(635) The Two Doctors - Part 3

The first three parter since Planet of Giants (1964) ends with what needed to be a better 45 minutes than the previous two for the whole return of Patrick Troughton thing to be worth it. It hadn’t struck me until now but Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton hadn’t actually met. The first encounter between the second and sixth Doctors is one of the highlights of this episode. It’s slightly frustrating that its taken until now for this to happen.

The second Doctor is going to be turned into an andragum. Quite why Robert Holmes has waited until now for this to happen is a bit of a mystery. I say this because it by far the most entertaining aspect of the episode. The Second Doctor and Shockeye start going in for food. They form a more entertaining double act than Oscar and Anita. Their walk to find food does lead to some lovely location filming. The filming ends up in Seville itself and there is quite a lot of it which makes up the little that we had in the previous episode.

The tension between the Sontarans and Chessene really starts to rise to the boil as they set to wipe the other lot out. Chessene is the one that strikes first as she drops some acid bombs on them and acts like it’s a normal activity. Stike makes it and lasts a while before he tries to make off in his ship and that explodes. Once the Sontarans are out of the way its means that the threat comes from Chessene and Dastari. I have to say that I think that the Sontarans were very underused in this serial and suffer from being treated as secondary monsters. Chessene is the one that is calling the shots and Jacqueline Pearce is very convincing as a baddie. It’s only during a scene between the two that its clear that some of Dastari’s morals start to come to the centre. There is a rather odd moment when Chessene puts her hands in some of the Doctor’s blood and seems to smother it on her face but the camera cuts away to Dastari’s reaction.  One of the grimmer moments in Doctor Who in my opinion.

This episode features a scene which is far worst that the apparent accede bath scene in Vengeance on Varos. It is where the Doctor pops a cyanide laden sponge on Shockeye’s mouth thus killing him. Even if the Doctor weren’t the one doing it then it would be a shocking moment in Doctor Who but it is the Doctor doing it and so just seems worst that what was shown in the previous serial.  

Sadly Oscar returns in this episode and when he gets stabbed by Shockeye I was really happy about this because it means that he is leaving on a permanent basis. Even just after he is stabbed he over acts in such a terrible way that I just hate the character even more. It is funny how Peri and Jamie leave Anita to tend to the recently deceased Oscar.

The deaths of Dastari and Chessene come in quick succession and I was disappointed with the death of Dastari as I would have liked for him to have made it and either die trying to save the Doctor or decide that he’s going to work for good now. Sadly this wasn’t the case but at least things ended at just the right point. The goodbye between the two Doctors, Jamie and Peri is rather amusing and seems to be just as good as the goodbye scene in The Five Doctors.

This episode has definelty the better of the three just because it’s been the most consistent. Unlike the previous episode, this one didn’t get started at the half way point. I don’t think that this story needed to be three episode and I still stand by my idea of making one of these episodes a standalone episode. That said I think that for a non-anniversary story, they just about got away with it although the question about why the story was set in Spain was never answered. Well there are just two more stories left of this season and this is the weakest of the season so far. Sadly this is the last time that Patrick Troughton would appear in Doctor Who as he passed away two years after this story transmitted. Troughton’s final performance summed up what was magical about his era on the show. Ok so most of the stories weren’t that great but there were some absolute crackers and even when the story didn’t work you could always rely on Troughton making at least worth watching.

(634) The Two Doctors - Part 2

The thing about this being a three parter is one that I didn’t go into much in the previous review. The show went from 26 x 25 minute episodes to 13 x 45 minute and this means that there is going to be an odd number of episodes. They got around this in the previous season by having a two parter so I think that they could have don’t just a single 45 minute episode. The problem at the moment is that the fast paced feel that the previous stories have had has pretty much gone in this serial.

The cliffhanger is solved by Peri saving herself from the person that grabbed her. That person is Jamie. It’s good that the pieces of the puzzle start to slot into place so early on and its means that Jamie isn’t doing nothing. The opening scene with the Sixth Doctor, Jamie and Peri helps add a bit more to the story. The interaction between Peri and the Doctor is on fine form again with their usual bickering on display.

I like how the Doctor says he might be wiped out in a few centuries and Peri doesn’t seem to understand the rush and then he puts his head in hands. A funny moment in an episode that doesn’t have a great deal of comedy.

Shockeye’s eating habits are quite interesting. At one point he eats a rat and Dastari’s reaction mirrored my own. The group of villains is something that I think works quite well because it doesn’t feel like the old adage about too many cooks.  The trio of Shockeye, Chessene and Dastari work well together but there isn’t a clear leader amongst them which is perhaps the only thing that needs improving. Chessene does edge it a little bit but not by much.

Like the previous episode, this episode takes about 20 minutes before it starts to get going. I could tell where the point happened and that was when the Second Doctor wakes up and talking to Dastari and the others. Patrick Troughton has a rather easy time in this episode. He spends most of it either lying down or sitting in a wheelchair.

Like the previous episode, there is a nice amount of Seville on display here. Ok so its not the city centre but its still nice to see a bit of sun on Doctor Who that doesn’t involve a quarry.

Oscar continues to be annoying. He assumes that the Doctor is working for Interpol even when Anita points out that the police box sign isn’t written in Spanish. Sadly Oscar is quite involved in this episode. I don’t mind Anita but Oscar is totally annoying.

There is a nice reminder about the Rutans. For me this is a nice bit of continuity for the Sontarans. The question of the Sontaran’s involvement in the story is still something that doesn’t quite. Stike is the lead Sontaran but I think that Clinton Greyn doesn’t come across as a convincing Sontaran. I know that Sontarans are referred to as potatoes but I think that the design of the current costumes does make them look like a baked potato.

