The Web of Fear - Episode 6

The final episode sees us find out who is working with the great intelligence. I’m usually rubbish at guessing who the person is so I don’t tend to guess but usually it’s the person that’s least obvious. The one that hides in plain sight are the ones that it tends to be so it wont be Evans or Chorley. In this episode we finally get to see the Yeti’s base for the first time. It’s also the first time for a few episodes that we have seen Chorley and when we do see him he doesn’t act like he’s been running around the tunnels for ages. After a lot of running around and the Doctor and Ann hiding the fact that they control one of the Yeti from the others, we finally get to see who has been used by the Great Intelligence but its not a straight forward thing as there is a bit of a mini red herring because Chorley is firstly accused before the true figure was revealed.

Arnold is the one being revealed as working for the Great intelligence and its actually quite a logical choice because he’s been in plain sight and hasn’t been right in the centre of suspicion like Chorley has. Quite amusingly, Arnold’s accent goes from a cockney to the Queens English. It’s a shame though we he dies because you feel that he wasn’t really in full possession of his own body and what we saw of the character before this was quite nice and fun and so his death was quite sad. Though I suppose the fact that it bothers me like this means that the character worked and that’s always a good sign. The performances are all pretty good but I still think that the best pairing in the story is the one between Ann and the Doctor which makes her not joining the TARDIS crew even harder to get over.

There’s a fun line where the Doctor hopes that Jamie doesn’t suffer from claustrophobia and its obvious that he doesn’t considering he’s spent the last five episode in the tunnels and very small room. In one shot there seemed to be a bit of product placement with a poster for a film called Blockbusters starring Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier but this film doesn’t seem to exist. However according to IMDB the same poster that appears in episode six is the same on that on IMDB is called ‘In The Heat of the Night’ was released in 1967 so that rule about Earth stories or UNIT stories being set five years in advance would seem a little wrong here.

The big action sequence with the Yetis attacking each other is a little disappointing and is by far the least interesting part. The Doctor wanted to effectively stop it but due to Jamie’s eagerness the ‘connection’ has been cut off. I would have liked to see more in this set because it was the most modern bit of the set that we have had and it was quite a nice looking one with lots of space and light. I thought it was a slightly disappointing ending to the story. I suppose that there wasn’t much they could do once it was said that that Arnold wasn’t really aware of what he was doing. I just wish that they had done more in that final part of the episode. That said overall it was a good story, I think that they managed to keep the interest in the story going by switching the potential candidates and also by using the Yeti effectively. That’s it for the recently found episodes and I think that they have helped make the stories better than they were on audio. I think that this story benefited more from being on audio due to the claustrophobic nature of the story. Sadly that’s it for full stories on dvd/itunes for the fifth season as we are about to say goodbye to Victoria Waterfield.

The Web of Fear - Episode 5

The first four minutes are taken with the possessed Professor Travers explaining the Great Intelligence’s plans and gives the Doctor an ultimatum. This is a good moment because it sets up the next two episodes. It seems like the balance of storytelling has shifted from finding out who is working with the Yeti to firmly dealing with their plan. There are two teams in this episode, the Doctor and Ann Travers and Jamie with the Colonel. Every time I write Colonel in relation to Lethbridge-Stewart, I instinctively want to writer Brigadier. The Colonel and Jamie part is the more action packed

I like how the Doctor and Ann are working together in a way that seems to show us that the Doctor works with a scientist like a companion. Even to the point where Ann defends the Doctor when Lethbridge-Stewart and Jamie have a go at them for not achieving very much. I think that she could have become a very good companion as she’s not as brainy as Liz but is still smart enough to be useful in the show.

Evans does something which isn’t like him at the beginning of the episode and suggests that they give up the Doctor. Yet later in the episode he goes back to his comedic self. It’s like they couldn’t make up their mind about what they want the character to be like. He’s still thought of as the traitor even when Chorley’s name is mentioned it doesn’t seem to have the same weight to it as it does when Evans is pretty much accused. Colonel Lethbridge Stewart is barking orders out like a Brigadier. He continues to be one of the best supporting characters in the story and Nicholas Courtney is clearly enjoying himself. He doesn’t have the same action that he didn in the previous episode but he’s still dominant in the scenes that he’s in.

