(692) The Curse of Fenric - Part 4

As I have been watching the previous three episodes, I have done so knowing that this is the episode where everything happens. The cliffhanger from the previous episode is one of the best of the McCoy era (probably just behind the Dalek going up the stairs in Remembrance).  It doesn’t take long for this episode to show why it’s so good. The performances are superb and Dinsdale Landen is immediately impressive as the Fenric version of Judson. Despite the strong performances I have to address an issue that is quite visible in the opening minutes of the episode. That is the issue of rain where its coming down like it’s a thunderstorm yet there the skies are either blue or near enough.

The Great Serpent is a great looking monster and could easily have worked as the lead monster. It’s first appearance is quite good because it comes out of the sea and its quite an imposing figure. If I was nit-picking then I would say that Judson doesn’t quite seem as imposing himself as he did in the previous episode.

Nurse Craine’s death was a shame really and made even more horrific with the massive toothy grin on Judson’s face. I think that Anne Reid has done well with a role that could have been totally annoying. Not many people would have made me miss a character like this. Jean and Phyllis suffer a rather grim death but its in keeping with the deaths in this era of the show. I am surprised with how much these two characters have developed in just four episodes. Fair play to both Joann Kenny and Joanne Bell.

The big battle comes between Fenric and the Doctor playing a game of chess. Fenric is quite easily defeated (almost) as at one point he begs Ace to help him. Ace stupidly tells him how to win although he has now jumped bodies by this point as he is now in Sorin’s body. I like how its revealed that Fenric has been laying traps for the Doctor since Dragonfire. The obvious part was the chessboard in Silver Nemesis and its nice to see that this something that has been in the works for two years.

There is a lovely moment with Sophie and Kathleen where Ace tells her to go to London, effectively creating her own future because the baby is her mother. Ace has another great moment when she shows Sorin that she has faith and the Doctor tries to destroy that faith by saying that she’s a social misfit and an emotional cripple. It’s hard to imagine any earlier companions pulling this off. Sophie Aldred has really impressed me in this episode and has made me think that she is underrated as a companion

The Serpent is the one that kills Sorin by releasing the gas which does seem a bit of a rush job but I suppose that with everything else that has been going on, I don’t really mind because the rest of the episode and story in fact have been worth it.

The final scene sees Ace almost symbolically wash away all her troubles. It’s a lovely scene and it seems that Ace has come to terms with her past. This has been a very enjoyable story that has really worked in the final episode. The final four parter in the shows history (to date) has been another example of why McCoy has been such a good Doctor. It’s weird to think that there is just one more story in the classic era and just one more story before Sylvester McCoy goes to America.

(691) The Curse of Fenric - Part 3

Today is Bank Holiday Monday and whilst most people are gorging on Chocolate or watching all the Carry On Movies on ITV3, I am spending 25 minutes of day off from work watching the latest episode of this story which isn’t having the same The start to this episode isn’t particularly strong which is surprising to me. There are some shots that really are affective. The first being on Phyllis and Jean walking towards the camera with Haemovores behind them and then some appearing from behind a tombstone. I think that they have got even better in this episode even though they don’t have that many lines. They are more effective when they have long nails and look a bit possessed.

The scene where the Haemovores are attacking the church room with Wainwright, Ace and the Doctor is perhaps the first big scene in the episode. It leads to Ace scaling down the side of the church on a ladder from her backpack. It’s quite an action packed scene which is in keeping with her character. Ace goes on quite a little journey in this episode. She is saddened when she learns that Kathleen’s husband has died, has a barney at the Doctor and then goes a bit…..odd with a soldier where it seems like she is coming onto him but it’s all a ruse to let the Doctor help the Russian captain escape.

The Doctor defeats the Haemovores in this scene with faith and he recalls the names of his earliest companions although it would have been nice to hear them a bit more audibly. Faith is something that features quite heavily in this episode. Faith is what ultimately leads to Wainwright’s death because he tries to stop the advancement of Jean and Phyllis but he has no faith and they are able to kill him.

The episode ends with Dr Judson seemingly rise up from the dead. He stands up in a lovely shot behind the Doctor and then with the weirdest eyes I’ve ever seen in Doctor Who says “We play the contest again timelord”. There are plenty of positives that are in this episode and I think that its not the usual penultimate episode that we get. It’s light on action but more on character development and that is something that should be praised. I am still waiting for something to hit me and make me go wow.

(690) The Curse of Fenric - Part 2

I don’t think I pointed enough good things in yesterday’s episode. This story is made entirely on location and that lends something fresh to the show which we don’t see very often. Another thing that works well are the underwater shots from this episode and the previous episode are very impressive and I should have commented more on that in the previous episode.

There is more of the Reverend’s failing faith. His first appearance sees him deliver a lovely speech which is delivered in a superb manner by Nicholas Parsons. I think that he delivers the best performance in the entire episode. I don’t think you could use the stunt casting term with Parsons because he acts like it’s a brand new drama as opposed to a long running drama that’s been on TV for over a quarter of a century.