The Doctor was involved in the previous cliffhanger so it perhaps makes sense that Peri is involved in the ending. She is about to be menaced by Shockeye which is terrifying in itself because he has spent the previous 45 minutes acting in a really fun way.

I think that this has again been an episode of two halves but even the more active part hasn’t been as good as I would have expected. There were moments where things seemed to be just plodding along. I think that the final episode is going to make up for this but at the moment this has to be the weakest story of the season so far. It just doesn’t live up to the hype that this story has created for itself.

(633) The Two Doctors - Part 1

Despite this not being an anniversary story, we are treated to a Multi-Doctor story. This is the only three part story of the season which would be six 25 minute episodes in the old format. I have never been a fan of the longer story so it was going to be interesting to see how this serial would work. This story was written by Robert Holmes and this is his first story since The Caves of Androzani. He becomes the most credited writer in Doctor Who history with this being his 57^th episode. Patrick Troughton returns in his 125^th episode and Frazer Hines returns in his 115^th episode. The Sontarans also make a return for the first time in 152 episodes (3,598 days).This story sees the show filmed in Spain. Quite why I don’t know why and there doesn’t seem to be any explanation given. That said what we do see of Spain is quite nice but its not of the same quality that we saw in the previous story.

I like how they went to the trouble to start the episode in black and white to give a nod to the fact that the Second Doctor and Jamie were in the black and white era of the show. The Second Doctor and Jamie seem to be one a mission and I will state here and now that I won’t be going into continuity problems that arise with their involvement and their activities in this serial. The Doctor and Peri don’t really interact with anyone in this episode. They spend a lot of time fishing, a lot of time trying not to be killed by the computer and then spend the latter part of the serial in a weird area with lots of pipes. The chemistry that Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines had in the 1960’s is very evident in this serial. The problem I think with having these two in a story together is that they have a danger of overshadowing the current line-up. Speaking of the current line-up, the bickering style that they have does seem rather out of place considering how well the Second Doctor and Jamie get on.

This story has some interesting supporting characters which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise considering that it is a Robert Holmes script. The character of Shockeye is mesmerising and well performed by John Stratton. He is obsessed with food and turns into quite the food critic when he arrives on earth. Jacqueline Pearce plays Chessene and she really is very good as one of the main threats in this serial. She carries a certain elegance throughout and never raises her voice yet there is much more to her character which shows itself during this serial. Laurence Payne plays Dastari. Payne previous appeared in The Gunfighters (1966) and The Leisure Hive (1980). However I think that this is a stronger performance than in those two. The former I will be honest don’t really remember but recognised him from the latter. Dastari is a clever person but like most clever people in Doctor Who, he just wants to use his intelligence for bad purposes.

The introduction of Oscar (James Saxon) & Anita is something of a common theme as all Robert Holmes stories feature a double act and this story slightly changes the format with a courting couple. I do find Oscar to be an annoyance and Anita is there purely to work alongside Oscar but doesn’t contribute anything to the story. Oscar uses cyanide to kill moths which seems like a horrible thing nowadays but at the time must have seemed perfectly fine and fine enough to include on prime-time Saturday evenings.

The incidental music is particularly impressive. Peter Howell’s highlight is the Sontaran music because it’s very striking.

Even though their ships had been identified as Sontaran ships, we have to wait a long time for them to appear. There is a shot of one’s hand but its 25 minutes before we actually see one and even then it’s a rather understated first appearance. Bearing in mind that it had been about seven years since they were last on screen it is somewhat disappointing that their first appearance happened in this way.

Sadly the quality of the costumes is not very good. It’s not terrible but I don’t think is as good as previous designs. The question as to why they are even in this story is something that doesn’t get answered in this episode. Considering that the Sontarans are strong enough to act on their own it does raise the question as to why they would be in league with Dastari.

The cliffhanger is ok but nothing spectacular. The problem is that the final 10-15 minutes does start to show the episode has run out steam which is very odd for a Robert Holmes story. The opening episode of this ‘special’ story is one of two halves but I think that there are a lot of positives than negatives. I don’t think that I am going to have to endure the next two episodes which is a relief. Still wonder why the story was set in Spain.

The War Games - Episode 10

I feel really sad as I start to watch this episode knowing what’s about to come. The early stages are just of the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie trying to evade the Timelords. Knowing that this would be their final episode it seems pointless in hindsight but in dramatic terms its good because watching it I wanted them to find a way of escaping even though I know that they wont be able to. It’s strange to think that it’s the first time since the first episode of ‘The Mind Robber’ that we’ve been inside the TARDIS. That was back in mid-December and it’s great to be back. With the events of the War Games almost dealt with we can move onto the matter of learning as much as we can about the Timelords.

We learn a lot about the Timelords such as they don’t approve of meddling in the events of other worlds. Basically their horrible people, they are quite happy to sit back and watch things happen but get a bit arsey when the Doctor gets involved. If they are as powerful as they seem, why haven’t they seen the Doctor’s actions before this. I quite like the courtroom set that is used against the War Lord and the Doctor. It’s a much better set than the one we would get in 1986. Partly because its atmospheric and quite contained and I suppose if it were in colour then it would lose something.

During the War Lord’s trial there is a fair amount of defiance from him and his punishment is quite fitting as killing him would be too good and it seems like his punishment is the most extreme that the Timelords could bestow on a non-gallifreyan. There is a great moment when his soldiers come via a SIDRAT and there’s a lovely curve-ball that suggest the War Lord might escape but it’s the power of the Timelords that show this wasn’t going to happen. Without raising a hand the timelords we do see in this story show how god-like they are and its amazing whats achieved in 25 minutes.

