The Green Death - Episode 1

The Green Death is quite a special story for several reasons. Firstly it’s the final story to feature Katy Manning as Jo Grant, a role that she has played since January 1971 comes to an end in a mine in south-Wales. This is the final story of the 1972/73 season and its been encouraging how this season has been so much stronger than the previous one. With the exception of ‘Carnival of Monsters’, we have been treated to so quality stories. Another reason why this story is special is more personal to me as it was the first story to be released on VHS that I purchased. I remember going to the shops and buying it, it was a double pack release with a purple sleeve and it was released a couple of months after Jon Pertwee had passed away and this is one of his best stories. Before I get started with the actual episode, I should also point out that this is the 350^th episode of Doctor Who and Jon Pertwee’s 97^th episode as the Doctor.

It should be pointed out that this is another story that has a major moral to it and this was written by Robert Sloman with uncredited help from Barry Letts. I don’t mind there being a moral message to a story as long as it doesn’t hijack the whole thing and in this case the message blends in well with the story. The story hits the ground running as we are introduced to two of the main supporting characters. Stevens is the man who runs Global Chemicals and in his first scene he gets into a ‘debate’ with Professor Jones. This scene does a pretty good job of painting Stevens as the villain and Jones as the good guy. Stevens comes across as a great villain and this is shown during the criss-cross scene between Stevens and the Brigadier and the Professor and Jo. By the end of the episode we are shown there appears to be an outside influence to Stevens’ behaviour, the mystery has begun.

The first scene with the Doctor and Jo does a good job of achieving two things, first it starts the Metebelis III part of the story and also it puts in wedge between the Doctor and Jo. Jo seems to fall in love with Jones without meeting him. The moment when Jo tells the Doctor that she’s only got 10 minutes and the Doctor responds by saying that she’s got all the time in the world is a lovely moment and it feels like the Doctor knows that he is losing Jo and he doesn’t like it. It’s good to have the Brigadier back in what is the beginning of the end for the character and for the golden era of Doctor Who.

We get to see Metebelis III for the first time and whilst it is as blue as the Doctor has said, it’s not the warmest of planets and I immediately thought that Jo had made the right decision. This is confirmed when the next scene is of Jo and the Professor have their first scene where they do this clumsy and almost flirty scene. The Doctor spends half the episode on the blue planet and it isn’t until the 20 minute mark that he’s back and speeding towards Llanfairfach in Bessie going at least twice the speed limit.

The cliffhanger is rather good because we know Jo’s in peril and the lift wont stop so in the real world this would be a major problem so the threat is real and the close up of Jon Pertwee’s face helps make the tension work. It’s a great opening episode and I am really looking forward to the next five episodes and think that this is going to be a great way of writing Katy Manning out of the show and ending the Anniversary season.

Planet of the Daleks - Episode 6 (Victory)

The final episode of this six/twelve part story seems to have out of nowhere which might sound like a silly thing to say but it shows how much I have been involved in the story to be surprised. I think that taking it as a twelve parter would make it even better because the episodes have been so consistently strong. It’s fair to say there is a lot riding on this episode because it needs to wrap things up in a satisfactory way. This episode would have been called ‘Victory’ by Terry Nation which I think is a great title. It just makes me want them to return to single episode names. This episode sees the appearance of the Supreme Dalek and its disappointing somewhat that they haven’t appeared until now. The disappointment continues when the ship lands and it does look like two dog bowls glued to each other. The first look of the supreme Dalek is amazing. It’s nice to see a Dalek with a bit of colour but sadly it goes wrong the moment it starts talking because the person inside the Daleks messed up the light synching and so it looked off which is a shame really.

The episode is heading towards the blowing up of the bomb to stop the 10,000 daleks from being activated. The journey is perfectly paced and there is a nice amount of delaying things until the right possible moment. Of course it was never going to be that simple and it was the case here as the bomb fell in between a dozen of daleks and the timer then stops working and Codal has to work very quickly to sort it out. The shot of the bomb exploding as two Daleks walk by followed by the ice flowing is one of the highlights of this serial and looked impressive which shows how good things can be achieved on a miniscule BBC budget.

I think its good how there is a nice farewell scene involving everyone. Despite my concerns that there were too many thals in this story, I am glad that they did survive. I really love the speech the Doctor gave Taron about telling him not to glamorise war and tell people of the lives lost and the fear felt. This shows the Doctor at his most passive and it shows that despite all the blustering and humour the Doctor shows, he can be serious when he needs to be.

There is a scene at the where Latep asks Jo to go abck to Skaro and this is designed to put in the viewers mind that she would not be around for long and of course she leaves in the next serial. I often wonder what things would have been like for Jo if she had gone with him instead of the soppy welsh scientist. Over the six recent episodes, I think that both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning have been just as strong as each other. Even the supporting cast have been on the same level at times with Prentis Hancock and Bernard Horsfall being the highlights.

I thought that the whole story has worked well and the issues that people have with this story being a rehash of Nation’s previous stories whilst valid really help to enrich the story as far as I am concerned. If you had written the quality of stories that Nation had written since the show started then you would indulge yourself. Unlike ‘Day of the Daleks’, the Daleks are used well here, the voices are a lot better and this is one of the strongest Dalek stories for many years.

Planet of the Daleks - Episode 5 (The Day Before Eternity)

The Day Before Eternity is the name that Terry Nation gave this episode. In a way I wish that they would return to giving each episode a name as opposed to just ‘episode 1’ or ‘episode 2’. As we are now in the final third of the story the think that has stood out against other six part stories is how there has been the shift in direction like there was in the previous story. This is because Terry Nation has a good track record in keeping the action going and not needing to change. The episode starts off with everyone in the stones and they are being watched.

The effects of the creatures looking through the darkness does look a bit cheap but at least its better than what it would have looked like if they had gone with some bloke in a costume. So we must be thankful for small mercies.

I was surprised that they decided to kill Vaber off at this point as it would have made a much better if he had sacrificed himself in the final episode. Another interesting character that meets their maker in this episode is Wester who has been helping since the beginning and he is killed by lifting the lid on the case with the virus in it before it was ready and the last shot of him is his face.

The way that the Daleks are protected from the virus is rather basic as its just the sort of light you would see in a hospital surgery. There’s one thing about this that doesn’t quite make sense to me and that is why do they have it so close to their made control room. Surely it would have made more sense to have it a few floors down. Something else that slightly ruins the who operation is that there are several Daleks on screen but only three moving Daleks. So every time there is a group of Daleks,  50% of the Daleks are talking and moving and the other 50% are frozen on the spot.

It’s taken until episode five but we finally get a bit of location filming and it’s a nice moment. It’s quite a dramatic moment when they try and get two Daleks into the cold which kills them. This end scene does lead to another ‘nod’ to a previous Dalek story where they scoop the Dalek out of its casing and then they get Rebec to do what Ian Chesterton did and attempt to move around. This is the only time in the last five episodes that the nods have bothered me because it seems so obvious. I don’t know if its just me picking up on them more but it didn’t seem as subtle as before.

I quite like cliffhanger because it seems to come out of nowhere. It seems like it’s the fault of the Doctor and the others because the Daleks wouldn’t have spotted them otherwise and considering it was just after Wester lifting the lid it sort of feels like this was their best opportunity to get their plan done. It’s a good penultimate episode and feels like it is building towards something and it’s still holding my attention and if the final episode goes the way that I think it will (and has in the past), then this will be the second six parter in a row that has been consistently good and not something that I have wanted to end as quickly as possible.

