Geekbat Review

Series 4 Overview

2012-02-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

General Thoughts onSeries 4

The Fourth Series is adefinite time of transition. It sees the first changeover of Doctorsat the oddly-placed second serial, and despite Hartnell’s departure being explained as happening for (among other reasons) disagreements with the toneof the show, this series is much more of a Saturday Morning Cartoon,with serials like the Macra Terror, The Underwater Menace, etc.feeling much more like standard children's fare… an impression aidedby Patrick Troughton’s more childish (in whimsy, though not in anylack of maturity) Doctor. He has perhaps slightly less depth, andwhile he is clever, funny, and energetic, even his deep conversations(such as the charming piece between he and Victoria Waterfield in theopening story of the next season) and ethical dilemmas feel less deepthan they were with Hartnell- more simplified.

Which is not to say thatthe level of writing is childish just because it is morechild-friendly in tone. Serials like Evil of the Daleks, The TenthPlanet, and The Faceless Ones are masterpieces- standout stories thatthe third series had far less abundantly. And here, the ‘lesser’serials are still consistently entertaining- I can’t look at asingle one of these stories and say “That was bad, it didn’tentertain me” as I could for, say, Galaxy 4 or other Series 3entries. However, there’s just a feeling, a general impression, ofrough corners being sanded, of bright colors being (metaphorically,as the show is still in black and white) added, of concepts beingsimplified- not stories, as stand-outs like The Faceless Ones stillhave excellent plotting and exciting twists- but perhaps the conceptsupon which they are based are less complex, less hard sci-fi, even ifthe stories retain their complexity. The stories are of equal orgreater quality, but their foundational concepts are now morechild-friendly… as is the new Doctor and his energetic,sometimes-silly ways.

And that new Doctor doesdelight; his energetic antics and zany behavior- not to mention hisendlessly expressive face, when video is kind enough to make anappearance here (this is definitely the most ‘lost’ series thusfar in terms of video-to-reconstruction proportions)- keep even slowor un-engaging episodes entertaining and watchable- even if the storyis going nowhere, the Doctor is always doingsomething, and this energy helps the series immeasurably- not sincethe ‘golden age’ second season has a series (or season, for usAmerican viewers) felt this consistently entertaining and overallquality. Now, I don’t think there were nearly as many ‘stellar’stories here, so it’s a testament to how much more enjoyable thisenergetic and fun, ‘kid-friendly’ approach is, even to adults,that it nonetheless rates the same amount of satisfaction.

If it seems that I amstruggling for words and covering the same ground repeatedly, I am.It’s difficult to explain the ineffable quality and tonal changethat I sense in these episodes- and the only terms that do seem tofit, “less depth” “more kid-friendly” “Saturday-morningcartoon” all seem to have negative connotations- they make it soundlike that’s a BAD thing, like Doctor Who was being dumbed down. Itwasn’t- in fact, the change was for the better. It’s somewhatlike the difference between the direction of the first two Star Trekmovies. Perhaps purists will decry the ‘dumbing down and flashy-ingup’ of the Wrath of Kahn- more about action and fun and glitz thanthe more somber, more intellectual first entry… a struggle sharedby the pilots, when the original pilot was canned for being toocerebral, and the second got its acceptance by mixing a thoughtfulsci-fi plot with a fist-fight and effects bonanza. In the case ofboth pilots and movies, I’ve seen both, and enjoy both in differentways- but neither detractor nor fan would claim that the tonalchange, which subsequently defined the series, was for the worse.Perhaps in mainstreaming themselves and becoming more action andentertainment-oriented, both Star Trek and Doctor Who ‘sold out’some of their thoughtfulness and sacrificed some of their depth. Butthe new products are hardly anything for intellectuals and‘grown-ups’ to look down their nose at in disdain as unthinkingfluff, because the re-packaged, re-focused series maintain the coresof the cleverness, good writing, interesting characters, sciencefiction originality, etc. that made both versions great- the newerincarnations simply shifted the balance of thought and action,emphasizing the latter and slimming the former. The New Series ofDoctor Who, launched in 2005, has done the same thing, shifting thebalance yet again, even further towards action and entertainment…and it is beloved on multiple continents as even the Tom Baker‘classic’ years of Old Who weren’t. (Note from Sarah: In my point of view what happened is that Doctor Who became a more successful "marriage" of science and entertainment, whereas before it was mostly just 'science' or what the writers THOUGHT was science, it's almost as if the Hartnell years were REALLY trying their hardest to impress people-like when you pretend you know OH so much about a subject to impress a girl and end up sounding really boring and pretentious instead of just being yourself...which happens to be a mixture of really funny, crazy, and smart at the same time. Now this is not to say that the Hartnell years didn't have any entertainment value, seeing as Keys of Marinus is still one of the best in my opinion, I am just saying I personally feel like they FINALLY got the balance of Smart and Entertaining down much better once Troughton came along. The show still gets you to THINK but it doesn't first numb your brain with so much talk that you don't realize when you're supposed to be entertained. :-D )

So, yes- gone are thehistoricals (which were, unfortunately, too often uniformly dull…save for the Myth Makers! If they’d kept historical as comedies,they would have excelled- but do that too often, and you become Mr.Peabody and Sherman, so perhaps they remain best as unique- andespecially enjoyable- footnotes, rather than an ongoing pattern.)

(NFS: I personally miss the Historicals, they were the ones I usually enjoyed more. A lot of times they were dry yes, but I even feel that way with the new series, really like the ones where they travel to the past! I think because if it were me and I had a time machine I would always chose the past, no question).Gone is William Hartnell- and as fantastic as the new fella is, thebeloved original will be missed. Here to stay is a spirited Doctorand his long-lasting Scottish companion. Here to stay is energy, pep,vigor, fun- and yes, perhaps at the cost of a slightly more serious,adult tone. But not to the detriment of the program. Doctor Whochanges in this season, at an indefinable point, and in anindefinable way… but it’s more fun than ever, entertaining asheck even when the stories are weak and/or reconstructed, and despiteit’s many missing episodes… it’s a favorite!

For this season, the 2ndDoctor's catchphrase was my all-time favorite: "When I sayrun... run!" Honestly, it just encapsulates the Second Doctor sobrilliantly- the excitement and fun, the adventure, the slightlycomical cowardice and comic hijinks- and I want to cheer every timehe says it!

Doctor Who: Evil of the Daleks

2012-02-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

SerialTitle:Evil of the Daleks

Series:4

Episodes:7

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)

Synopsis:

Pickingup on the cliffhanger of the previous serial, the Doctor and Jamiesearch 1966 London (in fact, the same day as the WOTAN affair from'The War Machines'- perhaps the Doctor's sinister feeling in thatepisode was not due to WOTAN, but due to the simultaneous presence ofthe Daleks in London- which he simply attributed to WOTAN, havingfound it first?) for the missing TARDIS, chasing- but losing- apickup truck spiriting the box away.

After tracking down the thief,and getting into a fight for their troubles, the Doctor and Jamie arerelayed a message from a Mr. Watterfield, of Waterfield’s antiques-a firm specializing in Victorian antiques that look brand new. Atthe behest of his masters, Waterfield stole the TARDIS, and lures theDoctor in, forcing him through a mirror-based time machine to 1866Victorian England, his own native time period. There, his masters arerevealed… the Daleks. Waterfield, and his partner TheodoreMaxtible’s, early experiments on steampunk time-travel attractedthe attention of Skaro- and they have co-opted Waterfield and Maxtible (threatening the life of Waterfield’s captive daughter, Victoria) into abducting the Doctor… who they also wish to co-opt into asinister experiment. They propose to identify and distill ‘thehuman factor’ – whatever nebulous quality humans posess thatallows them to defeat the Daleks time and time again- and transplantit into new Daleks, creating a race of un-defeatable super-Daleks. Todo so, they intend to put Jamie through a number of tests and gaugehis very human responses. The Doctor, under threat of the TARDIS’destruction, has no choice but to agree.

Jamieis manipulated into running the gauntlet to rescue Victoria,surviving a number of traps, and even Victoria’s mute protector,Kemel. Meanwhile, Maxtible is revealed to be a willing collaboratorwith the Daleks, working for them in exchange for their philosopher’sstone-esque secrets. Jamie succeeds in his ‘resuce,’ but Victoriais spirited away again by the Daleks.

TheDoctor completes the Human Factor distillation and implants it intothe three test subject Daleks, whom he names Alpha, Beta, and Omega…who become childlike and playful innocents (NFS: "Dizzy dizzy Doctah!") who consider the Doctortheir friend. The Doctor is delighted, but the Daleks soon arrive toruin the party, taking them all into custody, transporting themthrough the mirror time/space portal, and destroying both it and theWaterfield mansion with a bomb. The Doctor, Jamie, and Mr. Watefieldare left to die, but manage to commandeer a separate time machineused by the Daleks and give chase- landing on the Dalek homeworld,Skaro. Omega arrives to escort them in secretly, but the Daleksprove both aware of their arrival and even more treacherous thanexpected, as this Dalek has faked Omega’s markings and personalityin order to lead them into a trap.

Thegroup is brought before the mighty Dalek Emperor, who reveals thetrue purpose of the experiments- to use the Human Factor isolationcriteria for Dalek scientists to isolate the Dalek Factor, everythingthat makes the cruel and monstrous beings what they are- which theyintend to infect humanity (and the human-Daleks) with to enslave theuniverse. The Dalek Emperor hypnotizes Maxtible, making him the first guinea pig in an archway (perhaps an early Chameleon Arch?) that instills the Dalek Factor intohumanoids. The Emperor plans to convert the Doctor, and then use himand the TARDIS, also relocated to Skaro, to spread the Dalek Factorto humanity throughout history, retroactively enslaving the humanrace from the very beginning. The Doctor fakes his conversion,however, and tampers with the arch.

Asthe Daleks are having trouble locating the three human Daleks amongstthe populace, the ‘converted’ Doctor suggests running them allthrough the archway just to be safe, re-infusing them with the DalekFactor and assuredly catching the miscreant three somewhere in theprocess. As the process begins, the Doctor slips away and frees hiscompanions, revealing the reason for his non-conversion… the Daleksdo not yet realize that he is not human, the species the archway wascalibrated to, and thus it had no effect on him. He then switched theDalek and Human factor canisters, meaning that the first batch ofDaleks to go through the archway have been Human Factor-ized. Theyrebel, and a Dalek civil war breaks out with great ferocity- aconflict that the Doctor believes may lead to their “Final End.”Maxtable is killed whilst insanely expressing Dalek propaganda, andWaterfield takes a blast meant for the Doctor (The Doctor has morepeople take bullets and bullet-equivalents for him than the presidentof a despised dictatorship… from Waterfield to Rory Williams, ifyou’re around the Doctor, plan on wearing a laser-proof vest! Andremember, Doctor- your charmed life has a COST!) The Doctor, Jamie,and newly-orphaned Victoria enter the TARDIS to escape, the latterbecoming a new companion, as the Dalek emperor is exterminated andthe city explodes into flames.

However,later… much later… in the embers, a single light blinks… andsomethingstirs…

Asthey say in 50s B-movies, “THE END…?”

Review:

Asa Dalek Swan Song, this was an interesting choice- as the Daleksreally only feel important to the story in the Skaro finale, despitetheir sinister presence being interspersed throughout. However, eventhough this serial ended up not following through on the Dalek’s“Final End”- though it did finish them off for a while- it is oneof the better Dalek tales I’ve seen thus far (maybe not in termsof a 'Dalek story'- Dalek Master Plan still holds that position, in mybook (NFS: You only think that cause it has cool 'puzzle' man in it.), but in terms of a 'story with the Daleks in it.'). Note that, dueto time travel, this may very well be the Daleks’ “Final End”chronologically, with all future Dalek stories taking placechronologically before this one (though that requires them to losetheir knowledge of his Time Lord status at some point before thisserial)- at least, up until the between-series Time War resets andscrambles the timelines for the New Series. (Or perhaps the Fourth Doctor serial Genesis of the Daleks rewrites their history... ah, but we'll get to that one all in good time!)

Andthis wasintended as the final Dalek story. Just as with the perpetual James Bondnemesis of SPECTRE (who vanished from the Bond series somewhatjarringly with the end of the Connery era, never to be seen again),the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, retained rights to their usedespite not having rights to the overall series, and wanted a biggerslice of the pie for himself. Rather than Dalek royalties every timethey were used in an episode of Doctor Who, Nation wanted anall-Dalek series from which he could receive 100% of the profits.After creating a backdoor pilot in the stand-alone 'Mission to theUnknown,' and a series proof of concept in the Dalek Master Planserial, Nation withdrew them from Doctor Who to go and sell aDalek-only series in America- Dalek-mania was in full swing, withDaleks in England being nearly as popular as Mr. Spock in the US.(The pilot subsequently failed and after several years, Nationreturned the Daleks to Doctor Who- Big Finish productions andNicholas Briggs, the new-series current voice of the Daleks, arecoming out with the unmade pilot’s script as an audio drama this year.) This, then, was intended to be their Doctor Who farewellstory, one final epic with the Daleks before retiring them from theprogram for good.

TheDaleks, for the beginning, are shadowy puppet masters. Then, they arefun (and not in the usual dark humor/pratfall deaths Dalek way) withthe human-factor-infused Alpha, Beta, and Omega (or Alpha, Beeta, andOmeega, as Troughton bizarrely chooses to pronounce them), scenes oftheir frolicking playtime and childlike fun impressing even throughthe audio-only of the reconstruction- and lastly, regaining menace intheir Skaro stronghold, unseen since… well, confirmedly, since itsfirst appearance in the serial ‘The Daleks,’ the second serial ofDoctor Who, though potentially the DARDIS departure point in TheChase and The Daleks Master Plan could have taken place there aswell. Regardless, we ramp things up with the epic first appearance(in a very cool model) of the Dalek Emperor, a character seen asrecently as the New Series episode “Parting of the Ways,” thefinal story for the Ninth Doctor. In fact, the final confrontationwith the Emperor, like the villain battle in ‘The Rescue,’ feelslike a New Series classic confrontation with the villain, a moody andatmospheric final showdown between titanic rivals. Sadly, it seemsthat, as with the Rescue, each Doctor only gets one of these in hisentire run on the show at this point in the series… hopefully inthe color era, we’ll start seeing more of these climacticconfrontations.

Theonly confusing potential negative is that the Dalek’sracial/genetic purity, a key component of their overall character,mindset, and makeup, has clearly yet to be defined- as the infusionof humanity into a Dalek is such an unspeakable perversion in theireyes that the self-same “Parting of the Ways” portrayed theDaleks going mad from it- and another Ninth Doctor story showed aDalek committing suicide rather than living with a human‘contamination’ within itself. Still, perhaps these Daleks weremembers of the Cult of Skaro, an experimental think-outside-the-boxgroup of Elites from the New Who series, who once again attempt toabsorb human traits and install the Dalek Factor into humans in theutterly horrendous 2-parter “Daleks In Mnahattan/Evolution of theDaleks.”

Thisserial also shifts wildly in tone, though- going from a skulduggery-and-criminal-empire story in ‘modern’ London (onewhich I found initially hard to keep straight the characters of inthe reconstruction) to a strange gauntlet-test/mad scientist story inVictorian England (complete with, errrr…static-electricity-infused-mirrors as a time machine…?) to a darkand almost apocalyptic final rebellion- and it does certainly havethe intended air of finality to it!- on the black, bleak, andoppressive looking sets of Skaro.

Ofthe three, the middle segment, with Jamie’s testing and the ‘humanfactor’, felt the most superfluous- a bridging/padding section thatdidn’t really hold interest, as you knew that Jamie’s success orfailure would have little bearing on the story. The only part ofinterest was Jamie’s saving and befriending of the silent Kemel,forgoing the clichéd ‘drag you down with me’ villainmoment, hanging off of the roof, and showing some of Jamie’s noblercharacter.

Theopening, an extension of the missing-TARDIS mystery cliffhanger fromthe Faceless Ones, felt rather tacked on (despite being morewatchable) at the beginning- similar to the 2015 segments of Back tothe Future II, placed in there solely to resolve the cliffhanger frompart 1 and get the characters from point A- where you ended the laststory, and point C- where the story you actually want to tell begins.Nonetheless, the first appearance of the Daleks here is very good,and might have served as an excellent shock, (and indeed seems to beset up as a surprise) if it weren’t for, you know… the serial’sTITLE.

Thestory on Skaro- with falsified brainwashing, Dalek deception, Dalektreachery, and yes, a deluded Daleks-will-give-me-what-I-wanted ninnyfrom the Marvic Chen School of Naïve Idiocy (seriously, havethese guys not been paying attention to how the Daleks treat everyoneELSE?) is exciting and tense, dark and moody, and climaxes in a DalekCivil War that was probably a bit more epic in motion.

Thoughthe story feels made up of distinct segments that don’t necessarily feel like a cohesive story so much as a story forced to exist out ofthree separate entities, it is not without it’s merits- only duringthe testing of Jamie phase did it seem to flag, and there are enoughmachinations, plots, and counter plots throughout to keep thingsinteresting over its prodigious length.

VictoriaWaterfield, new companion by necessity (perhaps the first companiontaken on out of guilt, as involvement with the Doctor has-indirectly- gotten her family killed?) doesn’t present much morethan a pretty face here- it will take another serial to delve intoher role (Good!) and another after that to explore her character(Ugh!) (NFS: Ugh? Like as in....you'd rather not explore her character? Or UGH it takes that long?) (NFA: Ugh as in "I didn't really care for the character that was revealed" at the time- her obnoxious behavior in the Abominable Snowmen! I think I've softened to her since.)

Jamiefares well in terms of traits- forgiving and kind to his enemy,morally outraged at the thought of helping the Daleks, evenstrongly calling out the Doctor’s questionable behaviorwhen he feels like he’s being used- but he isn’t necessarily thatINTERESTING- just shown to be a good character.

TheDoctor himself is a little more inscrutable, as its hard to tell whatlevel of plotting he is on. Is he cooperating with the Daleks? Merelypretending to play along? Playing both sides? The Doctor is hard toread and often-absent with the focus on Jamie’s trials, but in theending Skaro sequence, puts in a strong showing. The finale is theDoctor’s piece, while the middle is Jamie’s, and the start is…no one’s? Meanwhile, the Doctor is established quite firmly as analien here- though the term ‘Time Lord’ has yet to be invented,so his species remains un-named. The Daleks’ repeated reference tohim as ‘human’ is retconned into an ignorance that he, perhaps,perpetuates (thus retconning other instances where he claimed orimplied that he was as well?) as an advantage… very, very cleverlycreating continuity out of chaos.

Thereconstruction for this one- not Loose Cannon, I believe- was decentbut lackluster, no real special effort applied, but not horrendous,either.

Greatmoments:

Thefirst Dalek appearance. Jamie’s gauntlet. The finale. Alpha, Beta,and Omega. The Dalek Emperor.

Rating:

Inthe end, the Evil of the Daleks, the swan-song-that-was-not-to-be,receives a 3.5 out of 5 Deadman’s Keys- but if one were to break itdown individually into the stories it feels like it is, Theft Of TheTARDIS would rate at a watchable 2 out of 5, Trials of Jamie wouldachieve a yawn-worthy 1 out of 5, and The Final End Of The Daleks(including as a prologue the creation of the human-factorized Daleks)would rate at a 5 out of 5- this is a fantastically-ending serialwith just a little too much lingering build-up to get there, which,while not as unwatchable or without-merit as I may have implied,still hold it back from truly classic status overall (though I wouldstill consider it one on the strength of its ending- one that everyWho fan should see, even if not up to the quality standards of, say,Keys of Marinus, Aztecs, Faceless Ones, etc.)

Thereconstruction is a 2 out of 5; just middling, and I tire of rankingall-the-same cookie-cutter reconstructions; without standout elementsthat marked the early First Doctor reconstructions, they all just runtogether… if only my collection contained more Loose Cannons!

About those Daleks...

Lastly,at this break point, when the Daleks sail oversees and hand off theheavy-villain reigns to the Cybermen, let’s take a look at thevarious stories of the abdicating pepper-pots and see how they rankagainst each other. Had things ended (and thus spared us the currentnew-series overdoing-it and Power Ranger Daleks), the Dalek storieson Doctor Who would have consisted of:

TheDaleks

TheDalek Invasion of Earth

TheChase

TheDaleks Master Plan

Powerof the Daleks

Evilof the Daleks

So,how would they rate in the eye of retrospect? From least to greatest:

TheDaleks – A decent introduction, but way too long andpadding-filled. Borrrrrrrring!

Powerof the Daleks – Creepy and atmospheric… but also too long,keeping it from true greatness. Not a bad story by half, though; asingle-sane-man-trying-to-find-an-ally tale of great skill!

TheChase – A really fun notion… and the duel of the Doctors isgreat! But dragged down by the slow Mechanoids bit and a number ofgreat premises that fell flat in execution. The goodbye for Ian andBarbara is almost enough to bump it up a notch, but I have to giveEvil the edge due to its excellent finale.

Evilof the Daleks – A great finale, but an overall failing body. So,like Davros. (Yeah, we’ll get there…) Still, several years later, I can say this one was very memorable- from the creation of Alpha, Beta, and Omega onward, this one was a true gem!

TheDalek Invasion of Earth – While I tend to think of this one as dulland unwatchable, further scrutiny reminds me of surprisinglyeffective post-appocolyptic London and some great scenes, plus thatfarewell… good stuff, really.

TheDaleks Master Plan – Everything, the Kitchen Sink, AND the Meddling Monk- from Volcanoes to Mavic Chen, Pyramids to Sara Kingdom, Katarina's death to the invention of Classic Who's ubiquitous T-mat... not to mention those alien delegates (yes, Sarah, including the puzzle-man) and the Time Destructor! The epic, the longest, and still the best- andI don’t see it being de-throned any time soon!

Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones

2012-01-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Serial Title: The Faceless Ones

Series:4

Episodes:6

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills), JamieMcCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Synopsis:

Gatwick, London, at atop-secret date (it’s the twist at the end, see, and I don’t wantto give away that it’s coming! …Oh, rats. Fine, July 20,1966)- the TARDIS lands in the middle of a runway, and when thepolice come to investigate, the TARDIS crew choose to scatter liketerrified chickens rather than ducking back inside. This isfortuitous(?), as while hiding, Polly witnesses a ray-gun murder. TheDoctor and Jamie also see the body, but the authorities in theairport are more concerned with the group's lack of passports and sneakingin through an arrival gate than with such silly science-fictionstories… especially when they return to the scene of the crime, ahanger belonging to private charter Chameleon Tours (a cheap tourservice for young adults, ages 18-25), and find no body. (Note From Sarah: I really probably would be wary of any tour service specifically for young people...ESPECIALLY if it's cheap!:))

Meanwhile, Polly has beenshanghaied, and when she turns up again, ‘arriving’ on a flightfrom Geneva just as the Doctor and Jamie sneak in, she claims adifferent name, a different identity, a different accent, norecognition of the Doctor or Jamie… and has the documents andpassport to prove it! The airport Commandant, customs officerJenkins, and the rest of the staff are not amused, not convinced- butthe Doctor, with no evidence save an unused Spanish postage stamp, isdogged in his determination, and soon finds an ally in Crossland, apolice investigator, and the partner of the vanished murdered man.