The Doctor’s defence does feel like it’s a bit of a useless exercise and its during his trial that the Timelords come across as rather nasty. They exile the Doctor on 20^th Century earth and change his appearance purely because they want to. Cant quite think that had Troughton not left the show whether they would have changed his appearance.

The goodbye scene between the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie is heart-breaking. Everytime I see it I can’t help but get really sad. I always forget until this point just how good these three have been together. What makes its even more heart-breaking is that they will forget all but their first adventure so for Jamie the last three years are wiped and for Zoe the last twelve months.

I feel like this was a lovely goodbye episode. They finished off the War Lord perfectly and the Timelords were introduced and our three favourite characters were sent off in great style. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see Patrick Troughton regenerate into Jon Pertwee but that was due to the fact that Pertwee wasn’t contracted until after this episode was recorded. It was the perfect way to end what has been a rather inconsistent run at times. I think that all three of the regulars performed brilliantly and it was one of my favourite ever episodes of Doctor Who and as a ten part adventure it was solid from start to finish and easily in my top 10.

As a story it has continued to impress me and maintain my attention. Its worked a lot better than some six parters and it’s one of the best of stories of Troughtons era and of the sixth series. Overall I must say that the sixth season has been largely good. I really didn’t like ‘The Space Pirates’ which you might have guessed, the Dominators was boring but the rest were all enjoyable. Patrick Troughton made 117 appearances which is just twelve behind William Hartnell and after an initial bumpy ride with stories, he found his suede feet and ran with a fantastic version of the character. It must have been intimidating to take over from William Hartnell but he rose to the challenge well. Frazer Hines has been a fantastic addition to the show. He bowed out on his 112^th appearance and made 35 more appearances than William Russell. Hines has always given 100% playing Jamie and at times his double act with Patrick Troughton have been fun to watch. Wendy Padbury has had more of an impact than I expected during her 48 appearances. As a trio they have been the strongest combination since the First Doctor, Ian Barbara and Susan and that’s quite an achievement. They will all be missed and that was the Second Doctor era. Goodbye to Troughton, Goodbye to Hines, Goodbye to Padbury, Goodbye to the 1960’s and most importantly, goodbye to black and white television. Now I will get to enjoy a different style of Doctor Who and I am about to embark on what is my favourite season in Doctor Who history.

The War Games - Episode 9

It’s strange to think that I’m on the penultimate episode of the Troughton era. It’s weird to think that I started watching episode one of ‘The Power of the Daleks’ back on September 27 that it was going to be a tough job more because of the missing episodes but I knew that there were some classic stories coming along so it was worth enduring ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ and ‘The Dominators’ when there were stories such as ‘The Invasion’ and ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ to enjoy. In fact whilst I have enjoyed ‘The War Games’ in the past I feel like I am enjoying ‘The War Games’ more than I was expecting.

The Doctor starts the episode having turned against his friends but its nice how he got the resistance there they wouldn’t be around when the neutron bomb went off. It’s a typically Doctor like thing to do as he has a plan to save his friends but just doesn’t have a time to tell them. There an interesting moment between the Doctor and the War Chief when they talk about the SIDRAT’s.

Shorting the life-span of the SIDRAT is an impossible problem and it’s one that the War Chief hasn’t been able to solve the problem. Though as the episode progresses it’s the least of his problems as the Security Chief has evidence about his treachery and uses secret recordings to topple him.

I thought it was a shame when the Security Chief was killed as he was a very good character but the only thing that made his death worth while is that it was the War Chief that did it and that seemed like a nice end to their rivalry. Despite getting one over on the Security Chief, the War Chief didn’t escape his own death as he is killed by the guards of the War Lord. Philip Madoc is back on form in this episode as he has a coldness that seemed to be missing in the previous episode.

When we say goodbye to Carstairs it’s a sad moment because I’ve quite liked him and feel like he became the fourth member of the TARDIS. David Saville has been consistently reliable and whilst he might have come across as a bit of posh soldier but actually he’s worked well with the regulars and hasn’t put a foot wrong for the entire nine episodes that he has appeared.

Due to the fact that the SIDRAT’s aren’t totally reliable this forces the Doctor to call the Timelords and this is the first time that he says that this is the name of his people. Quite a historic moment in Doctor Who I think.  The Doctor uses a box to send information to the Timelords and this would be used again in a Matt Smith episode. Patrick Troughton is very good again in this episode as the Doctor has to try and outrun the Timelords. Both Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury are good in this episode but their performances are somewhat overshadowed by Troughton.

This is the first goodbye that we get between the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe but it doesn’t have the emotional depth so its quickly ended and this leads to the cliffhanger which is another cracking one because its done in slow motion and this is suppose to illustrate the Timelords influence and the last shot is of the Doctor trying to get the key in the TARDIS. It’s a very good episode as it effectively ends this part of the story. The resistance are going to be sent back to their own time-zones and we are going to get the Timelords and the end is about arrive. I have a feeling that the Troughton era is going to end on a high note.

The War Games - Episode 8

This episode was watched by 3.5 million people which is average viewing figures by today’s standards but this remained the lowest rated episode for 20 years. I was rather disappointed with the cliffhanger to the previous episode because after all the interesting and grim endings, it seemed like episode seven’s cliffhanger was a bit flimsy. Thankfully we get past that rather quickly and a large portion of the story seems to take place in the centre of the alien’s base where there is more bickering with the Security Chief and the War Chief.

