"What did you say, my boy? 'It's all over.' 'It's all over.' That's what you said. No... but it isn't all over. It's far from being all over."
I will be unable to update this blog daily. Angela and I have a fairly busy work schedule, on top of some of the other fun things that we like to do. Throw in the occasional social visit to friends and relatives (most of whom are friends) and that doesn't leave the time that I need to do this justice.
I also find myself thinking too hard about finding some angle to write a given piece, which takes away from the enjoyment of the project.
Ang and I are still watching (or listening to) an episode a day. Last night we finished William Hartnell's era. I would like to take some time to look back.
Even among diehard Whovians, I have never met anyone who claims that Hartnell is their favorite Doctor. There is a lot of respect, but the love tends to go to the anarchic Troughton, the suave Pertwee, the bohemian Baker (Tom not Colin), or the mysterious McCoy.
I definitely have a greater appreciation for Hartnell after going through his stories in order, but can't bring myself to rate him higher than Troughton or Tom Baker. In a way, he's the George Washington of the Doctors; the founding father who started the whole thing. I suppose that makes Troughton, Abraham Lincoln; the person who preserved things when everything could have fallen apart.
I've written at length about Hartnell's first two seasons. His tenure took him through season three and the first two serials of season four. Here is a brief rundown of those stories and my opinions of them.
Galaxy Four: A solid story that tries to teach a basic message; good is not, definitively, beautiful. Steven and Vicki secure themselves as my favorite companion combination of the Hartnell era (although Barbara is still my favorite companion). Since we listened to this story, one of the episodes has turned up in the hands of a private collector.
The Myth Makers: A wonderful story. One of my favorite historicals, with one of the funniest scripts in the series' long run. It sadly ends with Vicki staying behind to marry Trolius.
Mission to the Unknown/The Daleks' Master Plan: This story was long and over-padded. It was nice to see the return of the Monk, and the final episode pulls out all the stops, but I would have liked it better at 6 episodes instead of 13.
The Massacre: This is every bit as good as the Myth Makers, only done seriously. A great chance for Peter Purves to shine in the role of Steven. Hartnell isn't in much of this, but he has an excellent monolog towards the end that sums up the Doctor beautifully. Elements of that speech influence the series to this day.
The Ark: A story that tackles series matters (the very moral and ethical concerns about time travel and interference) in a ham-fisted way (with Beatle wigged aliens). Points for trying. And points for having a Dodo nearly wipe out humanity.
The Celestial Toymaker: There are a number of fans who really love this serial. I am not one of them. The Toymaker is an amazingly powerful being who plays with the travelers. It's an idea that Star Trek will beat like a dead horse when it gets introduced later that same year.
The Gunfighters: It tries to be as funny as The Myth Makers and falls on its face. The script is almost an insult to Hartnell and Purves.
The Savages: Hartnell's final stories from this point on are all good to excellent. This is Doctor Who at its best, raising interesting and powerful questions about exploitation and the greater good. Ian Stuart Black is one of the most underrated authors of 60's Who.
The War Machines: For the first time in the history of the series, back-to-back serials are written by the same author. This is the blueprint for the future UNIT stories. An excellent story weakened slightly by Wotan calling the Doctor, "Doctor Who" (Doctor Who is not the character's name, it's the series title), and the hasty departure of Dodo. She wasn't my favorite companion, but having Ben and Polly show up with a note from her saying that she was staying behind is just wrong. Mel got an awesome send off, and she was ..... Mel.
The Smugglers: The penultimate Doctor Who historical. An excellent piece that features the regulars to good effect and has an excellent guest cast. New companion Polly is shaping up to be the stereotypical Doctor Who girly-girl, but we'll see.
The Tenth Planet: The first alien race that Hartnell's Doctor met on screen was the Daleks. The last was the Cybermen. Hartnell is sent off in a great story that is sadly incomplete as of this writing. The quote at the beginning of this post is one of the last lines that the first Doctor delivers. Hartnell's delivery is amazing. At least for me.
And there we have it. Hartnell would for the 10th anniversary special The Three Doctors. His health had deteriorated by then to the point that he was only available for a day of filming. Hartnell died two years later in 1975.
Hartnell didn't care for the direction that the series took after his departure. For that matter, he wasn't pleased with the way things were done in his last several months on the show. His granddaughter later recalled that the part meant a great deal to him and helped him connect with children in general and her in particular. Given that, I can see why he would be so insistent on things being done a certain way.
The 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors, began with an excerpt from Hartnell's goodbye to Susan from the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It was the first time that many newer fans had ever seen the role performed by him. Richard Hurndall, who bears a very slight resemblance to Hartnell, played the first Doctor in the story itself.
Hartnell's image has turned up in the most current version of the series. My favorite is on the Doctor's (very out of date) library card from 1963.
Goodbye William Hartnell. You are missed.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Ep. 121 The Savages ep. 4
"This is only the beginning, Chal. After this destruction, our people must build a world that they can both live in."
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Ep. 120 The Savages ep. 3
"EXORSE: You are foolish to think you can defy me. Have the people of the caves not told you you cannot resist us?
STEVEN: We're going to change all that, soldier boy. Come on, what are you frightened of?"
STEVEN: We're going to change all that, soldier boy. Come on, what are you frightened of?"
Ep. 119 The Savages ep. 2
"Exploitation indeed! This, Sir, is protracted murder!"
When I was a young teenager, I remember reading the line "any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved with mankind." It was quoted in one of the Doctor Who novelizations that I read back in my pre-VHS days. It wasn't used in the original script, but used as literary shorthand to explain the (second) Doctor's character.
This episode reminded me of that offhand reference made by Terrance Dicks 25 or so years ago.
Hartnell shines in this. He discovers the truth about the Elders' society and still insists on trying to help one savage that he finds crumpled and near dead after being drained of life force. He all but throws the Dunne quotation at the guard who tries to take him from the downed savage. It takes one of the Elders' light guns to make the Doctor leave the drained man's side.
The same moral conviction that was played for laughs in The Gunfighters is given a proper forum in this story. Hartnell does outrage very well and its good to see him given something this solid after the poor writing of his character in the previous story.
The set up is a clever dystopia of the sort that rarely sees proper realization in science fiction. Ian Stuart Black put careful thought into the world that he was creating, down to the light guns. They're a weapon that forces the target to move where the firer wants. It has a stun setting. The perfect weapon to safely transport the savages to the life siphoning chamber.
For his outrage at the Elders' society, the Doctor ends up getting his life force sucked out.
When I was a young teenager, I remember reading the line "any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved with mankind." It was quoted in one of the Doctor Who novelizations that I read back in my pre-VHS days. It wasn't used in the original script, but used as literary shorthand to explain the (second) Doctor's character.
This episode reminded me of that offhand reference made by Terrance Dicks 25 or so years ago.
Hartnell shines in this. He discovers the truth about the Elders' society and still insists on trying to help one savage that he finds crumpled and near dead after being drained of life force. He all but throws the Dunne quotation at the guard who tries to take him from the downed savage. It takes one of the Elders' light guns to make the Doctor leave the drained man's side.
The same moral conviction that was played for laughs in The Gunfighters is given a proper forum in this story. Hartnell does outrage very well and its good to see him given something this solid after the poor writing of his character in the previous story.
The set up is a clever dystopia of the sort that rarely sees proper realization in science fiction. Ian Stuart Black put careful thought into the world that he was creating, down to the light guns. They're a weapon that forces the target to move where the firer wants. It has a stun setting. The perfect weapon to safely transport the savages to the life siphoning chamber.
For his outrage at the Elders' society, the Doctor ends up getting his life force sucked out.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Ep. 118 The Savages ep. 1
"You are known to us as the Traveler from Beyond Time."
This is the first serial to drop the practice of naming the individual episodes. I've grown rather fond of the individual episode names, but have to admit that this will cut down on confusion when discussing a serial that shares a name with an episode.
This is Steven's last story. I can't say that I blame Peter Purves for leaving the series at this point, the character of Steven hadn't been terribly well represented in the last few stories. He was given a lot of meat in The Massacre, but that wasn't given much in The Ark, The Gunfighters, The Celestial Toymaker, or most of The Dalek Masterplan.
The Gunfighters probably saw the worst writing for Steven in any of the stories that he's been in (also a low point for the character of the Doctor as well.)
The episode begins with the Doctor proclaiming that the TARDIS has arrived in a time of great prosperity, scientific enlightenment, and artistic expansion. Steven and Dodo are a bit skeptical.
The Doctor goes to collect some samples to confirm his readings, while Steven and Dodo fret.
Unknown to the travelers, they are being watched by primitive looking men with clubs and spears. The Doctor is nearly attacked by them, before two highly advanced people show up and take him back to their city.
These advanced people claim that they have been following the Doctor's travels through time and space. They don't know particular details such as his name, or the fact that he travels with companions, but they know where he has been and predicted his arrival on their world.
The Doctor is shown with a piece of scientific equipment that may be the forerunner of the sonic screwdriver, his R.V. or Reacting Vibrator. Yeah, Angela laughed too.
The Doctor is received as an honored guest, while his friends are given a guided tour. It doesn't take long for the Doctor to sniff out the fact that there is something rotten in the state of future Denmark.
The Elders use their advanced technology to siphon off the life force of the savages, to improve themselves. It is the most extreme form of exploitation imaginable.
This is the first serial to drop the practice of naming the individual episodes. I've grown rather fond of the individual episode names, but have to admit that this will cut down on confusion when discussing a serial that shares a name with an episode.
This is Steven's last story. I can't say that I blame Peter Purves for leaving the series at this point, the character of Steven hadn't been terribly well represented in the last few stories. He was given a lot of meat in The Massacre, but that wasn't given much in The Ark, The Gunfighters, The Celestial Toymaker, or most of The Dalek Masterplan.
The Gunfighters probably saw the worst writing for Steven in any of the stories that he's been in (also a low point for the character of the Doctor as well.)
The episode begins with the Doctor proclaiming that the TARDIS has arrived in a time of great prosperity, scientific enlightenment, and artistic expansion. Steven and Dodo are a bit skeptical.
The Doctor goes to collect some samples to confirm his readings, while Steven and Dodo fret.
Unknown to the travelers, they are being watched by primitive looking men with clubs and spears. The Doctor is nearly attacked by them, before two highly advanced people show up and take him back to their city.
These advanced people claim that they have been following the Doctor's travels through time and space. They don't know particular details such as his name, or the fact that he travels with companions, but they know where he has been and predicted his arrival on their world.
The Doctor is shown with a piece of scientific equipment that may be the forerunner of the sonic screwdriver, his R.V. or Reacting Vibrator. Yeah, Angela laughed too.
The Doctor is received as an honored guest, while his friends are given a guided tour. It doesn't take long for the Doctor to sniff out the fact that there is something rotten in the state of future Denmark.
The Elders use their advanced technology to siphon off the life force of the savages, to improve themselves. It is the most extreme form of exploitation imaginable.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Ep. 117 The OK Corral
So the Earps and the Clantons
Are aimin' to meet,
At the OK Corral
Near Calamity Street.
It's the OK Corral
Boys of gunfighting fame,
Where the Earps and the Clantons,
They played out the game.
They played out the game
And we nevermore shall,
Hear a story the like
Of the OK Corral!
This turned out to be my least favorite historical to date, mostly due to the way that the Doctor and Steven were written. Once I got over the bad American accents that the guest cast was sporting, I had to say that they were generally pretty good in their parts and were decently written. Especially Doc Holliday.
The Doctor is written as Lawful Stupid (a reference that may only be gotten by fellow gamers) and Steven just stupid. I know that they are going for farce, but it worked much better in The Romans and The Myth Makers when the regular cast played it straighter and the situation they were in was farce.
This was a good serial for Dodo for the most part. She firmly held the idiot ball at the end of The Celestial Toymaker, but relinquished it to Steven for this story. She is given a very nice bit with Holliday, forcing him, very politely, at gunpoint, to bring her back to tombstone.
The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon became slightly more bearable as the story progressed. If we were to watch all four episodes of this story in one sitting, I probably wouldn't feel the same way.
Are aimin' to meet,
At the OK Corral
Near Calamity Street.
It's the OK Corral
Boys of gunfighting fame,
Where the Earps and the Clantons,
They played out the game.
They played out the game
And we nevermore shall,
Hear a story the like
Of the OK Corral!
This turned out to be my least favorite historical to date, mostly due to the way that the Doctor and Steven were written. Once I got over the bad American accents that the guest cast was sporting, I had to say that they were generally pretty good in their parts and were decently written. Especially Doc Holliday.
The Doctor is written as Lawful Stupid (a reference that may only be gotten by fellow gamers) and Steven just stupid. I know that they are going for farce, but it worked much better in The Romans and The Myth Makers when the regular cast played it straighter and the situation they were in was farce.
This was a good serial for Dodo for the most part. She firmly held the idiot ball at the end of The Celestial Toymaker, but relinquished it to Steven for this story. She is given a very nice bit with Holliday, forcing him, very politely, at gunpoint, to bring her back to tombstone.
The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon became slightly more bearable as the story progressed. If we were to watch all four episodes of this story in one sitting, I probably wouldn't feel the same way.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Ep. 116 Johnny Ringo
HOLLIDAY: Now how'd you reckon to get back to Tombstone without me?
DODO: I shall try not to kill you. I shall aim for your arm.
HOLLIDAY: That's real thoughtful just at the moment you're aiming right between my eyes.
DODO: Oh I'm sorry...
DODO: I shall try not to kill you. I shall aim for your arm.
HOLLIDAY: That's real thoughtful just at the moment you're aiming right between my eyes.
DODO: Oh I'm sorry...
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Ep. 115 Don't Shoot the Pianist
"Why must women meddle?!"
Apparently Steven can play the piano, the Doctor wears a monocle. Both are written as idiots.
Next up: Johnny Ringo
Apparently Steven can play the piano, the Doctor wears a monocle. Both are written as idiots.
Next up: Johnny Ringo
Monday, November 28, 2011
Ep. 114 A Holiday For The Doctor
"Allow me sir to introduce er, Miss Dodo Dupont wizard of the ivory keys, and ah Steven Regret, tenor. And lastly sir, your humble servant Doctor... Calligari."
At the end of the last serial, the Doctor bit down on a piece of trick candy that Cyril had given to Dodo. This resulted in the Doctor getting a cracked tooth.
This episode begins with The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. An annoying pastiche of better western songs such as The Streets of Laredo. This song recurs over and over throughout the episode, meaning that Lynda Baron (who sang the song) has more lines than any of the series regulars.
As the dulcet tones of Lynda Baron introduce us to the song that we will come to hate, the Clanton brothers make their way into Tombstone, Arizona. They are intent on gunning down Doc Holliday who killed their brother Reuben sometime back before Lynda began singing.
They explain, in very poor American accents, that they are to meet Seth Harper at the Last Chance Saloon.
One of the actors sounds American, but the rest are all over the place. There's one guy who makes Peri sound like Jenny from the block.
The TARDIS arrives and the Doctor is in quiet a state of agony over his damaged tooth. A quick look around tells them that they are at the OK Corral .
This gets Dodo and Steven revved up. They run back into the TARDIS and get changed into Gene Autry and Dale Evans drag. They are seriously embarrassing trying to pass themselves off as an old west gun fighter and a cowgirl. At least their bad American accents are in character.
They are quickly rounded up by Wyatt Earp for bad impersonation of a gunslinger. The Doctor spins a yarn about being a troupe of performers and makes his way to the local dentist-Doc Holliday, while Steven and Dodo book rooms at the local hotel.
Holliday's girlfriend, a saloon girl/singer/prostitute, hears the Clantons talking about killing Holliday. They have never seen him, so they are relying on recognizing him by description and hoping that his love of liqour and gambling will draw him to the saloon.
Miss Kate runs off to warn Holliday. While she is "warning" him (let's just say that lips touch and a bustle might be shifted somewhat), the Doctor shows up to get his tooth removed.
The removal is a painful process. There is no pain gas or injections, and the Doctor is unwilling to drink the rotgut whiskey offered him.
While the Doctor is recovering in Holliday's waiting room, Seth Harper shows up. There is a comedy of errors and Harper believes that the Doctor is Doc Holliday. Harper invites the Doc back to the saloon to share a friendly drink.
Steven and Dodo have been identified as friends of the Doctor. They used the cover story that the Doctor gave them. No one believes that they are performers, but the Clantons figure that Steven is a second gun working for Holliday. To keep him from backing up the gunslinging dentist, they have Steven and Dodo perform the Ballad.
We leave with the Doctor about to walk through the door, the Clantons waiting to fill him full of lead.
Next up: Don't Shoot the Pianist
At the end of the last serial, the Doctor bit down on a piece of trick candy that Cyril had given to Dodo. This resulted in the Doctor getting a cracked tooth.
This episode begins with The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon. An annoying pastiche of better western songs such as The Streets of Laredo. This song recurs over and over throughout the episode, meaning that Lynda Baron (who sang the song) has more lines than any of the series regulars.
As the dulcet tones of Lynda Baron introduce us to the song that we will come to hate, the Clanton brothers make their way into Tombstone, Arizona. They are intent on gunning down Doc Holliday who killed their brother Reuben sometime back before Lynda began singing.
