly in the face of all logic, but that’s what obsession does, and his
motivation for that obsession seems reasonable (I think this is what the Doctor
says he ‘understands’ at the end). What makes him so unhingedly-disturbing
toward the end is just how normal he can act sometimes; there’s no clue to his
madness until he completely wigs out. He makes a good villain, feeling only
slightly stale in ‘stock character’ terms, but having fairly good presence for
the series. His thugs are a little more bland and unremarkable, antagonistic
enough that you’re glad to see them get their comeuppance, but not terribly
memorable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Brigadier has little to do until the last chapter or two, bungling
things pretty badly near the start (okay, he was up against a conspiracy, but
he shouldn’t have neglected a defecting prisoner with valuable information so
long, especially when potential informants have been getting assassinated so
commonly in the last day or two). Still, he proves to be the ONLY competent
UNIT soldier in the first battle, saves the Doctor’s rocket (partially), and
really takes charge, putting on an impressive one-man show of a daring escape
and strong combat in the final chapter. Not so much character development in
this one, unfortunately- something badly needed after his character was run
into the ground in the Silurian serial. Hopefully some needed character development
will come his way soon. Regardless, he seems mostly back to his Spearhead-self;
if a little less open-minded yet again, he is at least fully behind the Doctor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Liz is likewise well-served in ‘moments,’ but not as much in character;
however, her dynamic varies by having about 1/5 character development, 2/5
action, and 2/5… absence. In other words, a greater proportion of
character-moments-to-memorable-scenes, but at the cost of having less time in
the serial overall. Regardless, in addition to a good chase, some decent
‘convict the bad guy you used to know who has a conscience and just needs a
little nudge to return to the side of good so play on his conscience with
repeated pleas while you’re both captured and working under the nose of the bad
guys’ scenes (a cinematic convention first designed by a Sir Lawrence
Wicktenshire in 1653 whilst out pheasant hunting, passed on to his heirs in the
hope that cinema would one day be invented to employ his idea to proper usage,
and imported to the Americas from the Wicketnshire estate by Charlie Chaplain
in 1909, for the sum of $32.97, the modern equivalent of 1.7 Billion dollars.),
Liz also has a number of good moments with the Doctor. Aside from the slightly
silly slapstick time-displacement bit, there’s a really sweet moment near the
beginning, when the Doctor is glued to the TV despite himself, watching the
Martian-orbit rendezvous, when Liz brings him over something to drink and joins
him, very much like a parent or sibling looking out for his health. It’s a little
thing, but implies a great depth of relationship (that we haven’t really seen
evidenced or warranted based on only 2 previous serials, but let’s not let that
quibble stand in the way of sentiment) that really nuances this
Doctor-companion (or, in this case, Doctor-assistant) relationship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And, of course, the Doctor himself. He is a jack-of-all-trades in this
one; brave, confident, gallant, diplomatic, authoritative, clever- a
well-rounded action hero. He is in-control (with a fantastic scene involving Bessie’s
anti-theft device in which he single-handedly thwarts the bad guys, leaves them
helpless, rescues the space capsule, and saves the day- when an entire UNIT
battalion couldn’t accomplish the same), canny (with his disappearing tape
trick, for instance, as well as his masterful SOS gambit), funny (zooming in
with Bessie right under a closing security gate, and arriving into the control
room insisting to someone off-screen “Well, I simply don’t HAVE a pass, my good
man- I don’t believe in them!”), brave (action-hero-ing it up by becoming an
astronaut), investigative, cautious, and friendly (in his investigation of the
alien craft and handling of its passengers), compassionate (not only to the
captured ambassadors, but also to the soldiers he warns out of their way during
the ending siege, and even to the poor, deluded villain at the end), and has
several powerful acting moments- especially the intensity of the aforementioned
tour-de-force cliffhanger “Cut it open!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Overall, Ambassadors of Death (a great title) is a lot of fun and good
moments stretched out just a little too long. I can’t point to any particular
elements as extraneous- perhaps all of the cuts back to the villains before Liz
joins them?- it just felt a little padded. Not to War Games levels, certainly;
I just felt the pacing could be a bit tighter. That said, it has a number of
great set pieces, and plenty of elements that make it worth watching.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Great moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The launch and alien spacecraft, the improvised SOS, the Brig’s escape,
Bessie to the rescue, the Brig’s pistol-prowess, the ending assault on mission
control, and UNIT to the rescue… in Bessie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">3.75 (or three and three-quarters) out of 5 “Shoes!” for this serial (I
am fairly sure that most of my shoes for the last decade have been worn to the
point of being ‘three-quarter shoes’ before I replaced them), which contains a
number of 4-star pieces, it’s just a little… slow. Even so, the cliffhangers
alone make it well worth checking out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Dating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">No concrete numbers for this serial, but the presence of a UK space
program and the antiquity of Morse Code suggests a more futuristic ‘1980s’ time
period far more than it does a contemporary 1970 setting. So, this is the first
that really supports a ‘near future’ date in tone- though perhaps it simply
takes place a decade after the last one, explaining why the events of the
wretched Silurians serial have so little impact in this story.<b style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-86776737398985365232012-10-17T16:47:00.000-07:002012-10-17T17:54:53.312-07:00Doctor Who and the Silurians<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Doctor Who and the Silurians<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Jon Pertwee <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Brigadier
Alistair </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lethbridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">A strange power drain has been plaguing the new subterranean nuclear
power research center (errrr… centre) in Wenley Moor, drawing the Brigadier, the
Doctor (in Bessie, his new custom yellow jalopy, and his pride and joy), and
Liz to the network of caves that connect to it. One of the workers has recently
been killed there, and his partner reports something large and saurian… could one
of the dinosaurs have survived all these years?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Director Lawrence doesn’t care one fig- he wants the problem resolved
and his power station running smoothly! He even resents UNIT’s presence, though
Heaven knows he isn’t fixing the problem on his own, so who knows what he’s
really looking for! Regardless, it is safe to say that the Wheel WILL run
smoothly, and the gas-flow will NOT be shut off! Meanwhile, Dr. Quinn (Medicine
Wo- okay, okay, sorry, couldn’t resist…) and his assistant, Miss Dawson, know
EXACTLY what’s going on, but they have no intention of sharing that knowledge-
Quinn has great ambitions that he can only achieve with help from his
mysterious benefactors… Major Baker, paranoid security chief, believes that
there is a saboteur loose, and he will shoot anyone or anything that might be
it until the malfunctions stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Our thoroughly likable dramatis personae established, the Doctor heads
down to explore the caves, and is attacked by the dinosaur- but it is suddenly
called off by a shadowy figure. Baker, following him, takes a shot at it,
wounding the shadowy figure. Examining blood left at the scene, the Doctor
discovers reptilian characteristics…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The wounded creature, meanwhile, has stumbled out of the caves, and
takes shelter in a barn, where the owners, a farmer and their wife, discover
it- the farmer dies of a heart attack, and the wife goes into shock… but is
able to describe the reptilian attacker. Liz, investigating, also has a close
encounter with the creature, but is only knocked unconscious by it. Quinn,
however, has a leg up on everyone- he has been given a device to summon the
creature by its compatriots down in the caves, whom he’s been in cahoots with
the whole time. He wishes to know their advanced scientific secrets, and has
been trading knowledge of the above-ground world to get it. He is dissatisfied
with the progress, however- and while the beings promise that they will reveal
all if he can recover the wounded creature, he instead decides to abduct it to
his house and hold it there until it gives him the secrets he desires. In
retaliation, it kills him. The Doctor stumbles onto it- a Silurian, so named
for the geological period from which it is thought to originate. He greets the
Silurian and offers to help it, but it flees before he can open a dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC11WnTI9IZTon89RfQOW2JDmIKQwZFPsSrZwG4FMEDnFvQ1SfFlVcE55CnOInaDcXW39kdGk6whxT2sDPqq3HuNYk0-FGeGUjFTeq6T7LRLRqhN4g-IQtdvHzwYVLSNkMxVfJ3fdsdcM/s1600/silurian+approaches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC11WnTI9IZTon89RfQOW2JDmIKQwZFPsSrZwG4FMEDnFvQ1SfFlVcE55CnOInaDcXW39kdGk6whxT2sDPqq3HuNYk0-FGeGUjFTeq6T7LRLRqhN4g-IQtdvHzwYVLSNkMxVfJ3fdsdcM/s320/silurian+approaches.jpg" width="168" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, Baker, determined to go down into the caves and track down
his saboteur, sets off for blood- but is soon captured by the Silurians. The
Doctor and Liz follow, and find him caged in a high-tech underground
installation. They also observe Silurians being awakened from hibernation
chambers, using power siphoned off of the nuclear reactor- each power drain has
been a Silurian waking from suspended animation which has spanned eons.
Slipping back out, the Doctor and Liz meet Masters, </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lawrence</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">’s superior, to
whom he is complaining about UNIT interference (you know, the UNIT interference
that’s actually getting things <i>done</i>). The Doctor reveals the existence of the
Silurians, hoping to begin a peaceful negotiation (as the Brigadier is already
planning to lead an armed expedition down into the caves), but his concealing
of Quinn’s death backfires when Miss Dawson stumbles in with the news of his
death- this confirmed Silurian-killing puts the entire base up in arms, and
preparations continue to enter the caves in force. The Doctor decides to
surreptitiously slip away before the expedition can leave and contact the
Silurians beforehand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">In the caves, the Doctor warns of the coming human invasion in hopes of
getting the Silurians to negotiate. The angry second-in-command tries to kill
him, but the leader intervenes at the last moment. (If </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lawrence</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> is a retread of
Robson and Bennet, then the Silurians are a retread of the Dominators- “Second
wants to kill him, but first overrides him” repeated ad nauseum). The Silurians
trap the UNIT party with a controlled cave-in, sealing them off from entering
the caves further or retreating.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor negotiates the leader into releasing them, and learns the
Silurian history- the Silurians were once the dominant species on the planet,
but when the moon was drawn to Earth, the Silurians believed it would impact
the surface and went into stasis to survive the calamity. However, there was a
malfunction and they never revived. Now, they find their Earth overrun by a
species alien to them, one that had not yet evolved at the time of their
slumber. (Those who know me well know that I consider the preceding paragraph
to be the biggest ‘fiction’ of this entire science fiction episode- but in the
Doctor Who universe, unlike our own, evolution is a reality).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">While the Doctor convinces the Silurian leader that negotiation and
peaceful coexistence is possible, the headstrong second has already infected
Baker with a deadly virus and released him. He ends up taken to a local
hospital, and dies by the time that the Doctor can reach him- Masters returns
to London whilst also (unknowingly) infected, and the plague starts to spread. </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lawrence</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> dies of it, so at
least there is that. But mostly, the plague is a bad thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Knowledge that the Silurians are wiping out the human race with
bacterial warfare does not foster better relations with them. That’s okay,
though- the angry and absurdly rebellious second slays his leader and takes
command of the Silurians, and is determined to wipe out all of humanity and
reclaim the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">As the Doctor works on- and locates- a cure, the Silurians abduct him to
prevent his saving humanity. So Liz does it with the Doctor's notes. The
Silurains retaliate by planning to destroy the Van Allen Belt and irradiate the
Earth. They think this won’t kill them, for some reason. Maybe they’re
radiation-hardened? They already have glowing red third eyes that operate
controls telekinetically and melt through solid rock, so maybe it’s not beyond
their plethora of Dues Ex Mechanisms. Regardless, they need power from the
humans to do it once again, dependant on the now-inactive reactor (was this
some sort of weird social metaphor for welfare and state-dependency?), and take
the Doctor back into the control center to active the reactor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Along with Liz, the Doctor conspires to put the reactor into meltdown.
The Silurians flee to re-hibernate in order to survive the radiation (so
they’re NOT radiation proof? Make up your mind, story…) and the Doctor and Liz
manage to shut down the runaway reactor. The Doctor goes down to investigate
the Silurian chamber, and the second/leader, realizing he’s been duped (having
stayed out of hibernation to activate the controls) attacks him. The Brigadier
had followed, however, and shoots the Silurian dead. (That’s hardly the proper
gratitude. He DID get rid of Baker and Lawrence, after all. That deserves some
thanks.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Afterwards, all is well- the plague is cured, and the Silurians are back
in stasis. The Doctor plans to revive them one at a time, reasoning with them
and negotiating a peaceful settlement in a controlled environment. He is
practically giddy as he returns to his UNIT lab in Bessie to get some needed
equipment- imagine all we’ll be able to learn from their science and
technology!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">But the Brigadier dynamites the caves, killing them all in their sleep.
(Or sealing them in forever, as he states- it’s not clear, though the Doctor at
least thinks they’re dead). The paranoia of humanity has won out, and the
Doctor drives off in disgust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Review:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Doctor Who and the Silurians is badly written. Sorry, but it is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The story comes in two parts- the cave-intrigue/wounded Silurian story,
and the plague/destroying the Silurians bit. Both are garbage. Some more than
others. But mostly all of them. The plot is by-the-numbers, filled with
out-of-character characters doing annoying things. Who are these packs of
imbeciles? Well…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Liz, while getting attacked and having little to do otherwise, carries
herself in such a manner as to avoid being lumped in with the typical companion
damsel-in-distress mode; for that, at least, I must give her kudos. Otherwise…
too much of a non-entity this serial for me to really review.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Professor Quinn is really quite a fool, or perhaps too paranoid for his
own good- mayhaps the stress got to him, but his suspicious behavior and
eventual decision to blackmail the allies who were cooperating with him got him
killed. Not a very smart man, and not a very clever villain. Likewise for his
assistant, Miss Dawson (given the motivation in the novelization of being a
desperate spinster with prospects of making Quinn her husband, willing to go
along with his insane scheme to get in his good graces… charming.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Likewise, so is Lawrence, an obnoxious obsessed madman in the vein of Robson
from Fury in the Deep, a man obsessed with his facility’s operation beyond all
reason or safety considerations, who just got more shrill and irritating
throughout the course of the serial until you were practically BEGGING for the
Brigadier to have to shoot him in self-defense. Like the villains upcoming in
the next few serials, and Robson before him in Fury from the Deep, he is a
completely obsessed villain-in-authority who has a
single-minded-to-the-point-of-insanity obsession with a specific goal no matter
what extenuating circumstances surround it, expecting the world to revolve
around his pet project and remove obstacles from his path- and considering
anyone who expects him to factor in or deal with these obstacles to be a fool
attempting to obstruct him. </span><span lang="EN">One can only assume that they each had childhoods
in video game RPGs as peasants, who only had one or two pre-programmed stock
responses to any and ALL stimuli, a behavior pattern they kept in adulthood.
*SIGH* In fact, from here on out, I will
refer to them as RPGPs (Role Playing Game Peasants) for their single-minded,
one-note, stock responses to any and all situations in total defiance of logic.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">As is Charles, the man who gets captured by the Silurians and WON’T SHUT
UP. Seriously, you spend 80% of this serial wishing that the character
on-screen at that moment would DIE. I cannot over-emphasize this; it is hard to
describe accurately how irritatingly noxious and grating these characters are!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Brigadier is unfortunately rendered a bit of a two-dimensional cardboard
cutout in this one, almost an antagonist- a gun-happy fool who only thinks of
the violent solution (Though, ironically, the only good moment in which I truly
appreciated him during this serial… was when he shot the sniveling idiot of a
Silurian second-in-command-turned-leader-by-assassination), setting up one of
the first of Who’s recurring “Guns are bad, soldiers are bad, foolish humans
fear and destroy whatever they don’t know” …morality lessons? Parables? Tropes?
Whatever they are, I dislike them- and I practically detest the use of the Brig
in this role for the duration of this serial. Even when he’s not being stubborn
and pigheaded, he seems to be designed to get on the audience’s bad side (poor
writing, or intentional ‘propaganda’ to make him- and the side he represents in
this serial- seem less favorable, I don’t know), barging in on the Doctor and
interrupting his heart-to-heart just as a suspicious woman was about to reveal
the whole plot, disbelieving the Doctor’s assertions, not listening to his
reasoning, and rushing off to war. This is not the open-minded,
possibility-aware Brig that we saw in Spearhead, nor the level-headed and
friendly man from The Invasion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8scTUIyy677gswul3xr54hWA7MMaLfw3Sp9aSw5Rdutf9bMjnawrb8QmGHD1l0qmACkYW8yIEJU3fTyy62_ztHf3uietkAU1OIrqAOc29_rsxBFhLgHQ18knuGhMQWdECjSXQOg8Mhqo/s1600/doctor+and+tatoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8scTUIyy677gswul3xr54hWA7MMaLfw3Sp9aSw5Rdutf9bMjnawrb8QmGHD1l0qmACkYW8yIEJU3fTyy62_ztHf3uietkAU1OIrqAOc29_rsxBFhLgHQ18knuGhMQWdECjSXQOg8Mhqo/s1600/doctor+and+tatoo.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Nor is the Doctor much better. He keeps vital secrets, plays his cards
very close to the vest, hides important details, conceals deaths- all of which
act to escalate the tension that leads the Brig to take strong actions so that
the Doctor can detest them. Then, he goes and betrays the Brig and the humans
by warning the ungrateful Silurians. A very Doctorish thing to do as per the
New Series, but relatively unprecedented here, and potentially fatal to the
Brig and his men. It is a shame that both the Doctor and the Brig must be
written so badly in order for the story’s central premise to work- it’s sloppy
and shoddy. In addition, the Doctor
keeps up a perfect track record of being WAY too honest when it comes to
dealing with the Silurians, and working to increase the tensions he’s going to
defuse. He comes back to bring a Silurian offer of peace, and makes sure to
give full disclosure that the Silurians were behind the plague intentionally.
Just like the New Series episode in which the Doctor flat out states “I met
Silurians before; two different colonies. The humans killed them all.” In both
cases, he is practically pointing a finger and using the most inflammatory
phrasing possible. Is it so hard to say “He became infected; the Silurians have
a sample of the virus with which we can develop a cure.” Or “They’re both dead
now, I’m sorry/They were killed in a conflict that they began.” I mean,
seriously! In both serials, a peaceful Silurian leader is betrayed by a
war-mongering second-in-command, and the humans are obsessed one-note ranting
idiot RPGPs, and in both serials the Doctor claims to be trying to negotiate a
peace, but saying all of the things that either side could most easily and
angrily misconstrue- as if he’s trying to sabotage his own efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">However, the Doctor does have several good moments- trying to make peace
(based on a conceptually brilliant desert-colonization plan) between the humans
and Silurians (heralding the era of a less destroy-the-monsters Doctor and a
more negotiation-based, compromise-finding Doctor- a paradigm shift that, like
the giving enemies a last chance before their destruction from the last serial,
is likely to stick); and a crowning moment of Doctor-ness, a great character
establishment, and one of my favorite bits so far- his immediate greeting of
the monstrous-looking Silurian with a warm smile and proffered handshake. In
amongst the shaky decisions and poor writing, these moments serve the Doctor
well. And of course, here we are properly introduced to Bessie, the Doctor’s
beloved yellow jalopy (with license plate Who 1), which I continue to believe
is a TARDIS surrogate, an emotional replacement and receptacle of attention and
affection which can no longer be poured into the police box; for as long as he
is denied Time and Space travel, Bessie is his TARDIS, and is treated as such.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">We learn less about the Silurians, and for the purposes of this serial’s
story, they are far less sympathetic than they ought to be. We get some
standard EP&S (Enemy Politics & Strife, for those of you that don’t
remember), but that’s about it. This is a severe miscalculation. The position
of the Silurians make sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">If we went into stasis, as a race, in 2012 AD, and
then woke up in 502,012 AD to find a race of Cockroach people claiming the
Earth as their own, we’d probably feel entitled to take back our planet, too.
After all, five minutes ago (to us), the Earth was ours- and now these
Cockroaches are building a dunghill dwelling in the remnants of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">New York City</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">! (Well, okay, they
can keep </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">New York City</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">, but you know what
I mean). And from their perspective, they’ve never heard of us; we’ve been
absent for the entire dawn of their civilization. They tamed the planet, built
cities, established cultures, created wonders, fought wars, created art, made
memories, created lineages, farmed the land- for hundreds of thousands of
years, and suddenly some race of underground beings, ugly and inhuman (or
incockroach, in this case) show up plotting to take over the world because they
claim that 500,000 years ago, it was theirs? Well heck with that- <i>TO WAR!</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">It’s
a good dramatic conflict- but it would work so much better with sympathy for
both sides. The inhuman appearance of the Silurians works to heighten the
different-than-us-we-must-fight-them conflict, but it’s also an obstacle to be
overcome in audience opinion, which can only be done with sympathetic
characters we get to know. We don’t, and it weakens the story, the conflict,
and the dilemma- rendering the reasonable Silurians into evil monsters-of-the-week instead of reasonably, realistically-motivated antagonists with a valid
point. (A problem carried through in the New Series revival that makes 3 of the
4 Silurians: A grating irritant spiteful hateful racist pain-in-the-neck, a psychopathic
genocidal out-of-control loose-cannon warrior, and a supposedly sympathetic
scientist… that vivissects living humans un-anesthetized.) Will middle
appearances get this Silurian factor right? We'll see as they come around...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Speaking of appearances, the inhuman ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’
look is nicely executed- strange and inhuman for story purposes, and nicely
different from anything we’ve seen. (This is another area where the New Series
bungled them, making them humanoids with snake-skin, with a head shaped like
tree-lady Jabe’s and a human, more expressive face. This could have worked to
engender much need sympathy through expressiveness for the story purposes
explained above… if they hadn’t been such a bunch of obnoxious jerks. As it is,
the design simply serves to render moot the unique non-human-ness of the
Silurians, ignore a great design, make them too much like spike-less Vinvoci or
snakeskin Tree people, and rob them of their unique third-eye powers- which can
drive men insane, operate equipment, and BURN THROUGH SOLID ROCK. Why would you
deprive a major Doctor Who monster race of this unique and powerful ability?
It’s the equivalent of re-designing Daleks for the New Series as sleek cones
without guns; a pointless ruining of a good design. Or, to put it another way… like
re-designing the Daleks the way they did in Victory of the Daleks.) Likewise,
the dinosaur-beast, while a bit fake-looking, is ambitious and huge, and I was
fairly impressed with the execution; a cool effect and story point, with the
attacks repeatedly averted by its Silurian masters forming a good mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Last but not least, we have the Silurian second in command, an upstart
moron in the mold of Zentos/Tor/Dominator Toba- it seems to me that
second-in-commands in Doctor Who only exist to question orders, rebel, and kill
their commanders; they have no other function. Just another random war-monger.
It is to Doctor Who’s woe that these two archetypes cannot be banished, for
they’re as annoying as heck: the second-in-command who disagrees with the leader’s
peaceful notions, then usurps and kills them during negotiations and takes his
people to war (still present in the New Series, from the cult of Skarro to the
New Silurians), and the obsessed project leader who has complete authority and
will not listen to any form of reason to halt or even slow his project down
despite all signs pointing to imminent disaster (a relative newcomer that
hopefully will die out soon). Sadly, these two seem to be becoming Who Stock
Character #1 and Who Stock Character #2 for this Third Doctor era… much to its
detriment! And after all of this hatred… the super-contrived reason everyone
isn’t slaughtered at the end… is because this zealot-bigot spares them because
he wants them to die in a nuclear meltdown instead? Really? Still, this is
hardly the only Silurian absurdity… we also learn that apes used to raid their
crops. So, they developed a viral pathogen that killed millions. …Over-react
much?!? It seems the Silurians skipped “Scarecrow” on the technology tree and
went straight to “Massive globe-spanning biological attack?!?” No wonder they
were a trifle unreasonable in this serial- overreacting seems to be part of
their nature!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And speaking of said plague, on the human side- they give everyone
full-spectrum antibiotics (I’m sure they were considered a newly-discovered
miracle cure back in the day… like radiation in the 50s, or stem-cells in the
2000s) which, as you know, simply kill all bacteria, the good and the bad
equally. After distributing this to all of the personnel, they refer to
everyone on-base having received an inoculation. Ummm… while by a dictionary
definition this might theoretically be true (I’m not medically-versed enough to
know), I don’t think a broad-spectrum antibiotic counts as an inoculation
against the plague. It’s more of a preventative measure. Just a minor quibble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the music for this entire serial is… hmmm… let’s see. I think
I’m in danger of over-using ‘rubbish’ ‘tripe’ and ‘garbage’ in the finale… let
me check my thesaurus… the music is pure codswallop! Atonal, blaring,
meandering without a tune… and what was WITH that theme for Charles that
sounded like the military funeral ‘TAPS,’ except the trumpet player got bored
and wandered off for the second half of the tune… played on kazoo???? WHAT IS
THIS FOLDEROL??? Worthless trash, the whole score.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And the sound design…! Every sound is loud, screeching, piercing,
grating… as my wife pointed out, the phone sounds were clearly dubbed in later,
and not heard on set, because no one was wincing- and the irritating tonal
pulsing of the Silurian third eye was compounded by the fact that they did
EVERYTHING with it to the point that it </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> seem like they needed hands, as
they never USED them for anything! The sound design was pure trumpery, utterly
designed to scrape one’s nerves raw- I am pretty sure that this serial was the
actual Silurian attack on humanity, an audible assault on the ear drums through
and through. In the last serial, the pulsing reactor actualy drowns out all
dialogue- we can barely even HEAR the first mention of the Doctor’s famous
‘Neutron flow’ (though reversing its polarity has yet to be invented), or
anything else, for that matter!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The effects are decent- the dinosaur and Silurian designs are good
(albeit the execution is a bit clunky). The burn-through effect the first time,
on the cave wall, is an amazingly well-executed effect of molten rock,
rivaling, say, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace or the far-ahead-of-its-time
Forbidden Planet in accomplishing the effect. Future usages are a lot more
hokey, a very simplistic and fake looking animated effect. (And how can they
re-seal the material behind them? That’s a whole different power to
superheating- that’s, like, telekenesis plus molecular re-distribution! At
least the wall still looks scorched afterwards and they can’t just reverse the
burning as if it never happened- that was a good touch). And seriously, the
leader operates the control panel with his third-eye power… and this is
portrayed by a camera shot of the control panel repeatedly going out of focus
and back into focus?!?!? That’s your control panel effect??? A series of RACK
FOCUSES?? (Focus’? Focci?) I will say this for them- the plague makeup looked
very, very good. Quite effective. Likewise, the cave sets were quite good, as
was the Slurian stasis chamber. The plague makeup is very good looking (well,
you know, good at being horrid-looking… horrid… it’s… effective, let’s put it
that way). And the pyrotechnics at the end are excellent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Overall, this serial has a good concept- but it serves as an exercise in
frustration because of the out-of-character and unlikeable ways that known and
familiar characters must be twisted to accomplish it. Like Pirates of the </span><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Caribbean</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">: At World’s End,
everyone seems to be working against everyone else, keeping secrets,
double-crossing… and it’s hard to find someone to root for. The Doctor and the
Brigadier spend the entire serial lying to and betraying each other, completely
out of character, until…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Worst of all is the ending- an unreasonable, predictable little cliché
about ‘fear of the unknown.’ It’s hard to tell whether the Brigadier really
just sealed off the caves as he claimed (paranoid, ignorant, and foolish, but
not evil) and the Doctor was mistaken, or whether he actually did destroy
dozens of hibernating Silurians as the Doctor claims (making him a
mass-murderer of innocent, helpless sentient beings and probably a war
criminal)- either way, it seemed incredibly contrived and unrealistic- was this
government-approved, despite the fact that these were helpless captives? See,
THIS would be the time for a Harriet-Jones-style government toppling and “Here
comes </span><st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Britain</span></st1:place></st1:country><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">, the true
monsters” speech- this is potentially (and the Doctor believes it to be) an act
of GENOCIDE. And in the next serial…? IT’S IGNORED AS IF IT NEVER HAPPENED. No
love lost between the Doctor and the Brig, no resignation from UNIT, no
resentment… he just acts as if it never happened. It isn’t even brought up, the
Doctor just cheerfully accepts the man who LIED to him and COMMITTED GENOCIDE
with a cheery ‘good morning!’ THAT IS BAD WRITING!!! No, that is SO BAD that
whatever it is, it doesn’t deserve to be called 'writing!' And they totally
forget the dinosaur in the last few episodes! Bah, this thing is rubbish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Sorry, some may feel this is a little premature, but I’m calling it-
this is the Third Doctor’s ‘Galaxy 4.’ This pile of garbage is poorly
characterized, badly written, stupid, and an assault on these ears, filled with
noxious, grating characters and noxious, grating sounds. I am relatively
convinced that it is impossible to make a GOOD, non-irritating, non-cliched,
non-predictable story with the Silurians. Perhaps the Sea Devils and Warriors
of the Deep will prove me wrong… though
from what I’ve heard about the latter, at least… that seems unlikely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Great moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor’s enthusiastic greeting of the horrific-looking Silurian, and
the big reveal of the ability to burn through rock. Oh, and when Lawrence and
Baker die at last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">No “Shoes!” out of 5 for this abomination! I was going to give it 1 for
production designs, costuming, and effects- but the last chapter’s stupidity
and utter discontinuity tripe, adding a MAJORLY IMPACTFUL GENOCIDE needlessly
into Doctor Who canon and then completely ignoring the consequences as if they
never happened, sealed this ‘rubbish tip’s fate! THIS! IS! GARBAGE!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Dating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Money is referenced in pre-decimal currency (I dunno what that means,
either- ask a Brit!), suggesting that this is pre-1976- supporting a congruent-with-air date
1970s setting. That’s 2 now that suggest the modern day… when will this
controversy enter? Stay tuned, faithful reader…<b style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-66721192037144097302012-10-10T17:10:00.000-07:002012-10-17T17:57:28.101-07:00Doctor Who: Spearhead from Space<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></b>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqeQPs1IpXFnR7lctUxA0udO1LZ2qhGN5__9Wlw7pXn18M2XU7qa3WP5p9DBnQACGk5SfMhUqcn_PZbQWaJ7ZH_7UtSBeGkMMfxG4wItWGffdGdXdja1mHoJKiuOKTmEGCuHWK0XXQUrE/s1600/bk-3a-74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqeQPs1IpXFnR7lctUxA0udO1LZ2qhGN5__9Wlw7pXn18M2XU7qa3WP5p9DBnQACGk5SfMhUqcn_PZbQWaJ7ZH_7UtSBeGkMMfxG4wItWGffdGdXdja1mHoJKiuOKTmEGCuHWK0XXQUrE/s320/bk-3a-74.jpg" width="195" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Spearhead from Space</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 7<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> 4<br /><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Jon Pertwee</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Brigadier Alistair </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial;">Lethbridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;">-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:country -region="-region"><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">England</span></st1:place></st1:country><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">, “Modern Day”
(which either means 1970, the year it was made, or the ‘near future’- the
1980s, in which it was intended to be set. As this blog will chronicle, the
various writers are quite inconsistent about which it is… though ironically,
most of it is retroactive from the Fourth Doctor’s era). A group of strange, purple,
glowing meteorites land in the woods, and a nearby poacher takes one of them.
And not far off, something else lands, too… a bright blue Police Box,
materializing out of thin air. The door opens, and a strange man, tottering on
his last legs, staggers out and collapses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Elsewhere, Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart, head of UNIT (the
United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), is briefing </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"> alumni Liz Shaw
(Does this mean she is a spy? In the movies, all spies and villains explain
their knowledge of the culture/fluent English as having studied at </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Cambridge</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">…), the new UNIT
scientific </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">adviser</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> on the classified nature of her work. Of course, UNIT has
only had 3 brushes with alien life thus far, but one suspects that number is
about to increase exponentially…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Brigadier is summoned to the hospital to see the mysterious man
found near the TARDIS, who is semi-lucid and obsessed with “Shoes!” In a brief
moment of clarity, he recognizes Lethbridge-Stewart before lapsing back into
the trauma-induced craziness, and the Brigadier is left to wonder… could this
somehow BE the Doctor?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Someone thinks he is, as the Doctor is kidnapped by a pair of ruffians,
his mouth duct-taped shut (with a TARDIS key extracted from his shoes inside),
straight-jacketed and in a wheelchair- and yet he escapes, fleeing by
wheelchair into the woods… where he is shot by an overzealous UNIT guard while
approaching the TARDIS. Thankfully, it’s only a graze, and seems to snap him
out of his mania… when he awakes several hours later, he is lucid- sneaking
into the hospital locker room for a shower, and stealing a fancy set of clothes
and a car to escape, as questions about his alien blood work and apparent 2
hearts mount with the hospital staff. However, Lethbridge-Stewart has the
TARDIS key found in his possession, as well as the TARDIS, and so the man steers his
commandeered jalopy towards UNIT HQ…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the poacher conceals the glowing orb of a meteorite from his
wife, locking it into a box in his shed… while in the Auto Plastics factory, a
man named Ransome sneaks into his old workshop (having just been suddenly and
mysteriously laid off) and is shocked to see a plastic mannequin move of its
own accord… even more so when its hand pops open and it fires an explosive shot
at him! Ransome flees in terror, headed for UNIT…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Already there, tracking his TARDIS with a locator watch, the Doctor
encounters Lethbirdge-Stewart and claims that he is the Doctor, albeit with a
changed appearance. The Brigadier is skeptical (Liz Shaw even more so about the
claims that the TARDIS is a spaceship), but both cautiously invite the Doctor
to look at the broken casing of a meteorite found near the TARDIS. The remains
are intriguing to the Doctor, and he agrees to investigate in return for the
TARDIS key being returned to him afterwards. However, the Doctor soon dupes Liz
into stealing the key for him, ostensibly to access more advanced equipment in
the TARDIS, and tries to flee. However, the only result is a loud bang, a great
cloud of smoke, and a loss of the Brigadier and Liz’s trust. The Doctor has
suffered memory loss, and among it, the Time Lords have removed the knowledge
of how to correctly operate the TARDIS from his mind, changed the
dematerialization codes… and now, parts of the ship are damaged, too (either
from the abortive attempt, or the generally poor state of repair that the
Doctor keeps it in, in general). Facing the depressing reality of being stuck
on Earth, the Doctor agrees to help UNIT, as the Brigadier, not entirely </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">trustful</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, begins to believe that he may be the Doctor after all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Based on Ransome’s testimony, UNIT brings the poacher in for
questioning. While he's out at UNIT’s tent-outpost, a mannequin-creature
approaches his home, intently </span></span>tracking the<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> meteorite. When the poacher’s wife
attempts to stop it, it bats her aside without a thought. These are the </span></span>Autons<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">,
creatures made of sentient plastic, and they have been collecting the
meteorites. UNIT finds and engages the </span></span>Auton<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, which flees- called away by its
controller at Auto Plastics. It instead runs to the empty UNIT tent and </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">exercises</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> “Total destruction” on </span></span>Ransome<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, killing him and destroying his body.
The meteorite is found by UNIT and loaded onto a truck- but the </span></span>Auton<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> steps
into the truck's path and causes it to crash, and steals the meteorite from the
wreck. The assault continues as, elsewhere, a perfect plastic duplicate accosts
and replaces General </span></span>Scobie<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, a man in oversight position of UNIT.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">From the meteorite examination, the Doctor realizes that there is a
living consciousness within each meteorite, which is then fashioned a plastic
Auton body on Earth. These creatures, the Nestene, are invading by sending
their brains inconspicuously to Earth, and building conquering bodies for them
after landing. Visiting a waxwork museum in London on a hunch, the Doctor
discovers the real general Scobie, paralyzed and placed in amongst the dummies…
all of important contemporary persons, whom the Autons are replacing…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Waiting in the waxworks at night, the Doctor captures Hibbert, one of
the men from Auto Plastics, and tries to turn him against his Nestene masters.
The Doctor returns to UNIT and fashions a device to destroy the Autons… but at
dawn, they strike- shop dummies in store windows throughout the nation come to
life, rampaging through the streets and killing indiscriminately. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">UNIT makes an assault on Auto Plastics as Hibbert attacks the Nestene’s
central consciousness (and is killed for his troubles). The Doctor and Liz make
their way up to the central chamber as UNIT and the Autons engage in a
firefight below. The Doctor begins disabling Autons (including the fake General
Scobies). In the central chamber, the Doctor confronts the Nestene
Consciousness and tries to get it to leave, but the creature attacks him in a
hideous, tentacled, octopus-like form. Liz fixes a short in the machine and
turns it on the Nestene, destroying it- and without its animating energy, all
of the Autons as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The day is saved, and with nowhere else to go, the Doctor decides to stay
on as UNIT’s scientific advisor… negotiating a workship to repair the TARDIS in
preparation for the day he can work around the Time Lords’ mental block, and a
car like the one he stole, which he’s become rather attached to. Then, properly
introducing himself as “Doctor John Smith” (*sniff* …Jamie gave him that
alias…), he sets to work on his days with UNIT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Review:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ionxeCOYzWkM2Yj5SDw4lpQkqzUZfLYISW78zBQQBfmi4uqao1MDJw0A8HH7xHK6xdMrGOMkjggXC5lCDtC3YKHYQSSHSDO26c81_aVNsK5By5mV9kwiJFiCUoNkFVrxEuj-E9YGEx0/s1600/doc+looking+under+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ionxeCOYzWkM2Yj5SDw4lpQkqzUZfLYISW78zBQQBfmi4uqao1MDJw0A8HH7xHK6xdMrGOMkjggXC5lCDtC3YKHYQSSHSDO26c81_aVNsK5By5mV9kwiJFiCUoNkFVrxEuj-E9YGEx0/s320/doc+looking+under+bed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Doctor Who kicks into color high-gear with a refreshing short,
fantastically funny, brilliantly written post-regeneration story that
introduces the Third Doctor, The UNIT Exile period, and the Autons all in one
go. The serial has an unrelentingly alien and unfamiliar feel; it is totally
foreign to all that precedes it. It's almost a surreal experience, seeming to
have no relationship to the familiar Black and White era serials that one is
used to... but what is there, this new tone, is good; engaging, funny, witty,
colorful, energetic, and intriguing.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The Third Doctor is not what I expected at all. He's so Troughton-ish
initially, it sells completely the regeneration- but he quickly becomes his own
man, genial and friendly, and far more down-to-earth than either preceding
Doctor. (Note from Sarah: I really liked him from the moment he was asking for his shoes...he did it so funny and to this day is a favorite line for all of us)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">The new title sequence is very similar in style to the BWW openings, but
features not only a very frightening version of the Doctor’s face, but also
the first redshift/blueshift time vortex graphics, even reversing directions
for the colors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Returning actor Nicholas Courtney (sadly, as of just last month per this
writing, the late Nicholas Courtney) makes the third appearance of Brigadier
Lethbridge-Stewart, beginning his era on the program as a true TARDIS-less
companion. He does a very nice job of
crafting a deep and realistic character- at the same time skeptical and
suspicious of this new character that seems to have stepped into the Doctor’s
shoes, and grudgingly open to the possibilities due to some of the bizarre
things he’s seen in his times with the Doctor. While he is not as likable as
he could be, due to his role of almost acting like the Doctor’s jailer (not
altogether unreasonable, as the Doctor has yet to prove he really IS the
Doctor, simply regenerated, but still…) and in the next serial will prove
neither likable nor open-minded (acting as a two-dimensional near-antagonist)
and then settling into a likable-but-not-so-open-minded reverse of his role
here in the 3<sup>rd</sup> Third Doctor serial, Ambassadors of Death- but
despite a rough opening, I have confidence that the character will find a
balance of likability and depth. (NFS: This is a note from your future...yes he does.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">I have a little less confidence in Liz Shaw, who is frankly a bit
obnoxious here, and doesn’t really have enough time or presence in the
following two sequels to confirm or dispel this impression. Unfortunately,
she’s rather snide and disrespectful, mocking, and haughty in this first
outing, acting smugly superior to the Brigadier at every turn, and playing the
constant naysayer- and while she gets in a few fair cracks (“So your men can
shoot him again?”) by far and large she just seems to be backseat driving and
wisecracking while not actually helping or contributing, making her an irritant
in the first few chapters. That said, some small redemption is earned in the
latter two, as the Doctor’s charmer routine works on her, and she demonstrates
a sympathy for this new stranger that the Brig doesn’t, and even aids him by
stealing a key- and then being rightly angry when she finds out that the Doctor
used her. She certainly improves- acting as an able ally and the only one the
Doctor trusts by the end of the story- but a rocky beginning and snarky,
mean-spirited personality in the beginning have not endeared her to my heart-
I’m still waiting for a second strong serial for her that can change my
impressions of her one way or another. (NFS: I didn't mind her but also didn't feel like she had a strong enough character for me to feel strongly one way or another about her.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">And of course… the new Doctor. Attached to his new (stolen) car. Trying
to run in a panic at being stuck on Earth- and his resigned depression at
finding that he can’t. Commanding. Funny. Shoe-obsessed. And finally being
credited, no longer as the in-universe inaccurate “Dr. Who,” the name of the
program but not the name of the character. No, that’s now been corrected to the
much more accurate… “Doctor Who.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Oh, well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 14px;">Aside</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> from the end credits (which also no longer scroll, instead fading
in static screens, as part of a much improved title sequence/cliffhangers
setup), we have very much to learn about this new Doctor, who is one of the
least-known to me, by reputation or video clip. The first thing that hit me was
how… Troughton… he was in his deliveries. He didn’t have the voice or manner
that I expected, and for those early hospital-bed scenes, you can practically
believe that he is still the Second Doctor, simply in a different body. I can’t
say that, three serials in, I quite have a feel for his personality, but he
does establish a strong character early on, not dwelling in Troughton’s shadow.
Actually, at first he seems a bit of a hustler here, stealing whatever he needs
or wants, charming Liz with his eyebrow-talk routine, and then conning her into
getting him what he wants- heck, he’s practically an </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">aristocratic</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, grey-haired
version of Sawyer from LOST! But somehow I suspect ‘con-man’ is not the term
that will be associated with the Doctor is this run. Still, for all of his
reputation as a stuffy, </span></span>aristocratic<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> type, he’s surprisingly personable and
jovial, a very friendly sort of Doctor- perhaps even </span></span>more so<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> than </span></span>Troughton<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> in
some ways- he’s a bit more genuinely warm, while </span></span>Troughton<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> was friendly in an
“I’m harmless” calculated sort of way. The third seems more focused, more like
he really cares about befriending you rather than just putting you at ease
while he takes your measure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Which isn’t to say that he isn’t funny! From his petulant “Do I have
to?” when the Brigadier (unjustly) demands the TARDIS key back, to his insane and
hilarious wheelchair escape (with a mouth duct-taped shut), this Doctor doesn’t
shy away from the humor. While he’s not as expressive or physical-comedy
oriented as Troughton (it’s only fair I make the unfavorable comparisons if I’m
going to make the favorable ones), having more of a dry-wit and ironic-humor
based shtick, he’s still fairly funny in his own right- especially the
newly-introduced post-regenerative madness scenes. Unlike Troughton, who just
sort of wandered around in a daze (well, maybe he was funnier, but it just
didn’t come through in stills), this Doctor (like the 11<sup>th</sup> after
him, to grab an example from my own Who-watching past… which is Pertwee’s
future… ah, wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey, you know…) establishes himself quickly
with some strong humor, obsessing over his shoes, making an aforementioned
frantic wheelchair escape, and finally reacting in dismay to his new face (and
later becoming quite vain about it). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Despite his scallywag behavior, he does
rather endear himself, giving the Nestene a chance to retreat (an element that
continues to influence Doctors all the way up to the 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup>,
and a trait his predecessors rarely gave, say, the Macra or the Ice Warriors
before blowing them up or chucking them into the sun)- a trait that appears to
be an ongoing part of his character, a marked and significant-to
the-character-and-mythology change. One can hope that the ongoing kleptomania
will not be the same- despite ATM and hospital clothes examples to the contrary
in the New Series (Indeed, based on a viewing of this serial, Matt Smith’s 11<sup>th</sup>
Doctor now seems to me more of an amalgam of the 2<sup>nd</sup> and 3<sup>rd</sup>
Doctors, with more of the mannerisms of the former than the latter). Still,
despite the humor, the second-chances, a return of the gung-ho bloodthirsty
doctor from Seeds of Death, etc., I think the greatest Doctor moment focus lies
on his exile, his panicked attempt to escape in the TARDIS, his sorrowful
resignation at the end… it’s a sad moment to see the Doctor’s wings clipped,
and a heavily impacting one to throw the new actor straight into- Petrtwee
handles it well. (The DVD also features a partially-completed fan film which
has a ‘Series 6B’ variation story in which a half-regenerated Doctor escapes
the Time Lords before the process is complete- noteworthy, as it contains Jon
Pertwee’s final performance, ever.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">For better or worse, UNIT is now also a central focus of the show,
meaning a lot more gun battles and a lot more uniforms. Whether this change
will be beneficial or not remains to be seen, but it does work well as a plot
device to get the Earth-bound Doctor involved in extraterrestrial situations.
(A direction the series would have gone in even if Troughton hadn’t announced
his intention to make the sixth series his last; the fact that the
color/UNIT/Earth transition also happened to be a change of Doctors only aided
the clean break).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">This serial also introduces the Autons, a living plastic race
traditionally used in Doctor introduction stories as a menace strong enough to
build a story around, but weak enough not to outshine the Doctor. They are
extremely creepy in this serial, and very effective… not only in their plastic
forms, but the pulsating-eye-and-tentacle-monster at the end, which is a pretty
cool bit of puppeteering. Here too is the famous moment in Who history where
shop dummies smash out of their displays and begin wreaking havoc in the
streets- which has a very massive feeling of scale to it that similar scenes,
like The Invasion, failed in. (It’s also much mocked for not actually showing a
single pane of glass breaking, just using sound effects, as they didn’t have
the budget to break the glass- an oversight corrected in the New Series opener,
Rose, with a re-staging of a similar scene.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Lastly, we have the effects. Ambitious at times, simple at others- from
a fairly laughable shot of meteorites falling in perfect formation (it worked
in Space Pirates, but…) to a fairly interesting explosion/explosion played in
reverse/vanish effect for disintegration (‘Total destruction,’ as it is dubbed)
that looks pretty cool. It seems that Doctor Who is a bit less of an FX show
now, being Earth-based… but it’s still not without a few notables per serial.
There’s a nice model Earth to start things off, a trend that series openers for
the New Series have long continued.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDFBvY9WcjWls3Tee6L5g_QkDYKy1E9HLL9zpgcbhzJe9HUL3_4BoIn1ZHgQgrZyHuOWzSrCJo-e1ArsvklrVpIPAcE5EEgH9BjiIZzXifmXsdvZI-aUyshhnJJOweoNhklYnYLl9PgM/s1600/wheelchair+duct+tape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDFBvY9WcjWls3Tee6L5g_QkDYKy1E9HLL9zpgcbhzJe9HUL3_4BoIn1ZHgQgrZyHuOWzSrCJo-e1ArsvklrVpIPAcE5EEgH9BjiIZzXifmXsdvZI-aUyshhnJJOweoNhklYnYLl9PgM/s320/wheelchair+duct+tape.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Oh, and the Doctor now has a car, a jalopy, which I think is truly his
surrogate TARDIS- he lavishes it with all of the affection and tinkering and
protectiveness that he had for his space/time machine while it lies unused in a
UNIT store-room. We’ll be seeing much more of it in serials to come, much to
everyone but the Doctor’s dismay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Great moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">“Shoes!”, the wheelchair chase, and all of the post-regenerative
moments. Plus, the Doctor’s attempted escape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Rating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">So, this is our introduction to Doctor number Three. A simple story,
thankfully short, focusing more on the Doctor than the menace- this works well.
