The Android Invasion - Episode 4

Maybe, just maybe I will find something in this final episode that will completely get rid of what I have written about this story in the previous two episodes. Maybe I wasn’t giving episodes two and three the chance that they deserved and that the Kraal’s plot isn’t as convoluted as I previously though. Well as I start to watch the final episode of this story I am reminded that the cliffhanger didn’t really get a mention. At the end of the previous episode, the Doctor and Sarah are about to get on the rocket that is going to earth and they don’t get in the cases before it lifts off and they are affected by the G-Force. The close up on Elisabeth Sladen is great because according to the info text on the DVD, it allows Sladen to pull at the sides of her face to give the impression of the G-Force. This is actually quite a sad episode because it’s the last time that John Levene and Ian Marter will appear in this show. At least they appear as their normal versions as opposed to the android versions.

After the reprise is over and the Doctor and Sarah are back awake its quickly shown that there is an android version of the Doctor. The action actually moves to earth with Crayford arriving back and getting in contact with space command. It’s revealed towards the end that Crayford has been wearing the eye patch unnecessarily. Quite how he didn’t figure out to check out his eye at any point during his time with the Kraal’s. It’s another problem with Terry Nation’s writing that is slowly becoming outdated to Doctor Who.

The CSO shot of the capsules landing was terrible. Letts’ fondness for CSO has always been a problem when he was producer but as director he could have done something else and had he been producer and someone else tried that then he would have put his foot down. Sadly this didn’t happen and its one of the few disappointing moments in this episode. The Doctor encountering his android self is quite a nice scene although I think that its made a bit silly when the real Doctor jumps through a window. Thankfully there is a second scene between the two Doctors and it’s a very well directed scene and Letts’ redeems himself slightly here but I should say he’s still a solid director and has directed this story well overall.

John Levene’s last word is “Yes” and his last scene is when he is knocked out of the floor and his android version is standing over him. Ian Marter’s final scene is just as bad because he is tied up with General Finch and being untied by Sarah. That’s it, there is no goodbye scene like he got in ‘Terror of the Zygons’. It’s a shame that after 62 episodes and 31 episodes respectively that they two characters weren’t treated with a bit more respect. I know that I haven’t been very positive about Harry during his time on the show, he is at least entitled to a better send off than what we got here.

The problem with this serial is that it is largely unsatisfying. There are some positives in this serial but on the whole I think that the problems such as a convoluted plot and disregard for certain characters is what has slightly devalued this serial since I watched it in the past. I suspect that if I watched it again in one sitting in the future then I might think a bit more positively about it but I cant deny that I have been disappointed with what I have seen. Not the worst story of the season but not the greatest.

The Android invasion - EPisode 3

The penultimate episode of story spends the first seven minutes or so dealing with a bomb going off. At one moment it’s said that there is nine minutes before the bomb goes off. It’s the longest nine minutes that I have felt for some time. Despite their being a short amount of time it doesn’t feel like there is much of a build-up.

The one few bits of comfort come in the form of Crayford. There is a bit of an explanation about why Crayford is working for the Kraal’s. Crayford believes that he is going to return to earth and the Kraal’s are going to help him. Crayford’s return to Earth has been prepared and so his return (arranged by the Kraal’s) won’t be so much of a shock. It’s one of the few things that the Kraal’s do that actually makes sense. Of course it’s going to go wrong at some point but at least that moment will come along and it’s something to enjoy.

The Doctor’s best moment comes when he is tied up with the bomb right in front of him. It’s a nice little scene. Sarah is quite inventive in this episode. It only really happens when she electrocutes the android guard but it’s still a great little moment. This is another episode where Harry appears and again he makes more of a contribution to the story than he did in the later stages of his time on the show.

It really doesn’t make sense as to why they are going to the trouble of recreating one English village when they plan to bombard the planet with some bacteria. Surely they wouldn’t have to bother with any of that and instead just perfect the bacteria and use that instead. Oh well it just gives Terry Nation the opportunity to cruise in writing terms and despite Barry Letts’ best efforts there is little to find exciting.

This has to be the first story that I have watched for quite some time that is worse than I previously thought. I think that when it’s watched in one sitting then it’s easy to overlook things and thus enjoy it a bit more and so as a result this is the one story of the season that I have become disappointed with. I think that the problem with the story is that it’s a convoluted plot and I just cant get beyond that. It’s a plot that also doesn’t have the mileage to go four episodes. In terms of plot development, it doesn’t really achieve anything, its not until the very end that it seems to be moving towards something. Its definelty the weakest Terry Nation script.