Planet of the Daleks: Episode 4 (Escape or Die)

Escape or Die was the original name given for this episode and you have to give Terry Nation some credit for trying to create some excitement with just a title. When the episode restarts, the Doctor, Rebec, Taron and Codal are flying up and the Daleks take an awful long time to realise that there is only one way that they could have escaped. One of the things that I like about this episode is the slowest chase in TV history with a Dalek rising up to chase the Doctor and his new friends. It’s a great shot of seeing the Dalek coming towards them as I think that it adds to the drama and tries to instil some exciting in the slowest chase on TV. The purpose of the Daleks being on Spiridon is made clear here and its creating a rather nasty virus.

Jo starts the episode trying to find the bombs but only manages to get herself knocked out. It’s the typical course of action for a companion. What’s quite interesting that given the size of the rock, it’s lucky that she survived. Not only did she survive but she woke up relatively quickly. The moment when Jo and the Doctor are reunited is a lovely moment and shows how this dynamic is perhaps as strong as the Second Doctor and Jamie’s relationship. Jo gets a romantic interest in this episode with Latep and it seems (with the benefit of hindsight) that this is the beginning of setting up Jo’s departure from the show. In the scene between the Doctor and Jo there is a minor reference to the previous story, considering that this is one (unofficial) long story, it would have been nice to have a mention of the Master as well as the Ogrons.

When the action moves to the stones that they use to try and stay save and perhaps warm is a nice moment in the story. It’s well set up and the performances and directing help make this scene atmospheric. There’s more of this in the next episode but what we got here was quite good and one of those rare moments in Doctor Who that isn’t over lit by being in a studio. The action is directed well by the legendary David Maloney who is doing his best in this story. If anyone can make action seem interesting in largely jungle sets then it would be Maloney. Terry Nation has been accused in this story of just reheating his ideas from previous stories but to be honest that dosent really bother me because if it was just a colourised version of such stories as ‘The Keys of Marinus’ and ‘The Daleks’ then that would be a problem but the fact that its mixed in with new stuff means that it can be enjoyed.

I found the cliffhanger to be a little better this time but nothing special. Unlike the previous episode I got the feeling that it was actually moving and things were happening. Despite their being more than a few comparisons to previous Terry Nation stories (a greatest hits if you like), I still like this story and think that it’s an enjoyable and interesting adventure.

Planet of the Daleks - Episode 3

The third episode of this story is one that until it was released on DVD only existed in black and white and due to technological advances, we know have this in colour and its rather well done and looks just as good as the rest of the episodes.

The Thals have a plan and at least that’s better than them aimlessly stumbling around. I am still unsure as to whether we need as many Thals as we have but thankfully that number is going to be reduced in this episode. During this episode we are told a bit about the planet and that instead of explosions of volcanic lava we get the exact opposite. I don’t know why but I like the idea of molten ice. It’s a typically Doctor Who idea that is used well in this episode and the acting helps create the impression that this isn’t the sort of thing you would want to be near. The tunnel sets were so good that even I became a little chilly watching them.

Jo is quite proactive in this episode as she sneaks her way into the Dalek’s base. Once she’s in though she doesn’t do very much and that’s a shame after the good start that she had. Out of the two female characters in this episode, she falls into second place behind Rebec who isn’t the most proactive character ever imagined but at least she’s active. The Doctor starts the episode still in the cell and is just waiting to test his new gadget on a Dalek and the scene where he does is quite dramatic though its over too quickly for my liking. Once the Doctor gets out with Codal, there is a game where they try and dodge the Daleks does seem a bit like what happened during the Daleks first adventure. This ends with the Doctor and Codal reunited with Taron just before the ice explodes into the corridor.

The Daleks don’t really seem to have a purpose in this episode, at least their voices have been sorted out and the colour scheme is a lot better. Speaking of the voices (no pun intended), they are becoming more like the ones that we would come to expect in later Dalek stories. At the end of the previous episode it was referred to that there were 10,000 daleks on the planet and we have to wait until the 21^st minute to see a blink and you’ll miss it shot of them. The cliffhanger is rather weak compared to previous ends and it pretty much sums up what I think of the episode and that it does feel a little bit like a transitional episode and those episodes are rarely interesting.

Planet of the Daleks: Episode 2 (Mission Survival)

I forgot to mention in the previous entry that Jo got some fungus on her hand which will play an important part in this episode. As well as this being the show’s 10^th anniversary, it is also the Daleks’ 10^th anniversary. Continuing the Terry Nation unnecessary episode titles sees this episode called Mission Survival. We don’t get a proper reprise but instead the Doctor finishing off his new paint job. After appearing breiefly at the end of the previous episode, we get a good scene with a couple of them and they spend the rest of the episode being their usual self which isn’t a bad thing.

Prentis Hancock is very good as Vaber because he’s not just being negative and dull but there is a good bit of charisma about him. Hancock is very much like Bernard Horsfall is someone that I could watch in anything and the pair work well together. Tim Preece is the likeable of the trio and the one that seems most human. He is the most gung-ho of the three yet seems to be more likeable because of it.

The Doctor’s reaction to the ship that he thinks has Jo in it being blown up by the Daleks is a lovely moment from Jon Pertwee and I think that the loss is quite strong. There is another nod to a previous Nation story when the Dalek shoots at the Doctor to weaken his legs just like they did to Ian Chesterton in the Daleks’ first adventure. I like the scene between the Doctor and Codal where they talk about being brave but still doing what’s needed. It’s shows the Doctor that he can act when needed but would rather he didn’t have to.

Despite being sick at the beginning, Jo befriends a Spiridon who is under a purple fluffy cloak and makes Jo better. She doesn’t really do very much in this episode but compared to other episode where she’s had very little to do at least she gets to learn something about her helper. Jon Pertwee is on fine form again and my irregular fashion watch appears in this entry. His purple velvet jacket should stand out a bit but in the jungle it blends in quite well.

Towards the end of this episode there are more Thals introduced to the story, three more are added to make it six altogether which I think is three or four too many in my opinion. However I will talk about that more as the episode progress but this another solid episode and considering it takes entirely in a studio, I felt like there was scale and it wasn’t just taking place in a studio. The cliffhanger might not have had the impact that the previous one did but it was a big revelation of there being more than a few Daleks but 10,000. We wont see 10,000 Daleks or even 10 on screen but the idea of their being that many must have sent the imaginations of children wild in 1973. I am still enjoying this adventure very much and looking forward to the rest of the serial.

Planet of the Daleks - Episode 1 (Destinus)

With this opening episode, Barry Letts becomes the longest serving producer of Doctor Who having clocked up 87 episodes. Jon Pertwee is now on 9 away from his century of episodes and Katy Manning now has 66 episodes to her name. This is the first episode that Terry Nation has written since the Christmas Day episode of ‘The Daleks Master Plan’ back in 1965.  Planet of the Daleks is the second half of this epic story and after saying goodbye to Roger Delgado in the previous episode, there is no time to look at how the Master managed to escape but instead chase after the Daleks. Since Terry Nation last wrote for the show, they have scrapped giving each episode a title yet thankfully the information text gave us the title that Nation gave the episode and it’s called Destinus.

The first few minutes of this story take place in the TARDIS and it’s the first time in a fairly long time that this has happened. The action doesn’t stay in the TARDIS for long as Jo ventures out into the endless forest. In these early minutes, Jo is put in some good situations of drama as she comes across the ship and then gets found out by two Thals. One of those Thals is played by the ever reliable Bernard Horsfall who I could watch all day. He’s the reluctant leader of this small group. But obviously we don’t know this at the time, here he’s just a leader. The other two that we meet are impressive in this episode but that will change.