It’s funny, establishes the characters and settings well, gives us some good
new villains- all in all, not a bad day’s work. 4 out of 5 “Shoes!” for
Spearhead From Space, the dawn of a new era… well, actually, about half a dozen
separate new eras, some of which persisted for only a few years, and others
still in practice today. Either way, not a bad cornerstone for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Dating: (Note from Sarah: Warning timey wimey type stuff ahead.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Dating notation: Arrived at through a chain- Victoria mentions that
Abominable Snowmen took place in 1935. In Web of Fear, Travers notes that it
has been 40 years. This would place it in 1975. However, Silverstein, the
museum owner, says it was 30 years. Assuming that 10 years don’t pass between
the Yeti activating and the later siege when the Doctor arrives… this would
place it about 1965. This is consistent with the lack of the Victoria line on
the subway maps, which was completed in 1968. Regardless, Lethbridge-Stewart
references the Invasion as being 4 years later, placing it in 1979 as per
Travers statement, and 1969 as per Silverstein’s. We will assume Silverstein’s
as additional evidence leans more in favor of this date, and Travers may just
be senile. And the brigadier’s age in 2009’s appearance on the Sarah Jane
Adventures certainly suggests that these stories either took place in the
1970s, or else he aged 40 years in the course of 30 years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Supporting this, the
not-quite-canon-but-seen-on-screen-in-the-Sarah-Jane-Adventures-so-maybe-partly-canon
</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"official" in-universe UNIT website created in
2005 for the New Series’ revival, notes that “UNIT was formed in 1968 in
response to the "London Underground" incident” (The Web of Fear),
which would place that story pre-1968, supporting the 1965 date (and The
Invasion post-1968, making its 4-year-later date no later than 1972, supporting
Silverstein’s statement instead of Travers’ once again). It also calls January
25<sup>th</sup>, 2005, the “35th anniversary of UNIT's involvement in
"Project Waxwork"” (the assault on Auto Plastics from the end of this
serial), suggesting that this serial occurred on the airdate of the final part,
January 24<sup>th</sup>, 1970- again, suggesting that Silverstein is right, and
these stories take place concurrently to the time they were aired.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Production statements, however, do imply that this story- and those
following- take place in the ‘futuristic’ 1980s. Pertwee said so in publicity
interviews. In fact, as noted in The Invasion, production statements and on-air
announcements indicate that the story, with the formation of UNIT, took place
in 1975 or 1976, definitely supporting the 1980s date here. However, all of
this was behind the scenes only, and never established onscreen (or was it?),
which is what canon derives from. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">So, when do these stories take place? Unlike the constant “near-future”
stories of Troughton’s era, these stories all take place in the same time! But
which time period is it- the ‘modern’ 70s, or the ‘futuristic’ 80s? Fan debate
has raged to the point that the UNIT website tongue-in-cheek-ly notes </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">"[UNIT] quickly expanded, making our presence felt in a golden period
that spanned the sixties, the seventies, and, some would say, the
eighties." And the Tenth Doctor himself notes in ‘The Sontarran Stratagem’
that he worked with UNIT “In the mid-Seventies. Or was it the Eighties?”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">So what’s the verdict for the purposes of this blog, which attempts to
coherently link all of the Doctor Who events into a coherent timeline? (Itself
an exercise in futility, as the actions in any given adventure could
theoretically render every story set in a time period afterwards drastically
altered). Clearly, it will have to be on a case-by-case basis! Onscreen
evidence says to me that, as of this serial, I have to come down in favor of
the earlier, contiguous-with-the-air-date dating of 1970. We’ll see how this
develops…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-31421135439355952212012-08-01T16:58:00.000-07:002012-08-01T17:46:21.481-07:00Patrick Troughton<br />
<b>Patrick Troughton</b><br />
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Ah, Patrick Troughton. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again- it will take something pretty spectacular to unseat him as my favorite Doctor. He is funny, with an elastic face and a slightly manic manner, great comic timing and a talent for impersonations. He introduces the sonic screwdriver. He always has a plan, and half the time it fails completely. He is parental and caring, willing to self-sacrifice, for his companions. He isn’t afraid to get into the action himself. And he quickly unseated Hartnell as my new favorite. A fair-weather fan, I, falling for the charms of whichever Doctor is on my screen? I think not- this fellow will be hard to top. (Note from Andrew, 2012: Indeed, in viewing all the way up through the 22nd year and the 6th Doctor, Troughton has not been topped by the Old Series or the New.)<br />
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William Hartnell said that there was only one man he’d trust to take over the role, and I heartily agree with him. Patrick Troughton is practically the template for everything the Doctor’s become, and definitely the inspiration for the current showrunner, Matt Smith… as well as for Fifth Doctor Peter Davison and Sixth Doctor Colin Baker. He may not have any particular super-powers like Hartnell did- he doesn’t master hypnosis, do vocal impressions, or possess a signet ring… he only shows us a hint of the depth of powers he may possess at the end, assembling his hypercube, and his only ability may well be playing the recorder.<br />
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But he is friendly and disarming, yet clever and wily. He left generously, not under a grudging and denying note (despite the character’s protestations), but on a generously accepting note, paving the way for audience acceptance of his successor. He left as he arrived- with humor. My heart is buoyed knowing we shall see him again thrice in specials- to quote David Tennat, the 10th Doctor, “You know what, Doctor? You were <i>my</i> Doctor.” And so, I suspect, you will remain, even after I’ve seen all 11. Or 12. Or ever.<br />
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Patrick Troughton, you are the best.<br />
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“You can’t kill me- I’m a genius!”<br />
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<b>My Top 10 Favorite Second Doctor Moments</b><br />
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<b>10. Naming and playing with ‘Alpha,’ ‘Beeta,’ and ‘Omeega’/Confronting the Dalek Emperor/Declaring the Daleks’ "Final End" (Evil of the Daleks):</b><br />
All fantastic moments, but all too brief. The Doctor being delighted with Daleks, for once? Having a showdown with an imensly powerful enemy on the Dalek homeworld? Pronouncing final sentence on his greatest foes- their epitaph? How does one choose? I think, if pressed, I would have to go with Alpha, Beeta, and Omeega- and not just from the endless source of bafflement and bemusement that his odd pronunciations elicits. Whereas the First Doctor’s favored moments for me came from the times when he won the day, had the upper hand, took charge, became the hero the Doctor would eventually be… the Second Doctor is always at his best in my book when he is funny, happy, whimsical, warm, friendly, loving… humanized- (though not human, heaven forbid- don’t string me up, Enemy Within-haters! He isn’t half human! I know!) a different aspect of the Doctor brought to the fore. And in this case, a simple moment of child-like playtime with three members of his greatest race of foes, in turn humanizing them, and seeing the potential for a race of monsters to be truly reformed, the Doctor ceases to be the day-saver, plotter, and schemer for a moment, and simply enjoys his life for a change- something haunted 9th would seldom do (except when “Everybody lives!”) and gloomy, depressed 10th started off doing, but quickly forgot how to do as a mopey, dark, brooding character. And something that every Doctor needs to be able to do, I think, lest the audience get lost in the darkness of the void through which his eternal quest reaches…<br />
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<b>9. “Lesterson, listen…” (Power of the Daleks):</b><br />
While post-regenerative madness wouldn’t hit in full comedic force until the Third Doctor in Spearhead From Space, the Second Doctor still spends much of his first serial in an off-kilter precursor that seems to be practically the inspiration for Matt Smith’s ongoing performance of the 11th Doctor. For much of the time, he simply seems out-of-it, but this moment of slightly-giddy, self-amused repetition- trying to get Lesterson’s attention and then repeating the phrase over and over to himself, to his great amusement, really started to sell the character for me, and was the first glimpse of the ‘funny’ Doctor we were soon to receive.<br />
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<b>8. Playing dumb (The Dominators):</b><br />
It’s a simple bit- believing all inhabitants of the planet they’re conquering to be foolish, idiotic sheep (and rightly so, as it turns out), the haughty Dominators capture Jamie and the Doctor as specimens for testing, to determine their true intelligence level. In order to get them to underestimate him, the Doctor plays along- taking the torments like a confused child, helplessly throwing up his hands and expressing panicked bewilderment at the slightest challenge, even willingly submitting himself to electric shocks to accomplish the ruse, with quite enjoyable results. (Honorable almost-mention – The scene of the Doctor breaking through the tunnel wall into the shaft leading to the planet’s core and catching the bomb as it’s dropped down the shaft at the last minute would definitely make this list… if the cheap so-and-sos that ran the show hadn’t had the whole thing occur off-screen!!!)<br />
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<b>7. Treating the symptoms (Highlanders):</b><br />
The Highlanders, Troughton’s second serial, was a sterling showcase for his comedic talents, offering the Doctor the chance for multiple impersonations, impressions, and comedic bits. Perhaps the best was his German physician, who played on the hypochondria of his captors to convince them they were sick and then crafted all manner of outlandish treatments to incapacitate and disable them, much in the manner of Bugs Bunny. From his insistence that his patient had eye problems, and the sound of a superior (locked in the closet) shouting for help was “All in your head… in your eyes!” to his convincing a lackey that the proper treatment consisted of slamming the man’s head against a desk until he passed out, this was a brilliant comedy sequence that transcended even the reconstruction stills that contained it.<br />
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<b>6. Putting Jamie’s face on wrong – (The Mind Robbers):</b><br />
In the surreal Mind Robbers, surrounded by dozens of great Second Doctor moments, mostly revolving around belief and disbelief (see my review for a full accounting, or, better yet, go watch the serial!), Troughton faces one of the strangest actor-absence plot-points ever devised- Jamie is shot in the forehead by a redcoat and turns into a cardboard cutout, and then his face disappears, replaced by a blank white space- while a pasteboard with a series of mouths, noses, and eyes appears beside it. Responding to this apparent cruel-sense-of-humor-whim on the part of the Master of the Land of Fiction, the Doctor obligingly picks out Jamie’s facial elements and re-applies them… only he gets it wrong, much to his outspoken dismay… and Jamie is played by another actor for an episode (with an uncanny and dead-on impersonation!). Finally, Jamie is shot in the head again (one fears for his long-term odds of survival after his return into history in The War Games), and the scenario repeats itself, this time with Zoe there to guide the Doctor through. After several corrections to his initial choices, Zoe indignantly realizes that the Doctor had done this before, and gotten it wrong. His embarrassed, chagrined shushing is worth the price of admission by itself in what’s already a fantastic serial.<br />
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<b>5. Trial (The War Games):</b><br />
Caught and tried by his people for breaking their noninterference laws, the Doctor gives a passionate defense of his actions, giving a speech about how evil exists in the galaxy, showing and summarizing some of his most notable foes (plus the non-starter Quarks) and pleading for his fate- and then, once sentenced, facing alternating panic at being stuck on Earth and being forcibly regenerated, relief over being able to choose his appearance, annoyance and disgust with the presented choices, and indignant denial as he is finally sent to Series 6B… errrrr… his regeneration… a very strong set of scenes to close out Troughton’s run on the Doctor.<br />
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<b>4. “No Victoria, don’t hit me!” (Enemy of the World):</b><br />
The title practically speaks for itself. In this doubles episode in which Troughton plays the dual roles of hero and villain (The Doctor and the treacherous Salamander), numerous cases of mistaken identity abound. Towards the end, the Doctor impersonates Salamander interrogating Victoria, apparently for a bit of fun- but his sinister façade breaks into the titular cry and a cowardly cringe when Victoria’s ire is raised and she moves towards him threateningly, revealing the true Doctor within. (Honorable mention to the excellent final sequence in which Salamander gets aboard the TARDIS while impersonating the Doctor, the two confront each other, and the climactic final battle- all excellent sequences!)<br />
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<b>3. “I was bored.” (The War Games):</b><br />
In Troughton’s final serial, we received many revelations- the name and nature of his people, the fact that he had stolen the TARDIS, and his motivation for traveling around time and space: boredom. It’s such an off-handed and Doctorish comment that you almost miss the character implications in the humor of the moment. Here, we get an insight into the man we’ve been watching for the last six years- he is a restless wanderer, an explorer at heart, traveling to see the wonders of the galaxy; and also a man of conscience- reading between the lines, it was his people’s policy of non-interference that chafed on him, not a prohibition against travel; the Doctor says it himself later in the serial- There is evil to be opposed in the universe, and someone has to do it. The Doctor could not just sit idly still, watching from a position of great power while tragedy befell those whom his people considered “lesser races” (reminiscent of the Ancients from Stargate SG1)- instead, he had to steal a ship, become a fugitive, give up his home and the incredible powers the Time Lords are shown to exercise, all for the sake of being able to interfere, to help people. And yet he doesn’t seek acknowledgement or recognition- he tries to mask over his noble self-sacrifice with an indifferent “I was bored,” leaving the true implications of his statement to remain unstated.<br />
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<b>2. Run to the rescue (Seeds of Death):</b><br />
A good old fashioned Doctor-to-the-rescue moment, the Doctor realizes, in conversation with the program director, that Jamie and Zoe are missing- and likely headed to the last location that an Ice Warrior was spotted. He takes off running through toxic foam and various obstacles to reach them. While far more a visual moment and difficult to describe here, it’s a real action hero moment for the Doctor- followed by a near-death desperate encounter in the foam, a slapstick chase, and a total Schwarzenegger action sequence with his solar hand-cannons. It’s really a great ‘action’ sequence for the Doctor, and it involves the now legendary element of the Doctor Who mythos so integral to everything: running. “When I say run… run!”<br />
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<b>1. Taking the test (The Krotons):</b><br />
When brilliant-but-naïve Zoe dons a teaching headset on a whim to test her intelligence, and scores highly (qualifying her for a quick death at the hands of the Krotons, to be called into the dark portal of their sinister spaceship as a sort of sacrifice), the Doctor doesn’t even hesitate, immediately donning a headset himself to score highly and follow her in. While the following scene- in which he overthinks things, gets stressed out, and makes mistakes that flunk him the first time around before successfully testing the second time- is funny, the core of this scene is Troughton’s caring, almost parental willingness to sacrifice himself so that Zoe will not have to face her trials alone. He doesn’t blink, doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t have to take a moment to decide- he just acts, immediately, with no question in his mind. This was the moment that made me ‘fall in love’ with this Doctor, a man who cared for his companions like they were his children.<br />
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Also, here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make my top 10 list, but I feel are worthy of notation for their distinctiveness:<br />
Passing the test (at the last minute!) from the Ice warriors. The old woman impersonation and various hilarious others in The Highlanders. The alley run from The Invasion. The exercise machine from the Macra Terror (During the ‘Merry old Land of Oz’ makeover sequence, when the Doctor is displeased with how clean and pressed his clothes appear, and leaps into the exercise machine under its owner’s protests to rumple them up). And the whimsical slapstick ‘heist’ abduction and marketplace antics from The Underwater Menace.<br />
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So, this is it. The end of an era. Before we go on, I’m going to take a look back at the Black & White series, the era that we’re leaving behind.<br />
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It was evenly split between two Doctors- one stern and gruff, the other friendly and goofy- the patriarch and the comedian. We started with suspicions and mistrust, then forged a family- all whilst meeting most of the classic monsters that we know and love today, and struggling to find it’s footing, niche, length, and pacing. Then, the cast changed; the Doctor was rehabilitating a hurting man, helping his two companions to grow to maturity in a grandfatherly mentor role. But soon, both left, and the Doctor tried to get hip with Ben and Polly. Sadly, due to the failing health of William Hartnell, the next change was to the Doctor, not the companions. In a unique and relatively unheard-of maneuver, the main character changed roles whilst remaining the same character, with an in-story explanation. And soon, he gained his own companions- a group of impetuous youngsters in need of a more fatherly guidance, as the Doctor bumbled and stumbled his way through dozens of menacing situations, but always came out on top.<br />
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Things tended to look cheaper, simpler, more studio-bound (and often they were), yet this lent a more stylized, more easily accepted fantasy aspect to the show. Effects either looked really hokey, or ultra-slick (like the void sequences in The Mind Robbers). We had only one take available during filming, so performances were rougher, editing was simpler, there were less cuts, less stunts, and less practical effects. Actors often got clumsily written-out for a serial (occasionally a blessing) when they went on vacation (errrr… ‘holiday’) or were sick. 'Future' costumes were often laughable. Companions tended to be 2-3, a male-female mixture, whereas later series trended towards a single female companion. The dynamic was more like a family, and the Doctor was often mysterious and uncommunicative. Aliens were more commonly monsters (with a few exceptions) to be destroyed instead of antagonists to be negotiated with while possessing their own unique point of view. This was the only period with historical, pure educational adventures. It has a charm to it- occasionally a chuckle-able “How quaint!” laugh at the naiveté, but more often a genuine charm and style all of its own.<br />
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Even through the course of 6 years (for perspective, almost as long as each of the three long-running Star Trek series ran), you can see major changes in production quality- not only from An Unearthly Child to The War Games, but even from Series 1 to Series 2, and at intervals between. Though the show changed concepts (abandoning the alternating sci-fi/historical and educational concepts, for one thing) and character/theme focuses several times, it always remained true to its concept- something which is about to undergo radical changes in the series to come- and even though far, FAR too much of this era is lost to the ravages of missing episodes and reconstructions, it was an entertaining and rewarding ride. Sometimes it was a slog, but more often, it was a unique insight into the show’s history and a set of stories to be enjoyed on their own merit and qualities, and not as some artifacts of a bygone age. Make no mistake, this was truly a period of <i>classics</i>. In fact, to close out, let me share with you my favorites of this black and white era…<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U6_drmPf-XMd1J2QDRICdcR8hmmCzIVDonUeTHlhGT_LmXjcDwd51WIFxqusiEgrua6xiY-u9YsPFoBGuaXbR-UuyRrHOEIHLtZMemA_p4mL6T_TlWiE-2BTrAEcFF-m6uGsp3iqe5hC/s1600/bk-2p-82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U6_drmPf-XMd1J2QDRICdcR8hmmCzIVDonUeTHlhGT_LmXjcDwd51WIFxqusiEgrua6xiY-u9YsPFoBGuaXbR-UuyRrHOEIHLtZMemA_p4mL6T_TlWiE-2BTrAEcFF-m6uGsp3iqe5hC/s320/bk-2p-82.jpg" width="192" /></a>Top 10 BWW Serials<br />
10. Enemy of the World – A brilliant dual performance with a stunning climax, despite being a reconstruction, this is a highlight of the Second Doctor era.<br />
9. The Aztecs – Barbara’s breakout serial, it has a strong story and a great little subplot for the Doctor.<br />
8. The Space Museum – A dull latter half puts this one so low on the list, but a brilliant and spellbinding first episode puts this one on the map as fantastic. Very eerie and cool.<br />
7. The Myth Makers – This is, perhaps, the funniest Doctor Who serial ever written, even in bare-minimum-pictures reconstruction mode.<br />
6. The Rescue – A nice short-and-sweet story that introduces the sweet and innocent Vicki and features a brilliantly cinematographed and well-written climax that is nothing short of epic!<br />
5. Celestial Toymaker – Surreal and unusual, not just a battle of wits, but a series of them- this unique story with a strong villain deserves better than the reconstruction that it has. <br />
4. Keys of Marinus – A brilliant anthology of short-stories with a framing device, this video-game-esque set of quest stories are fast-paced, full of variety, entertaining, sometimes unintentionally funny, and in the case of the jungle, spine-tingling and scary. The first truly stellar serial of Doctor Who.<br />
3. Faceless Ones – What makes this relatively sedate airport-based mystery so memorable, especially when most of it is reconstructed? The great villain effects? The mystery? The characters who make real growth and react reasonably instead of like two-dimensional stock characters? The fact that the story doesn’t spin it’s wheels and re-hash the same developments over and over until the final episode, but keeps moving forward, allowing the Doctor to get proof, gain allies, make discoveries, etc., keeping up a steady sense of momentum? It’s the kind of run-around and try to figure things out move-and-counter-move story I usually detest, but it’s so well-written and well-paced that it never loses energy or interest, and all of the characters feel real, not like video game characters programmed in with 2 or 3 stock responses to any and all actions you might take. No one’s unreasonable, no one’s unyielding in the face of evidence, and everything flows. It’s fantastic!<br />
2. Daleks Master Plan – A true epic in every sense of the word, this one has it all- Daleks, aliens, the Monk (yay!), a volcanic planet, a prison world, the first companion deaths, ancient Egyptians vs. Daleks, invisible monsters, ship thefts, the Doctor in disguise, personal force fields, Varga plants, Doctor/Dalek standoffs, a 4th-wall-breaking Christmas special, and more! It’s more reconstruction than video, sadly, but still eminently watchable, and as a 12-part epic, it doesn’t flag, drag, or snag- it keeps moving and packs every episode brilliantly!<br />
1. The Mind Robber – Surreal and scary, funny and clever, a masterpiece of mood (seriously, if you made me write this blog without using the words “Moody,” “Atmospheric,” “Fantastic,” or “Brilliant,” it’d probably fall apart overnight), filled with excellent concepts, exciting set-pieces, great showdowns, wonderful humor, fake-Jamie, and just all-around weirdness and awesomeness… plus that first episode’s psychotically scary and bizarre moments in the white and black voids, and that volcano opening- this is one NOT to miss!<br />
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This list was almost impossible to narrow down to 10. Here are some very close honorable mentions- unfortunately, most seem to be the Second Doctor’s, suggesting that while I prefer him as a Doctor, Hartnell had the superior scripts:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPBO2yHDgKeU2iTleB_9dlWdExIBryFr7V048OtbpL5HLGjwy87jcobd9Uj5aE_QJz-Xx8OMn9l7hXH_PurgSgIAJqLMJZpSqNx3t_c8sSvHcvqfrh_zryHoy-q64QgsxB7cKneQ3Gnun/s1600/bk-2x-86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglPBO2yHDgKeU2iTleB_9dlWdExIBryFr7V048OtbpL5HLGjwy87jcobd9Uj5aE_QJz-Xx8OMn9l7hXH_PurgSgIAJqLMJZpSqNx3t_c8sSvHcvqfrh_zryHoy-q64QgsxB7cKneQ3Gnun/s320/bk-2x-86.jpg" width="192" /></a>Fury from the Deep – If it wasn’t a reconstruction, it might bump something else off!<br />
The Invasion – Great villain, just a little bit slow to make the top 10.<br />
Seeds of Death – This was closest to staying on the list; it’s really fantastic, but the middle drags just a tad. Still, that ending…!<br />
Highlanders – A decent story with some fantastic performances and a comedic showcase for the Doctor... rendered snooze-worthy by being a reconstruction. If Troughton’s hilarious impressions were in video, this might just top the list!<br />
Tomb of the Cybermen – It was really solid. Great serial. The others just had an extra zing to put them over the top that this didn’t, for me.<br />
Evil of the Daleks - The first half drags a bit for me, but this one is truly epic, filled with fantastic concepts, characters, and confrontations!<br />
The Web Planet – In a so-bad-it’s-good way, it’s hilarious to watch in its awfulness. Top 10 most entertaining list? Yes. Top 10 best list? Not a chance.<br />
The Time Meddler – A great ending, and a great foil- if he and the Doctor had more screen time together, this would be a top 10. As it is, that’s one of the reasons that Dalek Master Plan is, instead.<br />
The Chase – The Chase has its moments (see that blog) and a greatly fun concept, but it lags and is sort of unfocused. Still highly recommended!<br />
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...As is the entire 60s monochrome era... do yourself a favor and go check it out!<br />
<br />Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-3731059015053635422012-06-27T14:43:00.000-07:002012-06-27T17:43:56.693-07:00Series 6: Overview<br />
<b>Series 6</b><br />
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So, series 6 has come to a close- and with it, Troughton and the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, Black and White, Time and Space- major upheaval is in the works as the show enters a chrysalis with Troughton, regenerating into a completely new incarnation. After a 6-month break (unprecedented at the time, and used to introduce the UK to the new program “Star Trek,” which got the time slot temporarily), the show would return in the greatest revamp that the series has ever seen- even 2005 and it’s Last Great Time War wasn’t as great a paradigm shift as Doctor Who was about to undergo as the 1960s ended and the 1970s began. So, how did this final series of the old paradigm fare?<br />
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This series is marketed by lower script quality overall (Partially explained- see the War Games review for more), with a few major exceptions- but also bigger setpieces, far more impressive effects- and almost all video. Yes, this is only a judgement of posterity and not the quality of the series produced- nonetheless, it remains that this is the only Troughton series almost entirely video, with only 2 episodes of the Invasion (reconstructed with animation) and one serial missing- if you count Series 5’s “Tomb of the Cybermen” as a surrogate to the missing Space Pirates, Troughton has EXACTLY one series in video format, and 90% comes from here. Sadly, that doesn’t automatically mean great stories- but I’d call it more good than bad.<br />
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Jamie and Zoe make a great pair for the Doctor, probably his best companion pairing. Good writing and performances for the three leads make even poorly written stories watchable. So sad, then, that their journey end here. Or does it…?<br />
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Popular fan theory centers around the untelevised Series 6B. The theory is this: That the Doctor’s regeneration- which we did not SEE onscreen, in fact did not occur at the finale of The War Games, but rather he was recruited into the CIA (Celestial Intervention Agency), a branch of the Time Lords that does interfere when it is deemed necessary; something the Doctor has a knack for, making him a natural to recruit as an agent. The Doctor once again travelled in the TARDIS, re-acquiring Jamie, and possibly escaped again, or possibly served out his sentence- until event or events unknown conspired to carry out the original sentence of forced regeneration and exile.<br />
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The reason for this theory? Future specials The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, and The Two Doctors all feature Troughton, looking older than he does in The War Games. No big deal, you say? True, before the New Series’ “Time Crash,” Doctors returning for crossovers were commonly shown older (as you can’t prevent the actors from aging) without any explanation, as if we’re simply supposed to imagine that the actors are the ages they once were when they played the roles, even though they don’t look it. So Troughton’s appearances are just more of the same, right?<br />
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Except… the Doctor references the events of the War Games and his forced regeneration. Think about it… a Troughton, free and traveling around, yet with knowledge of this story- implying it occurs AFTER The War Games, yet WITHOUT Troughton having regenerated yet. How could this be, except if he DIDN’T regenerate at the conclusion of this story? And the fact that we never SAW him change…<br />
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The theory is simple: First proposed in the 1995 book “The Discontinuity Guide” by Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping, the proposed series 6B takes place in-between the War Games and the forthcoming Spearhead From Space, suggesting that the later-established Celestial Intervention Agency, a Time Lord secret organization, spirit away the Doctor to become their agent, granting him increased ability to control the TARDIS at the price of freedom, as he now has to embark on missions for them. Thus, the Second Doctor of the Two Doctors (who has a TARDIS remote control, an ability even his Sixth self doesn’t have- a gadget given him by the CIA in the style of James Bond’s Q equipping their field agents? Plus, a far greater control of the vehicle than he ever demonstrated during his B&W era), The Three Doctors (Who claims to be on a mission from the Time Lords- impossible as per the War Games because he was only with them for 20 minutes, under guard, before his regeneration- the first they'd ever caught up with him since he became the Second Doctor), and The Five Doctors (Who is aware of Jamie and Zoe’s mindwipe because they’ve already happened)- are all from this mysterious in-between period of adventures. Plus, not only do we not see the change- only the Second Doctor tumbling into darkness, and the Third stumbling out of the TARDIS- he stumbles out with a ring, bracelet, and watch which homed in on the TARDIS some time later- none of which his Second self possessed at the end of the last serial. More Q-style gadgets from the CIA? And the reason that he did not reference this period is simple- when he finally rebelled and the Time Lords DID force his regeneration, they erased his memory of this time. Simplicity itself- the Third Doctor does claim significant memory loss, after all, the extent of which is never revealed! It even accounts for how the Second could have a TARDIS remote that the Sixth (his later self) didn’t know about- because his memory of it had been erased! (Note from Sarah: I totally buy it.)<br />
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We even see one of the Tribunal Time Lords again in ‘Colony In Space,’ a Pertwee serial, dispatching the Doctor to go and interfere in the events of a planet- the very thing he was condemned for here! Perhaps this man is an agent of the CIA, responsible for secreting the Doctor away to begin working for them following the end of the trial?<br />
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This is further expanded on in the novels- (though novels in the Doctor Who universe are as non-canonical as they are in the Star Trek universe)- 'World Game' suggests that the CIA needed an agent who could discreetly investigate temporal disturbances but also be disavowed- the Doctor’s known wanderings and interfering provided the perfect cover for this! Thus, his sentence is commuted in exchange for becoming their agent. Over the course of the novel, the Doctor gains knowledge of Gallifreyan politics sufficient to blackmail and leverage his way into negotiating his terms- demanding the return of his TARDIS, and of Jamie, his most loyal companion. They alter Jamie’s memories so that he believes he is still back in the Victoria era, and that she is simply away studying (accounting for references made in The Two Doctors), and giving the Doctor a TARDIS remote (with an override giving them ultimate control- thus allowing them to change the dematerialization codes, as per Spearhead). As per the TV Comics, eventually the Doctor did make his break from the CIA, escaping to modern-day (60s) Earth and living in the luxurious Carlton Grange Hotel. From there, he proceeds to have a series of adventure (Action in Exile, #916, up through The Night Walkers, #936)- at which point he investigates a series of scarecrows walking (tell me this wasn’t an inspiration to The Human Nature/Family of Blood’s original novel-writer…), which turn out to have been a Time Lord manifestation designed to use his own curiosity to trap him. They capture him, drag him into his TARDIS, and begin the forced regeneration that they started in the War Games- leading directly in to the start of Spearhead.<br />
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Of course, there is no actual evidence for this, and those truly determined that no such 6B ever happened could claim that in the events of the Two Doctors (or a similar untelevised occurrence), a future incarnation simply told him what was going to happen, and his reference was made with knowledge of his forced regeneration to-come, but without The War Games having happened; and that the aged appearance of Doctor and companions was simply due to the ‘just ignore it’ real world circumstances, or some untelevised adventure involving an aging ray whose perpetrator they were tracking when they were briefly interrupted by the crossover story, and later whom they caught and reversed the effects- the sum total being all of this happened at some point during Series 4-6, and Spearhead From Space follows (subjective) minutes directly after The War Games… though of course this denial would include willingly turning a blind eye to a LOT of corroborating evidence!<br />
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(Indeed, the ironic part is that the most tangible proof- the Second Doctor’s knowledge of the mind-wipes of Zoe and Jamie from the Five Doctors, was an accident of a hasty re-write; originally, wraiths of Zoe and Victoria were to deceive the Doctor, but give themselves away when Victoria addressed the accompanying Lethbridge-Stewart as “Brigadier,” a rank to which he wasn’t yet promoted when they last met. But, Deborah Watling wasn’t available, Friaser Hines was, and the last minute rewrite for Jamie and Zoe gave the game away by having knowledge that they would have had mind-wiped, putting the Second Doctor’s knowledge of their regeneration into canon and originating the 6B movement accidentally!) One can probably ret-con and smooth out the bumps in total denial if one wants to, and is truly determined to oppose 6B- and yet, for those of us conspiracy-minded and continuity-strict, the clues are out there, and the possibility of a Series 6B, of many more years for Troughton and Jamie that we simply haven’t seen, the possibility is tantalizing, and thanks to the unclear and stylized ending of the War Games in which you can’t really tell what’s happening, the potential is out there… for this reviewer, the conclusion is inescapable… the War Games was not the end of the Second Doctor’s adventures; just of the ones that he remembers. (Note from Sarah: My spine gets all tingly just thinking about it! :)<br />
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Meanwhile, the Doctor didn't have so much of a catchphrase this season- the most oft-remembered catchphrase, "Oh, my giddy aunt Nancy!" has yet to materialize, and is apparently primarily a product of the multiple-doctor specials in which he will eventually appear. If anything reselmbled a catchphrase this series it would be *Annoyed offhand dismissal of a dumb idea from Jamie.*<br />
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Ah, Troughton, Jamie- and either Zoe or Victoria (all three combinations were winning teams), how I shall miss thee! Rounding out the third season, the third dominant catchphrase/bit nicely showcases the developing fondness, father/children bond that the TARDIS crew- nay, the TARDIS family, posessed, and a third aspect of the Second Doctor- each year's favorite phrase illuminates yet another facet of why I love this Doctor most of all. Far more than David Tennant's 10th Doctor's so-called 'Children of Time' and all of the dramatic weight that it tried to convey, far more than Hartnell's grandchild- his flesh and blood, so near as we could tell... THESE were the Doctor's children, his family, and watching them grow and bond and work together is the true joy that makes even these reconstruction-dominated, sometimes weak-storied, often slow-paced Second Doctor-era serials a joy to watch. (NFS: I definitely agree. I think that there was a bond and a chemistry that I really don't think I've seen again, even though now I am into the fifth Doctor and I've seen all of the new series, I think they really had something special!)<br />
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As we bring this era of companions to a close and start out with a clean slate, let’s end with a look at the companions of the past, eh?<br />
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Top 10 Companions<br />
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10. Ben – Solid, dependable, rough-and-tumble, Ben was reliable and always ready for action (unless he was being brainwashed by the Macra). Still, he was skeptical, dour, and pessimistic at times, which is probably why he’s last. He was also very moral and conscientious- deeply regretting having to take the life of a Cyberman, almost in tears- and the Doctor could always depend on him. He returned to (presumably) the Mercheant Marines after departing the Doctor… but couldn’t stay long away from the woman that he’d been bonded with through adventure and trial. (NFS: Ben is one of the most forgettable for me unfortunately...I remember...he had hair...and wore shirts.)<br />
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9. Polly – I wish I had more to say about Polly. She’s on the list because she was a good companion… but near the bottom of the list because I have so little measure on her personality. Still, a few things do stick out- she was friendly and kind, a real people person. She was open-minded, believing in the Second Doctor while Ben remained skeptical. She was the optimist to Ben’s pessimist. She embodied hope and possibility. One can hope that she and Ben had a very good life together, running their orphanage in India together. (NFS: I liked the possibilities of Polly, she had the makings of an interesting and different character back then, but I think they just didn't how or didn't want to write her.)<br />
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8. Susan – Let’s face it, Susan was a pretty weak character. A classical damsel in distress- even a redundant D-I-D with the early Barbara, her actress even left the show for this reason- the writers simply didn’t know what to do with her character, and didn’t develop her. This left her with little more to do than scream, hyperventilate, go weak at the knees, and get in trouble. (Aside from developing a little bit of conflict in the Sensorites as she began to assert herself… don’t bother to go watch it, just read my review and take my word for it.) I’m not against D-I-Ds myself (it's a valid literary archetype, so long as one does not think that it is representative of <i>all</i> women), in the mode that many feminists are, but really… this was pushing it. Still, for all of the abuse that it seems I’m heaping on Susan, it wasn’t her fault (the actress simply worked with what she was given), and she did have some redeeming qualities- enthusiastic, friendly, with a close relationship to the Doctor and a willingness to always play mediator between the quarrelsome Time Lord and his meddlesome human companions, always helping each to see the other’s side- a trait that perhaps future Doctors, from the Third-onwards, adopted from her. Her farewell was a tearjerker. Plus, she opened the TARDIS doors. It was her job. And besides all that… she was the first, and she’ll always have a special place in the pantheon of companions for that. This unearthly child has since settled down on 22nd century Earth, rebuilding a Dalek-ravaged world with David, her true love. It’s rumored that she and her son have had several adventures with the Doctor’s eighth incarnation, suggesting that her travels in the TARDIS may not be over yet… (NFS: I like Susan despite her inability to do much but scream. I think that Carol Ann Ford's genuine likability and charm shone through the character and that's why people like her even though she really didn't do much beyond scream and open doors. That said, I do feel like near the end before she left we did get more of her character, and there was a definite wonderful bond between her and the Doctor that was very palpable and sweet.)<br />
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7. Victoria – Despite her annoying behavior in the Abominable Snowmen, in which she went out of her way to intentionally be an irritant, I liked Victoria. Still a bit of a child, she was sweet and innocent, for the most part- a poor orphan with a sensitive soul who eventually found the dangers of traveling with the Doctor to be too much. Her scream was legendary, and her relationship with Jamie, after a few failed flirtations, was almost that of a little sister to his protective big brother… though deep down, some might say his crush never truly abated. In the end, fatigued by the constant danger and evil plaguing travels with the Doctor, Victoria decided to settle down with the Harrises, a friendly family on 20th century Earth. Despite being displaced from her own time, Victoria seems to have adapted well to modern life, and after tangling with the Great Intelligence one more time, years later (with the aid of future companion Sarah Jane Smith), led a quiet and happy life- in current times, getting to know her newly-born grandchildren. (NFS: Victoria didn't bother me, I liked her well enough but I still feel she's too close to being "Female Doctor Companion Model A" as so many of the Doctors female companions are. Written with an interesting and different back story but then nothing to show for it.)<br />
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6. Barbara – Taking a little longer than Ian to really come into her own (as of The Aztecs), Barbara started out as a damsel in distress but became a very strong and competent character- whether fending off advances from Caesar Nero or escaping from a Zarbi prison, Babara was one of the more competent and physically capable female companions of the BWW era, a teacher with a passion for history and a deep compassion for suffering peoples- practical but gentle, yet with a steely determination in the face of trouble. After returning several years post-disappearance, and claiming an impromptu multi-year long missionary trip to Africa as cover, she married Ian Chesterton… their first child bore the names of two of the Thals that they met early in their travels. (NFS: I do like Barbara, I didn't at first I thought she was kind of a jerk. But then she grew on me. I thought she was an interesting mix of strong and vulnerable. I agree that she really did come into her own in The Aztecs.) And some say she and her husband have never aged since...<br />
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5. Ian – Ian was the original robust companion, the active, gallant hero to the Doctor’s more measured, less physically-active mentor role. A science teacher with a thirst for knowledge and a love of discovery, Ian was chipper and optimistic, always trying to look on the bright side of things. Physically fit and a decent fighter (When Barbara wasn’t accidentally smashing a vase over his head), Ian was perhaps put through the ringer the most of the Doctor’s original companions- ending up in galdatorial fights, staked out in the desert, imprisoned, fighting- and though he was given to bold exclamations in these situations, he always came through. He ingeniously engineered a Dalek-casing-ride escape, and his dance to the Beatles was perhaps the most awesome thing ever done by a companion in life. He remained stalwart and straightforward, ready to make the best of any situation, even while pining for England and home. And the romance budding between himself and fellow teacher Barbara Wright only intensified during their time on the TARDIS… (NFS: I like Ian a lot! He's fun and sweet and he's someone you'd want so much to be friends with. He has that self-assured without being cocky swagger, and is capable without being boring.)<br />
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4. Vicki – Vicky was a sweet and spunky child who grew closer to the Doctor than perhaps any companion since (at least in his first regeneration)- I’m not sure if even Victoria was as close to the Doctor; in large part due to the many ways Vicki reminded him of his recently-departed granddaughter. She was spirited and determined, and very clever- tackling challenges head-on, be they locked armories or the problem of blending in to ancient Troy. She and Hartnell shared a special bond, and at times felt more like blood-kin than the Doctor and Susan did. Her time with the Doctor came to an unexpected end for the same reason, though- staying behind for true love. While the reason was noble, her time was far too short… if only we’d had more time. As it is, until very recent times, she remained my favorite female companion, and even now stays a very close second. And while her happy ending was both implied and ensured, her story was written by the Bard himself, and recorded in the annals of history- and her epilogue, the unwritten part of Shakespear’s tragedy, proves that the old adage “All stories have happy endings if you end them soon enough” is not always true, for surely the happily-ever-after that followed the tragedy of Troy would make a far better legend than the sorrows of the prematurely ended tale suggests. I am confident in being certain of a long and happy life for her with her beloved Troillus; Vicki…Cressida, of Troy… has a bright future ahead of her, far in the distant past. (NFS: I think that the Doctor and Vicki were closer because the Doctor, having left Susan realized finally how much she truly did mean to him. I think he kind of kept her at arms length, and realized how much he would miss her when she was gone. I think he viewed Vicki as a second chance and this is truly when he starts to grow more emotionally and realize that you regret not growing closer to people as much as you hurt when they're gone. I liked how Vicki seemed kind of impish in her actions at times, she seems young and playful and in my mind kind of the epitome of the perfect teenager of the 60's.)<br />
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3. Zoe – <b>(WARNING: Contains spoilers for Big Finish's "Legend of the Cybermen")</b> Zoe is a brilliant and yet naïve 22nd century prodigy, a genius, a walking computer of knowledge and calculations and intelligence and ability… and yet she has the maturity of a child. Impulse-driven and reckless, likely to act on a whim without considering the consequences, she is almost foolish at times- yet has more brains than all of the other companions put together. Her relationship with Jamie is like that of a bickering sibling, and her sometimes competitive, teasing, almost bickering relationship with the Doctor is not nearly so close as that of Vicki, Victoria, Susan, or perhaps even Barbara. And yet, the Doctor is willing to sacrifice himself for her without hesitation, cares for her like family, and indeed, treats her as a wayward child, a daughter in need of guidance and correction as she grows to maturity. Very attractive (much to the distraction of the many males about her) and a bit of a braggart, she is well aware of her various talents and not shy about pointing out where she has trumped the Doctor. This should be annoying, but due to her immaturity, it’s sort of cute- the little kid bragging about every accomplishment they get over their parents- even when the parents let them win. Sadly, much of her development was undone by the accursed Time Lords, who erased her memories of her adventures with the Doctor and returned her to her own place and time… leaving her with a lot of growing up to do once again. As per the expanded universe, Zoe’s above-average mind resisted the Time Lord mind-wipe, but only subconsciously, revealing her memories in strange dreams. Several years later, when a Cyber-ship attacked the Wheel, the conversion into a Cyberplanner (due to her high innate intelligence) unlocked all of her memories and allowed her to take control of the Cyber-vessel from within, diverting it to the only place she could think of where the Cybermen couldn’t harm anyone- the Land of Fiction (from The Mind Robber). After battling the Cybermen in that realm with fictional constructs, she eventually summoned the Doctor (as with Jamie, his sixth incarnation- when did HE get so popular?!) with a distress call and, aided by an illusory Jamie created to protect him, the Cybermen were defeated. Upon a return to the Wheel and un-conversion, her memories were lost for good. While her life resumed, as normal, she never again reached the full potential of growing and learning maturity that she had with the Doctor- her intelligence ever grew, but that missing part of her personality returned. Dang. Still better than Dodo, but... almost New-Series Donna-like in that living out her future at less than she could have been seems almost crueler than death. An unfair end for a fantastic character- though at least she wouldn’t have known enough to wish for anything else, and would have likely been perfectly content. Alas, poor Zoe.<br />
(NFS: Zoe annoyed me in the beginning. She creeped me out because she was like a kid but they always had her in super short or super tight stuff. I thought the actress did a fantastic job. And while she is not a favorite I will say she is one of the more interesting characters and also was written in character more than most.)<br />
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2. Steven – A traumatized space-castaway with years companionless, Steven adapts to life with the Doctor by adopting a caustic, ironic, and very wry sense of humor. His jokes and comments and barbs are among the best on the series, consistently, and he is very strong-willed. He often clashes or butts heads with the Doctor, and has his own ideas about how to do things, and years of being abandoned on his own have accustomed him to sometimes thinking and acting with very little care for others (be they people or animate dolls). Regardless, for those that break through Steven’s callous-but-gradually-softening shell of condition self-preservation, he is fiercely loyal and protective. While his first instinct is seldom to get involved in the trouble of others, once roused to action he is tenacious and determined, coiled full of energy. Harsh and selfish as this description may make him sound, he is really more scarred and haunted by his years as a castaway and captive of a group of unfeeling robots as their zoo exhibit. His is the journey of learning to live with people again, to expand his isolated and protective little world to include others again- to reclaim his humanity. All of his tendencies towards apathy or lack of compassion, towards strong-willed anger, towards sarcastic humor, are defense and coping mechanisms that we see slowly defused over the course of his time with the Doctor. And when he finally leaves, quite abruptly and suddenly (not the dramatic best option in the slightest- see my blog on the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve, and, like ‘The Sensorites’ for Susan, take my word for it and don’t try to watch it…), it is because he has grown and changed so much that the Doctor sees him ready for a role as mediator and wise leader to a pair of conflicting factions. The introvert who cares mainly for himself has become a man capable of looking out for others. (Though, like Zoe and unlike the first 7 on this list, I don’t see Steven finding anyone in the future; probably ending up a lifelong bachelor. Still, I suppose they can’t all be fairytale endings…) His hard, cynical exterior has softened into a cheerful and caring personality. His strong opinions, stubborn will, determined nature, and readiness to act make him the ideal leader and mediator, and help to showcase his growth. Steven departs his travels with the Doctor (too abruptly though, dang-it writers!!!) to go and rule a planet. All in all, not a bad fate, and I wish him well.<br />
(NFS: I thought I was ambivalent about Steven, but I do remember he made this really funny face when he didn't understand things and that made me and my brother laugh. I don't think he's the most interesting of the characters but I think he had solid qualities and is definitely one of the best male companions.)<br />
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1. Jamie – Ah, Jamie, the longest-running companion, piper of the McCrimmon clan of Scottland, what can I say about ye? Loyal, brave, fierce, determined… yet sometimes hapless and resigned to the madman you follow dragging you into yet another insane adventure. He would protect the Doctor, Zoe, or Victoria with his life, and though he doesn’t always- or even often- understand the strange technology of the circumstances he’s in, he always gains an understanding of the world he’s part of through his own 18th century worldview and tries to do the right thing (though sometimes his lack of technological knowledge makes him more of a hindrance than a help). He is a trained warrior, a scrappy fighter that won’t hesitate to attack an enemy- headstrong and impatient at times, when a fight is involved; a leap-before-you-look tendency that sometimes makes things worse or ruins the Doctor’s plans- but always done with the best of intentions. Jamie isn’t always the brightest of bulbs, but he’s the moral compass- his heart is always unfailingly in the right place. Typically good-natured Jamie gives the impression that he enjoys traveling through time and space, but would be just as happy dropped off back home in his bonny Scottland- a change you imagine he’d accept with a shrug, and then get right back into life without a second’s glance behind… which is exactly what he does in the end, aided by the thrice-cursed Time Lords’ erasure of his memories with the Doctor. He will undoubtedly fight- and survive- the war on behalf of his bonnie prince Charlie, and perhaps, just perhaps, find that special someone. Whatever the future holds for him, it seems likely he’ll be content. (Whoops! An addendum! Further research indicates that Jamie married Kirtsy McLaren (Polly’s companion fugitive in The Highlanders), and went on to have “more children than there are days in the week” and grandchildren as well. Many years later, as a white-bearded old man, he dies helping his friend the Doctor one last time. In this case, the Sixth incarnation, dying on the planet Marinus (as in ‘The Keys of’) defeating the Cybermen and their weapon to re-shape the galaxy. I suppose, as endings go, it’s one of the better possibilities- but I may just prefer the ‘surrounded by kids and grandkids option, peacefully’ a bit better. Still- a blaze of glory seems fitting for rash, headstrong Jamie- and he still has it way better than the novels gave Dodo.)<br />
(NFS: Jamie is hands down the best ever male companion. He has so many wonderful things about him. He has this charm and easiness about him that makes you smile. You'd feel comfortable with him and probably feel as though you'd known him forever. I love how protective he always is, and how sweet and caring. I like how funny he is and how he and Troughton interacted together! They almost seemed like brothers to me, or best friends or both, and I think the 2nd Doctor and Jamie are the best duo ever.)<br />