They explain, in very poor American accents, that they are to meet Seth Harper at the Last Chance Saloon.
One of the actors sounds American, but the rest are all over the place. There's one guy who makes Peri sound like Jenny from the block.
The TARDIS arrives and the Doctor is in quiet a state of agony over his damaged tooth. A quick look around tells them that they are at the OK Corral .
This gets Dodo and Steven revved up. They run back into the TARDIS and get changed into Gene Autry and Dale Evans drag. They are seriously embarrassing trying to pass themselves off as an old west gun fighter and a cowgirl. At least their bad American accents are in character.
They are quickly rounded up by Wyatt Earp for bad impersonation of a gunslinger. The Doctor spins a yarn about being a troupe of performers and makes his way to the local dentist-Doc Holliday, while Steven and Dodo book rooms at the local hotel.
Holliday's girlfriend, a saloon girl/singer/prostitute, hears the Clantons talking about killing Holliday. They have never seen him, so they are relying on recognizing him by description and hoping that his love of liqour and gambling will draw him to the saloon.
Miss Kate runs off to warn Holliday. While she is "warning" him (let's just say that lips touch and a bustle might be shifted somewhat), the Doctor shows up to get his tooth removed.
The removal is a painful process. There is no pain gas or injections, and the Doctor is unwilling to drink the rotgut whiskey offered him.
While the Doctor is recovering in Holliday's waiting room, Seth Harper shows up. There is a comedy of errors and Harper believes that the Doctor is Doc Holliday. Harper invites the Doc back to the saloon to share a friendly drink.
Steven and Dodo have been identified as friends of the Doctor. They used the cover story that the Doctor gave them. No one believes that they are performers, but the Clantons figure that Steven is a second gun working for Holliday. To keep him from backing up the gunslinging dentist, they have Steven and Dodo perform the Ballad.
We leave with the Doctor about to walk through the door, the Clantons waiting to fill him full of lead.
Next up: Don't Shoot the Pianist
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Ep. 112 The Dancing Floor-Ep. 113 The Final Test
Friday turned into a family night for us and Saturday thru Sunday has been a sleepover weekend for my eldest nephew (age 10). He's the one that I've turned into a Doctor Who fan. We've been engaged in a Doctor Who marathon since we got back to our house.
We've watched An Unearthly Child, The Claws of Axos, The Deadly Assassin, The TV Movie, Attack of the Cybermen, Flesh and Stone and the two parts of The End of Time. He'll be heading out in a little while and Ang and I will watch the final episode of The Celestial Toymaker.
I will not have the time or energy to blog about these two episodes.
Sorry.
We've watched An Unearthly Child, The Claws of Axos, The Deadly Assassin, The TV Movie, Attack of the Cybermen, Flesh and Stone and the two parts of The End of Time. He'll be heading out in a little while and Ang and I will watch the final episode of The Celestial Toymaker.
I will not have the time or energy to blog about these two episodes.
Sorry.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Ep. 111 The Celestial Toyroom
"Yes. I'm bored. I love to play games, but there's no one to play against. The beings who call here have no minds and so they become my toys, hmm! But you will become my perpetual opponent. We shall play endless games together - your brain against mine."
Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US. Angela and I drove down to her father's place and listened to this episode on the drive down. Holiday festivities prevented me from taking the time to write this post.
Well it's Black Friday now. Things are lazy here at Ang's dad's place, so I'll make this post and listen to today's episode later. Assuming that we don't have family over later, I should get the post for that episode tonight.
The TARDIS lands. Steven has changed into an unfortunate sweater, and Dodo has found a "fab" outfit in the TARDIS wardrobe. The Doctor begins to cough and vanish.
Steven thinks that this has something to do with the Refusians. Not a long shot given the fact that they were invisible and they were hanging out with one last episode. The Doctor quickly shouts him down and declares that it is an attack.
In addition to being invisible, he is intangible. The Doctor has Steven turn on the scanner. It revels nothing. The Doctor insists that it has nothing to do with a malfunction, the screen doesn't look like that when it's not working.
Steven, quiet rationally, suggests that the Doctor just tell him what switches he needs to switch to get them away from the danger, but the Doctor insists on facing it. He has Steven open the door of the TARDIS.
The script does deal with something that I was going to question. Dodo asks Steven, if the Doctor is intangible, why doesn't he just walk through the TARDIS wall? Steven suggests that, maybe it's just force of habit for the Doctor.
They leave to find themselves in this fantastic place. The Doctor is visible (and presumed tangible) again. There is a screen that both Steven and Dodo see images from their lives flash upon. They only see the images related to there own lives.
Dodo's character is filled out a bit as we discover that she was a young girl when she discovered that her mother was dead.
The Doctor tells them not to look at the screen; that it's a trap to dominate their minds. He tells them that he knows of this place and warns them of the games that are played here and of the horrible consequences of playing them.
The travelers turn and find the Toymaker standing where the TARDIS was. The travelers suggest leaving, but they don't know where the TARDIS is. The Toymaker shows them rows of hundreds of copies.
They will play their games whilst the Toymaker and the Doctor play theirs.
The two companions are left to play a game of blind man's bluff with two clown dolls that the Toymaker has turned into "real" clowns. The "sad" clown, Joey is mute. While the "happy" clown, Clara, speaks in a pitch just below helium induced.
The Toymaker knows the travelers. He refers to Steven and Dodo by name, even before the TARDIS doors open. They don't recognize him or his toyroom, so it's assumed that he has somehow found out about them. He knows the Doctor though and the Doctor knows him. There is mention of a time when the Doctor visited the Toyroom before. At that time he left almost immediately, not wishing to risk himself with the Toymaker.
This is the first example of the Doctor meeting a foe that he has already encountered in an untelevised story. The Master is probably the most notable example of this type.
The Doctor finds himself challenged to play the trilogic game with the Toymaker. He has precisely 1,023 moves to re-create a triangle formed of several smaller pieces. An amazing challenge of memory and thinking ahead. One mistake and the Doctor looses.
While the Toymaker is going about his business, the Doctor sees (on a monitor screen) that Steven and Dodo are getting ready to play their game. He uses the intercom to warn them of the dangers of the games and to not take anything at face value.
The Toymaker isn't happy with the Doctor's interference (who is) and makes him invisible and intangible again. The Doctor points out that this will make playing the trilogic game impossible. The Toymaker relents and allows the Doctor to have one hand become normal.
That hand was not Hartnell's.
Steven and Dodo end up having to deal with a pair of cheating clowns. When pressed to do things the right and fair way, the travelers win the game and proceed on to what turns out to be a mock TARDIS.
When they turn back to look at the game board they see that their opponents have reverted to discarded dolls.
Next up: The Hall of Dolls
Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US. Angela and I drove down to her father's place and listened to this episode on the drive down. Holiday festivities prevented me from taking the time to write this post.
Well it's Black Friday now. Things are lazy here at Ang's dad's place, so I'll make this post and listen to today's episode later. Assuming that we don't have family over later, I should get the post for that episode tonight.
The TARDIS lands. Steven has changed into an unfortunate sweater, and Dodo has found a "fab" outfit in the TARDIS wardrobe. The Doctor begins to cough and vanish.
Steven thinks that this has something to do with the Refusians. Not a long shot given the fact that they were invisible and they were hanging out with one last episode. The Doctor quickly shouts him down and declares that it is an attack.
In addition to being invisible, he is intangible. The Doctor has Steven turn on the scanner. It revels nothing. The Doctor insists that it has nothing to do with a malfunction, the screen doesn't look like that when it's not working.
Steven, quiet rationally, suggests that the Doctor just tell him what switches he needs to switch to get them away from the danger, but the Doctor insists on facing it. He has Steven open the door of the TARDIS.
The script does deal with something that I was going to question. Dodo asks Steven, if the Doctor is intangible, why doesn't he just walk through the TARDIS wall? Steven suggests that, maybe it's just force of habit for the Doctor.
They leave to find themselves in this fantastic place. The Doctor is visible (and presumed tangible) again. There is a screen that both Steven and Dodo see images from their lives flash upon. They only see the images related to there own lives.
Dodo's character is filled out a bit as we discover that she was a young girl when she discovered that her mother was dead.
The Doctor tells them not to look at the screen; that it's a trap to dominate their minds. He tells them that he knows of this place and warns them of the games that are played here and of the horrible consequences of playing them.
The travelers turn and find the Toymaker standing where the TARDIS was. The travelers suggest leaving, but they don't know where the TARDIS is. The Toymaker shows them rows of hundreds of copies.
They will play their games whilst the Toymaker and the Doctor play theirs.
The two companions are left to play a game of blind man's bluff with two clown dolls that the Toymaker has turned into "real" clowns. The "sad" clown, Joey is mute. While the "happy" clown, Clara, speaks in a pitch just below helium induced.
The Toymaker knows the travelers. He refers to Steven and Dodo by name, even before the TARDIS doors open. They don't recognize him or his toyroom, so it's assumed that he has somehow found out about them. He knows the Doctor though and the Doctor knows him. There is mention of a time when the Doctor visited the Toyroom before. At that time he left almost immediately, not wishing to risk himself with the Toymaker.
This is the first example of the Doctor meeting a foe that he has already encountered in an untelevised story. The Master is probably the most notable example of this type.
The Doctor finds himself challenged to play the trilogic game with the Toymaker. He has precisely 1,023 moves to re-create a triangle formed of several smaller pieces. An amazing challenge of memory and thinking ahead. One mistake and the Doctor looses.
While the Toymaker is going about his business, the Doctor sees (on a monitor screen) that Steven and Dodo are getting ready to play their game. He uses the intercom to warn them of the dangers of the games and to not take anything at face value.
The Toymaker isn't happy with the Doctor's interference (who is) and makes him invisible and intangible again. The Doctor points out that this will make playing the trilogic game impossible. The Toymaker relents and allows the Doctor to have one hand become normal.
That hand was not Hartnell's.
Steven and Dodo end up having to deal with a pair of cheating clowns. When pressed to do things the right and fair way, the travelers win the game and proceed on to what turns out to be a mock TARDIS.
When they turn back to look at the game board they see that their opponents have reverted to discarded dolls.
Next up: The Hall of Dolls
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Ep. 110 The Bomb
"Yes, you must travel with understanding as well as hope. You know, I once said that to one of your ancestors, a long time ago."
Today is Doctor Who's birthday. 48 years ago today, An Unearthly Child was first broadcast.
This wasn't An Unearthly Child.
When I started this post I actually was going to defend the writers. My line of thought was that this is pretty much two stories with two sets of characters to set up. And then I looked at the time that they had to work with, realized that most science fiction shows can do what needs to be done in the same amount, and ditched the idea of defending them.
At this point in the series, Hartnell was getting harder and harder to deal with. His health was getting worse, the production schedule was taking its toll, and he was extremely unhappy with changes in the cast and production team.
I know that the production team was actively thinking about replacing Hartnell as the Doctor.
Dodo really isn't given a great start as the new companion. She barely appears in the far superior Massacre serial, her character isn't given any development other than the extremely mild slang that she uses to annoy the Doctor. Maybe she's the descendent of someone that we got to know and sort of like. That and and her crusader outfit are all that she has to work with.
In the intro for the next serial, she becomes the first companion to wear a mini-skirt (depending on whether you count Vicki's future outfit or not).
Steven isn't given much either. In his case, we know what the production team is wasting. Purves is a good actor, he deserved better.
Next up: The Celestial Toyroom
Today is Doctor Who's birthday. 48 years ago today, An Unearthly Child was first broadcast.
This wasn't An Unearthly Child.
When I started this post I actually was going to defend the writers. My line of thought was that this is pretty much two stories with two sets of characters to set up. And then I looked at the time that they had to work with, realized that most science fiction shows can do what needs to be done in the same amount, and ditched the idea of defending them.
At this point in the series, Hartnell was getting harder and harder to deal with. His health was getting worse, the production schedule was taking its toll, and he was extremely unhappy with changes in the cast and production team.
I know that the production team was actively thinking about replacing Hartnell as the Doctor.
Dodo really isn't given a great start as the new companion. She barely appears in the far superior Massacre serial, her character isn't given any development other than the extremely mild slang that she uses to annoy the Doctor. Maybe she's the descendent of someone that we got to know and sort of like. That and and her crusader outfit are all that she has to work with.
In the intro for the next serial, she becomes the first companion to wear a mini-skirt (depending on whether you count Vicki's future outfit or not).
Steven isn't given much either. In his case, we know what the production team is wasting. Purves is a good actor, he deserved better.
Next up: The Celestial Toyroom
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Ep. 109 The Return
"Two, take them away to the security kitchen and then call a grand council."
As major baddies go, the Monoids suck on toast.
700 years have passed since the TARDIS was last on the Ark, though only a few seconds have passed for the travelers. We quickly find out that the Monoids, who now have voice box machines, have recently taken control of the Ark. Most of the guardians have been killed leaving the few survivors to man the security kitchen.
Yeah, the security kitchen.
The Monoids are pure Scooby Doo villains. They huddle in private when they plot, they say things that are meant to be ironically evil, and when Dodo catches them at it, they hem and haw.
We are then treated to the second invisible alien species of this season, the Refusians.
Flowers are thrown.
It's not very good.
Next up: The Bomb
As major baddies go, the Monoids suck on toast.
700 years have passed since the TARDIS was last on the Ark, though only a few seconds have passed for the travelers. We quickly find out that the Monoids, who now have voice box machines, have recently taken control of the Ark. Most of the guardians have been killed leaving the few survivors to man the security kitchen.
Yeah, the security kitchen.
The Monoids are pure Scooby Doo villains. They huddle in private when they plot, they say things that are meant to be ironically evil, and when Dodo catches them at it, they hem and haw.
We are then treated to the second invisible alien species of this season, the Refusians.
Flowers are thrown.
It's not very good.
Next up: The Bomb
Monday, November 21, 2011
Ep. 108 The Plague
"Look, do you think this has happened before? That we’ve carried an infection from one age to another, or even one planet to another?"
I was at work today when my brain made a disturbing leap about Dodo. If Dodo really is the descendant of Anne Chaplet, then Anne probably had an illegitimate child to carry her name. Anne spent at least one night alone with Steven. There's nothing to imply that they had a fling, but there is room for the possibility.
I think that I just broke my brain with that one.
The Dodo plague is running its course through the ship. Monoids and humans alike are dying and the second-in-command is eating the scenery in his attempts to get the travelers convicted and executed.
Steven asks an amazingly insightful and disturbing question. Are the TARDIS crew unknowingly passing along diseases as they travel?
The rest of the episode doesn't really live up to this level of thoughtfulness. The travelers are placed on trial, Steven catches the Dodo plague, the travelers are put to death, but are given a commuted sentence if the Doctor can make a cure.
He does and the TARDIS is free to go.
This leads to the cliffhanger. The TARDIS arrives in the same relative spot in the Ark's garden only 700 years in the future. They discover that a statue of a human that was to be completed when the Ark was near it's final destination, has been completed. Only it's a Monoid head on top.
This story has a couple nice ideas, Dodo as plague carrier and taking a glimpse ahead to see what effect that the travelers have had on a culture. They tied those two good ideas with a really crappy story.
Next up: The Return
I was at work today when my brain made a disturbing leap about Dodo. If Dodo really is the descendant of Anne Chaplet, then Anne probably had an illegitimate child to carry her name. Anne spent at least one night alone with Steven. There's nothing to imply that they had a fling, but there is room for the possibility.
I think that I just broke my brain with that one.
The Dodo plague is running its course through the ship. Monoids and humans alike are dying and the second-in-command is eating the scenery in his attempts to get the travelers convicted and executed.
Steven asks an amazingly insightful and disturbing question. Are the TARDIS crew unknowingly passing along diseases as they travel?
The rest of the episode doesn't really live up to this level of thoughtfulness. The travelers are placed on trial, Steven catches the Dodo plague, the travelers are put to death, but are given a commuted sentence if the Doctor can make a cure.
He does and the TARDIS is free to go.
This leads to the cliffhanger. The TARDIS arrives in the same relative spot in the Ark's garden only 700 years in the future. They discover that a statue of a human that was to be completed when the Ark was near it's final destination, has been completed. Only it's a Monoid head on top.
This story has a couple nice ideas, Dodo as plague carrier and taking a glimpse ahead to see what effect that the travelers have had on a culture. They tied those two good ideas with a really crappy story.
Next up: The Return
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Ep. 107 The Steel Sky
Mellium: He knows no more than you. He simply has faith.
Zentos: So have I...in my own eyes and ears, and machines tell fewer lies than men.
The credits end and we are shown a misty forest/jungle, replete with many different animals. The camera pans to a strange alien creature with an eye where a chin would be on a human. It appears to be wearing a Beatles' wig. The TARDIS materializes nearby.
The alien creature turns out to be a Monoid, one of the more distinctive alien species in 60's Doctor Who. It has green leathery skin, hair that really does look like a Beatles' wig, and a face devoid of all features except a single eye, placed low on the face. They also have these weird webbed feet. Sort of like a weird mutant duck.