The murderers, Spencerand Blade, a pair of pilots for Chameleon, catch Ben investigatingand nearly do away with him- but are interrupted by Jean Rock, thecomandant’s assistant. They then return to their compatriot- amisshapen, blank-skulled, lumpy being with no face (NFS: Wait wait...are you saying...HE WAS A FACELESS ONE!?!). It is laid in abed beside Meadows, an unconscious air traffic controller, by an unperturbed and presumably-complicit woman- Nurse Pinto- from theairport first aid station. Bracelets are attached to Meadows and thecreature, and in a matter of moments, the creature takes on Meadows’appearance and leaves to assume his role in the airport.

Ben spots the woman wholooks like Polly manning the Chameleon Tours kiosk in the airport.She is approached by an agitated young woman, Samantha Briggs, whosebrother was on a Chameleon tour to Rome- despite receiving a postcardfrom him, she became concerned after a long absence, and inindependent inquiries, discovered that her brother never arrived atthe hotel he was supposed to have stayed at. Jamie, on assignment toobserve the kiosk, meets and offers to help Samantha. The kioskreopens with another woman, who hands out pre-stamped foreignpost-cards for the outgoing tour group to fill out, on the notionthat they’ll be too busy sight-seeing to fill them out uponarrival. Samantha and Jamie make the connection to both her brother’spostcards and the Doctor’s evidence- and begin to suspect that noone actually arrives at their destination on a Chameleon tour.

Ben, poking around theChameleon hangar, find the real Polly, concealed, wearing a bracelet,and in a trance- but before he is able to notify anyone, he is takenby Spencer. The Doctor witnesses this on a communications monitor,having snuck into the back room of the Chameleon Kiosk (NFS: Any relation to the Chameleon Arch? I mean....okay someone had to do it.), but arrivestoo late to find him- instead, he is trapped in a room with afreezing gas. He fakes being frozen long enough to bring Spencer in,turning the tables on him, and stealing his freeze-ray weapon.

With the Commandant as anunwilling ally (at inspector Crossland’s insistence), the Doctorbegins to map out the happenings with Chameleon- outing Meadows(though only to his own satisfaction- the airport staff remain unconvinced) and gaining credibility bydemonstrating the captured pen-weapon. Crossland forces his way ontoa Chameleon Tours plane, and into the cockpit- discovering that it isin fact an alien spaceship, just in time to be captured, to witnessall of the passengers disappear from their seats, and to see thebeginning of another, even more fantastical process…

The Doctor, Samantha, andJamie are captured and nearly killed by a laser-beam death-trap (notdissimilar to the famous Goldfinger laser scene), but manage toescape via a mirror in Samantha’s handbag. Back with the Chameleonstaff, Jenkins becomes a ‘Chameleon,’ as does Crossland- host tothe alien leader himself.

The Doctor and Jamie tryto enter the first aid center, and become suspicious of the‘forbidden’ X-ray room. He gets Jean Rock, the comandant’sassistant, to divert Nurse Pinto (NFS: Beans.) and get her out of the medicalcenter, so that he can investigate. He retrieves a pair of thearm-bands and begins to investigate. Meanwhile, Samatha buys a ticketaboard Chameleon tours, hoping to discover where its passengers aretaken for herself… concerned for her safety, Jamie steals theticket and goes instead. The Commandant puts a fighter-jet tail on the plane- butit is destroyed as the plane transforms into a vertical-liftoffspacecraft mid-flight, and rendezvous with an orbiting space station.A hidden Jamie, the only passenger not miniaturized in his seat,tries to sneak aboard, but is captured, and becomes a Chameleon aswell.

The Doctor discovers anarmband on Meadows’ sleeve, and blackmails him with threat ofremoving it (a potentially lethal process for the Chameleons) to takehim to the first-aid center when Nurse Pinto is revealed to be incharge of the transferals. There, Pinto (NFS: Beans....okay I'll stop now.) almost kills Meadows forbetraying the Chameleons, but is killed herself when Meadows rips thearmband off of the real concealed-and-slumbering Nurse Pinto. TheDoctor hatches a desperate gamble- aware that the Chameleons have completed their mission, and are about to pull out on a last flightaway- after which they, and their nearly 50,000 abductees from aroundthe world will never be seen again- the Doctor fakes being Meadows-claiming that the Doctor was on to him, and Meadows had to swapbodies to a new host- and, along with Nurse Pinto (faking being theChameleon-Nurse Pinto) sneak onto the final flight, arriving on theorbiting station… where they are captured. (NFS: Got that? Good.)

The Doctor has only oneace up his sleeve- as he and Pinto are taken into custody, Samanthaand Jean Park conduct a desperate search for the original bodies. Asthe Doctor is taken by an accent-less Jamie Chameleon to be convertedhimself, he sows seeds of dissent in the Chameleons still dependenton the original airport-staff bodies remaining on Earth; the leaderhas his body, Crossland, safe aboard the station but is content tolet them remain at risk with the bodies down below. He also sabotagesthe transformation machine, buying himself a few minutes’ time. (NFS: Were they really smart enough to have Jamie not talk in an accent? That's pretty impressive as most current sci fi tv shows and movies would probably overlook that.)

Finally, Sam and Jeanlocate the bodies inside of parked cars outside the airport-surviving an attack by the Chameleon Meadows- and remove one of thebracelets, killing its corresponding Chameleon aboard the station.The Doctor convinces Chameleon-Blade to take command and surrender,and the Chameleons are allowed to safely switch-back before theoriginals are woken… in exchange for returning their abductees aboard the station unharmed. The Chameleons are revealed to be a race mutated into identity-less, formless, dying creatures by a natural disaster- who hadhoped to use the body-copying process to survive. The Doctor promisesto come by their planet and help them with their problem.

As the Doctor and therestored Jamie, Ben, and Polly prepare to depart, saying theirgoodbyes to a now grateful and believing Commandant, Ben and Pollyrealize the date- July 20, 1966- is the same on which they left (TheWar Machines), and thus they can resume their lives withoutinterruption. Seizing on this opportunity, they bid the Doctor andJamie a fond farewell and return to their lives in London together.

The Doctor notes to Jamiethat it’s just as well they made that decision BEFORE they reachedthe TARDIS, so that they wouldn’t be needlessly worried… for,despite the seized Police Box being returned by the airport staff, ithas now vanished…

Review:

Strap in, folks- this isgonna be a long one!

The Faceless Ones is agood, suspenseful story- if slightly overlong- but only slightly, asvery little of the stories (save maybe around the episode 4-5 mark)is really extraneous. It’s tight, pretty compelling, exciting,mysterious, and while it is somewhat aggravating (even the Doctorstomps his foot in irritation, a hilariously child-like moment)- itis, as mentioned before, the ‘good kind’ of aggravation- the kindfelt with the characters. And while it seems to take a lot of work toget to each point in the story, the effort invested into it makeseach achievement (such as the Doctor’s fakeout of being frozen andcapture of a weapon/pen- his much-needed proof) all the more cathartic andsatisfying. (NFS: Agreed. This was definitely one of the better serials, really enjoyed it..and REMEMBERED it which usually means a good thing.)

We have here the typicalauthority-skeptics, and at first it seems as though our heroes(seriously, why DIDN’T they just run right back into the TARDIS? Isuppose it’s playing into the Second Doctor’s soon to beestablished catch-phrase and overall theme, “When I say run…run!”) are going to spend the whole serial- and mystery- on therun, dodging authorities… but instead, they slowly find an ally(who lasts long enough to make a difference and is listened to by theauthorities- an extreme rarity in this kind of story, as thetypical ally is a maverick no one will listen to, or is killed offvery quickly after accepting the truth, so as not to gain theprotagonist any ground in their struggle against skepticism), andeventually, sufficient proof to win over the authority (also anincredible rarity- typically the skeptical authorities in these kindsof stories remain disbelieving up to the very end, their onlyevidence being the sight of the alien craft lifting off in the veryfinale, the situation resolved, realizing with an open-mouthed stareof awe that the protagonist had been right all along…) from anirritated skeptic to a forced-cooperator to a grudging ally to anenthusiastic partner- an arc that was enjoyable and realistic, very different from the pig-headed refusal to see reason typically embodied in theauthority archetype of these kinds of tales. And the Doctor’sinsistence on presenting the actual non-terrestrial facts instead ofspinning a tale that earth-bound authorities would buy was a boldgambit- but a successful one. Also a refreshing change! (NFS: I have to say once again, this episode reminded me of an Avengers story...totally could see Steed and Peel working their way through this one.)

The serial also employedsome excellent cliffhangers, like the empty plane- an almostLOST-like mysterious happening, that… (though it does raise thenotion that EVERY young adult on this flight filled out a falsepostcard and ate some of the food just after takeoff in the past? Ithink not!)

It has some greatcharacters (like the Chameleon Meadows, who was a nervous prisonerand then ‘executed’ the nurse to save his own skin- but washardly reformed, as he slipped away to attack the ground-basedcompanions.) It also introduces us to Sam, who could not be moreobvious if “Being set up as a future companion” was tattooed onher forehead next to a picture of Dodo (whose personality she reallyreminded me of)- but who didn’t join the TARDIS crew because theactress wasn’t interested. Still, she does provide Jamie with asweet romance. (NFS: The actress wasn't INTERESTED!? Wow. Well.)

We also have theskeptical-but-converted airport Commandant, the helpful secretary,the spooky nurse (and her brave real-human counterpart)(NFS: All nurses in Doctor Who are spooky....or most.), the assuredbut creepily-staring head of Chameleon tours, Blade (who eventuallymakes a very realistically selfish choice- foil his people’s plansfor the sake of his own skin), and… Dang, if this wasn’t one ofthe best-written and characterized serials in Doctor Who yet-everyone felt very real, made very real choices, reactedrealistically to whatever evidence (or lack thereof) they werepresented with… excepting the Doctor’s oblivious behavior at thevery start (obviously missing the authorities' skepticism to hisclaims, ignoring the importance of a passport in a very ignorant way,and his behavior during the investigation…), all of which simmereddown to a far more realistic and grounded attitude in the rest of theepisodes… all of the characters felt like people, instead ofinstruments of a writer, tools to move his story to the place itneeded to get by acting a certain way, whether it was a part of theirtypical behavior/character or not. It was very refreshing afterserials like The Smugglers or Galaxy 4, where the characters seemedto act like morons, ignoring the obvious at times, simply to get thestory where the writer wanted it to go next. Good storytelling willalways be an outgrowth of the characters acting naturally, forming astory around them- instead of forming their actions around the story,which always feels forced and false. (Note From Sarah: In other words...we no likey contrivey. And when in doubt ALWAYS favor the characters; in the end it's more realistic and even if the story ended up being simple they will be able to give it depth-there is no story so deep that it can give depth to phony characters.)

Speaking of characters…

The Doctor is a solidinvestigator here. Aside from some eccentric obliviousness, and theaforementioned foot-stomp, he doesn’t do much clowning. That’sokay, though- unlike the previous serials in which comic relief was alifeline, here it isn’t needed. Though there isn’t much to sayabout him here that isn’t discussed elsewhere in this review, he isa strong, competent, indomitable presence, transitioning from haplessto in-charge in a hard-earned, long-delayed, but VERY satisfyingmanner.

Ben… uh, was he in thisserial? Oh, right, yes- I remember him. He showed up at the start,and the very end. Just like Hartnell before him, Ben is oddly absentfor a large chunk of his farewell story- like the actor justcouldn’t WAIT to get out of the role and had to knock off early,only grudgingly returning to film a farewell scene.

Polly (funny side note onthat- did you know that the actress had a daughter named Polly, bornthree years before?) barely has more screen time, but leaves a muchstronger impression due to her eerie (due to the sincerity, and nohint of robotic zombiness that usually indicates control or a double-simply genuine puzzlement at the situation, as if she is not Polly atall- which of course she isn’t- which is somehow far moredisturbing than simply Polly acting like she’s under outsideinfluence) doppelganger, politely questioning if something is wrong,getting appropriately upset at the Doctor (a stranger)’s pryingquestions, etc. It the kind of sanity-questioning, reality- confusingmystery that really makes you batty. So, even though she’s hardlythere, her relatively cool (considering) handling of witnessing amurder, and her doppleganger’s spooky scene- make it feel like shewas in this serial more than Ben was, even though she was in it forsignificantly shorter before returning for the final farewell scene.(As another aside, the actress eventually married Michael Gough, theCelestial Toymaker!)

And, speaking of thatpachyderm in the living room, the farewell scene… does it farewell? Well, it certainly has more resolution than Dodo’s (though sowould sneezing and falling off a bridge to your death in theprocess), and it has a somewhat more tender, heartfelt goodbye than,say, Steven’s. Unfortunately, it’s just as abrupt. While I canaccept that not everyone has a loving tribute, like Ian and Barbara,a touching speech, like Susan, or a beautiful epilogue scene, likeVicki… it would be nice to see some desire to leave evidentbeforehand in any departures that aren’t forced by the situation.Oh, sure, Ben and Polly have offhandedly mentioned hoping their nextdestination is London a few times before, in passing… but it’shardly setup for a grand farewell, is it? It just felt tacked-on atthe last moment, more artificially so than even Steven’s departure,for some reason- while it was handled with greater warmth after itdid happen than Steven’s, it seemed even more forcefully done. It’slike Vicki was the bank-breaker… after her, companions couldn’tbe gracefully transitioned-off anymore. Every departure since hasfelt especially clumsy and rushed, a quick little cartoon after thefeature, rather than a component of the plot or thematic epilogue.Well… except for the ones they killed off. (Which, to harp on itone more time, makes the ending of Massacre even MORE aggravating-because that was a MASTERFUL companion farewell scene, with anexcellent setup, real character motivation, true conflict stemmingfrom character and good writing, a companion-centric serial to serveas a fitting goodbye, and real drama and emotion… but it wasn’tused as a farewell!!!! The companion just stepped right back into theTARDIS a few minutes later to hang around for a few more adventuresand then get a tacked on ending. We’ve seen that writers can do agood farewell from this… so why aren’t they now? Still, while Idon’t know what happens with upcoming companion Victoria Waterfieldyet, I do have it on good authority that Jamie andsoon-to-be-companion Zoe will get a fitting and touching send-off aswe move into the Pertwee era… but thankfully, as I’m greatlyenjoying the Second Doctor’s adventures, that time is a long wayoff.)

Additionally, thistacked-on ending hinges on an incredible coincidence- the TARDISlanding on the exact same day that it had left previously- the day onwhich The War Machines had occurred. While this almost-unfathomablecoincidence in the whole of time and space isn’t completelyunprecedented (see The Ark for the spatial equivalent), it feels INCREDIBLY unlikely, and makes the whole thing feel impossibly clumsyand tacked on (NFS: Although since seeing the new series episode "The Doctor's Wife" it can be retro-explained. Kindof.). And it didn’t need to be… a few backgroundmentions of strange news reports, an outside glimpse of a War Machineon the streets, or a live broadcast of the military confrontationthat Hartnell ended by standing in the middle of the street… even areplaying of one of the same news broadcast from The War Machine as afar more subtle sign for fans- could have turned this into a fun,sublime, self-referential, truly time-travel-feeling story. Elementscould have and should have been woven subtly into the background-clues as to when and where they are- and the whole thing could havefelt magical. Instead, it feels like a tire that went flat on anelectric griddle, not only going flat, but also becoming irredeemablyand irreparably limp, useless, and unwieldy- no longer fit forconveying us from where we were to where we’re supposed to havegotten to- but instead a lumpy, misshapen mess that doesn’ttransport us as it should. And yes, I think that’s stretching it for the sake of a double-meaning metaphor more than has ever been stretched in the history of ever.

(Speaking of which, I will take Ben andPolly’s we-can’t-get-home arc, like Ian and Barbara’s morepronounced one, as an indication that the Fast Return Switch brokepermanently in The Edge of Destruction- otherwise their home angst-not to mention a prominent cliffhanger near the end of The DalekMasterplan- would have been irrelevant.) (NFS: Yeah I was wondering about that...suddenly the show seems to be like Sliders in that you have to JUMP at the chance when you actually land at home at the right time because it will never come again. And that would also explain why the Doctor has a harder and harder time with actually getting people back at the right times...or more often himself back. That's nailed it...the Fast Return Switch broke for all time.)

Of course, while the Whoexpanded universe suggested that Ben and Polly grew apart, marriedother people, and only saw each other again once, gathering in ’86,during the events of The Tenth Planet to hold vigil, looking forMondas and remembering the events that their younger selves werecurrently experiencing elsewhere on the planet… the recent (weekold, at the time of my writing, several years old at the time of thisposting) Sarah Jane Adventures episode ‘Death of the Doctor’reveals that they did indeed end up together, and, as of 2010, wererunning an orphanage in India together- an odd, but sweet ending forthe two- together, and helping people, just as the Doctor teaches hiscompanions- not reuniting a planet, like Steven, patching up awar-torn world, like Susan, or serving in UNIT or Torchwood like NewSeries companions… but simply making a difference in a small,every-day way- touching the lives of a few children who have no oneelse. Sometimes, that’s the most important kind of helping others.The kind that ‘isn’t important’ in the eyes of the world.(Also, just like Ian and Barbara, and, hopefully, current companionsAmy and Rory, any couple that comes together through the Doctordeserves to stay together and have a happy future, leading a quietlife together.)

Au revoir, Ben andPolly. We can bid you well more peacefully in 2010 (in a perfect bitof timing for our viewing) knowing that a happy future awaits you.

This was Jamie’sspotlight serial, though- while not a Jamie-only focus in the waythat the Tenth Planet was practically Ben’s story, while sharingequal time with the Doctor, Jamie comes off the strongest- a romance(including an onscreen kiss! A companion first?), a clever bit ofpickpocketing, a very proactive investigation, a good acceptance andadaptation of this strange future world- plus a nice creepy turn forthe actor as an accent-less copy, Jamie took center stage. The vibesgiven off here (handsome young kid, budding romance, action moments,plus that hair) remind me very much of Pavel Checkov, who was beingintroduced in the original Star Trek around the same time. (NFS: It's the Davy Jones Effect. Blame The Monkees. :-D)

The Chameleons themselves(Really? I’m gonna have to hope that was a nickname they didn’tobject to, and not their species name- that’s just too hokey,otherwise…(NFS: You wouldn't be able to pronounce their real name...)...) were very real, realistically motivated, and are justbegging for a follow-up to reveal their fate, or a New Seriesrevisit (NFS: I think a new series revisit would be SOOO cool! But I think they might have done the "It's not me but it looks like me" storyline a little too much probably.). Their seemingly almost-omniscient ability to always be astep ahead, observing our heroes on camera, occasionally challengedbelief, but always increased the tension positively.

The effects were verynice in the few videos we were given- the crossfade transition as thefaceless aliens (themselves a very nice makeup effect) was especiallyeffective. The transforming plane looked very cool in stills, thoughthe space version and orbiting station looked as if they may not havefared as well. Even so, what we saw looked good. (Interestingly,problems with Shawcraft, the FX contractors, came to a head in thisserial, per an external site- as they recount it, the Satellite didn’twork and the bulb at its base blew- and no replacement for thecustom unit was available. Also, Shawcraft hadn’t considered howthe model would actually be mounted or suspended, and suggestedsuspending it from piano wire- which couldn’t hold the weight,snapping, dropping the model to the floor, and breaking it. Needlessto say, after the Macra debacle, this serial spelled the end ofDoctor Who’s involment with Shawcraft- future serials would nowhave FX done by BBC’s in-house department.)

The Reconstruction- aLoose Canon affair- was quite good- while there were no movingpieces, and a couple of missed“you-could-have-used-some-footage-from-the-next-episode-for-the-ending-there”moments, it does quite nicely overall, maintaining the excellentcross-fade Chameleon appearance effects and doing a quite excellentjob of conveying things, save for the Chameleon-Meadows attack onSam.

I feel like I could go onfor pages with this one, but having covered all of the majorsections, I shall stop here, and move on to a rating…

Great moments:

The whole thing. Thefirst appearance of a Chameleon’s true form, for one. The Doctor’scapturing of a freezing pen and triumphant presentation. Thetransforming plane/vanished passengers.

Rating:

The Faceless Ones, aserial I wasn’t looking forward to because it sounded bland, earnsa record-setting (for the Second Doctor) perfect 5 out of 5 Deadman’sKeys, surprising even myself! Despite the clunky goodbye, I reallycan’t think of anything in the story sufficient to tarnish aperfect rating, even through the stills- with a solid 3.5 out of 5for the recreation- which could have had a little more effort put in,say with those footage bits at the beginning/end I mentioned- butwhich is still a cut above the rest. This is a highly recommendedserial that I can honestly say hasn’t been equaled since The Keysof Marinus for enjoyment uninterrupted- beating out even favoriteslike the Space Museum, The Rescue, and the Daleks Master Plan… inthat this one simply didn’t have any significant hitches to lowerits score. It’s fantastic- go check it out!

And take heart, goodfriends… not only does this serial end on a cliffhanger (the TARDISstolen), leading directly into the next serial (which the title,having learned nothing from The Moonbase, indicates will be a Daleksstory), but, near as I can tell, from here out there are more intactepisodes than there are reconstructions for the Second Doctor- whomin some ways I feel like we’ve hardly seen onscreen at all yet.(NFS: So it kind of speaks to his talent that he is our favorite...probably said that before, but it's true! He conveys his character so well!) Sostay tuned!

Doctor Who: The Macra Terror

2012-01-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

Serial Title:The Macra Terror

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills), JamieMcCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Synopsis:

On ‘an Earth colony’on ‘an earth-like planet’ in ‘the future’ (bloody vaguesettings!), the TARDIS lands just in time to run into Medok, a crazedfugitive who attacks the crew and is subdued by Ben and Jamie. Guards hot on his trail arrive and take him away, and their leader, Ola,welcomes the TARDIS crew and takes them back to the Utopian colony.(Which must be either evil, or disaster-bound, as no Utopian placecan survive long in sci-fi…)

The group are introducedto the Pilot, the colony’s leader. They are given a whirlwind tourof the colony’s luxuries- its happy workers and musical jingles... they also find out that Medok was considered mentally ill, havingclaimed to see “Macra,” giant crab-like aliens- in the colony atnight. The Doctor and the group, rightly recognizing that anyfugitive encountered by a traveling sci-fi or fantasy group as theyfirst enter a new area is correct and destined to become an ally inoverthrowing the status quo of his or her pursuers, are somewhatsuspicious, and begin to investigate- the Doctor going down to speakwith Medok… and accidentally releasing Medok from his cell in theprocess.