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Not listed: Dodo (by choice! Oh, and her fate is apparently to have mental problems for the rest of her short life, find and lose a murdered husband, and get assassinated by an agent of the Master a few years later, so… worst companion AND worst ending!) Katarina, and Sara Kingdom (both by lack of visible material- and both sadly deceased in the line of duty, aiding the Doctor).<br />
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(As an epilogue, the Supplemental between-series idea proved so popular, novelist Steve Lyons in The Witch-Hunters, created a story in which Time Lord founder Rassilon gave the First Doctor a little extra time to tie up loose ends in his life, during/after the events of the Five Doctors, thus giving Hartnell a sort of Season 4B. The establishment and management of this blog does not support such wild speculations- but endorses Series 6B wholeheartedly!)<br />
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-153178139182165382012-06-22T09:52:00.001-07:002012-06-22T12:37:23.861-07:00Doctor Who: The War Games<b>Apologies for the length of both sections, in advance.</b><br />
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<b>Serial Title</b>: The War Games<br />
<b>Series</b>: 6<br />
<b>Episodes:</b> 10<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton </i><br />
<b>Companions:</b> <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i><br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
The beginning of the end is World War I, into which the TARDIS materializes- or does it? Picked up by Nurse Jennifer Buckingham and Lt. Jeremy Carstairs, the Doctor and Co. soon find themselves fallen afoul of the mysterious General Smythe, a sinister figure who brainwashes people with his monocle into believing what he wants them to- in this case, that the entire TARDIS crew are spies, and to be executed immediately.<br />
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Lady Jennifer, in an attack of conscience, helps Zoe to get away, and a sniper attack’s timely distraction allows them to free the Doctor. They take off for the military prison where Jamie is being held- where he has been incarcerated with a redcoat taken from 1745, about a year earlier than Jamie's departure from Scotland... which is <i>many</i> years prior to World War I! The two put aside old enmities and escape, but are caught (the redcoat being killed). The Doctor bluffs the commandant with a bold performance as a prison inspector, but all of this has been an exercise in futility, as they are recaptured by Smythe’s men and taken back to his chateau. (Get used to such exercises…)<br />
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Smythe isn’t there, however- he’s just departed in a cupboard, which dematerializes in a strikingly familiar manner… Carstairs and Lady Jennifer again suspect something is up, and free the TARDIS trio, and upon entering Smythe’s office, they find a communications unit which Carstairs and Lady Jennifer cannot see. (New Series fans will recognize a perception filter when they see one- or don’t see one, as the case may be). After breaking through the mental fog, the group absconds with the ambulance- barreling through a strange fog that transports them to a grassy countryside… in which a Roman legion charges them, primed for battle! They reverse out in time, and come under fire from the British as Smythe uses his mental powers to have artillery trained on the ambulance! Escaping, they conclude that the mist acts as a barrier between time zones, and the whole area must be riddled with them.<br />
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They return to the Chateau in hopes of finding a map, which they are able to locate, demonstrating a number of time zones in the area, each labeled with historical Earth wars. The group strike out to search for answers, but are captured by the Germans. They are able to convince the officer guarding them of their claims of alien origin by use of a sonic screwdriver demonstration, but all of this has been an exercise in futility as the commander, Captain von Wiech, dons a monocle and convinces the officer that they are indeed spies. Gasp! The British and German commanders are secretly on the same side! If this were made in modern times, I would suspect it as an anti-Bush satire, but as it is- it’s just further running in circles for the group.<br />
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The Doctor manages to re-convince the officer after Von Weich leaves, making the exercise in futility an exercise in futility, and they get back aboard the ambulance, heading for a mysterious unlabeled black triangle at the center of the map. Within that black triangle, Smythe and Von Weich intermingle with jumpsuited technicians, and the War Chief, their superior. They run these war games, using abducted humans conditioned to believe that they are still in their own time- in reality, this isn’t even Earth, and the War Lords (led by THE War Lord- are you getting all of this? There will be a test…) are using the games to narrow down the ablest warriors for their usage. However, the War Chief is not of their race, just an outside consultant…<br />
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The ambulance enters the American Civil War zone and an attack separates the group. Carstairs is captured, and the rest take shelter in a barn- where they witness a device like the one used by Smythe materialize and disgorge troops- it’s bigger on the inside! This is a SIDRAT (Space and Inter-Dimensional Robot All-purpose Transporter), and when the Doctor and Zoe sneak inside to get a better look, it takes off with them inside, stranding a helpless Jamie and Lady Jennifer… just in time for a major battle to break out! And who should be the leader of the Confederate soldiers that capture them? Von Weich, in a different uniform and accent! Jamie and Lady Jennifer are freed by a man named Harper, part of a resistance movement on whom the brainwashing doesn’t work, who recognize that all of these wars are set-ups, and cross between time zones striking back at the War Lords. Von Weich is captured.<br />
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The Doctor and Zoe end up in the administration center, and take some War Lord headgear to blend in. There, they bear witness to a demonstration where the captured Carstairs is re-brainwashed with an unbreakable programming- wherein he promptly points them out in the crowd. Fortunately, this only convinces the Chief Scientists (Look, these are the only names they gives these guys, okay? I’m doing my best!) that the process is flawed… until the War Chief arrives, recognizing the two from the communications device in Smythe’s office, and the two are forced to flee- Zoe being soon captured. She is interrogated by the Security Chief, a rival of the War Chief. Both the War Chief and the Security Chief are rivals for the favor of the War Lord, leader of the War Lords. (I know… trust me, it isn’t any easier when watching it. For future reference, I will be labeling these men by the names I gave them during our viewing to keep them straight. The War Chief (the outside contractor who provided the SIDRATs to the War Lords) will henceforth be known as Ghengis for his swarthy goatee. His rival, the bland Security Chief, will be known hereafter as Goggles, for the goofy eyeware that he uses for interrogation. And their boss, leader of the War Lords, will now be dubbed “Eric from Accounting,” on account of his looking absolutely not intimidating and completely mild mannered when he finally appears. The Chief scientist will be known henceforth as 'Dr. Gullible,' because he is.)<br />
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The Doctor bluffs Dr. Gullible (claiming that Ghengis was only pointing to <i>Zoe</i> as an intruder, not himself (who was standing right next to her), and that he ran too because he was chasing her like a loyal War Lord soldier ought to) and steals the brainwashing device, which he recognizes can also be turned into an anti-brainwashing device. The Doctor uses it to free Carstairs from his mental programming, and the two rescue Zoe. She is able to scan and memorize various War Lord computer files on the known members of the brainwashing-resistant freedom fighters, with the goal of returning to them, uniting them under one banner, and attacking the War Lords in force.<br />
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Back in the Civil War zone, reinforcements kill Harper, but are repelled- the rebels plan to send a force of soldiers inside the SIDRAT that the reinforcements arrived in to attack central control- Jamie accompanies them (in hopes of finding the Doctor) while Lady Jennifer is needed to tend to the wounded (bowing out of the story at this point- you have enough characters to keep track of already, dear reader! As a primer: The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are now allied with Carstairs. There is also a resistance, none of whom are properly named yet. The villains are the War Lords, led by Eric from Accounting (the War Lord). His two lieutenants are Goggles (the Security Chief), and Ghengis (The War Chief, who is NOT a War Lord, he’s an outsider brought in to help). Their minions are numerous, overseeing all of the wars, but we only know two well enough to categorize them: Smythe and Von Weich, the latter of whom is captured. Got it all? Good, let’s continue.)<br />
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The invading party of rebels are almost immediately shot down, and taken to Dr. Gullible. The big dope is again bluffed by the Doctor, who frees Jamie and the rebels and sends them back to the barn, making this whole bit an exercise in futility (on the part of the bad guys, for once, but still a total circular path plot-filler). They arrive just in time to thwart Von Weich’s escape attempt, and he is shot dead. (1 down, 4 to go…)<br />
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The Doctor, meanwhile, has taken a second group with Jamie and Catstairs, and their escape attempt is thwarted when Ghengis manipulates their SIDRAT into dimensionally shrinking the internal space to its actual size (much as the Doctor did to the Monk, once upon a time). The group is forced out, the Doctor emerging under a flag of truce… and grabs the control crystals, not only restoring the SIDRAT, but enabling manual control. They fly to the Roman zone and ditch the ship, heading back to the 1917 WWI zone… but they are taken prisoner by Smythe’s men. OH, NO- please don’t tell me that everything since their escape in Episode 1 has been an exercise in futility, too!!! Yes, minus a little progress made, they’re taken back to the chateau and ordered to be executed!!! Curse you, circular story! Do you have an end, or simply an endless loop of captures and escapes?!?!? In fact, it seems to me that I could have more easily written this synopsis as a list:<br />
Capture: WWI Brits.<br />
Escape: Lady Jennifer, a Sniper, and a redcoat.<br />
Capture: WWI Brits.<br />
Escape: Lady Jennifer and Carstairs<br />
Capture: Romans<br />
Escape: Throw the car in reverse<br />
Capture: Germans<br />
Escape: Convince the Germans<br />
Capture: Same Germans<br />
Escape: Convince the Germans again<br />
Capture: Civil War (Jamie and Jennifer)<br />
Escape: Rebel forces (as in, rebels against the War Lords, not ‘The Rebs’)<br />
Capture: Civil War (Carstairs)<br />
Escape: The Doctor’s Bluff<br />
Capture: War Lords (Zoe)<br />
Escape: The Doctor and Carstairs<br />
Capture: War Lords (Jamie)<br />
Escape: The Doctor, Carstairs, and Zoe<br />
Capture: The War Chief (The Doctor, Jamie, and Carstairs)<br />
Escape: Violating white flag truce and theft<br />
Capture: WWI Brits again<br />
Escape: Resistance invasion.<br />
Yes, after Smythe (ordered to take them alive, but claiming they died in capture just so he can have the pleasure of execution) brings them in, he is shot dead (2 down, 3 to go…) as the resistance invades the Chateau, freeing the prisoners and taking it as their base of operations. The Doctors restructures the time zone mists, creating a safe barrier around the chateau, preventing any WWI-local forces from retaking it. He then begins de-processing brainwashed men.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, back at War Lord central, Eric from Accounting- I mean, the Emperor- I mean, the War Lord, has arrived to take charge of the situation, and he is not as forgiving as I am. Here’s here to put them back on schedule. An entire LEEEEEEGION of his best troops… etc. Goggles tries to blame it on Ghengis, accusing him of working with the Doctor, but Eric is having none of it.<br />
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A SIDRAT attacks, and despite the entire invasion coming from a single doorway, an insufficient defense is mounted, and War Lord soldiers storm the place, taking the Doctor and the brainwashing equipment. Making the capture of the brainwashing device and subsequent deprogramming an exercise in futility- it is now back in War Lord hands to begin ultra-brainwashing.<br />
<br />
<br />
Capture: War Lord soldiers (The Doctor)<br />
Escape: None…?!?<br />
No, no escape- instead, the Doctor receives the proposal of alliance from Ghengis- the War Chief is not a War Lord, but a Time Lord! A rogue from his people, like the Doctor, he recognizes his old school chum and offers him a ruling place by his side, if he will help to perfect the brainwashing equipment (which the duped Dr. Gullible still doesn’t think works correctly). The War Lord plan is revealed to be an ultimate army- the best fighters from human history equipped with War Lord technology, which Ghengis intends to co-opt as a galactic peacekeeping force. (The old “Once we conquer and rule the entire galaxy, we can bring peace to it…” chestnut.) Meanwhile, Goggles only becomes more suspicious of the two…<br />
<br />
The rebels have survived another SIDRAT attack (failing to adequately defend invasion coming from a single doorway again, with the benefit of HAVING A MACHINE GUN SET UP AND TRAINED ON IT FROM BEFORE IT EVEN OPENS), and now have pulled together their forces, including Mexican bandit Arturo Villar, leader of the largest organized resistance group, whom Jamie must bluff as the supposed leader of the rebel army in full Tartan regalia. The group plans to seize a SIDRAT as before, only this time with a much bigger army (it worked so well the first time…?) inside- and begin a daring series of hit-and-raid runs to harry War Lord command posts to force them to respond. However, the War Lords figure out this plan, and the Doctor ‘sends’ them a SIDRAT and leads to their capture, betraying them to captivity rather than seeing them slaughtered as the War Lords planned. (This gambit has worked so well in the past- see “The Two Towers” under ‘Smeagol’).<br />
<br />
Capture: The Doctor (Everybody else)<br />
Escape: The Doctor?<br />
Yes, of course, the Doctor is still on the side of good- despite Villar’s disbelief and attempt to strangle him when Goggles, looking to get rid of him, throws him in unarmed with what he rightly believes are angry and vengeful prisoners who feel betrayed. However, before the group can be fully Gollumed, Ghengis arrives with the brainwashing device for the Doctor to begin experimenting on. Even Jamie is wary that the Doctor has sold them out as the Doctor puts him under the device- but when he comes out the other side with his free will intact and is forced to improvise a false brainwashing persona, the Doctor’s loyalty is proved. While oafish Villar spoils the ruse by refusing to play along (opting instead to try and strangle the Doctor again), it is enough time for the ‘processed’ rebels to sidle up to the guards and overpower them.<br />
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Meanwhile, Goggles uses security camera footage to reveal Ghengis’ offer and plans of takeover to Eric from Accounting, and Ghengis is arrested. He is freed during a rebel attack, and shoots Goggles dead. (3 down, 2 to go) and then reveals that the SIDRATs are breaking down- he needed the Doctor to help him takeover because his usefulness to the War Lords would soon have been over anyhow. The price of fine locational control and remote control away from Time Lord maintenance is a very short life span for the devices, which no longer have the range to return all of the human captives back to their own times. (In the New Series, the Doctor would tell them to establish some sort of colony on this planet eschewing violence forever or some such, I’m sure…). The Doctor realizes that there is only one way to get everyone home and away from these endless war games… he must contact the Time Lords.<br />
<br />
The panicked Ghengis flees rather than facing the justice of the Time Lords, but runs into Eric from Accounting, who shoots him dead. (4 down, 1 to go… I think I’ll go back to calling him the War Lord, now). Villar and his men capture the War Lord, and bring him back to the Doctor… who produces a series of cards which he mentally shapes into a cube, containing all of the pertinent data about their current situation and a call for help. He then says hasty goodbyes and flees in the last SIDRAT, bound for the 1917 zone where the TARDIS is, as a loud oncoming roar can be heard, and the War Lord fearfully intones “They’re coming…”<br />
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The Doctor and company run pel-mel across the rocky landscape towards the TARDIS… a seemingly impossible goal as the power of the Time Lords descends upon them, slowing time and increasing gravity, making every inch another mile… time gets slower and slower the closer and closer they get… as it slows down to a crawl.<br />
Capture: The Time Lords<br />
Escape: Run!!!<br />
<br />
The Doctor barely manages to get the TARDIS door open, and the three stumble inside, out of the time distortion effect, and the Doctor throws the TARDIS into a mad escape flight- under the sea, in space, all throughout the galaxy- but the Time Lords have located him now, and can track his flight- the voice of the Time Lords rings through the console room, and eventually, the TARDIS is brought to land on Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet. The Doctor emerges to face trial, explaining to Jamie and Zoe that the Time Lords are incredibly advanced, having perfected the secret of time travel, and have strict laws of noninterference which he has broken- he’s been on the run since the start of the show, and now his people have caught him. But, preceding that is the trial of the War Lord. He defiantly Saddam Husseins his way through it (“I don’t recognize the authority of this court!”) until his men arrive in a SIDRAT to break him free. They take the Doctor and his companions hostage, intent on using the TARDIS to escape.<br />
Capture: The War Lord<br />
Escape: Eh, they’re not that bright; distract ‘em and run<br />
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As soon as they’ve escaped, the Time Lords lock the War Lord and his men behind a forcefield. The Time Lords then shoot him dead. Oh, no, wait. Sorry- just so used to all of our bad guys being dispatched that way. Instead, they vaporize him and his guards alive in a total molecular dissolution, dispersing them as if they never were. (That’s everyone… right? Or are the true villains yet to be revealed…?) The Doctor and companions are taken to separate quarters to await the trial.<br />
<br />
<br />
Capture: The Time Lords<br />
Escape: Jamie and Zoe<br />
<br />
But, even though the three make a run for it, the Doctor’s sad smile when they are captured shows that he knew this was inevitable, and only wanted to give the two one last adventure together. The Time Lords announce that they are to be returned home with their memories erased- they will be allowed remember their first adventure with the Doctor each, but will then remember him departing in the TARDIS, not going with him. They say a tearful goodbye, and…<br />
<br />
The Wheel, late 21st century. Zoe reports to Tanya Lernov, one of the Wheel survivors, that she’s seen the Doctor and Jamie off- then goes to resume her librarian duties with the odd feeling that she’s missed something important.<br />
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Scotland, April of 1746. Jamie wakes up in a field with no memory of how he got there after having seen the Doctor, Ben, and Polly off. Alone now, his laird and people fled to France, he is alone- he will find a new village, a new clan, and continue the fight. And, as a redcoat quickly learns when he takes a shot at the young Scotsmen, foes of Jamie McCimmon beware the lad’s wrath, no mere piper he!<br />
<br />
Gallifrey. Now.<br />
Capture: The Time Lords<br />
Escape: *SIGH*… there is no escape, is there?<br />
<br />
The Doctor’s trial proceeds apace, with his defense that he is merely combating evil that needs to be combated, lest it overwhelm the universe. The Time Lords take this into consideration against the violation of their laws, and pronounce sentence: The Doctor will be allowed to continue combating that evil on the planet he seems fondest of, Earth- there, to be denied the ability to travel through space and time, exiled from his people. Bound to one planet and one time, for all time. And to facilitate this new change and protect him from enemies gained as the 2nd Doctor, he will be forcibly regenerated. Over his protests, the transformation begins… and an era ends.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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The War Games were, frankly, a bit of a disappointment. As Troughton's, Jamie's, Zoe's, and the Black and White era's swan song, it should have been fantastic. And parts of it were. But it was just too long.<br />
<br />
Looking at the history of Black and White Who (BWW), it seems that more stories were influenced by other stories falling through than they were by their own writers. The bizarre two-episode Edge of Destruction was written as a low-budget bottle show to fill a two episode gap in the production schedule. Second series opener Planet of the Giants got an energy and pacing boost by combining the last two episodes into one. The Daleks Master Plan was doubled in length- with padding like the Christmas episode- which, though it didn't drag down the epic, result in a number of odd rabbit-trail plots, because an entire 6-part serial fell through. The Wheel In Space gained the repetitive, dull, Moonbase-retreading portions that weighed it down because of its hasty creation to fill in for a failed script (The cancelled Dalek/Cyberman war). Seeds of Death was padded out by several episodes to cover a missing story, slowing the pace of the still-phenomenal serial. If any story in BWW was poorly paced, padded, repetitive, or derivative, it was a direct result of expansion to fill the gap left by a failed story. One wonders what the Old Who stories of the first two Doctors' eras might have been without these scheduling re-writes and fluff-injection sessions. And no series has been more affected than Series 6, the Second Doctor and BWW’s final series, culminating here. Dick Sharples’ “The Prison in Space”, Paul Wheeler’s “The Dream Spinners,” and Malcom Hulke’s “The Impersonators” [Plus an unnamed Derrick Sherwin story] all fell through- leading The Krotons, The Space Pirates, and The War Games to all be drafted or expanded hastily to fill their places. While a few stories came to be from this phenomenon, or were compressed to their benefit because of the scheduling, by far and large this quota-meeting rewrite practice seems to have been to Doctor Who's detriment. Sadly, the same can be said for this 6-part story... expanded into 10 parts to fill the gap. That's 100 minutes of sheer padding added into the story- almost all in the form of recaptures. This is probably not the first use of the Capture/Escape cycle cliché to pad out running time, but boy, is it EVER the most prominent!<br />
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Nearly every episode contains multiple iterations of the following scene:<br />
Characters have been captured by soldiers and are brought to the leaders.<br />
Enemy Leader: "You are spies!"<br />
Character 1: "We are not spies! Let me convince you!"<br />
Enemy Soldier: "I am convinced!"<br />
Enemy Leader: *Puts on glasses* "They are spies! Be hypnotized to think they are spies, ignoring the proof you just received!"<br />
Enemy Soldier: "I am hypnotized! They are spies!"<br />
Enemy Leader: "Take them away, we will execute them soon!"<br />
En route, Character 2 escapes. Character 1 has been captured, believed to be a spy. Soon to be executed, they pace in their cell. Character 2 bluffs their way in and gets the keys from a random lackey. They open the jail cell door and rush in.<br />
Character 2: "Witty banter."<br />
Character 1: "Witty banter response!"<br />
Character 2: "Let's get out of here!"<br />
Character 1 and Character 2 turn to rush out of the cell- and find the doorway filled with the enemy commander and an assortment of soldiers.<br />
Enemy Leader: "So, you have been recaptured!"<br />
Usually, followed by:<br />
Enemy Leader: "You are spies!"<br />
Character 1: "We are not spies! Let me convince you!"<br />
…you get the gist.<br />
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This was repeated ad nauseum to the point of disbelief. You literally could not believe that the same scene had just played out AGAIN. This is how 4 extra episodes were added- dozens of 'captured, accused, convince the accuser and gain their trust, then have it all overridden and the effort (and scene's running time) wasted by the villain's hypnosis.' First used in Chapter 1, it's chilling. By Chapter 4, you want to kill small furry animals every time it happens; the repetition will drive you to (justifiable) homicidal rage. Likewise for the get-in-and-free-a-prisoner-only-to-turn-to-leave-and-find-the-soldiers-there-waiting-for-you. Escapes and recaptures are so common as to become laughable; a drinking game involving every escape attempt prematurely ended by the bad guys appearing in the doorway would be fatal due to alcohol poisoning.<br />
<br />
These two cliches are repeated over and over and over, to an extent that this description cannot do justice, until the very appearance of the scenario brings disbelieving, nearly-deranged laughter from the nerves-strained audience who literally cannot believe what they are seeing. It's as if the first draft of Microsoft Word was created in 1969 for this serial, just so that the scripts for the middle 4-5 episodes could be created by selecting a 5-minute set of scenes from the end of chapter 1 and copy/pasting it end-to-end and back-to-back over and over again until the next 100 minutes of script are filled up. (And yes, the math suggests that this would mean those same scenes would have to occur 20 times for this to be literally true. Frankly, I think 20 repetitions is an underestimation of this absurdly aggravating chestnut.) This makes the central portion of the serial all but unwatchable, driving potential viewers to madness!<br />
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That said, there are moments of brilliance. The first episode is stellar, with a great setting, an intriguing and menacing, seemingly unstoppable villain. The next two are fascinating, rife with interesting concepts, great discoveries, great cliffhangers (especially Jamie left behind as the SIDRAT departs), Roman soldiers attacking a truck, and the like. Even the middle episodes contain a fascinating concept- aberrant, non-affected soldiers from all eras that have broken free of their mind control and formed a resistance, who must be gathered to insight a rebellion. It's a GREAT concept! But it's smothered by the copious tons of padding dumped onto the middle section, and this really kills the serial. Were the War Games composed of the first three episodes, one middle episode containing the rebellion plot, compressing the middle 5 episodes into 1 (which would lose very little if any plot) and then the final two, this serial would be amazing. For the alien planet parts- the brainwashing bits (and the Doctor's great ingratiating lecture students and bluffing bits) are great. And the ending...<br />
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Well, the ending is just amazing. The Time Lords have a spectacular introduction- the Doctor fleeing in terror, a roar of eerie wind, and the frightened pronunciation "They're coming." And then a headlong flight for the TARDIS interrupted by a time-distorting forcefield, a desperate mad dash turned into an agonizing, dreamlike crawl (for who hasn't had that dream where your limbs are leaden and your run is in slow motion?) followed by a panicked flight across the cosmos. Truly, the final two episodes are a tour-de-force, showcasing the Time Lords' nearly unstoppable power, as they disintegrate the villain with almost casual ease. The last two are must-sees, and very impressive.<br />
<br />
Even throughout, there are diamonds among the rough- cliffhangers are greatly improved from the last serial's awkward transitions, we get another use of the sonic screwdriver (as an actual screwdriver again, in some nice effects), a great compressing-SIDRAT cliffhanger with a very good effect, and some good music- I especially liked the heroic 'American Civil War soldiers' theme that was employed several times. These bits don't make it worthwhile to plow through the horrendous, mind-scarring repetition, but excised from the nonsense of that slog-through padding plotting, they are quite a stellar series of bits and elements- worthy of both recognition, and better episodes in which to be embedded.<br />
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Meanwhile, I found the Enemy Politics 'N Strife (EP&S, an acronym I could have saved myself much trouble and typing with if I'd coined it long ago, as it's been around since at least Marco Polo- if not the caveman bickering in An Unearthly Child itself) to be fairly overwhelming. A trope of BWW has been these little cutaways to the villain camp for these spats between leadership of the antagonists- it's from these little sparring sessions that we get our rating convention for this series, the Bickering Dominators. Anyhow... I found all of their drama to be extremely unengaging, especially because their similar names made them hard to keep straight. Regardless, after 6 years it's become a bit stale.<br />
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The effects in the serial, at least, were quite good- practical explosions, seamless fade outs, nice forcefield effects, the aforementioned SIDRAT inversion, the sonic screwdriver effect, the slow-motion sequences, even the ending (confusing as it was). Model shots of the Wheel In Space and the TARDIS materializations from Web of Fear and Fury from the Deep, despite being total stock footage reuses (and in the case of Web Of Fear, making no sense… why does the TARDIS have web on it again just because it materializes in space?), are gratefully received because they provide the only remaining sources for those clips (including the cool spiral-from-the-sky-to-land-on-the-water bit from Fury From The Deep) to be used in the reconstructions- without those ‘clip show’ bits, we wouldn’t have been able to see them at all in the first place! The standout, though, would have to be the cube construction- beginning the awesomeness that is the Time Lords sequence and the frantic rush to escape them, which is almost like a whole 1-episode-plus-10-minutes-of-another in and of itself, and clearly the amazing climactic finale highlight of the Troughton era, this effect has the Doctor pull 6 white square-shaped cards from his pocket, place them on the ground, and begin to meditate- as the squares assemble by themselves (in stop-motion) into a cube- the device with which to call the Time Lords. A very cool effect, and a very cool more-than-he-seems moment to inaugurate the beginning of the end for Troughton’s Doctor (incidentally, the message cubes recently returned in Matt Smith's "The Doctor's Wife," which had me utterly geeking out).<br />
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We also get some interesting milestones: the first scenes on an (as yet unnamed) Gallifrey, the naming of the Doctor’s race, revelations about the Doctor’s past- that the TARDIS is stolen, that he left- in a brilliant moment and a defining character bit for the Doctor- because ‘I was bored.’ Much of modern Who lore was defined right here, in the excellent final two episodes attached to this padded train wreck.<br />
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But, lest I be unclear, it’s not just the effects and a decent plot line that shine in that middle stretch of padded wasteland. There are good bits here as well- they are simply drowned out by the overwhelming majority of copy/paste repetitions of the capture/escape scenario. The different war zones are well-realized, from the Civil War to a Roman legion to World War I. We have an interesting theme with the villains and glasses- both the plus-shaped eye-slit visors they wear at home, and the glasses/monocles that are used as a hypnotism method. An interesting running theme for an unusual people, even if it ends up far too overused due to the repetition of the capture scenario. The presence of another Time Lord who recognized the Doctor, whom he knew in his early days (prefiguring the Master). Some nice evil villains (the field-generals more than the triad of baddies back at HQ).<br />
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So, how about the characters?<br />
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Lady Jennifer and Lt. Carstairs, two surprisingly sympathetic and well-rounded guest characters who put two and two together and began to break through their mental conditioning, were enjoyable additions to the party for the early episodes. And while Lady Jennifer was written out halfway through (but only after a priceless exchange with Jamie- “You just don’t want me to come because I’m a woman, don’t you?” “No! No... well, yes.”), Carstairs not only gets a great heroic sacrifice, but a surprise re-appearance, brainwashing bit, and eventual release, leading the resistance (and acting as the voice of reason during their capture); he was an upstanding and smart individual, and a fun character to watch- I was glad to see his return.<br />
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The Generals- in WWI on both sides, the German of whom is also a Civil War general with a decent- if slightly off-kilter- southern accent, are the ones I consider the real villains of the piece. They are effective and intimidating, seeming almost unstoppable in their hypnotic power- and while their seeming omnipresence to CONSTANTLY foil our heroes becomes irritating after a while, as does their smug superiority and determination to have the TARDIS crew killed, they are effective and menacing, cold-blooded, always in control… and their just rewards are cheer-worthy and well-deserved. Everything after their defeat is pretty much anti-climactic. About the main villains- the War Lord, War Chief, and Other Guy, I should probably have more to say… but I really don’t. The rogue Time Lord, while an interesting notion and noteworthy for his regeneration-regardless recognition of the Doctor, was fairly generic and bland as villains go. His jealous rival was predictable- though frankly, if his Time Lord nemesis was so inept as not to suspect a bugged room, it’s a wonder that it was so difficult for Other Guy to overthrow him. Pretty pathetic. More interesting by far is the easily-fooled inventor of the brainwashing machine- so invested in his craft that he pays little attention to politics… or potential enemies! And hoisted on his own petard at the end. Lastly, there’s the lead villain, Eric from Accounting. I’m sorry, but his appearance is so nondescript and downright plain next to Genghis Kahn the Time Lord and others, he just doesn’t have the villainous look. He just looks like a motorcycle cop. Still, he gets audacity points for raiding Gallifrey, playing Sadam at his trial, and having a great ending. Too bad, though- both he and the rogue Time Lord could’ve been well-expanded in further sequels.<br />
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Meanwhile, on the resistance side… we have a gallant Civil War soldier (the tragically-killed African American fighter who gets a very nice fight scene), a dupe (who is easily tricked by the captured Colonel Klink, but gets to deliver a fantastic coup-de-grace), a psychopath (that bloodthirsty nut with whom the gallant soldier fights) and a fun caricature, the leader of the Mexican forces who will not talk to women and tries repeatedly to strangle the Doctor. Since he doesn’t quite manage to screw things up at the end (not for lack of trying!) he’s harmless enough, and a fun comic relief character. The resistance itself gets some fun bits- searching for a hidden tunnel as an explanation for the soldiers pouring out of the bigger-on-the-inside SIDRATs, playing along with the Doctor’s brainwashing ruse, and… defending the chateau very, very badly. One would think that a stationary target with a narrow doorway would be an easy target to aim at and spray with fire before any invading troops could emerge, but these resistance members seem to operate on the courtesy system, waiting for the door to open, for troops to rush out, assume position, take aim, and fire… at which point whatever the resistance was planning to courteously delay until the enemy was ready is rendered moot, since they are all dead. Later, when they have a MACHINE GUN set up and aimed at the doorway, they mow down one invading soldier… then wait for his retreated partner to pop back out and mow them both down in sequence, without trying to fire again. Hardly the Spartan army, these… unable to defend a single 3-foot wide doorway that disgorges enemies in single file, even when they have a machine gun manned by two men pointed directly at it and receive advance warning (by way of the DOOR OPENING) that troops are about to appear. I mean… that was just PATHETIC! (In a non-padded story, they probably would have been competent.) They do at least have a great montage scene of the co-ordinated resistance taking down targets and raising enemy panic all over the interconnected war zones, a well-scored and paced little sequence that makes you want to cheer! …Or at least grumble “About dern time…” begrudgingly under your breath, depending on how much the inept chateau defense irritated you.<br />
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Jamie gets a lot to do in this serial- as a canny warrior, he’s really in his element- even coming to terms with a captured redcoat and hatching a clever plan to escape. As well as a great moment where he must impersonate the leader of the rebel forces- in full tartan regalia- because the leader of an allied force won’t accept a woman in the position. Jamie is resourceful, clever, wise, and strong in this serial, and his devastated look as the SIDRAT disappears with Zoe and the Doctor inside speaks volumes about his loyal heart.<br />
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Zoe has a slightly lesser, but very significant role, using her wits to free the Doctor, deal with sexist enemy leaders, and defend the chateau (Despite the bungling of its assigned defenders)- unfortunately, save for a few good moments here and there (dressing up Jamie as the rebel leader after being snubbed by a resistance bigwig, smashing a vase over the head of the prison commandant, etc.), her personality doesn’t stand out so much in this one as it has in serials past. Still, every serial can’t showcase every character.<br />
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And the Doctor... what a serial this is for him. From clever bluffs and comedic impressions (like his prisoner inspector routine) to his self-sacrificial decision to summon the Time Lords to put things right, The Doctor is scheming, planning, acting, and working overtime to single-handedly turn utter chaos into a victory. He is stout-hearted and brave, even when terrified. Even in the face of his regeneration, he has a fine impassioned speech about the evils of the galaxy (which he gets off to a pathetic start by beginning with the Quarks, clearly still trying to market them as the new Daleks... and which he surprisingly and appropriately concludes with the Daleks, labeling them as the greatest menace of all; I’d’ve thought that they couldn’t have got Terry Nation rights to show or mention them during this period, but they did- kudos!), a funny bit of bickering over regeneration appearances (an interesting notation- that Time Lord technology can apparently shape regeneration outcomes), and even a final bit of humorous ‘mushmouth’ acting as he’s dragged, kicking and screaming, into a kaleidoscope presentation intended to represent the start of his regeneration... or perhaps usher in Series 6B. (Stay tuned next blog for more on this exciting notion!) This scene should be a lot more traumatic- David Tennant’s “I don’t want to go!” x100, a heart-rendering near-murder of a regeneration that has the audience sobbing at their last sight of the Doctor. Yet, unlike the melodrama of the New Series, this regeneration is played coolly and without regrets- wisely ushering in a new, very different era with acceptance and encouragement of the audience to accept what’s to come instead of fear and trepidation. Even the Doctor’s panic at being forcibly regenerated is instantly calmed as soon as he’s told he can choose his new appearance (which is a great comic bit, incidentally).<br />
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This was a clever move on the creators' part; they were planning to change the series completely, removing TARDIS travel, setting the show entirely on modern-day (maybe... see future blogs for the UNIT dating controversy in which the Third Doctor was sometimes in the ‘modern day’ 70s and sometimes in the ‘near-future 80s’, depending on whether the writer remembered that week that it was supposed to be the future or not) Earth, changing actors, changing companions, moving to color- it was to be rebranded completely, and treating the transition with humor and grace, making the Doctor accept it so that the audience would accept it, was a canny decision and a courtesy to the production team to come that WASN’T extended by Russel T. Davies at the end of his New Series run (instead choosing to set up a grand tribute to his own work and mourn it’s passing, leaving the audience already biased against the new ‘usurper’ coming in to take its place).<br />
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On the other hand, it leaves me unsure of how to feel. The great sadness of Troughton’s passing that’s been building for several serials is abruptly deflated, all the air let out of my sadness (now there’s a mixed metaphor for you!), the moment past almost before I realized it, leaving me empty, confused, not really feeling like mourning his loss, but feeling oddly reluctant to move on. It’s not a great ending for closure, and probably SHOULD have been a tragic ending, story wise- so tonally, it’s strange. For the real world, it was the right way to handle the transition. For the storyline? It’s a hard pill to swallow, abruptly derailing the emotional buildup. It was almost worse for Jamie and Zoe (“Will we ever see you again?” “Zoe, you of all people should know that time is relative.”) Bid a fond goodbye after a failed attempt to liberate the Doctor- one gets the impression from his reaction that he never expected it to work, and merely wanted to give them one last chance to act heroically, some closure of their own- and cruelly, their memories erased of their travels, mentally-ret-conned that each of them turned down an offer to travel with the Doctor, and returned to the time and place of their departure. (It was very cool that they got the actress from Wheel In Space back to reprise her part for this- how far Who has come in terms of ongoing storylines and continuity since those “Faceless Ones happened on the same day as War Machines, just take our word for it even though there’s no evidence” days!) Zoe still remembers the events of Wheel In Space, and Jamie those of The Highlanders, but all of the adventures since reside now only in the Doctor’s memory. Jamie doesn’t remember ever meeting Victoria, or Zoe... Nor Zoe the Land of Fiction and her tangle with Karkus, the Yeti, the Time Lords, the Ice Warriors... all of these adventures are simply gone, and that seems the cruelest of all. All that development, all that change, all that growth... wiped clean by the Time Lords- truly, the Doctor's greatest and cruelest enemy.<br />
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If I seem oddly ambivalent and at a loss of words, not my usual descriptive self, regarding this total milestone in Doctor Who history... I am (though clearly not at a loss for words on all of the other elements of this serial!). All of the counting down, the wistfulness, the memorializing, the anticipation... were simply dispelled by the way the regeneration was handled. It gave real-world continuance to the franchise, and for that we should be grateful- but in-universe, it just sort of... petered out. How very different. How very... strange.<br />
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Still, the actors themselves have a fitting epilogue. As per the Wiki, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury and Patrick Troughton “found the workload too hard. The three decided they'd leave and Frazer was the first, but Troughton asked him to stay until he left too, which was only a few months away at the time.” In a documentary about the departed Troughton, Hines said “that they left with smiles on their faces, feeling like their job was done and it was well done at that.” You can’t ask for more than that. And looking at the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe over the stories we’ve seen lately… done well, it was. It was indeed.<br />
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In the end, The War Machines is a promising story with a stellar finale that lags like a rotting, bloated whale in the middle because of story-expansion-to-fill-a-gap-in-the-production-schedule padding. This could still have turned out all right, had the padding not LITERALLY BEEN THE SAME SCENE OF ALREADY-AGGRAVATING RECAPTURE AND KANGAROO COURT SENTENCING AS SPIES REPEATED OVER AND OVER AND OVER TO FILL THE TIME. It just fails, but dang, if that finale ain’t incredible! My recommendation: Watch the last two episodes out of context. They’re worth it.<br />
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<b>Great Moments:</b><br />
The escape from the Time Lords episode 9 cliffhanger, and to a lesser extent, the entire summoning/trial sequence! Plus, the Doctor’s duping the German officer with his second ‘demonstration,’ his prison inspector routine (and Jamie’s ruse), Jamie left behind, Jamie vs. Civil War soldiers, Jamie’s impersonation of an officer, the shrinking SIDRAT, etc.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
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For ratings, I think I’d have to give the War Games 2 out of 5 Bickering Dominators. The weight of the finale episodes deserve SO MUCH MORE- but in the end, taking the whole into consideration, all they do is keep the story from being a 1 out of 5. Still, check out the more detailed breakdown:<br />
Episode 1 – 3.5 out of 5<br />
Episode 2-3 – 3 out of 5.<br />
Episodes 4-8 – 0.5 out of 5<br />
Episode 9 and 10 – 5 out of 5.<br />
In other words, the beginning an end- the final two especially, are simply MUST-SEEs. Don’t skip them on the sins of their predecessors- they’re almost their own self-contained storyline anyhow, and can be enjoyed without slogging through the misery of the muddled middle mush. Don’t let the ponderous painful prison padding drive you away from the incredible spectacle and legend-shaping, lore-creating tour-de-force finale!<br />
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-63004430151363397802012-06-13T16:59:00.001-07:002012-06-13T18:01:04.127-07:00Doctor Who: Reconstruction Retrospective<br />
Reconstructions...<br />
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The sad tale has already been told in this blog- how the BBC, in their folly, burned the masters, thinking that they had backups. How dozens of episodes of classic Black & White Who kissed the flames and never returned to tell. How the massacre of the archives was total and fierce. How the only salvation lay in prints sent to collectors, overseas, or somehow saved from their slated destruction. How, at time of writing, none such had been found since 2004’s recovery of an episode of The Daleks’ Master Plan… and perhaps none would ever be found again... and how last December's joyous tiding- the return of TWO episodes at once, a Hartnell and a Troughton- has brought hope back for the faithful! (A life-size Dalek- the originals, not the horrid plastic abominations they have today in the New Series- awaits anyone who can find another missing episode.)<br />
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And yet, I’ve seen every one of these wretched souls, watched every single one from start to finish. How is this possible?<br />
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In the days before VCRs, shows were run once and then gone- maybe shown as a repeat again someday, but they had their run and that was that. (Never was that so true than for many of the classic Hartnell and Troughton episodes…!) In those days, the BBC hired people to take ‘telesnaps’- essentially, a snapshot or photo of the TV screen. Their job was to capture important moments, each of the actors, significant scenes, etc.- to be used as promotional images, for magazine or newspaper articles, for actors’ resumes, etc. So, visual reference for what each place, character, and setting looks like still exist- no one torched those archives. Meanwhile, a number of fans made audio-recordings of the show, as that was one personal home recorder that DID exist in those days- a tape recorder. Those, combined with audio prints kept in a separate archive, conspired to preserve the complete AUDIO of every episode (in varying quality). These, along with publicity photos, and the occasional clips loaned out to a documentary or other show, or video-taped off a TV screen with primitive camcorders, could all be combined together to create a sort of slide-show with audio, wherein you could listen to the episode and watch still pictures (and the occasional video clip if you were lucky) or what was supposed to be happening on-screen at the time.<br />
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A few groups arose to start putting together these ‘reconstructions’- using still pictures and surviving audio to create a still-picture facsimile of what the episodes once were. Doctor Who fans, a tenacious bunch, strung together these slide-show reconstructions (with little closed-captioning bars at the bottom to describe actions being taken, based on the original shooting scripts, that weren’t obvious from the pictures or the audio). Fan group Loose Canon Productions quickly came to the forefront, using CGI Daleks and Spaceships, photoshop composite images (placing pictures of characters from another episode into the background for this one, or taking images of a guest-star actor from other media they appeared in and pasting their face onto a costume-appropriate body to create an image of an actor for which no surviving pictures exist), hand-created animations (blinking lights are made to blink, doors slide open, etc.), video clips out-of-context that can be re-edited or zoomed to match the action, and even freshly-shot insert footage ('second unit' stuff- close-ups of hands, etc. that can be re-created using replica props and costumes, in which original actors can’t be seen) to create the most complete reconstructions available. Meanwhile, the BBC took things in another direction, releasing the audio portions of the episodes on CD with narration (by various individuals, often the actors who portrayed the companions back in the day) filling the silence and describing actions much in the way that closed-captioning did for the visuals, converting the missing episodes into an almost storybook-narrated audio drama version of themselves. And enterprising Yotube reconstructionists of late have taken the superior Loose Canon videos, added in the occasional higher-quality photos or stills that have turned up since the Loose Canons were created, and merged them with the BBC narrated audio (omitting the closed captioning for redundancy), creating what I consider to be the ultimate reconstruction experience that mixes the best of all possible worlds.<br />
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Even so… you’re still mostly watching a slideshow of dull, still pictures (no matter how impressively created) to a glorified audiobook. So… it can be a challenge. Historical stories were the hardest hit, since recovered videos were often from overseas prints, and overseas markets were less interested in ordering prints of stories about the history of Western civilization. Some sci-fis were lost, but historical were hardest-hit… very few of them are intact.<br />
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Now that we have vanquished the reconstructions at last with the completion of the final missing serial (depending on how you view Tom Baker's Shada, which was never finished in the first place), The Space Pirates- having already survived the Series-5-end ‘Hump,’ I thought it would be appropriate to look back at the reconstructions past. If you’re not interested in a look at each of the comparative reconstructions, then skip to the bottom for a slightly different, audience-participation discussion.<br />
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(Now, keep in mind, when I look at whether the enjoyability or watchability was affected… it always is, by watching stills. These will always be less enjoyable than seeing the real thing- what this section evaluates is whether the story was more affected than the norm, if reconstructedness detracts beyond the simple less-enjoyable nature and does something to actively steal away an element of the story.)<br />
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<b>Marco Polo</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All of it. The whole thing. All 7 episodes. Not even any clips.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> It was very nice, though basic- unique in that it was comprised entirely of color photos, giving us our first taste of color Who very early on. I’d call it a very good average baseline.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> I don’t think so. Pacing and length episodes still plagued the show at this juncture, which dragged down the overall enjoyability, but I don’t think having it in video would affect that much.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Yes, this was the first historical… and the first historical casualty.<br />
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<b>Reign of Terror</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 4 and 5 (of 6 total)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> It was decent, but suffered from a strange overuse of the same closing-door half-second clip every time someone entered or exited a room. Got kind of annoying after a while.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> No, it was largely unaffected, thankfully.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> No- this season-ender and first on-location shooting serial preserved all of the important bits in video.<br />
<u>Note:</u> An animated reconstruction of this one (like the Invasion) will be coming out in fall!<br />
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<b>The Crusade</b><br />
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<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 2 and 4 of 4 (1 and 3 are intact)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Absolutely average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not especially- actually, the performances really shone through this one despite the reconstruction, putting this one a bit above-average.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Nope, just another run-of-the-mill lost historical…<br />
<u>Note:</u> Follows a mercifully intact second series, and a long absence of missing episodes.<br />
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<b>Galaxy 4</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Everything, all 4 episodes (Minus a 5-min stretch in Episode 1). (Actually, Episode 3 has just been found- but not generally released yet.)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Masterfully done and technically flawless, with filmed inserts and the like- this was above average, in the top tier.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not in the slightest. The story would have been absolute unwatchable garbage regardless.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> No video of the alien creatures, exploding planet, or generally, this series-premiere.<br />
<u>Note:</u> It’s RUBBISH!!!<br />
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<b>Mission to the Unknown</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Every frame of the single episode.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Very well, above average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> A bit, yes. This story is carried by visuals- actions and performances. Both are sadly lost.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> This whole episode is a milestone, the only stand-alone episode of the serial era, and a prequel to the Daleks’ Master Plan.<br />
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<b>The Myth Makers</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 4 episodes in their entirety.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Pacing and entertainment wise? Far below average, one of Loose Canon’s worst. Technically, and considering extenuating circumstances (see below)? One of their finest, and in the top tier, considering.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Only slightly- there were SO FEW stills (see below). However, most of the humor managed to transcend stills.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Vicki’s departure, Katarina’s arrival, the Trojan horse model.<br />
<u>Note:</u> No telesnaps exist for this serial, making every image seen a photoshop composite. Viewed in that light, it’s an impressive technical achievement! It’s still just not a very good reconstruction to watch.<br />