Dodo burst out of the TARDIS dressed in an odd costume. It's a half black/half white affair with a heraldic crest on the front. It looks cool, but I have no idea why she is wearing it. The narration of her introduction in the previous episode made no reference to her going to a fancy dress party. If my sources are correct, she entered the TARDIS in normal looking clothing.
There is a piece of dialog between the Doctor and Dodo that explains that she was rummaging through the TARDIS wardrobe. Her deciding to put this outfit on for no apparent reason does add credence to my "Dodo is on drugs" theory presented last episode.
She is also very blase about suddenly being in what, she assumes, is a London zoo. I know that at least one book has been written under the assumption that this wasn't her first trip. That certainly would explain some things, but isn't really considered cannon.
Steven is annoyed at Dodo running out into what might have proven to be a hostile, alien environment. She tells him where they are, Whipsnade, just outside of London. He says that they can't even be sure that they are on Earth. She counters by identifying several Earth animals. Apparently she was paying attention in the Life Science classes.
The Doctor isn't so sure about their location, but thinks that Earth seems the most likely.
The Monoid gets closer to the TARDIS.
Meanwhile and elsewhere, a court hearing is under way. Another Monoid hands the Commander a piece of paper from something that looks like a mash-up between an electric typewriter and a fax machine.
The defendant, it appears, is a technician who left a switch in the wrong position and almost ended up killing everyone. He is sentenced to miniaturization, not to be brought back for 700 years.
The Commanders' daughter, and probable love interest of the defendant, begs for mercy, but this is the most merciful sentence available.
The defendant is shrunk. The effect isn't half bad for the era and budget.
Back at the TARDIS, the crew encounter an elephant. I do have to give the show credit for the number of live animals that appear in this episode. The elephant is the most obvious example, but there are numerous other beasties including a chameleon, monitor lizard, tucan and some exotic insect that Dodo points out. I think that I spotted a snake, but it might have been a prop.
The Doctor points out that the flora and fauna are from all over the Earth, that instead of a sky there is a roof that radiates light, and that the ground seems to be trembling.
Dodo sneezes for the second time this episode. That will be a plot point later on. Yeah, I am serious.
As usually happens, the Doctor and company are brought in for questioning by the authorities. They discover that they are on a space ship bringing the shrunken and suspended population of Earth to a new home several hundred years travel time from Earth.
Dodo's cold is soon caught by the general population. With no immunity to the, now ancient, disease, the human population that monitors the ship's travels is seriously messed up.
The travelers are arrested for high crimes against humanity.
Next up: The Plague
Zentos: So have I...in my own eyes and ears, and machines tell fewer lies than men.
The credits end and we are shown a misty forest/jungle, replete with many different animals. The camera pans to a strange alien creature with an eye where a chin would be on a human. It appears to be wearing a Beatles' wig. The TARDIS materializes nearby.
The alien creature turns out to be a Monoid, one of the more distinctive alien species in 60's Doctor Who. It has green leathery skin, hair that really does look like a Beatles' wig, and a face devoid of all features except a single eye, placed low on the face. They also have these weird webbed feet. Sort of like a weird mutant duck.
Dodo burst out of the TARDIS dressed in an odd costume. It's a half black/half white affair with a heraldic crest on the front. It looks cool, but I have no idea why she is wearing it. The narration of her introduction in the previous episode made no reference to her going to a fancy dress party. If my sources are correct, she entered the TARDIS in normal looking clothing.
There is a piece of dialog between the Doctor and Dodo that explains that she was rummaging through the TARDIS wardrobe. Her deciding to put this outfit on for no apparent reason does add credence to my "Dodo is on drugs" theory presented last episode.
She is also very blase about suddenly being in what, she assumes, is a London zoo. I know that at least one book has been written under the assumption that this wasn't her first trip. That certainly would explain some things, but isn't really considered cannon.
Steven is annoyed at Dodo running out into what might have proven to be a hostile, alien environment. She tells him where they are, Whipsnade, just outside of London. He says that they can't even be sure that they are on Earth. She counters by identifying several Earth animals. Apparently she was paying attention in the Life Science classes.
The Doctor isn't so sure about their location, but thinks that Earth seems the most likely.
The Monoid gets closer to the TARDIS.
Meanwhile and elsewhere, a court hearing is under way. Another Monoid hands the Commander a piece of paper from something that looks like a mash-up between an electric typewriter and a fax machine.
The defendant, it appears, is a technician who left a switch in the wrong position and almost ended up killing everyone. He is sentenced to miniaturization, not to be brought back for 700 years.
The Commanders' daughter, and probable love interest of the defendant, begs for mercy, but this is the most merciful sentence available.
The defendant is shrunk. The effect isn't half bad for the era and budget.
Back at the TARDIS, the crew encounter an elephant. I do have to give the show credit for the number of live animals that appear in this episode. The elephant is the most obvious example, but there are numerous other beasties including a chameleon, monitor lizard, tucan and some exotic insect that Dodo points out. I think that I spotted a snake, but it might have been a prop.
The Doctor points out that the flora and fauna are from all over the Earth, that instead of a sky there is a roof that radiates light, and that the ground seems to be trembling.
Dodo sneezes for the second time this episode. That will be a plot point later on. Yeah, I am serious.
As usually happens, the Doctor and company are brought in for questioning by the authorities. They discover that they are on a space ship bringing the shrunken and suspended population of Earth to a new home several hundred years travel time from Earth.
Dodo's cold is soon caught by the general population. With no immunity to the, now ancient, disease, the human population that monitors the ship's travels is seriously messed up.
The travelers are arrested for high crimes against humanity.
Next up: The Plague
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Ep. 106 Bell of Doom
"Not mercy, madam. Policy."
The Doctor returns to Preslin's shop to find Steven and Anne trying desperately to find the TARDIS key. He doesn't explain where he's been or what he's been doing. All that we can say for certain is that he is unaware of the year and the proximity of St Bartholemew's Day.
Once he learns the date he hurries Anne off to her Aunt's house and takes Steven back to the TARDIS.
They are initially unable to get to the ship, since guards have been placed around the streets leading to de Coligny's home. Once those guards are removed, the Doctor and Steven can move on.
There is an excellent scene between Tavannes and the Queen mother that is surprisingly mature in it's outlook of politics for the series. I haven't taken the time to praise the guest cast in this one yet, so I'll take the time now. They are all excellent in their rolls and made listening to this story a joy for me.
The TARDIS is off. As Steven finds out about what happens, he grows increasingly angry at the Doctor's decision to send Anne to her aunt's instead of taking her with them in the TARDIS. The Doctor defends his decision, by saying that the web of history is too vast for anything as small as himself or Steven to grasp. It's hard, but history must be allowed to flow the way that it must. And perhaps she survived.
Steven is fed up and tells the Doctor that if he is that callous about human life, then he is getting off at the next stop, wherever that may be.
The TARDIS lands in 1960's London and Steven leaves.
Hartnell has a beautiful little monolog about none of his companions really understanding. He mentions the impossibility of returning to his home planet. By all rights, that should be the quote for this episode, but I decided that it was a little too obvious.
All of a sudden a young girl bustles into the TARDIS. She doesn't seem too startled by the TARDIS being bigger on the inside. She IS looking for a police man to help an injured boy, so maybe this just hasn't registered for her yet. She comes off very brash and her accent isn't thicker than it will continue to be in later episodes.
While the Doctor is trying to get this pesky girl out of his ship, Steven returns, hurriedly, and warns the Doctor that two policemen are on there way to the TARDIS.
The Doctor dematerializes, taking the young girl with them. Steven is put out by this treatment of the young girl, but she seems OK with it. She introduces herself as Dodo (Dorothea) Chaplet.
Steven wonders if Dodo might be the descendent of Anne, proving that the serving girl survived, against all odds. It seems amazingly unlikely that the two are related, but the Doctor suggests that he might be right. I honestly think that the Doctor was humoring him.
For the most part this is a very good episode, but there are some things about it that don't work for me.
Dodo seems to be nonplussed about walking into the TARDIS and being sucked away from her normal life. It was the 60's, maybe she was high.
The conceit that Anne is the great (to the x power) grandmother of Dodo is a huge leap. To make it work, Anne would have had to have not given up her maiden name (suggesting an illegitimate child), and all of the generations from 1572 to when Dodo was born would have to have at least one child who carried on the name.
If we use a bit of retroactive continuity it could make sense. We learn in The Doctor's Wife (it's 11th Doctor, so we're a long way from reviewing that) that the TARDIS takes the Doctor where he needs to go. I could buy the TARDIS searching through the time lines to find someone who was a descendant of Anne (to ease Steven) who also reminded her Time Lord of his granddaughter.
The reason for Steven's return isn't really given. The policemen coming towards the TARDIS aren't really a threat to the Doctor. Police weren't able to get into the TARDIS back in The Feast of Steven, so why should they be able to now?
There really isn't a reason for the Doctor to take off as quickly as he did aside from the need for the script to make Dodo the new companion. It's a bit of weak writing, but I'm willing to over look it, given the great story that came before.
Next up: The Steel Sky
The Doctor returns to Preslin's shop to find Steven and Anne trying desperately to find the TARDIS key. He doesn't explain where he's been or what he's been doing. All that we can say for certain is that he is unaware of the year and the proximity of St Bartholemew's Day.
Once he learns the date he hurries Anne off to her Aunt's house and takes Steven back to the TARDIS.
They are initially unable to get to the ship, since guards have been placed around the streets leading to de Coligny's home. Once those guards are removed, the Doctor and Steven can move on.
There is an excellent scene between Tavannes and the Queen mother that is surprisingly mature in it's outlook of politics for the series. I haven't taken the time to praise the guest cast in this one yet, so I'll take the time now. They are all excellent in their rolls and made listening to this story a joy for me.
The TARDIS is off. As Steven finds out about what happens, he grows increasingly angry at the Doctor's decision to send Anne to her aunt's instead of taking her with them in the TARDIS. The Doctor defends his decision, by saying that the web of history is too vast for anything as small as himself or Steven to grasp. It's hard, but history must be allowed to flow the way that it must. And perhaps she survived.
Steven is fed up and tells the Doctor that if he is that callous about human life, then he is getting off at the next stop, wherever that may be.
The TARDIS lands in 1960's London and Steven leaves.
Hartnell has a beautiful little monolog about none of his companions really understanding. He mentions the impossibility of returning to his home planet. By all rights, that should be the quote for this episode, but I decided that it was a little too obvious.
All of a sudden a young girl bustles into the TARDIS. She doesn't seem too startled by the TARDIS being bigger on the inside. She IS looking for a police man to help an injured boy, so maybe this just hasn't registered for her yet. She comes off very brash and her accent isn't thicker than it will continue to be in later episodes.
While the Doctor is trying to get this pesky girl out of his ship, Steven returns, hurriedly, and warns the Doctor that two policemen are on there way to the TARDIS.
The Doctor dematerializes, taking the young girl with them. Steven is put out by this treatment of the young girl, but she seems OK with it. She introduces herself as Dodo (Dorothea) Chaplet.
Steven wonders if Dodo might be the descendent of Anne, proving that the serving girl survived, against all odds. It seems amazingly unlikely that the two are related, but the Doctor suggests that he might be right. I honestly think that the Doctor was humoring him.
For the most part this is a very good episode, but there are some things about it that don't work for me.
Dodo seems to be nonplussed about walking into the TARDIS and being sucked away from her normal life. It was the 60's, maybe she was high.
The conceit that Anne is the great (to the x power) grandmother of Dodo is a huge leap. To make it work, Anne would have had to have not given up her maiden name (suggesting an illegitimate child), and all of the generations from 1572 to when Dodo was born would have to have at least one child who carried on the name.
If we use a bit of retroactive continuity it could make sense. We learn in The Doctor's Wife (it's 11th Doctor, so we're a long way from reviewing that) that the TARDIS takes the Doctor where he needs to go. I could buy the TARDIS searching through the time lines to find someone who was a descendant of Anne (to ease Steven) who also reminded her Time Lord of his granddaughter.
The reason for Steven's return isn't really given. The policemen coming towards the TARDIS aren't really a threat to the Doctor. Police weren't able to get into the TARDIS back in The Feast of Steven, so why should they be able to now?
There really isn't a reason for the Doctor to take off as quickly as he did aside from the need for the script to make Dodo the new companion. It's a bit of weak writing, but I'm willing to over look it, given the great story that came before.
Next up: The Steel Sky
Ep. 105 Priest of Death
"No, Admiral, please! Talk of it some other time. War is so tedious. Move to matters closer to us."
This story is getting a split review from Ang and myself. She isn't into this one, while I am enjoying it immensely. I'm a little bit of a history buff and this is the sort of story that really appeals to me. The story is also dialog driven. That's not to say that there isn't any action, but the action plays second fiddle to the plot, unlike Masterplan where the action was almost all that was going on.
This story does have a large cast of characters. Since this is a missing story, I've been listening to the CD while following along with an on-line transcript. This helps keep the characters separate in my head. Angela has other things that she needs to be working on, so she doesn't have that advantage. Subsequently, she isn't sure who is on which side in the Catholic/Huguenot conflict that is being played out.
This is probably the most obscure historical event that Doctor Who has covered in one of their true historicals. At least from an American perspective. With all of the other historicals, I had at least some idea of what was happening, historically speaking, before watching. Even The Smugglers, which will be coming up in season four, is something that I knew something about, thanks to movies like Jamaica Inn.
There also is fairly little Hartnell in this one. He's playing a dual role, but is hardly in the story. At least through this, the third episode. Peter Purves is really given a chance to shine. The writers are setting up something wonderful for him next episode, that I'm trying not to divulge early.
We're also starting to get to the end of the Hartnell run. There are less than 30 episodes to go. We'll be into Troughton by Christmas.
Season three is the worst represented run of Hartnell. Season one is missing some episodes, and complete stories, but there is still a lot there to be seen. Season two was only missing two episodes, both from The Crusade. So far into Season three, we've only had three episodes on video out of about two dozen. The rest of the run improves in terms of the number of episodes that exist. Tonight, we'll finish up The Massacre on audio, tomorrow we'll begin the Ark on DVD.
Next up: Bell of Doom
This story is getting a split review from Ang and myself. She isn't into this one, while I am enjoying it immensely. I'm a little bit of a history buff and this is the sort of story that really appeals to me. The story is also dialog driven. That's not to say that there isn't any action, but the action plays second fiddle to the plot, unlike Masterplan where the action was almost all that was going on.
This story does have a large cast of characters. Since this is a missing story, I've been listening to the CD while following along with an on-line transcript. This helps keep the characters separate in my head. Angela has other things that she needs to be working on, so she doesn't have that advantage. Subsequently, she isn't sure who is on which side in the Catholic/Huguenot conflict that is being played out.
This is probably the most obscure historical event that Doctor Who has covered in one of their true historicals. At least from an American perspective. With all of the other historicals, I had at least some idea of what was happening, historically speaking, before watching. Even The Smugglers, which will be coming up in season four, is something that I knew something about, thanks to movies like Jamaica Inn.
There also is fairly little Hartnell in this one. He's playing a dual role, but is hardly in the story. At least through this, the third episode. Peter Purves is really given a chance to shine. The writers are setting up something wonderful for him next episode, that I'm trying not to divulge early.
We're also starting to get to the end of the Hartnell run. There are less than 30 episodes to go. We'll be into Troughton by Christmas.
Season three is the worst represented run of Hartnell. Season one is missing some episodes, and complete stories, but there is still a lot there to be seen. Season two was only missing two episodes, both from The Crusade. So far into Season three, we've only had three episodes on video out of about two dozen. The rest of the run improves in terms of the number of episodes that exist. Tonight, we'll finish up The Massacre on audio, tomorrow we'll begin the Ark on DVD.
Next up: Bell of Doom
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ep. 104 The Sea Beggar
"You are an extraordinary man, Tavannes. You see shadows where there is no sun."
The next morning Steven goes back to the tavern in search of the Doctor. Finding no sign of him, the young astronaut returns to de Coligny's home to get the help of Nicholas.
Nicholas and Gaston are discussing the lack of action on the intelligence that Anne, the serving girl, provided, when Steven returns. Nicholas instantly offers to take Steven to the shop of Preslin.
As they are preparing to leave, an agent of the Abbot of Amboise arrives and apologizes for the inconvenience created by one of the Abbot's runaway servants. he explains that the girl had overheard a conversation about Vase and must have made a connection that wasn't in the actual conversation.
Gaston is his usual reactionary self and tries to get a rise from the agent.
Anne walks in at this time. The agent recognizes her and calls for her return. The Huguenots blatantly lie to his face and say that this is Genevive and that she has been in the employ of the Admiral since he arrived in Paris.
The agent leaves and meets with the Abbot just outside de Coligny's residence. Steven and the pair of Huguenots see this. Steven recognizes the Abbot as the Doctor and goes to meet him. The others are suspicious and call him out as a Catholic spy. By the time that they look back out the window, the Abbot and his agent have left.
Nicholas and Steven leave for Preslin's shop. Now Steven is trying to prove that he is not a spy.
They get to Preslin's shop to discover that it's abandoned. An old woman tells them that he was taken two years ago for heresy and probably burned. Steven tries to talk Nicholas into letting him go to the Abbot to see if the Doctor has replaced the Abbot for some unknown reason.