There are some good scenes in this episode. The first impressive one is when Jo is hiding and there is a bit of CSO used to make a phone. That’s right I have praised a bit of CSO, lets not get ahead of ourselves, I think that CSO hasn’t helped the show in the way that Barry Letts thought that it had but there are some good moments from time to time.

One of the critiscms that have been laid at the door of this story is that its basically a repeat of Nation’s previous adventures and whilst that may be true I simply don’t care. I enjoyed this story before I knew this and I still enjoy this adventure. It’s got some great performances and it flows a lot better than most six part adventures. The cliffhanger of this episode is new and really good, the sight of an invisible Dalek, slowly being revealed is a great moment and it’s the perfect end to a very good opening episode and I think that the fact we don’t see the dalek until the very end is typical Nation and its good because it allows the supporting characters to be introduced and mingle with the Doctor and Jo.

Frontier in Space - Episode 6

The final episode of ‘Frontier in Space’ is the final appearance of Roger Delgado who was killed in Turkey a few months after this episode was transmitted. It is also the 86^th episode that has been produced by Barry Letts which is the same number that Verity Lambert produced from 1963 to 1965. That will be the only stat that appears in this entry.

The episode has the feel that its building up to something and not in a good way. The mystery starts when the Master is talking to someone but unusually we don’t hear who he’s talking to. That mystery doesn’t last long as its soon revealed that the Daleks were the ones behind it all. This is the first time that we have seen them in 36 episodes and sadly they haven’t solved the problem of the voices which is a shame.

The Daleks don’t appear until seven minutes before the end and this is when the serial goes into overdrive and it’s a great way that they are introduced because they appear at the top of a hill and appear almost from out of the ground. The idea that the Master and the Daleks working together is a brilliant idea and sadly it doesn’t last long enough. They are only in it for about a minute and then they glide off.

Delgado’s final scene in the show is rather disappointing when you think of it but I suppose they didn’t know that this would be the last time we would see him so I suppose when you put it into context you have to be fair. Roger Delgado has been one of the highlights of the Pertwee and he is the best Master that there has ever been. He played the role with some wonder and brilliance that it’s the first time I have felt sad watching an episode of Doctor Who since the final episode of ‘The War Games’. This is the beginning of the end really for the third Doctor because without someone like the Master or Roger Delgado, where does the conflict come from. I will miss Roger Delgado.

As a story this has been one of the best six part adventures that I can remember. I think that the characters have all been really well done and the plot has moved along at a good pace and its been a very impressive adventure which shouldn’t really be a surprise considering that it was written by Malcolm Hulke who has a proven track record of writing superb stories with superb characters and I think that this is Paul Bernard’s best story and everything just clicked and its always a joy when things

Frontier in Space - Episode 5

It could be argued that the previous episode was a interlude in this story but it didn’t feel like one. If you think about it not much really happened because we were suppose to be more focused on what was going on between the Doctor, Jo and the Master, that it didn’t matter what was going on elsewhere because the performances were suppose to distract us. In this penultimate episode the action moves to Draconia where the Doctor, Jo and the Master meet the Emperor. It’s a scene which shows that the Doctor has been here before and this helps to convince the Emperor that the humans aren’t a threat really. It’s a nice scenes which is ended with the Ogrons attacking the Emperor’s chamber but the Doctor manages to convince the Emperor that they have been seeing things. This means that there is no way of the Master pretending that the two sides are fighting each other and he has to rely upon destroying the evidence.

It’s good that we get the President and General Williams back in the story where the Doctor and the Emperor’s son tries to convince them that they should go to the Ogrons world. I like how we get a bit of backstory about General Williams and learn that his attitude was down to a misunderstanding. This is an important moment and a major shift in attitude for the Williams character. It seems that as the Doctor is always drawn to Earth, the show is drawn to a quarry and this is case in this episode buts it’s a brief shot which sees the Master and Jo arrive at the Masters base on the Ogron world.

I think that it’s a great moment when Jo manages to get over the Master trying to hypnotise her like he did in their first adventure. It shows how far the character has developed since her first story and shows how she’s not the weak feeble individual that seemed to only be there because she had relatives in high places. Katy Manning has had a good run of episodes recently. I don’t think that anything special has happened but it just feels that the writing is allowing her character to be more than it use to be. Jon Pertwee’s performance is also very good and his best scene comes in the Emperor’s chamber where he gets to act just as noble as the Draconians.

It feels during this episode that we are building up to something which is a critiscm that I have had of stories over the last season and a half. The episode does that thing that six parters have which is to go off in a different tangent and Malcolm Hulke does that without realising it. It’s a better cliffhanger than the previous one part of me doesn’t want to watch the next episode because of the importance of it.

Frontier in Space - Episode 4

The story starts off with the rather intriguing cliffhanger of the Doctor and the Professor running out of oxygen and I suppose if I am being positive then I would say that it would be intriguing to see how the Doctor would be saved. The way that he was saved was probably not necessarily the way that most people would have expected. Imagine being saved by your nemesis. It must be a horrible feeling for the Doctor and the smugness that the Master must be feeling is clear to see. There is a moment when the Master is reading a list of bogus crimes that the Doctor is supposed to have committed and its funny because its clear that the Master has put some thought into his plan. There is a nice moment when the Master talks about the roles being reversed, this is because obviously the Doctor and Jo visited the Master in ‘The Sea Devils’. One of my favourite scenes in this episode comes when the Doctor goes for a spacewalk. Ok so you can see the strings in some shots but it’s a good attempt on a very miniscule budget. It would have looked in a movie but on the BBC it looked rather good.

For most of the episode it’s just the Doctor, Jo and the Master. It’s only briefly at the beginning and the last couple of minutes that there are other people and it’s one of the things that I liked about this episode because it showed how close these three had gotten over the last couple of years. It’s quite fitting that with this being Delgado’s last story that we should see and perhaps be quite sad about what we are going to miss.

The supporting characters don’t really have much impact in the episode. I suppose they aren’t totally redundant because it makes sense that we have to move from one setting to another and introduce elements for the next episode but really this episode belongs to Delgado, Manning and Pertwee and I cant help but think that Delgado just edges but that’s because he oozes charisma and even though he’s a baddie I still find mself almost wanting him to win and that probably isn’t what Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks were aiming at when they introduced the character of the Master but it is what it is.

The cliffhanger isn’t very good because all that we get is an ogron looking at a computer screen after the Master setting off a homing beacon. If I could change one thing about this episode then it would be this. I think that this episode continues the good work that the previous three episodes had achieved. With two more episodes to go, I still think that there is plenty of mileage left. This is a rare story where six episodes actually work. The writing was good and the directing was equally sound.

Frontier in Space - Episode 3

I do feel sorry for the president in this episode because she’s been forced into going into war but she is also trying to prevent a coup. It’s quite clear how well General Williams and the President work together. I really like General Williams and think that Michael Hawkins plays the character really well with a hint of borderline pantomime villain. My worry about the Doctor and Jo been accused of being something that they are not is already getting tiresome. During the mind probe session on the Doctor I found myself thinking of this fact and getting slightly depressed that there were going to be more moments like this.