The Android Invasion - Episode 2

After the rather intriguing reprise there is an unusually slow start. After Sarah rescues the Doctor they spend a bit of time running and then they have a sit down. There is a bit of explanation about Guy Crayford and the idea that people on earth think he is dead. This is quite an important moment in the story and will become relevant in later episodes.

The ugly looking face that was shown at the end of the previous episode is called a Kraal and as a mask it’s quite good and the Kraal’s are quite well realised. Sadly the problem comes from the fact that their whole plan is rather convoluted. Convoluted to the point that it could have been thought up by the Master. Even the information text on the DVD seem to be taking a dig at this point.

Despite the weird goings on, Sarah and the Doctor still think that they are on earth and when they encounter Benton they think that he’s the real Benton. It’s great the John Levene is back in the show especially as he’s not the usual Benton. Ian Marter is another person that appears as a different version of a character we’ve previously met. For viewers watching, its only been nine weeks since Harry left the series. He’s been more useful in this episode than he was in most of the episodes that he appeared in.

There’s a slightly frustrating thing where Sarah hurts her ankle. It’s a terribly clichéd thing that happens but I shouldn’t really be surprised about this. But what started out as a clichéd thing turns into an surprising turn of events for Sarah. I think that Elisabeth Sladen and Tom Baker give fine performances in this episode but it doesn’t happen until they have their scene in the shop. Sadly Terry Nation seems to have taken his foot of the accelerator in terms of mystery and excitement. It’s only down to Barry Letts that this wasn’t a total dud.

It doesn’t happen until the very end of this episode but the Doctor finally twigs what’s going on just before the big reveal. It’s an odd thing that it takes until the final moments of the second episode before it’s all put together. Normally it wouldn’t take this long for the Doctor to put two and two together.

The cliffhanger is fantastic. There is no other word for it. I love the fact that it sort of comes out of nowhere as its never really implied that the Sarah that the Doctor is talking to is an android. The last shot is of an android Sarah with her face off. The first time that I ever saw this I was completely surprised with what I saw. It was a great ending to what was an ok episode. I won’t say that I was bored by what I was watching but I just think that it seemed to lack something. Can’t quite put my finger on it but its far from the worst story ever but I am surprised with how underwhelmed I have felt about this episode.

The Android Invasion - Episode 1

I watch todays episode at the end of a very warm day and it looks like this episode could have been filmed today. The story is written by Terry Nation and its weird that there isn’t a Dalek in sight. The only other time he has contributed to the show where a Dalek didn’t feature was the 1964 adventure ‘The Keys of Marinus’ and so it does show that can he write a good solid story without his famous creations involved. The episode starts with quite a shocking opening. Someone who appears to be a UNIT soldier is staggering through the woods. After a few minute it appears that he jumps to his death. It’s this sort of thing that got Mary Whitehouse all annoyed. As much as I enjoy the fact that she got annoyed, I do wonder quite why it was there. Surely there was another method for him to be killed. Of course the beauty of this story is that he’s back to his usual self just a few minutes later.

This is the only story that the Doctor shows a fondness for Ginger Pop. There is a brief mention at the beginning of this episode and its something that’s fairly common in tv and film where if something or someone gets mentioned then it will crop up again at some point in the story.

The story has a weird intrigue about it because it starts with the UNIT soldier jumping to his death and coming back alive and then it continues with the Doctor and Sarah arriving at the pub just as people walk in acting like zombies and at the turn of the hour start acting normal. There are a good number of close ups in the pub scenes which would have been ok if not for the fact that some of the locals do look like they have just come off the set of ‘The Wicker Man’. Barry Letts is the director for this story which explains why there are some very good moments in this episode.

It doesn’t take long for it to become apparent that Robots are behind things and are the one dressed in white shooting at the Doctor and Sarah. The title has androids in it so at some point it was going to feature in the episode at some point. Nation has gone to the trouble of only featuring it briefly.

Crayford is the first human that we encounter who doesn’t seem to be a robot He does however have an eye patch which means that he is a baddie. He’s sitting in the Brigadier’s office. It’s a shame that we don’t see the Brigadier in this story as I think it would have made this story even better.