Victoria does something quite clever and drops things to leave a trail for the others. She then spends the rest of the episode with her dad…er I mean with Professor Travers. She doesn’t do very much until Travers becomes dispossessed and seems to get something to do but sadly its too little too late. Jamie has a slightly better time but unfortunately he’s next to Lethbridge-Stewart that he kind of gets sidelined.

The cliffhanger is quite good with the effect of the smoke breaking down a wall and into a room looking effective. It’s a good episode but doesn’t seem to have the same energy that the previous episode did which means that no matter what they did in this episode was always going to look a little dull in comparison. Still a good story though and the final episode should tie things up nicely.

The Web of Fear - Episode 4

Now that we are back to the proper episode we get to see the exciting cliffhanger from episode three and it was rather good. This is the first time that we get to see Nicholas Courtney walking and talking. There is more stuff to do with the Yeti and their dastardly plans in this episode which is nice. It’s seven minutes before the business of the traitor is mentioned. This week it’s Evans who is treated as te one who might be working against them. They create impression by certain things going on like the web from his tobacco tin disappearing. This is the first time in the story that the Yeti have been active in any proper way. This is the first time that I have really got a good idea as to how mobile they are. They don’t find it too difficult to move and they can be quite aggressive and physical. To add to that their web guns are effective and it shows what a good villain they are.

I like how when the Doctor tells the Colonel about the TARDIS he believes it as fact even though he must have a slight bit of doubt. He has another great moment when he encounters Yeti on the streets of London. Using the Cybermen music for this the effect shows that this is UNIT in all but name. There’s a moment where Lethbridge-Stewart and another soldier are quite clever by hiding on top of some boxes though the soldier does come a cropper but its still a good idea. Patrick Troughton puts in a good performance with similarly good offerings from Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling though I don’t think that they did anything really special in this episode.

I don’t know if this is what everyone thinks but there are moments where Anne Travers (Tina Packer) bears a slight resemblance to Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. It seems strange to see her emotional as she’s been very straight face up until this point but its understandable. I quite like the character of Ann and think that both she and Professor Travers are a good addition to this story. The cliffhanger is clearly designed to imply that its Professor Travers that has been working with the Yeti and planted the homing devices. It’s a better episode the number three. I’m liking how they are keeping the suspicion going and mixing it in with the Yeti. But with two more episode yet to see, this is turning out to be another good story and also a better Yeti story than ‘The Abominable Snowmen’.

The Web of Fear - Episode 3

This episode is the only one that doesn’t exist sadly. However it does come with telesnaps. This is the episode where Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart makes his first appearance and Nicholas Courtney’s first appearance since ‘The Daleks Master Plan’ where Sara Kingdom killed her. The first thing that should be explained is how and why Lethbridge-Stewart is down there. He is now in charge which is pretty much the course for next 21 years. After being on holiday last week, Patrick Troughton returns and uses the line that he was knocked out from the explosion. This was a throwaway line to explain it and I thought that at least they tried.

The plot doesn’t really move away from figuring out who’s working against the army. The finger of suspicion has moved away from the Doctor and now comes the thing that I like about this story and it’s the air of uncertainty that exists. Who is working with the Great Intelligence? There are several potential people who could be working with them and this episode seems to have decided to point the finger at Chorley and this is done because he is acting even stranger than usual. Even Lethbridge-Stewart is under suspicion so that will be the theme for the next couple of episode.

Nicholas Courtney is brilliant from the moment he first appears and instantly carries the authority with him. He might be in the cockney army but he’s managed to insert his authority and does it quite quickly and he shows the sign of a diplomat when he tries to be all smiles to Chorley. The rest of the performances were all quite good and I think that Chorley is becoming a strong character along with the Travers’. Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines are quite good in this episode yet the only thing that Deborah Watling gets to do is to tell Chorley about the TARDIS and annoying the Doctor. This seems that its back to normal in terms of the way people are treated in the story.

I must comment on the telesnaps episode. I think that it’s well done and as I am watching it on iTunes I think that despite not having any narration it is still enjoyable. There is only one moment where text is needed to explain what’s going on but that its. I think that it was well done and I did enjoy it. I don’t think it’s the best episode of the story so far but I think that it’s got enough going for it to help me enjoy it.