The episode sees the story move to the Moon. On first looks, the set is quite good and I think that even though it’s a studio set it still look quite good. It’s a lunar version of Porridge except there’s little humour and no Ronnie Barker. I think that Jon Pertwee gets a better share of the story than Katy Manning but that’s more to do with the fact that the lunar scenes were the more interesting. The bonus for Jon Pertwee filming the scenes on the lunar set was that he got to wear a dressing gown.

The episode really picks up when Roger Delgado makes a welcome return. This is the last story that Roger Delgado appears as The Master. Like most times, he is pretending to be a commissioner and I let out a small cheer when he appeared. From the moment he gets involved in the story it picks up (Not that it was really dragging). I think that the costume he wears is quite interesting as it’s similar to what he wears but more importantly, it features a symbol which for years I thought little of it but it was only upon watching the extras on the DVD that I noticed it looked like the Daleks eye.

There is something good about the cliffhanger because on the one hand the Doctor and the Professor are going to run out of oxygen but then on the other hand its one of those where its obvious that the Doctor will survive so why put him in that situation. Apart from that minor quibble I think that this episode is still working well and we are getting more and more information and its not boring or moving things at a reasonable pace until the right time (probably episode five) before it picks up again.

Frontier in Space - Episode 2

After the interesting set up of the previous episode, this is where things start to get more intriguing. The guards that appear in this episode are quite amusing. It’s hard to find anything menacing about them so quite why the Doctor and Jo obey what they say is questionable. However the thing about the Doctor and Jo is that all they do in this episode is get moved from one cell to another. The supporting characters also just bicker about who is wrong and who is right. It’s clear that someone else is causing all this largely due to the noise that occurs and also because neither side seems like they want this war and so would be reluctant to start it. We all know who’s behind it all but at the time it must have been racing through people’s mind about who it could be.

One of the earlier scenes in this story shows the strong relationship between the Doctor and Jo. There are a couple of cell scenes which show this well and if there is one advantage of these cell scenes is that it gives us more time for these two to talk to each other. When the mind probe is mentioned, I must admit that I am reminded on the moment in ‘The Five Doctors’ where it is mentioned in one of worst delivered lines in TV history.

As I mentioned before, the Draconians are a honourable yet stubborn race. They are rational beings and have their own point of view. I like how it’s the Doctor that gets to interact with them. The Doctor does have a knack of convincing the people he’s talking to that he’s making sense. The scenes at their embassy are memorable to me for no particuarl reason. My best guess is that it doesn’t really seem like they’ve been there very long because it’s just like a normal room that has some mildly intriguing furniture.

There is some erm…interesting location filming as the Doctor and Jo walk along what at the time must have seemed like futuristic buildings but sadly look like the sort of place that they would film Shameless or Benefits Street on. That said the action itself is quite good. The final bit of location filming where the Ogrons are attacking the president’s office (??). The Ogrons somehow manage to find the Doctor and Jo in their cell surprisingly quickly. I think that this shows that the story has moved on and is developing nicely.

Frontier in Space - Episode 1

Officially this is the first part of a six part adventure however really it’s the first part of a twelve part adventure because they pretty much feel like the same story. There is nothing really to separate the two adventures. The model shots that we have in the early minutes of this adventure are very impressive. The impressiveness continues with the sets of the space freight. Ok so some of it screams the 1970’s but even comparing it to today’s standards there is something quite good about the sets.

The Doctor is confused as an alien race initially called a Dragon and Jo thinks that she is seeing a Drashig. The space crew and Jo are affected by the weird noise yet the Doctor isn’t which is quite interesting. I know the Doctor is an alien but sometimes it would be good if he could be affected just like everyone else. The only time he’s incapacitated is when he’s shot at by the Ogrons.

The idea of having a female president is a bold one and one that I thinks shows how Doctor Who did create good female roles from time to time. Vera Fusek plays the role as someone who has a lot of pressure but wont jump to the wrong conclusion. General Williams is a bit of a swine from the very moment that we see him. He is the exact opposite to the president. Michael Hawkins is playing the role exactly as it should be played because with the president being so passive, these scenes need someone to be the voice of opposition.

The Draconians were Jon Pertwee’s favourite monster and its not hard to see why. Visually they are very striking and the mask is perhaps the best mask that has been used in Doctor Who. They come across in this episode as a race that are proud but can also be stubborn. When they appeared in the 2010 Big Finish play ‘Paper Cuts’, they were one of the best things in it and that shows how good they are. We don’t see their full potential in this episode but that’s normal as there are many more episodes for them to show their greatness. We see the Ograns appear in this episode and it should have been a clear indication that the Daleks might becoming back. Even with the line that the Doctor gives about different races using them to do their dirty work, I think that it’s a subtle nudge that the Daleks will be returning soon.

As an opening episode it sets things up quite well. We know what the conflict is and the two parties that are involved. This ThIng of the Doctor and Jo being confused and accused of things that aren’t true is something that I have remembered in the past as one of the things that I don’t like and I get a feeling that the same thing is going to happen over the course of the next five episodes.

Carnival of Monsters: Episode 4

The final episode sees the two plot strands finally meet with the Doctor escaping the scope and then growing. The main point of this episode is to try and get Jo out of the scope before it goes caput. This is a relatively straight forward part but it’s stretched out but it’s done well and the whole episode moves along at a good pace and Barry Letts has done a good job.

I haven’t mentioned Shirna at all in these episode reviews so far and that largely because the character hasn’t been aprticuarly interesting. All she has done in these four episodes is stand behind Vorg and whine. I think that Vorg would have been better off on his own. I like how Vorg goes from just a harmless entertainer to a terrible human being with just one speech by the Master. I know that he was always like this but it took the Doctor to make it clear on screen. Though this is slightly devalued when we learn that Vorg won it. The Drashig escaping from the scope should have been an epic moment in the story sadly, it was ruined by the CSO. It’s a shame that they Drashig’s wont feature in any more Doctor Who stories as apart from a few shots, they were a simple and well realised creation.

I have found the relationship between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning to be on par with Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton. Whenever I think of the third Doctor, I always think of Jo Grant and there’s a good reason for that. There have been several moments when the best thing in the episode has been there dialogue. At times I have felt that their friendship wasn’t acting and that they were delighted to be in each others company.

Carnival of Monsters is one of those stories that is better than I have thought. Yes the grey peoples make up is rather bad and the CSO is largely a bad thing for the story but the rest of it works well and I think that for the Doctor’s first adventure without the Timelords’ involvement is a promising start to this era of Doctor Who and the best thing about reaching the end of this story is that the next twelve episodes are going to be great.

If you had asked me before I started to watch the Pertwee stories, I would have rated Carnival of Monsters as one of the weakest stories however these four episodes gets an average rating of 7.48 with The Mind of Evil (7.47), The Curse of Peladon & The Claws of Axos (both 7.45), The Time Monster (7.44), Colony in Space (7.41), The Mutants (7.39) and Day of the Daleks (7.33) rated worse. Also the Cybermen have been missing for 109 episodes, The Daleks have been busy exterminating for 29 episodes now, the Ice Warriors have been absent for 25 episodes and the Master has been away putting together convoluted plans for 25 episodes.

Carnival of Monsters - Episode 3

The beginning part of this episode feels like a narration between Vorg and the grey people. They talk for a bit and then we cut away to the location stuff. This ends relatively quickly and the story goes off into its various plot strands and this is where I feel that for the first time the story has really found its feet because both sides of the story are just as good as the other.