The scene where Millington smashes a gas bomb on some birds which kills them is a rather grim scene because it reveals that they are planning to betray the Russians. Any doubts that there were about Millington have really be dealt with in this episode because he does come across more of a baddie than a goodie and there is less vagueness in this department.

I have found the two girls living with Miss Hardaker to be annoying and they start this just as annoying in this episode but when they get ‘attacked’ in the sea it sees a dramatic change. They lure a soldier to their death after he is lured into the sea and is attacked. They then kill Miss Hardaker which seems somewhat expected. They then turn their sights onto Wainwright which leads to a great scene where Wainwright does his best to try and fend them off. Joann Kenny (Jean) and Joanne Bell (Phyllis) have really stepped up since they had to play possessed versions of their characters.

The shot of the Haemovore’s coming out of the sea is very similar to the Marshmen coming out of the water in Full Circle (1980) and it’s just as effective. I think that the Haemovore’s design is one of the key things about this story and it’s another example of fine design that appears on screen in this season. I still have the Destroyer’s design in my mind and whatever may be said about the quality of stories during the McCoy era, one thing can be said about this period and that money was spent where it mattered.

I think that the cliffhanger wasn’t as great as it could have been but I thought that the rest of episode did enough to make me like it. I don’t know why I like this story but I do. Halfway through this story and I know that the story is building up to something and I get the feeling that the really good stuff is going to come in the final two episodes.

(689) The Curse of Fenric - Part 1

The Curse of Fenric is a story that I never really liked the first time that I watched it but in recent years I have started to appreciate it a bit more. It’s the final four part adventure in Doctor Who and the penultimate story of the McCoy era. It is also the 94^th four parter in Doctor Who. The opening few seconds of this episode are very gloomy and this is another story that doesn’t have much laughter in it.

The big name of this story was Nicholas Parsons who has been presenting Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4 since 1967. It’s the first time that there has been something approaching stunt casting for quite a while. Parsons’ plays Reverend Wainright who is suffering from a lack of confidence which is something that will be more relevant in future episodes. I thought that it was a nice performance and even knowing who Parsons is I still buy who he is suppose to be playing. Anne Reid is another familiar face in this. Reid would return to Doctor Who to suck blood out of David Tennant’s neck in 2007 but I know her as one of the members of sitcom Dinnerladies. It’s a rather thankless character because she is playing the nurse for Dr Judson.

Miss Hardaker is a rather clichéd character but there is something that Janet Henfrey does to make it seem slightly better than it could have ended up. She is a rather annoying busybody who manages to belittle Wainright in her first appearance. Dinsdale Landen plays Dr Judson who is one of the key characters. Despite being in a wheelchair, he is one of the smartest people in the story. His involvement is greater in future episodes but its still a great character and I think that Landen does a good job of distracting us with a doddering old man in a wheelchair character that loves his job. Alfred Lynch is impressive as Commander Millington. From the very first moment that he appears he comes across as a rather intense character who is there to think like the Nazi’s would think. There is something that comes across rather sinister about him and I don’t think that its because its difficult to know when he is being himself and when the Nazi stuff is starting to take him over.

Sylvester McCoy has now appeared in more episodes than Colin Baker. It’s a rather good performance from McCoy and I like how the relationship between McCoy and Aldred has become really close. There are several exchanges where their friendship has really become solid. Sophie Aldred has some more character development for Ace. She comes across a baby that is called Audrey which is her mother’s name.

The episode ends with the Doctor and Ace being surrounded by the Russian soldiers. I don’t think that it’s a bad ending although I thought that the episode was alright in parts because it didn’t really seem to find its feet because it was too busy setting things. I have been watching this story in recent years in the feature length special edition that accompanies this DVD so it’s a new(ish) experience watching this in a four episode format and I think that problems with this story will soon surface. Only time will tell if things will change.

(667) Dragonfire - Part 3

The final episode of this season manages to salvage some of the problems that this season has had. For the first few minutes it didn’t seem like much was happening. This was made clear by the fact that there was a scene where Mel wants to play Eye Spy and the look on Ace’s face pretty much says everything that needs to be said. I want Ace and Mel to be getting stuck in not playing a child’s game.

The little girl that appeared in the first episode returns in this episode and is given an awful lot of screen time and at one point seems to befriend the dragon. I really don’t see what she has to bring to the story considering she had been a peripheral character and so the reason for her to appear so much time is a mystery.  

I like the model that appears when the colony is revealed as a spaceship. It’s one of the few model shots in the serial and it looks rather good.

The death of Kane is quite possibly one of the most gruesome deaths in Doctor Who. It’s very similar to the one that happens in the first of the Indiana Jones films. It’s one of those things that if it had happened in the Colin Baker era then it would have really caused controversy but its not given the same reaction nowadays. I think that its somewhat foolish for Kane to look out of a window rather than a computer screen.

Mel’s goodbye does come a bit out of the blue. Quite why she chose now to leave. The Doctor’s reaction is rather sad and it’s the first time that McCoy’s Doctor has had the opportunity to show this side. Mel decides that she is going to be travelling with Glitz for no clear reason. It’s a shame that this happened because it seems to be similar to how Leela left in The Invasion of Time. Ace’s start in the TARDIS happens quite close to the end but that’s perfectly fine.