We finally get a meeting between the War Chief and the Doctor. There is an intriguing reference about the War Chief having met the Doctor when he looked like William Hartnell. We learn that the Doctor stole the TARDIS. I like how there seems to be a possible way of ending all this and that’s by getting help from the Timelords but he doesn’t want to do this though it’s never mentioned why. Patrick Troughton has been on fine form during these eight episodes. Apart from The Space Pirates, he’s been on terrific form and both Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury are also on good form as they help lead the resistance.

I like how there are wars involved in the war games that I hadn’t heard of before such as the Russo-Japanese War and the Peninsular War. A quick look of Wikipedia says that the Russo-Japanese War occurred between February 1904 and September 1905 and described as the first great war of the 20^th Century. The Peninsular War was between 1808 and 1814 and was a battle between France and Spain. It would have been nice to see something from these periods but I suppose their not really relevant to the story and they cant stop at this stage of the story to take us there.

This is the episode where the resistance starts to act like a resistance and it’s where the Security Chief starts to look a bit silly and incompetent. They start to attack different zones in an attempt to have the main alien base as empty as possible. The Security Chief takes great delight from this and the War Lord seems to be getting tired of this and I don’t think that Philip Madoc is as good as he has been. There are a few moments where he seems to be like he was when he first appeared but this wasn’t his best episode.

The cliffhanger to this episode was much better than the last one as the Doctor seems to have turned on Jamie, Zoe and the Resistance. The whole episode seems to have picked up the pace after the rather slow previous episode. It feels like there is more questions forming as we learn about the aliens, the Doctor and the Security Chief. Even after eight episodes I am still gripped with this story and despite this getting three and a half million episodes, I think that that number rather implies that the story and the episode have gone stale and I don’t think that this is the case. With two more episodes it feels now like things are going to heat up.

The War Games - Episode 7

We are starting to enter the business end of the serial and today marks the 250^th episode of the show and the thing that stands out about this episode is that there isn’t any time for celebration. The regulars have been put in danger at regular intervals and whilst that is part of the course the thing that I am always reminding myself of is the fact that this is their last story and so the tension is cranked up.

Sergeant Wilkins is bought in a talking head but he doesn’t really do very much here except for interact with Smythe. Speaking of which, Smythe makes a brief return in this episode though it ends badly when he is shot. Though for the time that he is involved allows him to enjoy his badness. I have enjoyed him during this story even though he had a very short shelf life and like other characters that have appeared in this story, he has stayed just long enough. However compared to the War Lord, he looks quite charming in comparison. We get more mentions of the War lord. When he finally appears he does instead steal the scene and I love it when he has had enough of the bickering between the War Chief and the Security Chief. It’s the first time that it feels like an adult is in charge. The capsule is called SIDRAT which is cleverly TARDIS backwards. There is more mentioned about the technology and how the War Chief’s people are the only ones that have the technology of time travel which implies that the Doctor is of the same race as the War Chief. Philip Madoc lays down the law to both the Security Chief and the War Chief. There is no sense that he takes fools gladly but has no choice but to keep them around despite their incompetence.

It does feel at times like the story is starting to recycle things. The budget is clearly starting to run out as at one point we also have a reprise from episode two cliffhanger. It’s not just a copy of the cliffhanger but it’s the exact same shots that they used in episode two. Thankfully that seems to be all that they copied but I wonder just how run down everyone involved was feeling as they will have been working on this story for nearly two months and there’s more to come.

I must admit that this is the first time in this story that I have been disappointed with the cliffhanger. It just felt rather flat and that was a shame because every cliffhanger so far had something about them but this didn’t have anything and I think that this is the weakest episode so far. There are just three episodes left before we say goodbye to Patrick, Frazer and Wendy and it feels like it’s the end but that the moment has been prepared for. An ok episode with some good performances but nothing special.

The War Games - Episode 6

So at the end of the last episode I was Jamie’s turn to be at the centre of the cliffhanger. It did seem on the face of it that Jamie was an ex-companion. It’s good how they continue with the pretence that he’s dead as the Doctor, Zoe and Carstairs leave without him. After a short time they realise that he’s not dead but just stunned. Sadly he spends the early part of this episode being interrogated by the Security Chief just like Zoe was in the previous answers.

I like the Security Chief. He’s a fly in the War Chief’s ointment. He is starting to put things together and putting pressure on the War Chief. The scene between the War Chief and the Security Chief whilst Jamie was being interrogated was a lovely scene as just bicker. Despite acting like a group of petty children, I still find both Edward Brayshaw (War Chief) and James Bree (Security Chief) to be very striking characters and believable villains. I like the way how the War Chief takes delight when he and the Security Chief walk into the room that the Security Chief thinks that the resistance members are cornered but they have managed to escape. There are mentions of the War Lord which implies that his arrival is very close and Philip Madoc will get to steal the show.

This episode is the first time in 249 episodes, that the term ‘Timelords’ is mentioned in the show. We aren’t told yet that this is the race that the Doctor belongs to them though the fact that the Doctor is quite accustomed to the control switches still hasn’t been properly addressed. Though Zoe does ask the Doctor this with the Doctor replying that it’s not too difficult. This is clearly designed to put doubt in the viewer’s mind but just let it fester until it’s needed in the story. The whole

The episode does a lot of running around corridors with moments of the War Chief and the Security Chief bickering. I didn’t find myself being bored and felt that there was more going on than in the previous episode. The cliffhanger was rather good again with the Doctor, Jamie and Carstairs being in danger with the possibility of them being squashed. It’s still maintaining my interest even after six episodes, how many times over the previous 248 episodes have I moaned about six parters yet with four more episodes to go I don’t find myself being bored and this is down to the characters that are on the screen. The regulars have all performed well so far (even if Jamie has been under used from time to time), the supporting characters are some of the best that we have had for quite some time and had this story being written by anyone other than Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke then it would have run out of steam quite early on but the introduction of new characters and the writing out of some ensures that they don’t outstay their welcome and keep the tempo going long enough so that we can get to the end.