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<b>The Daleks’ Master Plan</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Everything except for episodes 2, 5, and 10 (out of 12 total, 9 are lost, and 3 are saved).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon for the win!<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Phenomenal and incredible- probably the best of the best.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> No, save for Episode 7 (the Christmas episode) which was predominantly visual. It’s still a GREAT watch.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Plenty. The first companion deaths, Dalek mutants, the volcanic planet, the first Christmas special, etc.<br />
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<b>The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 4 episodes, every last bit.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Slightly below average; a little sparse.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> A bit, yes. Only a bit, though- it was pretty dull regardless of video or still.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The introduction of *shudder* Dodo… and Hartnell’s dual role.<br />
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<b>The Celestial Toymaker</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 1-3 of 4… the final episode survives.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Not so hot, unfortunately. Well below average, though that may be due to lack of material.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes. This was a very visual story. It was still good, but it could have been amazing in motion.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Not really.<br />
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<b>The Savages</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 4 episodes, barring teeny-tiny scraps of video.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Butterfly Productions…?<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Ugh! It was HORRIBLE!<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes. Get the Loose Canon version if you want to check it out- don’t watch the others!!!<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Jano’s Hartnell impressions, Steven’s departure.<br />
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<b>The Smugglers</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 4 episodes, minus, amusingly, every death scene. Due to surviving censor clips cut out of the print, everyone but the main villain dies in video.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Very average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not especially, though I’d’ve loved to see the Tarot scene…<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The last regular First Doctor serial.<br />
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<b>The Tenth Planet</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episode 4 of 4. The first 3 are intact, but the big regeneration episode…<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Official BBC reconstruction<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Above average- the images were slide-show standard, but with a nice slick-looking animated frame.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not at all, surprisingly!<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> THE FIRST REGENERATION!!!<br />
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<b>The Power of the Daleks</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 6 episodes, minus small clips.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Slightly above average, with some nice innovations- but also one SERIOUSLY Uncanny Valley Lesterson<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> A bit, yes. Much of Troughton’s post-regeneration performance is silent… and lost.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The First Troughton story!<br />
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<b>The Highlanders</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 4 episodes<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Unknown fan production<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Below average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes. So many of the Doctor’s excellent impressions and roles are strongly visual, this is one of the wrost-suffering serials for it.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Jamie’s first serial. The final historical.<br />
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<b>The Underwater Menace</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYEGSFeFg7ttC28LHVWsvGcKUoqdDAHggtDo61KXNSIyxVxai6UQSwz5q8mabLTN7qFLDl3PPvJsoUrf7bJYlzE5bnytzim5s1Ez5D0XyFg2V1CcZaOhiTo_avPimrPbtsmLQ8H6LZHvk/s1600/7underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYEGSFeFg7ttC28LHVWsvGcKUoqdDAHggtDo61KXNSIyxVxai6UQSwz5q8mabLTN7qFLDl3PPvJsoUrf7bJYlzE5bnytzim5s1Ez5D0XyFg2V1CcZaOhiTo_avPimrPbtsmLQ8H6LZHvk/s320/7underwater.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episode 1 and 4 of 4- Episodes 2 and 3 survived.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Unknown fan production<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not especially, though some model work and set design that would have been interesting was lost.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> No.<br />
<br />
<b>The Moonbase</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 1 and 3 of 4.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not especially.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Nope.<br />
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<b>The Macra Terror</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> The whole dang 4-episode ball of wax.<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Slightly below average; very dark and grainy.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes, it was hard to tell what was being seen.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The Macra!<br />
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<br />
<b>The Faceless Ones</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Everything except for episodes 1 and 3 (out of 6).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Loose Canon<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not in the slightest- still 100% enjoyable despite the reconstruction.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The departure of Ben and Polly.<br />
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<b>The Evil of the Daleks</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but episode 2 (of 7).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Average<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> A little bit, with Jamie’s trials and the playing Daleks, which would've been great to see.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Victoria’s introduction.<br />
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<b>The Abominable Snowmen</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but episode 2 and a smattering of clips (Out of 6).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Above average<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Somewhat, but the reconstruction compensated for it very well.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Introduction of the Yeti and Professor Travers. Padmasambavar.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Ice Warriors</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 2 and 3 (out of 6).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Official BBC<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> It was PHENOMENAL.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> It compressed both episodes to 15 mins. total, but in exchange, kept the pace so that it wasn’t dull.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> No.<br />
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<b>The Enemy of the World</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but Episode 3 (of 6).<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes, a bit- the episodes would be so much better if you could SEE the dual performances!<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> The Troughton dual role, HELICOPTERS, and the into-the-void finale.<br />
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<br />
<b>The Web of Fear</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but episode 1 (of 6)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Poor.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Yes, it was practically unwatchable. Way too visual for audio and dark screenshots.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> First appearance of the Brigadier, return of the Yeti.<br />
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<b>Fury from the Deep</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All 6 (minus a few clips), more’s the pity…<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Above average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> No, the reconstruction managed to make up for it quite admirably.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Victoria’s departure, HELICOPTER.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The Wheel In Space</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but episodes 3 and 6 (of 6)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Above average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> Not especially.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Zoe’s introduction, the TARDIS compression.<br />
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<b>The Invasion</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> Episodes 1 and 4 (out of 8)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> DVD Animation<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> PERFECT!<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> No, the animated segments only enhanced it!<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> HELICOPTER!!!!<br />
<br />
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<br />
<b>The Space Pirates</b><br />
<u>How much was lost?</u> All but Episode 2 (out of 6)<br />
<u>Whose reconstruction did we watch?</u> Youtube<br />
<u>How did the reconstruction stack up?</u> Well above average.<br />
<u>Did the reconstruction-nature of the serial affect the watchability or enjoyability of the story?</u> No, not really- it was a great recon.<br />
<u>Any notable moments or milestone lost to the ages in this one?</u> Nope! Just the last reconstruction.<br />
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And last, but not least, in looking back at the Doctor Who reconstructions, the question of ranking came up. So... though even contemplating this is probably just in the realm of futile self-torture, I got to thinking: if you had the abillity to restore 3 of the lost serials in their entirety, (and yes, three is a completely arbitrary number) at the cost of ensuring that three other reconstructeds would never, ever be found in the history of the world... which would you choose? The answers of our review team are below, but I’d be very interested in seeing yours, so leave a comment!<br />
<br />
<b>For my picks...</b><br />
<u>Restore:</u><br />
The Faceless Ones (Still the best 2nd Doctor story of it's season, in my opinion)<br />
Dalek Master Plan (A deserving epic!)<br />
The Myth Makers (Doctor Who's best comedy needs to be seen, darn it!)<br />
<br />
I know, Marco Polo should, by rights be on the list, but... I enjoy the other stories so much more, so I'm selfish. :-) Likewise, Tenth Planet's regeneration scene, Enemy of the World's dual performances, and the Celestial Toymakers' visual setpieces are tempting runner-ups, but if I had to pick three- there they be.<br />
<br />
<u>Lose:</u><br />
I suppose converting the Dominators and the Sensorites into missing serials to take the hit would go against my own rules? *SIGH*<br />
<br />
Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve (As I can never watch it without wanting to wring Gaston's neck anyhow...)<br />
Web of Fear (it's probably a good story with visuals, and the first Brig before he was the brig, but...)<br />
Galaxy 4 (Go to heck, Galaxy 4! You SUCK!!!)<br />
<br />
So, those are my picks... what would yours be?<br />
<br />
<b>My wife's:</b><br />
<u>Restore:</u><br />
Celestial Toymaker<br />
Enemy of the World<br />
Marco Polo<br />
<br />
<u>Lose:</u><br />
The Highlanders<br />
The Savages<br />
Galaxy 4<br />
<br />
<b>My brother-in-law’s:</b><br />
<u>Keep:</u><br />
The Daleks’ Master Plan<br />
The Highlanders<br />
The Celestial Toymaker<br />
<br />
<u>Lose:</u><br />
Galaxy 4<br />
Marco Polo<br />
The Macra Terror<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Emily Carter (Pre-eminent Doctor Who expert from nitcentral.com):</b><br />
<u>Keep:</u><br />
The Daleks’ Master Plan<br />
Power of the Daleks<br />
Evil of the Daleks<br />
<br />
<u>Lose:</u><br />
Galaxy 4<br />
Reign of Terror<br />
Space Pirates<br />
<br />
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So, besides the fact that my brother-in-law is clearly a Who heretic, what can we infer from this? The Celestial Toymaker was a near-universal choice for keeping, and Daleks’ Master Plan a strong contender- they seem to be the most sought after in our three-person survey, with strong Troughton serials (often containing episodes where he portrays more than one role) comprising the majority of the remainder. For the losses? We each have one serial at least that the other 2/the fan community at large would probably consider it shocking and heretical to condemn (Highlanders, Marco Polo, Web of Fear), and, most importantly of all: Nobody likes Galaxy 4.<br />
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Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-46614282090800523322012-06-06T16:35:00.001-07:002012-06-06T17:36:14.863-07:00Doctor Who: The Space Pirates<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HO1iXakjKhEzFqm2imZeNu2Xyrl-NCham62TfGpxOfEs3O_Pt3OsRO3ktZ4x_eqhxIukXJCLjtG3lEGayAOYFPjXspbMPURNlTqSIhiPfFuz6LVEGR_6PRraF0aABRgGaufo_oo5Aq-y/s1600/bk-2y-90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HO1iXakjKhEzFqm2imZeNu2Xyrl-NCham62TfGpxOfEs3O_Pt3OsRO3ktZ4x_eqhxIukXJCLjtG3lEGayAOYFPjXspbMPURNlTqSIhiPfFuz6LVEGR_6PRraF0aABRgGaufo_oo5Aq-y/s320/bk-2y-90.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Serial Title:</b> The Space Pirates<br />
<b>Series</b>: 6<br />
<b>Episodes</b>: 6<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton </i><br />
<b>Companions:</b><i> Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i><br />
<br />
<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
All’s not quiet on the final frontier. A group of no good Argonite rustlers has moved into the quadrant, and General Hermack aims to catch ‘em. This sector ain’t big enough for the two of them.<br />
<b><i>The Good:</i></b> The Earth Space Corps, aboard the cruiser V-41, are out to put a stop to these pirates.<br />
<b><i>The Bad:</i></b> Space pirates, led by Caven, are destroying Space Beacons and absconding with the parts to melt them down for their valuable Argonite hulls.<br />
<b><i>The Ugly:</i></b> Grizzled space prospector Milo Clancey just wants to be left alone. He’s been hassled by these pirate varmints long enough, and Earth’s only taking an interest now that their own claims are in jeopardy. But bein’ in the wrong place at the wrong time, seems those space cowboys from Earth think HE done it…<br />
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And speakin of the wrong place and the wrong time, pardner, let me tell ya ‘bout that there Doctor and his friends. They get themselves into a right mess, all right, yessiree- materializin’ onboard a gol-danged beacon just before it blows. Now, they can thank their lucky stars, as these bandits t’weren’t usin’ no conventional explosives, but a magnetic device that just plum separates the modular sections that the beacons were assembled from, with attached thruster packs flying the floating formation o’ separated modules through space like a fancied-up ballet, headed for their planet o' operations. But, dagnabbit, the Doctor and his pals end up in the wrong section, separated from their TARDIS. If that don’t beat all.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, ol’ Milo comes to their rescue. Now, trust doesn’t come easily at first, but when the Space Corps move in to take him up the river, an’ he puts his ship in giddyap and leaves those Corpsmen in the dust, well, you better believe they realize they’re gonna have to become fast friends, because they’re stuck with each other. Yessir. Yessir, they are.<br />
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They make tracks for the planet Ta, run by Madeleine Issigiri and her mining operations, a pretty little thing whose father used to be Milo’s partner. She’s always up an’ blamed him for her pa’s death. And now, the conivin’ little floozie is in cahoots with the bandits! Setting down to refuel, the TARDIS posse soon stumbles onto the whole operation, and get themselves into a lick o’ trouble when they get aptured for their trouble (all save for ol’ Milo).<br />
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That Varmint Caven re-routes some of the modules that were bein’ tracked over to Lobos, Milo’s claim, to throw suspicion onto him. After a while, the Corps find their way back to Ta, thinkin’ that Clancey is the guilty party. Milo frees the group and they up and head to Madeleine’s HQ, but they’re a mite bit too slow, and the pirates shanghai ‘em once again. They’re locked in a library, the old sanctum of Dom Issigiri, Madeleine’s pa, but the old cuss ain’t dead, just imprisoned all these long years by Caven and his pirates. Madeleine didn’t know this, and the pirates use this as mighty powerful leverage to get her to cooperate. They stick all'a the good guys aboard Milo’s ship, which they plan to remote-pilot to attack the Corps vessel in a suicide run to cover their own cowardly escape... and which they've also sabotaged so that everyone aboard Milo's ship will be dead by the time they’re captured, leaving the Corps to think that they’ve caught and killed the pirates... taking the heat off so that Caven and his band can resume operations after the Corps’ve left.<br />
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The TARDIS posse escapes, leavin’ just Milo and Dom aboard the doomed ship. The pirates, now desperate, plant bombs in the Issisgiri reactor room, reckoning that the resultin’ blast’ll blow both the escapees and the investigatin’ Corps ship sky-high. But the Doctor’s able to patch things up right nice, defusin’ the bomb and talkin’ Milo through emergency repairs. He an’ Dom land back to safety as the Corps catches up to the fleein’ pirate ship and meets out frontier justice. With the pirates blown to kingdom come, Madeleine off to the lockup (but happy knowin’ her pa is still alive), and Milo exonerated, the Doctor and his posse ride off into the sunset…<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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The Space Pirates, the final Reconstruction/Lost Episode, is an old western tale of a group of bandits robbing the stage coaches, the grizzled old prospector accused of the deed, the cavalry riding into town while aimin’ for a hanging, and the pretty girl who runs her dear departed Pa’s saloon turning out to not be so innocent… in space. (Sometime not too long before 2471, as per the later serial Colony In Space).<br />
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The storyline is unusual; an odd duck that almost feels like a Mission To The Unknown-style backdoor pilot - in that its only in the last few minutes of the first episode that the Doctor and co. arrive, and we seem to spend almost as much time on Milo and the Space Corps as we do on the TARDIS crew. And there’s a good reason; like the Krotons before it and the War Games after, this was written as a hasty replacement for a cancelled story. With that in mind, I think it turned out rather well (though its structure is understandably simplistic). Still, the characters are interesting- Milo in particular- and I feel it works. And the concepts expressed in the opening episodes are very clever- the 'explosion' and parallel pieces being explained with a very good grasp of space physics, the EM Field and poles concept working quite well... it's all very clever. More or less the Doctor and co are marooned, picked up, trail the pirates back to their lair, get captured, and must escape to warn the Space Corps of the pirates’ treachery before it can be enacted. Pretty simple, nice and fun. Made so mostly by its characters:<br />
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Ah, Milo, you funny, strange little man. You are played by a Brit trying to do a Texan, resulting in a very strange 'stuffy twang' all its own. You're a crusty old west gold prospector... in space. You have a control console on your main bridge devoted entirely to breakfast... including a built-in egg dispenser. You've got canny tricks with your copper needles, and a slightly stingy heart of gold. You're a walking cliche... from a totally different genre, transplanted into a completely foreign context, which makes you so much fun to watch! You're the Star Trek 'Wagon Train To The Stars' space-western concept taken astoundingly literally, right alongside more traditional sci-fi 'space patrol' authorities and typical Flash Gordon-era space pirates (albeit with a little less swashbuckling than Flash Gordon era villains would have had. But those hats...)<br />
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And not just funny bucket/Cossack hats, and the traditional complaining-underling-has-minutes-left-to-live-mentality; but even the dialogue and method of acting- these are old-school raiders, black-hatted and moustache-twirling, evil profit-driven blackguards with no respect for life (and very little intelligence in their tactics- if you’re only keeping your partner in line and from blowing your cover by threatening her father’s life, then what are you planning to do after you kill him?) and increasingly outrageous demands. The perfect foil for the science-based, mod space squad of the Space Corps.<br />
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These jumpsuited, hard-science spewing, authoritarian, jumpsuited… errr… semi-protagonists? Macguffins? Folks? …are straight of out of ‘Modern’ Who at this point, the sort of stiff, partially-science-based, rigidly structured, authoritarian, militaristic space police/command staff that the Doctor’s encountered in a dozen scenarios from 'The Dalek Master Plan' to 'The Moonbase.' The transposing of three different eras and flavors of sci-fi ('classic' 'modern (in 1969)', and an across-the-pond re-imagining of 'Star Trek') makes for an interesting and colorful mix-up that does well to hold its own even without our main characters.<br />
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The Egyptian-head-dressed villainess is not quite the stock villain’s-partner-with-a-conscience, nor quite the clichéd ‘partner in over their head that didn’t sign on for this level of villainy,’ but close enough to both to avoid being all that interesting, though her performance and unique position as a personal friend of the Space Corps commander do make for a unique character not totally worthy of the dismissal that her stock role might imply. Her father, on the other hand, is 100% stock crazy-wildman-living-in-isolation, through-and-through. Ben Gun already covered the same ground better.<br />
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As for our heroes… Zoe has a great moment when she reveals that she calculated the trajectory and course of the hijacked satellites in her head, factoring in every variable that the Doctor can object with... much to his annoyance. It's a clever use of her genius status that doesn't fall into Wesley Crusher 'annoying' territory. For once she’s not the ankle-twister (that honor going to Jamie this time), but still spends most of the story following rather than acting.<br />
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Jamie is once again the brash protector- which gets him shot- but also the voice of reason, advising the Doctor (wisely) to just get in and leave immediately for once, as this place seems to be trouble. Jamie is gaining a worldly-wise understanding of the universe to compliment his canny survival skills- technological ignorance is still a difficulty in his travels with the Doctor, perhaps, but he's more than compensated for it with a streetwise understanding of the way the universe operates no matter where you land (and a dry wit), recognizing the patterns after his long period of travel in the TARDIS, and issuing the sage we-ought-to-know-better-this-time advice that the Doctor would do well to listen to. If only he ever did. But, with the benefits of the Doctor's continuing parental role comes that slight tendency to sometimes fail and recognize when a child has grown up, and to discount their opinions by habit, having spent years shaping them in immaturity; not recognizing that perhaps they have begun to reach some of that maturity for which you strove to teach them, and bear heeding.<br />
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Ach. My character reviews are becoming more like eulogies the closer we get to the departure point for this entire era.<br />
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The Doctor himself is his usual flustered self, crafting a clever but not-quite-right solution to the satellite situation, taking charge in the pirate lair, fashioning a very clever escape for the trapped group, having some fun banter with Zoe (in the trajectory calculations) and Jamie (with the tuning fork lock), and suiting up in a hazmat suit to go and perform the critical finale bomb-defusal. A mixture of humorous mistakes and strong competency combine to make this a good- if somewhat average in terms of characterization- serial for the Doctor.<br />
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On the technical side of things, the model shots are fairly numerous and impressive. If the budget difficulties of Series 6 still existed, I see little evidence of them- effects are plentiful, so are sets- I suppose the costumes were traded off a bit, but still, this feels like a big-budget epic rather than a penny-pincher. Designs are unique- from the flat, swooping patrol ship to the needle-nosed dart craft (Perhaps Strargate's Wraith were Space Pirates fans...?) to the Saturn V-esque prospector rocket to the space buoys, whose top half seems to be a kit bash of the upper stage of the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), the half of the moon lander that blasts off again to rejoin the capsule and service module in lunar orbit. So major kudos on those.<br />
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The pacing is perhaps a little on the slow side, but I suspect without the reconstruction-ness slowing things down, it would be a decently-paced serial; not the cream-of-the-crop in this aspect, but certainly at or above the average.<br />
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The reconstruction is stellar, combining 2D image manipulation of model shots, 3D modeling and compositing, re-purposing of model shots from the single remaining chapter, footage (originally shot? borrowed?) flipped on different axes (the astronauts putting on the thrusters) to keep them fresh, animated console screens, radar trackers, and blinking lights in the background of the still images, animated doors opening (with shadows) over the actors standing in the door frame, animated gauges and readouts for closeups, images on comm. screens that fade out and change... this one has it all; I think it has to be based on a Loose Cannon production, with the book-on-tape-esque narrated version added in. Though I could be giving some private reconstructor too little credit. Regardless, it pulls out every stop and gives us one of the most impressive reconstructions we've ever seen, at the very least, the best since Dalek Master Plan. It's a stellar recon, and the perfect high note to finish off the last of the reconstructions in!<br />
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<b>Great moments:</b><br />
The Doctor’s failed attempt to attract the segments, his bomb defusal at the end, and most especially, his improvised prison-break.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
So, overall, a 5 out of 5 reconstruction caps off this ‘last of the lost,’ a story that ranks a little lower in the 3.5 out of 5 Bickering Dominators, simply for not being all that exemplary in any particular area- but higher than average due to a unique mix of eras and character blends that give this unique serial a flavor all of its own.<br />
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-90560409242895889842012-05-30T16:49:00.002-07:002012-05-30T17:34:48.539-07:00Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAtCT3ANlQV-_YihTLeO9Zx9-ma07ce3GI1F1uuovvksF2ulgaRZsJZ0zG7yz5Pwo-xxV5yujZXPIPAC2rZPwtIqHDMNIBxMrAc9BvMlwBDrvYrszYRBpMuJh-VUHqTs1W9MhuP53ANiw/s1600/group+doctor+in+suds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyAtCT3ANlQV-_YihTLeO9Zx9-ma07ce3GI1F1uuovvksF2ulgaRZsJZ0zG7yz5Pwo-xxV5yujZXPIPAC2rZPwtIqHDMNIBxMrAc9BvMlwBDrvYrszYRBpMuJh-VUHqTs1W9MhuP53ANiw/s320/group+doctor+in+suds.jpg" width="184" /></a><b>Serial Title</b>: The Seeds of Death<br />
<b>Series</b>: 6<br />
<b>Episodes</b>: 6<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton </i><br />
<b>Companions</b>:<i> Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i><br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
The Moon, in the LATE 21st CENTURY- STOP THAT!!!- the Moonbase (not the Moonbase from “The Moonbase,” though perhaps its forerunner?) This lonely outpost is the coordinating and relay system for T-Mat, the global teleporter system that we saw being pioneered in The Dalek Master Plan. (Possibly). A ship docks, and from it emerge a combat squad of Ice Warriors, who take over the base! Heroic leader Osgood sabotages the controls, preventing them from taking T-Mat, and they kill him for it. Cowardly Fewsham values his life above all else, however, and gets to work on invalidating his superior’s (in every sense of the word) sacrifice by repairing the controls in exchange for an extended lifespan.<br />
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When Earth control loses contact, Commander Radnor, head of T-Mat, and his assistant, Controller Gia Kelly, become concerned. After some attempts to rectify things for the globally crucial Moonbase, they hit upon a crazy idea- seek out Professor Eldred, an eccentric old scientist who has always opposed the T-Mat project and instead heralds an outmoded and abandoned form of transportation: rockets. Perhaps he can design one to shoot them to the moon to go and repair the base? However, when they arrive, Eldred is already entertaining visitors: The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe, who have just materialized in his museum. In the ensuing conversation, we learn that Eldred has already been building a rocket for himself, and the Doctor convinces them to put he and his companions as the crew- along with Eldred, who is needed on Earth, he is one of the few people in this futuristic world to understand the operation of rockets.<br />
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The Rocket launches as Earth’s cities begin to experience critical shortages. The T-Mat is briefly repaired by Fewsham, and Controller Kelly takes a team up to the Moonbase just before the system goes down again. Meanwhile, Phipps, one of Fewsham’s coworkers who refused to aid the Ice Warriors, has escaped, and takes down one of the Ice Warriors with a solar energy trap, a power cell rigged to vaporize the alien. Kelly escapes her new Ice Warrior captors and meets up with Phipps, as do Zoe and Jamie, upon arrival- however, the Doctor is captured and exposed to the poisonous gas of a ‘seed’, one of which is T-Matted down to London control; these are the Ice Warrior’s invasion tools, which will spread a fungus which depletes oxygen- killing humans and terraforming Earth to be more like their native Mars. The seed is followed by an Ice Warrior, who assaults the Weather Control Bureau and takes control of it.<br />
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Fewsham is order to T-Mat the Doctor into space, but secretly transports him elsewhere within the base, instead. Then, the T-mat breaks again, for some reason. With the unconscious Doctor safe, the TARDIS group, Kelly, and Phipps decide to attack the Ice Warriors by turning up the heating. On a mission to the control room, Phipps is killed (poor guy), and Fewsham musters enough backbone to delay an Ice Warrior and allow Zoe’s escape. He then repairs the T-Mat again, and, while the Ice Warriors are incapacitated by the heat, sends all of the survivors back to London- but stays behind, knowing the consequences of his traitorous actions await him back on Earth. Instead, once the Ice Warriors get the heat down, he activates a video link and allows everyone on the planet to hear the Ice Warrior’s plans: They plan to use the Moonbase to transmit a signal to guide in their invasion fleet. Once this trick is discovered, Fewsham is killed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzmmCl0e8CKPJI8QD6xg6PhOaZGBNAYwM1tOI8ICv1XTF-GfpBWc_gfEI7Uc2hy6DwazI60i03ULluWD6U4vGTnyex1pX0oe1cjI8mZ_NJYC2LR2RrFFtBV5haOeAGBKkdMjBLcI_RATm/s1600/doctor+discovers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdzmmCl0e8CKPJI8QD6xg6PhOaZGBNAYwM1tOI8ICv1XTF-GfpBWc_gfEI7Uc2hy6DwazI60i03ULluWD6U4vGTnyex1pX0oe1cjI8mZ_NJYC2LR2RrFFtBV5haOeAGBKkdMjBLcI_RATm/s320/doctor+discovers.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
The recovered Doctor discovers that fungus can be destroyed by water- the teraforming can be halted if they make it rain. Zoe and Jamie set out on their own for the Weather Control Bureau, and when the Doctor learns that they’ve gone, and that it is where the Ice Warrior is, he runs off to their rescue. Though locked outside with growing poisonous fumes (while a murderous Ice Warrior chases Zoe and Jamie inside), he manages to get inside soon enough to lead the Ice Warrior on a chase and eventually replicate Phipps’ solar energy weapon, destroying the warrior.<br />
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A plan to launch a satellite to serve as a new temporary T-Mat hub is co-opted into converting the satellite into a beacon, replicating the Ice Warriors’, to lead their fleet astray. The beacon is launched, though drowned out by its real Moonbase counterpart. The Doctor, a portable rigged version of the solar weapon in hand (and draped over his back and shoulders in a messy tangle of cables and wires), T-Mats up to the Moonbase to disable the real beacon. After dispatching several ice Warriors, he attempts to do just that, the steady, rhythmic beeping signaling impending doom- but the Ice Warriors thwart his attempts before he can succeed. The arriving fleet hails Slaar, the Ice Warrior leader (Yeah, now I give you his name, at the END of the synopsis)... cursing his name, as his beacon has led them all to fly into the sun! A triumphant Doctor reveals that while he couldn’t shut off the beacon, he did disconnect it from the Moonbase transmitting antenna- the slow, rhythmic beeping of the functioning beacon that they can hear can only be heard in that room, leaving the airwaves outside free for the decoy beacon to lead the fleet astray. As his explanation finishes, Jamie T-Mats up to follow the Doctor and dispatches the remaining Ice Warriors, and the invasion is ended.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
The Seeds of Death is a variation on the Invasion-of-an-isolated-base theme, even returning to the moon as a location, but it is a very fresh and original take on the notion- as the story starts, the invasion has already occurred, and our heroes have to reach the base and besiege it themselves in order to take it back. There’s a man in hiding that you're rooting for, interesting characters on the ground, a weaselly little traitor who you're just begging to receive his comeuppance, and a rocket trip to boot! This one has it all!<br />
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It starts with a very cool opening graphic- the flare of the sun being eclipsed by the surface of the moon, with the camera then emerging on the other side of the moon to see the Earth hanging into space. To keep things moving, each of the 6 episodes alternates mirroring the same shot, adding variety to an already impressive graphic- each also ends up either moving behind the moon to focus on the Earth, or moving behind the Earth to focus on the moon- depending on where the story is taking place.<br />
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The Ice Warriors make their grand return- just as obnoxiously cruel as before, but at least a bit more interesting this time- goofy and lumpy save for their leader, who sports a more streamlined design with some great face makeup. (And their supreme leader, who sports a Michael Jackson styling). Their annoying, scratchy, hissy voices are at least a break from the standard flanging voices of the Cybermen and Daleks (Old Who had a talent for vocal variety) and, though somewhat grating, are a memorable trait for the warrior race. Their compression-ray weapon effect, while sometimes slightly off-center and missing the mark, is visually striking and very unique- I'd love to see a New Series update in which (like the Dalek rays) the effect happens only to the individual and not the whole shot- that would be the height of absolutely awesome. Combined with a unique weapon sound, it conspires to make the Ice Warriors an incredibly memorable race- unlike their first appearance, this one was probably the one that cemented them as a fan favorite in the Doctor's rogues gallery- though hopefully future appearances will be a little less noxious. Even so, some great moments- like the Ice Warrior silhouetted against the sun, advancing menacingly- or the fantastic cliffhanger in which one advances menacingly on Zoe, herself a silhouette (holy cow, what a cliffhanger that was!)- definitely leave a striking impression on the memory. Likewise for the solar energy beam trap that dispatches several Ice Warriors- the classic Who photo-negative combined with some excellent and effective editing (I can't imagine how much of a pain that must've been to edit in the non-digital film-splicing era!) making for an excellent payoff death-scene to culminate a series of tense hunts; the sheer spectacle of it brings a triumphant emotional cap to the respective scenes it climaxes- very, very well done.<br />
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Sharing co-villain status in this film is... foam. Errr... didn't we do this already? It feels a little repetitive to Fury from the Deep, but the usage in this one- especially rising in lethal, suffocating waves as the Doctor pounds on the door to the weather control station- as well as the fact that we saw very little of Fury from the Deep in video form- work together to keep the foam menace from feeling stale.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjci1LJhZFAKHD5CxoSoo5-3TSd6znqwbEb6btgJfzBfMVtTitrs8yk6nTeSJErsKhw2jgvnCWvrC6RT6_NwmiN9zEz6wwZTKz4sAmrWN_BIezdT7F0ER_n2zDE0_wRZBHAYpjqIZxJ-D/s1600/eldred+group+in+museum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjci1LJhZFAKHD5CxoSoo5-3TSd6znqwbEb6btgJfzBfMVtTitrs8yk6nTeSJErsKhw2jgvnCWvrC6RT6_NwmiN9zEz6wwZTKz4sAmrWN_BIezdT7F0ER_n2zDE0_wRZBHAYpjqIZxJ-D/s320/eldred+group+in+museum.jpg" width="320" /></a>That said, characters are the strength of this serial- from the crotchety old professor who still believes in rocketry (though is absurdly contrary and negative- "Stop handing me the means to realize my dreams on a silver platter, blast it- it'll never work!!!"), the self-sacrificial and heroic moon base leader, who sabotages the controls and then smugly turns to inform the Ice Warriors that they've blown a circuit- knowing full well he is likely about to be killed for his actions in protecting the Earth, the crew chief and his efficient and no-nonsense second in command, the man left behind (who, for whatever reason in his writing, is kept interesting and a compelling character- as opposed to the standard stock generic crew character- so that you really, truly do care about what happens to him and whether he survives- kudos to the writers!) and even the weaselly little traitor, that pathetic subhuman scum who negates the commander's sacrifice and practically dooms Earth with the plaintive plea of "They would have killed me otherwise!" (Then die, you repulsive scum-! Show some backbone and take it like a man, rather than putting your life above every other person on Earth's.) Still, even the loathsome toad gets some measure of redemption- though his sudden decision to self-sacrifice and clever information transmitting don't begin to make up for his detestable actions, they do offer him some measure of humanity and a chance to rectify his attitude in the end. So, while I can hardly call him a hero in the end- more a traitor whose guilt finally gets the better of him for his heinous crimes- he at least does <i>something</i> heroic in the end.<br />
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This story was chosen to represent Troughton’s Doctor on the 40th Anniversary collection… and I can see why! The Doctor is a relatively subdued presence in this one until the last few episodes… but then he becomes a gung-ho action hero- the Doctor running to Zoe and Jamie's rescue was AWESOME, and his action-hero bit on the satellite... well, the Doctor literally blows an Ice Warrior away with his weapons, and directs a battlefleet into the sun- a somewhat more bloodthirsty Doctor than we're used to from the New Series! Still, it's an awesome aspect to his character- a gung-ho, take-charge Doctor on the warpath! Plus we have slapstick (an in the chase), problem-solving, and genius… a lot of all-around character aspects! Some very impressive stuff... oh, how I shall miss this Doctor...<br />
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Zoe has a great scene with the map-in-her-head, bringing her smarts to work, and Jamie has some nice comic relief, especially when the Doctor is trying to locate the door controls as an Ice Warrior advances menacingly (a tense and exciting scene, trapped in the weather control station), and Jamie reaches over to try the most prominent- turning off the lights, instead. His sheepish just-trying-to-help response and the Doctor's irritated "No, Jamie!" really made for a great comic relief moment- one gets the impression that the Doctor is tiring slightly of Jamie's technological ignorance. But, as always, his heart's in the right place and he's trying, so all is forgiven.<br />
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There are plenty of centerpieces to enjoy- from the aforementioned Doctor action moments to the comic chase scene in the moon base (with some great slapstick moments for the Doctor) to the rocket liftoff… it’s just conceptually really cool. And while the shots of the rocket with the Earth receding behind are perhaps more ambitious than they could actually achieve (the focus is off, and the stars end at a certain point, leaving just empty black surrounding them), they are nice ‘conceptual eye candy.’ The episode-ending Rocket flyby was a pretty good model shot, too. The satellites look good, and the locator signal plan (with the Doctor cutting the previously established moonbase-power to the transmitter, leaving the signal apparently going to those in the control room, but not transmitting beyond) was a clever and exciting story element. They make a game attempt at simulating weightlessness on a budget of $0, too. (Actually, the fact that the apparently low budget of this series- circumvented by re-using the Ice Warrior costumes, and evidenced by the relatively few sets in this serial- allowed for a serial of this scale is impressive. Krotons had to trade costumes for sets, and Dominators apparently had to trade new Quark costumes for being interesting, but this one thrives remarkably well during the restrictions!)<br />
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Okay, there were a few flaws- there’s only a single manual control panel without backups for the entire weather-control system of planet Earth? What the heck happened with that beaming-the-Doctor-into-space bit? The T-mat effect is lackluster to say the least (a simple jump cut that usually suffers from lighting fluctuations). The idiot who runs away from cover and out into the open instead of ducking behind said cover when an Ice Warrior points a gun at him. And clearly another actor-vacation as the Doctor is out for a good long while after exposure to the seed pod. But still, these flaws are few and far-between in an otherwise engaging invasion story… which is a surprising rarity amongst the many invasion stories of the Second Doctor’s run.<br />
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(Also, while I can’t take credit for noticing this- the wiki pointed it out- the T-mat technology in this episode may well be the same technology system being tested in the Daleks Master Plan, making the Doctor the first T-mat passenger, there at its birth <i>and</i> its re-imagining here…)<br />
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While Seeds of Death isn’t the character masterpiece that Krotons was, it’s filled with engaging characters (main and supporting), a strong story, a fine showcase for the Ice Warriors incorporating many unique and memorable elements, and some really nice story twists, effects, and cliffhangers. Plus, the Doctor gets to play action hero. Really, this is one not to miss.<br />
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<b>Great moments:</b><br />
The heroic commander. Rocket launch. Springing the trap on the Ice Warriors. The Zoe cliffhanger. And many more- most especially, the Doctor running to the rescue.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
4.5 out of 5 Bickering Dominators for the invasion-done-right story of the Seeds of Death, which, despite a few small shortcomings, manages to entertain, engage, and even surprise- one can only imagine what the teleporter/rocket/model-heavy episode (with supposed globe-spanning invasion) could have been with a modern FX budget to truly capture the scope that its script implies! Even so, what’s there, on a character and personal level, is very, very good- another highly recommended adventure from the Second Doctor’s era, and one of the few high recommendations that can actually be watched in full motion!<br />
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Plus, the original title of this serial was “The Lords of the Red Planet,” which is a title so cool that it bestows points on the serial even though it was never used.<br />
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-12631185363783615042012-05-28T07:44:00.000-07:002012-05-28T07:56:34.013-07:00Doctor Who: The Krotons<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQFqSnWvgJ0l57zNMQMr6n4HL-IV-7UKBFq6NctcQdl2AZ5m01VaRstbty7yNJZ_f4FfZlN6sMjKlVtRXg2WJoWKDWfAwykcVKhKsfOgFr23qCIEkWqf4fE4xAeJNLRB31YEP-8F6RfyR/s1600/bk-2w-85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQFqSnWvgJ0l57zNMQMr6n4HL-IV-7UKBFq6NctcQdl2AZ5m01VaRstbty7yNJZ_f4FfZlN6sMjKlVtRXg2WJoWKDWfAwykcVKhKsfOgFr23qCIEkWqf4fE4xAeJNLRB31YEP-8F6RfyR/s320/bk-2w-85.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Serial Title</b>: The Krotons<br />
<b>Series</b>: 6<br />
<b>Episodes</b>: 4<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton </i><br />
<b>Companions</b>: <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i><br />
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<b>Synopsis:</b><br />
The best and the brightest of the Gonds’ newest graduating class are congratulated by being sent to be with the Krotons, alien visitors from space who benevolently watch over them. Only, unbeknownst to the public at large, the Krotons really just sending them out into the desert and then killing them with acid. The TARDIS lands on this unnamed planet in this unspecified time (it’s getting worse), just in time to save one of this years’ crop, Vana, and reunite her with her boyfriend Thara, who already suspected something was up and tried to prevent her departure.<br />
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The Gonds are shocked to find out that their alien visitors are actually their slavemasters, who have been keeping them in servitude by executing their most intelligent pupils every year and keeping the populace dumb. They also control Gond education with machines- which a band of angry Gond youth then begin to smash apart. As they barely escape Kroton retribution, naïve Zoe dons one of the teaching helmets to test her intelligence. She scores well- marking her for death. The Doctor quickly dons another headset and scores highly in order to follow her, and the two are forced into the Kroton spacecraft, beyond which lies the acid jets. Before being sent out to their deaths, they are brought into a control chamber, where a mind-draining device awaits them; the Doctor manages to circumvent it, ensuring that they aren’t reduced to vegetables as the soon-to-die Gond students are each year. The bypassed device, which converts mental power into energy, is still able to take sufficient power from their intelligence (far higher than the meager pickings of the Gonds) to carry out a portion of its function- two crystalline Krotons are constituted out of a base-chemical slush, their version of suspended animation.<br />
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The reanimated Krotons note that the escaped Zoe and the Doctor were not Gonds (something their auto-computer wasn’t smart enough to recognize) and decide to recapture them, starting by capturing Jamie. Meanwhile, the Gonds engage in some Strife & Politics (I can’t use my acronym because they aren’t villains). They eventually decide on acid, a forbidden branch of learning, as the optimum course of action, with the Doctor’s help. Eelek, the security chief, and Beta, a scientist, spearhead this effort- while Selris, current leader, hesitates and waits. No problem, though, as Eelek gets himself elected new leader. (See? Strife & Politics). Eelek then plans a frontal assault that Selris deems suicide- Selris goes to Beta and formulates a plan to attack support pillars beneath the Kroton ship instead.<br />
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The Krotons believe that they destroy the TARDIS, but the HADS (Hostile Action Displacement System) preserves it, and Jamie escapes to join his friends. The assault of the Gonds draws a Kroton out, and Eelek sells out the Doctor and Zoe, who the Kroton demands, in exchange for getting the aliens to leave. Selris dives under the closing door to deliver the first completed bottle of acid, and is killed for his troubles. (Eeeek! Leaving that skunk Eelek the leader? Dang, Selris got robbed!)<br />
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As the Doctor stalls the Krotons with doublespeak, Zoe pours the acid into the crystal slush tank, poisoning the Krotons, who also use it as a sort of lifeline/air tank. Simultaneously, Jamie and Beta pour great vats onto the Kroton ship from a towering cliff, and it begins to dissolve. The Krotons are defeated (though not destroyed; they apparently can’t be), and Thara (Selris’ son, and Vana’s lover) ascends to the leadership position as Eelek is booted out in disgrace.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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The Krotons is possessed of an odd, misshapen narrative structure. The plot is a bit simplistic (Bad guys demand sacrifice- which I totally saw coming- then Doctor and Zoe go inside, then they escape but Jamie is inside- he escapes as the others make a weapon to stop the bad guys, Doctor and Zoe go in again to sabotage, the end)- due to this story being a hastily written replacement for another cancelled story (the real shock, all things considered, being that the wreck known as “The Dominators” WASN’T a hasty replacement, and that it actually SURVIVED cancellation!) For whatever reasons, its sets and costumes remind me of the Underwater Menace and its Atlantean civilization - but the villains have unique, creative, and very cool designs reminiscent of the mysterious and equally cool Tholians premiering around the same time in the US on the original Star Trek. Their outfits and design, with the spinning crystals, are very well-designed and realized- though the bottom, which is clearly just a draped choir robe of some sort, lets the rest down a little bit. (Apparently, this series had budget problems, meaning that, per the Wiki, the producers found “that the budget would simply no longer stretch to the creation of large numbers of convincing alien costumes and environments (or even of much incidental music - hence the dearth of this, particularly in the first few stories).” This is one of the few exceptions, with a wild new alien creature design- which accomplishes this by having very few sets, and very simplistic ones for the sets it does have). So, pluses and minuses. More minuses than pluses. But, we haven’t hit the character bits yet…<br />
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The TARDIS crew have a few nice moments- saving the girl from the disintegrator spray, the holding-the-chain mental attack, and the Doctor and Zoe's comedic bumbling to buy time for the 'poison' to take effect. Other than that... well, it was only 4 episodes instead of 6, but it felt like it could have been 2 or 3. It was pretty forgettable.<br />
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However, it did provide a bit of character insight. As Zoe once again naively dons the teaching helmet in order to further prove her academic smarts/increase her knowledge, and the Doctor takes her to task for it, I realized that this was Zoe's character, which I'd been missing- brilliant, but not smart. Highly developed in power but poorly developed in wisdom and maturity. A naive genius. That's not what I got from her introduction, so it's been tainting my understanding of who she was supposed to be. This doesn't make her absurd naivete in The Invasion any less absurd, but it does explain it- and as a character concept, it works well. Retrospectively, it explains a lot, really.<br />
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The Doctor, meanwhile, has an excellent and very heartwarming moment shortly thereafter where he dons the headset himself to place himself into harms way and potential disintegration so Zoe won't have to face it alone. It's a very loving, almost parental moment of self-sacrifice, and something that I don't think the First Doctor would have done, even at his most tender. It's a telling and humanizing moment that really reveals the depths of this Doctor's care for his companions, who in the youthful and not-entirely-wise Jamie and Zoe, are almost like his adopted children. It's a wonderful moment for his character, and most definitely made me 'fall in love' with this Doctor anew- Three through Eight will have to do something quite spectacular indeed to topple Troughton from being my favorite Doctor. (Note from Sarah: Troughton is definitely my favorite and will continue to be.)<br />
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This is followed up by a wonderful scene in which the Doctor, so stressed out about wanting to help Zoe, can't solve the simplest equation because he's distracted, and then, after he succeeds, begins gloating that he scored higher marks than Zoe as the two begin bickering about it... it's a wonderful bantering byplay in which both the writing and the actors shine- that scene overall in the halls of learning is really a true gem amidst an otherwise fairly-forgettable serial, and an outstanding moment for both the Doctor and Zoe that makes me incredibly sad at how close their impending loss is.<br />
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(Speaking of the hall of learning, when the young rabble-rousers are smashing it up... I'm guessing we weren't supposed to see the bank of lights on the front fall off, revealing that they were just a facade on a flat board stuck onto the blank front of the machine...?)<br />
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Jamie is gallant and noble in this one, and also pretty darn clever- if I don't consider this one an episode where he fairs well, it's probably simply because he has far less screen time than the Doctor/Zoe tag team, who kind of get the spotlight. Still, Jamie is caring and brave in this one and puts up an excellent showing of moral character that does him great credit to compensate for his lesser screen time... it's ironic, then, that an episode so relatively simplistic, mediocre, and skippable should be such a strong character showcase for all three of the leads.<br />
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There are a few good strong characters among the supporting cast- the tradition-bound leader, devastated to realize the tradition of murder he's played a part in enforcing, and determined to do the right thing sacrificing himself in a last-minute dive through the door that's as impressive in its athletic prowess as it is in its noble self-sacrifice, to deliver the Doctor and Zoe the crucial component needed to defeat the Krotons.<br />
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The leader's son, a headstrong and brash young man willing to fight his entire graduating class to protect the woman he loves- like the New Series' "Big Bang" in which the Doctor offhandedly proclaims to Rory, cradling his fiance's nearly dead body, that "Your girlfriend isn't more important than the universe," to which Rory hauls back and slugs him, and declares with a fervor the character had never even shown before, "Yes SHE IS!", this moment gave me a warm glow in my heart- for all the filth and nonsense about relationships, romance, and physical consummation that we're fed by media these days, it always warms my heart to see love- true, sacrificial love- being showcased as the noblest and best of all priorities... which I truly believe it is.<br />
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And, of course, the unflappable and determined chemist, who comes off more annoyed than anything at being expected to save the world without proper time to prepare, and completely uninterested in the fact that he may blow himself up in the creation of acid, simply getting down to business and making it happen as Jamie frets and worries in the background- he's a fun character, a serious role with a comic edge of irony- his reaction to the fantastic, in such a deadpan and accepting manner, makes for an instantly likable fellow.<br />
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Last, but not least, we get an introduction to the HADS (Hostile Actions Defense System), a TARDIS feature I strongly suspect we'll never see again. However, it's brilliantly introduced with the phrase "That only happens when I remember to set the HADS"- smoothly explaining away why we've never seen it before and may never see it again, hinging it on a character quirk of the Doctor's- his absentmindedness and forgetfulness making the perfect excuse. Subtly clever and hilarious simply because it works so well.<br />