As an episode, it was one that was took an awfully long amount of time to get going. Once it did then it was a lot of fun and this three part adventure is easily the best thing in the 24^th season but that is sort of damning with faint praise. In any other season, this would still be a good story. Yes it has some serious problems in terms of narrative and character development but I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have a soft spot for it.

Season 24 has been the disappointment that I was expecting. This is the worst part of the McCoy era over with an now I can look forward to some really good stories and this is where Sylvester McCoy shows us what he can do as the Doctor and the show’s slow improvement starts now. The change of companions is the last that would occur in the original run and it’s weird to think that there is just three weeks’ worth of the classic era left. It’s starting to fly by.

(666) Dragonfire - Part 2

The thing I didn’t point out in yesterday’s review and that is this is the 150^th story of Doctor Who. Technically its not, technically it’s the 147^th but I count the four parts of the Trial season as separate stories so this is the 150^th and that’s the end of it. Today is the 666^th episode of Doctor Who so this is the episode where bad things should happen.

The way that the Doctor’s silly decision to go over the railing to produce the shows first real cliffhanger takes about four minutes to solve thus proving that it wasn’t quite as dramatic as it should have been. The decision was made even more ridiculous when Ace comes along a few minutes later with a far more practical roll up ladder.

Ace and Mel’s troubles come from trying to hide from the zombie like mercenaries that follow them around everywhere. There is a nice scene between Ace and Mel when we learn a bit more about Ace. I like it because we have learnt more about Ace in these two episodes than we have ever learnt about Mel. She also reveals that here real name is Dorothy which is why she calls herself Ace. Nothing wrong with Dorothy in my opinion but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I am impressed with how good Sophie Aldred is because her performance has a nice mixture of freshness yet familiarity. Contrast that with the performance that Bonnie Langford which doesn’t seem to have much life to it. I think back to her debut story and just how much energy and vitality there was and how much has changed in such a short amount of time.

Belazs is a rather contradictory character because she wants to be rid of Kane and away from Iceworld but then points a gun at Glitz and the Doctor. Her death at the hands (literally) of Kane was a bit of a disappointment. I think that it would have been good for her to be free in the next episode or even sacrifice herself to help the Doctor. That is perhaps the thing that doesn’t quite work in the episode.

The Dragon which turns out not to be a dragon is visually an impressive design. The headpiece alone is impressive. It is more important to the story that previous thought. It’s clear that a lot of time and money went into it and it shows.

The production values have been rather impressive in this serial which after being let free with the outdoor story of Delta and the Bannermen. The sets are impressive because I believe that they are in a cold environment although its not cold enough for it to show when they are breathing.

The cliffhanger obviously going to be better than episode one’s but only just the episode ends with Kane announcing to no-one but himself that “After 3000 years, the Dragonfire will be mine”. This was another episode where the show took a step in the right direction. Two episodes in and my ratings are the highest of the McCoy era and at the moment it’s the first McCoy story get in the top 100. As a season it is tied with season 2 as worst so it will be interesting to see how the final episode of this story will affect that.

(665) Dragonfire - Part 1

Dragonfire is the final story of what has been the worst season ever in Doctor Who. To be frank there is very little in the way of positives that I can talk about. Even though the season is fourteen episodes, its felt like more than that. This story won’t have to do very much to be the best of the season but things look good when I remember that Sophie Aldred joins the show as Ace. Ace is the template for what Billie Piper would play in the new era. The opening scene already showed that things were going to improve. It was lit right, it had the right amount of tension and it was just better than the previous three episodes combined. Kane is a good villain. His first appearance sees him kill someone by placing his hands on their face. His treatment of Belazs is something that somehow makes his totally loathsome. It was smart to cast Edward Peel in the role because he plays it pretty much spot on and like Don Henderson in Delta and the Bannermen, is one of the best things in this serial.

There is talk of a dragon which seems to excite the Doctor although I don’t quite know why. Another thing that is slightly confusing is the café which has a weird amount of different alien races. Two people appear in this set which have some involvement in this serial.  Glitz makes a return in this episode. I don’t quite know why Glitz has been bought back but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t glad to see him back. Tony Selby brings a nice bit of comedy to the serial. He has a map that everyone is interested but I am more interested in his unexpected chemistry with Sylvester McCoy because they work very well together. Ace is introduced in a rather understated way but as the episode progresses we get a nice bit of back story and we learn that she is feistier than a lot of companions we have had recently. She says Ace a lot and calls the Doctor Professor which is pretty much are the things that Ace is remembered for. It’s a very confident performance from Sophie Aldred and she sort of shows how low the character of Mel has sunk in such a short space of time.

What ruins this episode is one of the worst cliffhangers ever in Doctor Who. It is literally a cliffhanger because for no reason the Doctor decides to go over a railing and hand off the edge of a cliff hanging onto just his umbrella. This is just totally bizarre and no matter how many times I watch this story, I just don’t know what the purpose of it was. That said it still better than some of the episodes that I have seen during this season. There are steps to introduce Ace and phase out Mel but the thing that stands out for me is the big improvement in quality.