The stuff that takes place on the SS Bernice is all very good and at least we get them to say something different instead of the repetitive dialogue that they have had to say for the previous two episodes. I still chuckle at myself thinking about the previous episode where Ian Marter and Jon Pertwee are doing that silly boxing bit. Despite these characters seemingly have come from an episode of Upstairs Downstairs, I still think that they are quite entertaining and don’t get annoyed by their presence.

The grey people (I can’t be bothered to find out their proper name) are a bit more interesting than they have been before now. Michael Wisher and Peter Halliday make these roles far more watchable than they otherwise would have been. Halliday is always a reliable performance and every time I think of him I think of Packer from ‘The Invasion’ which will always be his best performance. Wisher also gives a sound performance but unlike Halliday, his best performance is yet to come. The problem that they have is that the grey makeup is not very good. It’s hard to look at them without looking for where the face-paint stops just around the eyes and mouth. It does ruin it somewhat.

The Drashig’s make quite an impact in this episode and even when they are on dodgy CSO shots towards the end, they are still an effective creature. Their best moment comes I think when they are breaking through the ship and one breaks through what must be the cargo bay roof and roars and even though its CSO, its looks rather good and makes up for the poor CSO that we saw moments earlier (just about). I’m still not won over by CSO and even when you take away using 2014 standards to measure the effects, the CSO was never going to be a success and Barry Letts really should have tried for something different.

The cliffhanger is rather good as it shows Jon Pertwee stumbling out of the scope machine and then collapsing. It’s the perfect balance between putting the leads characters in a position of peril but not deadly peril as I always think that’s its rubbish because you know that Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are going to make it. Anyway I found the story to be far more interesting this time and I think that the final episode will be a good way to end a story which has improved in my opinion.

Carnival of Monsters - Episode 2

I didn’t mention that the cliffhanger was rather bizarre because it had a good idea but didn’t come across very well with the TARDIS being lifted by a hand. The thing that struck me after a few minutes is how the issues that I had with the previous episode have pretty much disappeared. I still prefer the stuff with the Doctor and Jo but I don’t find the stuff with Vorg to be quite as dull as possible because it seems that Robert Holmes has given them something to do. There is a moment when the Ograns make an unexpected appearance. There is also a moving appearance of the Cybermen. The only time that they would appear during the Pertwee era. It’s quite sad when I think about I think about it.

Seeing Ian Marter talking about beating the Doctor to “within an inch of his life” and playing via Queensbury Rules is funny because we know who he’ll become. It’s rather odd that in the middle of all of the stuff that happens on board the SS Bernice, that they can find the time to have a little fight. Of course the Doctor wins which will come as no surprise. The Doctor and Jo go from the SS Bernice to a set that looks like the set from Top of the Pops. They spend an awful long time there and whilst at first its fun to see, the novelty wears off. Thankfully they end up on location in a marsh instead of a quarry. They don’t really seem to do very much in this episode and that’s why the stuff with the grey people and Vorg was much more interesting.

The episode ends with a Drashig appearing and roaring. Even though it’s a puppet, its quite well done and does look impressive in close up. It’s a perfectly fine end to a perfectly fine episode. I think that I am slightly more positive towards this story than perhaps my writing suggested in the previous episode. I still think that it suffers from being in the shadow of ‘The Three Doctors’ but at least I think that the next two episodes have enough that will keep my interest.

On a stats related finale, I thought that for a while I would list how long its been since significant people/baddies have appeared. The Brigadier (2), The Master (18), The Ice Warriors (24), The Daleks (28) and The Cybermen (108).

Carnival of Monsters - Episode 1

So this is the first story since the Doctor was given his freedom by the Timelords and the celebrate this important event we are first introduced to grey people standing in front of CSO which means their bodies disappear from time to time. As you can probably tell I am not a massive fan of this adventure and whilst I was hoping that I would think differently of this story, it doesn’t take long for my opinion to be kept as it was.

We get our first mention of Metablias III in this episode which will be a recurring theme during this period of Pertwee’s tenure. The running gag of the Doctor trying to get the TARDIS to land there is quite amusing here because it just shows that when he’s allowed to go where he wants, he lands it in the wrong place. This is also the first time that Ian Marter who plays Lieutenant Andrew’s in this story. It’s a world away from Harry Sullivan and not as good. That said I think that anything with Ian Marter is worth a watch and gets to be fairly heroic trying to defend a lady.

When the story is with the Doctor and Jo and the SS Bernice, then I am interested because I find the relationship between Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning to be thoroughly entertaining and even the supporting characters on the SS Bernice to be fun and interesting. Sadly when the story goes back to the grey people then I start to lose the will to live. This is because nothing happens and all the characters are rather bland. I just don’t care about any of them and that’s the main problem.

The location work is quite good even though its just on a ship. Barry Letts is using some interesting angles to hide the fact that the ship isn’t actually moving and this helps make these scenes work. Sadly that’s all the location stuff that we get and after getting quite a lot in the previous story, it’s a shame that were forced to endure studio and CSO work.

In stats information, this is Barry Letts’ 77^th episode as producer meaning he is tied with Innes Lloyd and is nine episode behind Verity Lambert. In directing terms this is his 11^th episode and it’s a shame that Barry Letts and Robert Holmes’ names are attached to this story. The problem with this episode is that after following the wonderful ‘The Three Doctors’ , this story feels rather flat and is a mixed bag and the good stuff makes it watchable and at least its only four episodes long instead of six so we have to be grateful for small mercies.

The Three Doctors - Episode 4

The final episode of this anniversary story comes at the end of what feels like a rather short story. Bob Baker and Dave Martin have written the best story of their careers in Doctor Who so far and I think that Lennie Mayne has directed the story very well and managed to maintain the egos very well. The story has to deliver in this final episode and never has a final episode of a story mattered more than here.

William Hartnell makes his last appearance in a Doctor Who episode and he’s saved the best until last. I know that I have been rather harsh about the point of Hartnell’s involvement given that he’s very unwell but when you think about the early days of the show and how he dominated the screen at times, it’s a shame to see how he has been reduced to effectively a bit part. His final scene was short but sweet and he would pass away just over two years later. Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton are both on fine form during this episode and deserve to take equal billing. I had forgotten about how funny Patrick Troughton could be and that is one of things that I have enjoyed about this story. Jon Pertwee has also been good in this story showing how different his version of the Timelord has been from his predecessors.

Considering she fell down the pecking order slightly, Katy Manning still gives a very strong performance and does stand in the background and is very much involved in the story. Even John Levene is getting more of the story than he would normally have done. He seems to have fallen into the role of what Jamie would have done had he not been stuck on Emmerdale Farm. Levene doesn’t do the action stuff like what Frazer Hines use to do but still gets stuck in.

Omega continues to be quite impress and there is a good special effect that occurs during this episode when his mask/helmet is removed, it shows nothing and there is a nice use of CSO to show Omega raising his helmet with both Doctors still in shot. Omega becomes even more unbalanced and I always think that an effective unbalanced individual is always worth watching.

The scene where they all walk through the singularity point is a good scene because it feels like the end. The way that the Brigadier leaves them is perhaps the nicest end because they all think that the Doctors will stay with Omega forever. It might have been obvious to people that the Doctors weren’t going to be stuck with Omega for long and so it was going to be interesting to see how they would get free and it was perhaps rather a simple way but it was still good to watch and was effective enough to be done quickly and tie up that particular loose end just before the story ended.