The Doctor pursues him,as the others learn about the colony's chief labor project- mining agas which is poisonous to humans down in the pits. Though theyinsist that the gas is vital to the colony, no one will elaborate onwhat it is used for.

The Doctor catches upwith Medok at a construction site- where Medok tells him that othershave seen the Macra, too- but all who do are sent to a mentalhospital for 'correction.' The Doctor sees one, too- the monstrouscrustacean/insect emerging to roam the colony at night- but both arefound by Ola's guards. Medok sacrifices his chance at corroboration(more likely to have the Doctor committed alongside him) by claimingthat the Doctor was searching for him and trying to convince him toreturn to correct the earlier mistake of freeing him. The Controller,the ever-present Orwellian big-brother picture-with-a-voice projectedon colony view-screens, urgently- almost fanatically- insists that"There are no such things as Macra!"

The Doctor is released tohis sleeping chamber... where hypnotic brainwashing fields attempt to turnhis companions into willing colony-members and Macra denialists. TheDoctor frees Jamie and Polly in time... but Ben is turned, becomingone of 'them'- and reporting the Doctor for sabotaging the otherhypnosis machines. Polly runs, and Ben gives chase- both stumblinginto another Macra, which they barely escape from in the dark. After fighting it off, Bendenies having seen anything.

The Doctor demands to seethe Controller himself, not just a picture of the man- and after amoment, a frail version of the man in the picture, decade older, appears live onscreen,captive in his own office. He begins to shout a warning, but isstrangled by a Macra claw from off-screen... the Macra are themind-controlling masters of the colony. The Pilot is ordered toforget, and the group is sent to the pit to mine. (What is it withJamie and co. being sent to the mines?)

The pit is the source ofthe poisonous gas production, and a dangerous place. The group isassigned under Medok, who was deemed a hopeless mental case andbanished to the pit as well. He arranges for the Doctor to staybehind as 'shift supervisor' as the others descend to mine. Ben, thetraitor, monitors them distrustfully.

Jamie manages to slipaway into a new, reinforced door by stealing the keys, but theothers are unable to join him- as they labor away in the dangerousgas-filled mines, Jamie enters a strange tunnel leading graduallydownward. Medok manages to slip away after him... and is attacked andkilled by a Macra in the tunnel. Jamie finds his body, and the Macra-strangely motionless and inert. Under orders from the Controller,stored gas is pumped into the tunnel- suffocating Jamie and revivingthe Macra. Jamie, choking, conceals himself, but won't be able tohide- or breathe- for long.

The Doctor tricks andoutwits the Pit overseer, locking him in his office, and reverses thegas flow, pumping in oxygen which causes the Macra to slumplistlessly and gives Jamie the advantage again. He escapes back intothe colony via a vent grating- but is betrayed and given up byturncoat Ben, who is coming out of his trance, but not nearly enoughyet.

The Doctor and Polly fleefrom the alerted guards and find themselves outside the Controller'schamber- in which an albino Macra controls the colony; the Doctorintuits that the Macra breathe the gas, and are using the humans as mind-controlled labor to prepare a takeover of their own colony. TheDoctor and Polly risk going to the Pilot, rejoining the capturedJamie- but rather than taking them into custody, the Pilot, havingwitnessed the Macra killing the real Controller, and beginning toquestion 'Big Brother,' decides to aid them... while Ben is finallycoming out of his temporary brainwashing. Confused and disoriented, he wanders off.

The pilot is led to seethe Albino Macra for himself, as the Albino directs all guards in thecolony, under the more obedient party-line Ola, to stop them. Theguards, under orders, lock them in a pipe room just outside theController's room, and leave- while the Doctor, Jamie, Polly, and thePilot, in full view of the Albino, begin to suffocate as it floodstheir room with the gas- intent on coming out and finishing themitself once levels are breathable.

However, rescue comes inthe form of Ben, still outside, who is able, under the Doctor'sverbal instructions, to reverse the flow, flooding the Macra with'lethal' oxygen all throughout their tunnels and chambers in aterrific explosion.

In the aftermath, theColony celebrates, the Pilot officially and publicly thanks theheroes, and announces their intention to make the Doctor the nextPilot... to which the Doctor and companions wave goodbye and closeout a running gag of the serial by dancing their way through thecrowd and out the door.

Review:

Did you know that thefirst ‘Big Brother/Mind Control’ sci-fi story was written byfamed author Joel Ben-Micah- who decided to take up writing shortlyafter his corpse was tossed into Elisha’s tomb and re-animated byhis bones- in 790 B.C.? True story. And the ‘BigBrother/brainwashing’ storyline has been an integral part of sci-fiever since.

Yes, once again, DoctorWho tackles on a sci-fi cliché nearly as old as writingitself. So, how does it fair?

Pretty well, actually-owing in part to the fact that the Big-Brother/Mind-Control elementis only half the story. That’s something that Old Who does best-taking a sci-fi cliché and turning it into a setting in whichto play out a story rather than a story itself (the same thing,post-Highlanders, that they do with history, unfortunately- still, aworthwhile trade-off.)

This episode had somegood humor, yet again- the Second Doctor’s reputation as a clown isnot ill-deserved- as represented in the opening Emerald-City-esquemontage of the group being treated to the amenities of the Colony-the Doctor is cleaned up too much for his liking, and ‘accidentally’enters a muscle-toning machine to get himself properly re-rumpled.Even in stills (this is another reconstruction, folks- blah!) thehumor comes through.

I was really lookingforward to this one due to New Series 3’s “Gridlock,” in whichthe Macra return (40 years later- how cool is that?) ; I was lookingforward to seeing their original story. Sadly, due to the dark,smudgy, non-Loose-Canon reconstruction… I couldn’t make out asingle Macra clearly on-screen… half the time (like the apparentlywhite Macra in the control room?) I couldn’t even tell what I wassupposed to be seeing.

Interestingly, the Macrathemselves were large, ungainly things, developed by Shawcraft, anoutside contractor that had been doing Doctor Who effects work sinceThe Daleks- and had been doing unacceptably poor work since theoriginal city miniature for The Daleks. They delivered a single Macraprop, which was large, heavy, ponderous, and took a flatbed pickuptruck to actually move- rendering them mostly immobile, and a pain toreposition for new shots- severely limiting what could be done withthem (despite being extremely expensive). So perhaps there wasn’tmuch to see…

The Doctor is notparticularly subtle in this one- as is the Doctor’s way- eventhough playing along for a bit could save him a good deal of trouble.Rather, Medok is surprisingly the clever one, thinking up the obviousand helpful explanation for the Doctor’s actions and leaving him ina position where he can do something good- something the Doctorhimself doesn’t seem to have thought of. Meanwhile, the Doctor is agood deal more blood-thirsty than usual, seemingly having no problemannihilating the Macra- far from the “Come with me, I’ll take youto another planet where you can live in peace… No? Okay, NOW I’llannihilate you!” attitude of the New series.

Polly is a screamer here,but also pretty proactive for the small story role she’s given. Notmuch to say either way.

Likewise for Jamie, whoshows a great moral fortitude in resisting the brainwashing on hisown, and gets a nice creepy showdown with in-the-flesh Macra, but notmuch else. His irritation at Ben mirrors the audience’s.

It’s also anaggravating episode due to this factor. Even though Ben is sufferingfrom brainwashing, turncoat-Ben becomes of paramount annoyance veryquickly, and only manages to redeem himself by saving the day in theoddly-truncated (but stylistically acceptable) ending. Too bad thiswas only in stills- it would have been funny to see everyone dancethemselves out at the end.

Still, there are somenice creepy moments- the real controller, a puppet of an old man,being killed by the Macra claw, for instance. There are also somefunny ones, such as the Doctor’s ‘equation’ bits, and hisclever outmaneuvering of the pressure-pipes caretaker.

Also of note is the factthat, after the Celestial Toymaker, this serial is the second time inwhich the TARDIS crew dances themselves to safety.

This serial has somedisappointments that keep it from its true potential- but Isuspect it would reach much closer to it if the video were intact.This serial also debuted the new opening title sequence,incorporating the Doctor’s face (which would become a tradition forthe remainder of the classic series).

The reconstruction wasnot Loose Canon, which, as this blog has ably demonstrated, means itsucks. This one was worse than usually- dark, muddy, exceedinglyunclear, worse so than any before it… I wish we’d seen it as LCthe first time, as I’m sure that would have been a far superiorpresentation that would have improved its standing immensely.

Great moments:

The ending with theexplosion is nicely done. The dance-related humor. The Doctordisabling the mind-control for each companion… but reaching Ben toolate.

Rating:

The Macra Terrorregisters a solid 3 out of 5 Deadman’s Keys, with the belief that avideo version might have scored an additional .5 or even 1 on thescale. The recreation gets 0 out of 5 for fail-Fail-FAILINGmiserably!!!

Doctor Who: The Moonbase

2012-01-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

Serial Title:The Moonbase

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills), JamieMcCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Synopsis:

It’s one small step forthe Doctor as he lands on Earth’s moon in 2070. The group foolsabout in spacesuits for a bit- and Jamie gets hurt. Fortuitously,there’s a nearby moonbase, a weather-control station beaming gravity rays, the Graviton, to climate control and condition Earth. However, Jamie is not the only under-the-weather man on the moon…the moonbase crew have been collapsing by a spreading virus- severalmembers are already quarantined in the sickbay.

Suspicion falls on theDoctor as the first victims succumb to death, but it turns out thatit is poison in the food supply- a location where a hole has been cutinto the wall for something to get in… and that something is-

THE CYBERMEN????

(But…! BUT…!!!! Thisstory isn’t called “Moonbase of the Cybermen!” They can’t usethem unless they do that. …Can they? Are they allowed to do this? Idon’t think they’re allowed to do this!)

After several “Oh,you’re only a woman, Polly- anything you saw must be a hystericalhallucination” ignored sightings, the Cybermen invade in force-their fleet on the way, and the dead-of-virus crewmen resurrected ascyber-slaves. The Cybermen- thought by the people of Earth as anextinct menace after the failed Mondas invasion of 1986 ("The TenthPlanet"), are back to take Earth- beginning by seizing the moonbaseand sabotaging Earth’s weather.

Polly comes up with achemical cocktail of acidic agents to dissolve the plastic breathingapparatus mounted on the Cybermen’s chest plates- using it, she,Ben, and the now-recovered Jamie are able to begin fighting back. (Note From Sarah: Not so bad for a HALLUCINATING WOMAN EH!?!?!) Meanwhile, the Cyberfleet lands, and an army of Cybermen begins aninexorable march across the moon…

The Cybermen destroy anEarth ship headed to rescue the moonbase crew- but are eliminated byPolly’s acid-spray. The Cybermen outside retaliate by firing on thebase- but the gravitron is used to deflect the shots. The Doctor thenbrings the gravitron to bear on the surface, creating a repellingfield that casts the Cybermen and their ships helplessly off intospace.

As the TARDIS leaves, theDoctor consults his ‘unreliable’ future viewer and gets an imageof a great and terrible claw…

Review:

Kinda cool, really! A base with amysterious illness (and yes, that it was the coffee/sugar wastelegraphed so far away, it could probably have been seen from Earthwith the naked eye- and yes, it was both starkly similar and asclumsily obvious- so much so that you wonder how stupid the moronsfalling prey to it had to be to not have figured it out already- asthe poisoned water in The Sensorites), the moon, moon-walks on wires with goofy sounds (cursed reconstructions- we can’t see it! Another 2-of-4-are-video story), mounting paranoia among thecast, and-

WHAT THE SACRED FIRE OFORB!?!?! CYBERMEN!??!?!

Wow, I was NOT expectingthat! It’s kind of hilarious, actually, the mindset that Doctor Whohas put us in- that the appearance of a major villain is kept ashocking and unexpected surprise… merely by leaving their name outof the title. If it isn’t called “X of the Daleks” or “Y ofthe Cybermen,” we will be utterly and completely shocked if theDaleks or Cybermen appear. (Star Trek: The Next Generation clearlyborrowed this concept and ran with it for its super-being Q.)

So, yeah- lots of coolstuff… Cybermen reveals (whipping aside that blanket- howscary/cool was that?!), (NFS: That was one of my most favorite moments! It was pretty amazing!) armies of Cybermen marching across theairless moon to lay siege, Polly coming up with an ingenious solution(albeit one requiring the Cybermen to have been constructed withradically inferior parts- no space-age super plastic? Then again, itapparently becomes traditional for the Cybermen to have an absurd Achilles-heel weakness in future…), the chilling scene in whichthe Cybermen hurl an approaching rescue ship into the sun… and anutterly absurd and hilarious ending in which the Cybermen areforcibly floated off of the surface of the moon. Talk about camp!

Okay, so… the Doctor.Some nice amusing physical comedy with his trying to unobtrusivelyobtain ‘samples’ from the crew. Some nice moments in the lab,from his ‘stalling’ to his realization that the Cyberman ispresent.

Polly is especially andunusually strong here. Yes, the femenists will note, she’s makingcoffee for the men again (shouldn’t the feminists be too busy withthe jobs they’re always on about having instead of being at home,tied to a man, to be constantly on the internet harping about theportrayal of women in 1960s media?) (NFS: Not to sound 'harpy' but...you have to admit they did kind of make them look rather silly in the sixties.)- but that really seems to be herspecialty, as, again, she volunteered to in the Tenth Planet, andagain since. Having been a secretary, that’s probably a role she’sused to. And likewise, it’s a particularly ‘girly’- yet extremely scientifically-savvy- method that she devises to defeat the Cybermen. But even so, this fits with the character we knew- a secretary and a club-goer with a fancy for dressing up and looking good, so it is consistent (if not terribly feministic). And she does take a fairly center-stage; this is only fair- she was relatively passiveand unhelpful in the Cybermen’s first appearance, so here she getsa chance to shine.

And, in fair trade-off,Ben, the action-hero of the previous Cyber-story, pretty much sitsaround in the background for this one.

Still, Ben fairs betterthan Jamie, out sick and raving in a fevered delirium for most of theserial- though surprisingly, his rantings are apparently enough toget the Cyberman to reconsider taking him… multiple times! …Forsome reason. In any event, his newcomer status andscript-shoe-horning are still painfully evident. Thankfully, thiswon’t be in effect much longer, and soon we’ll hit storieswritten with Jamie in mind so that they don't have to find a gimmick to shunt him out of the way.

The special effects aregood- miniatures, lightning bolts (that occasionally miss due to poorplacement, but still…) wire-work, matte paintings- this one has itall, practically an extravaganza… with a pretty convincing moonenvironment!

This one is not as tighta thriller as Who has ever produced, for some reason- though all theelements- claustrophobic, isolated location, implacably marchingenemies, mysterious disease- are there. Still, it’s fun, exciting,and has a few nice twists. I enjoyed it. (NFS: I liked this one a lot too, I thought it was definitely transporting and really fun.)

The reconstruction is…well, pretty same-old, same-old. We have far too manynon-Loose-Cannons mixed into the 2^ndDoctor era, to the point that I’ve lost track… but too many ofthem are merely mediocre.

Great moments:

The Cybermen reveal andthe march across the moon. Plus, you know- landing on the moon forthe first time in Doctor Who.

Rating:

The Moonbase orbits highwith 3.5 out of 5 Deadman’s Keys. It’s missing a little somethingthat I can’t put my finger on, which prevents it from quiteachieving the rank of the 4-of-5 classics… but it’s very solidand lots of fun! Reconstruction gets the usual (at this point) 2.5out of 5.

Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace

2011-12-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

Serial Title:The Underwater Menace

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills), JamieMcCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Synopsis:

In the early 1970s, anabandoned volcanic island somewhere in Earth’s Atlantic Ocean gainsa new feature- a blue police box materializing on the far shore. Thecrew soon discovers a sort of hidden elevator, and are whisked awayto the legendary lost city of Atlantis, submerged deep below. There,they are nearly sacrifices by High Priest Lolem to the Atlantean god,Amdo, by being fed to a pool of sharks… but they receive a lastminute reprieve from the patron of the king, a scientist named Zaroff, agenius long-disappeared from the surface world whom the Doctorconvinces that he has great value.

While Polly is sent to beconverted into a genetically-altered fish person (the slave laborclass of Atlantis) and Ben and Jamie sent off to toil in the mines,the Doctor is let in on Zaroff’s project, and the reason for hisfavor with the king- his plan to raise Atlantis from the sea… a madplan involving cracking the Earth’s crust and pouring the oceaninto it, creating an incredible steam burst beneath the crust thatwill split the planet and destroy the world- Zaroff is quite mad, andseeks global destruction simply for the accomplishment of being thefirst (and only) to achieve it (Note from Sarah: Talk about devoted to his cause, no one would even be alive to acknowledge he's the first, not even him!)- but has convinced the Atlanteans thatdraining away the ocean is harmless and will put them back on the‘surface’ again- by bringing the surface to them. Yes, this isincredibly stupid, as the Atlanteans depend on the ocean for theirlife right now and making it go away is not a solution- but they areapparently very dumb people. (NFS: it's supposed to be poetic...they long so much to be people of the air again that they are stuck deep in self denial-the ocean is symbolic of the depth of their self-denial and how much they depend on it....yeah I was making that all up as I go.)

The horrified Doctor cutsthe power, and a sympathetic servant girl, Ara, frees Polly beforeher operation can begin. Jamie and Ben also gain allies in Atlantis-Sean and Jacko, a pair of sailors shipwrecked on the island above andsimilarly shanghaied down to Atlantis. They escape the mines and joinup with Polly and Ara. Lastly, the Doctor gains his own ally, Ramo, apriest of Amdo that believes Zaroff has sinister intent- the kingdoes not agree, and the two are taken away to be executed in Amdo’stemple- but Ben, hiding within the hollow head of the statue of Amdo,speaks forth as its voice and commands them released. The whole groupis together, and the Doctor plots to bring revolution to Atlantis-convincing the Fish People to revolt against their enslavement.

Using disguise andslapstick, the group manages to separate Zaroff and capture him, but he fakes a seizure and gets away- killing Ramo. Zaroff, madder thanever, attacks the king, overthrowing the royal gaurds with his ownloyal men. The king survives and is taken to safety by the Doctor,who plans to flood the lower portion of Atlantis to destroy Zaroff’slab, and the equipment with which he will destroy the world. WhileSean and Jacko evacuate the populace to higher levels, The Doctor andBen begin the flooding; the mad Zaroff tries to detonate his bombsearly, but is trapped behind a grate by Ben to prevent his reachingthe detonation controls. This also leaves him unable to not drown.With Zaroff dead, and the Atlanteans planning to rebuild, the TARDIScrew departs for dryer environs.

Review:
This was an interestingadventure story with an unusual tone… very Saturday morningkids-show. It has a hissable villain, an exotic location, deathtraps, captures and escapes… and Doctor Who’s first contact withthat fable of fables, Atlantis. (Here’s an interesting educationalnote- did you know that, in Timaeus, the work by Plato in whichAtlantis is described, he specifically clarifies it as a story he hascreated? In the very work Atlantis is sourced from, it clarifies thatAtlantis isn’t real. That the myth has persisted doesn’t surpriseme- it is, after all, in the hands of the same humans who take theBible which explicitly states that Jesus is the Son of God and theonly way to salvation and says “Well, I believe there was a Jesus,but He was just a good person and teacher.” We humans are expertsat taking the piece we like out of a work and ignoring the importantstatements that clarify its nature within the same work.)

I don’t have much tosay about this one, either for the story or for the usual breakdownof characters. Perhaps everything they did was simply overshadowed inmy mind by the colorful villain.

So let’s talk abouthim…

Before Crazy: Notice the 'kempt" hair.

Professor Zaroff was nota particularly layered villain- not exactly 3-dimensional… heck,the only reason that I’d call him
2-dimensional is that a
1-dimensional being seems like an impossibility to exist in physicalspace, and I can’t conceptualize what such a life-form would belike. And I’m nothing if not pedantic about my offhand phrases. (NFS: You used a lot of big cool words in that paragraph)

Regardless, Zaroff doesseem mad for madness’ sake, with little-to-no motivation, save forbeing the only one to accomplish such an incredible achievement(destroying the Earth)… though no one would remember him for it, asthey’d all be dead. Besides… wouldn’t raising Atlantis for realbe achievement enough? Maybe a desire for that acclaim, and constantfailure to attain it, is what drove him to such insanity. (An early draft of the script apparently had his wife and child killed in a car crash, and the grief driving him to madness... but the Zaroff as presented onscreen lacks even THAT amount of characterization.)

After Crazy: Notice the Unkempt hair and evil cape.

He does seem like anamiable and likable fellow at first, but the decent into insanity isquick and decisive- “Nosing in ze vorld can stop me now!” hasbecome legendary among Who fans as a symbol of insane, cartoonishvillains who are evil merely to be evil, and more than a littleover-the-top… like a chibi anime Hitler whose head grows to threetimes as large with fangs when he’s shouting (ah, Japanese animatedconventions- they make the 60s look positively sedate!), on caffeine,with a ray gun. Zaroff was (arguably) the first (as other villains,from the Voord to the Monk to the Celestial Toymaker have typicallyhad at least some motivation or driving quirk that caused them to dowhat they did), and certainly the most memorably, scenery-chewinglyover-the-top.

There were some funnybits in this serial. The ‘mini-heist’ capture scene is zany andfunny, with kooky costumes and the Doctor’s clowning, and is greatfun to watch in video. There’s also a very cool James-Bondian deathtrap at the beginning, the shark pool- it has a very nice, stylized,lethal design- very SPECTRE. (An organization that will soon becomevery relevant to the Second Doctor era in the forthcoming Evil of theDaleks serial…)

Hilarious for anotherreason is the scene of dissent spreading among the fish people, asthey ‘swim’ by making flailing motions while hung by wires on an‘underwater’ set. Okay, so it’s not ‘Zarbi’ bad, but it isbad. (NFS: I remember I was kind of impressed with the designs of the fish people actually, they looked kind of freaky and otherworldly-if they weren't flailing I think they could have been quite successful. As it was I still thought they were impressive.)