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Despite earlier statements, I would not recommend skipping this one- the last complete Second Doctor serial, of the time of this writing (February 2011) not to have a DVD release planned yet. Its story is simple and threadbare, but it's short (so it won't grate too much even if you find the story dull), and the fantastic villain designs and very strong character moments make this one WELL worth watching despite its weak plots, as it's one of the best character pieces in the Second Doctor's run.<br />
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<b>Great moments:</b><br />
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For probably the 50th time… the Doctor’s instant and selfless sacrifice to help Zoe. The Doctor and Zoe’s delays. The Doctor’s annoyance at the HADS and its inconvenient placement. The unflappable chemist. The umbrella rescue.<br />
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<b>Rating:</b><br />
3.5 out of 5 Bickering Dominators for the Krotons and the first true TARDIS 'family'- here, in the shadow of the countdown to regeneration, to color, to UNIT, and an Earth exile- here, at the end of an era... the Black and White classic Doctor Who shows us what it's made of, in the weakest and least-likely story possible, and makes us truly realize what we'll be sacrificing for the move to a more 'modern' Who.<br />
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To borrow a quote from Matthew Stover's PHENOMENAL (really, go check it out!) novelization for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, "This was the Age of Heroes... and it had saved its best for last."<br />
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-64119537111646883602012-05-09T14:42:00.002-07:002012-05-09T17:13:45.613-07:00Doctor Who: The Invasion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Serial Title:</b> The Invasion</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Series:</b> 6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Episodes:</b> 8</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Companions:</b> <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Synopsis:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Returning from the Land of Fiction, the TARDIS materializes above Earth’s moon in- @*^$&^*!!! The ‘20<sup>th</sup> Century,’ bloody heck gosh-darn you all!!!- and gets shot at by a missile. They revise their landing coordinates to a cow pasture in England on Earth in the same frickin’ non-definitive time period just in time to avoid the weapon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They find a guy in a truck who gives them a lift but then gets liquidated by some fascist policemen enforcers just after they leave. Meanwhile, something’s broken in the TARDIS (rendering it invisible), and the Doctor decides to look up good old Prof. Travers (continuity!!!) to get help in repairing it. However, someone else is living at his listed address- he and his daughter have just left for America, and cheesecake model/photographer (seriously, I think she’s wearing just a T-shirt, for no reason) Isobel Watkins lives there instead. She directs the Doctor and Jamie to local electronics/computer monopoly company International Electromatics’ headquarters (where her uncle, Prof. Watkins, who she thinks can help with the repairs, has recently disappeared). Zoe... stays to do some modeling for the camera...??? (Note from Sarah: Well why not? I mean she's there...might as well! :-D)</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and Jamie sneak in, are caught, and taken before the head of the company, Tobias Vaughn (played by Kevin “Mavic Chen” Stoney, so you just KNOW he’s a bad guy...), who plays the whole thing casually, claiming that Professor Watkins is simply wrapped up in his work. After the Doctor and Jamie leave, he opens a secret panel in his wall to communicate with aliens via a complex transmitter...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and Jamie are abducted shortly after leaving the building, and driven to an airfield. There, in the back of an EC-130H Hercules transport plane, they find a complete command center- headed up by recently-promoted Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, their ally from 'Web of Fear.' He greets the Doctor in the name of the newly-formed UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Quicker than you can say Backdoor-Pilot/Foreshadowing, the Doctor and UNIT are giving the Third Doctor’s era a dry ru- I mean, working together to investigate the suspicious International Electromatics. And so are Zoe and Isobel Watkins, who get tired of waiting and go to check out the company for themselves. Zoe gets annoyed by the reception computer and blows it up for a laugh.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Yes, you read that right. BLOWS IT UP.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The two are then arrested by security and taken to Vaughn- Isobel as leverage to make her uncle work, and Zoe due to her association with the Doctor and Jamie- who Vaughn’s mysterious allies recognize from the ‘Planet 14’ incident. (As per the wiki, this is suggested to be good ol’ planet Marinus, as in ‘The Keys Of,’ whose conscience device is also theorized to have spawned... ah, but that would be telling. Suffice it to say the aforementioned adventure is later fleshed out to take place in the Doctor and Jamie’s futures, and the past from this time period.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and Jamie head back to IE and find evidence of Zoe and Isobel’s presence, but are caught by Packer, the security chief, before they can effect a rescue. They’re taken before Vaughn, who denies the kidnapping, and instead shows the Doctor a new invention- the cerebration mentor, a teaching device that can induce emotional changes in humans. When Zoe and Isobel are spirited away, the Doctor and Jamie escape and give chase, and call in help from UNIT, who send a helicopter which rescues Zoe, Jamie, The Doctor, and Isobel. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sneaky Vaughn hypnotizes the head of UNIT in order to get the organization to back down from its investigations. The Doctor and Jamie sneak into an IE warehouse in London where UFO sightings have been reported, and witness a ceremony to open a mysterious alien cocoon- a cocoon which then reveals... okay, cut it out, Cybermen. It was cute when I didn’t know you. But this is the third one, now- the Daleks always warn me in their titles when they’re the heavies of a serial. Look, I know they’re not here right now- but if you want to step into their niche as the Second Doctor’s big bad, then you need to show me you respect me. Use the name. Look: “Invasion of the Cybermen.” See? It even had a nice ring to it! Come on, guys, I know you can do it. Now let’s get back in there and win this one!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The big bads revealed, Vaughn tests the cerebration mentor on one of them, driving the poor Cyberman mad- he flees on a homicidal rampage, unable to cope with emotions. The rest venture into the sewers to make their way unseen to various invasion points. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The UNIT leader stonewalls the Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart, who realize that they need proof of the Cyberman invasion before the recalcitrant (mind-controlled) general will believe them and allow them to act. After blocking the planned hypnotism signal designed to conquer Earth (to be transmitted simultaneously from a concealed circuit within every IE electronic product ever produced), the Doctor finds his companions missing- all three have ventured into the sewers to photograph a Cyberman and bring back the necessary proof. They barely escape an encounter with the mad Cyberman (don’t worry, this won’t be mentioned again), and the photos are a bust- that bit of padding aside, the plot continues as Watkins confronts Vaughn, and is goaded into stealing Packer’s gun and shooting Vaughn- who is revealed to be a robot or something- he has smoking holes through him but is unhurt! (Don’t worry, this won’t be mentioned again). THAT bit of padding over, the Cyberman invasion begins, and everyone outside the range of the Doctor’s telepathic blocker begins to fall sway to cyber-influence.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">UNIT launches a Russian missile to destroy the source of Vaughn’s Cyberman-hypnosis signals, while the UK plans to shoot down the incoming Cyber-fleet with missiles. The Cyber-fleet is destroyed, and the remaining Cybermen blame Vaughn, who is forced to side with the Doctor when the Cybermen announce their (extremely emotional and vengeful) plan to retaliate by destroying the Earth with a Megatron Bomb. (Insert your own Transformers joke here). Vaughn uses the cerebration mentor to take down the Cybermen still on Earth (dying in the process, of course), while Zoe’s ‘living computer’ brain calculates a new trajectory in time to take down the final Cyber-ship and thwart the Megatron Bomb plot. And Jamie is shot! (Don’t worry, this won’t be mentioned again). The day is saved with no mention of Vaughn being a robot or Jamie being hurt- even though we plainly saw both happen onscreen- and the TARDIS is made re-visible as the victorious companions depart.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Review:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Invasion was all set up to be the 'Daleks Master Plan' of the Cybermen (and now considered a well-loved epic chosen for the unique honor of animated reconstruction)- was this to be the Cybermen's breakout high-point pinnacle of awesome? A memorable epic of truly mind-boggling proportions?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Well, it did have its own Mavic Chen. (Literally- Kevin Stoney, playing a very similar role in his handling of the Cybermen as he did to the Daleks- the one arrogant man who thinks he can control them... and is rather mad!)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">As it turns out, however, it was not so much about the Cybermen as it was about inventing the trend of making Microsoft the bad guys back before Microsoft even existed. After coasting on so many sci-fi cliches, Doctor Who perpetuates one- the evil monopolizing mega-corp that builds computers and sticks something sinsiter into every one: an emotional circuit. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Errrr... you know... for transmitting... emotions...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Moving on.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This story surprised me. The Cybermen don't appear until literally halfway through. The introduction of UNIT was surprisingly low-key. It wasn't about what I thought it would be about. Was it bad? Not at all- just unexpected. Oh, and The Invasion is set in the futuristic 1976, as per the director- but not stated anywhere canonically. Announcement by a BBC narrator at time of airing indicated 1975. Neither of these dates is official, though.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswQUqTx2_l9DBnujuU-E45_5KHzHfIWc254_x5SIM6wgtT73NtsmixfbykKsi921FE673owSrBr4c_cJb2ox1dubQaOSiaK6sHB8urUMLXwpQrJkqvCT3XI8Jb5geTk18HYZD6PNUJ6dj/s1600/laughing+after+computer+death.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswQUqTx2_l9DBnujuU-E45_5KHzHfIWc254_x5SIM6wgtT73NtsmixfbykKsi921FE673owSrBr4c_cJb2ox1dubQaOSiaK6sHB8urUMLXwpQrJkqvCT3XI8Jb5geTk18HYZD6PNUJ6dj/s320/laughing+after+computer+death.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The first portion is largely setup, and introduction of another female character to hang about in the background and wear tight and/or revealing clothing- methinks Doctor Who was discovering Sex Appeal. More's the pity. At least this one had an excuse- she's a model (and has a great introductory scene in which the Doctor's obnoxiously insistent doorbell buzzing keeps distracting her just as her auto-timer camera is about to go off.) Parts 2 through 4 are spent building the mystery and menace of Vaughn and his corporation, as well as establishing the Doctor's best catchphrase ever- "Shut up, you stupid machine!" Then, 5-8 are spent dealing with the aforementioned Invasion of the Cybermen, which, aside from a few street-marching shots, seems to consist of half a dozen or so advanced guards- plus the orbital fleet which (SPOILERS FOR THE SYNOPSIS ABOVE) never makes it to Earth.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This all probably sounds like harshly sarcastic judgement, but it's really more of good-natured teasing, because the serial is fun. If it had been named "Corporation of Death" or "The Chairman" or some such, there probably wouldn't be a single snarky remark- it's just that, as the serial stands, the Invasion! moniker seems almost misleading. Like a magician's sleight-of-hand- not entirely untrue, but more of a stagey distraction from the true goings-on of the story.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This tale is truly a battle of wits and a series of intelligence commando raids between Vaughn and the Doctor, backed by UNIT. So, much of the strength of the story depends on the strength of the villain. Fortunately, Tobias Vaughn doesn't disappoint, a creepy villain with cockeyed eyes (one always half-shut), and a sometimes genial, sometimes raving-lunatic demeanor encompassing a broad range. Plus, he's a robot. Not that it matters, as aforementioned. Still, that's the only single disappointing element to an otherwise excellent, competent, and charismatic villain. On the other hand, his right-hand thug, Packer, starts out as an intimidating Bond-henchman and, through a combination of incompetence and the worst wrist-communicator design ever devised, slowly becomes an over-exaggerated cartoon character of such absurd proportions that I had to actually Wikipedia his fate because I didn't notice the Cyberman shooting him- his character had degraded to such an unrecognizable caricature of himself that I didn't even recognize him in his death scene. Vaughn's office is a nice set, but the vista out the window is once again too obviously a poorly-lit painting- like the Aztecs, it's faded and doesn't look like it's supposed to really be there. Kudos, in this case, for changing out multiple backgrounds to make it day and night, though.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This serial is also an excellent continuity piece in the ongoing storyline that's being crafted in the Second Doctor's era, setting things up for the ongoing storyline that will dominate the Third's. Not only does this serial feature the return of the Brigadier and the creation of UNIT, it also references Professor Travers. This storyline- from Abominable Snowmen to Web of Fear to Invasion, is the original Bad Wolf... (or more accurately, BW's lame successor that's completely spoiled and not a surprise if you watch it at any time after it's original air date, 'Torchwood')- like Mister Saxxon or Missing planets, it's the ongoing story thread throughout the season, woven in amongst the one-shot stories, and like Cracks in the Universe, setting things up for the ongoing storyline to come in the next season. It's the original template of the ongoing arc-element that New Who has latched onto- the Rise of Unit, and the setup for the Third Doctor's ever-nearing exile.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">The Doctor is a strong presence in this one- despite disappearing and receding into the background for a couple of episodes near the end- repeatedly clashing in strong confrontations with Vaughn. It's still not the 'Rescue' or 'Evil of the Daleks' modern-series style confrontations with the villain- the climactic encounter with the villain is not yet a part of this television program, leading instead to impersonal solutions, ships exploding, or various other anticlimaxes; the show's one remaining weakness, it</span><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">s weak endings and resolutions that don't serve the buildup given to them- but nonetheless, the Doctor has a number of great sparring and outwitting moments here, and even some action bits, including the copter sequence, and the ending battles. (Unsurprisingly, the aforementioned copter stunts were once again among the lost footage. Three for three... Enemy of the World, Fury from the Deep, and now Invasion- every chopper stunt performed on this show has been lost! At least we have an animated reconstruction for this one, but the bizarrely conspicuous assault directly on helicopter stunt footage has caused me to wonder if this is indeed the true, hidden, secret Stone-mason-esque motivation behind the BBC's tragic Jihad against the legacy of one of their most beloved programs back in the 70s... the real reason the deep and storied history of Doctor Who's earliest foundations is riddled with slide show-filled holes is that some Knight Templar-level executive put out a secretive, and as yet unexplained, hit on helicopter footage in Black and White science fiction... and tragically, the First and Second Doctors paid the price. Why this vile anti-helicopter agenda that drug so many sterling works of creativity down with it to the grave? No one knows... but perhaps it can be the arc theme of Matt Smith's Third Series. Oh, and... prediction, Andrew writing this review, 2/11/2011... by the time this blog is released, said series has already aired, because we're that far behind in our releases.) (Note From Future Andrew: The series would just be starting if the BBC weren't playing this delayed-'till-fall game...)</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Jamie continues his reckless, rash, and sometimes quarrelsome behavior, which remains very human and realistic but is on the verge of losing its charm; he's mostly relegated to following the Doctor or Zoe around in this one, and doesn't have too much to do.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Zoe, on the other hand, is... bizarre. (Note from a future regeneration of Andrew – Here is the misunderstanding I mentioned in the Wheel in Space blog... at this time, I still understood Zoe to be smart yet unemotional, like a Vulcan, as a character premise... as opposed to intelligent yet immature, almost childish, as I currently understand her character premise to be. Viewed through that filter, her actions in this serial make perfect character sense, and are even amusing, as she’s SUPPOSED to be that naive. The computer destruction, heading off half-cocked because she doesn’t want to wait, etc. all fit perfectly with my current understanding of the character, and would probably give me a chuckle.)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazhbK8xCY9DQN3awtDozJio8CizWn-VRvP-YAFPpxZOJ5-JJdY2GceosM7amiCNR6ooyFoZOj9wWYGiJXE0je1H03-R-SbHNT7_EAmZM8QlPzLcLKyQuYmAZkPwsEhIxGe0SqZUu39TOq/s1600/the+IE+computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And speaking of said body... she is once again showing herself off in the return of that oddly-hilarious glittering catsuit... but it also leads to one of the best moments I've ever seen in Doctor Who, right on par with that </span>Zarbi<span style="line-height: 115%;"> running full-tilt into the camera with an audible 'THUNK.' As Zoe flits about the line of monitors in UNIT HQ, reading off f</span>igures<span style="line-height: 115%;"> and making her world-saving missile trajectory calculations (all the while wearing the same sparkly catsuit that, as covered previously, tends to accentuate the actress' aft attributes), she stops beside each radar operator, standing beside them to read their data screens over their shoulders- and in a hilarious moment that seems more more like actor </span>unprofessionalism<span style="line-height: 115%;"> than planned character nuance, both the second and third actors in the row of UNIT </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">personnel</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span lang="EN"><span style="line-height: 115%;">get completely distracted from their acting and stop to </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">observe- the second giving a casual-but-noticeable glance back to inspect the aforementioned aft... while the third full-on turns his head ninety degrees and leans back in his chair to check her out up close in the most </span>blatant<span style="line-height: 115%;"> and noticeable fashion possible (NFS: He doesn't lean WAAAY back though...the way you describe it sounds like he's practically reclining with his hands behind his head. :-D). The man probably doesn't even remember that he's on a TV show at the moment, much less that he's supposed to be acting like a disciplined military man- he's taking full advantage of the oblivious girl in tight clothing beside him, acting career be darned! (It's a hilarious </span>moment<span style="line-height: 115%;">, but also with a slightly disturbing flavor to it in light of Zoe's acting like a distinctly immature minor in this serial.) (Note from Sarah: Although if he's a military man and hasn't seen a girl for a long time...then this is a pretty good character nuance. :-D) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Plus, there's also another embarrassingly-obvious actress-on-vacation serial in which a kidnapped Zoe doesn't appear. Jamie has a slightly more subtle-but-still-jarring absence in the final chapter for the same reason; at least this one is much better written, as you don’t really question his absence due to story events. It does, however, lead to a rather jarring moment, as mentioned before, in which he’s <i>shot</i> in battle, and it’s never followed up on save for a brief mention of him being in the hospital- with the shooting itself happening practically in the background- no reactions or anything, just a get-it-done-to-get-him-on-vacation wide shot. They really aren't very smooth with these breaks...</span> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, we're introduced to recurring character Sgt. Benton, and reintroduced to Lethbridge-Stewart, now his properly iconic rank of 'Brigadiere'- and both are dull as dishwater, very run in the mill- though the Brig does have a few minutes of facial subtlety and good performance that gives me hope for a future demonstrative range. No, really, the problem here is that their roles- as radio voices and communications coordinators, are simply dry and without much texture of flavor. (What, am I describing a performance, or a cracker, here?) I have no doubt that in future stories, with more to do, they'll be a more impressive presence... but in this serial, they were both dull enough to cause my wife great concern that the forthcoming UNIT-based Third Doctor era would be a snorefest. I think not, or the Brig would not have become such a beloved companion... but we shall see. (Note from Future Sarah: The Brigadier turns out to be one of my most favorite characters ever....that's not to say that the Third Doctors era didn't turn out to be a snorefest though....)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The only other character of note is Isobel Watkins... with nothing much to do but have a fun introductory scene (see above) and wear only a long shirt whilst lying spread out on the floor (to 'photograph' more comfortably, I'm sure- see Doctor Who discovering sex appeal, above), she's really pretty much a Zoe clone, only less interesting. Likewise, her father was a relatively under-developed character; a man of convictions blackmailed into working for a bad guy... though his resignation at his position ("You don't even <i>expect</i> me to believe that, do you?") made him an interesting, if only briefly seen, character- and the shock factor of his being goaded into shooting Vaughn in what seems like it's going to be a standard "See? You don't have the guts!" moment demonstrates a surprising strength of character (as he recognizes the evil that needs to be destroyed and does what he believes he must, despite his personal reluctance and fear of doing so). He was a well-layered character despite having very little screen time, and, heck- he's the scientist I'd want on MY staff!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtV-X5NCa6LOX5CDwEpCGYRuRiqrW_Xgl5Fmoqqy1BjK-J3ShsO9cyxxqevubx9xoby6fEU3gA-0WjI97pBFZl6DEtLZNrT-zLcG-UQ2EDVLkRaDfnzNUZEtFXEGfQi5qUl4oZwHIXJDH8/s1600/cyberman+jumps+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">There are a few nice middle action highlights- the aforementioned chopper rooftop rescue under gunfire (a sequence which conspires to give us the unlikely tableau of three individuals wearing skirts climbing a ladder in the wind... perhaps it’s better that this bit was lost to the ravages of time! Fraiser Hines, the actor portraying Jamie, reportedly sewed led weights into the hem of his kilt to minimize its updraft potential), an excellent and exciting sequence that must have absolutely blown the bank, sadly lost to the Helicopter Footage Jihad (evidence of that potential broken bank coming in the rescue of professor Watkins, a scene planned but not shown due to time and money constraints... leading to the rather jarring edit in which a scene in UNIT HQ ends with the Brigadier essentially saying “Allright, let’s go rescue professor Watkins!” and then immediately cuts from a close-up of him to a close-up of a gibbering, beat-up henchmen proclaiming to Vaughn “And then UNIT hit the car hard, and all of the guards were killed, and UNIT took professor Watkins!” with nothing in-between those two shots to even indicate time had passed. In a modern movie, it might be taken as an intentional ironic editing choice, but here it smacks of didn’t-have-the-budget...), as well as the Cybermen attack in the sewers (with an excellent but completely unsupported-by-the-music moment where a Cybermen pops up to grab the escaped characters' heels as they leave)- plus some nice shocking moments- such as the unexpected shooting of the mysterious UNIT informant in the first chapter, or the unexpected goading of Doctor Watkins into shooting Vaughn to no effect partway through. Shocking in the extreme! The action climax, with the Doctor and Vaughn fleeing together, is nicely staged, but comes before the actual climax of the spaceship destruction which is weak and anti-climactic, leaving the end to flop a little bit- the Doctor/Vaughn bits should have been saved for the finale. Strangely, two of the most important elements- Vaughn being an android, apparently (Yeah, that's kind of a big deal!!!) and Jamie being shot (like, shot, with bullets, during the final battle) are NEVER DEALT WITH. No, not even slightly. They're shown briefly, and then it's like they never happened, with implications and consequences- or even a follow-up mention- not forthcoming at any point later in the serial. How do you throw in story elements that shocking and then not do ANYTHING with them?</span> </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The ending itself suffers from the same anticlimactic weak-finale syndrome too many Whos do in this era- an intense, impersonal, destroy-the-mothership finale that isn't very exciting or engaging, happens well after the main climax, or just plain loses all the built-up momentum... but tries to make up for it with a cool outer-space model shot to wrap things up. Sorry, but a bit of eye candy doesn't substitute having an emotional investment in the finale, a stake in the outcome, or a little bit of anticipation built into the proceedings. Again, we can only hope that climactic confrontations in Doctor Who improve with the Third Doctor's era. Oddly... it seems to be primarily the Cybermen that suffer from this truncated, sudden, or unexciting finale syndrome- Fourth Planet, Wheel in Space, Invasion, and to some degree, the Moonbase... though Tomb of the Cybermen had an excellent, personal, thrilling climax involving direct personal confrontation with the final monster (though unlike The Rescue or Evil of the Daleks, not a confrontation by the Doctor)- so we know it's possible for Cybermen stories to have a satisfying resolution- it's just that most don't.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">I should probably write a blog comparing the different strong and weak points of Dalek Invasion of Earth to The Invasion, seeing what was done better and worse with each of the two major races, eh? E-mail or comment me if you'd like to see that. Let me know. Leave some feedback. E-mail me if you want a pizza roll... (And if you get THAT reference...)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Plenty of miscellaneous notes. There was some ambitious prop work with the gorgeously detailed Cyberman communicator device in Vaughn's office (with a swinging panel entrance that they were clearly overly proud of, as they showcase it WAY too often). It's a pity, then, that such a stellar piece of prop work was destroyed, as they appear to have eliminated it in a real pyrotechnic display during it's finale destruction. Effects failures, on the other hand, do abound- from the teeny, tiny grenade explosions more akin to firecrackers in the sewers (which leads to the stumbling Cyberman, which needs to be seen to be believed, and is the fourth entry into the funniest-thing-I-ever-saw-in-Doctor-Who category alongside the Zarbi collision, Zoe check-out, and the New Series' "Vampires of Venice" bachelor party opening), the stock footage of missiles being raised into place around the world that is repeated shot for shot FOUR TIMES (including one where the trajectory was just being adjusted, but which required all of the missiles to rise out of concealment, open up, and arm anew to do so, apparently, as they use the exact same footage) and the missile impacts in space- many of which hit their cybership-targets, go spinning off into space with hilariously obvious spiral trails of out-of-control fury, and then several seconds later, the belated explosion at the point of impact is set off. Plus, the traditional Doctor Who set-extension-matte-painting-that-doesn't-match-the-angle-of-the-hallway-and-thus-is-really-obvious, in the sewers. (Also, not really a failure, but... the Cybermen are still stealing the Daleks photo-negative beam effect!) These are balanced out by the stock footage missile firings- which are about the coolest most awesome things ever captured on film (and okay, the Russian rocket is okay... but the Saturn V launches woulda been cooler!) and some excellent model work for the cool, detailed, and uniquely designed Cyber-ships (whcih make a re-appearance in Matt Smith's first 11th Doctor season finale, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang). It would've been nice to see the Episode 1 missile/dark side of the moon, too. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">On the live-action side of things, the Doctor and Jamie end up hugging alot. The escape-into-the-elevator reminds em a lot of the Doctor's escape in Downing Street in the New Who episode World War Three (the Slitheen two-parter conclusion) and I wonder if it was staged as a tribute to this serial. The mime humor at the end was nicely done, with everyone reaching out awkwardly to look for the TARDIS. Lots of fun. Oh, and the Cybermen... FAR easier to understand this time, finally breaking from the indecipherable 'Tomb' voice. Plus... they have lace-up sneakers that are just painted silver. Whoops! (NFS: Whoops? Or awesome? You be the judge.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This serial also features far more incidental music than we're used to, a very nice change of pace, though not without its hitches- including the jaunty, goofy, carnival-like "Car Theme" that gets played whenever someone takes off in a jeep, regardless of how tense the situation may be (and including the brilliantly mind-boggling moment when two UNIT soldiers set out to deliver a nuclear device to Russia (always a good idea!)... driving out the back of a cargo plane in a jeep and off into the distance... apparently preparing to drive to Russia instead of taking the plane they were just in. If the irony of that situation seems limited to 'the trip will take much longer' to you, consult a map and trace the patch from England to Russia, then check the identity of that large blue patch in between)- and the previously mentioned Cybermen-popup-to-drag-you-back-down-to-Heck scare... in which the music doesn't change tone or react to this sudden tension whatsoever, continuing the peaceful, tranquil, out-of-danger tones it was already involved in as men bash at the Cyberman's forearms with rifle-butts, shout, and clamor to escape the deadly cybernetic grasp. Oh, well... despite this occasional failure, it's an overall improvement that added mood and tone to the piece, and helped to keep things lively- even throwing in some ambient source music, which I don't think we've heard since Evil of the Daleks' coffee bar. This is all thanks to composer Don Harper, hired for this serial only because the director, Douglas Camfield, refused to work with usual electronic-tonalities-and-minimalist-pulse-beats composer Dudley Simpson. So sadly, this music will be a one-off.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And did I mention how incredibly cool that budget-blowing chopper rescue would've been to see? Curse you, you Mason-Templar-Scientologist-Alien Overlord BBC execs, and your mysterious and sinister crusade against helicopter footage!!! How many must die (and believe me, the reconstruction Hump and its brethren are pretty killer!) for your secret plots???</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Great moments:</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="line-height: 115%;">The villain revealed to be a robot. Zoe vs. The Computer (Zoe wins). The helicopter escape scene. The unsubtle lecher.</span><span style="line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">(Note from Sarah: I can't remember who said it but I do remember someone yelled out "did he just give her the twice-over!? Rewind that!")</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Armies of </span>Cybermen<span style="line-height: 115%;"> on the streets. The Doctor running and clutching his burning behind. And of course, the </span>Cyber<span style="line-height: 115%;">-stumble. </span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rating:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Overall, the Invasion is an interesting battle of wits interspersed by excellent moments of humor that manages to keep a good, constant pace that never flags, wears, or grows dull, despite an anticlimactic finale. Plus, like Tomb of the Cybermen, the restored DVD video quality is STELLAR, and looks incredible, smooth and sharp, compared to its peers. Overall, I have to give it 4 out of 5 Bickering Dominators. It wasn't my favorite story of all time (though it may have been my wife's)(NFS:I think I just thought they got the atmosphere really well, I liked the idea of an invasion in modern england and everyone underground, they did it really well.) and certainly wasn't another Daleks Master Plan... but it was entertaining, enjoyable, ambitious, and excellent.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And of course, how could I give anything BUT 5 out of 5 to the reconstruction? It's professionally animated, for pete's sake! Sure, the characters tended to be a little stiff below the neck, only occasionally breaking out the full-body animation for a wide shot that required someone walking, running, etc., and the trailer was deceptively cool in that they animate plenty of awesome and atmospheric moments from the serial that weren't actually part of the animated episodes, thus faking us out into expecting animated Cybermen awesomeness, when in fact we only receive one shot of an animated Cyberman in the whole affair, the very final shot- but still... it was excellent, well-animated, fun to watch, and well put-together... this is (no offense to our beloved and missed Loose Canon) the ONLY way to see the Invasion- animated, and on DVD!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-62188284018410044932012-05-02T16:55:00.000-07:002012-05-02T18:23:03.692-07:00Doctor Who: The Mind Robber<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyirknLhvGCovHP1lCCZ5r-jaIsYsCjzB1AJrJlfZ_OvRck5MiTktyy58xggNYrXRTd-HZIWtOKNR_bQajVNixvum0IsKLNZeZgd4eoe9JwCPjt4_W0_WtnbOaiXAXhi-UqF_irKuMv5y/s1600/bk-2u-87.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinyirknLhvGCovHP1lCCZ5r-jaIsYsCjzB1AJrJlfZ_OvRck5MiTktyy58xggNYrXRTd-HZIWtOKNR_bQajVNixvum0IsKLNZeZgd4eoe9JwCPjt4_W0_WtnbOaiXAXhi-UqF_irKuMv5y/s320/bk-2u-87.jpg" width="192" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Mind Robber<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>Patrick Troughton </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>Jamie McCrimmon
(Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b>SPOILER WARNING: This serial is <i>absolutely</i> worth seeing unspoiled. If you have not seen it, go see it- it's on Netflix instant, for one- before reading. Seriously, you owe it to yourself to see this for yourself before you know what to expect. DO IT.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Synopsis:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As the volcano on </span></span>Dulkis
errupts<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">, the </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> crew are forced to use the emergency escape switch to
compensate for a breakdown in the ship, something that the Doctor is loathe to
do. The escape switch deposits them somewhere outside of time and space, and as
the Doctor works to repair the ship, the white void beyond the doors entices
Jamie and Zoe in turn, calling them out </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">into</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> the white void, where strange
robots and a surreal altered state await them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor barely
manages to get them back inside, and tries to return the ship to space-time...
but it splits apart, shattering like a pane of glass, and the travelers are
left to fall through a black void, clinging to the TARDIS console...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">They land separately in
a strange land of tall bluffs. The Doctor is forced to complete a series of
riddles, the last one of which- a just-reunited Jamie’s face being erased- he
fails, resulting in a complete change of the lad’s features. Eventually, the
two locate Zoe, and then meet up with Gulliver. Of Gulliver’s Travels. Who only
speaks in lines from the book. They are also chased by clockwork soldiers (New
Series “Girl in the Fireplace” meets Babes in Toyland). They discover that
the tall and oddly shaped bluffs that dot the landscape like a forest are
actually letters and words, 20 feet tall- it’s as if they’re walking the pages
of a 3-dimensional book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A unicorn attacks from
nowhere, but the Doctor is able to halt its fearsome charge with a firm belief
that it isn’t real- at which point, it becomes unreal, just a cardboard cutout.
He also manages to fix Jamie’s face when confronted with the same puzzle a second
time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The group enters a
labyrinth, and Zoe and the Doctor encounter a Minotaur which they defeat as
they did the unicorn, while Jamie, pursued by the soldiers, climbs a long,
blonde rope that turns out to be the hair of Rapunzel. From inside the castle,
he watches a ticker-tape/teletype device spell out a battle between the Doctor
and the Medusa in which he lops off her head. The encounter does occur, but the
Doctor, finding a sword suddenly by his side, uses a mirror to defeat Medusa as
Perseus did. The teletype machine prints out a failure message.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Doctor and Zoe
escape the labyrinth and encounter the Karkus, a comic book character from the
year 2000. The Doctor cannot defeat him in the same way that he did the unicorn
and minotaur, because he is unfamiliar with the character and thus doesn’t have
the same bedrock certainty that the Karkus isn’t actually real (though he does
accidentally dispel Karkus’ anti-molecular ray disintegrator by instinctively
commenting that such technology couldn’t exist). Zoe does know the character,
and defeats him with Judo, earning his loyalty. The group ascend to the castle
and meet up with Jamie, but are captured by the same white robots from the void
before, which lead them to the Master (no relation to the Time Lord arch-nemesis
of the Doctor), who reveals this to be the Land of Fiction, where fictional
characters are real. The teletype machine records his writings- if he can write
the actions a person is going to take (by successfully predicting them), then
they are in essence acting out his fiction, making them characters whose
actions he wrote- and converting them from thinking beings into fictional
characters under his control. He then writes that Jamie and Zoe become trapped
inside a giant book, and his robots force them to become so trapped, rendering
them fiction.</div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Master explains to
the Doctor that an otherwordly intelligence that cannot take form in our
reality run and inhabit this land, but they need a human quality- imagination-
to keep it alive. The Master was once a human author from the 20<sup>th</sup>
century, abducted to serve as the hub of this fictional realm. But he is
growing old, and the aliens need a replacement brain. They have chosen the
Doctor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Doctor is hooked
into the main computer, but turns the tables and the two have a duel of wits, summoning various fictional
characters to do battle. The Doctor manages to use this distraction to cause
Zoe and Jamie to be physically freed, in contradiction to what the Master wrote, thus
freeing them </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">mentally</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">. They trick the white robots, who shoot up the place,
destroying the machinery that runs the land. This releases the Master from the aliens' thrall (he
is presumably returned to the time and place he was abducted from) and as they
run through the black void that the Land of Fiction has become, the group finds
themselves back on the TARDIS, in flight, as if nothing had ever happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Review:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Our 50<sup>th</sup>
Blog! Woo-hoo! And I can’t think of a more deserving serial- I didn’t plan it
this way, but heck, talk about a special event!!! Holy Cow! This serial is made
of awesome... and made of crazy! It starts with a bang where Dominators left
off, giving us the amazing TARDIS-covered-in-lava, the dangerous emergency
escape unit that takes the TARDIS out of space and time, the deadly white void
(Zoe and Jamie are with the Prophets!) and then... the total mindscrew
ending... and that’s all just within the first episode!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Indeed the first part of
this story is incredibly David Lynch-ish; surreal and almost frightening, in a
way- from Zoe and Jamie suddenly appearing in pure white outfits, zoned-out
looks on their faces, waving the Doctor forward with two hands while Zoe
screams eerily- though the onscreen Zoe never opens her mouth (trust me, it's twice as freaky as you’re picturing) to the awesome and rare model shot of the
TARDIS exterior in flight suddenly shattering into panels (this whole shot
being an effects bonanza at the time), leading to the surreal sight of Zoe and
Jamie clinging to the console, falling through the void, as the Doctor himself
spirals along through the void, falling into mist... truly surreal, disturbing
and cool at the same time, and an ambitious and perfectly-achieved set of
effects... wow. (And, errr... made a little more ‘wow’ by the very... errrr...
fan-service way that Zoe is draped over the console in that scene. I’ll say no
more on the subject. Just... yikes!) (Note from Sarah: I think it's funny how we've probably seen tons worse than that, but for some reason it being in Doctor Who and in the 60's makes it more shocking for some reason!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Making this even more
insane is the fact that this first episode was written as filler (to replace
the stricken sixth episode of The </span></span>Dominators<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">)- the awesome robots were borrowed from
another TV show, the episode takes place in a void to avoid having to build new sets, etc. It was
designed to be as cheap as possible... and yet was the most mind-bending,
surreal, creepy, and effective of all! (Seriously, it’s on DVD- GO SEE THIS
SERIAL!!! This is the biggest </span></span>Troughton<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> must-see of all!) </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">Presumably</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">, in the original
4-episode script, the flipping of the escape switch led directly to the </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">
bursting apart and the Doctor appearing in the forest of words (a very cool
concept with an excellent design). Like The Space Museum, the first episode
does feel somewhat stand-alone and separate from the plot of the remaining
episodes... but happens to be the best, moodiest, most atmospheric, creepy-cool
one of the lot! Due to this ‘stretching,’ the serials were also shorter (the
last part being the shortest Who episode of all time at 18 minutes!), which
helped the pacing to stay sharp.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As a quick aside not
particular to this episode... were the </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> walls so expensive that it was
impossible to build a set extension? In The Wheel In Space, the chest Zoe
stowed away on was in </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">front</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of a </span></span>brick<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> extension of the </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> wall, placed just
beyond where the set ended. Likewise, the walls in many locations here for the
first episode (admittedly justified by the episode’s nonexistent budget) are
also in front of very cheap, paltry ‘roundel’-studded backgrounds that look
nothing like the </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> walls. Is there something preventing them from just
redressing the console room or shooting at alternate angles to use the
background they already had? Why repeated cheap-outs on </span></span>TARDIS<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> walls? WHY?!?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The remainder of the
episodes are surreal but not nearly so bizarre as the first, if that makes any
sense- random and odd like a children’s show is, not like a surrealist film...
with a few </span><span style="line-height: 14px;">notable</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> exceptions; especially when Jamie is shot in the forehead
by a redcoat and turns instantaneously into a cardboard cutout. This leads to
one of the strangest covering-for-an-actor-absences in the entire series to
date (though in this case, unlike Hartnell’s usual gratuitous and obvious
vacation-allowances, this was due to a case of chicken pox)- when the cardboard
cutout becomes faceless, the Doctor selects the wrong face pieces, and another
actor plays Jamie for an episode. It is positively surreal to see another
not-Jamie, with the same costume and same voice (he does a fantastic impression
of the voice and mannerisms!) wandering around as Jamie for the episode (NFS: I thought that Jamie really did a voiceover?). Like
many other things in this review, words can’t accurately describe the
strangeness of this event- it’s jarring and unnerving, and is both so patently
absurd, and so logical within the story itself, that it both calls attention to
itself AND works- which it would not have done were it not for the incredibly
strong performance of Hamish Wilson as Jamie.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Aside from this, a brief
and cute encounter with Rapunzel, and locating the control room, Jamie doesn’t
have much to do in this story. Likewise, Zoe has little to do- save for a
random inexplicable freakout that causes the guards to be alerted... and a
surprising and rare hand-to-hand fight! This woman is shown to be quite
capable of defending herself (far more than the Doctor!) using judo flips and
the like- quite a departure from the female companion norm. She also dons a
glittering silver catsuit that is at first laugh-out-loud hilarious, and then,
clinging onto that console... well... errr... better. (NFS: Better? How do you mean that?) Still, brief moments
aside, she and Jamie have most of their action in the first episode, being compelled
to run out into the void (and generating one very amusing moment where Zoe breaks Jamie out of his Scottland-trance with a good old-fashioned slap to the
face) and then being controlled into eerie siren-figures there. They spend the
majority of the story’s remainder just following the Doctor meekly around- save
for a nice comedic moment when Zoe deduces that the Doctor’s ignorance is
responsible for Jamie’s altered face- which is fine; this is a puzzle and
battle-of-wits story; those are always best when the Doctor is the focus. As
the preceding paragraph indicates, both characters have plenty of great gags
and individual moments, but not a real character focus or arc; that’s the
Doctor’s province in this one, and it works well- filtering the audience
through his reality, in which even his companions might not be real. It
individualizes the experience by placing it through his eyes, and making those
our eyes as well- the only way to really experience such a trippy and
reality-questioning episode... personally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This story is full of
brilliant concepts, too- chief of which, the concept that if actions can be
written from you, and you act in that way, you become fiction, because you are
performing the actions of a fictional scenario. Thus, if the writer can predict
your actions, he can take control of you. It reminds me of a conceptual cousin
to the speak-before-you, speak-in-sync-with-you, speak-in-your-place creature
from the New Who episode 'Midnight.' <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This story also
incorporates a comic book character- a nice touch, not ignoring that aspect of
fiction- and makes him from a comic strip in the future (which is also great- fiction from all of human history shouldn't be limited to solely what we know today). It’s a brilliant
little idea, and a great gag, as the Doctor- able to dispel various threats
from Medusa to a unicorn to a minotaur by simply being convicted that they
aren’t real- flees in terror from a superhero comic he’s never read... because
he isn’t familiar with the work, he DOESN’T know that it’s not real, at least not
more than conceptually, and thus can’t thwart it! A similarly great moment at first
seems to confuse 'statements aloud' with 'belief'- stopping the charging unicorn in
its tracks by having Jamie and Zoe shout out loud that it wasn’t real...
but then revealing that it was the Doctor’s belief in the creature's unreality that did it, and Jamie
and Zoe’s frantic panic was beginning to give <i>him </i>doubts- so he had them shout their (not truly believed) disbelief in order
to re-enforce his own skepticism. Brilliant AND hilarious!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Likewise, the Doctor and
the Master’s duel of fictional characters was hilariously childish and brilliant
at the same time- the same kind of game of imagination and one-upmanship that
you can observe in the imaginary play of children everywhere. And come on...
didn’t the Lancelot trump card make you want to cheer?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The story itself is not
much to speak of- like its conceptual cousin, The Celestial Toymaker, it’s a
‘get to the end of the maze’ tale, more of a showcase for various encounters
than a plot line- but it works well, and is entertaining. The ending is a bit
abrupt, and the “button pushing/shoot the console” seems like an anticlimactic
and overly simplistic solution to such a surreal and complex scenario... but
the bookending and surreal run-through-a-black-void followed by the TARDIS
flying back together again seems somehow an appropriate ending... with added
coolness points for the next episode, Episode 1 of 'The Invasion,' being a lost
episode rendered in 2D animation by the BBC, meaning we get the scene
repeat in Disney-style animation. Way cool.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">As far as the
non-regulars for this serial... Gulliver was a fun cypher; mysterious at first,
and then an impressive (for work on the part of the writers) and fun character
that only speaks in lines from his book. (Has anyone ever fact-checked to ensure
that all of these lines were truly taken from the text of Gulliver’s Travels?) Regardless, it’s a neat gag that works well, and his inability to see the
robots, casually giving away the TARDIS crew’s positions in his ignorance, is chilling
and spooky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rapunzel is a hoot, so
passively accepting of her hair being used as a ladder, so used to it, that she
doesn’t mind or care- always searching with doe-eyed innocence and hopefulness
for a prince, and offering strangers the use of her hair. She’s a lot of fun to
watch. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Karkus, the Superhero,
is an odd duck, looking more like a masked Luchador than anything- whether
that’s supposed to be a costume, or a low-budget attempt to portray a man built like the Incredible Hulk, I can’t say- but though he’s a gag character, and a bit of a
dues-ex-machina, he’s done as a tongue-in-cheek character, so he works. The
Doctor gets another great gag or two in the battle with him- failing miserably
in a Judo throw (clearly not yet a master of Venusian karate- perhaps the Time
Lords gave him that skill to help him fend for himself during his Earth Exile
later on?) and accidentally eliminating his weapon from existence simply by
pointing out that the sci-fi gadget doesn’t make any scientific sense-
unintentional weaponized skepticism, and an ironic commentary on Who’s
typically ‘way out there’ science.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Medusa’s stop-motion
effects are cool, if primitive- the budget of the show makes me wonder if this
is stock footage from another show, or original footage. Regardless, Medusa is
as tense, creepy, and effective a threat as any (unlike the minotaur, who falls
flat, and the Unicorn, who is freaky, and works well as an adrenaline charge,
but doesn’t have much innate menace)- truly feeling like a first-generation
Weeping Angel... perhaps a ret-con to establish the Weeping Angels as breakouts
from the realm of fiction would help to explain their almost-magical powers?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">On a number of
miscellaneous notes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-Was that the Kaiju
Barugon as the Minotaur? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-The Medusa scene with
the eyes closed and a stony hand reaching out really felt like a prefiguring of
New Who’s Blink. I dig the parallel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-The slow reveal of the
windup soldiers- boxed marching feet, strange lit hat- made them seem really
cool- until you saw the whole thing. One of Fraiser Hines (Jamie)’s cousins was
a mechanical soldier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-The Doctor Who wiki
points out that Blackbeard and Cyrano- and, in the Doctor Who universe, Medusa-
were real people; perhaps they were converted into their fictional counterparts
just the way that Zoe and Jamie were?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-The use of cardboard
cutouts was interesting and unusual here. I feel like it didn’t QUITE work, and
felt a little cheap; but it also sort of felt like it fit, too. (NFS: So in other words, your emotional side liked it but your intellectual side thought it was weird.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-The bookcases in the
final chapter, within the Master’s realm, are apparently quite obvious flat
images. I am embarrassed to say I missed this, but my wife didn’t. (NFS: She's a smart cookie)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-An obvious solution that
the Doctor missed as he was tied into the central brain with the robots
advancing on him- “And then the Master triumphed!” It doesn’t touch on him, and
leaves the Master with two choices- stop his Robots, or succeed- at the cost of
rendering himself fiction and under the Doctor’s control anyway. Yes, a clever
wordsmith could render an addendum to the triumph under which he could achieve
his current goals and still not be considered a ‘triumph’- adding on a “...by
taking over the universe” clause which would be proved false immediately
despite capturing the Doctor, invalidating the initial ‘Master triumphed’
clause... but, to quote the glaringly obvious loophole left to bring back Ming
the Merciless at the end of the final Flash Gordon serial (Flash Gordon
Conquers the Universe) should they ever make another one (which they didn’t)-
“There’s only one way out, and he’ll be too panicked to think of it!”- followed
by a large boom. (And yes, that was
an entirely gratuitous and pointless aside thrown in on the very weak
justification of it being black and white fiction in a similar vein to Karkus’
presumed space-adventurer-superhero status.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF_UuXG1WYSlQ69xw1MEQS8z3paBBI6x8j2Oi_mvt8a9ccrQiP60z0AvOTcejZeBuJ7BtDdcwIR9mSS-2Uq3CDmg_nxidgNQB_PccfotAsE7waYX5DnGBZAvS-Vmm90XQSbLgjHno0Mh9/s1600/zoe+doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxF_UuXG1WYSlQ69xw1MEQS8z3paBBI6x8j2Oi_mvt8a9ccrQiP60z0AvOTcejZeBuJ7BtDdcwIR9mSS-2Uq3CDmg_nxidgNQB_PccfotAsE7waYX5DnGBZAvS-Vmm90XQSbLgjHno0Mh9/s320/zoe+doctor.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Great moments:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The whole show is one
big great moment- from the awesome lava burial to the freaky white-void
sequence (and its frightening Stepford Jamie and Zoe) to the shocking TARDIS
breakup and fall through the void to exciting menaces from the Medusa and Horse
to the surrealist Jamie cardboard cutouts and replacement scenes to the
hilarious Rupunzel and Karkus bits... The ending with the professor- when the
mystery was no longer present and weird things weren’t happening as much- was
about the only part of the serial that DOESN’T qualify as a great moment.