This episode sees the Doctor given his freedom and for the first time since ‘The War Games’ he is allowed to travel in his TARDIS and go wherever he wants. This fact would have meant a bit more had the Doctor not done a few stories on other worlds. Ok they were at the beck and call of the Timelords but the fact that the Doctor has the freedom now isn’t the thing that comes to mind when this moment occurs. The episode ends the serial rather well and it feels like this episode has a lot packed into just twenty-five minutes. I never got bored and never found anyone annoying and I think that this episode was the best of the four. With the show now going to feature more other world adventures, it means that this is the beginning of the end for UNIT and the Brigadier, Benton and Yates aren’t going to feature in it as much as they use to and that’s a shame but the success of the show is made on continuous change. I think that ‘The Three Doctor’s is a wonderful celebration to the show and as the show enters its second decade, there is a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to. The show has never been in better shape.

The Three Doctors - Episode 3

A few stats again to start this entry. This is Jon Pertwee’s 79^th episode as the Doctor with William Hartnell appearing in his 132^nd and Patrick Troughton appearing in his 120^th. There now I can get on with the episode. The episode now moves from Earth to wherever they have landed now. It’s inevitable that the show moves to a quarry but for some reason it works quite well and the location filming (mainly around the entrance to Omega’s base) is done well and Lennie Mayne did well.

This is the episode where Omega is introduced. His introduction is fairly impressive and its quite quick before we find out that he is determined to get revenge. Omega is the one that invented Time Travel but paid the ultimate price which would explain why he’s gone a bit bat poo crazy. I commented that Pertwee didn’t really have much involvement in the previous episode but he more than makes up for it in this episode. The first several minutes are the Doctor talking to Omega and every so often it Jo and Tyler. The action then moves to Troughton’s Doctor along with the Brigadier and Benton. All the stuff with the Brigadier is funny and is continuing to have fun with it. Benton does feel like he’s just making up the numbers. Omega is well realised and that’s done due to Stephen Thorne’s performance. He was really good as Azal in ‘The Deamons’ and here he uses his height to be very imposing and everytime he’s on screen he is brilliant.

The bickering between Troughton and Pertwee’s Doctor is fun to watch and normally would be something of great annoyance but on this occasion it works really well. What works better is when they seem to be getting on. Hartnell’s involvement again comes at the end of the episode except with the Second and Third Doctors otherwise engaged, it means that Billy Hartnell has to interact with the Timelords and this marks a first for his Doctor.

The episode seems to go in a strangeness that I haven’t seen before in Doctor Who. The Third Doctor is battling inside Omega’s mind. The episode ends with the Doctor being held in some sort of wrestling move with Omega taunting him. It’s a strange ending so I can’t decide whether it’s a good cliffhanger or not. It’s certainly not boring and the story is maintaining my interest.

The Three Doctors - Episode 2

The second episode of this story continues this anniversary adventure and the thing that I didn’t mention about the previous episode is that it aired on December 30^th 1972 and so if you were being pedantic you could argue it wasn’t an anniversary episode whereas this episode actually aired on January 6^th 1973 so aired in the anniversary year.

The initial moments of the episode with Troughton’s Doctor and Benton felt like a blast from the past even though they didn’t have many (if any) scenes together the last time they were together back in ‘The Invasion’. The look on the Brigadier’s face when he first sees Troughton’s Doctor is priceless. You can always rely on Courtney to give us the best. I like how the Brigadier doesn’t care what the Doctor looks like as long as he’s there. Courtney was probably the best person in this episode as he had some of the best lines. Troughton came a close second but I think that Courtney is making the most of the situation.

Despite being the current Doctor, Jon Pertwee doesn’t feel like the most important of the three. Despite appearing already, its six minutes before Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning actually contribute to the story. Once the episode gets going, his presence is greater. The problem is that with this being a multi-doctor special it does feel like Pertwee is being kept busy until Troughton turns up. This is the first time that Pertwee has felt like anything but the main star. Troughton is on fine form again. From the moment he meets the Brigadier for the first time to the look on his face when the Brigadier tells UNIT personnel that he’s the Doctor’s assistant, Troughton doesn’t put a foot wrong.

Lethbridge Stewart gets to go inside the TARDIS for the first time ever. It’s another priceless shot. It’s better than Benton’s astonished face in the previous episode. I also like how he gets more agitated the longer he is in the TARDIS. Some people would get freaked out by being in that position but as the Brigadier is suppose to show no fear so he just does what most people in his position would do and that is shriek until he gets his/her own way.

Hartnell’s involvement was marginal but yet it was important. I am still in two minds about whether his involvement is the right thing for the best interests of the story. I suppose if your going to have him in the story then it should count and they should get the best out of the situation which is something that Bob Baker and Dave Martin do well.

The cliffhanger was bonkers. Bonkers in a good way mind but still bonkers. The sight of UNIT HQ going through the black hole is something that shows that 1970’s Doctor Who had some cracking moments which could rival new Who. This is a feel that this is an anniversary story because it still doesn’t feel like a standard Doctor Who story. That’s not a critiscm by the way but more of an observation. I am still enjoying this story very much indeed and think that the best is yet to come.

The Three Doctors - Episode 1

Today I start on the 10^th season of Doctor Who and the first story of that anniversary season is the first multi-Doctor story. It’s the first time for a long time that I have wanted work to be over as quickly as possible so I could start this part of the marathon. This is the first time since ‘The Tenth Planet’ that William Hartnell has appeared in a Doctor Who episode (last seen on September 26^th) and it’s the first time since ‘The War Games’ that Patrick Troughton has appeared in Doctor Who (January 23^rd). The story sees us return to the Gallifrey for the first significant scene since Patrick Troughton’s last story. This is by way of introducing Hartnell and Troughton.

As Troughton hadn’t really been gone that long, it seems quite easy for him to get back into the character and from the very moment that he appears in the story he is fantastic. He hasn’t missed a beat. The lack of Jamie means that the recorder becomes his companion and it’s a nice reminder to the early days of Troughton’s time. In an anniversary story, its only right that there are little nods to the past. Sadly William Hartnell’s involvement in this story is perhaps a burning issue in this story. He was too ill to take part in the story to the extent that Troughton and Pertwee were. The scene where all three of them are talking to each other and Hartnell’s Doctor is yelling at the other two is a fun scene. That’s why I’m have mixed feeling with Hartnell’s involvement because he’s not in it enough to feel like a proper part of the story yet when he is in it he’s still magnificent.

There are two effects used here that don’t entirely work and that’s the psychedelic blob and a sort of white sphere. It’s used to take Mr Ollis, Doctor Tyler, Bessie. Another rather poorly realised thing are the Gellguards. They look stupid and they walk at a ridiculous speed and yet still manage to get past a group on UNIT soldiers. There is a good x-ray picture which is used to show Ollis’ face.  I love the line that the Brigadier gives about UNIT being a top secret organisation yet about five minutes later the Doctor and Jo drive past a UNIT signpost with the Brigadiers name on it. Not terribly top secret.

It’s a cracking opening episode and in some ways it doesn’t feel like a normal Doctor Who story. It feels like after the last few stories, that this is a sort of light hearted adventure that doesn’t really have the seriousness that a normal story would have. All the performances are fun and it feels like a fun adventure with more fun to come. I feel like I have a renewed enjoyment to watching Doctor Who and I would like to think that this is a new strong period of Doctor Who but I suppose only time will tell.

The Time Monster - Episode 6

Like a bolt of lightning, the final episode of the ninth season is upon us. I said in the review of the previous episode that it didn’t feel like the story was building to anything and that’s still true. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see the big finale that it was heading towards. The Master has been named King in this episode, its now less than he deserves. King Master and Queen Galleia are a formidable duo. In fact there is a shot of the pair of them on their thrones and it suits them even though Galleia is dressed properly but the Master is still in his black suit.