The Doctor does make useof a clever gambit to save all of their lives from an admittedly coollooking (in the stills) temple death trap. Ben gets a nice (ifcliched) hide-behind-the-idol-and-pretend-to-be-its-voice moment,Polly gets a near-genuine bit of tension at nearly being turned intoa fish person, and Jamie is… there? I think? (Of course, assomeone not originally planned to be a companion, several of theseearly stories- up through the Macra Terror- don’t give him much todo, as he had to be shoe-horned into scripts written without him.)

There was some irritating“can’t-you-see-that-coming?” stupidity with Zaroff’s fakingof illness and escape, which could be seen coming a mile off… andin the end, he is only defeated by his monumental ego and stupidityat stepping away from the controls. He’s Mavic Chen without thedepth, more or less… though the Doctor’s nobly wanting to savehim, despite everything, was a nice touch.

The reconstructionquality was decent, but very muddy- the shock of going to actualvideo and seeing how clear it was (3 out of 4 were reconstructed,while episode 3 was video) was incredible. Anothertolerable-but-forgettable reconstruction.

All in all, this was afun story that felt like it belonged to another show… say, theGerman Flash Gordon TV series (with ze thick accent, ze villainwould haf been right at home, Gorrrr-don! Plus, you’d getZaroff-meets-Zarkoff…), and, while large parts of it weremeaningless meandering, it sure had a memorable foe.

Note: Late-breakingwonderful news! As of just before the posting of this blog (December11^th,2011), a new episode of this serial has been recovered! Wherepreviously only episode 3 existed for this serial, with the other 3being reconstructions, episode 2 has now been found as well(supplanting #3 as the earliest surviving Troughton episode)- makingthis serial half complete! Not only that, this missing episoderecovery- the first in 7 years, since a 2004 recovery of a DaleksMaster Plan episode- was a dual recovery, in tandem with episode 3 ofGalaxy 4, the only known episode of that serial!

…Well, you can’twin ‘em all. Even so, thrilling news! While these episodes have notyet been released to the public and I have yet to see them, I ampsyched beyond measure, just to know they exist!

Great moments:

The shark pool sacrificeand the slapstick kidnapping.

Rating:

Overall, this serial gets2 out of 5 Deadman’s Keys… I’d like to give it more, but Ihonestly can’t remember much more about it than the paltrydescriptions from this review- I even had to look up Zaroff’s name-making this one of the most forgettable (if fun and silly) serials todate. That, combined with the ultra-kid-y tonal shift to Saturdaymorning cartoon plot, simply languishes this one to mediocrity…though a different flavor of mediocrity than the simply dullSmugglers or Savages… more of an “Its quality does not equalits premise” mediocrity. (NFS: It's a shame because most of them SOUND like they'd be phenomenal...but they really sometimes...aren't.)

Likewise for therelatively bland (a pattern seems to be forming) but serviceablereconstruction. Some excellent imagery bumps it up to a 2.5 out of 5,but there just doesn’t seem to be any extra effort here.

Doctor Who: The Highlanders

2011-12-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

Serial Title:The Highlanders

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills), JamieMcCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Synopsis:

Landing in Scotland during April of 1746, the exploring TARDIS crew are quickly caught upin the war between the Scotts and the British as they stumble into aScottish hut with a wounded Laird inside, and after Ben accidentallyalerts the British patrolling the area, they are taken captive byredcoats. The Doctor feigns being a German physician and claimsneutrality, but the group is ultimately saved from hanging by BritishSolicitor Grey and his hapless clerk Perkins, who transfer them tonearby Inverness prison for slave labor purposes. The Doctor, Ben, Scotsman Jamie McCrimmon, and the Laird of his clan are taken away-but Polly and the native Kirsty (who had avoided capture) manage to drawFfinch, the leader of the patrol that captured the others, into a pittrap. There, they take him prisoner, stealing his papers and money.

At Inverness, the Doctordiscovers that the Laird bears the standard of Bonnie Prince Charley,concealing it- the Doctor takes it, then incites the prisoners to arebellious state with his recorder and traditional Scottish tunes,then convinces the guard that he has information on an upcoming rebelinsurgent attempt on the life of an English noble. Once taken toSolicitor Grey, he tricks his way into incapacitating both Grey(tying him up) and Perkins (playing on his hypochondriac fears) andescapes. Grey, meanwhile, has ordered Trask, a sea captain, to take theprisoners aboard his ship, the Annabelle- where they will be forcedto sign a life-long labor contract and be shipped to the Indies as slave labor.

Hapless Ffinch is foundand rescued by his men, who exploit him for cash- which has beenstolen- and he is returned to the Sea Eagle Inn, where Grey andPerkins are staying, and next to which the Annabelle is docked. TheDoctor, disguising himself as an old woman (Note from Sarah: You'd think with a scene like that I would remember this one better....), investigates theAnnabelle, while aboard the ship, Ben, under the guise of reading the fine print,tears up the contracts and is clapped in irons. The Doctor reuniteswith Polly and Kirsty and they make their escape, lying low in a barn.Polly hatches a plan to use the stolen money to buy weapons andsmuggle them aboard the Annabelle, to incite a prisoner revolt.

Ben escapes both the shipand death after he is bound and thrown overboard, escaping his bondsand swimming to shore, where the Doctor meets him in disguise. (Man,I really wish I could’ve seen this one as a video!!!) The Doctor later allowshimself to be captured and uses a ring from Kirsty to perpetuate acon that Bonnie Prince Charley in disguise is actually one of theprisoners aboard the Annabelle. Solicitor Grey and Perkins are thuslured aboard the ship… just in time for the prisoners to rise upand fight off their captors. Trask attacks Ben in a grudge-basedduel, but Jamie subdues him and saves Ben’s life.

Kirsty is reunited withher father, the Laird, while the once-captured Scotsmen take the ship (withPerkins joining them in sailing to France, and safety) and the TARDIScrew disembarks (along with Jamie, who joins the group with thestated goal of teaching the Doctor to play the bagpipes, rather thanhis beloved recorder) bearing Solicitor Grey as a hostage. Greyproves a particularly troublesome one- attracting attention ofseveral redcoats and escaping in the ensuing fisticuffs. Instead, thegroup returns to the Inn and blackmails poor, hapless Ffinch intoaiding them- who, along the route back to the TARDIS, is told thetale of Grey’s illegal slave trade and dishonorable conduct. Nearlyto the TARDIS, the group is waylaid by redcoats, led by Grey- butFfinch takes charge and orders Grey arrested. Grey tries to wriggleaway by presenting the contracts (replacements drawn up for the onesBen destroyed), claiming that since the captured men agreed to becomeslaves by legal contract, he had done nothing wrong in taking slaves…but the contracts have been pick-pocketed by the Doctor, and Grey,unable to produce them, is hauled off to Inverness prison.

Review:

The Highlanders is amixed bag. On the one hand, it is of note for numerous landmarks inthe show- the introduction of Jamie, one of the longest-runningcompanions of the early years (who, if what I've read is correct,will remain with the Second Doctor for the rest of his tenure) (NFS: It's weird reading this blog after we've already seen all of Jamie's adventures, he's definitely destined to be a favorite). It isalso the last true 'historical,' in which the Doctor and company getinvolved in (sensationalized) actual historical events. Futurestories take place in the past, but always with alien interventionor an alien twist, and seldom around specific historical events-history becomes a backdrop or setting, instead of a story focus.

Despite these landmarks,however, the story is dull and relatively simplistic- capture andescape, cut and dried- with not even that many twists to it. Add to thatthe fact that it's a recreation, and... well, there's not much tooffer in the way of 'compelling', 'thrilling', 'engaging', or even'not boring'.

On the other hand,though, the Doctor is fantastic in this serial- a master of gambitsand disguises, funny, clever... a worthy successor now coming into hisown! From his disguise as an old woman ("It'd be a shame towaste good broth...") to his insane bamboozling medical doctorroutine ("That noise is all in your head. In your eyes!")he is fantastic and proactive all throughout- this Doctor being partsecret agent, part comedian- he's a good sight less passive than thefirst Doctor was, and very entertaining to boot- even as thesituation keeps going straight to heck, the Doctor instantly comesinto mastery of whatever the new situation may be. He always has aplan, a way of working out of the danger, an idea, a plot...qualities that typically are ascribed to the Seventh Doctor... exceptdone with great humor. I am officially a fan of the Second Doctor(I'd put him above the Ninth AND Tenth at this time, from my samplingof Doctors 1, 2, 9, 10, and 11... rising to 3rd on the second appearance? That's pretty impressive. That said... I haven't seen aDoctor I don't like yet! But then, I haven't seen the Sixth yet...) (NFS: The Second Doctor is my favorite, FOREVER!)

Ben is his usualheadstrong, slightly-foolhardy-but-active self. He touches off aneedless confrontation by taking charge at the beginning, and in amoment of careless idiocy, kicks off the whole capture by tossing thepistol. He later tears up the contracts, an impetuous and somewhatfoolish move of defiance that is nonetheless courageous. All in all,his heart is in the right place, but his actions are... ratheruseless.

Polly comes off verystrongly here, though- taking charge in the Doctor's absence andhandling herself- and a hapless redcoat- quite effectively. One ofher strongest outings, and proving herself to be more proactive thanmost female companions of the time. The humor subplot with Ffinch isa lot of fun, as she repeatedly takes advantage of and blackmails thehelpless Captain.

Our Loose Canonproductions reconstruction was neither anything to complain about,nor anything to write home about. It merely was. And, in what Isuspect will soon become a pattern with Troughton stories, this onewas a largely visual story (what with all the Doctor’s clowningaround) of which I suspect much has been lost due to itsslide-show format. The Second Doctor was hit the hardest in terms ofepisodes lost, folks… so it begins. :-( (NFS: It's a testament to how good Patrick Troughton is that he can be our favorite and...we mostly can only HEAR him!)

Not much to say about TheHighlanders- historicals go out not with a bang, but a whimper- anecessary bridge story to get Jamie aboard, and some hilarious Doctorbits, save it from being useless like, say, the Savages or theSmugglers, which practically drown in their own mediocrity (TheSavages being likewise saved by a great Doctor-performance… fromanother actor! :-) )- but for the last historical, it’s reallyjust… not much.

Great moments:

The old woman, thesoldier, the German Doctor (and his ‘treatment’ of Grey andPerkins)- every one of the Doctor’s impersonations.

Rating:

2 out of 5 Deadman’sKeys to the serial- which would have been worse had it not been forthe Doctor’s broth-shilling old lady- and 2 as well for thelackluster but serviceable reconstruction. (Perhaps I’ve simplybeen spoiled!)

Doctor Who: Power of the Daleks

2011-12-07T11:19:00.001-08:00

Serial Title:Power of the Daleks

Series:4

Episodes:6

Doctor:Patrick Troughton

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)

Synopsis:

The TARDIS Lands on thePlanet Vulcan (shall we get the jokes out of the way now?), an Earthcolony in… the future. (BAH! Dates! Give me dates!!!). Inside, Benand Polly are dealing with the appearance of a strange younger man inthe place of their familiar Doctor, one awfully fond of playing therecorder. This man also claims to be the Doctor… Polly believeshim, but Ben remains skeptical and suspicious. (Note from Sarah: YAYY!!! From that moment on...I knew I t'would love this mysterious Second Doctor.)

Exiting the TARDIS, thestill somewhat-disoriented Doctor encounters an Earth Examiner… whois promptly shot by an unknown assailant in the distance. The Doctortakes his identification, intending to use the greater authoritygranted by the credentials to track down the murderer within thenearby colony.

When he, Ben, and Pollyarrive there, they encounter Lesterson, a scientist studying astrange capsule from space found crashed in one of the mercuryswamps, and his assistant Janley. Lesterson has not had much successin opening the capsule, (NFS: Make sure when you read that word you are reading it in the proper british way "Cap-see-ooull"..yes it's important.) but believes its technology and alloys maycontain untold breakthroughs for mankind. They also meet GovernorHensell, his deputy Quinn, and Bragen, the head of security. Thecolony is in rough times, as a group of rebels is causing unrest.

The Doctor manages toopen the capsule that night, in secret, and discovers even worsetrouble for the colony- a pair of Daleks, currently inert andinactive. The Doctor immediately goes to the colony leaders andinsists that the Daleks must be destroyed, that even a single onerevived would surely spell doom for them all. Lesterson, howeverbrings in a third Dalek, having secretly gained entry to the craftpreviously… the Dalek speaks, declaring itself to be humanity’sservant. The colonists, enthralled by the prospect of (to theireyes) robotic labor drones that can increase production and do theirjobs for them, ignore the Doctor, who is terrified of the machines…but the Dalek lies and flatters smoothly, and the Doctor has noevidence. (Just like 'The Smugglers.' Evidence, always looking forevidence… the Doctor clearly just needs Batman as his nextcompanion, so as to skip straight to the ‘taking the law into ourown hands’ step.)

Quinn is implicated asthe murderer of the Earth Examiner (which the Doctor claims as anunsuccessful attempt on his own life as part of the fiction, thoughthe real murderer would, of course, know better)- but Polly believesthat he is not the real culprit.

Quinn admits to havingbeen the one that called Earth to dispatch an examiner, but hisreasons are undermined by security-head Bragen, who spins his wordsand actions to look like an attempt to push aside and usurp theposition of the governor. Bragen is made Deputy Governor in Quinn’splace. When the governor leaves on an inspection tour, Bragen…pushes aside and usurps the position of the governor. Huh. Didn’tsee that one coming.

As the Doctor tries andfails repeatedly to warn people of the danger of the Daleks, he isfurther and further marginalized. Sabotaging the power transfer torevive the other two Daleks in an attempt to destroy them, he iscaught and forbidden from the lab and the Daleks by Bragen, nowwielding the governor’s authority. However, the Dalek weapons havebeen removed as a safety precaution… the reason for theirsubservient act, gaining trust until the weapons can be reinstalled.

Lesterson’s assistant,Janley, is sent by Bragen to the rebels to deliver them a powerfulDalek gun- she is a leader in the rebellion, and Bragen has beenusing the rebels to create a climate of fear which will allow him toreach this level of power. In other words, he’s Emperor Palpatine.Under orders, Janley also kidnaps Polly. She also blackmailsLesterson, who is becoming wary of the Daleks, seeing their truenature seep through their actions, into giving them all the buildingmaterials they want… which they promptly use in secret to constructmore Dalek casings for the many Dalek-mutants still secreted aboardthe capsule. (NFS: Wow...I can't remember what it looks like but this is obviously a rather large capsule.) The Daleks also order cables laid to convey staticelectricity power for them (as seen in The Daleks and The DalekInvasion of Earth… and ignored ever since, until now) throughoutthe base so that they will no longer be dependent on the colonypower-transfers that Lesterson doles out to keep them under hiscontrol.

While spying on therebels, Ben is taken, and the Doctor is imprisoned by Bragen for interfering. He sees now that Quinn, also in jail, was falsely accused. Hebegins work on using a wet-finger-on-the-rim-of-a-drinking-glassinstrument to simulate the sonic lock on their cells.

Within the laboratory,Lesterson sees dozens of completed and armed Daleks emerge from thecapsule- ordering that no more than the three that are supposedto exist leave the lab at one time, lest the colonists discover theirreproduction. Lesterson, horrified, runs to tell the Doctor, and thenbegins running through the colony, shouting hysterical warnings toeveryone.

The governor returns,confronts Bragen, fails to play along, doesn’t recognize incrediblyobvious threats (“I will give you one last chance…” says theman with all of your power, whom you have no authority over, arethreatening to oppose, and who is holding a very powerful gun in aroom with no witnesses…) and is promptly killed.

Quinn and the Doctorescape, and free Polly, but are captured by Bragen’s gaurds… justas the Daleks break lose in full force and numbers to begin theirextermination. Ben likewise escapes, as do the Doctor, Polly, andQuinn, in the chaos. Humans are slaughtered all throughout the colonyas the Daleks invade. Sheltering in the lab with the now-insaneLesterson, the Doctor sabotages the static-electricty power hub,destroying the Daleks… but not before they inflict a heavy deathtoll, killing Lesterson (who sacrifices himself to give the Doctortime to complete his task), Janley, Bragen, and nearly all of therebels.

Quinn is now in charge ofwhat remains of the colony, and begins the monumental task ofrebuilding, as the Doctor and his companions- now firmly convincedthat he is the Doctor- sneak away, back to the TARDIS.

Review:

This is a very differentDalek story, to its benefit. Rather than the standard "They are unstoppable they will kill you you must run run away!!!!" storyof fleeing unstoppable juggernauts, this is a more psychological tale-watching the near-helpless Daleks slowly growing in power until they reach their standard juggernaut levels... a story of greed and folly, and a storyof desperation, as the one man who knows what's coming tries in vainto battle the lies of the Daleks- spoonfeeding their new 'masters'everything they want to hear- and warn people of the danger that'scoming.

The Daleks, proverbial serpents in a not-very-much-of-aparadise, spin their lies, gather power (gritting their teeth all theway- as exemplified in numerous near-slips, such as when a Dalek iscompared unfavorably to a human being and the outraged exterminatorresponds with "DALEKS ARE-" *long pause* "-differentfrom humans." (NFS: It's been interesting watching these earlier Doctor Who's when the Doctor is more or less out of control a lot of the time. I'd gotten used to the newer shows, and how it's kind of a rare situation when the Doctor is kind of helpless; this is something you experience quite often in the older shows and it makes for hard watching at first, but then it gets more and more interesting to see the lengths at which he has to go to prove himself half the time.) Quenching the use of the word 'superior' probablytook more self-control than has been exercised by any Dalek in allof history. From the Dalek perspective, this is equivalent to astarving, weakened man being chained up by a colony of sewercockroaches, and forced to cater to their every whim, until you'vebuilt up enough strength to escape and crush them like the verminthey are...) and pull the wool over everyone's 'eye-stalks'... untilit's too late.

If you can't tell, Iliked this one. Sure, the whole 'rebels/governor usurping' bit was atad annoying to me- and superfluous- as was the 'false acusation'plot, but other than that, I greatly enjoyed the serial. The newDoctor was likable, but doesn't really come into his own (and reallymake me into a fan of his) until the next serial, The Highlanders.

Partly, this is because the Doctoris so low-key here. Suffering from (as yet unnamed andunconceptualized, but clearly present) post-regenerative madness, heis a little more of an amnesiac blank-slate, displaying few of thetraits- save for a built-in silliness and a fondness for playing therecorder- that would eventually come to define him. (NFS: I still liked him. :-D )

The post-regenerationscene is vague and slow- befitting of post-regenerative madness, butotherwise just slightly aggravating. The mirror trick with Hartnell isclever, but other than that... it doesn't have much. Not such a greatintroduction for a new Doctor.

Ben and Polly are...well, let's put it this way. Ben disappeared somewhere around the 3rdChapter. It took us until the 6th to realize he was gone and wonderwhat had happened to him, and when he re-appeared, we had norecollection of seeing anything that showed him leaving or being takento where he was. Both companions get kidnapped as leverage. They areutterly superfluous- this is the Doctor's story. And as apsychological 3-way battle between the Doctor, the Daleks, and theplayed-for-fools colonists, there isn't really room for thecompanions anyhow. (NFS: Unfortunately Ben and Polly are not really interesting companions and feel kind of like stand ins with recycled lines.)

They do have a nice initial post-regeneration shtick, though- with Polly immediatelyaccepting the new Doctor while Ben remains suspicious that it's atrick or impostor. It's a very nice touch. After the story getsgoing, though, they discreetly exit stage left to give the new Doctora chance to prove himself.

The colony members are...well, they would seem at first blush to have the combinedintelligence of a mud/dung brick... that's had a lobotomy... that wasbotched. In fact, I was, at one point, wondering out loud ifLesterson had actually achieved a level of idiocy to outdo our oldfriend Mavic Chen. However, as my wife wisely pointed out, Chen knewwho the Daleks were and what he was getting himself into.

Seen from theirperspective, while I believe the actions of the colonists in thisepisode are still slightly trusting and moronic... they are somewhatjustified. The Daleks spin a web of very convenient,exactly-what-they-want-to-hear lies, while the Doctor, without anycredentials as an extraterrestrial expert in his assumed disguise,merely seems to be an ignorant alarmist who fears the unknown andwants to destroy it... much like the kind of paranoid Luddite foolthat the Doctor himself confronts on a regular basis, especially inthe modern program; the standardit's-different-so-we-fear-it-and-want-to-destroy-it-(and-by-the-way-by-this-we-mean-ethnic-and-sexual-minorities-we-do-that-to-them-too,-see?)sci-fi message that's been driven into the ground in science fictionsince the days of the Twilight Zone is here inverted- making anexpert without proof of his expertise appear to the characters asjust the kind of paranoid imbecile that must be opposed- whichtransforms it into another sci-fi cliche, the 'Invasion of the BodySnatchers' story, in which one man knows the danger but can't find anyonewho believes him, creating a quiet desperation in us, the audience,who likewise know the danger... funny how that role reverses the reason-ability of the positions depending on which one the protagonistholds at the moment, eh?

However, in this case, itis not a fear of the unknown driving an individual to urgedestruction of the alien visitors... but fear of the known. And anaudience awareness of what the Daleks can do, building on past appearances, serves this story well- even though their power andcapabilities are not demonstrated, we as the audience know what thosecapabilities are... and so it becomes a tense countdown, a feast ofanticipation, as the Daleks move ever closer to what we know iscoming- the cynic in us well aware that they won't be thwartedbecause then we won't get to see another display of power, and theywouldn't make a show that anticlimactic... even as the optimist inus, caught up in the story, is desperately rooting for someone to seethe light and help the Doctor to stop them before it's too late! It'sa fine psychological thriller, and while a cynic might find itpredictable ("These people are petty, foolish, and expendable-the Daleks will clearly succeed and many colonists will die beforethey stop it... it would only be if the Daleks had a doomsday weaponthat could destroy the planet or plans to blow up the TARDIS orsomething that they'd be stopped before they could reach fullcapabilities... since their capabilities are something they loveshowing and won't affect history drastically, they'll be loosed, nodoubt about it."), the writing is of such quality that, even instill-picture-reconstruction version, with a weak Doctor character for this serial, anear-absence of companions, and an annoying supporting cast, itremains an engaging, attention-sustaining, and entertaining storythat draws you in enough to block that cynicism (which onlyre-asserts itself in retrospect) and maintains suspense.