Seriously, this one was jam backed from top to bottom with awesome. Artistic,
exciting, funny, surreal, creepy, brilliant, imaginative... just plain
incredible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxFdLH-_-aqYHmuVRj5NKr-xd7pcqI3ihwWV6yhqc91OvzHzekhqyJckZdxVvQ6kLKHh3vwh4LqyQGSTStNZeSvXco7eObOoRQttrK5hN9UBlTV1vSKa4KoBou6ce_bgotd2NilpqHTWR/s1600/doctor+worried.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxFdLH-_-aqYHmuVRj5NKr-xd7pcqI3ihwWV6yhqc91OvzHzekhqyJckZdxVvQ6kLKHh3vwh4LqyQGSTStNZeSvXco7eObOoRQttrK5hN9UBlTV1vSKa4KoBou6ce_bgotd2NilpqHTWR/s320/doctor+worried.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Rating:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Well, like the
Dominators, there’ll be no reconstruction rating on this one, as it was all
video. In fact, it’s the first we watched on official DVD- via Netflix- and
though the quality wasn’t as high as we’d hoped (we were clearly spoiled by
Tomb of the Cybermen’s crystal clarity), it was decent for all but the
blown-out final episode, and a very refreshing change.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The stellar Mind Robber
gets an unquestionable 5 out of 5 Bickering Dominators, and a place on my list
of personal favorites alongside Keys of Marinus, Aztecs, Faceless Ones, Enemy
of the World, Dalek Master Plan, Myth Makers, Celestial Toymaker, Time Meddler,
and a number of others- a sterling Troughton work, full of spooky imagery,
intriguing concepts, and very funny gags. (Note from Future Andrew: The first one I bought, and 18 seasons in, still my very favorite!) I can only hope the rest of the
season continues on this well (though fan reputation says it doesn’t.) Only one
way to find out...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-56737096270202669692012-04-25T16:47:00.000-07:002012-04-25T18:36:22.853-07:00Doctor Who: The Dominators<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt-yuSbq0wpR0etQjq7W-gUjEFW4IUs8poQ9K-5ELjMzBjp8VOn79eRyGBgMzCeHDRsWnUTuxz9bnIlULx-INXavHLoVvUcMfThRw-MZleWPb_-Q4dD1-y09IiRnPAI0ejGKagC69NBvR/s1600/bk-2t-84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQt-yuSbq0wpR0etQjq7W-gUjEFW4IUs8poQ9K-5ELjMzBjp8VOn79eRyGBgMzCeHDRsWnUTuxz9bnIlULx-INXavHLoVvUcMfThRw-MZleWPb_-Q4dD1-y09IiRnPAI0ejGKagC69NBvR/s320/bk-2t-84.jpg" width="192" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Serial Title:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> The Dominators</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Series:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 6</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Episodes:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> 5</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Doctor:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>Patrick Troughton</i> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Companions:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Synopsis:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Oh, heck. Knew we’d get to this one eventually. Have I already declared a Galaxy 4 for the Second Doctor? If not, this is it. Hang tight, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. The plus side for you, dear reader, is that a brief synopsis may not expose you to the true horrors of dullness on Dulkis, the planet of hippies. (Oh, and Troughton still has some great comic relief; unlike Galaxy 4, this serial at least has a few redeeming factors.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">On the aptly named world of Dulkis, a spacecraft belonging to the Dominators lands, and destroys a boring cruise ship full of uninteresting people, whose leader, Cully, survives. The fact that this was a ship of spoiled rich folk obscures the fact that we will soon discover: that this is an entire boring PLANET full of uninteresting people. The Dominators, Navigator Rago (The Leader) and Probationer Toba (The Upstart) arrive with their robotic servants, the Quarks (the would-be Dalek replacements now that Terry Nation took his ball to go play in America). SPOILER ALERT: They didn’t catch on.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and co. land as well. The Doctor knows that Dulkis is peaceful (a polite silver-lining notation about the planet whose natives DO NOTHING EVER) and sets up for a nice holiday- before hearing the explosion of Cully’s craft. Investigating, they stumble upon an old war museum with functional weapons, the only remaining specimens on Dulkis. They meet Educator Balan and his students, Kando and Teel, all of whom are boring. They exposit that the island was a nuclear test site, and as soon as the enlightened Dulcians (Note from Sarah: Shouldn't it be the 'Dulkians'?:) set off the first nuclear bomb and saw its destruction they forswore all war forever (making this officially more of a fairy tale than the forthcoming serial featuring Rapunzel) and the island is irradiated (but they built a museum on it that no one could visit for some reason???) and the unshielded Doctor and co should be dying, but they’re not, because the Dominators vacuumed up all of the radiation for fuel (because radiation works like that). In fact, they only landed because they detected the radiation and thought the whole planet was like that. Idiots. (By which I mean the Dulcians. Because no matter what the Dominators may do stupidly, the Dulcians are simply dumber by default). This research station, built to monitor the radiation (that's the kind of place you’d take students, right? Into an irradiated outpost to monitor nuclear fallout? Okay, I’ve got to stop heckling or I’ll never make it past this paragraph...) detected the sudden loss of radiation, but dismissed it as an instrumentation failure. Idiots.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Cully stumbles in and warns everyone, and the Doctor and Jamie go to check things out, quickly captured aboard the Dominator ship. (Toba wants to kill them but Rago overrules him). They are believed to be average Dulcians, and tested for intelligence and suitability as slaves. The Doctor and Jamie imitate Dulcians (I.e. They act like not-particularly-bright children) and are dismissed as rubes- meanwhile, learning the Dominator plan. The Dominators plan to irradiate the mantle of the planet and then cause a massive volcanic eruption, irradiating the entire planet- at which time, they’ll carve it up for fuel for their fleet (in a plan clearly stolen by the Slitheen in the New Series). This is an innovative plan. It would also be doing the galaxy a favor, by committing genocide against every last member of the Dulcians. Unfortunately, the Doctor decides that he must intervene.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Cully and Zoe take a Flash-Gordon-Rocket back to the capital city to warn everyone, but fail to convince Director Senex (Cully's father) and the council of the danger. The council sits and debates and resolves like the plot of the Star Wars prequels- boringly and uselessly.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and Jamie are led to the war museum, where the Doctor bluffs the Dominators into believing that there is a second class of intelligent Dulcian (Too obvious...) who created the weapons of war seen there, that lord over the less intelligent working class (of which he and Jamie are supposedly members). The Dominators buy into this (Toba wants to kill them but Rago overrules him). They set off to look for these intelligent Dulcians (Come on, there’s no subtlety to this joke...).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor and Jamie head for Useless Central to appear before the council as Zoe and Cully return to the survey station/museum, while the Dominators locate the teacher and student trio. Clearly going by Dominator standards only, they find these to be the mythical ‘Clever ones.’ They also spot Zoe and Cully. Toba wants to kill them, but Rago... isn’t here. The Quarks (SPOILER ALERT: They suck.) begin to raze the place, when... Rago arrives and overrides him. (Rago is obsessed with saving the Quarks' power, and Toba is obsessed with shooting anything that moves. If you handed the guy a mirror he would shoot himself after the first blink). Zoe and Cully are captured while digging themselves out of the rubble. (NFS: I thought the Quarks were rather darling.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The idiot council will not listen to Jamie and the Doctor, and are quite relieved that the Dominators just want to drill in the planet’s crust. They give their tacit approval (not that they could do anything to stop the Dominators). These people WANT their genocide to happen, Doctor! Who are you to stand in their way? Please, reconsider- don’t interfere!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Zoe, Cully, plus the teacher/student trio are being tested as slaves (a role the Quarks used to fill and now must be replaced in as they are being turned into front-line soldiers instead), hauling rubble from the museum about. Jamie and the Doctor return as Cully sneaks into the museum and grabs the still-functioning laser gun (powered by Dues Ex Machina tablets, no doubt. At least it was Checkov’s Gun-ed twice), but totally wusses out of using it, depriving us of even one admirable Dulcian. Jamie finds his way in as the Doctor is captured, takes the gun, and blasts some Quarks. Toba giddily identifies a threat and overrides Rago’s override. The Quarks (SPOILER ALERT: I know the Daleks, and you sirs, are no Daleks! ...Well, the ones from Victory of the Daleks, maybe...) demolish what’s left of the building and we are ‘treated’ to WAY too much of skirt-wearing Cully as he and Jamie climb down the ladder to an emergency shelter beneath. (NFS: Wait...wait...Cully is wearing a skirt???)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The building is utterly and redundantly re-demolished. Because Toba wanted to kill them but Rago overruled him, and then Toba did it anyway, the two begin to bicker, each threatening to report the other to whatever unfortunate commander oversees this gaggle of slightly-less-idoits-than-the-Dulcians. The Doctor informs them about the council of idiots, and the Dominators invade. (Toba wants to kill them but Rago tragically overrules him). They seize the council... while Jamie and Cully escape the shelter and begin destroying Quarks (SPOILER ALERT: It’s not hard because they’re wimps). The Dominators return. Toba wants to find the ones attacking them but Rago overrules him (wait, Toba is the SMART one?!?!) and tells them to focus on the drilling. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">They drill and prepare to drop an atomic explosive into the mantle. The escaped Doctor and co. tunnel sideways from the underground shelter to intersect the tunnel, and the Doctor catches the radioactive ‘seed device’ as it falls past him (OFFSCREEN, bloody dang it!!! Cheap BBC!!!!) The four downward-pressing rocket engines intended to trigger the eruption are still in place, but without the atomic explosive, it will just cause a normal volcanic eruption.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor cannot defuse the atomic device, but does the next best thing- sneaking it into the Dominator ship on the back of a Quark. The Dominators lift off and<b> </b>leave to avoid the forthcoming explosion, unaware they’ll be its source, and explode in mid-air. The Dulcians are sadly left to live out their lives in peace, having survived. Ah, well, they can’t ALL be happy endings.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Review:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Je4coC8AtvpGsMhEdIjHLjTQMpmHOEcPen_WFkqRkiz9E22bhEdOnWTN0ovUtkeJ66e0xm8_FNDGNIKoJPzw-EIjSKE2MT7gW_14GLAIAFDM_4SQJtjOyaY0QkRtzu_VbIW5BIMzQee/s1600/jamie+and+cully+scary+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75VXvaMumAFczHHtA_QkcMLoaHt5xzeHk34yFPkVpso2hMF6SYQBrKvR-52APqB7PNM6lAlzGc00SqRk-cT0B9lzw9DOCnPO7xNBdngSK_nPq1NNK-I7Y9JFTDecKpPM4WEuPCRa-Ikl4/s1600/doctor+happy+with+bomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75VXvaMumAFczHHtA_QkcMLoaHt5xzeHk34yFPkVpso2hMF6SYQBrKvR-52APqB7PNM6lAlzGc00SqRk-cT0B9lzw9DOCnPO7xNBdngSK_nPq1NNK-I7Y9JFTDecKpPM4WEuPCRa-Ikl4/s320/doctor+happy+with+bomb.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Je4coC8AtvpGsMhEdIjHLjTQMpmHOEcPen_WFkqRkiz9E22bhEdOnWTN0ovUtkeJ66e0xm8_FNDGNIKoJPzw-EIjSKE2MT7gW_14GLAIAFDM_4SQJtjOyaY0QkRtzu_VbIW5BIMzQee/s1600/jamie+and+cully+scary+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Dominators, or Planet of the Dull Stupid Idiots, as I prefer to call it, continues the proud tradition of Galaxy 4 by opening the season with the weakest possible sci-fi story about plodding conquerors. The inhabitants of the aptly named Dulkis could be upstaged by dishwater, as they’re duller than it. They're half-speed half-wits who converse with the breakneck pacing of the Enterprise flying over the exterior of V’ger. They’re the geniuses who built and detonated an atomic bomb just to prove how dangerous building an atomic bomb would be, then promptly banned all nuclear research for peaceful purposes and built a museum to war on the irradiated island</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> they had just rendered uninhabitable and unvisitable. Their assumptions are illogical (something is presented to you by someone, thus it is a fact and true, and there is no point in trying to ascertain why... they claim repeatedly that there is no curiosity on Dulkis, and yet there is common debate on the cause of a phenomenon or event... which doesn’t gel at all), their personalities bland beyond all reason, and their clothes... oh, their clothes...! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Je4coC8AtvpGsMhEdIjHLjTQMpmHOEcPen_WFkqRkiz9E22bhEdOnWTN0ovUtkeJ66e0xm8_FNDGNIKoJPzw-EIjSKE2MT7gW_14GLAIAFDM_4SQJtjOyaY0QkRtzu_VbIW5BIMzQee/s1600/jamie+and+cully+scary+dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN4Je4coC8AtvpGsMhEdIjHLjTQMpmHOEcPen_WFkqRkiz9E22bhEdOnWTN0ovUtkeJ66e0xm8_FNDGNIKoJPzw-EIjSKE2MT7gW_14GLAIAFDM_4SQJtjOyaY0QkRtzu_VbIW5BIMzQee/s320/jamie+and+cully+scary+dress.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The women at least have something semi-decent by 60s sci-fi standards, a goofy little leotard jumpsuit thing, at first. Then Zoe dresses native in a two-tone contrasting dress in which the waistline and the bustline are the same line, looking absurd. And the men... the men do not come anywhere close to having dignity in an apron/dress that may have been aiming for a toga but hits squarely in the center of ‘beefy man wearing his wife’s clothing because he’s a nut.’ (NFS: Oh...so Cully WAS wearing a skirt...see I thought you just mistyped and were talking about Jamie...)They are so cringe-worthy that description does not do them justice- hopefully upon posting, Sarah will have a picture to demonstrate the true depths to which this costuming falls. The worst irony? This serial had the working title during writing of “The Beautiful People.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And then there are the mooks out to get them- the flying-saucer-traveling Dominators (I think the Xillians in Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and especially Godzilla: Final Wars stole their look)- a pair of dark-dressing, hoop shouldered idiots with their robotic ‘Quarks’- deadly servant/soldier robots. The Quarks are short, box-bodied, with spherical heads projecting cones in each direction- they have R2-D2 fold-out arms from the center of their chests (you know, like that blue plate he uses to open the escape pod hatch?) and a very unique voice (which veers close to Mechanoid/Cyberman territory in being indecipherable but stops just short)- their uniqueness is one of the only two good things about this miserable train wreck. (From what I’ve read, they were intended to be a replacement for the Daleks, since Terry Nation was still playing hardball in his “I want the Daleks for ME!!!” phase and it looked like they were gone from Doctor Who for good- see 'Wheel In Space' and 'Evil of the Daleks.' Regardless... new Daleks these ain’t.) Ironic, though, that the Dominators needed slaves so that they could free up the Quarks for warfare... the Quarks are rather inept warriors- more like remote-controlled guns- and they seemed to have no capacity or manipulators for performing manual labor or other slave duties. I’d think slaves trained as soldiers and issued Quark guns would be a far more effective arrangement than sending these slow-moving, poorly-reacting tin-pots to war. Same result for the episode, but a much greater tactical advantage- make your (smarter) slaves do the fighting, and leave the Quarks shoeless and self-replicating in the food-preparation units at home, where they belong! :-)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Dominators themselves, though, are... just... irritating!!!! Thugs, conquerors, slavers, bullies... the usual, all fine and good. But they behave entirely irrationally- an insubordinate pyromaniac and a way-too-patient superior. This is an average episode in this serial.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Three people approach)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Quark, destroy!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: Why did you do that?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: They may have been a threat!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: They were no threat! Destroy nothing! We need slaves and must conserve power!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(A spaceship is spotted)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Quark, destroy!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: Why did you do that? Destroy nothing! We must conserve power!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(They cross the rise and see a building)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Quark, destroy!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: Why did you do that? Do not destroy anything- we MUST conserve power!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Someone moves within the building)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Quark, destroy!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: Dude! What did I JUST tell you?!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This goes on ridiculously far, over and over and over again to the point where the second Dominator feels like a particularly stubborn 2-year-old. Then, the natives fight back, destroying a Quark with laser weaponry...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Return fire! </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: What are you doing?!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: We are under attack! We must defend ourselves!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: I have had just about enough of you! I told you we needed to conserve power! Cease this defiance or I shall kill you!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Another Quark is crushed by a boulder)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Toba: Quarks, defend me!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Rago: You fool! You try my patience- I told you to conserve power! Stop or you shall be doomed!!!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">So, once a legitimate threat presents itself... one that warrants destroying... THEN the infinite patience of the superior for his repeatedly wasting-shots-on-nothing subordinate runs out, and he’s chewed out for defending against legitimate military attacks??? What the...?!?!?!?! How these guys ever conquered multiple galaxies (seriously, they need to lay off the galaxy-spanning empires here; they begin to strain credibility in their one-shot-ness.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, Zoe is stripped of all interesting characteristics here- showing some braininess, but otherwise reduced instantly to a Dodo/Susan/Victoria clone with none of the potential shown in her previous appearance... it’s like all her emotional issues were just resolved between serials, and now she’s just one of the crew. A waste. (NFS: Heyy...I thought you LIKED Victoria. :-D (NFA: This is me from a year ago, when I was still annoyed by her behavior in The Abominable Snowmen!))</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Her companion for the episode, Cully, the council-leader’s son, was at least interesting... but felt out of place, like a character from a British 90s comedy sketch inserted into a 60s sci-fi show. He didn’t ring true, and while he served as an avatar for audience exasperation with his plodding, moron, nitwit, pacifist, useless, imbecilic people... he didn’t feel all that real or likable either, despite being more useful. And his ladies’ skirt flashed us his hairy thighs WAY too many times- for someone wearing a dress more revealing than Jamie’s kilt, they had him climbing things WAY too often- we DIDN’T NEED TO SEE THAT, THANK YOU!!!! (NFS: Reading that bit about hairy thighs' may have just made me snort-laugh.) (The actor, Arthur Cox, made a grand return into Doctor Who with the Matt Smith introduction “The Eleventh Hour,” where he portrayed the comatose man with a dog whose form Prisoner Zero appropriates.) (NFS: And now that you remember him from 11th Hour...you can watch The Dominators and take a gander at his hair thighs...you're welcome.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The only breaths of fresh air in this miserable heap of nonsense are the Doctor and Jamie, the other of the only two good things in this serial. The Doctor’s 'playing dumb' bits, and Jamie’s gung-ho Rambo attitude are fun and refreshing- both have excellent roles in a decidedly UN-excellent story. Even the capsule-rewiring has some good moments, albeit silly ones. And the moment where Jamie takes out a Quark with his laser canon is a cheer-out-loud moment... for someone in the story doing something useful and actually TAKING ACTION for once, if nothing else. Oh, and the Sonic Screwdriver’s second use- this one establishing it as a multi-purpose device, and as an awesome cutting tool for concrete, verily rocks. In fact, Patrick Troughton requested a screening of this serial at his birthday party, shortly before his death in March of 1987. Some cruel jokes could be made about this choice relating to senility near the end of his life, but the truth is that even amongst a miserable excuse for a story, Troughton is quite good- childlike and innocent, dashing and heroic- I wouldn’t call it his best work ever, but of the surviving works, it is a good showcase for him. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This story represents the epitome of the Doctor Who cliché of the planet represented by quarries. There is, admittedly, some nice location work (all doubled for the Doctor, hearkening back to that good old ever-so-exciting first location work in Reign of Terror), but it also becomes a little bland after a while. Strange that it’s no longer so exciting as it once was...</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">In this serial, even the cliffhangers have problems. The second episode cliffhanger features an attack on the building that Zoe and the leader’s son are in, as debris cascades from the ceiling... except the shot holds long enough for you to clearly see them both standing there unharmed for a good ten seconds before it finally fades to black. And they end on a collapsing building that we saw the principles escape from in the VERY NEXT EPISODE. What were they thinking???? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">As with most elements of this episode... it’s clear that they weren’t. </span>Likeiwse<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, idiotic elements and decisions abound- from the unable-to-shut-up councilor who was just begging for death (we weren’t sad to see him go), to the only council in the galaxy more ineffective and useless than the planet Krypton’s. Faced with invasion, they postulate that they have three options: Fight back, hide, or surrender. The assessment rendered within 10 seconds? We refuse to fight, we have nowhere to hide, and surrender could be painful. Thus, we can do nothing; no options exist. That is all the thought they give the matter, then sit around waiting for the </span>Dominators<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> to kick down their door. Idiots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the </span>Dominators<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> cheat- they have a little tally-counter of lit Quark silhouettes (pretty cool actually) that goes out when each Quark is destroyed. Yet at the end, when only two or three should be left, more appear like magic- surrounding Jamie and Cully three on one side and three on another! They appear out of nowhere! Even at the drill-site at the end, two are ordered away by the </span>Dominator<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> and three are at his side when he orders the attack. And apparently, they could only afford to blow up one, because when one has been downed by a boulder and two walk over to investigate, then Jamie throws an explosive, the shot instantly cuts to the previous shot of another Quark being destroyed- on a completely different landscape and all by itself. Either the explosive was powerful enough to level the canyon they were standing in and vaporize the other two attending Quarks entirely (whilst still leaving debris from the wounded one that the explosion originated on), or they were just being plain cheap (NFS: There's another word for it...it's the word of they didn't have enough money and thought blowing up quarks wasn't exactly the best way to use what little they had. That word.). The cut was seamless, but once the explosion clears, everything has clearly changed. For shame, </span>cheapos<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">! It’s your season premiere! Live a little! Planet of the Giants was the biggest spend-fest ever, and it looked INCREDIBLE! Even The Smugglers had decent sets and extras! What is it with the Season-Openers that take place off of Earth (Galaxy 4 and this </span>shlock<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-fest... though to be fair, Tomb of the </span>Cybermen<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> took place off of Earth too, and it was pretty good...) being SO blasted lousy??? Well, with the third Doctor’s forthcoming Earth exile and the UNIT years, we have to wait until The </span>Ribos<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> Operation, in Season 16, to find out if the trend continues! But, I’m getting ahead of myself.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Even the climactic tunneling-and-catching-the-dropped-explosive, the thrilling finale... happens offscreen. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? THEY COULDN’T AFFORD A ‘HOLE DUG IN THE GROUND’ SET?!?!?!?! Yeah, sure, some shots of the Doctor running are a bit exciting, and the Dominator’s final line is a good one, but... that’s it? (And you expect me to believe that tiny explosion would’ve irradiated the entire mantle???)</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This, then, is our reward for the hump? Our first sight of video??? THIS?!?!?! What a disappointment. This is Galaxy 4 II. It joins the ranks of the Sensorites, Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve (except for that end scene), and Galaxy 4 as the lowest of the low, and certainly the worst of Troughton’s repertoire. And with a season of Troughton left to go, I’m calling it as his worst here and now- I don’t see it getting any worse than this. It’s not physically possible. Indeed, this serial was reduced from 6 parts to 5 out of concern that the content wouldn’t hold up for 6. Considering some of the long, meandering 6-parters that have been given full runs in the past, this is saying something- to quote Jonathan Winters' character from ‘It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,’ it’s “...like it was extra special stupid, or something.” It’s a complete tragedy that until the relatively recent discovery of Tomb of the Cybermen, this was the first completely intact Troughton serial in existence, and thus many people’s introduction to his era. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Poor people.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Great moments:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctor playing dumb in his testing. The sniper shot and exploding Quark. And yeah, the death of the Dominators, shouting “Obey!” See? Even the most wretched of serials are not bereft of great moments (well, okay, except for Galaxy 4)- that’s why we love this show!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrVaYVzVnwi-7iHr6f2F6It7Aul5QnW2vUfP5peUoLdWNnVQmGrz1_5WEuDNVELAMKTdnyxFeOaE0ldha1suHC6xmXK0QEFUNeyOUc9BY-lSKAegatq2RNmkUknIcly89mGHnA2Sx5Ijt/s1600/doctor+shocked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrVaYVzVnwi-7iHr6f2F6It7Aul5QnW2vUfP5peUoLdWNnVQmGrz1_5WEuDNVELAMKTdnyxFeOaE0ldha1suHC6xmXK0QEFUNeyOUc9BY-lSKAegatq2RNmkUknIcly89mGHnA2Sx5Ijt/s320/doctor+shocked.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Rating:</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Between the Dulkis Dullards and the absurd costumes, this piece of garbage rates 0 out of 5 Bic</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">kering Dominators (what, did you think I’d go with Quarks?). That’s right! 0! Nothing! Nada! Zip! Worthless and bereft of any value! YOU LOSE!!! GOOD DAY, SIR!!!!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-76516518554392939002012-04-19T17:01:00.000-07:002012-04-19T17:05:22.792-07:00Series 5 Overview<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5f6zeTSe7TO-tK_b9lwolJ-se0yIznOH_b5JFmrJCJegHL3isajk_7QwSwhK36iQoPhh3w5jDwvwnybbbDPT7EE_PHi-7b7trCV6vheqzU5tKkrnQXPoKvK1xCzdPUF3yvy9UJR6XAgL/s1600/doctorwho_tombofthecybermen01_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5f6zeTSe7TO-tK_b9lwolJ-se0yIznOH_b5JFmrJCJegHL3isajk_7QwSwhK36iQoPhh3w5jDwvwnybbbDPT7EE_PHi-7b7trCV6vheqzU5tKkrnQXPoKvK1xCzdPUF3yvy9UJR6XAgL/s320/doctorwho_tombofthecybermen01_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Opening with a bang via Tomb of the Cybermen, this season is quite possibly the worst of the worst when it comes to episodes lost, existing almost entirely in fragmentary form. The ending ‘hump’ is nearly impossible to muscle through even for the most dedicated and fanatical of reviewers... which I am... and it’s hard to review the merits and pitfalls of the season divorced from that- an overview of the season as it would have aired originally requires a level of objectivity and forgetfulness that I simply can’t muster- so I may be unfairly hard on this series simply due to its ravaging in the archives and incomplete status.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRABIQJctyKWCyDREYMiLIGcxVr9yxLR6XcV_V-5qhXAgnw8C7Z54AhZtV7WslzJz50C-QjNJvYoyuR57UsjUv0rsc9eyFbap6HSbQEJhtn5f9s1HXDzqN9AM-fKNdV900f9uLqU6EEkYR/s1600/Victoria_in_Tomb_of_the_Cybermen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRABIQJctyKWCyDREYMiLIGcxVr9yxLR6XcV_V-5qhXAgnw8C7Z54AhZtV7WslzJz50C-QjNJvYoyuR57UsjUv0rsc9eyFbap6HSbQEJhtn5f9s1HXDzqN9AM-fKNdV900f9uLqU6EEkYR/s320/Victoria_in_Tomb_of_the_Cybermen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
That said, this is a strong series in who history, introducing icons such as the Yeti and the Ice Warriors, giving the Cybermen their rise to prominence as main adversaries to replace the Daleks, giving us the first direct sequel, immortalizing the tradition of female companions being screamers... Jamie is along for the entire season, continuing his marathon run, and Victoria for most of it. And while stories trend towards the exact same plot repeatedly (a remote base of humans besieged by alien invaders), it also contained some great and unique things- Enemy of the World’s dual role and unique villain, the Yeti and their unfathomable master, the creepy horror of Fury From The Deep... overall, it was both a good year for the Doctor, and the cementing of a cliché that stuck around far too long.<br />
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Of 40 individual episodes, 21 are missing- just over half, though it feels like far more. This will hardly go down in legend as the best series of Doctor Who... but it had its moments, and would have held its own, I think, had more of it survived.<br />
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For this season, the 2nd Doctor's catchphrase was more or less a slightly panicked "Oh, no!" The Doctor was a bit panicky-seeming at times because he kept ending up in situations out of his league, with circumstances out of control... or he attempted to fix things, but didn't get it quite right and made things worse. He was funny and fallible, not the perfect god-like Titan of the new series, a legend built unto himself, but one man trying to make a difference and sometimes bungling it. Just like last series, this encapsulates the character of the Second Doctor, and why we love him, perfectly.<br />
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<br />Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-43189380166706847332012-04-17T14:40:00.000-07:002012-04-17T15:59:26.021-07:00Doctor Who: The Wheel in Space<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6wnf-0a9M3FjFTEKMPPn-pNuz6ozDNN3Tr8-3UBBy_SFYOY0SFo9W1_MBx0TqouCI2nkoJV__D5QJC-3DgHyTGXtY_EmM_0DE-7VfGhvq-4fNWqTb2rRNDh78kM8EQwDjF6Jqsm496eg/s1600/bk-2s-88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6wnf-0a9M3FjFTEKMPPn-pNuz6ozDNN3Tr8-3UBBy_SFYOY0SFo9W1_MBx0TqouCI2nkoJV__D5QJC-3DgHyTGXtY_EmM_0DE-7VfGhvq-4fNWqTb2rRNDh78kM8EQwDjF6Jqsm496eg/s320/bk-2s-88.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Serial Title: </b>The Wheel in Space</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Series:</b> 5</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Episodes:</b> 6</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton</i></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Companions:</b> <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The TARDIS is perhaps as despondent as Jamie at the departure of Victoria, and those cursed fluid links (for reals this time, not just an excuse to go and explore Skarro) overheat, boiling poisonous mercury fumes into the air. The Doctor and Jamie are forced to evacuate, yanking the crucial Time Vector Generator on their way out- reducing the TARDIS' ability to access the alternate dimension that is its interior, and rendering it on the inside what it is on the outside- an ordinary police box. Wow! Talk about your slam-bang opening!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Searching for replacement mercury, the Doctor and Jamie explore the seemingly abandoned spaceship, The Silver Carrier, that they’ve materialized in- but the Doctor soon gets into a battle with an inexplicably hostile (no, there’s honestly never any explanation given) porter robot, and in defeating it, is also knocked out cold. Jamie discovers nothing but a strange pair of large white spheres before rushing back to the unconscious Doctor’s side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFceN5J7A41OX_ISszWzGWy84481Rt1S7DXm9bZiCD00ckGGOa0NGHWyt50Ff8k-gwaGQstznth1SAkfIHGOoF8oi5gHHMSA_6phlbehsYLli7ij2qnrq3gbGSbSnbfa_NGOe90DjcPSbO/s1600/Bennett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFceN5J7A41OX_ISszWzGWy84481Rt1S7DXm9bZiCD00ckGGOa0NGHWyt50Ff8k-gwaGQstznth1SAkfIHGOoF8oi5gHHMSA_6phlbehsYLli7ij2qnrq3gbGSbSnbfa_NGOe90DjcPSbO/s1600/Bennett.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile, on the Wheel, a human space station out on the frontier used as the spatial equivalent of an airport Traffic Control Tower, the derelict ship is detected. Like the unusually high number of meteor bombardments of late, it’s bound directly for the Wheel. Jarvis Bennet, the commander, prepares to blast it out of existence with the primary laser to prevent a deadly collision rather than risking a rendezvous to bring the potentially erratic unmanned ship under control. He is also distracted by sudden, strange drops in pressure in compartments around the outer hull that just as suddenly repair themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">At the last moment, Jamie uses the Time Vector Generator to signal the Wheel like a beacon, and the destruction of the ship is averted... but perhaps it shouldn't have been, as the two large white pods that Jamie discovered earlier open shortly after the rescue party departs, revealing... a pair of Cybermen! Hey, they cheated again! This isn’t called 'Wheel of the Cybermen,' or even the slightly clunkier 'Wheel in Space of the Cybermen!' This would’ve been a great Moonbase-esque surprise... if the Fury from the Deep copy we viewed hadn’t had a vintage “Next Week” spoiler-filled trailer attached to the end. Ah, well. Speaking of being extremely similar to the Moonbase, let’s get back to the plot...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXV8ne4Xxm2rjCvNzuVFHkK-tdO25t5DFFMJB-KsTICYELnz5Jy2vo27KtUVMlyuZM_es864pJb6gMk9ixWR7Q-NO9BpegXey-x7cAtb7ksWmm8tYoIewk-qTxwMHvWzbPqyB0BMoB1Dq/s1600/xoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXV8ne4Xxm2rjCvNzuVFHkK-tdO25t5DFFMJB-KsTICYELnz5Jy2vo27KtUVMlyuZM_es864pJb6gMk9ixWR7Q-NO9BpegXey-x7cAtb7ksWmm8tYoIewk-qTxwMHvWzbPqyB0BMoB1Dq/s1600/xoe.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">On the station, the unconscious Doctor is taken to sick bay, and Jamie meets Zoe Herriot, the para-psychology librarian (I’ve heard of specialized fields of work, but that’s ridiculous! Has psychology grown large enough in the vague “Near Future” [What, AGAIN?!??! Dates, give me DATES, TIME TRAVEL SHOW!!!!] 21st century that it requires its own library?) as well as her boss, Doctor Gemma Corwyn. Bennet is suspicious of the new arrivals, believing them to be potential saboteurs. He probably also refuses to shut off the gas-flow, but we are not shown this on-screen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgR3sEZuzOrIUSPolPVGP6WsqUBxutp-m1LjC9qSermk4v7pqM2NY18ZLcZ5D-ehdUjbd_N1E8429Vgqgq2njgKQ0dcUmq_l3AQ5NgbOwt_HxdoyXO25h1lOlYn8ZrtSisC-ughgVt0CL/s1600/gemma+and+zoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgR3sEZuzOrIUSPolPVGP6WsqUBxutp-m1LjC9qSermk4v7pqM2NY18ZLcZ5D-ehdUjbd_N1E8429Vgqgq2njgKQ0dcUmq_l3AQ5NgbOwt_HxdoyXO25h1lOlYn8ZrtSisC-ughgVt0CL/s1600/gemma+and+zoe.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Unfortunately, Jamie confirms his suspicions by BECOMING a saboteur, sabotaging the main laser just before it can destroy the derelict Silver Carrier, not having time to explain about the TARDIS. The Doctor awakens into an arrest, and is none too pleased- but the Wheel staff have already moved on to deal with another incoming meteor shower, this time having no functional laser to repel it. And they’ll have even less laser once the Cybermats (who tunneled through the hull and resealed it behind them, accounting for the mysterious pressure drops earlier) finish consuming the backup bernalium rods that power it. Once that is complete, the only other source of Bernalium in the area will be the Silver Carrier, brought onto the Wheel like a Trojan horse (Wheelian-horse?)- yes, the entire ongoing meteor crisis has been engineered by the Cybermen to force the Wheel to take aboard the seemingly abandoned spaceship and facilitate their conquest, which they will then use as a stepping-stone to invade Earth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMzfbnmnUCg99JQTCdv-IP8GczU3JyoMPTaEnzto_YbyitXUxV8QhOZ0jbhRazkowW_OgPTr2WfmGXxTONDOj080ASCBJZJlj09RpPv3nfz9Jk-uJzi4MFsO_ThKUHMw-zqRFTK9Z8HcI/s1600/cyberman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMzfbnmnUCg99JQTCdv-IP8GczU3JyoMPTaEnzto_YbyitXUxV8QhOZ0jbhRazkowW_OgPTr2WfmGXxTONDOj080ASCBJZJlj09RpPv3nfz9Jk-uJzi4MFsO_ThKUHMw-zqRFTK9Z8HcI/s1600/cyberman.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Crewmen start to die from Cybermat attacks, but Bennet (who is mentally deteriorating from the stress) refuses to acknowledge the danger or believe in the existence of the creatures, or, presumably, to shut off the gas-flow. (Seriously, the guy is a carbon-copy of Robson.) Anyhow- two crew members are dispatched to the Silver Carrier for Bernalium, and quickly fall under Cyber-hypnosis. They sabotage Wheel communications, and bring over a series of crates, containing “Bernalium,” the quotation marks being my clever little way of implying what you’d already guessed (so why am I drawing this out so long?)- they contain Cybermen instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Doctor and Co. manage to destroy the Cybermats with a sonic wave, but the Cybermen are unhindered, repairing the laser (to destroy their own incoming meteorites, as they want to keep the station intact now that they’ve taken it) and preparing to guide in an invasion fleet. Jamie and Zoe spacewalk over to the Silver Carrier to retrieve the Time Vector Generator, while the Cybermen pick off the Wheel crew one by one, including Gemma. Bennet dies in a blaze of ineffective glory, and the Cybermen seem to have won- until the Doctor uses the Time Vector Generator to increase the power of the main laser and blasts the Cyber-invasion ship to atoms with it, ending the invasion threat. The incoming Cyberman platoon is blown out into space, and the few remaining Cybermen are destroyed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In the aftermath, the Doctor and Jamie return to the TARDIS with the needed mercury, and leave- with a stowaway aboard. Librarian Zoe wants to expand her horizons. While the Doctor is glad to have another companion aboard, he first seeks to warn her of the potential dangers, by way of a re-run of Evil of the Daleks. Zoe, undeterred, wishes to stay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Review:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydyKNHxLuFvpuHV-RTn4wHs8D5wzAzyGmS1dpfghKZi7F5hXRRJgFFOT4huHrtcn-TxNaCErWcggI7hyjbUr_fmwdNwShKhyphenhyphen_DUS6qqT8j64b_enUSMKgyvtTgJ1XeOGG4PCY_1Uq7Dqw/s1600/doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjydyKNHxLuFvpuHV-RTn4wHs8D5wzAzyGmS1dpfghKZi7F5hXRRJgFFOT4huHrtcn-TxNaCErWcggI7hyjbUr_fmwdNwShKhyphenhyphen_DUS6qqT8j64b_enUSMKgyvtTgJ1XeOGG4PCY_1Uq7Dqw/s1600/doctor.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Wheel In Space is an odd duck. It's forgettable yet brilliant. Cliched yet compelling. It's a study in contradictions, divided right down the middle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The opening is brilliant. The fluid link is an excellent callback to "The Daleks." The folding-in TARDIS. The disabled ship with a killer robot servant (prefiguring Girl In The Fireplace quite nicely). The Doctor and Jamie trapped aboard a ship about to be destroyed as a derelict. The Doctor unconscious and Jamie having to make a rash decision to protect the TARDIS. Fantastic stuff! And then...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It becomes 'The Moonbase' again. Cliched Cybermen-taking-over-a-distant-outpost, complete with a visually stunning (some truly awesome looking special effects) Cybermen-army-walking-in-a-hostile-environment shots before they are repulsed away into space at the end. Plus, an overly cliched paranoid commander. While he's not another 'Gaston/Zentos/Tor' (that role's reserved for upstart second-in-commands), he's a character that's become the epitome of 'stock character' on Doctor Who- last seen in THE VERY PRECEEDING SERIAL, Fury from the Deep. He's Robson, with shades of Bragen (Power of the Daleks) Leader Clent (Ice Warriors), and even a tinge of Moonbase and Macra Terror's commanders, as well. The unreasonable, paranoid commander is becoming overdone quickly enough, but to use him two serials in a row, in a plot derivative of the last major Cybermen story? That this tale was a quickly-drafted replacement (for an intended Cyberman/Dalek war, the likes of which we wouldn't see until the New Series' "Doomsday," kiboshed by Terry Nation's ongoing Daleks-pouting) is rather obvious... and yet the first half is so GOOD- tense and exciting and engaging! It's hard to judge this one. Let's look at the particulars...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV7BYvebjpcE-3MquJxx2lE_V1lGGAGfDLke0HCL7fkrBFY96DsKERbrsuoBO5MYj03-bKm8O-uBwPFVWwWCPP3GEvV7RMIaCAsWLWRV8RyDtuAiSjSB_Am_s3k3Lsjd2VHTAaAOOq3_i/s1600/enrico+casali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV7BYvebjpcE-3MquJxx2lE_V1lGGAGfDLke0HCL7fkrBFY96DsKERbrsuoBO5MYj03-bKm8O-uBwPFVWwWCPP3GEvV7RMIaCAsWLWRV8RyDtuAiSjSB_Am_s3k3Lsjd2VHTAaAOOq3_i/s1600/enrico+casali.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like...who is this guy? Exactly.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The characters, I found to be largely forgettable. The commander is an incompetent paranoid, the counselor/second-in-command a competent and likable character who sacrifices herself, the rest of the bridge crew forgettable, and the remainder of the Wheel staff idiotic.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It’s the Cybermen who thrive here- from creepy visual moments (ranging from their emergence to their repulsion into space), to a great showdown with the Doctor (and its cheer-out-loud conclusion)... the Cyber-controller has a cool, creepy look despite having that “Bzzta grffa nzzt dzzt tzzt” indecipherably buzzy Cyberman voice from previous series- thankfully, the walkabout models have a voice more similar to the Daleks than anything... while the Tenth Planet original Cybermen voice is still missed, this one is still a vast improvement, rendering the Cybermen largely comprehensible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftyiaWifXoFtHowA6FZsASH5fNIzVbs4T5Ew06ooSOyM5_Pow3n9hzR8IHPIFFVfy8NRH9Vnfx-j4CJIZmyord_WF6ebFYSYXT1M0Uk73Z8hsWPqh1gVfVncf5YzPR7p27vTMPVZCdcVa/s1600/Zoey+and+the+cybermen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftyiaWifXoFtHowA6FZsASH5fNIzVbs4T5Ew06ooSOyM5_Pow3n9hzR8IHPIFFVfy8NRH9Vnfx-j4CJIZmyord_WF6ebFYSYXT1M0Uk73Z8hsWPqh1gVfVncf5YzPR7p27vTMPVZCdcVa/s320/Zoey+and+the+cybermen.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is also the introduction of Zoe... she seems to have inherited the mannerisms of Dodo (and somewhat of Susan as well), as they behave remarkably similarly- the character hook of a cold computer, a walking database of facts who want to come into contact with her human emotions (an arc exploited to great success with Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, among others), is an interesting one- I look forward to seeing how it plays out. However, like the Vulcans from the series Enterprise, various android foes, and even the Cybermen themselves, Zoe shows a lot of emotion from a supposed 'cold computer'- curiosity, arrogance, impatience, smugness, etc.- that the analysis of her as an unfeeling computer seems artificial and arbitrary. As with most sci-fi shows, emotion is associated with positive emotions- happiness, cheerfulness, etc.- and social behavior, rather than actual emotion; if you don’t behave with happiness or interact socially without stiffness, sci-fi will label you “emotionless” as a stand-in for “Not showcasing the emotions that I prefer people to display around me.” Anyhow... as I said, I look forward to seeing her development as a companion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWl0D2nTJVOV_oJ1cO7dCm1u46C0dr2BJ1y2Hi8tGumRSJfXq5YqFd6cm5c2jkYGs6eQ0enn9-NG-QEJyuGcmBdufI8zFuzzlWl8MwWEBujsWfj552wOJbuu7Zq3Lye2rk1jHCP4jfwnlM/s1600/jamie+doc+zoe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWl0D2nTJVOV_oJ1cO7dCm1u46C0dr2BJ1y2Hi8tGumRSJfXq5YqFd6cm5c2jkYGs6eQ0enn9-NG-QEJyuGcmBdufI8zFuzzlWl8MwWEBujsWfj552wOJbuu7Zq3Lye2rk1jHCP4jfwnlM/s1600/jamie+doc+zoe.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">(Note from Andrew, 3 months later: In retrospect, I see I was wrong about Zoe’s character. She was poorly described as 'all brains, no emotion' in this serial, which set up my expectations incorrectly. Instead, the character of Zoe is, as I understand it, all brains but no <i>maturity</i>. Like a child, she is very impulse-driven and naive, simply doing what she wants to do or thinks would be fun without considering the consequences- very intelligent, but lacking in ‘real world smarts’ to a degree that puts her on the same level as an 8-year-old. Based on this, her portrayal past this initial source is good, and fairly consistent- even amusing- giving the Doctor a very parental role even more so than the witty-and-canny-but-ignorant-of-technology-and-alien-societies Jamie. However, I did not come to understand this for another 3 or 4 serials... so you will see my mounting frustration and annoyance with Zoe’s portrayal failing to live up to the premise- "intelligent but unemotional, wanting to become more human despite being initially robot-like" as I understood it in this serial... only in retrospect and hindsight, as of ‘The Krotons,’ do I finally come to understand her character. Thus, if you watch these serials with this understanding, you will likely find her far less frustrating than I describe in subsequent blogs.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DqTRQoRvYc48G8L-h4CQwBlqId0gnWFDBJmfR_h9fN60HUfVHTpWE2C28a8COmxNbxksdd4_u1_wafzSc5kcAKI3fnhGFGbDuzn8IxrlKFEC5UA8y51HEbYsSfbwoSmzoUc8y3s_BbM-/s1600/jamie+under+guard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DqTRQoRvYc48G8L-h4CQwBlqId0gnWFDBJmfR_h9fN60HUfVHTpWE2C28a8COmxNbxksdd4_u1_wafzSc5kcAKI3fnhGFGbDuzn8IxrlKFEC5UA8y51HEbYsSfbwoSmzoUc8y3s_BbM-/s1600/jamie+under+guard.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Jamie is good in this serial- very human, if a bit technologically inconsistent in his understanding (sometimes knowing more than he should, other times being completely ignorant). He’s placed into difficult situations, forced to improvise, and makes some rash and foolish choices, but only out of good will. He also gives the Doctor his John Smith pseudonym for the first time, though it doesn’t have the origin you’d suspect it would... regardless, Jamie is at his most human and most 'real' to date in this serial- flawed, but trying hard to do the right thing, and very likable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Doctor... well, save for an awesome showdown with the Cybermen, and what may or may not be an excellent fight with a hostile service droid (curse you, lost episodes!!!), he doesn’t have all that much to do. There’s also an Hartnel-style actor-takes-a-vacation disability for the Doctor in this one- if only they could be a bit less obvious.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Cybermats are back- goofy looking, but deadly effective nonetheless... perhaps more fearsome to the characters than to us, but pretty effective where they’re used. Is this their swan song? I hope so... (Note from Andrew, one year later: Actually, now a-days, I have quite a fondness for the little buggers, and cheered their re-introduction in the New Series' "Closing Time." However, this is their swan song for about 7 years. And I really must stop crossing my own time-stream in this blog...!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwZSLbzUD-jv31a-w9S7-Jy__kgASZlOKACA1N5I2-V9zyva4yczq9Ovi3UlgyBosn22ftzduaDkPwwuIWrWsEJasQbo8xGZyXo7AI4d6YG1ublymWbk5MR39nIvCkxlSSiSDdh7_KlCV/s1600/group.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwZSLbzUD-jv31a-w9S7-Jy__kgASZlOKACA1N5I2-V9zyva4yczq9Ovi3UlgyBosn22ftzduaDkPwwuIWrWsEJasQbo8xGZyXo7AI4d6YG1ublymWbk5MR39nIvCkxlSSiSDdh7_KlCV/s1600/group.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The space walk scenes are pretty cool- sure, they’re clearly hanging from wires in gravity... but hey, they’re trying. The Cyber-beams continue to have tracking issues as they move from forehead to forehead, but also look cool. The smoke used to give atmosphere to the space scenes is pretty cool, lending the effects shots a class beyond their means. The only real effects failure... save for the truly bizarre, seizure-inducing repulsion at the end (which itself follows the so-eerie-and-cool-we’ll-ignore-that-it’s-ridiculous Moonbase-ripoff spacewalking scene) is the meteors... described as 'meteorites of all shapes and sizes', they are all spherical, of roughly the same size, spin rapidly, and move uniformly. Uhhh... oops.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Effects failures and character issues aside, this story is a cause for celebration- it’s the end of ‘The Hump’ and the final episode of Series 5- Series 6 begins a nice, straight stretch of pure, beautifully varied, gloriously mobile VIDEO episodes... if you discount the Invasion’s missing parts (due to the official animated reconstructions), then only one serial with missing episodes remains from here on out. The sense of accomplishment and euphoric relief, having conquered this hump and emerging into episode 6 of this serial, the first of a new video dynasty, after the seemingly-eternal reign of the reconstructions, cannot be overstated, or even adequately conveyed, to anyone that hasn’t experienced it for themselves... my friends, we have conquered the mountains, and the valley lies before us at last! Hurrah!!! After nearly 10 straight hours of still images, we have Troughton in motion before us!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRT59YFLnqFfUmvV5_84DR2TacuGcJMb5qA4yeiA0hRRGjwa4e0wRKVxFhPUbGNEG-LZCS7wwIY0a30IZJ9V5FWVP7xXF9KI_NzdYg6r6D3tgjub7gAIdTxUIzHqTfbC_yobbxwH4hB1n/s1600/cyberman+armand+valance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRT59YFLnqFfUmvV5_84DR2TacuGcJMb5qA4yeiA0hRRGjwa4e0wRKVxFhPUbGNEG-LZCS7wwIY0a30IZJ9V5FWVP7xXF9KI_NzdYg6r6D3tgjub7gAIdTxUIzHqTfbC_yobbxwH4hB1n/s1600/cyberman+armand+valance.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The reconstruction, meanwhile (episodes 3 and 6 survive... I’d rather have had 1 and 6- from the TARDIS collapse to the robot battle, an intact Episode 1 would have been SO awesome) was decent- we went with a youtube fan version (having come to distrust the mishmash our Hard Drive collection offered us <i>completely</i> by now) that had relatively sharp photos and a few video bits (Troughton stories are great for this- between repeated FX shots, and lipless villains like Cybermen, the Great-Intelligence-behind-a-curtain, etc., there is a lot of footage that can be played over existing audio and look like it belongs there... and this one went the extra step and mirrored a Cyberman-conversing-with-hypnotised-victim shot, making it still look different from the repeat when the shot was re-seen in the Episode 6 video, a nice above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty touch that, as an editor, I greatly appreciated), and most significantly, narration by the actress who played Zoe. We’ve found that we prefer the narration versions to captions by a long shot, and this one didn’t disappoint- maybe not as stunning as some of the Loose Canon works of the past, but nonetheless, as a note to go out on, it was one of the better Troughton reconstructions we’ve seen.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4lX_M9SLmP_1L2QVR2KpfE94kQulzSWUAE3AFKIl1Fe3tUsQO0CkEUr610FNLUCUHwhQ2ayHOiPe7F_x6SZWSAbGbAFxv5ezHxp7LPeYfD7K1nt8NyM_7DHSyK-AeZlqE1h8IZOQTvxS/s1600/zoe+jamie+in+space+suits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4lX_M9SLmP_1L2QVR2KpfE94kQulzSWUAE3AFKIl1Fe3tUsQO0CkEUr610FNLUCUHwhQ2ayHOiPe7F_x6SZWSAbGbAFxv5ezHxp7LPeYfD7K1nt8NyM_7DHSyK-AeZlqE1h8IZOQTvxS/s1600/zoe+jamie+in+space+suits.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Jamie, CLEARLY wearing Luke Skywalker's</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">flight suit from the Empire Strikes Back</span>