The Web of Fear - Episode 2

With episode one already found before the rest were back in October 2013, this is the first of the newly found episodes and it’s also where the story starts to pick up. Within the first two minutes of the episode, suspicions are raised as to what Jamie and Victoria are there for. There is no Patrick Troughton who’s on holiday in this episode so this allows the army, the Travers and Jamie and Victoria to cover his absence and it also allows suspicion to be aimed at the Doctor which would only work because he’s not there.

So that the entire story isn’t filled with army characters they have added Chorley. Chorley is the journalist and is quite keen to get the dirt of the situation but not to put his backside in danger. His best scene comes when he gets into a verbal altercation with Ann Travers and they have a discussion about the morals of journalism which still rings true today. Ann is quite good as well as she’s a no nonsense person who is the complete opposite to Victoria. It’s a nice balance between the two. This is the episode where Travers is reunited with Victoria and Jamie and its surprising that its Victoria that realised this. It was good though to see Deborah Watling reunited with her father. After this both Travers become more mellow and likeable and they become the ones to believe that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria aren’t in league with the Yeti. Speaking of the Yeti they are far more active in this episode than the previous one. There is a rather good shoot-out with them.

The army soldiers are all cockneys and its quite amusing. There are only a few of them with speaking parts and they are all quite good and this helped get over the fact that there were so many army people and that we are missing Nicholas Courtney. There is a new army character introduced in the form of a chap called simply Driver Evans (according to Wikipedia). Evans is a Welsh soldier that somehow finds his way into the tunnels. The explanation he gives is rather implausible and I think that a better way could have been found to introduce the character.

There is another good cliffhanger with the tunnel being filled with foam. It’s a bonkers way to end the episode and I thought that it was quite a clever way to end the episode. Overall I think that the lack of Troughton has hurt the episode somewhat. When Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling go on holiday (like they did in Enemy of the World) then their absence doesn’t have so much of an effect on the story but this time Troughtons vanishing act hasn’t been a good thing. Anyway he’s back in the next episode and so does another Doctor Who legend.

The Web of Fear - Episode 1

Today is the 50^th Anniversary since An Unearthly Child aired on BBC 1 (or BBC as it was back then) and I watch this opening episode of the Yeti’s return immediately after so I’m in a wonderful mood. This is another of the lost stories found recently and it resumes after Salamander got sucked out of the TARDIS. I am surprised that the Yeti returned so soon, not even the Daleks managed that. I wasn’t impressed with ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ which I think was because it was on CD (apart from one episode). This story takes place 30 years after the events of the first story and we are introduced to Ann Travers who is the daughter of Professor Travers. This story returns to the under siege type of story which are ones that I enjoy and another thing that’s interesting about this story is that it is effectively a pilot for the UNIT crew.

When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive on Earth they find themselves on the London Underground and one man playing a corpse effectively announces that London is a ghost town and that’s as far out as we get. One thing that I am impressed with is the set that they use for the underground. It’s not very big but the lack of light helps create a wonderful sense that they are in the underground. The usual stuff happens in this episode as the Doctor becomes separated from Victoria and Jamie.

It’s quite good how Jamie and Victoria believe that they are helping the Doctor by not telling the officers that the Doctor was with them until they realise that the tunnel is about to be blown up. They don’t know that the Doctor is ok (or is he?). I think that Jamie and Victoria are both equal in this episode though I liked their opening scene in the TARDIS as they were all one nice big family. It must seem weird to Patrick Troughton to only have to play one role and not wear so much make up.

The Yeti are used lightly and rather effectively. Apart from the bit at the beginning where it didn’t move and when it sprayed the explosives it didn’t have much involvement in proceedings.

The cliffhanger is quite good and it looks quite good to see the explosions covered in cobwebs flashing in rather a slow way. It’s a good opening episode which shows that its going to be very different from ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ and that might be a good thing. Everything is in place to make this another six part story that will work quite well. Only time will tell I suppose.

The Abominable Snowmen - Episode 6

Right, just one more episode to listen to before we get about two and a half weeks work of DVDs instead of audio. The problems that I have had with the story haven’t really been resolved as I would have expected this final episode to have picked up the pace but it still feels like its killing time. I must confess that there is more going on in this episode but as I’ve lost any goodwill for this story then I’m afraid that I just don’t see anything positive to write about this. Not even Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines can help this from being a rather substandard story.