The War Games - Episode 5

As we approach the half way point of the serial, its important that at this stage we start to get some serious development or something to help feel like we aren’t in the padding zone. It seems that Jamie has drawn the short straw  and doesn’t really get to do very much in this episode whereas Zoe who should be in a good position doesn’t seem to do much apart from being interrogated and running around with the Doctor.

We are introduced to another of the ‘aliens’ in this story in the form of James Bree who plays the Security Chief. He seems like the one who enjoys bureaucracy the most. He seems like the sort of person who isn’t very popular and is very good at his job. This is where the bickering between the ‘aliens’ seems to be getting out of hand as there is a power struggle between the War Chief and the Security Chief. It’s clear that the Doctor isn’t the only one hiding something as the War Chief seems to know more.

This is the last episode to feature Lady Jennifer. To be honest she served a purpose during the first few episodes but since the ‘aliens’ have been more introduced, she has become surplus to requirements and she was written out at just the right time. Jane Sherwin’s last scene was quite nice as it became clear that Lady Jennifer had formed a bond with Carstairs but they wouldn’t get a final scene as Carstairs is still being used well.

It’s Jamie’s turn to become the focus of the danger as he is shot at by the guards. There is a pattern emerging and it must be clear to the viewer of 1969 that nothing was going to happen to the regulars just yet. So out of four cliffhangers, each of the regulars have 1 each and it is Troughton’s who cliffhanger had the grimmest tone. I do think that the story does feel like its slowing down a bit, not too much but it doesn’t have the same pace to it. There is a problem with half the episode being set in a very confined barn and the Doctor and Zoe being stuck in the alien’s world where the rooms and corridors do look alike.

The War Games - Episode 4

I like the moment when Zoe asks about who else could have something that’s bigger on the inside than the outside and the Doctor has an idea but is almost to scared to admit it. This shows that he knows more than he’s willing to admit and that he’s deliberately keeping Zoe and Jamie in the dark about things. The story splits its time between two areas which is handy to keep the episode feel fresh and not feel like padding.

Whilst the Doctor and Zoe are in the time capsule, Jamie and Lady Jennifer are stuck in the American Civil War and it’s the return of Von Welch. During their scenes we see a very young looking Rudolph Walker who goes on to play Patrick in Eastenders. There is also an appearance from David Troughton who would play King Peladon during the Pertwee years. It’s during this period that we learn that there are those who don’t believe that they are where they thought they were and the brainwashing that has occurred has worn off.  I didn’t really find the American Civil War stuff to be interesting in this context. When the story returns to the Doctor and Zoe its here we learn a bit more and Zoe realises that they aren’t on earth. When Carstairs has been re-brainwashed and points out the Doctor and Zoe as spies the look on their face is quite good. Patrick Troughton and Wendy Padbury seems to be getting on well together and work well on screen together.

It’s seems like another episode where Jamie is kept away from the Doctor and Zoe. They get to do the exciting stuff and learn things whilst Jamie gets to hang around with Lady Jennifer. That said I thought that Frazer Hines got to do some good stuff especially riding the horse which he seemed to enjoy and the location stuff was quite well done which is credit to David Maloney.

The cliffhanger was a bit like the first but less grim. With Zoe at the end of Carstairs gun is another indication that the regulars aren’t going to get out of this story unscathed. I thought that on the whole this episode was pretty much the same as the other three. I think that its still moving at a good pace and we learn a little bit more and its interesting stuff. Whilst I wasn’t blown away with the sets used on the main base of the War ‘people’ but I must say that found them all to be quite good and after four episodes the story is still holding my attention.

The War Games - Episode 3

After the intriguing cliffhanger the story continues and it’s at this point that we start to learn that there are several timezones. Despite this we do spend a large portion of the episode in the 1917 timezone.

We get to know a bit more about the setting that the regulars find themselves. Another individual we meet is a german called Von Weich. Von Weich is another one who seems obsessed with hypnotism. Unlike Smythe, I find him less menacing and more like the pantomime villain. The main area that the battle decisions is perhaps the most disappointing aspect because it’s clear that this is when the budget started to run out and it will get worse as the story progresses.

The War Chief is very interesting from the moment that he appears on screen. Out of the three of them, Smythe and Von Weich are like bickering kids and the War Chief is the support teacher.

There is an interesting line that crops up during the episode where the regulars learn that they are in the 1862 American Civil War and Zoe comes out with the line about ‘another war’. Surely she should have picked up on the fact that they always seem to be in war zones. It seems like her intelligence has let her down a bit here. The regulars don’t seem to actually do very much in this story apart from being driven by Lady Jennifer from one rabble to another.

Jamie becomes separated from Zoe and the Doctor which forms the cliffhanger. What I like about this cliffhanger is that it’s the third different style that they have used. It doesn’t have the grimness of the first or the weirdness of the second but it occurs after the Doctor and Zoe discover that some soldiers that come out of the capsule seems bigger on the inside like the TARDIS and due to gunfire, Jamie becomes separated. I’m glad that the story is moving along but at a pace that doesn’t feel like it’s being rushed or going too slowly. Three episodes in and I’m still engaged with it.

The War Games - Episode 2

So at the end of the previous episode, we were left with a rather grim cliffhanger with the possibility of the Doctor being executed. This is of course not going to happen and it’s quickly shown that the Doctor would survive. No sooner has he been saved than he and Zoe end up commandeering a vehicle and pretending to be from the War Office in an attempt to rescue Jamie.  