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So, while the cliched and frustrating stock second half does much to tarnish the good impression left by the originality and suspense of the first half, I’d say that the character of Zoe- with myriad possibilities to be explored- and incredibly strong showing for Jamie, and some cool, atmospheric and stylish visuals tip the balance to positive on this one in the end despite a weaker showing for the Doctor... and most other characters as well. It wasn’t the best of the best, but it was cool and slick, and I liked it. (That’s what she... never mind.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Great moments:</b></span><br />
The whole first chapter- the TARDIS folding in on itself, the trapped-ship drama, etc. - plus the Cybermen spacewalking at the end, and the spacesuit bit.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Rating:</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrh3SwAx-gJQ29OT0TDmUW278s3uZ3H103bsM21tQqnQvqRxhB7FXgEQWwqRbKOu0k8R8TzGZEKrYAKy14UQ795X6PHMjQcHHfVIGPdo-wCJDL3O7XCKLXiYyIvwax_GEtD02AU3H4zzU/s1600/bill+duggan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrh3SwAx-gJQ29OT0TDmUW278s3uZ3H103bsM21tQqnQvqRxhB7FXgEQWwqRbKOu0k8R8TzGZEKrYAKy14UQ795X6PHMjQcHHfVIGPdo-wCJDL3O7XCKLXiYyIvwax_GEtD02AU3H4zzU/s1600/bill+duggan.jpg" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like who is this guy even....??? Exactly.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Overall Rating for this story is 3.5 out of 5 Elec- no, make that <i>Instant Plasitc-Encased</i> Cybermats – this story had more positive points vs. negative than nearly any I can remember- Weak Doctor vs. Strong Jamie, intriguing Zoe vs. annoying commander, clichéd story end vs. unique story beginning, forgettable characters vs. cool atmospheric visuals... it was a real back-and-forth with SO MANY good elements, and so many bad... in the end, it ends up on the positive side of the scale. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The reconstruction gets 5 out of 5 Instant Plastic-Encased Cybermats for the little touches- like that mirrored shot- that were clearly put in to keep it fresh. As a ‘final’ (save for one more late in the season), it was a refreshing labor of love. And unlike the more technically ambitious Web of Fear reconstruction referenced recently, it’s smooth and polished, emphasizing the story instead of distracting from it- making its simpler approach far more effective, despite a lack of digital manipulation or compositing flair.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-12174662737737461242012-04-04T17:18:00.000-07:002012-04-04T18:32:08.909-07:00Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRI2ZKBG3FUdDvYrpGcQTy7So7bNjmH8EC81qDgzkgP1Im3j3-dElTtBXDs0RwygTfbKG59EunONQP2Pe3XQCqwDOsaELw8OnC8NqMayd7WXZZHFMeHWYHxow5eA6wA1-DLQFGHmDAm97/s1600/bk-2r-86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRI2ZKBG3FUdDvYrpGcQTy7So7bNjmH8EC81qDgzkgP1Im3j3-dElTtBXDs0RwygTfbKG59EunONQP2Pe3XQCqwDOsaELw8OnC8NqMayd7WXZZHFMeHWYHxow5eA6wA1-DLQFGHmDAm97/s320/bk-2r-86.jpg" width="192" /></a><b>Serial Title:</b> Fury from the Deep<br />
<b>Series:</b> 5<br />
<b>Episodes:</b> 6<br />
<b>Doctor:</b> <i>Patrick Troughton</i><br />
<b>Companions:</b> <i>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)</i><br />
<br />
<strong>Synopsis:</strong><br />
<br />
Landing in the ocean just off the shore of England, The TARDIS crew paddle to shore in a dinghy and discover that the trick of modern-day arrival in England that had eluded the First Doctor, Ian, and Barbara for so long is now becoming rather common-place, for they’ve reached England in contemporary 1968. (No complaints from me- I much prefer this to “the near future!”) No sooner do they investigate a beach-spanning sea-pumping pipe (the Doctor producing a device which he calls a “Sonic Screwdriver” to undo the cover and get a look inside) which is giving off odd noises, and the strange and abundant foam surrounding it, then they are shot by a sniper. Fortunately, the security man for the pipeline company, their assailant, was only using tranquilizer darts, and they soon awaken as captives in the Euro Sea Gas (ESGO) refinery. Chief Robson, head of the refinery, is a paranoid and obsessed man who blames the TARDIS crew, seen tampering with the pipeline, for mysterious drops in pressure that have been plaguing the pipeline system of late, while second-in-command Harris is far less suspicious, informing the group that ESGO's lost contact with one of their sea rigs, as well. When the Doctor notes that it sounded as if something was moving within the pipes, his observation is dismissed as fanciful. Moreover, Robson is obsessed with productivity, and would not allow production to be halted, even to investigate. Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
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Communication with the rig is briefly re-established, with the man on the other hand whispering only, and then going still. The Doctor suspects foul play, and Harris offers to show gathered evidence that the pipelines DO indeed need to be shut down for investigation. He dispatches his wife Maggie to find it, but when she does, a piece of venomous seaweed has been inserted inside the manilla folder, and stings her. After she tosses it outside, it begins to foam and bubble. Maggie, meanwhile, becomes quite ill.<br />
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Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
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The TARDIS trio manage to break out of their cell, and overhear Baxter, a control rig chief, also opining that there is something in the pipes- and it makes a sound like a heart-beat. The men dispatch Victoria back to the safety of their cell as they explore, but she goes to explore on her own, instead. She ends up in the oxygen storeroom, where a saboteur is trying to empty all of the tanks. The mysterious figure locks her in and opens the vents... through which pour copious amounts of seaweed and foam (Note from Sarah: Seriously...one of the more edge of your seat moments ever. Pretty intense.), pulsing and moving- the Doctor and Jamie are barely able to release her in time, and when the crew come to investigate, the weed and foam are gone.<br />
<br />
Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigspFsvYfn_YSLui_KoyMSdJDnpF0-yD6_v1QN1czOE4_lBlcoiVNvCIKruyxnDib2soxOU4MTylFw_1yhhiBAWNcwsYQLdUf8-OHz01KcR8RDgp1EVGaoPmOXLq3A7tLUuZiTP7W733cG/s1600/Mr+oak+mr.+quill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigspFsvYfn_YSLui_KoyMSdJDnpF0-yD6_v1QN1czOE4_lBlcoiVNvCIKruyxnDib2soxOU4MTylFw_1yhhiBAWNcwsYQLdUf8-OHz01KcR8RDgp1EVGaoPmOXLq3A7tLUuZiTP7W733cG/s320/Mr+oak+mr.+quill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Harris takes the Doctor home to look at his sick wife. Meanwhile, she has other visitors- Mr. Oak and Mr. Quill, a pair of ‘maintenance men’ that look the harmless part- a tall, thin leader and a short, fat, bumbling assistant- until they open their mouths in a fearsome silent scream that drops Maggie to her knees. (Note from Sarah: AND SERIOUSLY...one of the scariest scariest moments in Doctor WHO EVER! This sequence is the first time that I have gotten why the phrase "Behind the sofa" has accompanied Doctor Who since it began. I am the one who puts the pictures in, and my stomach had a horrible thrill of terror when I had to upload even just the picture!) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwhucLag1bbiveTB01MmQRtZjQSWuojTYZcJbItlvviwLcAMyhSBFsDnk_dmL14mt9KGjfT8jO6H21VWsz5Lj8JTksHMd7325_xfUtSA4eHfHZYGLm8hx3pe8BdP4zvsA7hzO5UMfSJd2/s1600/scaryscary+scary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwhucLag1bbiveTB01MmQRtZjQSWuojTYZcJbItlvviwLcAMyhSBFsDnk_dmL14mt9KGjfT8jO6H21VWsz5Lj8JTksHMd7325_xfUtSA4eHfHZYGLm8hx3pe8BdP4zvsA7hzO5UMfSJd2/s320/scaryscary+scary.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I don't even want to type under this, it's too much like touching it.</span></td></tr>
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Their wrists are covered, intertwined with, or possibly even made of seaweed. They slip out the back just as the Doctor and Co. arrive. Back in central control, Robson manages to solve a pressure crisis, and Van Lutyens, a consultant, tries to convince him yet again to close down pumping to investigate the ongoing malfunctions. The impeller stops, and the heartbeat sounds.</div>
<br />
Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
<br />
Using a sample of the weed, the Doctor discovers that it gives off a toxic gas, and appears to be alive. It also starts overflowing the container they have- it grows rapidly. Back in central, Robson begins to spiral out of control, raging against his technicians when equipment breaks down, and Harris, Van Lutyens, and others begin to realize they may have to take control. Before they can, Harris is distracted by a crisis- his home is now full to bursting with weed and foam, and his wife is nowhere to be found! She is, in point of fact, standing on the beach, talking with Robson- or, both of their bodies are. Under the control of the weed, she walks directly into the sea.<br />
<br />
Victoria finds herself longing more and more for normalcy and peace as the group waits in suspense for the weed’s next move. Van Lutyens, meanwhile, descends into the impeller shaft to investigate- he finds it full of weed and foam, but is unable to report his findings as the creature consumes him. Jamie and the Doctor follow in containment suits to ascertain his whereabouts, and barely escape in time. (An escape not aided by Mr. Oak and Mr. Quill secretly operating- or, more accurately, failing to operate, the lift platform to get them out.)<br />
<br />
Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJHqS1scjjFxh8zj98FDNpmfxp8r2WdyTj1WIhVSeOa5ITqF3AAqCcFA-JWaXhy61rA3ucY7SyzjWAJzpbq75yAY1RKG6WUaAXWzpehWLgBGzWnVEc6vS-HQAG3x1XOqeEgtE9yWn5zx9/s1600/robson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJHqS1scjjFxh8zj98FDNpmfxp8r2WdyTj1WIhVSeOa5ITqF3AAqCcFA-JWaXhy61rA3ucY7SyzjWAJzpbq75yAY1RKG6WUaAXWzpehWLgBGzWnVEc6vS-HQAG3x1XOqeEgtE9yWn5zx9/s1600/robson.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">See? He even LOOKS like the type who wouldn't stop the gas-flow.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As Robson spirals into incoherency, the Doctor catches the ear of his eminently (perhaps over-) reasonable boss, Megan Jones. She is willing to listen to his discoveries about the weed- as the heartbeat noise rises, and the weed creature begins to rise through the transparent sections of the pipe in the base, instigating a full invasion- the group can do little more than watch it shuffle through, deeper into the base. All of the rigs have fallen out of contact, the beachhead of the invasion.<br />
<br />
The Doctor realizes that Robson is under the control of the weed, and also that pure oxygen is toxic to it. Robson is contained, but soon breaks free with an attack of the toxic gas from the weed entwining his body. (NFS: See? Maybe he WOULD have stopped the gas-flow but he couldn't because he was posessed??? Or wait...did he get possessed after he was being a jerk and not stopping the gas-flow?) Meanwhile, Oak and Quill are discovered as saboteurs, and seem to be incapacitated during a fight by the sound of Victoria’s scream.<br />
<br />
Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow (Not that anyone asks him about it, nor is there any mention of it at this point in the story, but I am certain that he still wouldn’t, on principle).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq6WdU65YHNGLFaDAm4mnWKbL5IPx0btkSkVfN_XM6MorxXKWqU-VJjHAJgOpk0_KEbQPhsnzJk-XXjw1OofvG53g7JjPLA4yarWLkKV7jL6OcbobxJQ3AeY5csWHvcmfnZ33f8zlWqgZ/s1600/robson+victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq6WdU65YHNGLFaDAm4mnWKbL5IPx0btkSkVfN_XM6MorxXKWqU-VJjHAJgOpk0_KEbQPhsnzJk-XXjw1OofvG53g7JjPLA4yarWLkKV7jL6OcbobxJQ3AeY5csWHvcmfnZ33f8zlWqgZ/s1600/robson+victoria.jpg" /></a></div>
The weed breaks through the pipe and begins to overrun the base, as Victoria is kidnapped by Robson and ferried out to the rigs via helicopter. He calls the Doctor by radio, ordering him to come alone if he wants to save Victoria. The Doctor and Jamie set out for the rig... which is flooded with foam. There, a weed-wrapped Robson refuses to stop the ga... I mean, confronts them and tries to take the Doctor as another mind-controlled slave, but he is disabled by Victoria’s scream, and the three escape. The Doctor tries to fly Robson’s helicopter back to the mainland, putting the group in more peril than they were in on the platform, but eventually is talked down into a safe landing. Meanwhile, as per public opinion poll, it is widely believed by all that, had he still been back at the base, Robson would have refused to stop the gas-flow.<br />
<br />
The base is now under full siege from the weed, but the Doctor fights back with one of the most infamous improvised weapons in the show’s long history- the intercom system, a volume amplifier, and Victoria wielding a microphone. Her (embarrassed at first and then earnest as the weed enters the central control room itself, a flailing monstrosity of limbs and tentacles within the foam) screams drive back the creature, and it retreats into the deep. Robson and Maggie radio from the rig, having been safely released from the creature’s control. The day is saved. All is well in the refinery. (Note from Sarah: If they did a Doctor Who Lego video game, Victoria would have to have scream powers like Willie Scott in the Indy one. :-D)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXFYMhOdGUS7SN736yghr0AJf66HkZ7EqopNbJNEXHVXzDwctW8AZCDdBdaVJhmkzh5Nvxc8BQ8XukcP137Yl35_ntIub8pJvufXf6P-AcehejEaFgqizrZ8G-05NrlQIIjmK567zqPre/s1600/goodbye+victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXFYMhOdGUS7SN736yghr0AJf66HkZ7EqopNbJNEXHVXzDwctW8AZCDdBdaVJhmkzh5Nvxc8BQ8XukcP137Yl35_ntIub8pJvufXf6P-AcehejEaFgqizrZ8G-05NrlQIIjmK567zqPre/s1600/goodbye+victoria.jpg" /></a></div>
But all is not well in Victoria’s troubled soul. She yearns for peace and a normal life, tired of flitting from crisis to crisis. The Harris’ host the TARDIS crew for dinner, and after the meal, Victoria takes the Doctor aside and expresses her desire to stay with them. Though saddened, the Doctor wishes her well. Jamie is devastated, but come morning, the two TARDIS Travelers depart while Victoria waves from shore, home and with a family once again.<br />
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Robson refuses to stop the gas-flow.<br />
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<strong>Review:</strong><br />
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Fury From The Deep is two parts cliché (irrational, angry, paranoid leader in isolated outpost being attacked by monsters... that’s practically the basic synopsis of 70% of Troughton’s stories thus far) and one part horror- fortunately for the story, though, the horror is effective enough that the cliché can be overlooked. Creepy moments like the frightening (and originally censored) open-mouthed silent-scream hypnotism, or the base besieged at the end as the seaweed menace crawls up through the transparent pipes, are well done and numerous, offsetting not only the clichés, but the existence of a monster portrayed partially through soap suds. Make no mistake, however- this monster is no pushover and no joke... though its method of defeat is.<br />
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Yes, this is the infamous serial in which a female companion’s screams are actually instrumental in defeating the monster. Words fail me. Just... wrap your head around that.<br />
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The story also features yet another obnoxious, obsessed, unreasonable commander- this one to the extent that I think any future incarnations of this archetype ought to be referred to as ‘The Robson.’<br />
<br />
“Yes, I know that three babies, the secret of life, and the disarm button for the world’s accidentally-activated nuclear arsenal have fallen into the pipeline... but DON’T SHUT DOWN THE GAS FLOW!!!! I’ve got a perfect record, the gas has never been turned off! Don’t you DARE turn off the gasflow! I will kill your wife and children if you turn off the gasflow! The gasflow IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LIFE!!!! YEEEEAAAARRRRRRGGGGG!” <br />
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And yeah, that last bit was the Howard Dean scream. He’s that manic and insane, I swear.<br />
<br />
Still, everything to this point probably makes it sounds like I consider it an eye-rolling, silly story, right? No, not at all. It has its goofy elements, but, as mentioned in the intro, it has a lot going for it, too. A very fun helicopter piloting sequence (and a fantastic payoff to the Doctor’s helicopter interest in Enemy of the World) that would have been a blast to see in video, the very first appearance of the sonic screwdriver (used here to... unscrew screws! Astounding! Possibly the only time it was actually used to do so!), in this incarnation a small penlight-like device, plus the first truly motivated-feeling companion departure. (Note from Sarah: I believe when he pulled the sonic out we all kind of gasped and then rewound it just to make sure...yeah...we're those people.)<br />
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That latter is Victoria. She has some great moments here, from her attack in the Co2 room (featuring a fantastic gimmick- her screams, from the central ventilation room, carry through all the air ducts, making determining the direction of their source nearly impossible- leaving the others to frantically search for her as her attacker advances implacably) to her very real and genuine feeling of embarrassment at being asked to scream on cue (“I can’t do it! I can’t just... scream!”) And in this case, her departure is prefigured all throughout the serial, as she laments the constant danger never seeming to end with the Doctor, wishes for a quieter life, and moves close to a breakdown in the high-stress life of a companion. Okay, so this is only built up through one serial, and not through several, as would be ideal. Still... it’s a far site better than Ian and Barbara’s motivation (getting home- forgotten about for two seasons, then suddenly reappearing as if we were seeing Marco Polo-era Ian and Barbara in the last five minutes of The Chase), Vicki’s (sweet but sudden), Steven (instantaneous with no motivation whatsoever- and so abrupt and unbelievable as to leave you dizzy), or Ben and Polly’s (sudden opportunity just seized with no inkling of its coming, much like Ian and Barbara). Not to mention Susan and Dodo, who had no choice in the matter! For once, a companion’s departure is prefigured, prepared, motivated, decided on, agonized over, and given its fair due as the real motivations of a real person. This is unique thus far, and a quick glimpse ahead suggests it’ll be unique for the entire black and white era- neither Jamie, nor Zoe, nor even 4th-Doctor companion Sarah Jane will have any such lead-up, either. I’d find out if the 3rd Doctor companions like Jo Grant do... but I’d like to keep some surprises in store for myself, thanks.<br />
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Jamie and the Doctor... well... it’s funny, because I have written in my outline notes “strength of jamie and doctor’s roles?” At present, the question mark seems more than appropriate, because not much about their actions really stands out to me aside from the aforementioned helicopter scene, the insertion into the offshore platform, and a great early comedy bit about escape attempts in which the Doctor and Jamie are trying to climb through one of those 50s-detective-office ‘narrow horizontal window above the door’ frames while Victoria insists on picking the lock with a hairpin... culminating in much difficulty, bruising, and a quick haul-back-in on Jamie’s part that leaves him stuck, dangling halfway out as a pair of oblivious potential observes pass by down below- a position he’s still in when Victoria walks out the now-unlocked door replacing her hairpin. Still, it’s not all humor for Jamie- Frazer Hines always said that he played Jamie as if Jamie had fallen in love with Victoria- his inconsolable nature at the end of Fury from the Deep is all the more piteous because of it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OQUzG1nChqp8il4xvztRv3J2ZjyuQo30Syjkl6JUOpJi-BCqnho45g2W0kfSunRvEYiLPXAWUYuOwZ_56f-lpp0Fs-kshi0FhNOvpGdg99fhzu_w_ZyKw2xpsfTD3TGvG4jBoS1Ahptq/s1600/maggie+harris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OQUzG1nChqp8il4xvztRv3J2ZjyuQo30Syjkl6JUOpJi-BCqnho45g2W0kfSunRvEYiLPXAWUYuOwZ_56f-lpp0Fs-kshi0FhNOvpGdg99fhzu_w_ZyKw2xpsfTD3TGvG4jBoS1Ahptq/s320/maggie+harris.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maggie, the cliché's wife.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The villain of the piece, alternately foam and seaweed, is not wholly menacing- save for some excellent and cool puppeteering work in the final chapter- but it takes a backseat to its seaweed-wrapped, hypnotized human minions, who are truly eerie and grotesque with the aforementioned silent scream. When the sympathetic scientist’s wife joined their legions and walked calmly into the sea, I was genuinely afraid of a modern-Who body count- but fortunately a happy ending prevailed with husband and wife reunited. (Note from Sarah: On and interesting note, I was perusing another blog that was reviewing this same Serial and he/she made notation that Harris and Maggie are the first ever married couple in Doctor Who....I don't remember enough to back this up though.)<br />
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The other characters fell into the standard who cliché roles associated with a Robson; the helpful, Doctor-aiding underling, the superior or peer who is still on the Robson’s side but acts as conscience, trying to talk sense into him, until the end, and the eventual overriding and eminently reasonable superior who also heeds the Doctor, at long last silencing the Robson’s ravings. In this case, it simply all plays out with the literal trope-naming Robson. And all the rest are, of course, cardboard cutouts. From Moonbase to Enemy of the World to Ice Warriors, when is Who going to learn that we don’t want to be introduced to the entire operations staff of a lonely facility and won’t invest in learning their individual foibles and quirks- we’ll only care if there are three or less people to track. Any more, and it feels like an “Assignment: Earth” style backdoor pilot attempt (A Star Trek reference, if that wasn’t obvious) to launch a new show or something, since a cast of supporting characters that big exist either to die off, or to have a new show dedicated to them. Yet, once again, we’re introduced here to a half-dozen command-staff officers and their irritable commander... and thus end up only focusing on the irritable commander and the two most dominant personalities among the supporting, with all of the others blending into the background.<br />
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Was that a rant? Weird. No idea where that came from. I must have unresolved issues...<br />
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The censor clips really are crucial to this episode. Almost all of them are not gory or violent, but grotesque by implication or ‘vibe.’ I’m reminded of an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway, in which Colin Mocherie coined the term “Futbucket” as an example of a word that sounds disgusting or obscene, but is simply a nonsense word that means nothing and is related to nothing. It just gives off that feel. Similarly, thrashing foam, creepy wide-eyed, open-mouthed stares and screams, a technician being carried away by the foam... none of these are truly grotesque, or even disturbing for any definable reason- but they disturb anyway, and their copious placement helps to not only give us a good sense of context and action in amongst the reconstruction stills (with the reconstruction, voiced by Deborah Watling, who plays Victoria, being relatively unremarkable otherwise), but also works to unsettle the viewer and accentuate the horrific aspects of the horror/suspense story, as the attention-grabbing video portions are also the most disturbing images- video horror interspersed at random, like a slow-motion jump scare, into the tense-but-tranquil slideshow, these clips of creepy, disturbing, or vaguely grotesque imagery pop out and go “Boo!” at all the right moments, making the serial almost more effective than if the whole thing was video. Now if only we had that sequence with the seaweed coming up the transparent pipe as everyone stands by helplessly to do anything about it...<br />
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And that’s it in a nutshell; the irritating banality of the base-under-siege cliché that practically epitomizes the second Doctor’s era juxtaposed with the surprisingly effective and disturbing horror-show imagery to create something neither rote and repetitive, nor Lovecraftian and terrifying- but something in the middle... entirely better than it deserves to be from its repetitious base-under-attack plotline, but entirely too bogged down by that self-same “Been there, done that”-ness to reach the true horror and tension levels that its effectively cinematographed invasion scenes deserve. It’s the slow, lurking kind of horror, like the original Alien movie, or the motion-detector sequences in the superior sequel Aliens- that of knowing that the menace is there, outside, somewhere... that it WILL get in, that it’s only a matter of time, that fools all about you don’t see the danger, and that it’s coming... coming... for you.<br />
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<strong>Great moments:</strong><br />
<br />
So, SO many. The screams. The seaweed attack. The seaweed through the transparent pipe. Victoria’s echoes of jeopardy. Sonic screwdriver! Non-traditional TARDIS landing. Victoria's forced scream performance-anxiety bit. The helicopter escape. The escaping-the-store-room gag. Yes, there’s a lot of mediocrity surrounding these gems, but...<br />
<br />
<strong>Rating:</strong><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuHRgPMXCtF22ysUS0-h-jDvUQVocXU2Ay7uP_Vd_odTe-duz5HlbXKIS5D6rI8EjD1t8kFIjWhoEwJDUNwkmSh76ywLiME2_fGwJXkcLpcaCNj2zOce0gX21yqNfETDQgPzT-iXALDh5/s1600/fftd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuHRgPMXCtF22ysUS0-h-jDvUQVocXU2Ay7uP_Vd_odTe-duz5HlbXKIS5D6rI8EjD1t8kFIjWhoEwJDUNwkmSh76ywLiME2_fGwJXkcLpcaCNj2zOce0gX21yqNfETDQgPzT-iXALDh5/s320/fftd2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The actual faces we were making while watching this serial.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
...The balance falls slightly to the positive for those effective horror moments, rendering 3 out of 5 Electrified Cybermats for the Frankenstein monster of retread and inspiration that is Fury from the Deep, and the competent but by-the-numbers fan Youtube reconstructions scores the same. It’s not as skippable as the accusations of banality would seem to imply, but to get to the truly excellent 5 out of 5 content within, you have to suffer through a lot of overly-familiar, seen it before, utterly aggravating Robson 0 out of 5 content. Perhaps watching the first chapter, then skipping to #4-onwards, would be the best technique (were it not for the fact that great moments are likely studded all throughout 2 and 3 as well). If the two halves could be distilled, the horror half would rank among the Second Doctor’s- and B&W Who’s- best, while the other half could be as lost as this entire serial is, and no one would shed a tear. But as the two are inseperably mixed, do yourself a favor and track down this reconstruction; you won't be sorry you did!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwhucLag1bbiveTB01MmQRtZjQSWuojTYZcJbItlvviwLcAMyhSBFsDnk_dmL14mt9KGjfT8jO6H21VWsz5Lj8JTksHMd7325_xfUtSA4eHfHZYGLm8hx3pe8BdP4zvsA7hzO5UMfSJd2/s320/scaryscary+scary.jpg" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 437px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 1542px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" />Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-83596490740020262762012-03-29T14:00:00.000-07:002012-03-29T14:36:46.859-07:00Doctor Who: The Web of Fear<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08hQ8kN5Xw2esvgV3nMyfcyKf510IA5MGfMWqgI_3S2_YMRKxZxhVeMIE9tdRdVE-Kjh2dSUqiGqRpW8JUoCqlfnhQjNH7pDv5ObKuAaHtOjaPOo4NggNE0y5Ck7lQw6cl9ZGYCuTnFT4/s1600/600full-doctor-who-and-the-web-of-fear-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08hQ8kN5Xw2esvgV3nMyfcyKf510IA5MGfMWqgI_3S2_YMRKxZxhVeMIE9tdRdVE-Kjh2dSUqiGqRpW8JUoCqlfnhQjNH7pDv5ObKuAaHtOjaPOo4NggNE0y5Ck7lQw6cl9ZGYCuTnFT4/s320/600full-doctor-who-and-the-web-of-fear-cover.jpg" width="197" /></a>Serial Title: The Web of Fear</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Series: 5</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Episodes: 6</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Doctor: Patrick Troughton</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Synopsis:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Clinging to the console for dear life, The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria rocket through the Vortex like a runaway train, barreling through the time/space continuum inside the TARDIS, its open doors having just dispelled the sinister Salamander into the ether- now the crew fights against the sucking winds of their escaping air, trying to avoid being sucked out into eternity themselves! With a tremendous effort, Jamie manages to reach the controls and close the doors. The TARDIS ends up suspended in space as the trio catch their breath- and slowly, a strange spider-web-like mesh begins to grow over the exterior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWUK0GCvbYqQAy7UKD93WC5wHc72Yc_ccvMqPbD_0H7MXjapZYW7K1F1y6HjKpciFZhGURUdDJiN9Te_TBdyBN3Hg1d5vEUEf9m-Z_nmLFszpPfLXDb4rZcIDTK_N501mvOdXgUQo0tQE/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWUK0GCvbYqQAy7UKD93WC5wHc72Yc_ccvMqPbD_0H7MXjapZYW7K1F1y6HjKpciFZhGURUdDJiN9Te_TBdyBN3Hg1d5vEUEf9m-Z_nmLFszpPfLXDb4rZcIDTK_N501mvOdXgUQo0tQE/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile, on Earth, in 1966, Professor Travers, the man with whom they shared an adventure involving the Yeti in 1935, frets around a London museum, demanding the return of the inactive Yeti robot on display there; though the museum owner and his own daughter, Anne Travers, dismiss his fears, he believes that he has accidentally reactivated a control sphere, and the menace of the Yeti may soon reawaken! The museum owner dismisses him, and is killed moments later by a re-awakened Yeti. This is what we in the biz deem ‘a bad call’ on his part.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The TARDIS barely
manages to escape the web surrounding it, and materializes in the London
tunnels (some days or weeks after the scene with Travers), the apparent source of the ensnaring attack.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> A group of military men are holed up here, along with reporter Harold Chorley, as well as Travers and his daughter. London is under a fantastical sort of siege, a strange mist covering the city into which people vanish and do not return, which also blocks all forms of communication in the area. Survivors have either evacuated, or retreated down into the tunnels, where the mist has not ventured- but the tunnels have their own problems, as a strange fungus-like web is slowly consuming them, spreading its deadly-to-the-touch tendrils throughout every room and passage. The power is off (rendering the third rail safe, fortunately, or Jamie’s ignorance would have killed him), and the tunnels nearly deserted. They hide and see an approaching trio of soldiers laying a power cable. The Doctor assigns Jamie and Victoria to follow the soldiers while he traces the cables back to their source. Victoria and Jamie are soon caught by the soldiers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">As the Doctor finds the end of the cables, several crates of explosives that the soldiers plan to detonate remotely, he is forced to hide by the sound of a familiar beeping- a pair of Yeti emerge from the gloom, and cover the crates in more of the strange webbing, weaponized from hand-pistols- when the explosion is triggered, the strange webs simply absorb the energy. Back at the bunker/hideout, the military registers no explosion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Travers recognizes a description of the new arrivals and is reunited with Jamie and Victoria- shocked to find that they haven’t aged in the intervening 31 years that have passed for him. Together, they deduce that the Great Intelligence must have returned, and was the entity responsible for attempting to ensnare the TARDIS in space. Jamie convinces Sgt. Arnold, one of the men that was laying the cables, to take him out in search of the Doctor, as Chorley the reporter continues to pry.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgfl-1CBr41rVWR-ysrTX9a-MB8dgkXH-3-zgsTkENIeN9T1wfs1syHtc_6kbcfRplNp79cdULsEV1rMsOttN6ynl6VvGhMgAHpILjb1hamT64DujakMo0Lnn9kHQxxj9PfOePEYxOFFy/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-05h28m02s149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgfl-1CBr41rVWR-ysrTX9a-MB8dgkXH-3-zgsTkENIeN9T1wfs1syHtc_6kbcfRplNp79cdULsEV1rMsOttN6ynl6VvGhMgAHpILjb1hamT64DujakMo0Lnn9kHQxxj9PfOePEYxOFFy/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-05h28m02s149.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">In the tunnels, Yeti set upon the soldiers, slaughtering them mercilessly- bludgeoning one to death, smothering another in web- bullets are ineffective and the indomitable Yeti advance implacably- even an attempt to blow them up fails as the energy is absorbed by webbing. The final survivors- Knight, Lane, and Thompson- as well as Jamie and Sgt. Arnold, who stumble upon them, are cornered and captured by the Yeti, who strangely hold back from killing them. Even more strangely, they are signaled away by the control spheres' beeping signal, leaving their prisoners free.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The fungus which had been motionless for three weeks begins to grow visibly again, advancing further into the tunnels- tunnels which Victoria, too, now roams in, having slipped out to search for the Doctor. The other search party- Jamie and the soldiers- likewise continue their search, and encounter a Welshman wandering the tunnels and singing- Evans, one of the demolition men- who reports seeing a Yeti carrying a glass pyramid in the tunnels, very similar to the one destroyed in 'The Abominable Snowmen' to thwart the Intelligence. Jamie tries to convince the soldiers to go after it, but they continue on to the bunker HQ, leaving Jamie and Evans alone to seek out the source of the Intelligence. The two find and attack the Yeti as web closes in on them... the Yeti is stopped when the pyramid is destroyed, but the web continues unhindered; the duo barely escapes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zrfWuQCo4vQUAymdL4YftbqVRn9nY8JEdjW5e3b-XcAUnR73yAece4LN_zGj1pGYY7MU4Vc3CqPw2mzdEZ6R4OgoEMb42akVI2fkw9GBBybhwRmfiYv7BxeCy9sjGmzWO1y8UOnBewM6/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-13h45m48s57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfjh0ZCNWY6YgfWwo_yqNfCT6KOJqnAhywuA2Vhz45mQ1cPgLjyi5y-CFnownTZ_lh7tmD1co0UkS1DkmnIv9GEmujKEuhu-v6KQaZ1xYLloeXktJI_cjSiZ6bUXOyZc8wVavN12LPqTL/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-08h01m14s127.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfjh0ZCNWY6YgfWwo_yqNfCT6KOJqnAhywuA2Vhz45mQ1cPgLjyi5y-CFnownTZ_lh7tmD1co0UkS1DkmnIv9GEmujKEuhu-v6KQaZ1xYLloeXktJI_cjSiZ6bUXOyZc8wVavN12LPqTL/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-08h01m14s127.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Victoria finally locates the long-absent Doctor... but someone else has found him first. Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, a soldier sent in to relieve the current commander, and part of the destroyed demolitions convoy that Evans also escaped from. Victoria leads them both back to the bunker, where the Doctor and Travers are re-united.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">After a briefing, the ever-agitated Chorley is given busywork to keep him occupied from thoughts of escape, and the Doctor proposes setting off an explosive to seal them into the tunnel, away from the fungus and Yeti, to buy some time- using explosives on a baggage rail trolley so that they can be rolled into position and detonated as they roll, before the Yeti have time to encase them in webbing. (But also trapping Jamie and Evans outside of the bunker for good).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile, a mysterious saboteur unlocks the main door of the bunker, leaving the base open to attack... the traitor also steals one of the model Yeti, also a homing device used to control their movements (as seen in the Abominable Snowmen) and places it at the door of the explosives depot- in response, a Yeti is diverted from the tunnels- the group soon find their entire stock of explosives encased in web and useless.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Lethbridge-Stewart decides to take a group to the site of the explosives convoy that he and Evans escaped from- though the convoy was attacked and destroyed, it is possible, though unlikely, that some explosives there might have survived. Chorley, meanwhile, learns of the TARDIS and the plans to collapse the tunnel from naive Victoria, and in his mounting claustrophobia and panic, slips out into the tunnels to attempt an escape, locking the Doctor and Victoria into the main room. Fortunately, Jamie and Evans arrive just as he leaves, freeing the Doctor, and the TARDIS trio takes off in pursuit. The TARDIS crew finds no sign of Chorley, but collect a sample of webbing- to which the web reacts violently. They then meet up with Arnold, Llethbridge-Stewart, and their party- having failed to find any explosives, the group return to the base- to find the main door torn asunder. The Yeti have attacked the base, killing one of the soldiers, wounding Anne, and abducting Professor Travers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfjh0ZCNWY6YgfWwo_yqNfCT6KOJqnAhywuA2Vhz45mQ1cPgLjyi5y-CFnownTZ_lh7tmD1co0UkS1DkmnIv9GEmujKEuhu-v6KQaZ1xYLloeXktJI_cjSiZ6bUXOyZc8wVavN12LPqTL/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-08h01m14s127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zrfWuQCo4vQUAymdL4YftbqVRn9nY8JEdjW5e3b-XcAUnR73yAece4LN_zGj1pGYY7MU4Vc3CqPw2mzdEZ6R4OgoEMb42akVI2fkw9GBBybhwRmfiYv7BxeCy9sjGmzWO1y8UOnBewM6/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-13h45m48s57.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_zrfWuQCo4vQUAymdL4YftbqVRn9nY8JEdjW5e3b-XcAUnR73yAece4LN_zGj1pGYY7MU4Vc3CqPw2mzdEZ6R4OgoEMb42akVI2fkw9GBBybhwRmfiYv7BxeCy9sjGmzWO1y8UOnBewM6/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-13h45m48s57.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">As the web continues to advance on the bunker, the group realizes that a traitor is in their midst, and the Doctor gets to work on a device to override the Intelligence’s control based on the Control Sphere that Travers possessed. Having convinced Lethbridge-Stewart of the TARDIS’ importance, the Doctor plans an operation to recover the Police Box. The operation is dual-pronged: Lethbridge-Stewart's party (including Knight and the Doctor) will attempt to </span><span style="font-size: small;">reach the tunnel with the TARDIS by an above-ground route, while a second group consisting of Arnold, Lane, and Evans will take a baggage trolley along the tracks, to be used for transporting the TARDIS- however, this latter party soon encounters an obstructing web. Wearing gas masks, Lane and Arnold attempt to force their way through the web with the trolley. Light pulses, men scream... and Evans retrieves the trolley and Lane’s web-covered body at the end of his rope. Arnold is gone, and Evans runs in fear.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile, the above-ground party encounters the Yeti and are trapped in a pincer maneuver. Many of the soldiers, including Knight and Blake, are killed- The Doctor and Lethbridge-Stewart are the only survivors. Back at the base, The Doctor, Lethbridge-Stewart, Jamie, Victoria, and Anne reunite- but are stilled by a beeping sound- someone had planet the last Yeti model homing device on them, and a pair of Yeti arrive with the possessed Travers, through whom the Great Intelligence speaks. It informs them that this was all a trap set for the Doctor- the Intelligence wants to poses him and his... well, his great intelligence, for itself. It offers that if the Doctor submits willingly, his mind and great knowledge will be wiped clean, drained by the Intelligence, but his body- and his friends- will be released unharmed. The Intelligence gives him twenty minutes to decide, abducting Victoria as collateral.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Doctor and Anne redouble their efforts and soon come up with a control-unit that should be able to override the Intelligence’s control on a single Yeti. Paranoia builds among the rest of the party, each suspecting the others of being secretly Intelligence-possessed like Travers, and the mole that the Great Intelligence has been using against them. Victoria and a now-released Travers are found by Arnold, hiding in the tunnels, who leaves to seek help for them, evading their Yeti guards. Arnold finds Jamie and Lethbridge-Stewart, who are out searching for Victoria, and returns with them to the base- which is quickly overrun by fungus as the walls bulge and explode inward! With no safe haven left, the group flees into the tunnels, where the Doctor and Anne have successfully brought a Yeti under their control- but haven’t told anyone else about this. Ordering the Yeti to go on about its business as usual, acting as a sleeper agent until commanded to do otherwise, the two slip off to rejoin the group.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Evans is captured by a Yeti, while Arnold escapes, finding a panicked Chorley in the tunnels. Jamie, now holding the control-unit for the ‘captured’ Yeti, escapes also. Victoria and Travers are taken to a strange chamber, the center of the Great Intelligence’s power, where a chair-like device is hooked to a pyramid- the waiting transfer device to drain the Doctor’s mind. The Doctor decides to give himself up as the group is found by the Yeti and ushered to the Intelligence’s chambers. The Doctor uses his control-override device to briefly freeze the Yeti in place, making a quick adjustment to the headset-device they are carrying before unfreezing them again- they then place the headset on his head. Everyone but Jamie, Arnold, and Chorley are now reunited in the chambers of the Intelligence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzzbQuJFImwetqmI__yO-0y-TcLFD_v8WMavLl4o1M_10ZQkngFj7LSL-0zvbvl8OUGTUf9PWaStEXK_8a1pctg1Hjmbh1uyD0_ttXUEza6v_86xvrygIO4EGKynSZmPVkdrn0vB4-kou/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-17h20m30s86.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzzbQuJFImwetqmI__yO-0y-TcLFD_v8WMavLl4o1M_10ZQkngFj7LSL-0zvbvl8OUGTUf9PWaStEXK_8a1pctg1Hjmbh1uyD0_ttXUEza6v_86xvrygIO4EGKynSZmPVkdrn0vB4-kou/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-06-17h20m30s86.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Doctor warns his friends not to interfere as he submits to the Intelligence’s designs- the Intelligence, responding to Lethbridge-Stewart’s demands, reveals the traitor in their midst and its own bodily form: Staff Sergeant Arnold. Jamie is brought in, apparently captured by a Yeti- the one that he controls. As the Doctor is placed into the chair-device and hooked up to the pyramid, the Intelligence announces that the transfer is beginning- and Jamie orders the Yeti to attack, smashing the other Yeti. The Doctor yells for him not to interfere as Arnold is likewise incapacitated. Finally, over the Doctor’s protests, Lethbridge-Stewart and Jamie pull him free, hurling the headset into the pyramid and destroying both, which shuts down all of the Yeti.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The Doctor is livid, berating the celebratory group that they have won the battle when they could have won the war- he had secretly re-wired the headset so that he could drain the Intelligence instead of the other way around, dispelling its astral form and removing its threat forever- which is why he was so eager for the transference to take place. As it is, the Intelligence is defeated, its contact with Earth cut off... but it is still out there, somewhere, ready to one day return...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Review:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzkLhB_o9WrCNWQtovLW-yj9p3h4UbmhYZV9zCwJ0yhrxywMe-ncHwaP5-U3V-LvHjxGxq4-hFfkrnLYuJV0dw4HTKWN8OB-nGRYdDnc2K-yDpMKJuAjrc30FDfvOnONa3CdJ86x6TBgd/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h25m42s178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzkLhB_o9WrCNWQtovLW-yj9p3h4UbmhYZV9zCwJ0yhrxywMe-ncHwaP5-U3V-LvHjxGxq4-hFfkrnLYuJV0dw4HTKWN8OB-nGRYdDnc2K-yDpMKJuAjrc30FDfvOnONa3CdJ86x6TBgd/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h25m42s178.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Web of Fear... dark, claustrophobic (as the very cool reconstructed teaser on Youtube from the end of Enemy of the World promised)... but also loud, chaotic, and confusing in its reconstructed state. Sure, we get some nice trinkets- an exterior TARDIS-in-space shot, the first appearance of future 'companion' Lethbridge-Stewart, a very cool first-time (unless you count returning Daleks/Cybermen/Meddling Monk, who are really returning characters but don't feature in returning storylines- or The Ark, which is a sort of sequel within itself) revisiting/sequel story (this story being a follow-up to The Abominable Snowmen, set many years later, with an aged version of Professor Travers from that story) that really sells the time travel aspect of this show... but those cool moments, nice as they are, get lost against a dark, incoherent muddle. I don’t blame the story-writing for this, merely the reconstruction. As a sort of war/under siege story, it’s a lot of loud noise and chaotic action that was probably exciting as filmed, but hard to convey with stills and the occasional interspersing of the same 5-second clip of Yeti walking forward under fire. This, more than any since the Celestial Toymaker, is really killed by being a reconstruction. Maybe moreso, as the Celestial Toymaker was still enjoyable despite it. Here... here, it’s a good story that NEEDS its video components to survive, and falls flat without ‘em. Come on, people, start searching those basements, rummage sales, and foreign broadcasting offices. We just found 2 new episodes- a Galaxy 4 and an Underwater Menace- after a decade-long drought; proof that more lost episodes are out there- it’s time to find another one already!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">*SIGH*</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxRweiKtzlVGTEqaHIqoUCFCp2wr8xpIAHsQKVHr7s9OSnlczs_TaijjmsLPd_8A7tZPHyv31veS1pXlpyItlvRSr7k9BxEUstAcroyub0pNsYb1xgBG2R-RlNOLjIuTWO-4RaOuqUVhE/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h20m40s239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxRweiKtzlVGTEqaHIqoUCFCp2wr8xpIAHsQKVHr7s9OSnlczs_TaijjmsLPd_8A7tZPHyv31veS1pXlpyItlvRSr7k9BxEUstAcroyub0pNsYb1xgBG2R-RlNOLjIuTWO-4RaOuqUVhE/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h20m40s239.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is also the second of three appearances of the dumpy-yet-implacable Yeti (barring a new series revival, which some fans are clamoring for), who wouldn’t appear again until the 25th anniversary special The Five Doctors (starring four Doctors, and one of them a stand-in), which brought back iconic monsters from each era. So in terms of story consideration, the Pseudo-Talz (seriously, go to Wookiepedia, the Star Wars Wiki, and look up a Talz. SAME COSTUME), the furry Grimaces... the dumpy, lumpy, unstoppable juggernaut robots that epitomize unintentional laughter and nostalgic fun from this era, essentially have their swan song here (setting a pattern to be repeated with the Autons, the Sontarrans, the Silurians, and numerous other monsters that, as often as they're talked about, you'd expect to see a little more often in the Classic Series- but instead became famous despite very brief appearances). And the Yeti ARE truly implacable here, facing not just primitive monks, but gun-wielding soldiers, and mowing them down with even more juggernaut-like irresistible force than before. More menacing than their last appearance, which serves them well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuU144UEZkjk9B1MzOSeI7ukbWJ8S98BG8M9p_M4uUf0BHSoKsU05KL-tH1cuRUVa5mq0adutShqxZh3HfqszTblP769OQqSrcAnOxbJSlaYxXw6O2MD_-xpbWOmJp8yzDPECGNPaVXwSS/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h18m17s74.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuU144UEZkjk9B1MzOSeI7ukbWJ8S98BG8M9p_M4uUf0BHSoKsU05KL-tH1cuRUVa5mq0adutShqxZh3HfqszTblP769OQqSrcAnOxbJSlaYxXw6O2MD_-xpbWOmJp8yzDPECGNPaVXwSS/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h18m17s74.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Also returning is the Great Intelligence who controls them, in what I believe is also his swan song (now there's someone begging to be brought back in the New Series!)- though he never really feels like a part of the story, as he’s a background presence through most of it- the Yeti and fungus-web being faced by our heroes on the front lines occupying the center stage instead.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">There’s not much to say about the overall story. London is overrun and evacuated (is this what it will be like in the Third Doctor’s UNIT days?) and everyone is trapped in the subway tunnels- Travers, his EVIL (looking) daughter, the military, a foolish reporter, and the TARDIS crew. Much running around is done as folks try to figure stuff out. Then, a final confrontation which Jamie ruins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">WHAT...?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfIcVVbwh0n2seEDPJ5CcAxEMcQBNbvFhOXLjLqR1PIkEoX2TpRU3jWwUr7YbZpqrkwB3qXbp66mZSyoyILB3-OyhoR1QXIqmzNDm4V0Y_yS-z7eQC3UdeLe3x-DJ2FD0oXK9GSn-l-vZ/s1600/st--2q01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfIcVVbwh0n2seEDPJ5CcAxEMcQBNbvFhOXLjLqR1PIkEoX2TpRU3jWwUr7YbZpqrkwB3qXbp66mZSyoyILB3-OyhoR1QXIqmzNDm4V0Y_yS-z7eQC3UdeLe3x-DJ2FD0oXK9GSn-l-vZ/s1600/st--2q01.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, an interesting choice of endings. The brash heroics that Jamie so often showcases are put to poor use for once, as he actually unknowingly works against the Doctor’s plan (trying to save his life) and allows the Intelligence to escape to one day plague the Doctor again (not that it ever does). This is a nice multi-dimensional touch, allowing the character and the story to avoid retreading itself and giving a realistic dimension to the reality of brash heroics- sometimes they’re poorly thought out! It’s a lesson </span><span style="font-size: small;">in caution </span><span style="font-size: small;">to Jamie, and a lesson to the Doctor that his secret planning and continual holding back of knowledge can have consequences- a very unique and interesting twist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8yBr2de0JCuo8g8jqffsdi1jSaEKlsLUGL-BdTR_5KfgUQXn-BcGHBM35B1TQR4yke9SZR9P8AiwnQWD6uAMaiegI1deJQNJ9U1kYQ4VhphdbChKVIpuMfIeUWq54DqUQRI3wJ1vnZB5/s1600/298133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8yBr2de0JCuo8g8jqffsdi1jSaEKlsLUGL-BdTR_5KfgUQXn-BcGHBM35B1TQR4yke9SZR9P8AiwnQWD6uAMaiegI1deJQNJ9U1kYQ4VhphdbChKVIpuMfIeUWq54DqUQRI3wJ1vnZB5/s320/298133.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">As for characters and their roles in this one... in a twist on the usual, no one really felt like they had a strong role here- everyone about equally, doing very routine running-around stuff, and not standing out from the crowd. Again, maybe a visual interpretation would have clarified people’s actions a bit more, but as it is, it’s all a bit... cloudy. In fact, it wasn’t until I wrote my synopsis based off of a detailed story brief on the wiki that I finally understood what was happening in the story.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">That said, there was one unique feature about the fan-made Youtube reconstruction we viewed. It was the most ambitious we’ve yet seen, including things like video of Jamie pounding on a door from another serial rotoscoped onto a photo of the background of a room from Web of Fear- little bits like this, 2-second video clips rotoscoped onto still images, people’s still cutouts being slid and moved around the screen like a Monty Python animation, etc. were incredibly creative, assuredly time-consuming, and did a great deal to inject life into the reconstruction, which I’d like to see a lot more in these fan reconstructions- but sadly, it still did little to add <i>clarity</i> to the action itself. Livening up chaos doesn’t provide as much aid as you might think. If only this same treatment had been given to a clearer serial. Makes me wish that so many of these 2nd Doctor fans-mades were replaced with their Loose Canon equivalents- based on their past work, they probably did a stellar job... we just don’t have those in our collection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">So, overall...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIDFsixSEotxwGW85123JNCvowUKYrsYHL6bfYBYFiwla3ET-o-i2Dck8N4KQUqzfYrPvaWzbdY7aJL5TOkWiau5QNvD2YoK0Oj_U5TMKexL89Z5OZxI_i47MBSIrwciRVAH15s7hJTLl/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-18h35m10s79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIDFsixSEotxwGW85123JNCvowUKYrsYHL6bfYBYFiwla3ET-o-i2Dck8N4KQUqzfYrPvaWzbdY7aJL5TOkWiau5QNvD2YoK0Oj_U5TMKexL89Z5OZxI_i47MBSIrwciRVAH15s7hJTLl/s320/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-18h35m10s79.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">This is such a short review, and it kills me. I’ve always found something to talk about in the past- always. I’ve never just said “I can’t really review this one in reconstructed form.” The story, the characterization- even when I’ve had little to work with, there’s been something to discourse on. And I hate to change that, but... I can’t really review this one in reconstructed form. It’s probably a decent serial, but it’s too visual to survive in this reconstructed form. It’s like a person without their supporting skeleton- just a flabby little blob on the floor, unpleasant to look at or be around, jiggly, wobbly, deformed, and unclear. And with that lovely mental image, I leave ye be.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Great moments:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We see the Brigadier for the first time here! And also, the continuity of a return of Travers is really cool- making this start to feel like a cohesive universe, and not just a series of stand-alone shorts. Plus, the ending’s pretty good, with the Doctor’s upset chewing-out and the final little comedy bit about the trains. Oh, and the reconstructed teaser at the end of Enemy of the World. AWESOME!!!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">Rating:</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICfrXSHTw3fnCYn7yyKFDQgds24VX0-NVRwFb60gtpUiNmXGEA8airOWwI0XiS-6hHR3A5suws3HX9JpTnQ-6P1FnGfDpRkv7tDjk-6dodByeZh_obhyphenhyphenA_WEs1HHlHTAj0AtPPOrzdOyx/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h21m05s230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICfrXSHTw3fnCYn7yyKFDQgds24VX0-NVRwFb60gtpUiNmXGEA8airOWwI0XiS-6hHR3A5suws3HX9JpTnQ-6P1FnGfDpRkv7tDjk-6dodByeZh_obhyphenhyphenA_WEs1HHlHTAj0AtPPOrzdOyx/s1600/vlcsnap-2012-03-05-19h21m05s230.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">While I don’t feel comfortable rating this serial overall, I have to remind myself that these ratings are for enjoyability watched as-is. And in that vein... I have to give Web of Fear 1 out of 5 Electrified Cybermats. It has enjoyable moments, and conceptually, as a first direct sequel/revisiting, it’s ultra-cool. But the current presentation is “All sound and fury, signifying nothing.”I am sure the actual story deserves better; but in it's current format, that's all I can give it. I do so wish the video would be found so that I can judge it on its own merits!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">The reconstruction, on the other hand, is a sterling 4.5 out of 5 effort, it’s inconsistent and slightly goofy nature on occasion, putting motion and action in for clarity’s sake without thought to a polished presentation or not provoking unintentional laughter would be commendable in trying to provide needed clarity to this tale... if it succeeded in that and didn’t distract from the story. But it does, keeping it just short of a perfect score. Still, it’s technically impressive, extremely innovative, and clearly took a long time and a lot of careful work. Very impressive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">And my apologies if that last paragraph, or this entire review, is as muddled to you as the serial was to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-90515100643695077452012-03-18T16:04:00.000-07:002012-03-18T16:27:38.466-07:00Doctor Who: Enemy of the World<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeaKlzhD8ZwVtCO_FMRu7iS-IM0MLg5jkON46WOJvUJ66ee0UTfRRGabhbflrX5YK81e-fvN5aXMsoxDVobWiwqkiCJ5OFkNBUsSzWFOe-sc6RrS5grbUbyvXur4m-gItRtxLBca6D2Lq/s1600/bk-2p-82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYeaKlzhD8ZwVtCO_FMRu7iS-IM0MLg5jkON46WOJvUJ66ee0UTfRRGabhbflrX5YK81e-fvN5aXMsoxDVobWiwqkiCJ5OFkNBUsSzWFOe-sc6RrS5grbUbyvXur4m-gItRtxLBca6D2Lq/s320/bk-2p-82.jpg" width="192" /></a><strong>Serial Title:</strong> Enemy of the World<br />