The cliffhanger is a good one because we finally see an alien face though its through a small hole in the wall. It’s been an interesting opening episode with a lot of action to keep me entertained and intrigued enough to watch the next episode.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 6

So this is it, after 128 Jon Pertwee bows out of the show which very nearly could have ended after his first season. The show has gone under a tremendous transformation over the past four seasons and whilst this season hasn’t been the finest, one thing for sure is that it’s going to end on the sort of high note that Pertwee deserves. I don’t know why but it feels like the cliffhanger goes on for even longer than in previous episodes. The stuff where Lupton’s goons are shooting at Tommy appears at the five minutes mark.

The shot of Sarah Jane shooting the Doctor and him reacting is one of the most played clips from the 3^rd Doctor’s era. Elisabeth Sladen doesn’t really have much of a purpose in this episode and that is because it is all about Jon Pertwee and what involvement she does have in the episode is strong and she has done really well in her first season on the show. Due to the nature of the episode, Lupton doesn’t have quite the impact that he had in previous episodes which is a shame because I really have liked the character.

The fact that the Doctor never really shares a scene with the Great One would normally be one that causes some annoyance to me but I think that due to Pertwee’s performance and the awesome sight of the Great One model, it works really well and is the epic final scene that the story deserved. Had Roger Delgado not being killed then the Master would have featured in this story and I would like to think that there would have been an equally great scene. As it is, the final scene ends with the Great One falling victim to her own plan and it is perhaps the best way for this part of the story to end.

The final scene is lovely and its odd that it starts quite slowly with the Brigadier and Sarah Jane talking about if the Doctor would come back. When the Doctor does return he instantly falls to the floor and utters these words “While there life theres….”. I like this scene not only because it’s so sombre and well acted by everyone but that it involves those that it features the Brigadier who was in Pertwee’s first episode and it does feel like a goodbye between two friends.

This episode marks the final appearance of Mike Yates and I think that he has been really good in this season and in particular ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’. This serial was more of a redemption that anything else and it was a good story for him and Richard Franklin has been one of the unsung heroes of the UNIT family and whilst Benton takes a lot of the glory due to his goofyness, Franklin has done some good stuff during his time on the show.

The actual regeneration is rather ordinary and I couldn’t help but notice that when Tom Baker finally makes his appearance, that he looks a lot like Tom Jones. I don’t know who or whether that was what they were intending (doubt that very much) but I think that considering Jon Pertwee’s involvement and contribution to the show seems like a bit of an anti-climax. One thing is for sure, whilst we have been witness to some truly classic moments in Doctor Who we are about to enter a whole load of more iconic moments and this week it was revealed that Tom Baker was voted the favourite Doctor from the first 50 years of Doctor Who and I am about to find out why. As much as I have enjoyed the Pertwee era I must say that I am looking forward to the Tom Baker era.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 5

After the rather disappointing cliffhanger, it didn’t take long for the episode to get back going and considering that this is the penultimate episode it’s has to move the plot along to just the right point to have an epic final episode. The thing that is noticeable about this episode is that there isn’t a particular trait that would show an aspect of the Pertwee era. There is no Bond chase sequence and no fight sequence. The Doctor manages to be put (somehow) into a cocoon and escape within the first couple of minutes. I do find the way that the Doctor escapes to be quite fun. I don’t quite know why he does free the bloke that he’s trapped with.

The scene where Sarah Jane is talking to the spider is a creepy. This is the episode where the spider jumps on Sarah’s back and also on other peoples back and its still a good effect and also a creepy idea that could be these eight legged disciples of evil on people’s back. I like how the spider that’s on Sarah Jane’s back affects her in the way that it does. It’s the first time that Sarah Jane has been affected in the way that she has been.

The episode trundles along well enough until the ten minute mark when the Doctor comes across the great one. The way that the Doctor comes across this is quite clever with the Great One using Sarah Jane’s voice. The ‘Pop Goes the Weasel’ line is quite chilling and like the Doctor, we don’t get to see what the Great One looks like though we learn that the cave is killing the Doctor slowly and this will lead to his regeneration. The first encounter between these two is brilliant because the Doctor is shown to have fear of the Great One and at times didn’t have full control of his body.

I was surprised at the death of Cho-Je in this episode as he has been one of the nicest characters in the serial. Though the involvement of this character isn’t ended here but I thought that as death scenes go in this serial, it’s the second best/most shocking death.

The appearance of all the spiders during the death of Cho-Je was rather good as there was at one point a mixture of CSO and live model. I admit that the CSO in this story isn’t quite as good especially with the scene where the Doctor encounters the Great One. It is suppose to be one of the most important sets and yet it’s let down with by the CSO.