Smythe is acting more menacingly than he did in the previous episode. I like his first scene where he is about to leave in a capsule that just appears and is discovered by Captain Ransom. Once Smythe has gone it’s a few seconds before Ransom ‘remembers’ that Smythe has gone to a meeting. The only problem with hypnotising the same people is that it does somewhat devalue the character or characters. Ransom does seem like a rather insubstantial character despite how much he appears in the story.

Patrick Troughton seems to have having a wonderful time during the scenes with Commandant Gorton. Pretending to be in this sort of position is something that Troughton does well and it wasn’t until sometime in the episode that I noticed how again it’s the Doctor and Zoe with Jamie left to fend on his own although this time he’s with a highlander which seems like a nod to how he was introduced into the show and the last shot in episode ten.

There is a sense of frustration that seems to run through this story (it’s what I feel anyway). Just as the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie were reunited and they were on their way out they were captured again. No matter how many times I watch this story I hope that they get away and run off back into the TARDIS and so when they are captured (like they always will be in this story), I feel disappointment and frustration. The only thing that stops it from being ridiculous is that at least they have Carstairs and Lady Jennifer on their side. They become more involved with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and they start to remember things and after focusing a bit can see video screen.

After two episodes of being mainly in 1917 with World War 1 soldiers (apart from the Redcoat), the story continues to confuse and whilst the cliffhanger doesn’t have the grimness of episode 1 it has a rather different feel to it which is one of confusion. Just what is a Roman army doing running towards our heroes? It’s a wonderful sight and the music from Dudley Simpson helps create a wonderfully dramatic end to the episode. As an episode I thought that it was rather good. It felt like it had done most of the set up in the first episode (which it had) and this meant that it could just get on with moving the story along at quite a quick pace. I think the relief of getting over ‘The Space Pirates’ is still evident but I think even taking out of the equation, I still rate ‘The War Games’ as a story and currently it’s my favourite second Doctor story so far. I know that the good times wont be round for long but I’m just enjoying this story and this episode is another good one.

The War Games - Episode 1

Ah, I have been looking forward to this moment since I got into the Troughton era. It’s the final story of the Troughton era and it’s the longest story of his time. Due to problems with scripts that seem to have dogged this season badly, it’s seemed inevitable that something was going to have to be longer than intended. I have made my feelings very clear about six part episodes but ‘The Invasion’ was eight episodes long and I really enjoyed that so I hope that my enthusiasm for this ten part adventure would be as it always was. Like the last few stories this has a slightly different way of showing the titles. It should be clear that this is the beginning of the end for our favourite characters as the moment they exit the TARDIS and step in mud they laugh together and it’s about the happiest that they will be over the course of the next ten episodes.

The initial problem with Lady Jennifer is that she’s terribly clichéd. Even by 1969’s standards the character would have seemed outdated. Within a few minutes of appearing on screen she been captured by German soldiers before being rescued by Lt Carstairs. I think that Lady Jennifer and Carstairs are a good partnership and will see this in future episodes. General ‘The Butcher’ Smythe is one of the many baddies that appear in this story. It’s at this point that the seemingly ordinary setting of World War I takes an unusual turn. Soon after he hypnotises people which is something that’s not terrible original but like it as a character trait for Smythe as he is instantly unlikeable from the moment he appears on screen.

The court martial scene is the best moment of the story because of the injustice of it because two of the people on the panel encountered the Doctor and due to the hypnosis from Smythe is unable to intervene. It wasn’t much of a court martial and I like how Smythe bulldozes the guilty verdict even though others aren’t so sure of their guilt. This pretty much shows how screwed the regulars are and I think that they put in solid performances and I like in particular how the Doctor is quite naive that he will be able to explain the situation but its clear to everyone else that it might not be so easy.

I thought the kiss that the Doctor gives Zoe is lovely and very tender. It’s another sign to viewers that this isn’t going to be a normal adventure. At the end of the episode the Doctor is about to face a firing squad. I personally think that this is one of the grimmest ends to a Doctor Who episode ever. The fact that its suppose to be a First World War firing squad as opposed to a firing squad on Telos or Skaro or somewhere else makes it much grimmer and much more real than it normally would be. I thought that this was a really good cliffhanger for a really good episode. I don’t know whether it’s because I was so despondent from enduring/watching ‘The Space Pirates’ but I can’t believe how happy I am now I have got to this story.

The Space Pirates - Episode 6

For the final time I stick my CD on and listen, that’s listen to a Doctor Who episode. Its weird to think that I will have to enjoy/endure a Doctor Who episode in this manner. There have been times when I have wondered whether I should carry on or just skip the missing episodes but I have perceived. Just think when I watched the first episode of Marco Polo back on May 29, 2013, there were 107 episodes missing but now there are only 96. It’s a shame that the last episode of this part of the marathon is forgettable. I mean literally forgettable because as I was listening to this episode I found myself not really caring what was going on and what was happening to the characters. Due to the lack of images its just a lot of people running around and somehow Clancy has become a useful and likeable figure to those that weren’t so keen on him a few episodes.

I don’t like feeling the way I have felt over the last couple of episodes. I remember when I watched Episode 2 and thought that my opinion might change but sadly no. I still think that this story is deathly dull and the only thing that stops me from saying this is worst than ‘The Dominators’ is that as this is missing five episodes, it’s hard to be fair to this story. I can’t imagine that my opinion would improve that much but it shows what difference looking at an episode makes to how I rate an episode. Another thing that I have found disappointing is how poorly the regulars have been used. From the start they have been badly overlooked as it took so long to get them involved in the story that once they didn’t do very much and normally when I have listened to audio episodes I have at least been able to enjoy the regulars but over the five episodes I cant say that because they did very little and that’s a shame.