((((The Reconstruction wewatched, meanwhile, was yet another NON-LOOSE CANNON reconstruction,which I want to clarify- NOT LOOSE CANNON, THEY DON'T SUCK.)))) Thisreconstruction, on the other hand, does. Badly. Muddy sound,incompetent framing (cutting off the bottom half- during the shots ofthe ring lying by the Doctor's foot, all we could see were apparentcloseups of the Doctor's foot), no action captions- it was about theworst possible way to watch the story... fortunately, we were able tojump on youtube and enjoy the audio recreation with linking narrationdescribing the action for a few of the middle chapters. Honestly,though... if we can still enjoy it after this utterly horrendouspresentation, you KNOW it has to be good.

Overall, a strong openingfor the Second Doctor... even if he is not very strong IN it.

Great moments:

Not so much a moment as arising plot thread, as the menace of the Daleks is more and morefully revealed in each confrontation with the Doctor.

Rating:

I have to give this one4.5 out of 5 Deadman's Keys- it wasn't perfect, despite my ravereviews- the start was slow and meandering- but save for that, it wasflawless. I can't give it a perfect rating (and it seems there arefew that I do...) but like Keys of Marinus, Myth Makers, and theAztecs, a few flaws do only a little to tarnish an otherwiseexcellent tale.

0 out of 5 Deadman's Keysfor whatever pathetic piece of tripe that supposed 'reconstruction'we were watching was... and to whatever dead animal carcassapparently vomited it up from the bowels of Heck to torment innocentInternet viewers with it's ubiquitous incompetence and rankshoddiness. Loose Cannon, come back, and wash the bad taste away...

The 10th Doctor's Mistake

2011-11-30T10:40:00.001-08:00

Alright, here we are-floating in the void between Doctors. Now, before we get to PatrickTroughton and his Second Doctor, I’m going to kick-start one morenew tradition for this blog.

I’m fairly well-versedin the New Series of Doctor Who, having seen every episode, and mostmultiple times. But that, of course, is not what this blog is about-I’ve chosen to focus on Old Who… and after all, if you wanted NewWho reviews, the internet is full to brimming with them.

However, every time wesee a new Doctor appear, following a retrospective on that Doctor’stime, I think we’ll enter a brief New Series diversion beforediving back in with the next Doctor’s era.

This first time, I’mgoing to talk about David Tennant’s 10^thDoctor… and my unifying theory of the Whoniverse that suggests thateverything bad that happened to him, he did to himself… with onesingle action on the day he was born.

I’ve spoken and postedon this topic often enough, I figure I may as well blog about it, getit down somewhere permanent. :-)

So, what one action couldbe responsible for his every woe- from the Loss of Rose to his deathand regeneration? What single choice could have such catastrophicconsequences that it would crush his youthful enthusiasm into themalaise of depression, self-pity, and arrogance that eventually ledto his downfall? How could he pre-destin his death on the day of hisbirth?

Six little words: “Don’tyou think she looks tired?”

That’s it. The spitefultoppling of Harriet Jones on Christmas day. Now, before we get intothe why of Tennant’s woes, let’s take a look at the ‘why’ of‘why was it wrong?’

When Harriet Jones isfirst encountered by the Ninth Doctor, he calls her brilliant. Sayshe likes her. She’s an unassuming woman who just wants to do what’sbest for the people. And eventually, she’s revealed to be thearchitect of Britain’s Golden Age.

What changes?

She destroys a retreatingSycorax spacecraft with a ground-based energy weapon to send amessage to the rest of the alien marauders not to mess with Earth. 10is piqued, and declares he’ll end her reign.

First off… was thiswrong of Harriet? Well, yes and no, by my reckoning.

Destroying a fleeingenemy, a retreating opponent? Not right. Very dishonorable.

However- the Sycorax werethe aggressors, bent on Earth conquest. They had already committedmurder. And yes, they had been turned away by the Doctor after hedefeated their leader in single combat, ordered never to return, andto spread the message that Earth is protected.

However, the Sycoraxleader had already demonstrated duplicity, and a lack of followingthrough on his word, trying to stab the Doctor in the back afterbeing defeated in single combat. The likelihood of the Sycoraxdouble-crossing Earth and returning in force was high. And HarrietJones, as an elected representative of the people (a distinction 9loved because it freed him to act without accepting the moralconsequences… but which 10 apparently ignored as her right once itbecame inconvenient to him), was tasked with making the choice forthose people that she believed best defended Earth.

So, that brings us to Reason #1 why it waswrong of Tennant to dethrone her: He had no right. She was an electedofficial acting on behalf of the people, doing what she thought wasbest, just as she’d always done. This time, he just happened todisagree with what was best. He didn’t consult her on his defenseof Earth- nor did she consult him on hers. She attacked an enemy with a highdegree of duplicity already demonstrated, and with an ability toeasily attack and ravage the Earth, were the Doctor not around. Agreewith her choice or not, he had no right to remove her from powerbecause he disagreed.

And that brings us to thesecond question in determining “Was this (the destruction of theSycorax) wrong?” – Harriet’s reasoning; the Doctor is notalways around to defend Earth, and a message needed to be sent. Wasthis right or wrong?

Well, first off- likeshooting a retreating enemy, killing to prove a point is never right.(Again, I abrogate this with the fact that these were enemycombatants who had demonstrated a propensity for attacking after theywere supposedly surrendered.)

Was Harriet right,though? Yes! While it previously seemed as if the Doctor was Earth’scontinual savior, concurrent spinoffs Torchwood and the Sarah JaneAdventures have shown us that the Earth is indeed often threatened,several times with Earth-destroying menaces, in the Doctor’sabsence. He is not always around to protect us- in this, Harriet isabsolutely correct!

On the other hand, shesent her message… and aliens still came. Less than might haveotherwise? Perhaps. But we’ll never know.

This one, I’m calling adraw.

So, to wrap up, here’sReason #2- unrelated- that the Doctor’s actions were wrong.

His moral outrage and fitof pique cost Britain its entire Golden Age. Just who the heck doeshe think he is- redirecting an entire civilization from a period ofunparalleled prosperity simply because he’s angry at a singleperson? This is inexcusable, even if the people of Britain will neverknow what it cost them. But it will cost the Doctor something aswell…

So, back to the thesis ofthis episode. How did the Doctor cause all of his own woes throughthis?

Well, to understand that,I first need to clarify something in temporal mechanics 101. Rememberthat, to a time traveler, time is subjective. If you go to 2010, thencome back to 2005, and change history, 2010 will now be different.But you, as a time traveler, will remember 2010 as it was when youvisited it, even though that 2010 no longer exists, and if you visitit again, it will be a new, different 2010 that came from the new, different 2005 that you altered. You visited it before you changed thetimeline, so you remember it the way that it was- but now it will only exist that way in your memory.

Got it?

Good.

Okay, so here’s mypostulation. The Doctor clearly changed time in The ChristmasInvasion, altering the timeline to preclude Harriet Jones’ multipleterms, and erasing Britain’s Golden age. This means that thetimeline shifted. Season 1- the 9^thDoctor years- are Timeline A- the future as it would have occurred.But everything in Season 2-onwards exists in timeline B…2006-forwards have now been re-written. They are a new timelinewithout Harriet Jones’ Prime Minister-hood.

So, what’s different inTimeline B?

Everything.

Here’s my centralconceit- Harriet Jones would have kept control of Torchwood. Sheclearly had control of them in the Christmas Invasion!

And if Harriet did keepcontrol of Torchwood, what would have happened? First off, no Army ofGhosts. With those experiments put a stop to… no Cybermen. The Cultof Skarro would have also remained in the void. No Daleks. NoCybermen. No loss of Rose. Martha Jones would never have become acompanion. Donna Noble would have been a one-time companion. NoDaleks in Manhattan. No Dalek rescuing Davros. No Stolen Earth. NoVictory of the Daleks. No Cyberking. And that’s not all…

No Mister Saxxon, becausethere was no power void for the Master to fill. Likely, the trip tothe future would still have occurred, but the Master would havearrived back in an entirely different manner- never becoming Prime Minister. Entirely likely thatthere would be no Year-that-never-was (redundantly). No Master-cultcreated while he was Saxxon. Thus, no resurrection, noVivoci/Master/Time Lord endgame. Maybe even no encounter with Wilf.And thus… no regeneration into Matt Smith.

So, in short, the Doctorunleashed the Daleks and Cybermen onto the universe anew, lost Rose,and gave the Master a position of power from which to launch theschemes that ultimately caused both of their deaths. (Apparently.)

Now, I call this a prettycompelling and ironclad scenario…But, you ask, where’s my proof?

Dalek.

In this Season Oneepisode- taking place in 2012- no one had ever heard of Daleks orknew what they were, despite their multiple invasions. But remember,this was the 2012 of Timeline A, witnessed subjectively BEFOREchanging the timeline in the Christmas Invasion. This implies that noDaleks were ever witnessed by Earth in the 2000s… and since allDaleks in Tennant’s era date back to the Cult of Skarro, it’sclear that they were never released in that time period, becauseHarriet Jones kept Torchwood under control. (It’s also supported bylogic, that a period labeled a ‘Golden Age’ would probably nothave multiple genocidal invasions in it.)

More than likely, withHarriet ousted and timeline B in place, if the Doctor revisited 2012(or gets there on his own, eventually) the events with Van Statenwould not occur- or at least not in the same way- as everyone wouldknow about Daleks.

Originally, I noted that there might be one ‘crack’ in my proof, relating to Matt Smith's first year...
However, everything we have come to understand about the Big Bang 2.0 and the cracks in the Universe suggest that the effects were not retroactive to the series to this point- and that Van Staten and the results of Dalek were NOT due to the cracks in the universe- everything we were seeing was, in essence, Universe 1.0 during that time. And while we still don't know if Universe 2.0 is lacking the Cyberking, Dalek Invasions, etc. and everything that Amy didn't remember... Universe 1.0 clearly did. So, no Cracks scapegoat to explain a Dalek-less 2012 (and indeed, unless the events of Waters of mars were also greatly altered, it appears that future memories of the Dalek invasions are fairly crucial to the future, so one can assume that they were, indeed, restored.) As I noted in the previous draft of this article, one would think that the Universe 2.0 would have major gaps if it only contained things Amy knewabout.

Either way, cracks or no, regardless of the eventsin Dalek, I stand by my theory and reasoning- the TenthDoctor made the WRONG choice, and all of his suffering was because ofit. Themeatically, this is appropriate to the themes of the melancholoy, legacy-tarnishing, major-mistake Gap Year... the Tenth Doctor's arrogance and self-righteousness ultimately proving to be his undoing... with the thematic groundwork laid for his eventual fall in his very first adventure. (Note from Sarah: I think you have a sound argument...but unfortunately most people, since he is 10, hold him beyond reproach. I am afraid your argument will fall on a lot of deaf eyes. :-D)

That’s my thesis.

And now, after thatself-indulgence… back to Classic Who with Patrick Troughton and theSecond Doctor!

William Hartnell

2011-11-09T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ah, William Hartnel. TheFirst Doctor. THE Doctor. Famous for his crusty, grandfatherlymanner. Even more famous for his repeatedly flubbed lines. Due to anillness. That was undiagnosed. And probably killed him.

So it's not so funny tolaugh at anymore.

(Due also to the BBC nothaving the time or money to do multiple takes, so it was recordedpractically as if it were live.)

He was funny, at timesendearing. He was grumpy, at times block-headed. He had a funnylittle cackle, and a very particular pursing of the lips. He was myHalloween costume last year. He often claimed to be human. He had amysterious signature signet ring, along with a monocle- possibly themost awesome accessories a sonic-screwdriver-less Doctor could have.He had power over hypnosis and the ability to mimic voicesflawlessly.

He was my favorite.

Don't get me wrong, Istill love David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, and if he hadn't gonethrough his manic-depressive-emo phase (I.E. The Gap Year) he mightstill retain that spot. But as of now, having viewed the First,Second, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors, I think it's safe to callhim my current favorite. That may change, admittedly... but he willalways hold a high ranking in my estimation.

He was the first, withoutwhom there would be no other Doctors.

He was the original, theauthority, the one that held it all together.

He was the Doctor.

And he will be missed.

MyTop 10 Favorite First Doctor Moments

10.Trouncing an assassin (The Romans):

TheDoctor takes to impersonating a musician that the group finds dead (for his own safety), not realizing that the dead man was the target ofan assassination, and the group he’s fallen in with are determinedto keep trying, believing that their initial attempt failed and theDoctor is their still-living target. A mute assassin is sent to stabthe Doctor in his sleep as the group stops at a tavern for the night-and the Doctor handily thrashes him, throwing the man around the roomwith an almost carefree and disinterested ease, not even for a momentconcerned for himself. This physical display, and the extremeconfidence accompanying it, suggesting this to be merely the tip ofthe iceberg of the feats that the Doctor is physically capable of, isas surprising to the audience as it is to the assassin, andHartnell’s bravado through it all really makes it stick in yourmemory.

9.Resigned Trojan horse proposal (The Myth Makers)

Capturedby the Greek armies and coerced into finding a way to breach theunbreachable walls of Troy, the Doctor steadfastly refuses toconsider the Trojan Horse as an option, believing it to be ahistorical myth- here, he has an opportunity to craft, and discover,how Troy really fell. After a series of far-fetched proposals, Stevenagain suggests the well-known horse, and the Doctor soundly rejectsthe notion, instead briefing the commander on his final proposal:catapult-launched hang-gliders. The skeptical general agrees, butinforms the Doctor that Hartnell will be the one made to test, hewill be the first launched on the ridiculous contraptions. Faced withthe prospect of riding on his own lethally-absurd creation, theDoctor calls the general back and, ever so reluctantly and with greatresignation, suggests a giant wooden horse instead. Hartnell’sperformance- from stubborn refusal to begrudging acceptance, makesthis one of the most hilarious of Myth Maker’s many laugh-riotscenes, even through the stills of a reconstruction.

8.“DO… NOT… KILL!”/The Double Fight (The Dalek Master Plan):

Thestrange clearly-not-identical-doppelganger-stunt-double plot comes toa head in the penultimate chapter of the Dalek Master Plan, as theDoctor and his double fight- itself a rare and exciting fight-scenemoment for Hartnell, its memorability is enhanced by his uniquesolution- another use of his vocal mimicry skills to imitate theDaleks’ halting speech and order the robot not to kill, causing itto hesitate long enough to defeat it (admittedly, I find it memorableespecially because I didn’t understand what he was doing, and foundhis odd-cadenced yell to be oddly hilarious)- a scene enhanced byHartnell’s double-duty roles, and the way that the imposter isdiscovered- referring to Vicki as ‘Susan’ (recently departed)because the robot’s programmed information was out of date.Definitely one of the Doctor’s most memorable confrontations.

7.Beating the Toymaker (The Celestial Toymaker):

Comingat the climax of a serial in which the Doctor is seldom seen, thetitular villainous Toymaker has put the Doctor and his companionsthrough their paces in his sinister games, and they have triumphed.There, on the stage of his final defeat, the Toymaker appears andadmits that he is a sore loser- one game has yet to be completed,until which time the TARDIS crew cannot leave- and making the finalmove will instantly destroy the world which they inhabit, leavingthem the choice of eternal imprisonment, or perishing in a pyrrhicvictory. Yet the canny Doctor, who has managed to irritate andconfound the far-more-powerful Toymaker at every turn, has a trick uphis sleeve, turning the Toymaker’s own voice-command system back onhim to complete the final move (after a false-start in which hisfirst attempt fails, leading the overconfident Toymaker to smirk inderision) from the safety of the TARDIS, dematerializing it at thelast second. It’s a brilliant and well-written gambit, the solutionof which had been hinted at, like the great murder mysteries, subtlythroughout the serial for those that had been paying attention. It’sa great use of the First Doctor’s unique voice mimickingcapabilities. It’s a brilliant and very satisfying comeback as theDoctor utilizes the tool used to intimidate and bully him throughoutthe serial to have his cake and eat it, too. And his look of victoryas he begins his escape makes it all the better.

6.Accidental engagement (The Aztecs):

TheDoctor has been growing close to the elderly retiree, Cameca- acloseness that means more to the kind and gentle Aztec woman than itdoes to the oblivious Doctor. When she offers him a cup of cocoa andhe accepts- ignorant of its cultural significance and simply findingthe prospect of some Hot Chocolate delightful- he finds a little morethan he bargained for when she exclaims with joy about their newbetrothal. The expression on the Doctor’s face simply has to beseen to be believed- and the comedy of the scene and wonderfulcharacter created in Cameca makes their eventual parting all the moretragic.

5.Farewell speech to Susan (The Dalek Invasion of Earth):

It’sshown at the beginning of specials for a reason. This was the firstcompanion departure, a resolute but sad forced-departure of theDoctor’s own flesh and blood. Hartnell is tender and wistful as hemakes the decision, but puts on a brave face for Susan, urging her togo forward and claim the life that she deserves. He gives the speechall the gravitas, regret, tender care, and loving, grandfatherlywisdom that such a moment deserves, and the result is mesmerizing.“One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back.Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just goforward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistakenin mine. Goodbye, Susan.”

4.Failed Interrogation (The Space Museum):

Theconquering authorities are trying to sweat the Doctor out in aninterrogation, but he doesn’t seem to be worried in the slightest.The authorities, greedy for the secret of the TARDIS, haul out theirbig guns: a mind-reading device. They hook Hartnell up to it and fireaway their question once again: “How did you get here?” There’sno way out of it this time! But the Doctor proves that he stilleasily has the upper hand, as the screen lights up with a picture ofan old-timey giant-wheeled bike. Then, as the interrogators stare inshocked disbelief, he cackles with delight; though he’s inhandcuffs, captured, and being interrogated, Hartnell is still firmlyin control.

3.The Unintentional Hold-up (The Gunfighters):

Seldomhas the Doctor (mistaken for Doc Holliday by vengeful Clantons) beenso out of his element- believed to be a crack-shot (an illusion aidedby an unseen shooter and bolstered by a deceptive saloon girl), theDoctor ends up in a Stetson, six-shooter in hand, holding up thethree Clantons he’d just been trying to talk down. You can seewritten on his face the simultaneous excitement (really getting intobeing a cowboy, and loving it), and complete fish-out-of-waterbafflement and fear; now that he’s got ‘em, he has no idea whatto do with ‘em, and has to ask the Saloon girl what’s next. It’sone of Hartnell’s funniest scenes.

2.“I am that man!” (Keys of Marinus):

Aftera prolonged actor-vacation absence, the Doctor made his entrance intothe courtroom drama of the final Key location just as Ian wasbemoaning the need for a man that could stand with him, against thepotential of sharing his punishment, to defend him at trial. Withthis pronouncement, the Doctor made his first truly heroic entrance,a save-the-day moment for the Doctor like those we’ve come to knowand love, and finally started to demonstrate care and solidarity forthe companions that he had, up until this time, treated more likeunwanted baggage.

1.Confronting Koquillion (The Rescue):

Ina fantastic moment that (even as of the Fourth Doctor’s second season) has been rarely matched, the Doctor has a true showdown with thevillain of the piece, one-on-one. He confronts Koquillion in a dark,atmospheric ruined temple, fragmentary remnants of the society uponwhich he had committed genocide- keeping his back turned asKoquillion enters, the Doctor will not even look at him as he spinsthe tale he’s managed to work out, reconstructing the events of thepast there in the moody, misty remains of a once-proud civilization.The resulting fight- with explosions about and dangerous chasm-edgebattles- is cinematic and epic, yet very personal; this is a classicfinale, brilliantly filmed with fantastic cinematography, and feelsworthy of a major motion picture Doctor debut.

(Asa side note, I am so proud of myself- it’s been a year since I’veseen this, and I spelled Koquillion right from memory!) :-)

Also,here are a few honorable mentions that didn’t quite make my top 10list, but I feel are worthy of notation for their distinctiveness:

TheBackgammon matches from Marco Polo (notably the first time we reallysee the Doctor taking center stage and trying to save the day),outsmarting the chain gang in Reign of Terror (a great comedicscene), confronting the Monk (I always love seeing those twotogether), and the grueling Time Destructor standoff/march (anotherof the Doctor’s most memorable confrontations, and an incrediblypowerful finale) in Dalek Master Plan, and facing down the oncomingWar Machine in The War Machines.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet

2011-11-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The Tenth Planet

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)

Synopsis:

It is 1986 (the future,at the time) and the International Space Command is tryingto manage an orbital launch of the Zeus II capsule and itsastronauts from the Antarctica ‘Snowcap’ base… when a PoliceBox appears out of nowhere, expelling three passengers, and sendingthe secure military base into an uproar. General Cutler, thecommanding officer, interrogates the newcomers, but is soondistracted as an unknown force is buffeting the Zeus II, heralding thearrival of a new bright point in the sky… the planet Mondas, whichappears to be nearly identical to Earth, except for being upside-down(which is 60s hokum, since up and down are rather meaningless in space anyway). The Doctor haspredicted these events in advance, for he already knows what occurs on this historical date…

The base is invaded byCybermen, metallic beings from Mondas- cyborgs who have transferredtheir living minds into machines- losing their emotions and humanityin the process- in order to survive harsh conditions. They takecaptive all of the humans, who are forced to watch helplessly as the Zeus IV is destroyed by the gravitational forces of Mondas andEarth’s interaction. (Note from Sarah: I get that it's all about survival, but I do think it's funny the lengths people will go to survive in Sci-fi when they won't even realize they are surviving in the first place really, I just wonder what the point is.) Ben is imprisoned in the projection room forthe base’s theater, and the Cybermen reveal their intentions-Mondas is dying, having left its orbit and flown all around thegalaxy, expending its energy… now, they have returned to theirsolar system of origin, and they intend to leach the energy fromtheir compatible sister planet (Mondas once shared our orbit, on theother side of the Sun from us), destroying Earth in the process. Butthe Cybermen are not entirely heartless (Well… yes, they are,actually, in every sense of the word…), and offer the humanssurvival via coming to Mondas and being made into Cybermen.

Ben uses the projector inhis room to blind and overpower a Cyberman, stealing his weapon(which is also, ironically, a light. Say, you don’t think Steven’sbright idea to replace the life-force-draining-of-cavemen wasCybernetic implants, do you? We never learned the time or place ofThe Savages… it could well have been pre-historic Mondas!) and isforced to kill him with it when the Cyberman attacks, a decision hedeeply regrets. It does, however, earn him kudos from General Cutler-using the stolen weapon, they slay the occupying Cybermen. Cutler hasbigger concerns, though- before the Zeus IV’s destruction, a rescuecapsule was launched… the volunteer being Cutler’s son,Lieutenant Terry Cutler, whose capsule, the Zeus V, is now threatenedwith the same destruction that the Zeus IV fell to.