The cliffhanger is another rather disappointing cliffhanger. I know from the information text that this was due to timing reasons but surely they could have come up with something more dramatic. As much as I like the idea that Tommy has become more intelligent and seems to be stronger and able to withstand a lot of pain, I think that the cliffhanger should have featured either the Doctor and/or Sarah. This seemed like a bit of a wasted opportunity to get us ready for the final episode.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 4

It’s over two minutes before the cliffhanger ends and the episode starts. As much fun as it is to see Pertwee doing his thing it’s too long. Thankfully once that is over I can start to enjoy the episode. Now that I have reached the second half of the story it seems that the plot has picked up and it feels like the ending has been prepared for and now that this is clear on screen you can feel the tension ramped up during certain scenes.

Lupton has become quite brave in this episode when he confronts the Queen Spider and over the course of the episode, he seems to have become a sort of lieutenant though this doesn’t last for long as the power struggle seems to have taken control between the spider on Lupton’s back and the Queen.  

This is the episode where Tommy goes from being child-like to an adult. The scene where he realises that he can read and starts to read his children’s book is one of the nicest moments in Doctor Who. John Kane is arguably the best thing about this episode as his development is one of the few positive things in this serial.

It’s good that there is a bit of backstory about what happened on Metebelis 3 and how the spiders got to be the size they are. The spiders (or eight legs) came from Earth on the ship with the colonists and the spiders came across the blue crystal and they became bigger and cleverer. I think that is a reasonable explanation and I like how the explanation is split so that the Doctor is being told and a part of it and Sarah Jane is told the other half. As much as I have tried I just cant get worked up about the humans. It’s the only real aspect of this story that doesn’t quite work.

The cliffhanger was rather poor. It’s simply the Doctor walking into the cell that Sarah is in and that’s it. The most disappointing end to an episode for quite sometimes and it’s a shame that after what was a rather interesting episode. I think apart from this minor blip the final story for Jon Pertwee has been just as I have thought of it in the past. Even the spiders haven’t been able to dampen my enjoyment of this serial and apart from the humans on Metebelis 3 I still I still think that this is a strong story and hopefully that continues for another two episodes.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 3

I am reminded a little bit of the issues with the second half of the previous episode when we get a repeat of the Bond sequence but the idea that Lupton disappeared off a moving boat is still impressive. There is a scene which has a roomful of spiders which is a little bit creepy. Up until now it there has been a lack of spiders and their planet hasn’t appeared but that all changes in this episode. I like how the spiders consider themselves to be superior to humans and call humans ‘two legs’. The Great One is mentioned in this episode and just from a few mentions the impression is created that the Great One is going to be an impressive set.

The CSO of Lupton in the Spiders chamber is very good but the shot of the spider that was on Lupton moving across the floor just looked poor. Other poor CSO shots include when Sarah Jane is looking at Lupton it’s clearly a CSO shot.

There is a nice bit of backstory about Lupton which isn’t something that Doctor Who does very often when it doesn’t concern a monster. Basically it boils down to him being snubbed and decides that he wants to take over the company, then the country and then the world. The scene where the spider tries to hurt Lupton and then he does the same to the spider is a great little moment and shows that there is something more to Lupton than what first appeared.

The episode sees the action change direction a little bit with the action moving to Metebelis 3 where there is a human village and they seem just as scared of the spiders as I am. Just as the spiders call the humans two legs, the humans call the spiders eight-legs and it seems to be frowned upon to use the word spider. I don’t know why they have decided to create Metebelis 3 with CSO screen instead of doing what they did in ‘Planet of the Spiders’ and use every plant in the garden centre. On the matter of the two legs, I think there is an interesting mix of strong characters and rather ordinary characters. I am hoping that the stronger ones will be the more memorable ones at the end of this story.

Whereas in the previous episode, there was a fair amount of airtime given to indulge Jon Pertwee. Here there a short but sweet fight scene which is very much of Pertwee’s era but it doesn’t last anywhere near as long as the Bond stuff so I don’t mind it. The episode ends in a good way with the Doctor collapsing in front of the TARDIS. This episode takes a substantial step in terms of plot and I found this episode to be very exciting and the story has really found its feet and Pertwee’s final story could be a fitting end to his tenure in the role. It wouldn’t be a review if I didn’t mention stats and todays stat is that this is the 38^th episode for Richard Franklin who has now appeared in more episode than Roger Delgado did.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 2

The journey to the end of the Pertwee era takes a more gentile pace in this episode than perhaps the last one or any that we have had recently. It doesn’t take long for the spider prop to look more than just a prop. The spider talks to Lupton must have been a surprise to viewers at the time and I always find the bit when it jumps on Lupton’s back very creepy and it always makes me shudder. The effect of it jumping is actually quite good and they have got around how silly it might look by making it disappear.