Nicholas doesn't agree and tries to get Steven to come back with him to Gaston. Steven pushes away and looses him in the crowded streets.
Steven goes to the Abbot's home and attempts to break in and find the Doctor. He ends up listening in on an assassination plot. An assassin codenamed Bondot is to take out a target codenamed "The Sea Beggar".
Steven runs back to de Coligny's to warn Nicholas and Gaston about the plot. Gaston tells him to get the hell out. When Steven doesn't , the hotheaded Huguenot hands him his ass in a sword fight.
Steven, valuing his neck, leaves.
He walks through the city for a few hours until curfew is close to ringing. He heads back to de Coligny's in the hopes of speaking with the more reasonable Nicholas. He ends up running into Anne, who has run away again.
The pair decide to go to Preslin's shop; they should be able to stay the night.
The cliffhanger is a bit intellectual. We discover that "The Sea Beggar" is de Coligny, apparently after his approval of the Dutch in their war with Spain.
Loving it.
Next up: Priest of Death
The next morning Steven goes back to the tavern in search of the Doctor. Finding no sign of him, the young astronaut returns to de Coligny's home to get the help of Nicholas.
Nicholas and Gaston are discussing the lack of action on the intelligence that Anne, the serving girl, provided, when Steven returns. Nicholas instantly offers to take Steven to the shop of Preslin.
As they are preparing to leave, an agent of the Abbot of Amboise arrives and apologizes for the inconvenience created by one of the Abbot's runaway servants. he explains that the girl had overheard a conversation about Vase and must have made a connection that wasn't in the actual conversation.
Gaston is his usual reactionary self and tries to get a rise from the agent.
Anne walks in at this time. The agent recognizes her and calls for her return. The Huguenots blatantly lie to his face and say that this is Genevive and that she has been in the employ of the Admiral since he arrived in Paris.
The agent leaves and meets with the Abbot just outside de Coligny's residence. Steven and the pair of Huguenots see this. Steven recognizes the Abbot as the Doctor and goes to meet him. The others are suspicious and call him out as a Catholic spy. By the time that they look back out the window, the Abbot and his agent have left.
Nicholas and Steven leave for Preslin's shop. Now Steven is trying to prove that he is not a spy.
They get to Preslin's shop to discover that it's abandoned. An old woman tells them that he was taken two years ago for heresy and probably burned. Steven tries to talk Nicholas into letting him go to the Abbot to see if the Doctor has replaced the Abbot for some unknown reason.
Nicholas doesn't agree and tries to get Steven to come back with him to Gaston. Steven pushes away and looses him in the crowded streets.
Steven goes to the Abbot's home and attempts to break in and find the Doctor. He ends up listening in on an assassination plot. An assassin codenamed Bondot is to take out a target codenamed "The Sea Beggar".
Steven runs back to de Coligny's to warn Nicholas and Gaston about the plot. Gaston tells him to get the hell out. When Steven doesn't , the hotheaded Huguenot hands him his ass in a sword fight.
Steven, valuing his neck, leaves.
He walks through the city for a few hours until curfew is close to ringing. He heads back to de Coligny's in the hopes of speaking with the more reasonable Nicholas. He ends up running into Anne, who has run away again.
The pair decide to go to Preslin's shop; they should be able to stay the night.
The cliffhanger is a bit intellectual. We discover that "The Sea Beggar" is de Coligny, apparently after his approval of the Dutch in their war with Spain.
Loving it.
Next up: Priest of Death
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Ep. 103 War of God
"Many things frighten people in Paris these days."
This is a welcome change from the frantic pace of the previous 12 days. Where the Dalek Masterplan was fast paced (and often shoddy) this is a story that is taking its time and allowing the characters a chance to breathe and ...well, act.
Peter Purves is a good actor, but was given next to nothing to work with over the last 12 episodes. This was a nice episode for him. The Doctor goes off in his own direction, leaving Steven to discover what is going on.
What is going on is a much darker story than the average Doctor Who. In 1572 the religious strife that was tearing France apart exploded with a series of Catholic led assassinations of prominent Huguenots (more or less Protestants). The assassinations led to mob violence that killed thousands in the course of a few days.
The TARDIS lands the two travelers in Paris, the day after the Catholic Princess Margaret married the Protestant Henry of Navarre. The Doctor goes off to find a French scientist named Preslin, leaving Steven to his own devices.
He quickly winds up in the company of a group of Huguenots in the employ of Admiral de Coligny. They are a fairly rowdy bunch almost constantly trying to get a rise out of the local Catholic majority. One of them openly spits out wine that was drunk in toast to the Catholic princess.
Steven is about ready to leave and try to find the Doctor when a servant girl, chased by several guards, darts past him into the tavern that he just vacated. The Huguenots drive off the Catholic guard leaving the girl in peace.
The Huguenots don't think twice about what might have sent a servant girl running off into the street, but Steven does. She tells them that she overheard a captain speaking to another man about things being like Vase. Steven is as in the dark as I am until it's explained to him that there was a slaughter of Huguenots in a small town south of Paris.
The girl, Anne, is sent off to de Coligny for protection. Steven waits for the Doctor, who doesn't return before curfew. Steven accepts an offer to stay with the de Coligny, not knowing that his every move in the tavern is being watched by an agent of the Abbott of Amboise.
The "cliffhanger" of this one reveals that the Abbott of Amboise is a dead ringer for the Doctor.
Next up: The Sea Beggar
This is a welcome change from the frantic pace of the previous 12 days. Where the Dalek Masterplan was fast paced (and often shoddy) this is a story that is taking its time and allowing the characters a chance to breathe and ...well, act.
Peter Purves is a good actor, but was given next to nothing to work with over the last 12 episodes. This was a nice episode for him. The Doctor goes off in his own direction, leaving Steven to discover what is going on.
What is going on is a much darker story than the average Doctor Who. In 1572 the religious strife that was tearing France apart exploded with a series of Catholic led assassinations of prominent Huguenots (more or less Protestants). The assassinations led to mob violence that killed thousands in the course of a few days.
The TARDIS lands the two travelers in Paris, the day after the Catholic Princess Margaret married the Protestant Henry of Navarre. The Doctor goes off to find a French scientist named Preslin, leaving Steven to his own devices.
He quickly winds up in the company of a group of Huguenots in the employ of Admiral de Coligny. They are a fairly rowdy bunch almost constantly trying to get a rise out of the local Catholic majority. One of them openly spits out wine that was drunk in toast to the Catholic princess.
Steven is about ready to leave and try to find the Doctor when a servant girl, chased by several guards, darts past him into the tavern that he just vacated. The Huguenots drive off the Catholic guard leaving the girl in peace.
The Huguenots don't think twice about what might have sent a servant girl running off into the street, but Steven does. She tells them that she overheard a captain speaking to another man about things being like Vase. Steven is as in the dark as I am until it's explained to him that there was a slaughter of Huguenots in a small town south of Paris.
The girl, Anne, is sent off to de Coligny for protection. Steven waits for the Doctor, who doesn't return before curfew. Steven accepts an offer to stay with the de Coligny, not knowing that his every move in the tavern is being watched by an agent of the Abbott of Amboise.
The "cliffhanger" of this one reveals that the Abbott of Amboise is a dead ringer for the Doctor.
Next up: The Sea Beggar
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Ep. 102 The Destruction of Time
"You think I don't know?"
Mavic Chen is off the rails. He still thinks that he can rule beside the Daleks despite the fact that they put him in prison to rot. He is convinced that the Doctor and his companions are trying to usurp his status as right plunger man to the Daleks.
The Daleks take Chen and the two sane humans into custody. The pepper pots are cruel enough to let Chen think that he's working with them until they tell him off. It's embarrassing "watching" Chen try to order the Daleks around and getting all bent out of shape when his blaster pistol does squat.
Like so many megalomaniacs in Who history he dies like a dog in an explosion of double exposure.
While Chen is getting his comeuppance, the Doctor reveals himself to Steven and Sara. He snuck down here some time last episode and has been working on his plan for some time. He gives Steven the key to the TARDIS and tells the pair to leave.
The Doctor then pulls off something clever. I'd say that this was Spooner's part of the plot, mostly because Nation was a very lazy writer.
The Doctor holds the Daleks off with the active Time Destructor. The Daleks can't fire on him for fear of destroying their precious uber-weapon. The Doctor gets them to send over a Dalek to act as a shield for the two companions. They precede the Doctor.
He follows a short while behind, using his cloak to jam the door.
Sara lacks Steven's faith in the Doctor's plan, ditches the space jockey in the Kembal jungle and doubles back to help stop the Daleks. She catches up with the Doctor and helps him make his way back to the TARDIS.
It sounds like they really went all out with this one and I really wish that this survived on video. The Time Destructor is aging the Doctor and Sara, turning the jungle into a dessert, all the while the wind is picking up speed.
Steven makes it back to the TARDIS before the worst of the effects have hit him.
The Doctor and Sara fight on against the elements and their own rapidly aging bodies. Daleks, safe inside their metal shells, search the dying landscape for the Time Destructor.
The Doctor and Sara collapse yards from the TARDIS. The Doctor's alien nature keeps him going longer, but even he succumbs.
Steven, seeing them on the scanner, leaves the protection of the ship and tries to save them. He's too late for Sara. Her ravaged elderly body becomes a dessicated corpse, and then bones, and then dust. Steven barely manages to get the Doctor into the ship in time.
In trying to save the Doctor, Steven made an adjustment to the Time Destructor, reversing the effect. Time came rushing in and kills the Daleks.
After the core of the Destructor has run itself out, the two remaining time travelers survey the scene. The Doctor is triumphant, until Steven reminds him of the cost of this victory, Katarina, Bret, and Sara.
Next up: War of God
Mavic Chen is off the rails. He still thinks that he can rule beside the Daleks despite the fact that they put him in prison to rot. He is convinced that the Doctor and his companions are trying to usurp his status as right plunger man to the Daleks.
The Daleks take Chen and the two sane humans into custody. The pepper pots are cruel enough to let Chen think that he's working with them until they tell him off. It's embarrassing "watching" Chen try to order the Daleks around and getting all bent out of shape when his blaster pistol does squat.
Like so many megalomaniacs in Who history he dies like a dog in an explosion of double exposure.
While Chen is getting his comeuppance, the Doctor reveals himself to Steven and Sara. He snuck down here some time last episode and has been working on his plan for some time. He gives Steven the key to the TARDIS and tells the pair to leave.
The Doctor then pulls off something clever. I'd say that this was Spooner's part of the plot, mostly because Nation was a very lazy writer.
The Doctor holds the Daleks off with the active Time Destructor. The Daleks can't fire on him for fear of destroying their precious uber-weapon. The Doctor gets them to send over a Dalek to act as a shield for the two companions. They precede the Doctor.
He follows a short while behind, using his cloak to jam the door.
Sara lacks Steven's faith in the Doctor's plan, ditches the space jockey in the Kembal jungle and doubles back to help stop the Daleks. She catches up with the Doctor and helps him make his way back to the TARDIS.
It sounds like they really went all out with this one and I really wish that this survived on video. The Time Destructor is aging the Doctor and Sara, turning the jungle into a dessert, all the while the wind is picking up speed.
Steven makes it back to the TARDIS before the worst of the effects have hit him.
The Doctor and Sara fight on against the elements and their own rapidly aging bodies. Daleks, safe inside their metal shells, search the dying landscape for the Time Destructor.
The Doctor and Sara collapse yards from the TARDIS. The Doctor's alien nature keeps him going longer, but even he succumbs.
Steven, seeing them on the scanner, leaves the protection of the ship and tries to save them. He's too late for Sara. Her ravaged elderly body becomes a dessicated corpse, and then bones, and then dust. Steven barely manages to get the Doctor into the ship in time.
In trying to save the Doctor, Steven made an adjustment to the Time Destructor, reversing the effect. Time came rushing in and kills the Daleks.
After the core of the Destructor has run itself out, the two remaining time travelers survey the scene. The Doctor is triumphant, until Steven reminds him of the cost of this victory, Katarina, Bret, and Sara.
Next up: War of God
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ep, 101 The Abandoned Planet
"It is clear that he knows that I can run this council without his aid. Now, gentlemen, we come to the main discussion before this meeting. The apportioning of the government of the universe after the conquest. All of you will be allowed to oversee your own galaxies. BUT... all of you will be responsible to the Dalek Supreme... and me!"
They are really stretching the plot pretty thin at this point.
I'm serious. Last episode the Doctor made a big deal about how the Monk's directional unit would either work or blow them to kingdom come. This one begins with the TARDIS not getting blown to kingdom come, therefore it must have worked.
But the Doctor spends five minutes thinking that they failed and they're going to have to steal another time machine to get back to Kembal and aren't there still some Egyptians kicking around, better check the scanner.
And voila, they're on Kembal.
God bless you Sara (not Jane) for being pissed at the Doctor after all that.
Back at the Dalek city, the leaders of the rest of the universe other than the Daleks and Mavic Chen have been growing increasingly agitated at not appearing in most of this serial. Seriously, funky gravity walking guy gets fewer lines than the guy whose shed got stolen back in The Feast of Steven.
They vote to banish Mavic Chen from the rest of the serial and take over as chief suck ups to the pepper pots when Chen and the Daleks return leading to an awkward moment on both sides.
Chen, demonstrating the suave sophistication that brought him to the highest office in the Solar System, tells the other delegates that, despite controlling GALAXIES, his contribution of some radioactive silly putty means that he gets to tell them what to do and if they don't like it he can yell louder, nyah nyah nee boo boo.
The Daleks leave and then return to imprison everyone. Thank you Daleks.
The travelers leave the TARDIS and head out to the Dalek city. They lose the Doctor and spend 10 minutes walking through the jungle talking about things that don't really advance the plot or develop character. OK, Sara (not Jane) does get a couple of OK lines, but they could have skipped the jungle walk scene without loosing anything.
Steven and Sara (not Jane) get to the Dalek city and discover that it's abandoned. When they get to a control room, they jump to the conclusion that the Daleks have captured the Doctor. They try to lure the Daleks to the control room by calling out over the intercom (the audio voice from last episode).
The delegates hear the dulcet tones of Sara (not Jane) and respond that they have been imprisoned by the Daleks and would you please let us out.
The delegates do make a decent argument; the Daleks betrayed us, let us out and we'll fight em and stuff.
The delegate ships fly off one by one. Until Chen's blows up.
The two travelers spot a Dalek and follow it underground in the hopes of finding the Doctor. Then Chen shows up and points a blaster at them.
Next up: The Destruction of Time
They are really stretching the plot pretty thin at this point.
I'm serious. Last episode the Doctor made a big deal about how the Monk's directional unit would either work or blow them to kingdom come. This one begins with the TARDIS not getting blown to kingdom come, therefore it must have worked.
But the Doctor spends five minutes thinking that they failed and they're going to have to steal another time machine to get back to Kembal and aren't there still some Egyptians kicking around, better check the scanner.
And voila, they're on Kembal.
God bless you Sara (not Jane) for being pissed at the Doctor after all that.
Back at the Dalek city, the leaders of the rest of the universe other than the Daleks and Mavic Chen have been growing increasingly agitated at not appearing in most of this serial. Seriously, funky gravity walking guy gets fewer lines than the guy whose shed got stolen back in The Feast of Steven.
They vote to banish Mavic Chen from the rest of the serial and take over as chief suck ups to the pepper pots when Chen and the Daleks return leading to an awkward moment on both sides.
Chen, demonstrating the suave sophistication that brought him to the highest office in the Solar System, tells the other delegates that, despite controlling GALAXIES, his contribution of some radioactive silly putty means that he gets to tell them what to do and if they don't like it he can yell louder, nyah nyah nee boo boo.
The Daleks leave and then return to imprison everyone. Thank you Daleks.
The travelers leave the TARDIS and head out to the Dalek city. They lose the Doctor and spend 10 minutes walking through the jungle talking about things that don't really advance the plot or develop character. OK, Sara (not Jane) does get a couple of OK lines, but they could have skipped the jungle walk scene without loosing anything.
Steven and Sara (not Jane) get to the Dalek city and discover that it's abandoned. When they get to a control room, they jump to the conclusion that the Daleks have captured the Doctor. They try to lure the Daleks to the control room by calling out over the intercom (the audio voice from last episode).
The delegates hear the dulcet tones of Sara (not Jane) and respond that they have been imprisoned by the Daleks and would you please let us out.
The delegates do make a decent argument; the Daleks betrayed us, let us out and we'll fight em and stuff.
The delegate ships fly off one by one. Until Chen's blows up.
The two travelers spot a Dalek and follow it underground in the hopes of finding the Doctor. Then Chen shows up and points a blaster at them.
Next up: The Destruction of Time
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Ep. 100 Escape Switch
"Only could be? You don't think I'd take the side with those creatures against you, do you? You do! This baffles me... It destroys my faith in human nature."
Part of the problem with The Dalek Master Plan is the fact that it is missing 9 of its twelve episodes (10 of 13 if you count Mission to the Unknown). That means that the story has to be carried through the audio for those of us not fortunate enough to have watched it live. Marco Polo is a good example of a serial where the acting was conveyed well enough through the spoken word that it comes alive for the listener (and again, Tegana may be my favorite first Doctor villain).