It’s quite good how at the very end Travers ends up seeing the Abominable Snowman that he’s been searching for. Of course it wont be the last time that we will see him and it wont be long before he returns because for some reason it was decided that this story worked so well that they deserved a sequel. Well maybe I have been harsh over the last six episodes but I have to say that without something to look at (apart from telesnaps) its difficult to get excited or even interested in a story.  Its not the worst story ever because as I may not have made clear there are things in this story that are worth getting excited about and its most in the first two episodes. At least now we get to some of the newly released stories on DVD. Oh I love that – DVD.

The Abominable Snowmen - Episode 5

The penultimate episode and my patience is starting to wear a bit thin. Knowing that I have the Ice Warriors, Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear to enjoy just makes this rather lacklustre story all the more harder to endure. I almost cant be bothered to write anything because I just have lost any ability to write anything substancial about this episode.

The stuff with Victoria was somewhat interesting but  that’s the only highlight. I thought that the regulars were all quite good but they were let down badly by the supporting cast as they all seemed to just whisper and talk like they are trying to put us to sleep. As I have previously mentioned I think that this story loses something my not being on TV.

It’s another episode where I continued to be bemused as to why people hold this story in such high regard. Maybe if you listen to it in on sitting then it might work but doing it one day at a time is not the best way to listen to this adventure.  I couldn’t quite tell you whats been going on in this episode apart from Victoria being possessed and then going back to her normal self but at least I only have one more episode to enduer.

The Abominable Snowmen - Episode 4

The episode starts off quite well and I found my interest going up a bit as the Doctor and Jamie get some more time ‘on screen’.  Sadly that was as good as the episode would get as this story staggers towards its end which is worryingly another two episodes away. Even with the wonderful Frazer Hines’ narration popping up every couple of moments, I find myself feeling rather tired when listening to this story. It’s all so lifeless and that’s a problem with it’s a six part adventure.

Had it not been for Frazer Hines and Patrick Troughton then I would have given up after about five or six minutes and the only thing that seemed to go in the plus box is the fact that the great intelligence seems to be more of an important factor in the story. It’s a shame that we can’t see what’s going on. I cant quite figure out whether it’s the fact that theres padding or whether the stuff that’s happening is just not very exciting. It feels more like the latter but it’s a fine line to be honest. My ability to write a lovely long review is always poor during the audio episodes but its even worse here as I cant drum up enough excitement about this episode.

The cliffhanger is rather poor. It’s rather indicative of the entire story as despite being four episodes in I still think that I would be enjoying this story more if I could see the action and my will to live is somewhat diminishing as the episode progressed. This story is nose-diving into boredom and the only thing that prevents this from being another Web Planet is that the Yeti and the sight of them wandering over the hills is something that is one of the most iconic in the shows history. Not too long until The Web of Fear and I cant wait to see that. Well only two episodes left to get through.

The Abominable Snowmen: Episode 3

Nooooooo! After the cliffhanger from episode two we now have to go back to the audios and sadly I feel that any goodwill that was created from the previous episode may start to fade and despite the progress that was made in terms of plot it feels like the story is moving slowly again. The start was quite good with them trying to find out where the sphere had disappeared to. After that I lost track of what was going on and that’s the fault of the script.

There isn’t much that I can really say about this episode so there wont be much to read for todays episode. There aren’t many good things that I can say about episode three but there are some things that save it from being one of the worst episodes that I’ve watched. First is a strange one, when we get the location footage again and the wind blowing it reminds me of the great location shots from the previous episode. A time when the story seemed like it had some hope. Another positive that I can find from this episode is Deborah Watling. She points something out in the first half of the episode that you would have expected to have come from Jamie or the Doctor. She continues this impressive change in character and I think that if I had a ‘Regular of the Episode’ award then it would definitely go to Deborah Watling. It’s one of the rare instances where Jamie and the Doctor are rather ordinary. I can’t really find anything that they do which is memorable. That’s not because of Frazer Hines or Patrick Troughton but just that they are poorly served in this story.