Cutler plans to launchthe powerful and deadly Z–bomb at Mondas, hoping that the doomsdayweapon could obliterate Mondas with its incredible explosivepower- millions of times that of an atomic bomb. However, theresulting radiation at this range would likely sterilize whicheverhalf of the Earth was facing it, killing untold billions. The Doctorurges patience, insisting that Mondas is not prepared for the powerit is draining, and will overload itself and burn out, returning theenergy to Earth- they will cause their own destruction. However, ashe tries to press the issue, the Doctor collapses of exhaustion- theenergy drain from Mondas also slowly draining away his life-force (NFS: Why...exactly does it do that? How is he connected to Mondas...that's silly.). AsPolly looks after the Doctor, Ben looks towards stopping the launch of theZ-bomb, which Cutler- disobeying orders and slowly descending intomadness out of fear for his son- intends to launch, needlessly (ifthe Doctor is correct) killing billions. Sympathetic Doctor Barclay,another member of the Antarctic base who does not want globalgenocide, helps Ben, telling him how to disable the Z-bomb rocket,which is housed on-base (!). Ben is found by Cutler, attacked, andimprisoned before he can complete his task.

More Cybermen land, andare annihilated by the captured weapons. The countdown for the Z-bombcommences as the Doctor and Ben awaken, and can only watch intrepidation… (This was an excellent cliffhanger, by the by!)

The Rocket fails tolaunch- Ben’s sabotage was far enough along to prevent it before hewas interrupted. (NFS: COP...out.) Cutler goes insane- also believing his son to bedead- and prepares to kill the ‘traitors’- but a third Cybermeninvasion hits the base, and Cutler is killed. The Doctor and Pollyare taken prisoner, led to the Cybership to be convertedinto Cybermen themselves…

Mondas gorges itself anddoesn’t feel so hot afterwards, breaking up and burning out, justas the Doctor predicted. The Cybermen, deprived of the energyprovided by Mondas that powers them, collapse, inert and dead. TheZeus V is guided home (where Lieutenant Terry Cutler will find outthat his mission failed, his colleagues died in space, and his fatherwas just killed… poor kid! Like Spider-man’s John Jameson, it’snot his fault that his dad’s a jerk, but life keeps sucking for himbecause he acts heroically… And don’t even get me started on what Mary Jane does to him in Spider-man 2…!)

Ben leaves the base to goand rescue the Doctor and Polly, but the Doctor is weak to the pointof collapse again, babbling and feverish, his life leached away byMondas and his old body failing him… he stumbles into the TARDISone last time, de-materializing the ship, and collapses to the floor.As Ben and Polly watch, his features glow, then emit a blindinglight… and fade away to reveal the features of a younger, differentface. (NFS: Plus hotter. :-D)

Review:

You can't be this stupidon purpose. It takes effort to fail so heavily. The one missingepisode of this serial IS THE FIRST EVER REGENERATION EPISODE?!?!?!

That said, this is aninteresting serial with an interesting set of guest characters. Whilethe future predictions are problematic (yup, we just landed a man onthe moon for the first time... in 1986! Hardly Star Trek’s prophetic Moon Landing dateprediction, here…) and the sci-fi plot is questionable (see, theupside-down Earth duplicate that used to share our orbit flew offinto space, ran out of energy, converted its people into emotionlesscyborgs, and now it's back to somehow suck our energy into them, onlythey botched it and it's gonna blow up their planet anyway, we justhave to wait for it... what, why are you looking at me like that?),the story- and the setting- remain interesting, more a thriller abouta doomsday missile launch a la Crimson Tide (with bookendingCybermen-invade-the-base opening and closing) than anything, withMondas and all of its questionable backstory as one great biginhabitable Macguffin.

Okay, so the general wasa little nutso- but as the Tenth Doctor's (and probably many others)era would prove, if Who is going to show the military (except inWWII, because even hippie-peacenick-military-haters can't badmouthWWII), they're going to be stereotyped blood-hungry, violentcardboard cutouts that kill because THEY ENJOY IT.

By that standard, thisguy is practically nuanced.

Meanwhile, the leadscientist is a multi-dimensional character and sometime-ally withfears and foibles all his own.

The Cybermen arewell-played, with a good design (well, minus those ski-masks), anexcellent voice, and a good, very chilling, efficient, emotionlesscharacterization- going about their pre-planned business even aseveryone around them is asking agitated questions- pausing just longenough to answer and then returning to their business. While a fewtimes they slipped and seemed a little too 'human'- such as theCyberman lured into to Ben's projector trap- overall, they cameacross very strongly, making an excellent first impression (one thatwould sadly not last, as they were rather a joke by the 7th Doctor'stime, I think- now considered second-fiddled low-rent alternatives tothe Daleks- which their inferior physical strength vs. the Daleks inthe new series hasn't helped. However, at this time of theirintroduction, they are quite the equal to the Deadly Pepperpots,and... dare I say it? ...A good deal more nuanced, bettercharacterized, and to me, more menacing than their more famous, lesslimbed, extermination-obsessed cousins in villainy. (NFS: Plus they have a cooler backstory)) and a strongvillain- even if, surprisingly, this story is really more about thehuman villains and a prolonged battle of wits- with the Cybermenserving more as the driving force than the primary antagonist, savefor bookending invasions.

The notion of a planet onthe other side of the sun, exactly in our orbit but always with thesun in between us and them so that neither knows the other exists,has been a part of science fiction since it was first written by SirPhilip of Bristolshire in the trenches of the third crusade in 1188A.D. (though all film portrayals of Sir Philip since the 1990s have, of course,portrayed Philip as a condescending, ignorant war-monger who stolethe concept from the noble and peace-loving Turks and theiradvanced culture.) Regardless, it’s yet another sci-fi conventionthat has been around since before the dawn of sci-fi, is older thandirt, and yet again is used by Doctor Who as a setting for theirstory instead of the story itself. This is a talent of Doctor Who (asI will again note in 'The Macra Terror' when we get there)- they take hoary old sci-ficlichés, but they don’t use them as a story, they just usethem as an element of the story, a familiar convention that’s beendone to death a backdrop for the story to play out against, buildingon it and expanding upon it. And at least thisplanet-on-the-other-side-of-the-sun story is FAR less depressing than“The Planet On The Other Side Of The Sun”- even WITH the rampantdeaths and the loss of Hartnell.

Man, that was onedepressing movie.

As for the characters…

Polly... makes coffee. Infact, she isn't even told to by some condescending military man whodoesn't realize what she has to contribute to the situation... sheoffers to.

That's about it. (NFS: wellll....she looks after the Doctor too...I mean...that's something right?)

Ben is pretty much theprotagonist. An active, kicking-tail-and-taking-names, bomb-sabotaging, gun-stealing, film-projector-weaponizing type of protagonistwho really has an extremely strong showing- and his military training and youthful energy are contrasted well with his remorsefor having been forced to kill... if that had been an attempt to showa 3-dimensional military man instead of the more likelyoh-yeah-we-forgot-he-was-in-the-navy-this-is-just-what-companions-doscenario, I'd be impressed. Either way, Ben gets about as much actionand development in this serial as some companions got in their wholerun- heck, more-so than Susan or Dodo! (NFS: Was that supposed to be a joke??? A dead Quark gets more action than Susan or Dodo!)

The Doctor doesn't havemuch to do, at times- an intentional writing bit to account forHartnell's failing health and the possibility of his unavailability-one seen in action by his collapse and absence from the thirdepisode... which, factoring the forthcoming regeneration, could havebeen more smoothly incorporated as foreshadowing. Regardless, thissudden 3rd-episode-absence renders the story a bit uneven andconfused. Even so, the Doctor remains strong and principled, and astalwart presence in his final serial, even if he is less of anactive story component than usual.

And that brings us to theregeneration itself. For the first time, the Doctor has regenerated-and the face that we, Ben, and Polly know and love will never- savefor crossovers- be seen again.

The foreshadowing is notthere the way it ought to be, and the reasoning (since clarified tobe the energy drain from Mondas affecting him coupled with weakening byexposure to the Time Destructor (The Daleks Master Plan) and alife-force drain (The Savages)) is not especially clear. And theloss- due to filming schedules- of Hartnell's dramatic final line- "Ishall not give in... I shall nevergive in!" is unfortunate. (NFS: Oh...so that's how they explain him losing energy-okay) It would have been a GREAT line.

Yet, for all of thoseflaws... it is a powerful moment! A throbbing, powerful soundtrackthat doesn't descend into cacophony, a building inter-cutting of shotsthat comes through even in the stills version, and a sense ofmystery, coupled with the tragic-yet-hopeful (to those of us inretrospect that know what's happening, of course!) prone form ofHartnell on the TARDIS floor all combine to make the firstregeneration a tour-de-force powerhouse even in its fragmentarystate, a testament to the excellent work that went into crafting thishistoric television moment! It is a worthy handoff, a sterlingsendoff, and a tragic farewell to a beloved actor all at the sametime- it exceeded my expectations, and was all that anyone could everask for to usher in the era of Patrick Troughton. And it is alsofarewell to the first, the original, the only William Hartnell, theDoctor, a beloved figure and an iconic originator.

And as to thereconstruction... much as its necessity galls me, it is verywell-constructed, shrunk to 3/4 screen size and shown atop anever-moving radar screen (an element from the episode) that graduallyand subtly changes color- it gives a needed sense of motion andvariety which helps to spice up the plentiful stills. Theregeneration itself exists as video only for the face-fading shotitself (a happy accident of overexposure inspiring the video editorto use this technique- otherwise, we would have had the far lesspowerful, ultra-cheesy, not-fitting-at-all ending of Hartnellcollapsing face-down with his cloak over him, and the cloak beinglifted to reveal Troughton at the beginning of the next serial)- butagain, the reconstruction is expertly edited- along with the soundtrack, whilethe loss of motion video is unfortunate... you hardly miss it.

Though it doesn't featurethe photo-trickery or CGI Daleks or manipulated elements that someother reconstructions have had, this one's style makes it top-notch.

(As an aside, for thoseinterested there is also an excellent 3D-model reconstructionavailable on Youtube.)

Great moments:

The Regeneration – acliché choice, but oh-so-true! The first appearance of theCybermen is pretty classic, too.

Rating:

4 out of 5 Deadman's Keysto this serial- lowered to 3 by the uneven tone, but raised to 4simply on the strength of that fantastic regeneration and theexcellent Cyberman origin episode- and 5 out of 5 for the polishedreconstruction.

(NFS: Can I just say I am so excited to be going into the Patrick Troughton era??? I will probably have a lot more to say on those!)

Doctor Who: The Smugglers

2011-10-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The Smugglers

Series:4

Episodes:4

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)

Synopsis:

An irritated Doctor dealswith Ben and Polly’s sudden appearance in the TARDIS, and thenfurther with their skepticism that they have been shanghaied throughtime and space. Returning to England, on the shore, the two areforced to believe him as they enter a small church and find out fromits caretaker, Longfoot, that they are in the 1660s. Polly (mistakenfor a boy with her short haircut and modern clothes), Ben, and theDoctor depart for the local Inn, but before they leave, the Doctor isentrusted with a riddle from Longfoot- “This is Deadman’s secretkey, Ringwood, Smallbeer, Gurney.”

The travelers arrive atan Inn run by Jacob Kewper, who is initially suspicious of strangers,but welcomes them when he finds that they are friends of Longfoot.Speaking of the caretaker, he is interrogated and murdered by piratethug Cherub over the location of a hidden treasure. When the body isfound, the TARDIS crew, the self-admittedly last people to have seenKewper alive, are prime suspects. As the Squire is sent for to arrestthem, pirates, led by Cherub, break into the Inn and kidnap theDoctor, suspecting that Longfoot may have told him something. Ben andPolly are arrested moments later.

Cherub takes the Doctorto the Black Albatross, and his master, the notorious Captain Pike.The wheelchair-bound man is only capable of responding with abeeping, morse-code light from his motorized wheelchair, in whatfeels like a strange failing of 23^rdcentury technology, which is somehow incapable of the same amenities-such as speech simulation- that we could grant modern individualslike Stephen Hawking in the 20^thcentury…

Sorry, my mistake. WrongCaptain Pike. (Note from Sarah: A wheelchair pirate could be pretty cool though...)

This Captain Pike is abloodthirsty buccaneer and smuggler, a ruthless man with a deadlysharpened Pike for one hand. No, not a fish that has been honed to arazor’s edge, but a blade that has spilled the blood of many a man-foe and crew member alike. (Face it, there are too many differentdefinitions of the word ‘Pike!’) There, the Doctor negotiateswith and flatters Pike- but before he can make any significantprogress, a rowboat approaches bearing Joseph Kewper, and the Doctoris hauled below decks, out of sight, while Pike talks with him. Kewper reveals that he, Longfoot, and the Squire are smugglers- well,Longfoot isn’t so much of one anymore, but still- and they wish tohire Pike. Pike threatens and rebuffs Kewper, setting off to find theSquire and deal with him directly.

Meanwhile, Ben and Pollyescape by playing on the superstitions of Tom, the cowardly stableboy. They return to the old church, trying to find a clue aboutLongfoot’s true murderer… and find a man skulking about, whom Benattacks and renders unconscious, binding him and sending Polly tofetch the Squire. The man regains consciousness, and is revealed tobe Josiah Blake, a revenue officer of the King. Ben reveals arecently discovered secret passage in the church crypt- furtherevidence to Blake that the smugglers were operating out of it… butBen refuses to untie him, doubting his identity, and upon theSquire’s return, he and Polly are arrested once more.

Theyrecognize Cherub (who, along with Pike, is still accompanying theSquire) as the Doctor's kidnapper, and realize that the Squire must be a smuggler as well, butPike claims he is merely an honest businessman, for which there is noevidence to the contrary to support Ben or Polly’s claims.

The Doctor and Kewper,jailed together in the hold of the ship, likewise play off superstitions of theircaptor, the swarthy Jamaica, using a fake Tarot card reading (with astandard deck of playing cards, positing absurd interpretations ofthe ‘meanings’ of the various face cards drawn in interpretingthe future) and manage to escape. Jamaica is killed by Pike upon hisreturn.

Blake, taking Ben andPolly as his prisoners, frees them and reveals that he believes theirstory- he has suspected the Squire for some time, but has no evidenceon which to arrest them. The Doctor arrives to rendezvous with them-but Kewper, seeing the revenue officer, believes he is betrayed andescapes at gunpoint, heading back to the Squire.

Pike prepares to attackthe village, striking with two groups- one to steal the smuggler’sstash for themselves, and the other to find Avery’s Gold, thetreasure Longfoot had stolen. The Doctor, feeling morally obligatedand knowing that Pike will ravage the innocent village, takes Ben andPolly to search for the treasure, hoping that is can be used asleverage to force Pike to spare the town his usual pillaging. Theydecipher the riddle and locate the treasure… just as Kewper and theSquire arrive… shortly thereafter, so does the murderous Cherub,sent ahead, who kills Kewper. The Squire is wounded.

Meanwhile, Blake rides tothe militia outpost for help.

The Doctor reveals theriddle, but not its solution, to Cherub, buying them time asCherub works through the clues as they did. Pike arrives, his menlooting the smuggling cache, and enters the crypt. There, hediscovers Cherub, in the process of trying to take the treasure forhis own, and the two duel. In the chaos, the Doctor dispatches Benand Polly down the secret passageway, which leads to the beach, andthe TARDIS.

Pike kills Cherub, butbefore he can kill the Doctor, Blake and his men arrive in force,attacking the pirates. Polly is attacked in the tunnel and rescued byBen. Blake kills Pike, and the TARDIS crew escapes as the pirates arerouted and the injured Squire has a change of heart due to theDoctor’s kindness towards him.

Review:

Arrrr, matey! Pirates ofthe Caribbean, this ain't. Fairly low-key for both a season-openerand a companion introduction...

Ben and Polly have afairly nicely contrasted episode- starry-eyed belief (albeit withoutmuch of a sense of wonder) meeting a thick-headed skepticism thatseemed slightly less believable than Steven's in the Meddling Monk.Still, both characters do fairly well- trying to be proactive (for once,among companions!) in a time where the rules are different and theyare true fish out of water... their inspired witchcraft con was anice bit, though the revenue man capture was fairly botched. Overall,both come off very favorably in their first TARDIS-outing.

The Doctor himself playsthe manipulator to both sides, and has a clever Voodoo-gambit of hisown (only the Doctor would try to give a pretend tarot-card readingwith a regular deck of cards!) and comes off coolly unflappable, andvery principled, staying in this time when he could escape, because hefeels a sense of moral responsibility to help.

The story itself is alittle slow, especially in the first two parts- but it's filled withenough twists and turns to keep it interesting. This serial, overall,is what I'd call 'adequate but unmemorable'- not terrible, but... notmuch to say about it, either.

It may not help that allfour episodes were reconstructions- though nearly every death was invideo, thanks to Australian censored clips that survived theWho-burning. The reconstruction was decent enough, a relativelystandard fare, and pretty average. Nothing to impress with (likeCGI-able Daleks, doors, or computers) but nothing disappointing,either. Like the serial, it is decent but doesn't distinguish itself.

Great moments:

The Doctor reads tarotcards with a deck of playing cards- making up a mysterioussignificance to the Queen of Hearts, the Jack of Clubs, etc.

Rating:

A hearty 2.5 out of 5Deadman's Keys for both the serial and the reconstruction, mateys- asolid, middle-of-the-road average, just as they were.

Doctor Who: Series 3 Overview

2011-10-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

...And this is it. Theend of Series 3, the final full series with Hartnell. It was a lotmore hit-and-miss than the 'Golden Age' of Series 2, with some epichighs but also some definite Galaxy 4s- I mean, lows. The centerpeice, "The Daleks Master Plan" was excellent, but the latter half- andopener- a slump. There were also far more missing pieces this series,though that's hardly the fault of the series itself, but of the BBCdecades later.

While there were somesome truly dull stories this season to a greater degree than before,the production values and budget continued to increase- from effectextravaganza's like the Time Destructor scene or the destruction ofthe Toymaker's world to physical props and model work like the WarMachines- and some excellent guest actors.

The series recieved somemuch-needed companion humor in the form of Steven's dry sarcasm and perplexed looks- after all, the Doctor can't bear the entire weightof the comedy in the series! It also had what I consider to be Who'sfinest comedic serial to date.

Overall, I'd rate thisone lower than Series 2- but also sowing some seeds that canhopefully be expanded in the Second Doctor's golden age- wheneverthat may be- to make it even greater than the First's.

Doctor Who: The War Machines

2011-10-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The War Machines

Series:3

Episodes:4

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane), Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly Wright(Anneke Wills)

Synopsis:

Landing in modern-day(1966) London, the Doctor and Dodo set out to explore, marveling atthe newly-completed futuristic Post Office Tower… from which theDoctor immediately senses a sinister presence. Traveling to it, hediscovers the newly-activated WOTAN (Will Operating ThoughtANalogue (Note From Sarah: I always think it's cheating when people just decide that TWO letters are going to be in the little 'acronym' thing or that one letter isn't going to stand at all because then the 'acronym' thing wouldn't SAY anything intelligible. ), a supercomputer with unprecedented intelligence, able toanswer any question- including, disconcertingly, the meaning of theacronym ‘TARDIS’ without any external information. It is thebrainchild of professor Brett, a brilliant young scientist.

Hypnosis Collect- will you accept the mind-control?

As Brett’s secretary,Polly, takes Dodo out for a night on the town at the InfernoNightclub (where they meet a handsome but somewhat depressed youngnavy sailor named Ben Jackson), the Doctor attends a press conferenceon WOTAN’s unveiling, attempting to determine more about themachine. However, Brett soon arrives in a strange, robotic state-disrupting the meeting and spiriting away his employer to go and seeWOTAN. There, he is hypnotized by the powerful computer, just as Bretthas been. Soon, due to a phone call to the Inferno Club (WOTAN can hypnotize via phone lines), Dodo is too-her line of questioning, and the Doctor’s, having intrigued themachine.

Ben and Polly, with Dodo in the background where she belongs

Ben chivalrously (buthot-headedly and violently) comes to Polly’s aid against anaggressive suitor, and the two begin to spend time together- soonlooking for Dodo, who has disappeared. Meanwhile, WOTAN makes plans-Dodo is recruited to get the Doctor under WOTAN’s control, whilethe rapidly growing force of hypnotized humans is divided into laborforces, compelled to construct War Machines with which WOTAN canbegin to conquer the Earth. A homeless man is killed by the WarMachine workforce when he stumbles into their warehouse.

WOTAN: Supercomputer

Dodo attempts to lure theDoctor into hypnotism-by-phone, but his mysterious Blue Signet Ring (NFS: Say...how do you know it's Blue when it's in black and white?) once again saves him from the full effects of a hypnotic attack, andhe recognizes the effects of hypnosis in Dodo (NFS: I don't claim to be a hypnotist authority...but I feel that it shouldn't work over the phone anyways.). Sitting her down inthe chair, he uses his signet ring and his vocal command to reversethe hypnosis, putting Dodo in a deep healing sleep and leaving her inthe care of one of his Earth allies to recover. (Remember this momentfor later…)

Polly is taken, and theWar Machines march on to completion… Ben, searching for Polly,stumbles into the warehouse, and is spared from death only to beco-opted by Polly into the labor force- a slave instead of a hypnotic‘volunteer’ as she is. The War Machine’s weapons are tested onanother hypnotized worker, and the machine nears completion- a deadlygas spray and a crushing metal battering-arm only a few of the myriadimplements of death adorning it’s armored exterior. Propelled bytank-like treads, the War Machine prepares to go out and sowdestruction upon unsuspecting London.

Polly is at least incontrol enough to fail to sound the alarm as she spots Ben escaping-nevertheless, he is spotted, and barely manages to escape… reachingthe Doctor and revealing the War Machine’s location. The Doctor,aware that this is only one of many, readies the police, who raid thefacility- and are slaughtered by the relentless War Machine as itactivates. The Doctor alone holds his ground, standing in the middleof the road to confront it… the War Machine breaks down from aprogramming failure, having been activated before it was fully ready.Based on an examination of the Machine, the Doctor begins to work ona way to immobilize them.

War Machines are launchedall throughout the area, and the Doctor prepares an electromagnetictrap of cable to paralyze the device- a trap that must be manuallyclosed, a task Ben bravely volunteers for. The first active Machineis caged in by magnetized cables; it can’t escape, and the Doctorshuts it down- reprogramming the machine quickly, and then releasingit.

Ben charges to the PostOffice Tower, WOTAN’s headquarters, and finds Polly- dragging herforcibly out just moments before the Doctor’s reprogrammed WarMachine barrels in and attacks WOTAN, obliterating it, and freeingthe victims of hypnosis from WOTAN’s control.