Overall despite my determination to try and find positives (that didn’t last long did it!), I think that this is one of the worst stories that has been made in the Troughton era. Only ‘The Highlanders’ has a worse rating and as we approach the end of the Troughton era I worry that my abiding memory of his time on show will be marred by stories like this instead of ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ or ‘Enemy of the World’. Poor episode to end a poor story.

The Space Pirates - Episode 5

Right, I have decided to have a more positive attitude to these final two episodes. I’m going to force myself to get more involved in the story. Something I forgot to mention in yesterdays review is that it was Frazer Hines’ 100^th episode as Jamie. It’s a shame then that episode four was so poor. Hopefully his 101^st episode will be better. For the others, this is Troughtons 105^th episode and Wendy Padbury is celebrating 37 episodes and is currently one episode behind Maureen O’Brien (38) and two behind Deborah Watling (39). As a team, the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are the third longest partnership in Doctor Who. They are just two behind the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria (40) and 14 episodes behind the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan (51).

The first thing that I noticed again about this episode is the opera singer (I’m guessing she’s an opera singer!), her voice pierces the early stages of this episode. There’s a line about a room being like an Edwardian study. The thought of a room like this on a spaceship is a lovely one. The problem at the moment is that because I haven’t really been paying attention to the story, I am slightly confused as to where the story is and more importantly where it’s going. There is a lot of people sounding quite worried and things seem to be getting out of hand but I have come to the party late and so feel like I should have bought a present and haven’t. It does feel like that for the regulars which shouldn’t be the case especially when they are suppose to be the main selling point of the story.

Whilst being totally confused with what’s going on and all the new characters that seem to have introduced is noticing that the regulars seem rather flat. They are there but don’t seem to be given much to do and that’s a weird thing to happen. It’s one thing when one of the regulars is given a light workload but when all three seem to suffers the same fate then it really affects the story. It even seems to affect the relationship between the characters. After being rather rude to Zoe in episode two, the Doctor accuses Jamie of not appreciating the things that he does for him.

As far as my enjoyment goes for this story, there was a definite improvement from the last episode. Episode 4 got a poor 4.8 whereas episode five got 5.2 so at least its going up but it’s the third episode in a row that has ended in the 6’s. The story rating (including all five episodes) continues to decline currently standing at 6.88 and only ‘The Highlanders’ has a worst rating during Troughtons’ time. I do think that the final episode of the story might end it on a high note. Fingers crossed. I do feel like I’ve been more enthusiastic about this episode but not much. One reason to be optimistic is that it’s the last time that I will have to listen to an episode as opposed to watching it.

The Space Pirates - Episode 4

The 25 minutes that I spent listening to this story felt like 2 hours. The fact that absolutely nothing happens in this episode is one of the reasons why it’s the fourth worst episode of Patrick Troughton’s run. Only The Highlanders episodes three and four and ‘The Evil of the Daleks’ episode three have received worst ratings. Not even Clancy can help sustain my attention and as a result I don’t really care about the characters or the plot. I don’t think that I will even bother with an in depth review. I could go on about the six parts running time or the lack of visuals but at this particular moment in time I’m just bored of that. The only good thing about this moment of time is that there are just two episodes left to endure of this story and two episodes before I enter the wonder land of DVDs and pretty soon in colour.

For the brief moment that I was following the goings on in this episode which as far as I could tell was just running about and the annoying space pompous people are closing in on Clancy who I still cant buy as a menace even though he’s clearly past his prime. The moment came when the Doctor was trying to do something with a tuning fork and Jamie just happens to find the right tune by throwing the tuning fork down to the ground in annoyance. What? This shows that Robert Holmes has just given up and this is definelty the low point in his career.

As a result its not hard to understand what I think about this episode. It’s the joint lowest episode of the series (tied with episode three of The Dominators). I don’t see that its going to improve with the final two episodes but brave heart!!

The Space Pirates - Episode 3

Something that strikes me about this episode. Just how on earth are we suppose to take Clancy as a serious criminal. It’s difficult to take him seriously when he talks like he does. It would have ruined Star Wars if Darth Vader had talked like a hillbilly. Also James Bond wouldn’t have worried so much about Blofeld if he started singing Yankey-Doodle-Dandy. The only thing that I really take from this episode is that the Doctor tries to get back to the TARDIS. That’s it really, apart from a lot of talking about Argonite and also how people are after Clancy.

After three episodes I don’t know where this story is going. It’s desperately dull and doesn’t have anything exciting about it. I can’t take anyone in this episode seriously and I am surprised that this story was written by the legendary Robert Holmes. I know that he does much better but before I got to the Krotons I would have struggled to think which of the two were the worst but after re-evaluating that story I have to say that this story is the worst Holmes’ story. I have given this story the rating of 6.67 out of 10 which is the lowest episode since the third episode of ‘The Dominators’ back in mid-December  and the first time that an episode has fallen into the 6’s since the fourth episode of that story.

As we don’t have this on video or have any telesnaps its hard to imagine what the hell is going on and its becoming harder to care and as a result its going to be a shorter review than normal and I think that this will be the case as we approach the latter half of the story.

The Space Pirates - Episode 2

This is the last time that I will be digging out my Lost in Time DVD set. It’s been useful over the last eight months but all good things must come to an end. The first thing I notice is that one of the crew members looks like he’s escaped from a Beatles convention. There are some curious costumes that the supporting cast are given which are screaming the 1960’s. The next thing that I notice is that unusually in space there are no stars. I liked it and thought that it gave a great impression that they aren’t just round the corner from Earth or any planets in the solar system.