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<strong>Series</strong>: 5<br />
<strong>Episodes</strong>: 6<br />
<strong>Doctor</strong>: <em>Patrick Troughton </em><br />
<strong>Companions</strong>: <em>Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)</em><br />
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<b>(Please forgive our formatting difficulties this week...) </b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfc4Rj7jgmVUsTjpfMZaZLQ92Gfpx1vn5bKwlwKS8MGDmSFuQROaljyVUVW4kVt4uuUVkgdtmFhjsS2r_2kDNUl70n-mRfrJs9Yn_KSjYWg9X7ZTvHhUuWpfEbLsQWOxh8xQSWFbB29cU/s1600/Astrid+Ferrier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfc4Rj7jgmVUsTjpfMZaZLQ92Gfpx1vn5bKwlwKS8MGDmSFuQROaljyVUVW4kVt4uuUVkgdtmFhjsS2r_2kDNUl70n-mRfrJs9Yn_KSjYWg9X7ZTvHhUuWpfEbLsQWOxh8xQSWFbB29cU/s1600/Astrid+Ferrier.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">See?</span></td></tr>
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<b>Synopsis: </b>Arriving on an unknown beach, the TARDIS crew begins to frolic in the surf- but their revelry is interrupted by gunfire from an incoming hovercraft. This is Earth (Australia, to be precise), in the... Oh, COME ON!!!! ...in the ‘near future,’ and the crew is only rescued from death by a helicopter piloted by Astrid Ferrier, the leader of the men trying to kill the Doctor, who are acting without her orders (Note from Sarah: I was trying to remember what Astrid looked like...all I could remember was an astounding amount of blonde hair...). The out-of-control troops pursue the group to her house, where she is forced to kill them by sabotaging the helicopter and letting them steal it. After her over-eager and under-disciplined men are blown to kingdom come, she takes the group to Giles Kent, her superior- and there, they at last learn the cause of all of this ruckus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66OJYv8Zz3Bs2WalezB-S-38Gr28LBOAMxyv4QxUoMprIAV09VY5bBj0njcFnqeIG1GMuYQr20sljagqE7iHWFbqHAHw-3lroeijgnJjEbhoDJ-QqRZnHvcktiaON1RUpE5uAblPOXZxi/s1600/Salamander.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66OJYv8Zz3Bs2WalezB-S-38Gr28LBOAMxyv4QxUoMprIAV09VY5bBj0njcFnqeIG1GMuYQr20sljagqE7iHWFbqHAHw-3lroeijgnJjEbhoDJ-QqRZnHvcktiaON1RUpE5uAblPOXZxi/s1600/Salamander.jpg" /></a></div>
A despotic, ruthless madman hiding behind a benevolent public face while he secretly consolidates his power and takes over more and more of the world (a ‘respectable’ mafia man combined with the ‘deciever’ Antichrist and a standard ‘meglomaniac’ Bond villain) is perhaps the greatest threat the world has ever known- because they know him only as a benevolent philanthropist. Only a small group- led by Kent and Ferrier- has seen through the smiling public face to the evil lurking beneath, and seek to oppose him. This power-mongering despot is named Salamander. And he looks EXACTLY like the Doctor.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjimN618PZ-hINy6PqTeVLlQKlp0UhLU8orxkZd5xRBmCmYZDUiGiqHF4ybV1d1bgPXRvU1A4QJLOTSWxAbH97Q8Y3VPmM19PG7GN3mKefmt2-r-HyuiZw9cFU3jucvGeSljjshIxyi9s_/s1600/Jamie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjimN618PZ-hINy6PqTeVLlQKlp0UhLU8orxkZd5xRBmCmYZDUiGiqHF4ybV1d1bgPXRvU1A4QJLOTSWxAbH97Q8Y3VPmM19PG7GN3mKefmt2-r-HyuiZw9cFU3jucvGeSljjshIxyi9s_/s1600/Jamie.jpg" /></a></div>
The resistance recruits the Doctor to impersonate Salamander, while Jamie ‘foils’ a fake assassination plot and gains Salamander’s trust (having traveled to the Central European Zone where he resides) and Victoria gets a position in the kitchen (NFS: That's nice...glad Victoria gets to do something useful then....). The Doctor’s first impersonation is sufficient to convince Donald Bruce, the bullying, brutish Security Chief employed by Salamander, to leave Kent in peace. He then travels to the research station in Kenowa, source of Salamander’s rising power: a technology he has developed that harnesses and amplifies the sun’s rays to allow crop growth in harsh climates.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Denes and his wary look.</span></td></tr>
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Salamander warns Alexander Denes, one of Kent’s few remaining allies, of an impending volcanic eruption- but Denes disbelieves him. After he leaves, Salamander blackmails Denes’ aide, Fedorin, into betraying him. When the volcano erupts exactly on schedule, Denes accuses Salamander of somehow arranging the disaster, but Salamander responds by declaring him negligent for ignoring the warning, has him arrested, and poisons him before he can get to trial... then secretly takes over Denes’ territory.<br />
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Donald Bruce and Theodore Benik (another of Salamander’s lackeys) get suspicious of the Australia encounter with the Doctor impersonating Salamander, and begin to investigate. Jamie and Victoria are arrested, and the existence of an impersonator revealed- Salamander heads to Kanowa to catch his doppelganger.<br />
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Once there, Salamander attires himself in a radiation suit and descends in a secret elevator- into a secret bunker beneath the research facility in which a small civilization believes that they are living in an irradiated, post-apocalyptic world (due to a nuclear war five years prior), and Salamander is their brave and noble benefactor- out ‘scouting for food’ in the irradiated wasteland these last few weeks. It is revealed that the machinery to create the natural disasters lies in the caverns, which Salamander’s society uses in the belief that they’ve been reshaping the Earth’s surface for re-colonization when the radiation abates. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuIball7t0KIhgc3m7Rb2NsBoDs_FgX-AGTwrcdqMDS6pfd-wMivTpCEtEJge6Qv1mYn8XeAnhdlIdQIEvTu0iSmPc1TB89QiTD-QEgDtr0WKb1qxpTLL77IzDrtwkfxwldQMRp-AdJ8g/s1600/Giles+Kent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuIball7t0KIhgc3m7Rb2NsBoDs_FgX-AGTwrcdqMDS6pfd-wMivTpCEtEJge6Qv1mYn8XeAnhdlIdQIEvTu0iSmPc1TB89QiTD-QEgDtr0WKb1qxpTLL77IzDrtwkfxwldQMRp-AdJ8g/s1600/Giles+Kent.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is Kent...in case you were just dying to know what he looked like.</span></td></tr>
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Bruce finds the Doctor, Astrid, and Kent, but is persuaded that Salamander is a traitor to the world order. He agrees to follow the Doctor to Kanowa, allow the Doctor to impersonate Salamander to gain evidence of Salamander’s treachery- if not, Astrid and Kent, in custody, will be locked away for conspiracy (though they escape soon after the Doctor and Bruce have left.) Arriving at Kenowa, they free Victoria and Jamie, and hide inside the records room, where the secret elevator is located. Kent soon arrives with a key to the secret elevator- he knows more than he’s told.<br />
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In the subterranean world, a stray newspaper clipping used as packing for the food Salamander has brought reveals a normal, healthy outside world in prosperity, and the angry man who discovered it confronts Salamander- who agrees to take him to the surface (and there kill him). Astrid soon stumbles upon the dying, bludgeoned man in the grounds around the research center, who informs her of the underground society before dying. She sneaks into the elevator and informs the populace below of the truth- that they have been living a life as slaves under a lie from their supposed benefactor for the last five years. When Astrid returns up the elevator (to the records room where the TARDIS crew and Bruce are hiding) with an intrepid young pair of subterranean-dwellers, one identifies the just-arrived Kent as the man responsible for taking them down below. As the Doctor had feared, Kent and Salamander were partners, and the entire resistance was unknowingly being used to topple Salamander in order to take over his sinister schemes, not to thwart them. Kent escapes down the elevator.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDsc8NQFlg7F6yp78Z6IDF6dghTQhzO6l42g_zxiPm0krrRaVudJLMQEZwu_Wq2LULHRya38kF_kvegb8eVNnzmOHfAWggPRBxGWv9OoHptUA9Ymwbr_gv9M_0WSt7ROdCvcvjv0eQ5dD/s1600/Donald+Bruce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDsc8NQFlg7F6yp78Z6IDF6dghTQhzO6l42g_zxiPm0krrRaVudJLMQEZwu_Wq2LULHRya38kF_kvegb8eVNnzmOHfAWggPRBxGWv9OoHptUA9Ymwbr_gv9M_0WSt7ROdCvcvjv0eQ5dD/s1600/Donald+Bruce.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bruce</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Doctor pursues Kent, who has encountered Salamander- Kent is fatally wounded, but get revenge by tripping a self-destruct mechanism to collapse the cavern system, killing the remainder of the subterranean populace. As Astrid works to excavate any survivors and Bruce takes over and evacuates the research center, Jamie and Victoria return to the TARDIS as ordered. The Doctor soon emerges, alive and unharmed, but exhausted. Resting from his exertion, the Doctor asks Jamie to pilot the TARDIS in his stead while he recovers his energy.<br />
<br />
Of course, the real Doctor quickly shows up at the door, disheveled and dusty, announcing that Salamander has decided to turn the tables and impersonate him! Salamander attempts to activate the controls, and the TARDIS takes off with open doors as the two men struggle. Salamander is knocked out into the Vortex as the ship flies out of control, threatening to suck the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria out after him...(NFS: Yeah...that's as AWESOME as it sounds! A little Doctor on Salamander action. :-D)<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Would this face lie? Or kill you?</span></td></tr>
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The ‘Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve’ concept rears its head again, this time to much greater effect, as the bizarre coincidence of a man that looks just like the Doctor in the exact time/place he visits- who also happens to be a villain- is revisited. And boy, I wish I could see it in video!!! <br />
<br />
The characters are fun, the story engaging, and the ending is spectacular... or at least sounds to be. The dual-performance is excellent, giving Patrick Troughton a chance to shine. His revelation as the Doctor faking Chameleon at the end (a cringing, frightened sounding “No, Victoria, don’t hit me!” as she gets angry) is funny and endearing... and Troughton also makes Chameleon a memorable villain- cunning, clever (with his ruse at the end), yet able to appear very kind and gentle, caring, to the point that even you almost believe it. This was a fantastic turn for him, and one that will be hard to top. (NFS: Definitely one of my favorite ever serials, and I totally agree; Troughton so got a chance to really show off his acting chops. I really liked the accent he gave Salamander too.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4o2djPCFlcPN1t7gE2wWhF4GsOdt0EpJ7EFPdLL0bPOKv9bf9wZvfo3WM63LrK201wNsTLmgHsWy5qUme3g0LGh-OyQRKaOcsnhWWON-voshkADGfp7yiA50tIFkSdCt29nxnZVs43dP/s1600/Victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4o2djPCFlcPN1t7gE2wWhF4GsOdt0EpJ7EFPdLL0bPOKv9bf9wZvfo3WM63LrK201wNsTLmgHsWy5qUme3g0LGh-OyQRKaOcsnhWWON-voshkADGfp7yiA50tIFkSdCt29nxnZVs43dP/s1600/Victoria.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!</span></td></tr>
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The underground-survivors-who-think-the-world-has-ended-but-it’s-fine-now-and-they-don’t-know-it storyline was first postulated by early theologian Athanasius of Alexandria in 327 A.D. during a meditation on the book of Revelation, and re-discovered some years later by a medieval historian working for Ganos Lal in the archives of Myrddin beneath Glastonbury Tor, where it was then reintroduced into society. (And if you got that reference...) So yes, while it is far more obscure than the average cliche employed by Who, it is still older than dirt... and also a very 60s product (The Time Machine with George Pal, anyone?).(NFS: Have we EVER seen an underground populace or a populace that's been told there's no life somewhere and it's been true!? I think what we can take from this is...if someone puts you in a hole and tells you everyone is dead...they are probably not to be trusted.) It’s been explored in most modern sci-fis, from Star Trek to Stargate... but strangely, unlike the usual Doctor-Who-puts-a-new-spin-on-it or Doctor-Who-uses-the-cliche-as-a-backdrop-to-tell-a-story-against, not only was this story element a straight-up story element cliche, it also felt very tacked on and irrelevant- like it was a second story whose funding got cut, and was added to the Chameleon intrigue storyline (which was doing quite well on it’s own, thankyouverymuch!) to extend it out a few more episodes. A disappointing break from the usual creativity... a cliche that remained a cliche and didn't rise above it- though hardly enough to tarnish the masterpiece! (Note from Andrew of the Future: Looking back on this synopsis from a year later, I feel that it is actually a fairly unique story element in terms of a source for Salamander's power, and a clever notion with the 'they think they're reshaping the world'- but I trust my younger self that, tonally, it still didn't fit organically into the storyline. And it also gave us one of Who's darkest endings- all those poor people are more than likely killed at the end, innocents enslaved and then brutally slaughtered- yikes! No happy ending here!)<br />
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The chases at the beginning- and the battle in the house- were exciting, fun, and even a little tense at times- a great introduction to the story once you got past the hovercraft yawner. The Doctor’s helicopter experience prefigures his chance to try it for himself in Fury of the Deep.<br />
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The ongoing intrigue throughout the serial, with Jamie and Victoria insinuating themselves into Chameleon’s operations, was interesting and exciting, even if the handling of the prisoner-to-be-assassinated bits seemed a little unusual and nonsensical (why was he being imprisoned in a hallway...?). Still, the majority of the plot, though it feels like I have so little to say about it, is well-executed, consistently entertaining and engaging, and filled with great performances- none more so (beyond the obvious Troughton roles) than the kitchen chef, a very unique and engaging character- well-written, fun, a great source of humor- I wanted to see more of that guy.<br />
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Victoria and Jamie both have decent roles- taking center stage for most of it, and yet ending up far less memorable than Troughton despite less screentime for him (at least, as the Doctor).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7geYVy0CzIo4Ji8jGQlxgRKIaLISRtxAQpTqyY49_gv9Vt2w42zAzHd1WjNJvzlpp_lUrQT9IThv-NM0swysNgQh7sikFlyeD-m4OVLFrlIzZ-h2ld-TxOfXcHfqUKaEBKgoWNakFrsJh/s1600/aa3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7geYVy0CzIo4Ji8jGQlxgRKIaLISRtxAQpTqyY49_gv9Vt2w42zAzHd1WjNJvzlpp_lUrQT9IThv-NM0swysNgQh7sikFlyeD-m4OVLFrlIzZ-h2ld-TxOfXcHfqUKaEBKgoWNakFrsJh/s320/aa3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Her hair comes into the room before she does.</span></td></tr>
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The reconstruction was average to the point of forgetability. I just wish there’d been less of it, and more of the video for this fantastic serial. However, this serial also marks the beginning of ‘The Hump’- a stretch of mostly-reconstructed serials of worse and worse loss-quality that lasts through to the end of the series, and then mercifully breaks into a stretch of pure video (with one exception) for the series remainder (NFS: I am questioning your use of that title especially with the quote marks around it and it being capitalized...). Save for that one isolated reconstruction- hopefully more manageable for being buffered with video- this represents the last hurdle, the home stretch, the final endurance test... and it’s an uphill-in-Death-Valley kind of run (NFS: Or you could just run up Astrid's head...it would take as long and you wouldn't have to go to a desert.). Four 6-episode serials in a row that are almost entirely reconstructions until the last one? After just having suffered through the video-but-absurdly-dull torment of the Ice Warriors? This is a trial like no other, testing the limits of a Who fan like little else can. Stay tuned as we brave its horrors, trying to survive long enough to make a triumphant emergence into glorious video yet again... (This took us about 3 months to finally brave, and far longer to finish.) Fasten your seat belts...<br />
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<b>Great moments:</b><br />
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Holy cow! That ending confrontation! I mean, that ending confrontation... the big reveal, the battle, Salamander being sucked into the vortex... HOLY COW!!!! That was AWESOME!!!! One of the best things I’ve seen on Classic Who, EVER- right up there with the screaming vine attack from Keys of Marinus! Also, “No, Victoria, don’t hit me!”<br />
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<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Rating:</b><br />
4 out of 5 Electrified Cybermats for the Enemy of the World, a fantastic Troughton showcase and espionage/intrigue thriller that is tarnished only by the out-of-place and clichéd underground shelter elements tacked on to the second half. And even those are only enough to take one sizzled little cyberslug from this gem’s overall rating!<br />
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The reconstruction rates a 2.5 out of 5 by virtue of being completely, 100% forgettable- I can’t remember a thing about it, suggesting it was neither bad enough to be noticeable, nor possessing any notable touches to make it memorable.Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-66830811970272901382012-03-10T04:45:00.000-08:002012-04-12T08:16:19.644-07:00Doctor Who: The Ice Warriors<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSfnZzwEJTlTmIqH7Hhr_aS8j9RCf083v1ST6-wyQfYqkeu5YsksqTVkuQAyefVdY6hv29_kEOQpg8QQOjU5XzfRW6cS5J1fW1GuwuyH1bJEdhin1czuhPf_VAUA6geaWC3R5wt_T28_Z/s1600/bk-2o-84.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSfnZzwEJTlTmIqH7Hhr_aS8j9RCf083v1ST6-wyQfYqkeu5YsksqTVkuQAyefVdY6hv29_kEOQpg8QQOjU5XzfRW6cS5J1fW1GuwuyH1bJEdhin1czuhPf_VAUA6geaWC3R5wt_T28_Z/s320/bk-2o-84.jpg" width="192" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Serial Title:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
The Ice Warriors</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Series:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Episodes:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Doctor:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Patrick Troughton </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Companions:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Earth
of *grumble* ‘the far future’ is in trouble- massive defoliation
threw off the carbon dioxide levels, leading to a massive global
cooling. Glaciers now cover much of the world, advancing with an
almost tsunami-like pace. A desperate plan has been hatched to use an
ionization system to melt the glaciers, and Brittanicus Base is one
of the numerous global control stations dotted around the world,
preparing to initiate the plan that will prevent the new Ice Age that
is swiftly falling upon the Earth. Within the base, Jane Garrett and
her staff labor under Leader Clent to get the device online before
the encroaching ice literally drives them from the base- a few hours
left to save the world. Sounds like a case for the Doctor... but,
even as the TARDIS materializes outside the base, far away on the
plateau, senior scientist Arden has discovered something like an
armored man frozen within a block of ice. They haul it back towards
the base under the watchful eye of Storr and Penley, a pair of
anti-technology advocates living like primitive lives on the tundra. The
latter, Penley, was once a scientist on the ioniser project, while
the former, Storr, is injured in an avalanche.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
Jamie, Victoria, and the Doctor emerge from the side ways-landed
TARDIS, they are mistaken for vagrants (which everyone aside from
base personnel in the area are considered) and about to be evacuated-
but the Doctor steps in and solves a problem with the ioniser, and
Leader Clent is convinced of his usefulness. He then investigates the
warrior frozen in the ice, discovering cybernetic components and
determining that the being is alien.</span></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Upon
thawing, the Ice Warrior is immediately hostile, subduing Jamie and
Clent, and abducting Victoria. Jamie and senior scientist Arden (the
man who found the frozen warrior) are dispatched to search the tundra
for the being, while the Doctor warns that it may have arrived in a
ship, also frozen into the glacier- if powered by atomic systems, the
ship could be detonated by the ioniser and destroy the base in a
cataclysmic blast; until they know for sure, they cannot activate the
device... but if they don’t activate it in coordination with other
Earth ionisers, glaciers will overtake the base and the Earth may be
lost to the ice. Jamie and Arden return from a fruitless search.</span></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
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<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Ice Warrior identifies himself to Victoria as Varga, a warrior of the
planet Mars from long ago. Finding his crewmates frozen into the
glacier, Varga begins to thaw the four. Meanwhile, Penley, sneaking
into the base to steal medical supplies for the injured Storr, is
found by the Doctor- but refuses to help with the ioniser, despite
the Doctor’s pleas. Returning to Storr, he finds Miss Garrett,
having followed him, and she also pleads for his help, but is turned
away- but also imparted with a small bit of advice that improves the ioniser’s
function.</span></div>
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<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jamie
and Arden strike out yet again, locating the excavation site where
the Ice Warriors are digging out their crashed vessel. They report
back to base via wrist-communicators, but are ambushed and shot.
Arden is killed, but Jamie clings to life by a thread- he is
retrieved by Penley after the warriors have left. He returns to his
dwelling and Storr, seeing an enemy-of-my-enemy scenario in the Ice
Warrior’s aggression towards the technology-using ioniser crew, goes
to speak with them. </span>
</div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Victoria
gets a wrist-comm from the fallen Arden’s corpse and contacts the
base. The Ice Warriors, having overheard Clent’s badgering
questions about the ship’s propulsion system, recognize a potential
weakness and decide to exploit it. When they attempt to re-capture
Victoria, she flees into the ice caverns, and the pursing warrior is
killed in an avalanche, but Victoria is left trapped- while back at
the base, the Doctor strikes out after her.</span></div>
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<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Storr
retrieves Victoria and returns her to the Ice Warriors, but they are
uninterested in his Luddite help and kill him. Penley, meanwhile,
finds the Doctor and returns him to Jamie, who is on the mend. The
Doctor then sets off for the Ice Warrior’s ship under Penley’s
direction. The Doctor and Victoria are reunited (after a tense affair
with the airlock), but fails to convince Varga that the ioniser is
not a weapon (Note from Sarah: Not to be crude...but is it just me or is it difficult to read "Varga" without reading "Viagra"? No? Just me then.). The Doctor warns Clent via communicator that he may
have to use the ioniser regardless of the potential for a
catastrophic explosion, as failure to act will be just as fatal. He
is then relieved of his communicator (moments later spotting an ion
propulsion system instead of an atomic one, meaning that the ioniser
will NOT cause the ship to explode), but the Ice Warriors, believing
the Doctor was advising the use of the ioniser as an attack to
destroy them regardless of the potential for his and Victoria’s
deaths, prepare for a pre-emptive strike against the base.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Penley
returns to the base with Jamie. There, Clent (a former friend) gives
him a frosty reception with a cold glare and a frigid disposition (I
could keep this up all day)... but announces that he’s decided to
use the ioniser as per the Doctor’s advice, despite the computer
advising against it. Moments alter, however, the base comes under
attack by the Ice Warriors’ ship-mounted sonic canon. As Varga
calls to demand surrender, the Doctor uses a compound that he’d
brought with him from the base (a hunch based on an examination of
Ice Warrior physiology) and disables the Ice Warrior manning the
canon. They work to reprogram the canon so that it will be harmful to
Ice Warriors, but not to humans.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Ice Warriors storm the base in force, killing several humans and
dismantling the ioniser reactor to get replacement parts to repair
his ship, irregardless of the consequences to the humans. Penley,
having hidden, increases the temperature, a hindrance to the
cold-acclimated warriors. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Victoria succeed
with the sonic canon and drive the Ice Warriors off, disabling the
canon before leaving the ship which the Ice Warriors are now
returning towards.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Back
at the base, the glaciers are approaching critical levels. The
computer still warns of a 50/50 chance of catastrophic explosion with
the ion-based drives, and computer-addicted Clent is paralyzed with
indecision. Penley takes control, however, and activates the device-
there is an explosion, but only of the Ice Warrior vessel, and at far
less than nuclear force. The Ice Warriors are gone and the glacier
begins to recede, and the folly of working with computers is
highlighted as the moral of the day. Errrrr... </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Review:</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRXo7FBPeTysudURkFJGs1Hin-i9iQ70fcxOHTe6ZLj0ce2-aKYI-YqTSx9iO81BqeCKc1k5H3wTtyxKRtVCfSe7zVsl4ildOYkbVmvrDZ_1Ro8xiNkN8xKkzlzvdlftpoAY_aByOo3Em/s1600/drwho_icewarriors_trout_icewarrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRXo7FBPeTysudURkFJGs1Hin-i9iQ70fcxOHTe6ZLj0ce2-aKYI-YqTSx9iO81BqeCKc1k5H3wTtyxKRtVCfSe7zVsl4ildOYkbVmvrDZ_1Ro8xiNkN8xKkzlzvdlftpoAY_aByOo3Em/s320/drwho_icewarriors_trout_icewarrior.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span lang="en">The
Ice Warriors was... a bit of a let-down. The New Series has revived
classic Who baddies in each of their running years- Daleks, Cybermen,
The Master, Sontarrans, and most disastrously- er, I mean, recently,
Silurians. And through it all- even before Sontarrans and Silurians
got the nod, Who fans have been positing two classic monsters as the
next great baddie. (Well, three, if you count the probably-facetious
suggestion of the Yeti, which I’d totally be behind!) The Zygons
(haven’t seen them yet) and the Ice Warriors. The Ice Warriors, the
assumedly frigid race from Mars (SPOILERS ALREADY GIVEN BY THE PLOT
SYNOPSIS ABOVE: No, they’re just Martian warriors who happen to be
found trapped in a block of ice...) were even given a geeky fanboy
nod in the Gap Year special “Waters of Mars”, in which the Doctor
spoke of the Ice Warrior civilization like a legend of yore, implying
that the ‘Ice’ warriors had frozen and trapped the ‘water’
monster, The Flood. Get it? Because water and ice are both related
and they’re both on Mars??? So, for all of the hype, this serial
was our </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span lang="en">first
exposure to the fabled, fan-beloved, nay... legendary (and anything
that’s legend to the uber-built-up ‘Lonely God Oncoming Storm
Angel Most Powerful Being In The Universe Roxors 111’ Tenth Doctor
has GOT to be big!) Ice Warriors.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Well,
maybe they get better in a future appearance.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These
Ice Warriors- which are named for being found in ice this serial, but
suddenly are calling themselves that in future appearances, which is
just bad continuity- did not impress here, and continue not to
throughout their run (though subsequent serial featuring them are
usually excellent regardless). Interestingly, they were originally
conceived of as cybernetic vikings-like warriors, with bits of
technology interspersed with their armor- a concept which,
intentionally or unintentionally, seems to have been fulfilled in the
New Series episode “The Wedding of River Song,” by the Doctor’s
‘Live Chess’ opponent.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
is a strange serial. In some ways, a traditional
Monsters-besieging-an-isolated-outpost tale. In others, a strange
story about... not trusting computers? I didn’t get the attitude
here, but given Star Trek’s technophobia at the same time, it seems
to be a 60s thing- Computer = Bad. Cannot think like a man. Do not
rely on it. It will lead us to our doom. Strange. I could tell that
the leader was being set up as a villain/fool... but I agreed with
all of his points. He was kinda right, and his nay-Sayers acting
irrationally... and yet the story was trying to make the point that
he was wrong. Very strange indeed.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
science isn’t so hot, either- the glacial melting thing and it’s
rate of encroachment? A little hard to swallow. An interesting
concept, though- a frozen Earth being thawed (in new Who, it would
have been terraforming for invasion), refugees assigned social casts,
a group of reviled outcasts as per the miniseries V... okay, I may
have made those last two up... I waited a bit long to review this
after seeing it, and the details ARE forgettable. Some nice comedy
bits with the TARDIS materializing sideways (with the crew having to
climb out the top in a scene later echoed in the Eleventh Hour with
Matt Smith- one wonders if his love of Troughton didn’t figure into
this as an intentional reference...) and nearly being detected...
some random... stuff... melting happening too quickly... a bizarre
and pretty arbitrary test... some stock footage of wolves (though the
hunt was very nice), an absurd cave-in calamity situation... there’s
just... so much to be forgotten, and not a lot of note.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What
IS of note, however, was the incredibly cool reconstruction- an
official one from the BBC- involving newly shot footage of one of
the communications wrist-monitors lying abandoned on the snowy
ground, with the camera dollying in during a snowfall, and an
announcement of communications interruption from the base
technicians. It promises to restore communications in 15 minutes, and
so it does... compressing two episodes, with narration, into a 15
minute span (almost seamlessly... only one event referenced later on
clued me in that portions of the story had been excised), with a
mobile video frame around it, looking nearly identical to the Tenth
planet reconstruction, which may also have been official in
retrospect. Regardless, this reconstruction is wicked cool, very
professional, and awesome-looking, while keeping the pace moving
rapidly. Score!!!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jamie
is weak to the point of nonexistence, while Victoria is a standard
captured-damsel, though her fiery indignation and last-minute
conspiring with the Doctor in the final chapter- a very amusing bit-
make hers the best showing in the episode, above the ineffective male
members of the TARDIS crew. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
finale is muddled and confusing, with the plan to disable the
intruders more effective on the defenders, seemingly, and the
last-minute save being played rather anticlimactically. Nonetheless,
this serial isn’t ALL bad. Just... mostly. Unlike the Daleks (well,
to everyone EXCEPT for me, who found the serial ‘The Daleks’ to
be dull) and the Cybermen, the legendary status of the Ice Warriors
clearly derived from a second appearance, because it sure as heck
didn’t come from this one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Great moments:</b></span></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
thawing Ice around the warrior was pretty cool, and the Doctor’s
last-minute solution to his test was pretty fun. The bit with the
wolves was a definite highlight, though- pretty exciting, if memory
serves correctly 6 months after-the-fact... :-)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Rating:</b></span></div>
<div lang="en" style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">1.5
out of 5 Electrified Cybermats for the glacially slow, confusing, and
weak-villained Ice Warriors. However, a sterling 5 out of 5 (even if,
being an official reconstruction, it’s a bit unfair to rate on the
same scale as fan reconstructions working off of much fewer
resources... but this is a rating of viewer enjoyability, after
all...) for the slick and polished, fantastic looking and very cool
in-universe reconstruction... a shame it couldn’t belong to a
better story.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8738934204680237150.post-34335388626058906092012-02-29T15:42:00.000-08:002012-02-29T16:24:02.894-08:00Doctor Who: The Abominable Snowmen<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOdBcG7FF3bKJlh77dbglUc7Cr8kTVUawOI-QKXQHQc2qsoTiFrG9Nfwn5jYr9LElFcyq9If14jazDugoY-4N9_5X6ruYMPR-tOubxGBuCCqG42jR1R-94ucpSflihWvTvKhqi_IX9laK/s1600/bk-2n-79.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOdBcG7FF3bKJlh77dbglUc7Cr8kTVUawOI-QKXQHQc2qsoTiFrG9Nfwn5jYr9LElFcyq9If14jazDugoY-4N9_5X6ruYMPR-tOubxGBuCCqG42jR1R-94ucpSflihWvTvKhqi_IX9laK/s320/bk-2n-79.jpg" width="191" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Serial Title:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
The Abominable Snowmen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Series:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Episodes:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Doctor:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Patrick Troughton </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Companions:</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Synopsis:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The TARDIS arrives in the
Himalayan mountains of Tibet, on Earth, circa 1935. The Doctor
recognizes the time period, and excitedly fishes through the TARDIS
archives for the Ghanta, a large ceremonial bell- and a holy relic to
the nearby monastery. He assures Jamie and Victoria that it will
grant them a warm welcome. As he heads off to the monastery, ordering
them to stay there, Victoria leaves to explore, forcing Jamie to come
with her.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Doctor receives no
warm welcome, however, as British expedition leader (and sole
survivor… what is Series 5’s love of killing off expeditions?)
Edward Travers, on the mountains in hopes of proving the elusive Yeti
really exist, accuses him of murder. Travers, sheltering in the
monastery, had his last man murdered by a Yeti- but, unable to
rationalize the normally-shy creatures’ sudden violence, seizes on
the Doctor’s fur coat and the dark night to believe that <i>he</i> was the
true killer, only mistaken for a Yeti. The monks, also puzzled by a
recent violent streak in the now-ferocious Yeti, lock him in a cell
pending trial.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJffyqOVSgRKeJSjPyrdD3HhWZKKrf6QWoN49ATUILL0Pt62JAxOXNyWtSAZHCA7D52eRoXlaTTbjL92l2eAcKRioB_IuOERS2H4O6Qik2Miuny522BWDPCWnC35xOQbIH7GZiF4QrKHYM/s1600/vic+and+jamie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJffyqOVSgRKeJSjPyrdD3HhWZKKrf6QWoN49ATUILL0Pt62JAxOXNyWtSAZHCA7D52eRoXlaTTbjL92l2eAcKRioB_IuOERS2H4O6Qik2Miuny522BWDPCWnC35xOQbIH7GZiF4QrKHYM/s1600/vic+and+jamie.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Victoria and Jamie,
meanwhile, stumble into a cave and have a close-call with a Yeti,
which proves to be nearly indestructible when they knock down a
support and bring the roof down on its head… and it keeps on
coming.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 100%;">Back at the monastery,
token Extremely Unreasonable Second In Command (</span>tm<span style="line-height: 100%;">), </span>Khrisong<span style="line-height: 100%;"> (I’m
sorry, that should be Gaston-</span>Zentos<span style="line-height: 100%;">-Tor-</span>Khrisong<span style="line-height: 100%;">, latest in a long,
hair-</span>tearingly<span style="line-height: 100%;"> irritating line) ignores orders from his superior,
common sense, reason, and audience </span><span style="line-height: 16px;">likability</span><span style="line-height: 100%;"> and bullies the other
monks into letting him take the Doctor out and murder him… BECAUSE
HE ISN’T WILLING TO WAIT AN HOUR FOR PRAYERS TO FINISH AND THE
ABBOT TO COME AND HEAR THE CASE. Let me say that again, just to be
clear: HE CONVINCES THE MONKS TO LET HIM TAKE THE DOCTOR OUT AND
MURDER HIM BECAUSE HE DOESN’T WANT TO WAIT AN HOUR FOR PRAYERS TO
FINISH. </span>Yeesh<span style="line-height: 100%;">. (Travers matches his idiotic obstinacy by admitting
that the Doctor does not have the physical strength to have committed
the murder, but insisting that he won’t be ‘distracted’ from
his accusations.)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgheKg6TJ7MGActvQz5qJtdpAJclOz4EJhPRYBcykArdYc-6TzenlvfJNpRrD1mI-0VxQV_t_0UmFosMEn_TtLluRGDP8qSWb5Da83a0ooEh2ohz7dhXgV9XyKaNIs7GmxCG_mXFf0qko/s1600/Khrisong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgheKg6TJ7MGActvQz5qJtdpAJclOz4EJhPRYBcykArdYc-6TzenlvfJNpRrD1mI-0VxQV_t_0UmFosMEn_TtLluRGDP8qSWb5Da83a0ooEh2ohz7dhXgV9XyKaNIs7GmxCG_mXFf0qko/s1600/Khrisong.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Khrisong</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His preferred method of
killing is to take the Doctor out and chain him to the gates as live
bait to trap a Yeti, so as to determine the cause of their mysterious
violence of late. Meanwhile, young initiate Thonmi has found the
Ghanta that the Doctor was trying to return. He brings it to the
Abbot Songsten, who is deep in communion with the Master of the
monastery, Padmasambhava .(Note from Sarah: I am really glad that "Padmasambhava" will now be stuck in my head for DAYS after reading this! That drove me nuts watching this serial!) Thonmi is thanked (and memory-wiped of his
encounter with Padmasambhava) and the Doctor is ordered to be freed.
Travers returns from an exploration with Victoria and Jamie, and,
anxious to see the Yeti that they have found in the caves, corroborates their
testimony that the Doctor could not have committed the murder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As the
Doctor is freed from his role as bait, however, the Yeti attack the monastery- one is beaten down
and appears to suddenly die, while the others retreat- and the fallen is taken inside for examination. A
small silver sphere, unnoticed by the group, has fallen just outside
the gates- a sphere identical to one found in the Yeti cave by Jamie,
which he has brought to show the Doctor.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pk_NkXq9-sDzhB9QnUQ1phGQPVIrbdpHksp1b7scF-2eOXaVcbNUDcjyfi1JlMag9P3bs49dEx3Doz4IUeyUXYVgLCXrT9iIwazSMbmTgXMM39_Mm0C3OuPrxi1Rmloh5Yk-A-uGoDSy/s1600/Yeti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pk_NkXq9-sDzhB9QnUQ1phGQPVIrbdpHksp1b7scF-2eOXaVcbNUDcjyfi1JlMag9P3bs49dEx3Doz4IUeyUXYVgLCXrT9iIwazSMbmTgXMM39_Mm0C3OuPrxi1Rmloh5Yk-A-uGoDSy/s1600/Yeti.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The mystery of the Yeti
only deepens when the inert creature brought inside is discovered to
be a robot with an outer fur covering designed to make it look like a
Yeti. The Doctor discovers a spherical impression where the silver
globe had resided, its dislodging causing the robot’s shut-down…
but cannot find the sphere Jamie brought back. Unbeknownst to him,
they are moving on their own.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of the spheres soon
reaches the Yeti, sliding into the cavity to re-activate it- and the risen Yeti battles its way through the monks, killing many before it escapes the
monastery. Victoria and Thonmi, nearby at the time, are accused of
having revived the creature, and the duo are imprisoned. Travers, meanwhile,
follows the Yeti to its cave, and discovers a glowing pyramid,
surrounded by the silver spheres, that breaks open, and begins oozing
a strange living gelatin into the cave.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Padmasambhava, revealed
to be controlling the Yeti via model figures on a game-board
representation of the monastery, orders the monks to leave,
ostensibly to seek safe shelter from the dangerous Yeti attacks. He
is revealed to be a puppet of the Great Intelligence, a force
possessing his body… and even now manifesting a body of its own,
spilling out of the pyramid in the cave. The Yeti attack yet again,
killing more monks, and withdraw, as Padmasambhava tries to force the
monks to leave.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Doctor goes in to
meet Padmasambhava, a man he knew from the monastery 300 years
before. Padmasambhava explains that he was traveling with his mind on
the astral plane (a Buddhist monk thing) and encountered the Great Intelligence, which has since taken his body for its own and kept him
alive as its puppet. Padmasambhava dies, expressing regret in his dying words... but after
the Doctor leaves, he revives, once again animated by the Great
Intelligence.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAkpWgyyWejCh_eSwS1Hh96CwHXzPfqTcggWS_w6hOSz0ZsMopmE_oqMt4tVMsZ9Rc0HaEiWNsuNAOSm0DOqyPoD5SwVkgFqLRwN_nJU80h7LKivgcrB1B209hFA7T9bHaOuLX8_qoK6J/s1600/Songsten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNAkpWgyyWejCh_eSwS1Hh96CwHXzPfqTcggWS_w6hOSz0ZsMopmE_oqMt4tVMsZ9Rc0HaEiWNsuNAOSm0DOqyPoD5SwVkgFqLRwN_nJU80h7LKivgcrB1B209hFA7T9bHaOuLX8_qoK6J/s1600/Songsten.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Songsten</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Doctor is able to
remove Victoria from a Great Intelligence-induced trance, and pieces
together all the evidence to realize that Songsten, the Abbot, is the
chief link between the Yeti and the monastery, also being used as a
puppet of sorts. Meanwhile, the Intelligence continues to pour out of
the pyramid, overflowing the cave and starting down the mountain.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Songsten kills Khrisong,
and is then captured and bound. The Doctor convinces the monks to
leave, removing them from danger as he battles the Intelligence. He
ventures back into the sanctum and engages in a telepathic battle of
wills with Padmasambhava, unable to do more than keep him at bay, and
he seems to be losing, immobilized and in pain, while the Yeti-robots
break in and advance menacingly to tear him limb from limb- but Jamie
and Thomni begin to smash equipment in the hidden lab nearby- first
destroying a large sphere which controls the others, deactivating the
Yeti-bots once and for all, and then a large pyramid, linked to the
other, which dispels the Great Intelligence. Victoria, meanwhile, is
useless. (And no, that’s not just a notation on this situation,
it’s a general overall commentary on her character.)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHHfwlpxb-uJM4_MjmimLlqwy552JGX0bmy5bt5w8bMWR2zY5gUWxk8pHhnQkqy-VDkw3wuWrr8F4u3YHiYipqe9AbihXW2A9zaeiaEf-PNh6A0ghnHFext191drUellOU5-0fPUNiwTf/s1600/Professor+Travers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHHfwlpxb-uJM4_MjmimLlqwy552JGX0bmy5bt5w8bMWR2zY5gUWxk8pHhnQkqy-VDkw3wuWrr8F4u3YHiYipqe9AbihXW2A9zaeiaEf-PNh6A0ghnHFext191drUellOU5-0fPUNiwTf/s1600/Professor+Travers.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Professor Travers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Padmasambhava, freed from
the Intelligence, finally dies in peace. The TARDIS crew and Travers
leave the monastery, and as they head towards the TARDIS, they stop
short when they see another Yeti wandering the mountain. It sees
them, turns around, and flees, shy and docile- a real Yeti exists
after all. An excited Travers gives chase, exultant that Yeti
sightings have not always been the Intelligence’s robots, but are real creatures that were
simply mimicked for the machines. As he pursues his prize, the TARDIS
leaves the monastery behind for good.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Review:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This was an oddly
conflicted episode- well written, and suspense-sustaining; I really
enjoyed the plot twists- and yet chock full of unreasonable,
irritating, dumb-as-a-post obstinate and obnoxious characters. How I
could enjoy the plot whilst loathing the characters so much, I don’t
know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Englishman begins as
an unreasonable paranoid idiot who won’t let facts get in the way
of his wild and absurd claims, even when directly confronted with the
truth.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3QmaNWvoACr4q_RzLu9CypfOqY5cJozBdmlYF_rQyttOynoaQi5smiTmhsf_mmUVr-roVpOE_GT1AVnEQNmEy9LdgUD8-ShG919BnZXgGWTQl0_A7MtdQtke5OzsA1jWgjeC26LSqyT6/s1600/Jamie+Victoria+big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp3QmaNWvoACr4q_RzLu9CypfOqY5cJozBdmlYF_rQyttOynoaQi5smiTmhsf_mmUVr-roVpOE_GT1AVnEQNmEy9LdgUD8-ShG919BnZXgGWTQl0_A7MtdQtke5OzsA1jWgjeC26LSqyT6/s320/Jamie+Victoria+big.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The chief of the warriors
(you know, the pacifist monks’ elite warriors…?) was impatient, foolhardy, and
stubborn… but strangely, everyone obeyed him even as he defied the
orders of his (and their) superiors as if they were compelled to
assist him even though he was clearly in the wrong… and he
continues, even when the TARDIS crew have proven themselves, to leap
to suspicions every other second, every time something inexplicable
happens.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And Victoria… WHAT THE
HECK IS WRONG WITH VICTORIA?!?!?!? Does she have some sort of mental
problem? Is she mentally stunted? Is she an IDIOT???? There’s a
difference between curious, and out-rightly attempting to make trouble
and insult your hosts repeatedly in defiance of their every request,
demand, and tradition, and going out of your way to attempt to
deceive and betray them to satisfy your apparently enchanted (along
the veins of Sleeping Beauty or Diggory on Charn in the Magician’s
Nephew) compulsion to do what is forbidden and what you have no good
reason to do. Victoria was actively grating in this, as she went out
of her way to get into trouble in a manner that was downright
infuriating- and also betrayed her only ally and left him locked in a
cell. The girl is cute as a button, but… rapidly becoming my least
favorite companion ever (yes, that’s right, worse than DODO!!!)
despite her strong showing in Tomb of the Cybermen. (It would appear
to be her version of The Gunfighters- the single serial in which the
companion is starring and instantly likable which makes you feel bad
for saying you detest them…); we will see if coming serials
reinforce or dispel this image.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QW6a23zUOSA09RZEWcZsgnCfrzLlh4HrrIjTDUbVVchTc_SbxSP2SvivkGR_LSCxwROe5bVzNisHzZTZrN_w3wG1FE3Tfxzo6d9wcq0Q9k6GFySQRZuDp8oF0wm_aWRYMo0DKMhpZH1Y/s1600/Jamie+victoria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QW6a23zUOSA09RZEWcZsgnCfrzLlh4HrrIjTDUbVVchTc_SbxSP2SvivkGR_LSCxwROe5bVzNisHzZTZrN_w3wG1FE3Tfxzo6d9wcq0Q9k6GFySQRZuDp8oF0wm_aWRYMo0DKMhpZH1Y/s1600/Jamie+victoria.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jamie is very sensible in
this episode- though letting himself be pushed over by Victoria a
little too easily- he is protective, clever, and prudent, doing the
common sense thing- leaving me little to discuss in his actions, but
much to recommend him. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 100%;">The Doctor was clever as
ever, but likewise largely generic here- save for a few standout bits; his
nonchalant order for Jamie NOT to be interested in the bagpipes he
just found, his unexpected unease when he finds that the Holy Relic
in his possession is potentially considered stolen, and of course the
battle of wills at the end- the Doctor is always in top form when
battling hypnosis.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And the Yeti. Oh, the
Yeti. How we were cracking up… the bouncy gait, the chubby costume-
like a fur covered Grimace from McDonalds’ mascot line, or a fat
Talz from the Mos Eisley Cantina, this lumpy, hapless furball is
hilarious and in no way threatening- in fact, you feel bad for the
poor dear when it’s caught in a net and being repeatedly clubbed in
the head, because the poor thing is so obviously helpless even before
it’s hoisted up- the Yeti are not a credible threat. They’re
kinda cute, actually- you want one as a pet. But they are fun, in an
especially cheesy, dumpy, goofy kinda way.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The villain, the Great
Intelligence, reminded me very much of The Animus from The Web
Planet- while his motivations and background seemed a little hazy,
the actor portraying </span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Padmasambhava</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, his stolen body, did an excellent job-
creepy and effective, as was the slow and gradual reveal of him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4oJm1hXnD38cRJtICVsxHPAK_1zfszn9KVbfcuVT1RLan2iS2TAuV3JQMaBWBa0CEaeb9bfyWegVgbiNvrkqs_hWmdTT7UnjzyN9pWhi4fkJeygc4vaCvTuDFz6RtFhj3dBPyoL7jyCe/s1600/doctor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4oJm1hXnD38cRJtICVsxHPAK_1zfszn9KVbfcuVT1RLan2iS2TAuV3JQMaBWBa0CEaeb9bfyWegVgbiNvrkqs_hWmdTT7UnjzyN9pWhi4fkJeygc4vaCvTuDFz6RtFhj3dBPyoL7jyCe/s1600/doctor.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story itself was a
strange, meandering version of the Alamo, or some other last stand,
and seemed to wander around a bit- like an episode of Lost, gradually
revealing a large, multi-faceted mystery while conspiring in every
way possible to keep the whole cast from being in the same place at
the same time. The final assault was quite exciting, though- with the
battle of wills and the oncoming Yeti, ever symbolized by the
simple-yet-effective figures-on-a-model-board approach.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Aside from the
aggravating characters and the laughable Yeti, I find myself at a
loss to note anything of real substance about this episode. The
re-creation we watched, a YouTube compilation set to the
narration-enhanced audio tracks, was excellent if goofy- trying hard
with it’s silly little moving-cutout figures, more reminiscent of
Monty Python than Doctor Who- but it TRIED, and tried hard, remaining
entertaining and energetic, and even splicing in video clips when
backs were turned or lips weren’t moving, to great effect.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHwptzIZWKaYwsx6BipcP1aWGRV_W5ASDPGSHsCYbF-f0ZUkQB6_BL8T7OmZ5lSwbDKKLmFwQ1CvR9Z14XJC7WqoOJlqM5NndSBQQavuznXEhuObnk5xo8xycqUjQOVDsaSffrChH9KEa/s1600/yeti2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHwptzIZWKaYwsx6BipcP1aWGRV_W5ASDPGSHsCYbF-f0ZUkQB6_BL8T7OmZ5lSwbDKKLmFwQ1CvR9Z14XJC7WqoOJlqM5NndSBQQavuznXEhuObnk5xo8xycqUjQOVDsaSffrChH9KEa/s1600/yeti2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yeti? Or Dufflepuds??</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The dumpy Abominable
Snowmen turned out to be a little absurd, but lovably goofball-
endearing in that
‘six-year-old’s-best-effort-which-isn’t-really-very-good-but-is-adorable-because-of-the-earnest-effort’
way, just the same as the costumes of it’s titular monsters. And
the coda with the eager explorer spotting a real Yeti at last,
proving that they are indeed real, was fun. I still think the Yeti
must have been the inspiration for the costume design of the Talz in
Star Wars: A New Hope, if not a modified costume itself.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Great moments:</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The… ha-ha-ha-ha…!
The first appearance of the Yeti…ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>Rating:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 0; widows: 0;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">4 out of 5 Electrified
Cybermats (or should that be Electrified Control Spheres?) for the
reconstruction, which may not have been as technically apt as some
previous reconstructions, but really went the extra mile on it
nonetheless, reminding me of some of the best early Loose Canons for
Hartnell- and 2.5 out of 5 Electrified Cybermats for an innocuous
(but oddly tangled in tone) story with fun camp, irritating
characters, and a stellar villain. The factors balance themselves
into an average… which would have been 2, save for the strength of
Wolfe Morris as the villain’s puppet, Padmasambhava.</span></div>Sarah and Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09757558305242483362noreply@blogger.com0