Later on, the Doctorstands outside the TARDIS, waiting for Dodo’s return… he isinstead approached by Ben and Polly, who convey a farewell from theconvalescing Dodo, who wishes to remain behind. The Doctor, outraged,incensed, and hurt, huffs angrily into the TARDIS as Ben and Pollyleave. At the last moment, however, Ben remembers a dropped TARDISkey, fallen from the Doctor’s pocket as he confronted the first WarMachine, which Ben had forgotten to return to him. He opens theTARDIS door with it, and he and Polly step inside to return the key…seconds later, the TARDIS dematerializes with them inside.

Review:

This one felt verydifferent. An odd Season Finale (not necessarily intended to be,apparently)- it feels both epic (in it's high-quality, massive propsand on-location shooting, which is so real as to make things seemalmost unreal, in some ways) and small (in it's limited scope ofstorytelling up until the very end)- but I think the former feeldominates the latter. It's traditional sci-fi backed with a highbudget. Does that equal a winning combination?

Well... besides appearingthat they broke the bank on the War Machine props, with theirgas-guns and weighted-stop-signs-of-doom, they also had aninteresting concept- a computer whose spooky near-omniscience (HowDID it know what TARDIS meant? They never explained that...)apparently doesn't extend to getting the Doctor's name right. Oh, andit uses phone-hypnosis to recruit an army to build war-machines totake over the world. It seemed like- barring the question of where itgot hypnosis powers- a pretty plausible method for a non-mobilecomputer intelligence to gain control in the physical world...something sci-fi doesn't always pull off (I'm looking at you, EagleEye...). The real-world location of the Post Office Tower in Londonis so unique and well-designed, (NFS: It's the same building that they turned into a lightsaber for the Star Wars Blu Ray releases and now I can't look at it without thinking it looks like one) it looks like a sci-fi buildingcleverly inserted into the skyline seamlessly- an excellent location.And the credits people even got cute and added WOTAN to the endcredits as himself.

On the other hand,certain bits felt a bit abrupt- most notably Dodo's departure, whichI'll get into... the Doctor was underutilized- save for his excellentcounter-hypnosis, brave stand against the advancing War Machine, andhis supervising of a War Machine capture, it felt as if he didn'thave much to do here- the emphasis being on Ben and Polly instead (acommon theme for the rest of his episodes, due to Hartnell'sdeclining health.) And a personal fascination of mine, the Doctor'sblue signet ring, shown to be hypnosis-resistant and evencounter-hypnosis capable, and presumably the cause of Hartnell's resistance to WOTAN's mind control, barely gets a nod here.

Plus, as minor quibbles,half the folks seem to pronounce the villain's name, inexplicably, as"Votan"- not a little slur, but a very clear, conscious "V"sound... and WOTAN itself repeatedly refers to the Doctor as "DoctorWho" in dialogue, a careless and sloppy bit of writing. (Unless,like WOTAN's knowledge of the TARDIS acronym's meaning, it's supposedto be a fourth-wall-breaking indicator of WOTAN's mechanicalomniscience- it knows better than any of the characters who he is- itknows what WE know about who he is! ...Or, "Who" he is, asthe case may be.)

So, weighing thepositives against the negatives? Yes, it seems that this does equal awinning combination. While I can honestly say I barely remember whatgoes on in the first half, before Ben's escape and the War Machineassault, the second half is a taught thriller with a ticking clock(though the events leading up to 'noon' seem, from the montages, totake place over the course of a few days, not a few hours- betterediting could have helped this), aided in it's tension by thelocation filming, giving the impression that this impending WarMachine invasion truly threatens "The Real World."

And what of characters?Newcomers Ben and Polly, who become companions at the episode's end,are both introduced- Polly as a flirty "Party girl"(a standard that soon falls away, in my opinion, to be replaced by amore traditional screaming-and-running, conscience-providingempathetic female companion archetype; while Polly does still showsigns of strength and characterization bits unique to her, it stillfeels in many ways as if most of the scripts for Susan/Barbara, Vicki, Dodo, andPolly were written as the same character with a notation "Insertcurrent female companion's name here."). And Ben asa more headstrong, take-charge type- young, strong, military-trained,and ready for action- very proactive but sometimes leaping withoutlooking; a strong protagonist to take over center stage in comingserials when Hartnell was ill and could do less and less. (NFS: I think unfortunately a lot of the girl characters got a bad deal when it came to Doctor Who in the early days...I mean really you could transpose a lot of the early girl characters and it wouldn't even change much. Which is a reason why I liked the Third Doctor's first companion, Liz, because she actually broke a lot of the DW stereotypes for girl characters.)

Polly Wright, by the way,is of no relation to Barbara (though, wouldn’t that be a funret-con?)- simply a coincidental last name; and frankly, in all oftime and space, is it so inconceivable that such a duplicating oflast names in companions would occur? (NFS: Yes.)

Dodo, on the otherhand... what can I say about Dodo? She has the worst exit everdevised- after her hypnosis in episode 2, the Doctor puts her into adeep sleep... and we never see her again! (The actress' contract ranout in the middle of this serial and she was let go.) At the end, weare simply told she's decided to stay and sends her love. That momentin the story I said to remember? Where’s she’s beende-hypnotized, has fallen asleep, and is left behind to recover asthe Doctor heads out to search for the War Machines? That’s thelast time we ever see her.

WHAT??!!?!

An example of how Dodo made us all feel.

Even for a poor companionlike Dodo- and I will admit, she's grown on me, mainly due to TheGunfighters- this is a pathetic send-off; even written-out charactersdeserve a goodbye... Katarina got more of a farewell than this! Toadd insult to injury, the expanded universe is even harsher on Dodo-novels give her years of psychiatric treatments to recover from herordeal in this serial, a brief marriage, and then a quick death inthe path of a bullet fired by the Doctor's Arch-nemesis, the Master.And even in this serial, she hardly has any time onscreen that isn'tas a hypnotized zombie. Yipes! I disliked the girl, but I didn't HATEher as much as the writers of this serial and the ongoing novelsapparently did! Also, as opposed to defined companion happy endings(Ian and Barbara marry and have children, which they name after theThals, Susan has further adventures, granchildren of her own, andvisits from her grandfather's eighth incarnation) orunelaborated-but-assumed-to-be good futures (Vicki, Steven), this isthe first companion (barring those killed onscreen, of course) shownto have an unhappy ending and a future of nothing but misery afterleaving the Doctor.

Well, uhhh... so long,Dodo. You were aptly named, and I wasn't a fan, but... you showedsome growth, you occasionally amused, and you didn't deserve THAT!

(As a side-note, theactress, Jackie Lane, went on to become a theatrical agent,eventually representing one… Tom Baker. Doctor Who fans versed inobscure trivia may recognize the name.)

An interesting side-note,by the way- this story concludes on July 20^th,1966. At the same time that the Doctor is facing down WOTAN and theWar Machines in London, his second incarnation is in Gatwick Airport,dealing with the Chameleons (The Faceless Ones, next season), and theDaleks are stealing that TARDIS (the Evil of the Daleks)… meaningthat the strange, cold feeling that the Doctor gets from the PostOffice Tower, not unlike the feeling that he gets from the Daleks,may in retrospect not have been due to WOTAN after all… and thefoiling of this plot an accidental and coincidental discovery basedon the concurrent presence of the Daleks. Interesting thought. Andalso that, just as Ben and Polly are leaving here, they are arrivingback at Gatwick, freshly unshrunk and unfrozen, to an uninterruptedtimeline. If that sounds like a teaser for one of my favorite serialsto date… it is! So stay tuned!

Actual representation of how epic and dramatic Dodo's leaving was.

So, conclusions... mostlyconcluded in the balance-weighing above. A very 'stock' story- butunlike the Savages, this one's a good one- alien hypnotic force,controlled workers, people who aren't people, secret human labor tobuild earth-conquering devices, an evil mastermind mainframe... addto that the location shootings, a pair of strong and uniquelycharacterized companions in Ben and Polly (who don't just feel likethey're filling in the script-parts written for other characters, buthave strong identities of their own) (NFS: Although you did just say earlier that while Polly started out unique she quickly became more of a write-in) (NFA: True... but not yet, and for that, she should still be lauded; in this serial, at least, she is unique.), and, while there may be a fewflaws, I think we have a winner in this not-the-norm but well-doneserial.

Great moments:

The Doctor’s standagainst the War Machine, and his outrage at Dodo’s non-goodbye.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5 TimeDestructors- it just didn't blow me away, even though by all accounts above, it should be 4 or 5. Plus... poor Dodo. Still, a solid andentertaining story with a weird and spasmodic little set of openingtitles.

Doctor Who: The Savages

2011-09-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The Savages

Series:3

Episodes:4

(Sadly, from this serialonwards, the episodes are no longer named! Just “Episode 1,”“Episode 2,” etc. I miss them already!!!)

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane)

Synopsis:

The TARDIS arrives in…the future, at an unspecified date (aggravating for a blog-writerthat likes to track these things) on an unspecified, un-named planet.(What the HECK?!?!?) The Doctor announces it to be an era onunparalleled peace, shortly before they are attacked byspear-wielding cavemen. They escape, and are taken by futuristic guards to a techno-utopia city (I smell class warfare! Sci-fi isunerringly communist in that way- if not everyone on the planet hasthe exact same conditions, warfare, social upheaval, and overturningare sure to follow by story’s end!) where the Doctor is greeted bythe city elders, who have been monitoring his travels (How meta! Theyare a Doctor Who audience! Sliders did that somewhat better for itsfinale, I hear…) and were expecting his arrival. Gifts – a daggerand a mirror- are bestowed upon the companions, who are sent off toplay while the grown-ups talk.

The Eloquent Jano

While the Doctor and theelders- led by the eloquent Jano- convene in long discussion, Stevenand Dodo are given a tour of the city. During this, Dodo sees acaptured and terrified cave-person being hauled into the city by theguards, but is dismissed as having imagined it. (This scenario,called Susan Syndrome, is a particularly malicious malady in whichthe group’s junior member, despite having never been wrong before,is instantly doubted- often over the word of strangers- as havingimagined or made up what they have seen. Barbara Wright, earlycompanion, was a particularly virulent victim, twice (An UnearthlyChild, Keys of Marinus) accusing Susan of imagining things that SHEHERSELF SAW OR WAS CURRENTLY SEEING AS WELL. However, if one looksthroughout sci-fi and films in general, Susan Syndrome is widespread.The command staff of the Enterprise-D was particularly hard hitduring TNG’s first season, towards Wesley Crusher. It is especiallyprevalent in the Disney universe and children’s fantasy films,infecting those surrounding nearly every child exposed to thesupernatural. In addition, a mutated offshoot known asMonk-Cadfael-Marple Disease has been known to cause local police andauthorities to repeatedly doubt, question, and mock the observationsof a sleuth possessing a 100% accuracy rate in all past deductions,every single time. …Okay, no more putting it off. Back to themediocrity.)

Dodo slips out andencounters a half-dead caveman stumbling out of a laboratory. Here,the Utopian society receives its great benefits- and not from SolarFlares, as originally believed- using paralysis/obedience-compellingLight Guns, the cave-men are captured and brought to the city, wheretheir life force is drained (never to the point of death) which isused to power the city and invigorate its citizens. The half-deadcave-men are released back into the wild to recuperate so that theycan be re-captured and ‘harvested’ again.

Dodo attempts to helpNanina, a female cave-person, but is mistaken for one of the victims,and nearly life-drained… but her fighting back reveals her as anoutsider (the cave-people have long-since been drained of the will toresist) and she is escorted back to the Doctor. His delight at thisenlightened society turns to disgust when the life-drainingmethodology of the citizens’ prosperity is revealed. (NFS (Note from Sarah): I have to say...this episode sounds really weird but...I cannot remember a single second of it!!!!)

The group departs for theTARDIS, but the Doctor stops to help the half-dead savage (havingcome a long way from wanting to brain the last one he encounteredwith a rock), giving him medicine from the TARDIS, but is takenhostage by Edal, leader of the guards. Back in the city, leader Janodecides to drain the Doctor’s life energy- ‘nobly’ having itall transferred into him to test its safety. The Doctor’s half-deadbody is released, but Jano himself has begun to take on an oddlyDoctorish personality, set of mannerisms, and, most difficultly forhim, morality.

Dodo and Steven,meanwhile, have returned with the injured cave-man, Wylda- thereencountering Nanina, the female from before, as well as tribe leaderChal, and traditional “I don’t like their face, boss… let mekill ‘em!” second-in-command Tor (or Gaston-Zentos-Tor, to hisfriends. Of which there aren’t any…)- an antagonistic brute whowants to kill Steven and Dodo, and is rebuffed by Chal. So, he…demands to do so again. In fact, for the remainder of the review,mentally insert “Tor says that they should kill Steven and Vicki”after every sentence, and it will come out about right. Tor says thatthey should kill Steven and Vicki. That will be quicker than metyping it every time. Tor says that they should kill Steven andVicki. The cavemen lead them into the… well, caves- their homebase, and the one place that the city-dwellers fear to go. Tor saysthat they should kill Steven and Vicki. Chal shows them the woundedrecovering. Tor says that they should kill Steven and Vicki. Okay, Ithink that’s got you started… ready to take over on your own? Torsays that they should… you finish the sentence on your own thistime. And don’t forget- after EVERY SENTENCE for complete accuracyto this story. (Yes, I’m doing whatever I can to make this storyentertaining, and mostly, that means talking about something OTHERTHAN THIS STORY.) Meanwhile, Exorse, a chief guard, arrives outsideand demands their surrender.

Eventually, Exorse comesin after them (Tor insisting they be killed for causing this troublethe entire way), initiating a cat-and-mouse in the dark that endswhen Steven turns one of the city’s gifts, a small mirror, back onthem- reflecting the Light Gun rays back at Exorse long enough toovertake him and steal his weapon. Exorse is made a captive (guesswhat Tor wants done to him? Go on, I’ll give you three tries…)and Steven takes his new weapon to break into the city. There, Stevenand Dodo find the Doctor’s wandering body, but in trying to escape,are trapped. However, the Doctor’s persona again overtakes Jano andhe manipulates the trap at the last moment to allow their escape- insecret, of course. Back at the caves, Tor urges the other to try andkill the captive guard Exorse, and even tries to do so himself, butthe guard- the same one that had captured Nanina- is defended by her,much to his gratitude. She treats her captive as a human, somethinghe failed to do when their positions were reversed.

The Doctor’s body isbrought to the caves, and a dose of the TARDIS-medicine helps him torecover… meanwhile, a group of guards led by Edal, and accompaniedby Jano, pursue them into the foothills. Jano dispatches his guardsback to the city, announcing that he will handle the prisoners-suspicious, Edal leaves under protest. Under cover of darkness, Janoslips into the cave- laboring under the Doctor’s conscience, heagrees with the now-recovered Doctor’s plan- the life-transferenceequipment must be destroyed and the practice abolished.

Exorse manages to escape,but Nanina pursues him- intercepting him before he reaches the city,and pleading with him on the evidence of his own eyes not tointerfere- he has seen that the savages are people, and he owes herhis life; he should also know that the life-transference incidents must end.

He runs off withoutanswering.

In the city, Edal claimscommand in the absence of Jano, whom he believes (rightly so) to becompromised, and the testimony of the scientist who performed thetransference and noted Jano’s odd behavior seems to corroboratethis. Exorse, however, freshly arrived, provides a counter-testimony,claiming Jano’s competence and not revealing the savages’ plan.

The Doctor and Jano leada raiding party composed of Steven, Dodo, and the cave-people intothe city. Encountering the coup-in-progress, Jano re-asserts hisauthority by claiming that he has captured the group he leads asprisoners. He wrests power back from Edal and orders the laboratorysealed… than allows all within it to run amuck, smashing theequipment and trashing the instruments of oppression, as Edal- provedright- and the guards, sealed out of the laboratory, can only watchhelplessly. Even Exorse joins in to smash the equipment. Edal breaksin and attempts to intervene, attacking the leadership- but Stevensaves all present by disabling him with a Light Gun.

In the aftermath, Janoand his new conscience agrees with Chal that it is time for bothpeoples to live in harmony, and for the technological benefits of thecity to be shared with the savages. However, for the two people tobecome one, there will need to be a mediator, a neutral party thatboth sides trust to arbitrate and guide them through what willundoubtedly be a rocky and difficult process. Steven, seen as a heroby both sides (for saving the savages from Exorse in the caves, andfor saving Jano and the elders in the laboratory) is chosen as thatman. Though he initially protests, the Doctor encourages him, knowingthat Steven can handle this… and the 23^rdCentury ex-pilot accepts, lead off half-boldly and half-haplessly tobegin his new life as leader, and healer, of the planet. (NFS: Seriously? This episode was Steven's last and I didn't even remember it? Must have been a really boring story then...)

Review:

In making my notes forthis blog, I typed a single sentence- "Trite, a bit predictable, maybe stretched."

Yep, that's about it.

The firstepisode-title-less wonder is about as forgettable as can be, save forthe finale- don't get me wrong; it's no Sensorites or Galaxy 4... butit just doesn't have all that much to recommend it.

The story is verypredictable. Were it not for a few scattered gems, and Steven'sdeparture, this would probably be almost forgotten by the public atlarge. Plus, it's all missing- so 100% reconstruction (minus a fewlittle clips). Is it just me, or are Edal and Tor essentiallycounterparts of each-other… leadership-usurping, closed-mindedkill-the-strangers archetypes in the mold of Gaston, Zentos, and athousand others- while I am especially irked by, and tired of, thisarchetype… it is interesting how they parallel each other by havingone on each opposing side in this story… both rendered irrelevantand unheeded by peace at the ending of the story, spinning them intoCold-War allegory models reminiscent of Star Trek VI… long beforeCold War reconciliation was a palatable concept!

The aforementioned gemsare: The excellent impression of the Doctor performed by FredrickJaeger, which really steals the show and is an absolute highlight (NFS: Probably would have been even more a highlight if you could have actually seen him moving! Even so I think it's a testament to his talent that him acting like the Doctor was conveyed just through sound.),and the 'smashing' ending in which the life-force-draining laboratorywas smashed (I hope the life-forces didn't just fade away then, andcould be restored to their original hosts)- not only cathartic, butalso amusing, as several characters stand there in the midst of thechaos having a calm, simple discussion in the eye of the storm, as ifthey were standing in a lounge, as the lab is torn apart around them. (NFS: ...Now I want to watch "The Great Race"! :-D)

Other than that, the onlyother noteworthy item- Steven's departure, seemed rushed, uninspired,and un-foreshadowed- while not necessarily an unpleasant fate, it feltdreamed-up-at-the-last-moment and meaningless- unlike his departurein The Massacre, which carried some real dramatic weight. This onehad no weight, no meaning, no motivation, no tie-in to the character,no connection, no emotion- nothing! While I'd like to have kept Stevenaround a while longer (I'd be interested to see how he'd respond tothe Second Doctor), if he was going to depart, The Massacre's scenewas the equivalent of the first episode of Space Museum, or The Rescue, or the Keys ofMarinus- and the departure scene here is Galaxy-Freakin'-4. (And bothare in bloody stills!)

I will also say that Iliked the sympathy-for-the-captured-guard bit- it was well done(genuine sympathy showing these to be good people, minus theblockheaded Tor), but not over-the-top ("We are to be wed nextweek- the first union of our two peoples!" as the ending scene,as some shows like the original Star Trek might have done.) And Naninarightly leverages on that sympathy to try and prevent a genocide- wetend not to think of "You owe me!" as an especially heroicbehavior in our characters- but it felt especially realistic as itwas justified, crucial, and everything hung in the balance of this guard's decision. This little Androcles-and-the-Lion subplot was morecompelling than the by-the-numbers, cliched, predictable plot it wasenmeshed in. And Nanina was the strongest female character Who hadseen since Barbara ascended the Aztec throne (a shot, her firstseating in Yetaxa's judgement chair, which was so iconic that it remains clearly in my head as Barbara's 'head shot' default image tothis day, over a year after last seeing it.)

As for Tor... well, ifHartnell's First Doctor had still wanted to smash a caveman's head inwith a rock (as he nearly did in a cold-blooded scene in An Unearthly Child, before his character had really been established), I for onewouldn't object, and I suspect Dodo and Steven could be persuaded tolook the other way for a while... Man, that guy was annoying! (Andalso very, VERY cliche- the second-in-command that defies hissuperior so often you wonder how he lasted in the position this long,and who only exists to LITERALLY advocate the wrong position in everysingle choice facing the characters, and to drum up false tension ashe tries to turn the people against the visiting main characters andthe leader allied with them. This character had actually been alreadyused in approximately 3,284 movies by the time that the phonographwas invented. He was already a tired, cliche character by the timethat the Jazz Singer ushered in the era of talkies. STOP WRITING THISCHARACTER INTO STORIES!!! I DON'T LIKE HIM!!!!!)

The Doctor is a bit naivein this one, but otherwise unremarkable- Jano, giving an impressionof him, stands out far more than he does. As an interesting note,however, it has been suggested that this life-force drain, along withhis hyper-aging exposure to the Dalek Time Destructor in The DaleksMaster Plan, each took several hundred years off of his life, andtheir combined exposure conspired to leave the First Doctor severelyweakened, leading to his forthcoming regeneration. Without theseevents, he might have had another 600-800 years as Hartnell, but asit stands, he was cut short in his prime as cruelly as his successor,Troughton (we'll get there eventually)... cruelly robbed of his lifein a manner completely separate from the average consequences-of-life-and-death heroics that caused the regenerationof his later incarnations. Thus, in his extremely frail state- literally hundreds of years older at the end of this serial than hewas in Galaxy 4, the Series 3 season premiere, just 'days' before, itdidn't take much to push him over the edge, into the regenerationwe'll be covering soon. A pity Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor had no suchexcuse for his pathetic regeneration. (And yes, it will be a LONG timebefore this blog explains that joke!)

Steven was... practically subliminal here, doing next to nothing... making it allthe more insulting as his departure episode. This serial really giveshim the short straw in so many ways- it would be like Star Trekhaving Spock's Brain as Leonard Nimoy's swan song, or Sub Rosa as asendoff for Gates McFadden. Or Shades of Grey as a sendoff for Pula-oh....wait...Well, at least in her case, a lousy character deserved a lousysendoff.

I think Steven was anything but alousy character- I would say he might well be my favorite companionyet (possibly vying with strong candidates Ian and, surprisingly,Vicki, for the role), and definitely in the Top 3 of the FirstDoctor's companions. He was funny, smart, had the sameintellectual/moral peer-of-the-Doctor that was such a refreshingdynamic in New Who with Donna Noble's tenure as companion- awillingness to challenge the Doctor on questionable points, a gung-hoattitude, and a great sense of humor. A great actor and a great role-farewell, Steven; you deserved a far better send-off, and you will bemissed!