There is a nice little scene where the Doctor talks about his blackest day and we get a lovely little story about an old person he encountered on Gallifrey. There is the strangest line that I have heard in Doctor Who for sometime when the line “The Daiesiest daisy I’ve ever scene.” Is uttered by the Doctor. There is another nice scene between the Master and Jo after Atlantis has started to crumble where the Master wishes he had finished him off a long time ago. It’s a thought echoed by many people. The scene ends with Jo doing what she did in ‘The Daemons’ and sacrifice herself to save the day. What follows it is a rather odd CSO shot where at one or two moments, Katy Manning actually disappears. This is what happens when too much faith is put in CSO.

The thing is that the first half of the story doesn’t really interest me and its only in the closing moments where the Doctor and Jo are talking to Kronos that is starts to pick up. I think that the way that the Master was able to escape was rather poor as everyone could have seen it coming and it doesn’t have quite the elegance that his exit in ‘The Sea Devils’ did.

I had forgotten about baby Benton, this meant that we got a rather nice amusing end to the story with the Brigadier finally out of the time bubble and storms into the lab expecting to see the Master but instead sees Jo in a different costume and a naked (not really) Benton. With everyone giggling away as the theme tune starts to play it seems like a pleasant way to end the season which has at best been patchy. If this story hadn’t moved to Atlantis then I could argue quite happily that this is a fine story and a fine way to end the ninth season however as I found the Atlantis material to be a bit dull I cant make that argument.

The Time Monster - Episode 5

We move into what is unofficially the second part of this six part adventure. The first thing to notice about this episode is the rather odd way that they resolve the cliffhanger. The Doctor is talking to Jo through the air. There are loads of voices in the Doctors subconscious (some of which are female). Jo flips a switch and all of a sudden the Doctor appears and all is normal. I say normal, as normal as can be considering what happens in this episode. It could be argued that the TARDIS scenes were a transition from the institute to Atlantis. This is I’m afraid where my interest starts to wander. The sets and costumes look rather wonderful but the problem is that things move at such a pedestrian pace that it doesn’t maintain my attention for very long.
The episode introduces the legendary Ingrid Pitt to the story. Pitt is perhaps most famous for appearing in several Hammer Films. Here she plays Queen Galleia and from the moment she appears on screen she comes across as the most important character in the story and it doesn’t take long for her importance to be seen. The look on the Master’s face when he sees the Doctor is priceless. Speaking of the master, one of the most intriguing things (and perhaps most memorable things) about this is episode is the relationship between him and Queen Galleia. In fact she seems to have come under his spell far better than King Dalios. If the Master ever got married then I would like to think that it would have been with her.

The performances from Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning were perfectly fine and it was intesting to see Jo in some different attire. She did seem to revel in her new surroundings and it was good that she was given something to do. I know I keep going on about whether a companion is given something to do but I think that when you compare companions from the classic era to the new era, its shocking to see sometimes how they are at times reduced to window dummies.

It’s not a particularly memorable or interesting episode but what it doesn’t have that is a good thing is Kronos. The thing is that like the previous story, there isn’t a feeling that we are building up to anything. It’s weird that this has happened two stories in a row but I suppose that’s the problem with these type of stories. I still think that this is a better story than ‘The Mutants’.

The Time Monster - Episode 4

The cliffhanger lost nothing in the reprise which shows how good it was. When we do finally get to see what happened to Yates it’s a rather good setting. We of course now that the TARDIS is indestructible so to see it at an angle is a wonderful sight. The story moves on a fair bit as we have pretty much done with the institute and the action moves into the TARDIS’. The interior of the TARDIS is silly. It cant be avoided but the roundels look just bathroom sink. It’s obvious why this interior never lasted beyond this adventure because it would have just looked even sillier in the 1980’s than it did in 1972. In the past that there has been a noticeable difference between the Doctor’s and the Master’s TARDIS’. In this case all that is different is the column in the middle of the console. That’s not enough of a difference in my opinion.

The idea of a TARDIS being inside another TARDIS is a fun idea and its done well in this episode. I like the interaction between the Doctor and the Master during these scenes and in particular when the Master turns off the sound and then when the Doctor reinstates it, turns his words into gibberish. It’s a nice bit of fun in what is otherwise a rather fun-free episode.

Its good to see Benton, Stuart and Ruth forming their own little Scooby Doo gang. It doesn’t seem like a team that is going to win when you consider that Benton hasn’t had the greatest luck in any episodes that has been in (remember ‘The Mind of Evil’?). Then there is Stuart who seems like if a strong gust of wind blew his way that he would topple over rather easily. Then there is Ruth who seems to be very animated when talking about womens lib and how pathetic men seem to be but apart from that doesn’t really stand out. However despite these minor quibbles they are more than a match (for a little time) for the Master. This episode is memorable for Benton to be turned into a baby. This is would have been the moment that John Levine would have realised that his days were numbered in this show.

The performances from everyone were fine but Krasis is a bit of a wasted character as he doesn’t contribute anything to the story. The other problem that I have with this episode is that aprt from the story moving from moving the story to the TARDIS, very little actually happens and this is rather frustrating but it’s the perils of having a six part adventure which has a pretty thin premise to it. I’m afraid to say that the rather ropey bird costume makes a return at the end of the episode. Again it was only a brief appearance but its means that we are getting closer to seeing it a lot more in the final two episodes. The cliffhanger isn’t as effective as the previous one. But that’s more to do with the fact that the previous one was so solid. This one was a bit strange as with the Doctor gone it was left for Jo who was in another

The Time Monster - Episode 3

As I approach the half way mark of this story I can’t help but feel good about this marathon which is the opposite way that I felt during the previous story. Nice stat comes with this episode and its that this is the 100^th episode that Terrance Dicks has been responsible for as script editor. This is the 67^th episode for Nicholas Courtney and the 30^th to feature Roger Delgado.

Despite finding a lot of positives in this story, I am afraid to say that the appearance of Kronos is the first thing that has appeared in this story that troubles me. I know that Doctor Who has prided itself on the fact it pushes the boundaries of technology and effects but sometimes its hard to argue with the sight of someone flapping their arms/wings. Thankfully its kept to a minimum in this episode which is perhaps the saving grace of this character.

On the positive side there are things to like in this episode which take away the rather silly Kronos costume. The first is that the episode flows along rather well without much to speak of in the way of eye catching stuff. The Doctor has clearly been watching Blue Peter before this episode because he’s making something out of a wine bottle with cutlery and bits and pieces attached to it. There is a fun and slightly barmy portion of the episode where a knight and an army of roundheads are attack Yates and the UNIT soldiers. Only in a Doctor Who story could this occur and not seem out of place. I like this part of the episode because it maintained my attention for the entire course.

The performances are all really good with Roger Delgado being the best of the regular cast. It’s odd talking about Delgado as the regular cast but when you consider his episode count, its shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise. He feels like is having a whale of a time as he gets to show off to Krasis. Speaking of Krasis, I found him to be a silly yet entertaining presence in the episode. He’s not scared of his current surroundings but still finds them enthralling. Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are on good form as usual with Manning getting to be a bit more productive than usual.

I have to say that the end of the episode was a wonderful ending because all the drama is etched on Nicholas Courtney’s face. I think that it was a clever idea not to show the action from Yates’ point of view for some reason. It makes the potential loss feel even greater and it’s one of the finest build ups to the end of an episode that I can recall for sometime. I am enjoying this story but I can’t say that I am loving it. I don’t really care about the Atlantis stuff but I am still interested in the story and look forward to the second half of the serial.