We find out the reason as to why the spider has come to earth and it’s to do with the blue crystal that the Doctor gave to Jo and she gave back. It’s good that the two plot strands seem to be joining up. The voice of the spider isn’t quite what I was expecting. I can’t figure out whether I like it or not but one thing is for sure is that at least they’ve made an attempt to make it sound less human. Lupton gets better in this episode as his villainy takes shape and this is largely down to the spider. On the downside he looks a bit silly when he sticks his hand out so that the blue spark effect can be used. The main problem with Lupton being involved in the chase sequence is that he looks like he could run about 100 yards before having to take a breather whereas Pertwee looks the peak of physical fitness and looks like he could easily catch him

It takes about ten minutes for Sarah Jane and the Doctor to meet and it’s good that their plot strands meet up. When they reunite they have a fun scene where Sarah Jane is talking about her experiences and the Doctor is blatantly not listening. The Brigadier is on the phone to Harry Sullivan who will appear in a few episodes time. I like to think that this is the production team getting ready for a smooth transition.

The second half of this episode is basically one long action chase sequence. It lasts 11 minutes and involves Bessie, a gyroplane, the whomobile and hover cars. This was clearly designed to indulge Pertwee and whilst I have no objection to him being indulged, I think that it goes on just a bit too long. The moment when I knew that it had gone on for too long was when the Whomobile goes into the air and is flying. The CSO shot doesn’t quite work but its not the worst that there has been

This is essentially two episodes in one because the first half sees the plot developed somewhat and then the second half is just a homage to Bond films and I sort of wanted less Bond and more Doctor Who. It does feel also like Sloman was trying to pad the story.

I thought that the cliffhanger was rather good and it was one that no one could have seen coming and that is perhaps the best way to have ended the episode. Thinkabout it when was the last time the episode ended with the Doctor on a powerboat? Never and that’s because William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton rarely left the studio and even then it was never to do the sort of things that occur in the final 10 minutes of the episode. I think that the ‘silliness’ will end in the next episode and we can get back to the story.

Planet of the Spiders - Episode 1

The final Jon Pertwee story has arrived and I am going to make this joke many times over the next five episodes when I say that the moment has been prepared for. Hey if you have been following this since the early days then you will know I did this during the previous two regeneration stories. I am going to say straight from the beginning that I don’t like spiders. I seriously don’t and I hate it when people say “oh but they eat flies!” like that’s a perfectly fine excuse. I would quite happily wipe every single spider off the face of the earth. So with potential sitting on the fence issue dealt with, I start to watch Jon Pertwee’s 123^rd episode as the Doctor.

This episode sees the return of Richard Franklin who last we saw of him was allowed to leave UNIT quietly. So quietly we didn’t see him leave and so his return was much appreciated. He seems to have found himself at some retreat where a lot of people meditating in the basement. It takes just over four minutes for a spider to feature when Yates walks into a spiders web. It’s good that they go to the trouble of reminding the viewer of what happened to him and why he has ended up in the retreat. The scene where Yates is talking to Sarah Jane ends up with them swerving off the road avoiding a tractor that appeared from no-where and disappeared instantly.

The Doctor and Brigadier seem to have been watching some talent show. It’s a weird way to start the episode for these two which considering its Pertwee’s last story lacks the impactful start that I would have expected. It was all to introduce Professor Clegg (played by Cyril Shaps) who goes from being a proper clairvoyant and then pretends to be a fraud before being shown as the real deal but doesn’t actually want the ability.

I love it how Lupton would have accepted a journalist coming to the retreat but a female journalist is one step too far. The Master was due to feature in this story but with the death of Roger Delgado meant that Lupton was introduced and from the very moment he appears he seems like there is more to him that the meditation.

Tommy (played by John Kane) is introduced as a simple yet strong person. By the end of his first scene he is holding a squashed flower and looks over it like someone looking over a dead loved one. When he pops up again alongside Sarah Jane and Yates, I found him to be slightly annoying because he seems to be holding the story up and even though its only for a moment, its long enough to bother me.

The Doctor’s journey in this episode isn’t quite what I was expecting because he doesn’t really seem to be involved in the story and even towards the end the involvement with what is going on with Sarah Jane and Yates doesn’t seem very clear. The wedding present that the Doctor gave Jo in ‘The Green Death’ makes a return and it’s the first time that an ex-companion had an involvement in the story. Even though she doesn’t appear on screen her involvement does have detrimental effects on the Doctor and the show.