Dodo, meanwhile, was abit more active than usual, but... she really returns to thebackground of obscurity here- though at least she's not activelyunlikeable, as she was in The Ark.

As for thereconstruction... PLEASE TAKE NOTE: WE DID NOT SEE A LOOSE CANNONRECONSTRUCTION. We are trying to track it down at present. Thus,while I will rate and discuss the reconstruction, please do not takethis rating in comparison or as a comment towards the otherreconstructions mentioned in this blog- THIS LOUSY RECONSTRUCTION ISNOT A BLACK MARK AGAINST LOOSE CANNON, AS WE HAVEN'T SEEN THEIRSYET!!!!

That said... yeah, it waspretty poor. Grainy, smudgy, blurred telesnaps with a muddy audioand, essentially, a running transcript. It did it's job of keeping usin the loop- which is good, as the minimalist images and the terribleaudio quality wouldn't have!

Great moments:

The lab smashing. Jano’sHartnell impressions. And the confrontation between Exorse andNanina- a small but pivotal, tense, well-written exchange.

Rating:

Overall, 1.5 TimeDestructors out of 5 for an uninspired story, raised from the scrapheap by a gem of an impersonation and a few good moments. 0.5 out of5 for the Butterfly Productions reconstruction, about which thenicest thing that I can say is that it kept us informed. (NFS: Though to be fair, we are thankful to them for even doing it in the first place, otherwise we wouldn't have known what the heck was going on or we just wouldn't have been able to 'watch' this episode in the first place....not everyone can be Loose Canon! :)

2011-09-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The Gunfighters

Series:3

Episodes:4

A Holiday For The Doctor

Don’t Shoot The Pianist

Johnny Ringo

The O.K. Corral

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane)

Synopsis:

The TARDIS arrives inTombstone, Arizona, 1881- just outside of the OK Corral. So you knowwhat’s coming next.

Dodo is enthralled, anenthusiast of the Wild West. Steven is absurd, dressing about as wellfor the period as Marty McFly in Back To The Future III. The Doctoris in pain. Bothered by a toothache, he goes to Doc Holliday, thelocal dentist- and through a series of misunderstandings, is mistakenby the Clantons (who have never seen the real Holliday) for theoutlaw-turned-dentist that they intend to kill for the death of theirbrother. Doc Holliday and his fiancé, the saloon singer Kate,are aware of the misunderstanding, and more than happy to let theDoctor die in his place.

As sheriff Wyatt Earptries to keep order- eventually arresting the Doctor for his ownsafety after the Doctor is forced by Kate to fake holding up theClantons (aided by sharpshooting from the unseen Holliday, which isattributed to the Doctor) things come to a head in the Last ChanceSaloon. Steven is forced to sing for the Clantons’ amusement, thennearly lynched- a Clanton is jailed in the attempt… and an Earp iskilled in springing him.

Dodo goes to confront thereal Holliday, and is kidnapped, taken out of town… meanwhile,gunslinger and cold-blooded murderer Johnny Ringo comes into town,also looking for Holliday, and falls in with the Clantons.He is acrack-shot that never misses (a skill clearly bequeathed to him bySolar Flares). As an old flame of Kate’s, he kidnaps her, along withSteven, taking the two to the Clanton ranch.

As the Doctor’smistaken identity is confirmed, and Dodo forces Holliday to returnher to Tombstone, a final confrontation is set a-brewing… Holliday,Earp, and his brother against the remaining Clantons and Ringo, in ashowdown at the O.K. Corral. The Doctor acts as emissary, trying toprevent the coming bloodshed, but the Clantons are not to bedissuaded.

The gunfight does indeedoccur at the O.K. Corral. The Clantons are killed- Dodo taken as ahostage by Ringo, but killed by Holliday’s concealed sleeve-gun-and the TARDIS crew departs the wild west for good.

Review:

The Gunfighters followsin the mold of The Romans and The Myth Makers as a comedic historicalepisode. While (to spoil my conclusions right up front) I find itmore successful than the former and less so than the latter, this oneis unique in that its humor is split right down the middle- halfof it comes from intentional jokes… and the other from entirelyunintentional humor.

The story- involving theDoctor being mistaken for Doc Holiday- is both whimsical anddead-serious; in the mold of the New Who episode ‘Midnight,’ attimes this feels like the Doctor’s greatest threat- a bunch ofordinary men with guns and short tempers seem more menacing than theDaleks ever did, and more likely to bring the Doctor’s journeysthrough time and space to a permanent end than any monsters ever did.

The story is laughable attimes- especially the accents, which are largely provided by Britishactors trying, and very badly failing, to affect a southern accent, over-top of their own especially-prominent and noticeable Britishaccents.

There are also laughs ofdisbelief, along with agonized groans and expressions of aggravatedfrustration at the serial's soundtrack... there is no incidentalmusic save for the occasional break-ins of the repetitive "Balladof the Last Chance Saloon," a piano-accompanied western tunethat half sets the mood for, halfbreaks-the-fourth-wall-and-narrates, events for the story. Forexample:

So fill up your glasses

And join in the song

The Law's right behindyou

And it won't take long.

So come, you coyotes,

And howl at the moon

Till there's blood uponthe sawdust

In "The Last Chance"Saloon.

AND

So it's curtains forCharlie

That barman of fame

He met Johnny Ringo

And he knew Johnny'sname.

He knew Johnny's name

And he spoke it out loud

Now Charlie the barman

Has gotten a shroud.

AND, most absurdlypedantic:

Johnny Ringo has foundher

Johnny Ringo's found Kate

The gunslinger's got her

Now what is her fate?

Johnny Ringo has seen her

She's coming his way

Johnny Ringo and Katie

Were lovers, they say.

This is a very smallsampling.

The first time, it'shaunting. (Note From Sarah:....it's haunting???) The third, repetitive. The fifth, obnoxious. The tenth,utterly unbelievable. From then on, it alternates betweenunbelievably annoying and utterly hilarious as it JUST KEEPS COMINGBACK. It is literally the only music for 4 half-hour episodes. Youcannot truly picture the effect of this unless you see and hear itfor yourself. Trust me.

Still, there was a greatdeal of well-done intentional humor, as well- especially when theangry Clantons force Steven, posing as a musician, to sing theaforementioned ballad for them at gun point, despite hisprotestations ("Come on, fellas, I've sung it four timesalready!") finally singing through gritted teeth... I intend tomake that my ring-tone. (Steven and Dodo sure are excellentprofessional piano players who don't make a single mistake...especially for amateurs!) Likewise, the Doctor's repeated referringto Wyatt Earp as "Mr. Werp"- and his accidental hold-up, asthe real Doc Holiday, shooting behind the scenes, leaves the Doctorwith no choice but to hold up the Clantons with a six-shooter...and having no idea what to do with them afterwards.

The bits with Dodo andHolliday felt like padding to extend the running time and needlesslyseparate the characters simply so they couldn't leave. In otherwords, like an average episode of Lost.

The mistaken identitybits, however, climaxing in the rather tense and exciting lynching ofSteven, and Charlie the Barman's ironic frantic arrival to tell themthey had the wrong Doc Holliday just moments after every thing's beenresolved, are all very enjoyable, however. And the climactic showdownat the OK Corral is interesting, well-executed, and justwell-sprinkled enough with the companions to keep it relevant whilenot stretching credulity at the extent of their involvement in theaffair. The final ballad, panning over the bodies of the deadClantons, was one of the few effective uses of it in the serial(Along with the first rendition over shots of cowboys riding intotown), and an excellent moment in it's own right.

As for historicalaccuracy, I encourage you to look up accounts of the fight yourself,but... suffice it so say, it's not even CLOSE.

This was, having over-reviewed the rest of Series 3, probably the one strong serial forDodo, who is not annoying and has some excellent moments in thisone... this serial is really her serial. She has an interestingfascination with the old west, a great strong- and funny- moment inwhich she holds up Doc Holliday with his own gun, and her crucialinterruption ups the stakes of the final showdown (as the audience issuddenly involved via a main character, instead of simply watchinghistorical-figure guest stars duke it out)- overall, she comes acrossvery strongly here. I actually LIKED her in this one.

Steven doesn't have a lotto do other than being bounced around helplessly from one predicamentto the next, but he does get the funniest moment in the story- theaforementioned singing-at-gunpoint- and several other great humorousbits sprinkled throughout.

The Doctor, meanwhile, isvery amusing in this one- going from mastery of the situation(inventing aliases and cover stories, including a "Doctor who?""Yes, exactly." joke, off the top of his head- though why,oh why, does he insist on calling her Dodo, a nickname, instead ofthe less eyebrow-raising, more period-normal Dorothy?) to haplessdupe (encountering the Clantons in the saloon- his performance whenforced to pretend to hold up the Clantons must be seen to bebelieved- it's priceless, Hartnell was in top form!) And while heends up, like Steven, bounced from place to place throughout thestory, he does so with a very endearing manner and a dry wit, leavinga very positive impression.

Likewise, we have somevery interesting guest stars- aside from the aforementioned BritishCowboy Clantons, we had a fun and somewhat layered Doc Holliday, as a scalawag, rapscallion, and, in Star Wars parlance, scoundrel, who wasenjoyable to watch. We had Johnny Ringo, a mustache-twirlinglysinister gunman with a pleasant manner, and we had the voice of theDaleks putting in an excellent on-camera turn as the nervous barman,Charlie, who, along with Doc Holliday, had some of the bestguest-character moments of the serial.

Overall, the story was...meandering, in retrospect, but didn't seem it while watching (a goodsign... although the same could be said for my first viewing ofAttack of the Clones- a BAD sign...), and it had some great momentsand good laughs- sandwiched between anobnoxious-to-the-point-of-hilarity ballad and some horrific accents (NFS: Although I thought the horrific accents were one of the better parts of this serial...kind of entertaining :-D).One's thing's for sure, though... this was, contemporarily, thelowest Audience-Appreciation-rated serial yet to date in 32 years ofprogramming- and it didn't deserve that. In fact, numbers for ratingsand viewership from here through the end of the Hartnell era wereextraordinarily low. Some of those serials might merit that- but thisone most assuredly didn't.

Lastly, before we get toratings, there are a few historical notations important to thisserial that I'd be remiss not to mention. First off, this was thefinal serial of the entire series to have individual episode titles.From here on out, it's just "The Insidious Brain, Episode 1"and "Hygiene of the Daleks, Epsiode 4" (thus, thisepisode-listing feature will be discontinued from here on out.) It'sa pity- overdramatic as they were (2009's 10th Doctor serial "Planetof the Dead" being named in stylistic homage to them), I enjoyedthem. (NFS: I agree, it felt special having a different title to every episode, plus it made your mind wonder what was coming to merit such a title...I miss the individual titles :( I also was the kind of person who liked chapter titles for books but they rarely do that anymore either)

Second of all, "Balladof the Last Chance Saloon" holds the distinction of being thelast originally-composed song for Doctor Who for the next 40 years,until Murray Gold's "Song for Ten" ushered in DavidTennant's 10th Doctor on Christmas Day, 2005. (A golden era of musicthat looks as if it may, sadly, have ended three years later with2008's "The Stowaway" on Christmas Day- a grand andwonderful finale to be sure, but we want more songs, Murray Gold!Give Matt Smith some songs! NOW!!!) (Note from Andrew of 2011: Your request will be granted, Andrew of 2010. Just be patient!)

Great moments:

The actual showdowndoesn’t disappoint, and Steven’s Ballad-at-gunpoint is hilarious.

Rating:

So... How the heck do Irate this? Praise it for where it made me laugh? Pan it for drivingme insane with it's incessant, insipid song (which, I will remindyou, was the ONLY INCIDENTAL MUSIC IN THE ENTIRE FOUR-PART SERIAL)?

In the end, TheGunfighters recieves 3 out of 5 Time Destructors, for 4-Time Destructor-level writingmired by some unfortunate- THAT FRICKIN' SONG!!!!- flaws.

And I'm still makingSteven's whining my ringtone. (NFS: Note from the future....he did make it his ringtone...and it still is.)

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker

2011-09-07T14:25:00.000-07:00

Serial Title:The Celestial Toymaker

Series:3

Episodes:4

The Celestial Toy Room

The Hall of Dolls

The Dancing Floor

The Final Test

Doctor:William Hartnell

Companions:Steven Taylor (Peter Purves), Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane)

Synopsis:

The Doctor vanishes fromthe control room immediately after leaving the Ark- however, this isnot the work of Solar Flares, but of the sinister super-being, theCelestial Toymaker. A powerful super-being in the tradition of StarTrek’s Trelane or Q (though predating them both), the Toymaker isnot a man-child- but rather an intellectual equal with the Doctor,and an old foe- one that enjoys games, toys, and dolls as part of hisbidding (NFS (Notes From Sarah): So your usual...psychopathic....type...guy). He has phenomenal mental and physical powers with which hecreated this false world (clearly granted to him by Solar Flares).

Tri-Logic

The Doctor is whiskedaway to play a game of tri-logic (very similar to the real worldTower of Hanoi puzzle), a strategic game to be completed in exactly1,023 moves (with no errors in any of them), while Steven and Dodoare forced to play through a series of life-size games with animate,person-sized dolls (that cheat)- each time rewarded with a TARDISfaçade that may or may not be the real thing. They must keepplaying until they reach the real one. Failure will mean death, orworse- an eternity imprisoned as the Toymaker’s plaything- becomingone of the dolls (NFS: That's terrible!!! That probably means that all the cheating dolls are poor people who couldn't make it out of there!). Likewise, if the Doctor finishes his game beforeSteven and Dodo succeed, they all lose- and the Toymaker usesautomated voice commands to jump the Tri-logic game forward by anynumber of moves to prevent the Doctor from playing slowly.

As the Doctor and theToymaker match wits (the Toymaker becoming annoyed enough to reducethe Doctor to invisibility and intangibility in all but the handneeded to play the game, and then later removing his voice,) Stevenand Dodo face their challenges.

Dodo and Steven with a Fake Tardis

The first is ablindfolded obstacle course version of Blind Man’s Bluff, in whichone is directed by the voice of their partner- opposing the TARDISTeam are a pair of clowns, who cheat terribly- altering the obstaclecourse as Steven is navigating it, trying to cause him to lose hisbalance and fall off. Eventually, after a narrow stalemate, Stevenwins the second round by applying the same tactics to the clowns (NFS: No wonder this show has a dim view of Clowns...they cheat.).Their reward… is a fake TARDIS. (NFS: Hey...i'd take a fake TARDIS.)

Next up is a strangepuzzle containing 7 chairs- 6 of which are lethally booby-trapped.Their opponents are personified versions of classic playing cards-the King, Queen, Jack (Knave), and Jester. They are given threelife-size-but-inert dolls to test the chairs- eliminating a few, butnot enough. Dodo chooses the wrong chair, triggering a freezing trap-but Steven manages to pull her free in time to save her life- a bitof a cop-out, if you ask this reviewer (NFS:....so Andrew...do you think that was a cop-out?). Regardless, dolls arevibrated to death (NFS: I am betting that's as unpleasant as it sounds), electrocuted, sliced in half, and vaporized-between the dolls and Dodo’s actions, only two chairs remain. TheKing and Queen- electing to face their fate together, whatever it maybe, pick a chair- and choose wrong. (NFA (Note from Andrew): And in this humanizing moment of courage and love and unity in the face of death... pretty much imply that, yes, they are all indeed captives of some sort and real people.) Steven and Dodo receive anotherlemon TARDIS- as the opposing team reverts to playing cards- andcontinue onwards.

A Toy Train? Or a SINISTER Toy Train?!

Their third challenge isa kitchen with a locked door, populated by a matronly cook, Mrs.Wiggs, and a stuffy old retired Sergeant, Sgt. Rugg (who looks like theking from the previous game). Their job is to search the entirekitchen for the key. As Steven grows more agitated at the characters(NPCs, for those of you in the RPG world), Dodo continues to treatthem like human beings, receiving Rugg’s help. The characters arediverted, squabbling amongst themselves- with the addition of a lazykitchen boy who looks like the Jack/Knave- but Steven and Dodopersevere as one of the characters inadvertently reveals theimportance of the pie in which the key is hidden by fearing for itssafety.

Steven and Dodo slipthrough the door and onto a dance floor populated by three Ballerinadolls, and are cornered by the three Kitchen characters- possiblyother prisoners of the Toymaker playing for a chance at freedom, ortrue dolls playing for a chance at being made permanently alive- whogoad them forward.

Safety lies on the otherside of the dance floor, but when Steven enters, music takes controlof him, forcing him to dance. Dodo is forced onto the dance floor, asare Rugg and Wiggs, who want to reach the other side first and win-with only three ballerinas to serve as partners, four dancers areshuffled, swapping from partner to partner in the rotation- whenSteven and Dodo manage to pair up, neither led by a ballerina, theyare able to control their own dance and dance themselves off thedance floor and to the safety of another false TARDIS.

Cyril

Next, the two areconfronted by a simple board game, with dice to roll and spaces tomove... made less simple in that the spaces- platforms that must behop-scotched to- are the only safe ground over a deadly electrifiedfloor. (NFS: Ah the old electrified floor game, an old standby...although usually it's Lava when I play it.) Their opponent? A chubby, bratty man-child in a schoolboy’soutfit named Cyril, who cheats horrendously (NFS: And who is as annoying as he sounds!!!). As the Doctor closes inon the end of his Tri-logic game, the board game begins.

Cyril uses all manner oftricks and rules of the game (invented on the spot) to try and trick,bully, or trap Dodo and Steven- fright masks, slingshots,back-to-start rules for almost every action… Dodo’s compassion isused against her- even as her roll which should carry her to the endis interrupted so that she can look after the injured Cyril, whosends her back to start for her trouble, his injury manufactured withred ink. However, he gets his comeuppance at the end- rolling awinning number and charging forth gleefully onto the space Dodo washeaded for… and slipping on his own forgotten sprinkled powder, atrap that Dodo never reached, and falling to a grisly death on theelectrified floor.

The Celestial Toymaker

The Doctor has reachedmove 1022 of 1023, but Steven and Dodo have achieved their victory,and won the real TARDIS. The group flees into the TARDIS, but cannottake off, held there by the power of the Toymaker… in defeat, hiscreated world will cease to exist in an explosive cataclysm- butuntil the Doctor makes his 1,023^rdmove and wins the Tri-logic game, the Toymaker is not yet defeated.The sore loser demands that the Doctor come out, make the final move,and perish in the destruction of the Toymaker’s world.

The Doctor prepares theTARDIS for takeoff, and then, emulating the Toymaker’s voice,orders the Tri-logic game to advance to the final move from insidethe TARDIS, dematerializing to safety as the game makes the automatedmove, ending the game, and destroying the Toymaker’s world.

Review:

The Celestial Toymakerbecomes the new prize-winner for 'greatest travesty that it is lost,'as the first three out of 4 episodes are missing- and this is alargely visual story. The reconstruction clearly does not do itjustice in the slightest.

That said, I found it tobe interesting, intellectually stimulating, and possessed of a veryclever ending solution. While it had it's maddening moments, it waswhat I heard described as "A good kind of frustrating"- thekind that you feel with the characters, instead of at the writers.

The story is mostunusual, with the main villain of the Toymaker being somewhatreminiscent of Star Trek's Q, or perhaps Who spin-off "Sarah JaneAdventures"'s Trickster. A standard fun-house-gone-amuck romp,the story nonetheless presents an interesting set of puzzles, andmaintains a healthy tension, a tinge of desperation, and a dollop of aggravation as the characters face an absurd, silly, yet undoubtedlylethal set of deadly puzzles for no reason other than the whim of acruel maniac. (NFS: Which kind of reminds ME of a Batman the Animated Series type story line....speaking of Batman it's interesting to note that the Celestial Toymaker is played by Michael Gough who played Alfred in four of the Batman Movies.)

Each episode ends with arhyming riddle, and clue to the next episode. Sets are minimal-simply set dressing a black void, very theatrical- the whole thinghas a new and different mood- both fun and sinister at the same time,just as the Toymaker himself is.

And speaking of theToymaker, his implied past history with the Doctor is a nice and intriguing layer to the episode's plot.

The ancillary villains,on the other hand, are a little goofy- with their articulatedfeelings, very strange (for the show) sitcom behavior, and theongoing argument between Dodo and Steven as to whether to empathizewith them or ignore them is an odd little philosophical aside... allof these feel like elements of a larger story (and somewhat New Whoreminiscent as well)... but for the fact that none of them actuallylead anywhere, remaining unresolved at story's end without havingreally affected the plot.

The Doctor was ratherabsent here- specifically so in the middle chapters so that WilliamHartnell could vacation- but his general upper-hand superiority wasrather fun to watch. He uses a voice-trick for the second time todefeat his enemies (the first being in The Chase.) Along with hismysterious door-opening, hypnosis repelling/controlling blue signetring (The Web Planet, The War Machines, Daleks Master Plan, etc.),these are two of Hartnell’s signature talents, mysteries leftunexplained and talents not awarded to any other Doctor- leavingHartnell, at the end of his run, a man of mystery and an incarnationof the Doctor with mysterious and unique powers- fitting, I say, forthe man who began it all.

Steven gets most of theaction bits here, and Dodo the character bits- her empathy for theToymaker's dolls being both a point of argument and a trick usedagainst her- still, she probably fairs the strongest of the threehere, as the other two merely react. As with most action-stories, thefocus is more on the situation than the characters. The older I get,the less I find I prefer the former.

Overall, this story hadthe 'quirky funhouse' feeling that most sci-fi shows try to do atleast once- but its villain, implied to be on an equal level withthe Doctor- makes it stand out... and I daresay that the varioustraps and puzzles might be rather exciting... were we able to seethem in color (NFS:....um...not to mention if we were able to see a lot of them actually ya know...MOVE). It’s still one of my favorites of the season- but issadly the most forgettable of the favorites due to its piecemealstatus.

Great moments:

Final victory and thedestruction of the Toymaker’s World- heavy stock footage, but coolnonetheless! Also, ending each story with the printed riddle was anice touch.

Rating:

3.5 out of 5 TimeDestructors for the Celestial Toymaker- I suspect a motion versionmight attract even higher, as I did like this one- but this was alargely visual story, and as it stands, too many of those visuals arelost, causing the whole affair to be somewhat lackluster- or more sothan it would be otherwise. Likewise, 1.5, out of 5 Time Destructorsfor the recreation effort. They did the best they could with whatthey had- but they didn't have much. And frankly, even Galaxy 4 (andyes, I think it's obligatory that I must reference that in everySeries 3 review) with it's mist-over-aliens shots, seemed moreinspired than this. It just felt like they didn't really care.