Sadly I think that this was another episode where not a lot happens. It’s a shame really as I think that had this episode existed on DVD then there would be something to look at whilst the nothingness was happening. As it stands this remains one of those stories that has potential but is restricted due to the fact that its running time is longer than it should be.

The Abominable Snowmen - Episode 2

The second episode is the only one of the six to exist on DVD. So its back to the ‘Lost in Time’ DVD set and the first thing I notice is that the cliffhanger from episode one wasn’t the greatest.  I love how Victoria asks Jamie what weird looking things are when its clear that he wouldn’t have an idea what it is. The Doctor’s situation goes from bad to worse as he is used as bait to lure the Yeti to the monastery whilst Jamie and Victoria spend the early part of the episode running away from the Yeti. I am surprised at how few Yeti we have seen so far. It’s not until towards the end of the episode that we see more than one. It’s quite a good sight seeing several Yeti roaming over the hills. It does show what we are missing by this not being on DVD which makes it more infuriating.

The mysterious voice that seems to come out of thin air is one of the few eerie things to come out of the episode. It’s good that we don’t see where the voice is coming from though clearly due to a shot in one scene its clear that its not too far away. It’s good how Travers admits that the Doctor isn’t the one that they are looking for. It ends that initial stage of the story and speaking of Travers its funny to see him in the scenes with his daughter. When I watch them I don’t think that they are father and daughter but instead two completely different people who have never met before.

As this is the only episode to exist on DVD it’s the only chance that I will have to comment on the direction. I think that its rather well done. The best part was when Jamie and the monks were attacking the Yeti and the camera was shaking all over the place. A technique used 40 years before Steven Spielberg would make it famous. I don’t know whether it was due to people knocking into it or whether it was intended it. Either way it’s a nice moment even if its too brief.

Performance wise, this episode works quite well. The regulars all did well and I like the joke that the Doctor does when Jamie comes up with an idea. It seems like it was a Troughton/Hines co-production. The supporting cast were all quite good but for me it was Jack Watling that was at the top of the pile.

The final moment comes after they discover what the woolly figure that has been attacking them is and it turns out that they are a furrier version of the Cybermen (but can’t talk). The final shot is of the sphere/ball moving of it own volition. It’s a good way to end the episode and my impression of the story has changed somewhat. I know that the next four episodes are back to audio but it does feel like the action is starting to take shape even if it is doing so at a infuriatingly slow pace.

The Abominable Snowmen - Episode 1

The Abominable Snowmen is arguably the Troughton era’s most popular and successful creation outside of the Dalek and Cybermen stories. Recently five of the six episodes of The Web of Fear were found but sadly this one remains lost.  It’s quite noticeable for many reasons but firstly its that this story features Deborah Watling’s father Jack Watling who plays Professor Travers in this story. After the futuristic story featuring the Cybermen, its time to take Victoria to her first proper story in history. The episode starts quite good because we get screams and no clear sign as to what has happened. It’s quite surprising at how sort of afraid Jamie is portrayed because he unwilling to go out with Victoria and does what the Doctor tells him. This soon changes when Jamie decides that he’s going to take on the trouble that is in front of them. It doesn’t take long for them all to be separated and it also doesn’t take long for the Doctor to get into trouble.

Our first meeting of Professor Travers isn’t a particularly positive one as he is the one that is convinced that the Doctor has killed his friend and caused all the trouble. I know that this is all part and parcel of the early stages of a Doctor Who story but sometimes it’s a bit tiresome but with six episodes to fill there has to be some sort of padding and its not the worst padding device ever. In terms of performances from the regulars, I think they all do rather well though I am confused by the swapping of roles between Watling and Hines. It almost seems like the writers couldn’t quite make up their minds about these two after spending a lot of time working on what Patrick Troughton was doing and I must say that his side of the story was quite enjoyable (if predictable).

I must say that after the Tomb of the Cybermen this story was always going to feel a bit of a let down but so I didn’t have my expectations to high and I think that the issue with a six parter is going to rear its ugly head during the next five episodes. There’s going to be a lot of padding but I think (or hope) that once it gets going it will be better than I think it is. I haven’t listened to this story in a long time so something’s are a bit hazy when I try and remember this story so hopefully this story will spring a surprise on me.