The ending is very simple yet effective because it’s the titular spider (not including the one Yates bumps into at the beginning of the episode). There are issues with the spiders that will be mentioned in future episodes but as a cliffhanger it’s a good one and the opening episode is very calm and all the building blocks seem to have been put in place. I suspect the story will pick up once the Doctor and Sarah Jane start to interact but I think that that this a promising start to Pertwee’s departing story.

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.

Terror of the Autons - Episode 4

So the final episode starts with the rather silly ending from the previous episode. The only thing that makes it justifiable is when Courtney makes a rather bad joke about cutting the Doctor’s connection. That’s about the funniest part of the episode and pretty soon he is rather gung-ho in this story and no sooner does he end his comedy routine than he starts to get the RAF involved in blowing up the coach that have the Autons on. It was inevitable that this wasn’t going to happen as just before the RAF were about to attack they call it off.

There is another moment in this which did affect me and even today it’s quite shocking and it’s the moment when the daffodil sprayed something over Jo’s face. The first time I saw it I was quite taken aback by it and in context it still works but that that brief two second moment still remains as one of the best moments in Doctor Who.

I can’t believe that it’s taken until episode four for the Doctor and Master to meet face to face. It’s often been said that the Doctor and the Master are the Sherlock Holmes and Moriaty of the sci-fi world and it’s a fair comment. It was a very good scene and went by too quickly before Jo comes in. Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado are both performing at their best and it was great to watch. Delgado has been brilliant in this four part story because even though the plan goes a bit wonky towards the end, the execution of it was quite good and remains cool calm and collected throughout.The only thing that slightly spoils this story is the Master spends three and a half episodes working on his plan and then the Doctor makes one comment about whether the Nestene would tell the difference between him and the others and this changes the Master’s mind and they work to try and stop it. No sooner has it been thought of than the Nestene’s plan is stopped but that’s not the end of things as the Master manages to get away. This is the season where the Master appears in every single story of this season and I think that this was a mistake really but hopefully as time progresses this will change but I doubt it.

It’s a good story and it’s a good final episode which is slightly ruined by the Master sudden change of heart. I thought that overall the plot was good and the supporting characters all did well and I thought that Farrel Junior was a good character in the end and it was probably the best thing that he ended up being shot by mistake because that pretty much sums up his involvement in this story. It has become noticeable that the shift of stories has definelty changed and it feels like even after the previous season that the show is trying to grow and become better which considering how much I enjoyed the previous season was going to be a tough ask. This was another good opening story and I am looking forward to this season.

Terror of the Autons - Episode 3

The penultimate part of this story starts with the Auton policeman trying to capture the Doctor and Zoe. The mask effect is very good and looks just as creepy as it did at the end of the previous episode. It’s a great opening and we get a great moment when Yates drives a car into the policeman auton and the camera follows him almost without a cut to the bottom of the hill before it shows him coming back up. You can tell that this story is directed by Barry Letts as this whole opening bit seemed very much in the same vein as the opening part of episode one from ‘Enemy of the World’ and it has quite an action movie feel to it. Sadly its over too quickly.

I like the moment where the Doctor tries to take off in the TARDIS and after failing, acts childish and when told not to act childish says that he likes acting childish. He throws another strop when reading a report and finds that nothing has been found. It’s good to see that the Doctor can still get worked up from time to time. This episode is where the Auton’s plan takes a significant step. They have been on the road handing out daffodils to the public but after reports of deaths come in it becomes clear that they are involved. It is also the first time since the story started that Autons seem to be more than passengers in this story. The way they spoke to Farrel is quite forceful and it was good because I was starting to worry about them.

There comes the first instance of something that becomes a trademark of the Master and that is pretending to be someone else via the means of a disguise. In this episode he plays some maintenance man with quite a funny cockney accent. The initial scene does seem like anything important but by the end of the episode it is quite important. It works until the very last shot when Roger Delgado takes off the mask and it looks like a mask. It’s a little bit naughty but I think that overall it’s a good idea.

The whole section about the troll coming back to life as it was by the Bunsen burner which Yates had turned on to make some coco was quite funny. When the Doctor and the Brigadier get back I love the rather sheepish look on Yates’ face. It does lead to a possible theory what causes them but that’s done at the very end of the episode. I love the bit when the Doctor opens the safe in Farrel’s office and there is an auton hiding inside. This was one of the few moments in Doctor Who that actually made me jump and it not often that this happens in classic Who but it’s a credit to everyone involved because its rather well done.