Having to (only) listen to the Daleks for 10 episodes grates on the nerves. Today's episode is complete; Ang and I watched it on the Lost In Time set that the Beeb put out a few years ago. The fact that we got the visuals, they had the Monk, the fact that the script, while based on a Terry Nation idea, was written by Dennis Spooner, all combined to make this a much more enjoyable experience than most previous episodes.
The mummy at the end of the last episode turned out to be the Monk. The Doctor wanted to keep him out of trouble and left him in a sarcophagus swathed in bandages.
Peter Butterworth is, as usual, great in the part of the Monk. It's a bit sad that he didn't return to the role later, but at least his last turn in the part ended up preserved on video (unlike Tegana).
He's the first Doctor's lovable villain and the biggest competition that Tegana gets for the prize of top 1st Doctor enemy.
The Monk tries to trick his way into the TARDIS only to be volunteered to join the two companions in their search for the Doctor.
Unfortunately their search plan involves shouting "DOCTOR, DOCTOR" over and over again until the Daleks find them.
When the Daleks come to kill them, the Monk claims that he has brought them as prisoners to force the Doctor into giving up the core. He then turns around and tells the two humans that he only said that so that the Daleks would spare their lives. The wonderful thing is, he might have been telling the truth.
The Daleks use "voice audio" (remember "pyro flames") to communicate to the Doctor. If he doesn't meet them, then his friends get blasted.
The native Egyptians hear the voice booming over the "voice audio." One thinks that it is the gods, but there is at least one Egyptian with some sense who figures that it's the same people who made fire throwing machines. It's nice to have a character from ancient times NOT written as a superstitious idiot.
The Egyptians plan a full on military assault on the machines.
The Doctor makes arrangements for an exchange of the core for his young friends and the Monk.
The exchange goes down. Before the two Daleks can exterminate the humans, the Egyptian military goes into full attack mode. Which doesn't really dent the Daleks, but it does buy the travelers time to get away.
The Monk slips away in the confusion going back to his own TARDIS to find that the Doctor has made it look like a Police Box. The Daleks see him get into a Police Box and dematerialize. They almost give chase thinking that this is the Doctor's TARDIS. The Monk ends up unable to control his flight through time and space thanks to the Doctor's sabotage.
The Doctor and the others reunite at the real TARDIS. The Doctor had to give Chen the real core. The only hope that they have to beat the Daleks is to use the circuit that the Doctor stole from the Monk's TARDIS. There's a chance that the circuit will allow them to get back to Kembal and there's a chance that the thing will cause the column to explode.
He tries it and the console erupts in smoke and light.
Next up: The Abandoned Planet
Part of the problem with The Dalek Master Plan is the fact that it is missing 9 of its twelve episodes (10 of 13 if you count Mission to the Unknown). That means that the story has to be carried through the audio for those of us not fortunate enough to have watched it live. Marco Polo is a good example of a serial where the acting was conveyed well enough through the spoken word that it comes alive for the listener (and again, Tegana may be my favorite first Doctor villain).
Having to (only) listen to the Daleks for 10 episodes grates on the nerves. Today's episode is complete; Ang and I watched it on the Lost In Time set that the Beeb put out a few years ago. The fact that we got the visuals, they had the Monk, the fact that the script, while based on a Terry Nation idea, was written by Dennis Spooner, all combined to make this a much more enjoyable experience than most previous episodes.
The mummy at the end of the last episode turned out to be the Monk. The Doctor wanted to keep him out of trouble and left him in a sarcophagus swathed in bandages.
Peter Butterworth is, as usual, great in the part of the Monk. It's a bit sad that he didn't return to the role later, but at least his last turn in the part ended up preserved on video (unlike Tegana).
He's the first Doctor's lovable villain and the biggest competition that Tegana gets for the prize of top 1st Doctor enemy.
The Monk tries to trick his way into the TARDIS only to be volunteered to join the two companions in their search for the Doctor.
Unfortunately their search plan involves shouting "DOCTOR, DOCTOR" over and over again until the Daleks find them.
When the Daleks come to kill them, the Monk claims that he has brought them as prisoners to force the Doctor into giving up the core. He then turns around and tells the two humans that he only said that so that the Daleks would spare their lives. The wonderful thing is, he might have been telling the truth.
The Daleks use "voice audio" (remember "pyro flames") to communicate to the Doctor. If he doesn't meet them, then his friends get blasted.
The native Egyptians hear the voice booming over the "voice audio." One thinks that it is the gods, but there is at least one Egyptian with some sense who figures that it's the same people who made fire throwing machines. It's nice to have a character from ancient times NOT written as a superstitious idiot.
The Egyptians plan a full on military assault on the machines.
The Doctor makes arrangements for an exchange of the core for his young friends and the Monk.
The exchange goes down. Before the two Daleks can exterminate the humans, the Egyptian military goes into full attack mode. Which doesn't really dent the Daleks, but it does buy the travelers time to get away.
The Monk slips away in the confusion going back to his own TARDIS to find that the Doctor has made it look like a Police Box. The Daleks see him get into a Police Box and dematerialize. They almost give chase thinking that this is the Doctor's TARDIS. The Monk ends up unable to control his flight through time and space thanks to the Doctor's sabotage.
The Doctor and the others reunite at the real TARDIS. The Doctor had to give Chen the real core. The only hope that they have to beat the Daleks is to use the circuit that the Doctor stole from the Monk's TARDIS. There's a chance that the circuit will allow them to get back to Kembal and there's a chance that the thing will cause the column to explode.
He tries it and the console erupts in smoke and light.
Next up: The Abandoned Planet
Ep. 99 Golden Death
"Now Doctor, look, let's talk this over like civilized time-travelers."
The TARDIS has landed in ancient Egypt when the pharaohs ruled and the pyramids were state of the art. The Doctor decides that they need to repair the lock that the Monk damaged last episode and shouldn't move on despite being pursued by two different time travelers.
Mavic Chen and the Daleks are confused by the fact that the TARDIS doesn't dematerialize. I'm a little surprised that the Daleks aren't more suspicious; the last time that the Doctor stopped to take his breath during a time chase, they ended up getting there ass kicked.
The Daleks and Chen arrive properly in Egypt.
The TARDIS crew assume that the time machine that has just arrived is the Monk's. Steven and Sara (not Jane) go off to encounter what they believe to be the Monk. They spy the Daleks and Chen, but are grabbed by some Egyptian guards before they can do anything.
The Egyptians go after the Daleks next. The Egyptians have loin cloths and sticks with sharp pieces of metal on them; the Daleks have bonded polycarbide armor and projected high energy weapons. Guess who wins.
The Doctor finishes repairs on the lock and goes off to find Steven and Sara (not Jane). While out and about he sees the Monks TARDIS materialize. He realizes that his companions have gone off to meet the Dalek time machine.
The Egyptians regroup some distance from the Daleks. Steven and Sara (not Jane) are tied up, feigning unconsciousness when they are left lightly guarded. The Egyptians believe the two human time travelers to be in league with the "fire throwing machines" and aren't too friendly.
There is a bit that I would dearly love to see (this is a lost episode). The Monk is walking along towards the Doctor's TARDIS still dressed in his robes from 1066 (with some sunglasses for eye protection and bling value). He's about to bump into someone and decides to fall back on the pious routine. Unfortunately for him, the creature he says "good morning, my son" to, while keeping his head lowered, is a Dalek.
The Daleks want to exterminate him. Chen wants to use him. The Monk just wants to be left alone to wreck his "terrible vengeance" on the Doctor, although he defers that the Daleks probably have the prior claim.
That's the thing that I love about the Monk; he's polite. And not in that James Bond mega-villain way where it's just for form's sake and appearance. The Monk is the sort of fellow who, upon capturing you, will spend half an hour fussing over getting your breakfast just right, making sure to use the guest china and using the good butter for your toast. They don't make villains like that anymore and he's a welcome addition to this very long story.
The Monk agrees to get the core or be killed. He moves off after the Doctor's TARDIS using a fancy dancy TARDIS magnet (well that's what they called it in The Chase anyway).
Meanwhile, the Doctor gets into the Monks TARDIS and changes the outer form to that of a 1960s Police Box. He is very pleased with himself as he walks off carrying some piece of circuitry.
Sara (not Jane) and Steven have cut their way through their bonds with a shard of pottery, since that is what one does when one is tied up by ancient Egyptians.
The two beat the living snot out of the guards. The narration on the audio makes Sara (not Jane) seem like Doctor Who's answer to Emma Peel, which is cool, but raises the question of why she didn't use those moves to take down Steven and the Doctor when they held her prisoner back on Mira. Oh wait, that was a Terry Nation script, I forgot.
The Doctor confronts the Monk outside of the TARDIS, which has been dragged into the tomb proper with the other treasures. The scenes between the Monk and the Doctor are always good and this is no exception.
The escaping companions come towards the tomb looking for the TARDIS. Before they meet the Doctor and the Monk, they encounter what looks to be a mummy.
Next up:Escape Switch
The TARDIS has landed in ancient Egypt when the pharaohs ruled and the pyramids were state of the art. The Doctor decides that they need to repair the lock that the Monk damaged last episode and shouldn't move on despite being pursued by two different time travelers.
Mavic Chen and the Daleks are confused by the fact that the TARDIS doesn't dematerialize. I'm a little surprised that the Daleks aren't more suspicious; the last time that the Doctor stopped to take his breath during a time chase, they ended up getting there ass kicked.
The Daleks and Chen arrive properly in Egypt.
The TARDIS crew assume that the time machine that has just arrived is the Monk's. Steven and Sara (not Jane) go off to encounter what they believe to be the Monk. They spy the Daleks and Chen, but are grabbed by some Egyptian guards before they can do anything.
The Egyptians go after the Daleks next. The Egyptians have loin cloths and sticks with sharp pieces of metal on them; the Daleks have bonded polycarbide armor and projected high energy weapons. Guess who wins.
The Doctor finishes repairs on the lock and goes off to find Steven and Sara (not Jane). While out and about he sees the Monks TARDIS materialize. He realizes that his companions have gone off to meet the Dalek time machine.
The Egyptians regroup some distance from the Daleks. Steven and Sara (not Jane) are tied up, feigning unconsciousness when they are left lightly guarded. The Egyptians believe the two human time travelers to be in league with the "fire throwing machines" and aren't too friendly.
There is a bit that I would dearly love to see (this is a lost episode). The Monk is walking along towards the Doctor's TARDIS still dressed in his robes from 1066 (with some sunglasses for eye protection and bling value). He's about to bump into someone and decides to fall back on the pious routine. Unfortunately for him, the creature he says "good morning, my son" to, while keeping his head lowered, is a Dalek.
The Daleks want to exterminate him. Chen wants to use him. The Monk just wants to be left alone to wreck his "terrible vengeance" on the Doctor, although he defers that the Daleks probably have the prior claim.
That's the thing that I love about the Monk; he's polite. And not in that James Bond mega-villain way where it's just for form's sake and appearance. The Monk is the sort of fellow who, upon capturing you, will spend half an hour fussing over getting your breakfast just right, making sure to use the guest china and using the good butter for your toast. They don't make villains like that anymore and he's a welcome addition to this very long story.
The Monk agrees to get the core or be killed. He moves off after the Doctor's TARDIS using a fancy dancy TARDIS magnet (well that's what they called it in The Chase anyway).
Meanwhile, the Doctor gets into the Monks TARDIS and changes the outer form to that of a 1960s Police Box. He is very pleased with himself as he walks off carrying some piece of circuitry.
Sara (not Jane) and Steven have cut their way through their bonds with a shard of pottery, since that is what one does when one is tied up by ancient Egyptians.
The two beat the living snot out of the guards. The narration on the audio makes Sara (not Jane) seem like Doctor Who's answer to Emma Peel, which is cool, but raises the question of why she didn't use those moves to take down Steven and the Doctor when they held her prisoner back on Mira. Oh wait, that was a Terry Nation script, I forgot.
The Doctor confronts the Monk outside of the TARDIS, which has been dragged into the tomb proper with the other treasures. The scenes between the Monk and the Doctor are always good and this is no exception.
The escaping companions come towards the tomb looking for the TARDIS. Before they meet the Doctor and the Monk, they encounter what looks to be a mummy.
Next up:Escape Switch
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Ep. 98 Volcano
"Well this really is extraordinary. You don't remember anything like this happening before, do you, Scott?"
While the Doctor and crew are toasting Christmas on board the TARDIS, the Daleks are performing tests on the Time Destructor. And by tests, I mean that they are going to try to use it to kill Trantiss, the seaweed delegate that the Doctor impersonated a few episodes back.
This fails leading to a lot of shouting between the Daleks and Mavic Chen. Chen comes off as a whiny bastard in this scene. Actually he has come off as a whiny bastard for a few episodes. Kevin Stoney (who plays Chen) will be back to play one of the series all-time best villains, Tobias Vaughn, in a couple years, so I don't place the blame on the actor. I know that he can deliver the goods. I place the blame on the script.
The Daleks decide to take off after the Doctor to get the real core. A time ship is summoned from Skaro.
The TARDIS sensors have picked up a craft following them. The Doctor is surprised that the Daleks would have gotten to them so quickly. Steven can't think of anyone else who might be following them.
The Doctor decides to take drastic action and lands. On the middle of a cricket pitch. In the middle of a game. Most of this bit is carried by two sports announcers trying to make heads or tails of the odd happening. It's a fun and funny bit that works, at least on audio. The actors playing the announcers are wonderfully unflappable as they banter back and forth.
The TARDIS dematerializes and then materializes on the planet Tigus. The travelers find themselves in a volcanic landscape. The TARDIS scanners pick up on the other time craft arriving nearby. The Doctor decides to investigate, not convinced that the other ship belongs to the Daleks.
It turns out to be the Monk's TARDIS. I have to say that after half a dozen episodes of shrill and vile pepper pots, it's nice to see Peter Butterworth take a turn as baddie.
The Monk managed to get out of 1066 England, but not comfortably. He's been looking for the Doctor to have his revenge. Said revenge being to burn the TARDIS lock so that the travelers are trapped on Tigus until the Monk one day returns to release them. A nice shout out to the Doctor's letter to the Monk in the earlier serial.
I'm not thrilled with the way they got the Doctor out of this one. He takes off his special ring and reflects light from the sun onto the lock of the TARDIS. The TARDIS doors open. He (rather nebulously) explains that the star in this galaxy (he meant star system, the series is really bad at differentiating between star system, galaxy, and universe at times) has unusual properties that interact with the unusual properties of his ring.
When the ring was last discussed (back in The Web Planet serial) I didn't remember it having come up again. I had forgotten about this usage. With good reason, it's a cheap deus ex machina.
The travelers are off again with the Monk in hot, albeit polite, pursuit.
The TARDIS' next stop is London January 1, 1966. I think that the TARDIS missed Barbara and Ian and wanted to check in on them. My more practical self notes that this episode aired on New Years Day.
The Daleks have gotten their tin butts in gear at this point and are also following the TARDIS.
So far Sara (not Jane) has traveled with the Doctor to:
the planet Mira (via teleport)
the planet Kembel (via Dalek ship)
20th century Liverpool (via TARDIS)
early 20th century Hollywood (ditto)
20th century(?) Australia (ditto)
the planet Tigus (ditto)
That's a fair number of trips in a small number of episodes and she still has a few episodes to go. This may be the best argument that she qualifies as a companion, but I'll hold off on that debate until the end of the story.
Next up: Golden Death
While the Doctor and crew are toasting Christmas on board the TARDIS, the Daleks are performing tests on the Time Destructor. And by tests, I mean that they are going to try to use it to kill Trantiss, the seaweed delegate that the Doctor impersonated a few episodes back.
This fails leading to a lot of shouting between the Daleks and Mavic Chen. Chen comes off as a whiny bastard in this scene. Actually he has come off as a whiny bastard for a few episodes. Kevin Stoney (who plays Chen) will be back to play one of the series all-time best villains, Tobias Vaughn, in a couple years, so I don't place the blame on the actor. I know that he can deliver the goods. I place the blame on the script.
The Daleks decide to take off after the Doctor to get the real core. A time ship is summoned from Skaro.
The TARDIS sensors have picked up a craft following them. The Doctor is surprised that the Daleks would have gotten to them so quickly. Steven can't think of anyone else who might be following them.
The Doctor decides to take drastic action and lands. On the middle of a cricket pitch. In the middle of a game. Most of this bit is carried by two sports announcers trying to make heads or tails of the odd happening. It's a fun and funny bit that works, at least on audio. The actors playing the announcers are wonderfully unflappable as they banter back and forth.
The TARDIS dematerializes and then materializes on the planet Tigus. The travelers find themselves in a volcanic landscape. The TARDIS scanners pick up on the other time craft arriving nearby. The Doctor decides to investigate, not convinced that the other ship belongs to the Daleks.
It turns out to be the Monk's TARDIS. I have to say that after half a dozen episodes of shrill and vile pepper pots, it's nice to see Peter Butterworth take a turn as baddie.
The Monk managed to get out of 1066 England, but not comfortably. He's been looking for the Doctor to have his revenge. Said revenge being to burn the TARDIS lock so that the travelers are trapped on Tigus until the Monk one day returns to release them. A nice shout out to the Doctor's letter to the Monk in the earlier serial.