The Time Monster - Episode 2

After being enthralled with the opening episode and finding it a lot of fun I must admit that I don’t feel as much warmth to this episode. That’s not to say that it’s a terrible episode by any means but something’s changed between the end of the previous episode and todays episode. Not sure if I will ever know but that’s not really important. Let’s just be grateful that this isn’t ‘The Mutants’. The main point of interest seems to be the fact that Stuart has been turned into an old man. It’s not the greatest make up and I might be somewhat cruel as I am comparing it to the old man make up used on David Tennant in ‘Last of the Timelords’.

The interaction between the Master and Doctor Percival. The thing that I like about it is that the Master really treats Percival with contempt. He even comments about not having someone as easy to control as Percival for quite sometime. After Stuart is aged horribly, he doesn’t get to do much apart from stay in bed and that means that Jo becomes nurse and has to stay by his side which is another disappointing episode for her.

I like the moment when Roger Delgado does a good job of miming to Nicholas Courtney’s voice. This is used to convince Benton to leave the lab unattended and I like how Benton actually gets to use his intelligence as he manages to pretend that he has left but just went around the building and came in from another window. Though he is somewhat undermined when he falls for a feeble trick from the Master.

The cliffhanger is rather good. It’s good because of the very last shot which is of Krasis looking very serious which works rather well and leaves a good image in my mind. Despite not a lot happening, I found this episode to fly by at a rate that I haven’t expected for quite some time. I still think that this might not be the best story of the season by any means but I still think it’s a better story than I have given it credit for.

 

The Time Monster - Episode 1

The Time Monster is the final story of the ninth season and it’s the return of an earth based story but more worringly, it’s another six part story and whilst I didn’t enjoy the previous six parter and still not sold on six parters I am still prepared to give this story the benefit of the doubt. It’s one of the last third Doctor stories that I ever saw and it’s the one that I haven’t been able to make my mind up really. I’m going to start with my stat bit. This is Katy Manning’s 46^th episode, she is now tied with Peter Purves and by the end of this story will be the joint 4^th longest serving companion. This is the first time that we have seen Nicholas Courtney since episode 4 of ‘Day of the Daleks’. This is also his 65^th episode which if he were what I would call a traditional companion would put him in fourth place. It’s good to have Courtney back

It takes just three minutes for Roger Delgado to return. He has well and truly into The Newton Institute. Delgado has now appeared in 28 episodes in just two seasons. Less than five minutes in he has hypnotised someone and seems to be making up for lost time. There is a bit where he is operating the machine whilst trying to avoid being noticed by Benton and the Brigadier. It seems rather silly really

Stuart and Ruth are two scientists that are working for the Doctor. It’s revealed quite later on in the episode that they are brother and sister. Ruth is someone who doesn’t like being talked down to by the Master and is quite the feminist which is a character trait that would have been fairly common in 1970’s drama. Stuart seems like a nice if slightly less feisty version of Ruth. He does get the best line in the episode where he says the line about the good ship womens lib (and all who sail in her). Apart from these two the supporting performances (apart from the Brigadier, Mike and Benton) were pretty average.

The acronym TOMTIT might have been fine in 1972 but I can’t say it without a snigger. It’s going to be a problem for the rest of this story. The actual principle of it is what makes it more than a snigger. Despite not being a big fan of this story, I feel quite good about the next five episodes. I don’t quite know why, it could be just because I found ‘The Mutants’ to be such a terrible experience that I am just happy to have gotten past it or it might be because the Master and the Brigadier are back so it feels like I’ve got a new enjoyment in this marathon and despite this being a rather normal opening episode, I am really looking forward to this final story.

The Mutants - Episode 6

It’s felt like a long six episodes. It seems that this is the episode where things start to make a strange sort of sense. I should say that if they had worked this hard at the beginning of the story then I would have reacted better. Perhaps this is another example where quantity isn’t better than quality. I think that whilst its good occasionally to have six parters (like in ‘The Sea Devils’), most stories are better as a four episode format. After spending what feels like an eternity talking about him we actually get to meet the earth investigator. Thankfully it happens quite early on and from the moment he appears, the action seems to flow thick and fast. I like how it seems to be going the Marshall’s way before Jo, Stubbs and Cotton gate-crash the investigation. What follows are some of the finest scenes in the entire serial.

Paul Whitsun-Jones has saved the best until last. The Marshall does seem to have come unhinged as he ends up locking up the investigator and when he meets his end I was quite glad that he got his comeuppance. Jon Pertwee also gives one of his best performances for quite sometime. He seems to really go for it when he’s talking to the investigator. Even Katy Manning seems to get some good stuff to do though she’s put in a position where she doesn’t outshine Pertwee which is fair enough I suppose.

The effect of turning Ky’s hand from a human hand to a mutant is brilliantly achieved. Also some of the effects of the Technicolor CSO Ky are well done by 1972’s standards. It does do a good job of making it look like some sort of metamorphosis has taken place. The Mutts are quite good even when they are on Sky Base. I was quite critical before about how some of the studio sets were quite dull and were undermining the story. This time they were actually quite good and this might be more to do with what was going on but I thought that they looked good.

Whilst I am glad to see the back of this story I should say that they saved the best episode till last. Everyone was performing brilliantly and helped me enjoy this story for the first time really. I still think that its one of the weakest third Doctor stories so far and I can breathe a sigh of relief because the next story sees the return of Roger Delgado and the return of UNIT. Yes its TOMTITT and ‘The Time Monster’.

The Mutants - Episode 5

The episode starts off with the rather impressive cliffhanger which even with CSO doesn’t diminish how good it looks. I would have liked a bit more of an idea what the story is building towards because it doesn’t seem like theres much of an idea about what the climax will be. That said this fact is somewhat forgotten as there are enough things happening in this episode to make you forget this.

The Marshall seems to have regain some of his menace from episode three. The scene where Jo and the others are being put on trial is an interesting one and it shows how the Marshal is trying to balance many things at the same time. It’s good how at one point it seems like the game is up for the Marshall when the earth investigator arrives. Speaking of the investigator, I wonder how many people watching in 1972 were still thinking that it would be the Master. I am surprised that it was mentioned so often and yet he or she doesn’t make an appearance.

As far as the sets are concerned, it’s a story of two tales because the scenes on Solos are really well done and atmospheric but when the story moves to the studio, it loses something and this isn’t something that struck me until now. The lab that Jaeger uses is the best of the Sky Base sets but the rest all seem rather boring in comparison.

Jaeger seems to have had a sugary drink when he first appears in this episode. Apart from that he is still good to watch even though he’s on the bad side. You can tell when they have remembered Katy Manning is in this story as she suddenly starts to be proactive. Here she is tied up but she is the one that escapes and when they make radio contact she is the one that explains it all. She is not the dumb blonde in this episode which is a blessed relief. Even Jon Pertwee does some good stuff in this episode even though he spends most with Jaeger.

I nearly went an entire entry without mentioning my new positive approach to the story and that’s because I haven’t had to force myself to find the positives. Yes there have been moments which have caused me to be negative but the pros outweigh the negatives in this episode. I think that this was a solid episode that had a ok cliffhanger to compliment what was a productive episode. It’s a shame though that its taken until the fifth episode for me to feel like this. Sadly it will probably go down as one of the weakest Pertwee stories and certainly the weakest so far.