This is where the wheels of this particular cart start to fall off. We are introduced to Milo Clancy who looks like he’s come out of a 1960’s Western. When we first meet him he’s having breakfast and eating an egg. Clancy is thought to be an Argonite pirate or working with them. He is portrayed as someone who might be old but has the potential to have quite a temper and isn’t weak and feeble.

It’s seven minutes before we get one word of dialogue from the Doctor. The regulars spend that time just ‘sleeping’. It’s another five minutes before we get a proper scene from them. So in nearly 45 minutes of the story we’ve had less than 17-18 minutes featuring the stars. We get a nice little explanation and demonstration from Patrick Troughton about the different sections that were broken up. I love the moment when the Doctor tells Zoe to not be a pessimist. This is the first time that there’s been a telling off like this. This comes after the Doctor has a plan to get the sections back but if he gets it wrong then they will be flung into space and this is what happens and at this point it seems lie there is no hope of rescue.

The one thing that I liked about this episode were the models. They looked slick and rather well done. It’s not cheap looking which isn’t normally the case in 1960’s Doctor Who.

The cliffhanger is really good and I just wish that the rest of the episodes exist. Clancy has shot Jamie and Zoe thinks he is dead. Obviously we know that he’s not dead and that he will feature in the next episode but it’s a cracking reason why we should tune in to the next episode. I think that whilst there were some good moments, this was a rather dull episode. There was an awful lot of talking about how Clancy was some sort of master-criminal. It was only when the regulars appeared on screen that I found myself interested in the story and I fear that the next four episodes will follow the same pattern. Oh well, lets just get through it and it will soon be over.

The Space Pirates - Episode 1

So we all know that Robert Holmes is one of the best writers in Doctor Who history right? Well if we were trying to convince a newbie of this and got them to watch The Krotons they wouldn’t be convinced but think that it was a bumpy start, try getting them to watch this story and they would think that we are barking mad. I will admit from the start that as I embark on Troughton’s penultimate story as the Doctor, I am not looking forward to this story. It’s a story that sticks out in my mind for being more slapstick than most Doctor Who stories. This is the final story in my marathon that doesn’t exist on DVD which is a massive thing because of all those days where I was stuck listening to the CD but the difference between those stories and this one is that I had telesnaps to look at to at least get a flavour of what the episodes might have looked like. This time there are no telesnaps so episode two is the only opportunity we get to see just how bad this story might have looked.

There’s something that’s quite odd about this episode (I say odd, I mean usual). It’s 15 minutes before the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe appear. Now in ‘The Seeds of Death’ there was a far bit of time before the regulars but it was about half the time of this episode. During this period we are left in the company of people who sound like they’ve just come from a pantomime because some of them have a rather exaggerated way of delivering their lines. When the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe appear it takes less that two minutes for them to be hunted by the people on the spaceship. The episode concludes with fragments of the ship being broken up with the regulars being in one of them. It’s a good ending for the episode. Despite not interacting with anyone else and only being in it for half of the episodes running time, the regulars are all good and there even seems like there’s more of that Troughton/Hines co-production stuff littered through their lines.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t hate this episode. I’m not totally sold on it but I think that there is something fun to enjoy here. I think once the regulars get involved in the story then it will continue to make me reassess this story and whilst I continued to bang on about six parters, I think that there might be enough here to make me forget the running time and as you probably have thought of there is an even longer story about to come. The Space Pirates might just be one of the surprises of the season for me, I emphasis might.

The Seeds of Death - Episode 6

This final episode of ‘The Seeds of Death’ is the 100^th episode that Patrick Troughton has appeared in. The Doctor at the beginning of the episode has two battle two menaces (one he can’t see), there is the foam/pods and the Ice Warrior. Like the first episode which took several minutes before the regulars, it’s the same amount of time before extras turn up and a few minutes more before the supporting cast turn up (eight minutes). When the Ice Warrior is dealt with the story action moves to trying to make it rain and the stop the invasion fleet from arriving. Considering it only has 25 minutes to do it, its done quite well. The making it rain thing was done quite quickly considering the machine that does it seem quite broken.

I like how the Ice Warriors are defeated. They are tricked into following the wrong signal and the invasion fleet are sent to the sun instead of the earth. It’s a plan that takes the whole episode to get it to work and when it does it’s revealed in a fantastic way. It’s not done quickly at the end of an episode but they take the time to finish it off and still manage to do it with time to spare.

The performances are the best they have been from the regulars in this story. That’s because they seem to be letting some of the comedy come out. There’s a great shot when Troughton arrives in the weather bureau and Wendy Padbury has a massive grin on her face. The best of the regulars is Troughton who’s best scene comes when he is against Slaar and he says confidently that his plans are finished. It’s a rare thing for Troughton’s Doctor to get a scene like that but Troughton seizes the moment and its great to watch. The supporting cast don’t really feature that much as the action is taken with the regulars and the ice warriors.

As a story it works quite well and despite my reservations about it being six episodes, I thought that it worked in a perfectly fine manner. The Ice Warriors though lacking in ice weren’t lacking in menace. Their plan was quite clever (compared to the Daleks’ regular plans) and the setting of the moon was a nice nod to the base under siege type story that we had become use to. Brian Hayles has written a sound script and introduced a raft of supporting characters that weren’t annoying and were fun to watch. Michael Ferguson has been praised during the previous episodes because he has kept the action going and the location stuff was great.

The problem now is that we are about to approach the space pirates.