I'm not thrilled with the way they got the Doctor out of this one. He takes off his special ring and reflects light from the sun onto the lock of the TARDIS. The TARDIS doors open. He (rather nebulously) explains that the star in this galaxy (he meant star system, the series is really bad at differentiating between star system, galaxy, and universe at times) has unusual properties that interact with the unusual properties of his ring.
When the ring was last discussed (back in The Web Planet serial) I didn't remember it having come up again. I had forgotten about this usage. With good reason, it's a cheap deus ex machina.
The travelers are off again with the Monk in hot, albeit polite, pursuit.
The TARDIS' next stop is London January 1, 1966. I think that the TARDIS missed Barbara and Ian and wanted to check in on them. My more practical self notes that this episode aired on New Years Day.
The Daleks have gotten their tin butts in gear at this point and are also following the TARDIS.
So far Sara (not Jane) has traveled with the Doctor to:
the planet Mira (via teleport)
the planet Kembel (via Dalek ship)
20th century Liverpool (via TARDIS)
early 20th century Hollywood (ditto)
20th century(?) Australia (ditto)
the planet Tigus (ditto)
That's a fair number of trips in a small number of episodes and she still has a few episodes to go. This may be the best argument that she qualifies as a companion, but I'll hold off on that debate until the end of the story.
Next up: Golden Death
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Ep. 97 The Feast of Steven
"Well, I suppose you might say that I am a citizen of the universe...and a gentleman, to boot!"
"Incidentally a happy Christmas to all of you at home!"
So the poisonous atmosphere outside the TARDIS turned out to be Liverpool circa 1966.
I will say three things about this scene.
There is an in-joke between Hartnell and an extra who was in The Crusade.
This was supposed to have featured a crossover between Doctor Who and the popular police drama Z Cars.
The more that I think about it, the more Sara (not Jane) sounds like Leela.
After some uninspired hi-jinks, the Doctor and friends dematerialize and appear in the middle of a 1920's movie set. We are treated to the Keystone cops, Sara (not Jane) getting asked to take her clothes off, and every cliche of movie making from the silent era including interstial cards, dramatic piano music, and a fiendish death trap involving a sawmill.
This is 100% pure padding. They didn't want Christmas viewers turning in to witness death and destruction so they decided to insert some random, humorous, trips in the TARDIS. The silent screen stuff seems to work better than the police station scenes.
This is the one that ends with the Doctor breaking the fourth wall.
On the plus side, I believe that the rest of the serial is written by Dennis Spooner instead of Terry Nation. Although, it is based on a Terry Nation idea.
Next up: Volcano
"Incidentally a happy Christmas to all of you at home!"
So the poisonous atmosphere outside the TARDIS turned out to be Liverpool circa 1966.
I will say three things about this scene.
There is an in-joke between Hartnell and an extra who was in The Crusade.
This was supposed to have featured a crossover between Doctor Who and the popular police drama Z Cars.
The more that I think about it, the more Sara (not Jane) sounds like Leela.
After some uninspired hi-jinks, the Doctor and friends dematerialize and appear in the middle of a 1920's movie set. We are treated to the Keystone cops, Sara (not Jane) getting asked to take her clothes off, and every cliche of movie making from the silent era including interstial cards, dramatic piano music, and a fiendish death trap involving a sawmill.
This is 100% pure padding. They didn't want Christmas viewers turning in to witness death and destruction so they decided to insert some random, humorous, trips in the TARDIS. The silent screen stuff seems to work better than the police station scenes.
This is the one that ends with the Doctor breaking the fourth wall.
On the plus side, I believe that the rest of the serial is written by Dennis Spooner instead of Terry Nation. Although, it is based on a Terry Nation idea.
Next up: Volcano
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Ep. 96 Coronas of the Sun
"You make your incompetence sound like an achievement."
The Doctor, Steven and Sara (not Jane) are surrounded by Daleks intent on taking the Tarranium from their cold dead hands. While the Doctor and the Daleks are shouting at one another, the native Visians (who are invisible, remember this is from the same guy who came up with "pyro-flames") attack the giant pepper pots.
Not that it does much good. The Visians manage to knock one Dalek into the mud, but the rest get zapped and driven off.
This does buy the Doctor enough time to run to the Dalek ship and, with a little maneuvering by Steven and Sara (not Jane), and a mud pie capture the Dalek ship.
Back on Kembal, the Daleks confront the freshly arrived Mavic Chen on his massive bungling of the situation. Chen tries to defend himself and receives a put down so awesome that I chose to make it today's quote. While they're bitching about Chen, word comes of the complete and utter failure of the team sent to Mira.
While Mavic Chen is playing spin doctor with the Daleks, the Doctor decides that they need to make a fake Tarranium core. The Daleks try to use remote control to get their ship back. Steven bangs the back up control unit off the control board. The Daleks get pissed and do some magnetic wave crap that only makes sense if you remind yourself that this was based on a Terry Nation idea.
Awaiting their arrival at Kembal, the Doctor makes a copy of the core. The only problem is, it doesn't glow. Steven suggests using future energy tech, but his future energy tech knowledge is laughably out of date compared to the energy tech knowledge of Sara (not Jane).
I just realized that the character of Leela is pretty much an amalgam of Katarina and Sara Kingdom. What an odd revelation to have.
They end up leaving Steven alone with the fake core and he decides that his idea is best and does something not dissimilar to sticking a knife into an electric outlet. He nearly dies, but the core glows real pretty.
Somehow Steven is now covered in a force field and is more or less catatonic. The Doctor manages to sort of hypnotize him and turn him into an indestructible Core Carrier. Based on a Terry Nation idea.
The Doctor and company arrive on Kembal. They refuse to turn over the core until they are outside the TARDIS. The Doctor and Sara (not Jane) get into the ship and the Doctor orders Steven to hand over the (fake) core and get into the TARDIS.
The Daleks fire, Steven is OK. Actually the Dalek fire destroys the force field making Steven act normal again. The TARDIS leaves and we're going to be seeing the first Christmas special tomorrow.
Next up: The Feast of Steven
The Doctor, Steven and Sara (not Jane) are surrounded by Daleks intent on taking the Tarranium from their cold dead hands. While the Doctor and the Daleks are shouting at one another, the native Visians (who are invisible, remember this is from the same guy who came up with "pyro-flames") attack the giant pepper pots.
Not that it does much good. The Visians manage to knock one Dalek into the mud, but the rest get zapped and driven off.
This does buy the Doctor enough time to run to the Dalek ship and, with a little maneuvering by Steven and Sara (not Jane), and a mud pie capture the Dalek ship.
Back on Kembal, the Daleks confront the freshly arrived Mavic Chen on his massive bungling of the situation. Chen tries to defend himself and receives a put down so awesome that I chose to make it today's quote. While they're bitching about Chen, word comes of the complete and utter failure of the team sent to Mira.
While Mavic Chen is playing spin doctor with the Daleks, the Doctor decides that they need to make a fake Tarranium core. The Daleks try to use remote control to get their ship back. Steven bangs the back up control unit off the control board. The Daleks get pissed and do some magnetic wave crap that only makes sense if you remind yourself that this was based on a Terry Nation idea.
Awaiting their arrival at Kembal, the Doctor makes a copy of the core. The only problem is, it doesn't glow. Steven suggests using future energy tech, but his future energy tech knowledge is laughably out of date compared to the energy tech knowledge of Sara (not Jane).
I just realized that the character of Leela is pretty much an amalgam of Katarina and Sara Kingdom. What an odd revelation to have.
They end up leaving Steven alone with the fake core and he decides that his idea is best and does something not dissimilar to sticking a knife into an electric outlet. He nearly dies, but the core glows real pretty.
Somehow Steven is now covered in a force field and is more or less catatonic. The Doctor manages to sort of hypnotize him and turn him into an indestructible Core Carrier. Based on a Terry Nation idea.
The Doctor and company arrive on Kembal. They refuse to turn over the core until they are outside the TARDIS. The Doctor and Sara (not Jane) get into the ship and the Doctor orders Steven to hand over the (fake) core and get into the TARDIS.
The Daleks fire, Steven is OK. Actually the Dalek fire destroys the force field making Steven act normal again. The TARDIS leaves and we're going to be seeing the first Christmas special tomorrow.
Next up: The Feast of Steven
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ep. 95 Counterplot
"The mice couldn't have done that!"
So we're back to normal and getting back into the swing of things.
In the last episode we were introduced to Sara Kingdom, badass Space Security Agent. Sort of a far future Emma Peel with a blaster gun and a license to kill.
She used said license to eliminate Bret Vyon (I referred to him as The Shaved Brigadier in the last post.) This sets up Sara becoming the surrogate companion for the rest of the serial. Most official Doctor Who reference material indicates that she is an official companion.
Angela doesn't believe that she should count as a companion. I can see her points. I also know that what defines a companion varies from era to era. Hartnell didn't take people into the TARDIS as often as some future doctors. Davison, despite his protests, practically ran a god damned taxi service.
As you can probably tell from the last post, I'm not loving the Dalek Masterplan. There's a lot of running around, no character development and Terry Nation.
Angela has gotten seriously annoyed at Hartnell's little mannerisms. As the series has progressed the cackling and the hmms have gotten more and more frequent and Angela is suffering from a bit of Hartnell fatigue.
Part of the problem is Hartnell's health at this point. Doctor Who production, at that time, was grueling for a healthy man. Going through it for two and a half years while fighting the disease that would eventually kill him, effected the quality of his performance.
Hartnell was also increasingly alone. Jacquelin Hill, Bill Russel, Carol Anne Ford and Verity Lambert had all left by this point. Maureen O'Brien transitioned in well, but was also gone. Hartnell actively disliked the higher ups and they were considering replacing him.
We're five episodes into a serial that we don't like and we aren't even halfway through.
Next up: Coronas of the Sun
So we're back to normal and getting back into the swing of things.
In the last episode we were introduced to Sara Kingdom, badass Space Security Agent. Sort of a far future Emma Peel with a blaster gun and a license to kill.
She used said license to eliminate Bret Vyon (I referred to him as The Shaved Brigadier in the last post.) This sets up Sara becoming the surrogate companion for the rest of the serial. Most official Doctor Who reference material indicates that she is an official companion.
Angela doesn't believe that she should count as a companion. I can see her points. I also know that what defines a companion varies from era to era. Hartnell didn't take people into the TARDIS as often as some future doctors. Davison, despite his protests, practically ran a god damned taxi service.
As you can probably tell from the last post, I'm not loving the Dalek Masterplan. There's a lot of running around, no character development and Terry Nation.
Angela has gotten seriously annoyed at Hartnell's little mannerisms. As the series has progressed the cackling and the hmms have gotten more and more frequent and Angela is suffering from a bit of Hartnell fatigue.
Part of the problem is Hartnell's health at this point. Doctor Who production, at that time, was grueling for a healthy man. Going through it for two and a half years while fighting the disease that would eventually kill him, effected the quality of his performance.
Hartnell was also increasingly alone. Jacquelin Hill, Bill Russel, Carol Anne Ford and Verity Lambert had all left by this point. Maureen O'Brien transitioned in well, but was also gone. Hartnell actively disliked the higher ups and they were considering replacing him.
We're five episodes into a serial that we don't like and we aren't even halfway through.
Next up: Coronas of the Sun
Monday, November 7, 2011
Ep. 91-94 Catch Up
Ep. 91 The Nightmare Begins
Ep. 92 Day of Armageddon
Ep. 93 Devil's Planet
Ep. 94 The Traitors
"She didn't understand. She couldn't understand. She wanted to save our lives. And perhaps the lives of all the other beings of the Solar System. I hope she's found her Perfection."
Things have been crazy around here lately and the blog has suffered for it. The watching/listening has continued as scheduled, but I've been unable to take the time and mental resources to make the daily post. This will be a quick catch up on what has happened so far.
The TARDIS lands on the jungle of Kembal, not to far away from where Space James Bond died back in Mission to the Unknown. Steven is dieing from blood poisoning brought on by a Trojan trying to introduce too much iron into his diet.
Space James Bond Jr (actually a shaved Brigadier) is following in the path of Space James Bond and has found the Dalek presence on Kembal. The Shaved Brigadier takes the TARDIS key from the Doctor and tries to fly the TARDIS away when the Doctor returns to the ship and traps him in a magic chair.
I'm not kidding about the magic chair.
The Doctor leaves The Shaved Brigadier in the magic chair to find medicine in the jungle for the dieing astronaut. (Now there's a sentence that I never thought that I'd write.)
It turns out that The Shaved Brigadier has some hypertech medicine on him and manages to get Katarina to give it to Steven who promptly doesn't die.
The Daleks show up and everyone else leaves the TARDIS to get away from them.
Back on earth Mavic Chen (that's his real name, not some wiseass nickname) the leader of the Solar System gives a stirring speech while a pair of space switchboard operators watch. This is actually a fairly nice scene. Just a couple of co-workers, one male, one female goofing off a little and providing exposition. She is comes back at least once. There's a part of me that imagines these two developing a relationship, maybe getting married (or whatever they do in the year 4000) and having kids (or whatever they are in the year 4000.)
The big nugget of news is that Chen is going on a mysterious holiday.
Not so mysterious for the viewers though; he shows up on Kembal to join the delegates.
The Daleks start burning the jungle with "pyro-flames" (T]thank you, Terry Nation) so our intrepid do gooders decide to steal Chen's ship. On the way in, they find a walking pile of seaweed in a black robe, beat it senseless, strip it's robe off and put it on the Doctor so that he can infiltrate the meeting.
While the Doctor breaks into the meeting, the rest of them go to lowjack Chen's ride.
It turns out that the Daleks have made a Time Destructor. Seems the natural next step after mastering "pyro-flames." The only thing that they need to complete it is some Tarranium, the rarest metal in the Universe, only found on one of the dead planets in the Solar System. Chen has brought it in the hopes of gaining control of something bigger than the one star system.
The walking seaweed wakes up and hits the panic alarm. While everyone is panicking, the Doctor steals the Tarranium and runs to the Chen's ship.
Katarina whines and fails to use contractions. In fairness, she may be older than contractions.
The Daleks force the runaway ship to crash on Desperus, "the penal planet of the Solar System." Why the Solar System keeps a penal planet in another star system isn't exactly clear, but this is a Terry Nation script so clarity isn't always a given.
The ship crashes on Desperus. Some homicidal maniacs try to take over the ship. Katarina opens an airlock door and kills herself and the maniac.
In all seriousness, I do feel bad about the treatment that the character received. She was thrown into the TARDIS without much introduction and then got thrust into a breakneck story that didn't allow many pauses to develop character. Leela is proof that a primitive companion could work; they could have made Katarina work if they had given her a chance.
I've heard that she was killed because they didn't know what to do with her. I think that she may have been created to get killed off, emphasizing the danger that the Dalek Masterplan threatened.
Anyway, the Daleks forget that they have a machine that can remote control the ship that the Doctor's on and let them head to Earth.
Chen has beaten them back to Earth and has arranged security to deal with the Doctor, Steven and the Shaved Brigadier. Chief among those arrangements is special agent Sara Kingdom, professional badass and sister to Richard the Lionhearted.
Next up: Counter Plot
Ep. 92 Day of Armageddon
Ep. 93 Devil's Planet
Ep. 94 The Traitors
"She didn't understand. She couldn't understand. She wanted to save our lives. And perhaps the lives of all the other beings of the Solar System. I hope she's found her Perfection."
Things have been crazy around here lately and the blog has suffered for it. The watching/listening has continued as scheduled, but I've been unable to take the time and mental resources to make the daily post. This will be a quick catch up on what has happened so far.
The TARDIS lands on the jungle of Kembal, not to far away from where Space James Bond died back in Mission to the Unknown. Steven is dieing from blood poisoning brought on by a Trojan trying to introduce too much iron into his diet.
Space James Bond Jr (actually a shaved Brigadier) is following in the path of Space James Bond and has found the Dalek presence on Kembal. The Shaved Brigadier takes the TARDIS key from the Doctor and tries to fly the TARDIS away when the Doctor returns to the ship and traps him in a magic chair.
I'm not kidding about the magic chair.
The Doctor leaves The Shaved Brigadier in the magic chair to find medicine in the jungle for the dieing astronaut. (Now there's a sentence that I never thought that I'd write.)
It turns out that The Shaved Brigadier has some hypertech medicine on him and manages to get Katarina to give it to Steven who promptly doesn't die.
The Daleks show up and everyone else leaves the TARDIS to get away from them.
Back on earth Mavic Chen (that's his real name, not some wiseass nickname) the leader of the Solar System gives a stirring speech while a pair of space switchboard operators watch. This is actually a fairly nice scene. Just a couple of co-workers, one male, one female goofing off a little and providing exposition. She is comes back at least once. There's a part of me that imagines these two developing a relationship, maybe getting married (or whatever they do in the year 4000) and having kids (or whatever they are in the year 4000.)
The big nugget of news is that Chen is going on a mysterious holiday.
Not so mysterious for the viewers though; he shows up on Kembal to join the delegates.