The cliffhanger is perhaps the only thing that is slightly weak because despite being set up early in the episode. It just doesn’t grab me as much as the previous cliffhanger. Despite this rather below par ending, I still think that this is a very good episode and the performances are all sound and it’s a good start to the eighth season.

Terror of the Autons - Episode 2

I didn’t make a comment of it in the previous episode but Jo must have fists of steel if she could really take out Yates like that. Either that or Yates’ is a wuss. I like the quick way that the Doctor just picks up the box and chucks it out of the window where there just happens to be a river is perhaps a convenient.

This episode features some of the most incredible deaths ever seen in Doctor Who before or after. Most deaths can be argued to be quite clichéd but in the instance of McDermott, the death is anything but clichéd. Being killed by a chair is a great way to go and due to Harry Towb’s performance, the death looks really chilling on screen. Farrel’s attitude after the death of McDermott means that even though its clear he’s under hypnosis that he’s utterly unlikeable. Farrel Senior comes into the story and he is clearly more determined than his son though I like how after a moment of being the head man, it looked like that he was going to become another of the Master’s hypnosis. The troll that the Master throws in Farrel Senior’s car is a horrible looking thing and its involvement in the death of Farrel Senior is made even more grim. The death of Farrel Senior is the second interesting death in one episode as the sight of the troll running towards Farrel Senior and grabbing him by the throat is a shocking scene for what is suppose to be a family show. The effect of bringing the troll to life is quite good and whilst it might seem crude its that crudeness that actually works to its benefit.

As far as performances go, I think that Delgado is just as brilliant as he was in the previous episode. The calmness in which he presents himself is what is totally engaging about him. There is a nice moment when he almost loses against Farrel Senior but controls himself. It was nice because it showed that the mask could slip but only in the most extreme of circumstances. Jon Pertwee is also on good form and Katy Manning has showed what sort of companion she’s going to be by going against what the Doctor told her and snuck herself into the Doctor’s car whilst being out of sight. The only person who doesn’t seem to have been as good is Nicholas Courtney and it seems odd that after being such a part of the stories in the previous season that he feels like a peripheral character and just seems to pop in every couple of scenes to act like a normal army person. Not what I would have expected from the Brig.

The cliffhanger is the third thing that would have got the show into trouble and that is when the Doctor pulls off the policeman’s face and its revealed that it’s an Auton. It’s a good way to end the episode and despite the plot not really moving forward it was still a fun episode to watch because there were those shocking moments which when added to the performances of Delgado, Pertwee and Manning help make this another solid episode.

Terror of the Autons - Episode 1

Terror of the Autons is the first story of the eighth season of Doctor Who. Thankfully we are past the seven part stories although six parters will become the norm throughout the seventies. This story also sees the first to feature Katy Manning as Jo Grant and Roger Delgado as the definitive version of the Master. It takes less than 90 seconds for Roger Delgado appear as the Master. From the moment he starts to speak I know why he is the best Master. The way that he talks to Rossini is brilliant and we get the first example of the Master’s Hypnosis. Within 10 minutes he’s already killed someone and in a way that is quite unusual but becomes his trademark for most of his time on the show. By the latter stages of the episode he has hypnotised Farrell so that he can control the plastics factory.

Jo Grant’s first scene is the best way for a companion to be introduced as she gets on the wrong side of the Doctor. She is introduced as the Doctor’s new assistant to replace Liz. There is a brief reference as to where Liz has gone which doesn’t detract from the fact that I feel she deserved a goodbye scene but that’s the last time that I will mention that (I bet your relieved). I think that Jo is a more suitable companion for the show than Liz was because Jo isn’t too smart and gets into silly situations which she does here. She manages to get hypnotised by the Master and is about to blow UNIT HQ and the Doctor. She’s going to fit in well to the show.

This story as the title suggests, sees the return of the Autons who opened the previous season and it’s quite intriguing in the early stages of to see why the Master wants the only sphere that wasn’t destroyed. It’s quite funny to think that nothing was really mentioned in ‘Spearhead from Space’ about their being a surviving sphere. The Autons don’t come across as particularly menacing as the Master appears to be in control. Cant say I really noticed it like this before but the Autons will have lost some of their menace that they had in the previous year. Don’t know whether it was Robert Holmes’ intention when he wrote this story that we would get this but it is what it is.