The Daleks start burning the jungle with "pyro-flames" (T]thank you, Terry Nation) so our intrepid do gooders decide to steal Chen's ship. On the way in, they find a walking pile of seaweed in a black robe, beat it senseless, strip it's robe off and put it on the Doctor so that he can infiltrate the meeting.
While the Doctor breaks into the meeting, the rest of them go to lowjack Chen's ride.
It turns out that the Daleks have made a Time Destructor. Seems the natural next step after mastering "pyro-flames." The only thing that they need to complete it is some Tarranium, the rarest metal in the Universe, only found on one of the dead planets in the Solar System. Chen has brought it in the hopes of gaining control of something bigger than the one star system.
The walking seaweed wakes up and hits the panic alarm. While everyone is panicking, the Doctor steals the Tarranium and runs to the Chen's ship.
Katarina whines and fails to use contractions. In fairness, she may be older than contractions.
The Daleks force the runaway ship to crash on Desperus, "the penal planet of the Solar System." Why the Solar System keeps a penal planet in another star system isn't exactly clear, but this is a Terry Nation script so clarity isn't always a given.
The ship crashes on Desperus. Some homicidal maniacs try to take over the ship. Katarina opens an airlock door and kills herself and the maniac.
In all seriousness, I do feel bad about the treatment that the character received. She was thrown into the TARDIS without much introduction and then got thrust into a breakneck story that didn't allow many pauses to develop character. Leela is proof that a primitive companion could work; they could have made Katarina work if they had given her a chance.
I've heard that she was killed because they didn't know what to do with her. I think that she may have been created to get killed off, emphasizing the danger that the Dalek Masterplan threatened.
Anyway, the Daleks forget that they have a machine that can remote control the ship that the Doctor's on and let them head to Earth.
Chen has beaten them back to Earth and has arranged security to deal with the Doctor, Steven and the Shaved Brigadier. Chief among those arrangements is special agent Sara Kingdom, professional badass and sister to Richard the Lionhearted.
Next up: Counter Plot
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Ep. 90 Horse of Destruction
"There's only us now."
Vicki says her goodbye to the Doctor offscreen and I don't have a problem with it.
The goodbye that Susan had was amazing and the writers realized that they weren't going to top it. They chose instead to save the emotional heart of the piece for the scene with Vicki and Troilus on the plains of Troy.
I have to give credit to Maureen O'Brien's acting. She emotes so well in this scene. She is in turns a teenager in love, a vulnerable orphan in a strange land, and a woman who embraces the future that has been ordained for her.
From what I'm led to believe, Maureen O'Brien vented about the way that Vicki was being handled. The new production team that was gearing up to take over thought that she wanted out and made the decision to write Vicki out after this serial. O'Brien was very much put out when she found out that she wasn't going to have a steady paycheck.
It also pissed William Hartnell off, leading to a bitter acrimony between him and the incoming production team.
The new companion, Katarina, isn't given the greatest intro in Who history. Vicki had two episodes dedicated to introducing her, Steven was the pivotal character in the episode where he debuted, Katarina gets a few lines and hangs her head at Cassandra.
She does have an interesting conceit. She believes that she is dead and that she is on the journey to the afterlife. It is something that a writer can work with, but considering the fact that Katarina is written out of the series part way through the next serial, I don't think that they were up to the challenge.
The comedic strokes give way to the gritty violence of the sacking of Troy. They don't focus too much on it, but there is a definite shift in tone. I think that it's needed to segue into the upcoming Dalek story and to give Vicki the dramatic backdrop to leave the series.
Next up: The Nightmare Begins
Vicki says her goodbye to the Doctor offscreen and I don't have a problem with it.
The goodbye that Susan had was amazing and the writers realized that they weren't going to top it. They chose instead to save the emotional heart of the piece for the scene with Vicki and Troilus on the plains of Troy.
I have to give credit to Maureen O'Brien's acting. She emotes so well in this scene. She is in turns a teenager in love, a vulnerable orphan in a strange land, and a woman who embraces the future that has been ordained for her.
From what I'm led to believe, Maureen O'Brien vented about the way that Vicki was being handled. The new production team that was gearing up to take over thought that she wanted out and made the decision to write Vicki out after this serial. O'Brien was very much put out when she found out that she wasn't going to have a steady paycheck.
It also pissed William Hartnell off, leading to a bitter acrimony between him and the incoming production team.
The new companion, Katarina, isn't given the greatest intro in Who history. Vicki had two episodes dedicated to introducing her, Steven was the pivotal character in the episode where he debuted, Katarina gets a few lines and hangs her head at Cassandra.
She does have an interesting conceit. She believes that she is dead and that she is on the journey to the afterlife. It is something that a writer can work with, but considering the fact that Katarina is written out of the series part way through the next serial, I don't think that they were up to the challenge.
The comedic strokes give way to the gritty violence of the sacking of Troy. They don't focus too much on it, but there is a definite shift in tone. I think that it's needed to segue into the upcoming Dalek story and to give Vicki the dramatic backdrop to leave the series.
Next up: The Nightmare Begins
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Ep. 89 Death of a Spy
"This war with the Greeks has been going on for ten long years! And frankly, we're very bored with being penned up here."
This continues to be great. Everything that worked in the last episode carried over into this one and we got to "see" the initial courtship of Vicki (Cressida) and Troilius.
That, of course, means that we will be soon saying goodbye to Vicki. It's a shame, too. There were some stretches where she wasn't that well used, but she was given a LOT more to work with than Susan and she really came into her own once she was paired opposite Steven.
I'm not thrilled with the trend that started with Susan of the young female companion falling in love and staying behind to be with him. On the other hand, I have to give credit to the writer and actors who made this infatuation believable.
Find this story on CD or the internet and listen to it. It's worth it.
Next up: Horse of Destruction
This continues to be great. Everything that worked in the last episode carried over into this one and we got to "see" the initial courtship of Vicki (Cressida) and Troilius.
That, of course, means that we will be soon saying goodbye to Vicki. It's a shame, too. There were some stretches where she wasn't that well used, but she was given a LOT more to work with than Susan and she really came into her own once she was paired opposite Steven.
I'm not thrilled with the trend that started with Susan of the young female companion falling in love and staying behind to be with him. On the other hand, I have to give credit to the writer and actors who made this infatuation believable.
Find this story on CD or the internet and listen to it. It's worth it.
Next up: Horse of Destruction
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Ep. 88 Small Prophet, Quick Return
"Oh! My dear boy, I couldn't possibly suggest that. The whole story is obviously absurd. Probably invented by Homer as some good dramatic device. No, I think it'd be completely impractical."
Remember the old Aesop and Son bits from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? Take them, add the Trojan War and the TARDIS crew and you have this episode. And it works.
Really.
The dialog and characterization of the Greeks last episode made me chuckle; the Trojans made me laugh out loud.
Paris steals the show as the cowardly braggart who snipes at his sister Cassandra. Cassandra comes off as a bit one-dimensional, but she is mostly used as a foil for Paris. King Priam plays the bemused father very well.
The episode begins with the Doctor and Steven going out to the plain where the TARDIS had landed. Footprints indicate that the TARDIS was brought to Troy. Odysseus takes this as proof that the Doctor is a spy and demands that father Zeus kill Steven with a thunder bolt to prove his divinity. The Doctor eventually relents and confesses that he is not Zeus and that Steven is a friend of his.
Agamemnon orders Odysseus to kill the spies and then leaves. Odysseus decides to get the truth out of them before their death. And they tell him about there time travel.
Odysseus has known some liars in his time, but none of them would be crazy or wicked enough to come up with something like that. He believes them and tells them that they'll be given two days to put their future knowledge to good use and end this war.
At one point Steven suggests the Trojan horse to the Doctor. His reply is the quote at the beginning of this post.
In Troy, Paris arrives with the TARDIS. He is excited for the capture of what he believes to be a Greek ..something. He wants to put it in the temple, but Cassandra won't have any of that. She suggests that the Greeks might have intended for him to bring it into the city so that a hidden soldier might sneak out in the night and open the gate. It matches a dream that she had.
Unable to open the doors, they decide to burn the TARDIS and any possible spies within.
Vicki manages to find some appropriate clothing just in time to leave the ship before flame is put to kindling. Just after Cassandra has made a call to the gods for a sign.
Cassandra is all for killing the girl who claims to be from the future. Paris defends her and King Priam follows suit. They decide that Vicki is an outlandish name so Priam renames her Cressida. Yes she does see Trolius and yes they are attracted to one another.
Back at the Greek camp the Doctor is trying to come up with something not the Trojan horse while Steven is feeling like a third wheel. Realizing that there is no way to ensure Vicki's safety once the Greeks are through the walls, Steven volunteers to go to Troy.
His plan is to dress as a Greek soldier and get captured. He's a little vague about the rest, but Odysseus thinks him a brave man and loans him the clothes and identity of a newly deceased friend.
Paris has come out to "challenge" Achilles in order to avenge Hector. He instead finds Steven (Diomede) and beats him. Diomede surrenders all the while praising the "Lion of Troy."
Steven is brought into the city and presented to King Priam. Who is with Vicki. The two blow each other's aliases and are soon seized by guards.
Next up: Death of a Spy
Remember the old Aesop and Son bits from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show? Take them, add the Trojan War and the TARDIS crew and you have this episode. And it works.
Really.
The dialog and characterization of the Greeks last episode made me chuckle; the Trojans made me laugh out loud.
Paris steals the show as the cowardly braggart who snipes at his sister Cassandra. Cassandra comes off as a bit one-dimensional, but she is mostly used as a foil for Paris. King Priam plays the bemused father very well.
The episode begins with the Doctor and Steven going out to the plain where the TARDIS had landed. Footprints indicate that the TARDIS was brought to Troy. Odysseus takes this as proof that the Doctor is a spy and demands that father Zeus kill Steven with a thunder bolt to prove his divinity. The Doctor eventually relents and confesses that he is not Zeus and that Steven is a friend of his.
Agamemnon orders Odysseus to kill the spies and then leaves. Odysseus decides to get the truth out of them before their death. And they tell him about there time travel.
Odysseus has known some liars in his time, but none of them would be crazy or wicked enough to come up with something like that. He believes them and tells them that they'll be given two days to put their future knowledge to good use and end this war.
At one point Steven suggests the Trojan horse to the Doctor. His reply is the quote at the beginning of this post.
In Troy, Paris arrives with the TARDIS. He is excited for the capture of what he believes to be a Greek ..something. He wants to put it in the temple, but Cassandra won't have any of that. She suggests that the Greeks might have intended for him to bring it into the city so that a hidden soldier might sneak out in the night and open the gate. It matches a dream that she had.
Unable to open the doors, they decide to burn the TARDIS and any possible spies within.
Vicki manages to find some appropriate clothing just in time to leave the ship before flame is put to kindling. Just after Cassandra has made a call to the gods for a sign.
Cassandra is all for killing the girl who claims to be from the future. Paris defends her and King Priam follows suit. They decide that Vicki is an outlandish name so Priam renames her Cressida. Yes she does see Trolius and yes they are attracted to one another.
Back at the Greek camp the Doctor is trying to come up with something not the Trojan horse while Steven is feeling like a third wheel. Realizing that there is no way to ensure Vicki's safety once the Greeks are through the walls, Steven volunteers to go to Troy.
His plan is to dress as a Greek soldier and get captured. He's a little vague about the rest, but Odysseus thinks him a brave man and loans him the clothes and identity of a newly deceased friend.
Paris has come out to "challenge" Achilles in order to avenge Hector. He instead finds Steven (Diomede) and beats him. Diomede surrenders all the while praising the "Lion of Troy."
Steven is brought into the city and presented to King Priam. Who is with Vicki. The two blow each other's aliases and are soon seized by guards.
Next up: Death of a Spy
Monday, October 31, 2011
Ep. 87 The Temple of Secrets
"It wasn't the first time she's allowed herself to be... abducted. I can't keep on going off to the ends of the Earth to get her back, it...it makes me a laughing stock."
Achilles and Hector are fighting on the plains of Troy. Hector is a great big monkey man of a warrior and Achilles is what would be referred to as a punch and judy hitter in baseball. Achilles has next to no chance against the superior Hector, but manages to keep himself alive by running out of reach when the going gets too tough. The two are trading insults, barbs and mild exposition.
The TARDIS materializes in the midst of this. The two warriors are too caught up in their battle to pay it any heed. Inside the TARDIS the travelers look on the scene with some curiosity. The Doctor thinks that they might be Greeks based on their outfits. He decides, over Steven's and Vicki's protests, to go out and talk to the two men.
The conversation between the Greek and the Trojan has turned to the gods. Achilles claims that Zeus will come down and help the Greeks. Hector says that if Zeus tries to help the Greeks than he'll trim his beard.
As if on cue the Doctor walks out of the TARDIS. Hector kneels in supplication at the arrival of the presumed deity. Achilles takes advantage of the situation and runs Hector through.
The Doctor isn't thrilled with this slaughter and wants to return to the his "temple," but Achilles isn't going to let Zeus go that easily.
While they are going back and forth Odysseus arrives. His initial reaction to seeing Hector's corpse is that the muscle-bound Trojan died of plague. When Achilles claims to have beaten him, Odysseus can only believe that Achilles (or Lightfoot as he calls him) out ran the Trojan and induced a heart attack.
Odysseus doesn't buy the story that the Doctor is Zeus. He figures that he's a Trojan spy and wants to bring him to Agamemnon to deal with.
Odysseus is a dick. You can't hear this one without thinking that he deserve to take the long way home.
Agamemnon and Menelaus are deep in conversation as the Doctor, Achilles and Odysseus are returning.
This conversation offers a fun deconstruction of the Trojan War. Instead of two figures of myth and legend, they come off as two brothers tired of ten long years of war over a woman and some trade routes. As Menelaus says, this wasn't the first time that she was "abducted." His brother's response is that Menelaus knew what kind of woman that she was when he married her.
The Doctor doesn't make the best of impressions on Agamemnon when he tells him that he has divine knowledge and offers the Greek ruler's wife's adultery as an example.
It's finally decided to put the Doctor under a sort of house arrest. If he is a god, then they haven't shot themselves in the foot.
Steven leaves the TARDIS to find the Doctor. He forces Vicki to stay behind, claiming that her twisted ankle wasn't up for the trip. She's not thrilled with that; she had hoped to meet the heroes.
Steven is caught entering the camp by a one-eyed man named Cyclops and Odysseus. Steven feigns ignorance of the Doctor and Odysseus means to put that to the test.
The Doctor pretends to not care about Steven's life, suggesting that a Trojan spy should simply be killed. When Odysseus draws his sword, the Doctor reveals his true feelings. The Doctor does manage to cover by saying that he didn't want the Trojan's blood to dirty Agamemnon's tent.
The Doctor proposes that the Trojan would be a fitting sacrifice and tells them that he will demonstrate a miracle tomorrow morning on the plains where his temple is.
Then the other shoe drops and we discover that the plain is clear; the TARDIS is gone.
Up next: Small Prophet, Quick Return
Achilles and Hector are fighting on the plains of Troy. Hector is a great big monkey man of a warrior and Achilles is what would be referred to as a punch and judy hitter in baseball. Achilles has next to no chance against the superior Hector, but manages to keep himself alive by running out of reach when the going gets too tough. The two are trading insults, barbs and mild exposition.
The TARDIS materializes in the midst of this. The two warriors are too caught up in their battle to pay it any heed. Inside the TARDIS the travelers look on the scene with some curiosity. The Doctor thinks that they might be Greeks based on their outfits. He decides, over Steven's and Vicki's protests, to go out and talk to the two men.
The conversation between the Greek and the Trojan has turned to the gods. Achilles claims that Zeus will come down and help the Greeks. Hector says that if Zeus tries to help the Greeks than he'll trim his beard.
As if on cue the Doctor walks out of the TARDIS. Hector kneels in supplication at the arrival of the presumed deity. Achilles takes advantage of the situation and runs Hector through.
The Doctor isn't thrilled with this slaughter and wants to return to the his "temple," but Achilles isn't going to let Zeus go that easily.
While they are going back and forth Odysseus arrives. His initial reaction to seeing Hector's corpse is that the muscle-bound Trojan died of plague. When Achilles claims to have beaten him, Odysseus can only believe that Achilles (or Lightfoot as he calls him) out ran the Trojan and induced a heart attack.
Odysseus doesn't buy the story that the Doctor is Zeus. He figures that he's a Trojan spy and wants to bring him to Agamemnon to deal with.
Odysseus is a dick. You can't hear this one without thinking that he deserve to take the long way home.
Agamemnon and Menelaus are deep in conversation as the Doctor, Achilles and Odysseus are returning.
This conversation offers a fun deconstruction of the Trojan War. Instead of two figures of myth and legend, they come off as two brothers tired of ten long years of war over a woman and some trade routes. As Menelaus says, this wasn't the first time that she was "abducted." His brother's response is that Menelaus knew what kind of woman that she was when he married her.
The Doctor doesn't make the best of impressions on Agamemnon when he tells him that he has divine knowledge and offers the Greek ruler's wife's adultery as an example.
It's finally decided to put the Doctor under a sort of house arrest. If he is a god, then they haven't shot themselves in the foot.