There is a slightly strange scene where a Timelord appears in mid-air to talk to the Doctor. This is visually achieved by using CSO but what I find strange is why he’s dressed up like a civil servant. There was a purpose to it and that’s just to alert the Doctor to the Master’s presence on earth.

I thought that this opening episode was quite good. It introduced Roger Delgado in a brilliant way and showed that he managed to get quite involved in the story in quite a short space of time. Delgado is a brilliant piece of casting and Katy Manning has a promising debut episode so this shows that the Letts/Dicks run programme is going to get on its feet and take the show in a new direction.

The Enemy of the World - Episode 6

The final episode is where the two parts of Salamanders world collide and it’s where things start to go wrong and the power that Salamander once had has all but gone. The thing about this episode is that it doesn’t have quite the epic that a final episode should have. Astrid trying to help Swann stagger around before he dies. This leads to Astrid see that Salamander’s deception is worse than she thought. It’s quite a surprising and shocking moment when Astrid gets attacked by the underground gang. I thought that something grim was going to happen. Thankfully it allows Colin to actually stop whining and actually be the voice of reason, suppose it had to happen sooner or later.

Giles Kent is the one who took the underground people down along with Salamander. He becomes unlikeable and his demise is as swift as the realisation that he’s been in collaboration with Salamander. I think it’s a good performance from Bill Kerr who has effectively been in the shadows whilst Astrid and others have been holding onto our attention. Speaking of Astrid, I have been really impressed with Mary Peach’s performance as she has consistently been on fine form and she’s been the sort of female character that was a rarity in the 1960’s.

The last few minutes are brilliant. Salamander poses as the Doctor (as opposed to the other way round) and we get a great scene with the Doctor and Salamander meeting face to face for the first time and there is a wonderful split screen and one shot in particular where they are both in the same shot. It’s a great performance from Patrick Troughton and sums up how good he has been over the six episodes. To be honest I thought that Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling were rather surplus to requirements and it was only in the final scene that they really had anything to do.

It’s good how it doesn’t have a clean cut ending and it ends with all the regulars in peril with the TARDIS doors opening in mid-flight and normally that would mean that they would end up about half an inch tall but alas not, we are going to get a Yeti sequel and the second of the found stories is about to appear. I’ve enjoyed this story but think that its more style over substance and that would normally be a problem but I have to say that on the whole it was another six parter that worked quite well. It was better directed than written and I think that this story has helped make this fifth season a strong one and theres more to come.

The Enemy of the World - Episode 5

The penultimate episode sees the Doctor and Giles’ plan to reach the research base and with just one more episode after this to go, there is a sense that the story really needs to start looking like its reaching a conclusion. The episode starts off with the Doctor trying to convince Bruce that Salamander isn’t quite the nice person that he pretends to be and there is a slight sense of doubt and this is why I like the character because someone else would have either believed him 100% or gone against him 100%. The episode also sees Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling are literaly stretchered in after their holiday. From the moment that they are talking they are used quite well and its good to see them back. I thought that Frazer was slightly better because Jamie wasn’t able to the action hero because he didn’t want Victoria killed or hurt.

For the first time I’m not to sure whether I like the underground people part of the story. Salamander has trouble with them when he is found out that he’s been lying to them. This leads to Swann being led out by Salamander and his discovery by Astrid leads to the cliffhanger. I find the underground people rather boring and I don’t actually like them very much. Colin is the worst and is quite annoying. All he has done since we first saw him is sulk about not being taken to the surface. When Swann announces that he’s going up with Salamander all Colin does is to shout and I just want him to shut up. Thankfully we get to go back to the rest of the characters and we get to enjoy being in the company of Benik. Benik is a really nasty piece of work when he seems to enjoy the prospect of causing physical harm to Victoria and Jamie. However despite being rather vile, he’s one of the last people to find out that there is a double of Salamander. It’s a shame that it happens late in the episode.

There is a lovely moment when the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are reunited. It’s been too long since they were all together and its just a heart-warming moment. It shows what a good group that they are and its just a shame that Victoria isn’t used in quite the way that she should be. Patrick Troughton is on his usual fine form and I cant think of any other way to explain how good he is. He is having fun and he is thriving in being asked to play the two roles even if it must have been quite taxing.

It’s another solid episode which sadly doesn’t have the action pieces that allows Barry Letts to show us what he can do. I am quite interested to see how this story will end but I know that there is one shot that I am looking forward to. On a negative note, I think that had this story not been found then I don’t think that I would be as positive towards it because audibly there isn’t very much to get hooked onto. Visually its enjoyable and its another sound story in a season that’s been very positive.