Steven leaves the TARDIS to find the Doctor. He forces Vicki to stay behind, claiming that her twisted ankle wasn't up for the trip. She's not thrilled with that; she had hoped to meet the heroes.
Steven is caught entering the camp by a one-eyed man named Cyclops and Odysseus. Steven feigns ignorance of the Doctor and Odysseus means to put that to the test.
The Doctor pretends to not care about Steven's life, suggesting that a Trojan spy should simply be killed. When Odysseus draws his sword, the Doctor reveals his true feelings. The Doctor does manage to cover by saying that he didn't want the Trojan's blood to dirty Agamemnon's tent.
The Doctor proposes that the Trojan would be a fitting sacrifice and tells them that he will demonstrate a miracle tomorrow morning on the plains where his temple is.
Then the other shoe drops and we discover that the plain is clear; the TARDIS is gone.
Up next: Small Prophet, Quick Return
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Ep. 86 Mission to the Unknown
"This is Marc Cory, Special Security Service, reporting from the planet Kembel. The Daleks are planning the complete destruction of our galaxy. Together with the powers of the outer galaxies, a war force is being assembled..."
Back at the beginning of the second season it was decided that the final two parts of The Planet of Giants serial would be edited into one episode. From what I'm led to understand this created a gap that had to be filled by the creation of a single episode story.
I've also been told that the regular cast wasn't available.
And thus Mission to the Unknown was conceived. The series was already planning on doing a massive twelve part Dalek serial and it was decided that this would be a teaser episode for that huge story.
The action takes place on the planet Kembel in the far future. One character refers to the Daleks as having invaded Earth 1,000 years ago.
Marc Cory, or Space James Bond, is this intergalactic special agent who is looking into reports of Dalek activity in the area. He decides that the planet Kembel is an ideal place for the Daleks to operate unobserved in our neck of the woods and takes a couple guys in a rocket to investigate.
Of course Space James Bond can't be counted on to take the basic precautions such as telling his superiors that he's going to nip off to the most dangerous planet in human space because he has a hunch that the Daleks have set up a secret base there. Or getting a reliable rocket ship that can land on a planet without breaking up. No, Space James Bond laughs at those wussy concepts and throws caution to the wind.
Once they crash land on Kembel they soon have their proof that the Daleks are about the place. One of the men gets stung by a Varga plant. Varga plants, Space James Bond explains, are genetically engineered by the Daleks to act as guards for their facilities. Their stings turn people into homicidal maniacs before turning them into more Varga plants.
This is probably the best idea from this episode. The idea of the Daleks bioengineering an aggressive plant creature to guard their facilities is a good idea. It's a weapon that can't be turned on them; the Dalek's casings make them immune to the Varga thorns.
The Daleks are putting together an alliance of evil to beat down Earth. The Daleks have added six galactic powers to their evil cause. This is something that we haven't seen the Daleks do before. Diplomacy. Not a bad idea and I'm hopeful that the it adds to the plot.
Space James Bond and his pilot pal end up getting killed. SJB managed to make a warning message before the Daleks got them. A message that will be discovered during the Dalek Master Plan.
For an episode that was 100% padding it wasn't that bad. Regular fans of the series were probably confused when they tuned in next week and saw the Doctor outside the walls of ancient Troy.
Next up: Temple of Secrets
Back at the beginning of the second season it was decided that the final two parts of The Planet of Giants serial would be edited into one episode. From what I'm led to understand this created a gap that had to be filled by the creation of a single episode story.
I've also been told that the regular cast wasn't available.
And thus Mission to the Unknown was conceived. The series was already planning on doing a massive twelve part Dalek serial and it was decided that this would be a teaser episode for that huge story.
The action takes place on the planet Kembel in the far future. One character refers to the Daleks as having invaded Earth 1,000 years ago.
Marc Cory, or Space James Bond, is this intergalactic special agent who is looking into reports of Dalek activity in the area. He decides that the planet Kembel is an ideal place for the Daleks to operate unobserved in our neck of the woods and takes a couple guys in a rocket to investigate.
Of course Space James Bond can't be counted on to take the basic precautions such as telling his superiors that he's going to nip off to the most dangerous planet in human space because he has a hunch that the Daleks have set up a secret base there. Or getting a reliable rocket ship that can land on a planet without breaking up. No, Space James Bond laughs at those wussy concepts and throws caution to the wind.
Once they crash land on Kembel they soon have their proof that the Daleks are about the place. One of the men gets stung by a Varga plant. Varga plants, Space James Bond explains, are genetically engineered by the Daleks to act as guards for their facilities. Their stings turn people into homicidal maniacs before turning them into more Varga plants.
This is probably the best idea from this episode. The idea of the Daleks bioengineering an aggressive plant creature to guard their facilities is a good idea. It's a weapon that can't be turned on them; the Dalek's casings make them immune to the Varga thorns.
The Daleks are putting together an alliance of evil to beat down Earth. The Daleks have added six galactic powers to their evil cause. This is something that we haven't seen the Daleks do before. Diplomacy. Not a bad idea and I'm hopeful that the it adds to the plot.
Space James Bond and his pilot pal end up getting killed. SJB managed to make a warning message before the Daleks got them. A message that will be discovered during the Dalek Master Plan.
For an episode that was 100% padding it wasn't that bad. Regular fans of the series were probably confused when they tuned in next week and saw the Doctor outside the walls of ancient Troy.
Next up: Temple of Secrets
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Ep. 85 The Exploding Planet
"Importance lies in the character and to what use you put this intelligence. We respect you as we respect all life."
When I was reviewing the first Daleks serial I was critical of the (unintended) message that good equals blond and beautiful and that evil equals shriveled up and ugly. At the time I pointed out that a future story would turn that idea on it's head.
This is that story. The Drahvin are blonde and beautiful and have no mercy. They are as xenophobic as the Daleks though they can be more subtle about it. The Rills are ugly and noble. If their ship can't take off in time they want the Doctor to get away in his ship.
At it's heart this is a well intentioned episode. The moral is don't judge by appearances. It seems a bit simplistic, but it's good that Who put this one out there. All too often the ugly alien turns out to be evil; this approach makes for a nice change of pace.
I would have to say that The Sensorites did a better job of it though. This is a morality tale and the sides are drawn in distinct blacks and whites. The Sensorites had more grey tones. Not every human or Sensorite was entirely on the same ethical page.
This episode does come close to being preachy and I do have problems with the way that the "beautiful" race is portrayed. They may have flipped the evil/good dynamic, but they accidentally kept may have accidentally left in a beauty equals dumb message. Both the Thals and the Drahvin are technologically inferior to their ugly counterparts.
I'm also not thrilled with the way that Maaga and the Drahvin drones were dealt with. Did they get what they deserved? Yes. Did it need to happen that way? Probably not. I'd like to have seen the Rills make a further offer to the Drahvins. Something along the lines of "throw away your weapons and surrender, and we'll drop you off on the next inhabitable world."
At this point we're not too far from the departure of Vicki. Something that snuck up on me. Since the departure of Ian and Barbara I think that Vicki has shone. Seeing her depart in another five episodes seems like bad timing to me.
Next up: Mission to the Unknown
When I was reviewing the first Daleks serial I was critical of the (unintended) message that good equals blond and beautiful and that evil equals shriveled up and ugly. At the time I pointed out that a future story would turn that idea on it's head.
This is that story. The Drahvin are blonde and beautiful and have no mercy. They are as xenophobic as the Daleks though they can be more subtle about it. The Rills are ugly and noble. If their ship can't take off in time they want the Doctor to get away in his ship.
At it's heart this is a well intentioned episode. The moral is don't judge by appearances. It seems a bit simplistic, but it's good that Who put this one out there. All too often the ugly alien turns out to be evil; this approach makes for a nice change of pace.
I would have to say that The Sensorites did a better job of it though. This is a morality tale and the sides are drawn in distinct blacks and whites. The Sensorites had more grey tones. Not every human or Sensorite was entirely on the same ethical page.
This episode does come close to being preachy and I do have problems with the way that the "beautiful" race is portrayed. They may have flipped the evil/good dynamic, but they accidentally kept may have accidentally left in a beauty equals dumb message. Both the Thals and the Drahvin are technologically inferior to their ugly counterparts.
I'm also not thrilled with the way that Maaga and the Drahvin drones were dealt with. Did they get what they deserved? Yes. Did it need to happen that way? Probably not. I'd like to have seen the Rills make a further offer to the Drahvins. Something along the lines of "throw away your weapons and surrender, and we'll drop you off on the next inhabitable world."
At this point we're not too far from the departure of Vicki. Something that snuck up on me. Since the departure of Ian and Barbara I think that Vicki has shone. Seeing her depart in another five episodes seems like bad timing to me.
Next up: Mission to the Unknown
Ep. 84 Airlock
"It may be that we shall kill neither the Rills nor these Earth creatures. Not with our own hands, that is. It may be better for us to escape in the Rills' spaceship and leave them here. And then...when we are out in space, we can look back. We will see a vast, white, exploding planet...and know that they have died with it!"
Vicki is separated from the Doctor and taken to speak to the Rills by a Chumbly. The Doctor goes into sabotage mode and begins to mess with the equipment needed to create the Rills exotic ammonia atmosphere.
Vicki is kept apart from the Rills. They claim that their appearance is so far removed from human that it would be too upsetting for her. Based on some of the still photos of the creatures, I can see their point.
The Rills claim that it was the Drahvins who fired first, they only acted in self defense. They claim to be a peaceful people who acted to save the life of one of the injured Drahvin soldiers after the crash only to be driven off by a gun toting Maaga. They further claim that Maaga herself killed the soldier.
All-in-all they present themselves as just a little TOO perfect for my tastes. Sure they have vastly more effective technology and could have destroyed the Drahvins at any time that they wanted to, but if they are so peaceful then why did the Chumblies try to blow up the TARDIS? The question isn't asked, probably because there is no good answer.
The Rills are an interesting race that get one story and are never seen again in Doctor Who. I recall the Drahvins getting a mention in The Brains of Morbius, but nothing more about the Rills. Most of Hartnell's monsters are one show beasties. Only the first and last Hartnell monsters returned.
The unexplained attempts to blow up the TARDIS aside, the Rills turn out to be quiet friendly. They are willing to help get Steven away from the Drahvins even before the Doctor offers to help them with their power problems.
Things aren't going well back on the Drahvin ship. The drone soldiers are getting mouthy and Maaga is getting frustrated at their inability to think. Maaga is the living embodiment of the Peter Principal (yes I am aware of the irony in that statement); she has risen to her current rank, but I really don't see how she could have done so given the skill set that she is clearly lacking. She motivates her crew with fear and anger, she seems to have few, if any technical skills, she will betray anyone for any reason that crosses her mind and she may have killed her own crew member for propaganda purposes.
Steven makes an attempt to escape after covertly listening in on Maaga's conversation with the drones. He makes it all the way outside with a stolen weapon when he encounters a Chumbly. He races back inside and finds himself stuck in the airlock. Maaga begins to drain the air out, giving him the option of suffocating, getting caught by a Chumbly or being recaptured.
Steven is near death when the episode ends.
This is another example of a character inheriting lines from a previous companion. Originally this story was written with Ian and Barbara in mind. Ian's part was rewritten for Steven. Which leaves us in the odd situation of having a space pilot not knowing what an airlock does.
This one was decent. The interactions with the Rills was fun to hear and Maaga, while not the greatest leader ever has some decent lines and is well acted for what she is.
Next up: The Exploding Planet
Vicki is separated from the Doctor and taken to speak to the Rills by a Chumbly. The Doctor goes into sabotage mode and begins to mess with the equipment needed to create the Rills exotic ammonia atmosphere.
Vicki is kept apart from the Rills. They claim that their appearance is so far removed from human that it would be too upsetting for her. Based on some of the still photos of the creatures, I can see their point.
The Rills claim that it was the Drahvins who fired first, they only acted in self defense. They claim to be a peaceful people who acted to save the life of one of the injured Drahvin soldiers after the crash only to be driven off by a gun toting Maaga. They further claim that Maaga herself killed the soldier.
All-in-all they present themselves as just a little TOO perfect for my tastes. Sure they have vastly more effective technology and could have destroyed the Drahvins at any time that they wanted to, but if they are so peaceful then why did the Chumblies try to blow up the TARDIS? The question isn't asked, probably because there is no good answer.
The Rills are an interesting race that get one story and are never seen again in Doctor Who. I recall the Drahvins getting a mention in The Brains of Morbius, but nothing more about the Rills. Most of Hartnell's monsters are one show beasties. Only the first and last Hartnell monsters returned.
The unexplained attempts to blow up the TARDIS aside, the Rills turn out to be quiet friendly. They are willing to help get Steven away from the Drahvins even before the Doctor offers to help them with their power problems.
Things aren't going well back on the Drahvin ship. The drone soldiers are getting mouthy and Maaga is getting frustrated at their inability to think. Maaga is the living embodiment of the Peter Principal (yes I am aware of the irony in that statement); she has risen to her current rank, but I really don't see how she could have done so given the skill set that she is clearly lacking. She motivates her crew with fear and anger, she seems to have few, if any technical skills, she will betray anyone for any reason that crosses her mind and she may have killed her own crew member for propaganda purposes.
Steven makes an attempt to escape after covertly listening in on Maaga's conversation with the drones. He makes it all the way outside with a stolen weapon when he encounters a Chumbly. He races back inside and finds himself stuck in the airlock. Maaga begins to drain the air out, giving him the option of suffocating, getting caught by a Chumbly or being recaptured.
Steven is near death when the episode ends.
This is another example of a character inheriting lines from a previous companion. Originally this story was written with Ian and Barbara in mind. Ian's part was rewritten for Steven. Which leaves us in the odd situation of having a space pilot not knowing what an airlock does.
This one was decent. The interactions with the Rills was fun to hear and Maaga, while not the greatest leader ever has some decent lines and is well acted for what she is.
Next up: The Exploding Planet
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ep. 83 Trap of Steel
"I noted, observed, collated, concluded... and then I threw the rock!"
Seconds after the Doctor makes his "two dawns" prediction the Chumblies return and try to blow up the TARDIS. They fail, but the force of the explosion carries over to the interior and throws the Doctor and Steven around.
They quickly make it back to the Drahvin ship. Just before going back inside, the two critique the poor quality of the ship both in design and the metals used.
Vicki has not been a happy camper while the menfolk were away. Maaga tries to get her to eat some of her "leader food." Apparently the leaders get fed leaves while the drones get food pills.
The Doctor lies to Maaga about the time frame. She calls his bluff by ordering her soldiers to kill Vicki if she doesn't get the truth. The Doctor relents.
Maaga decides to send the Doctor and Vicki to capture the Rill ship for them. Actually she wanted to send the Doctor and Steven, but Steven decided that it was his turn to play hostage. That sounds like a brilliant plan.
The Drahvin are really not shown in a good light at all. The drones are dumber than stumps and their leader thinks that two people that they were able to capture will be able to capture the Rill ship. They are one dimensional at best. Emms is setting something up, but I wish that the beautiful blond race had been both male and female, because this is coming off as an anti-feminism script.
The big saving grace of this episode are the companions. Vicki and Steven continue to shine. Steven has a good scene where Maaga offers him his freedom if he takes her away in his spaceship. He has a knack for sarcasm.
Vicki has a surly streak in this one. She's had the Drahvins pegged as loons from minute one and isn't going to waste her time being polite to them. She also figures out the way to sneak into the Rill ship undetected. Even throwing the Doctor's own words back at him.
The episode ends with a Rill confronting the Doctor and Vicki. Vicki screams. I rolled my eyes.
Next up: Airlock
Seconds after the Doctor makes his "two dawns" prediction the Chumblies return and try to blow up the TARDIS. They fail, but the force of the explosion carries over to the interior and throws the Doctor and Steven around.
They quickly make it back to the Drahvin ship. Just before going back inside, the two critique the poor quality of the ship both in design and the metals used.
Vicki has not been a happy camper while the menfolk were away. Maaga tries to get her to eat some of her "leader food." Apparently the leaders get fed leaves while the drones get food pills.
The Doctor lies to Maaga about the time frame. She calls his bluff by ordering her soldiers to kill Vicki if she doesn't get the truth. The Doctor relents.
Maaga decides to send the Doctor and Vicki to capture the Rill ship for them. Actually she wanted to send the Doctor and Steven, but Steven decided that it was his turn to play hostage. That sounds like a brilliant plan.
The Drahvin are really not shown in a good light at all. The drones are dumber than stumps and their leader thinks that two people that they were able to capture will be able to capture the Rill ship. They are one dimensional at best. Emms is setting something up, but I wish that the beautiful blond race had been both male and female, because this is coming off as an anti-feminism script.
The big saving grace of this episode are the companions. Vicki and Steven continue to shine. Steven has a good scene where Maaga offers him his freedom if he takes her away in his spaceship. He has a knack for sarcasm.
Vicki has a surly streak in this one. She's had the Drahvins pegged as loons from minute one and isn't going to waste her time being polite to them. She also figures out the way to sneak into the Rill ship undetected. Even throwing the Doctor's own words back at him.
The episode ends with a Rill confronting the Doctor and Vicki. Vicki screams. I rolled my eyes.
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| A Rill |
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