The Macra Terror - Episode 4

The final part of Ian Stuart Blacks story which I don’t think is as good as his last story ‘The War Machines’. I have sort of lost track of what’s going on which is a slight worry as it’s been a short story. I think that the despite the advantages of not seeing the Macra (not that many people in the story did either).  The purpose of this episode is obvious. It’s to make sure that the Macra are defeated and do it in a way that doesn’t feel rushed or feel like it’s a bit of a cop-out. The thing that has definelty a theme in this story is the mixed balance of humour and drama.

I love the idea of seeing Jamie’s dance. Considering where he came from the idea that he would be dancing is clearly designed as a comedic moment. Frazer Hines does comedy very well and its moments like this that show why he becomes the much loved personality that he does. It’s only his 12^th episode but he feels like a integral part of the show already. There is a moment that made me chuckle but I’m sure that no one else would have found funny is when something will happen in four minutes and Polly and Jamie both ask “Why four minutes?”. Answer is simple and its because there’s only four minutes and forty seconds of the episode left.

I’m not totally sold on the ending as I feel that we should have got a stronger exit. Ok the colonists are happy that they are free from the Macra and the Doctor has saved the day but it just seems that there could have been a better way for the regulars to depart. It’s becoming a regular thing of them just leaving without a goodbye and I think that its going to be a bug-bear of mine. It’s the weakest episode of the story in my ratings that I do with every episode its currently in 28^th place out of 34 stories. Only the Highlanders and the Smugglers have scored lower ratings which seems right as far as I am concerned. It’s not the worst story and there are some good moments in these four episodes but I think that coming off the heels of ‘The Moonbase’ was always going to be a tough act to follow but its fair to say that ‘The Macra Terror’ is an average story.

The Macra Terror - Episode 3

The third part of this episode continues with Ben still under the influence. After the enjoyable previous episode, it was always going to be tough to get two episodes that are similar in excitement and it’s a sad thing to say that despite some perfectly fine performances, it just feels like they are trying to kill time until the final episode. No one seems to have a particularly impressive episode though it’s Michael Craze who has the best time here as he starts off being possessed and slowly becomes unstable as the hold over him disappears. I love the voice that Craze uses to differentiate the possessed Ben against the normal cockney Ben.  Anneke Wills is not very active in this story and apart from a few moments, Patrick Troughton doesn’t exactly have his best episode ever. There was a fun moment when he works something out whereas its taken the locals years to fail. He has to get rid of his working out like a naughty child has to rub out what he’s done.

Something that stands out for me is the music. It’s becoming more and more annoying and the rather lame songs are becoming more and more tiresome. It feels like some naff 1950’s Holiday camp or even the sort of thing that you would hear in ‘Delta and the Bannermen’. Actually that would have improved that story but that’s a long way down the road.

The ending of the episode is rather good or at least it sounds rather good. Due to the narration links by Anneke Wills the thought of the Macra being very active is something that is quite good to think about. However the realities of the situation is that it probably wouldn’t have looked quite as good. I think that they have taken their foot off the gas a bit and this episode doesn’t quite have the impact that there has been with the previous two so in ratings terms it’s the weakest of the three so far.

The Macra Terror - Episode 2

Another day, another Patrick Troughton adventure and another episode where I have to load up iTunes and see whether enough happens in this story to maintain my interest and whether there would be enough to write down here. My track record with audio only episodes doesn’t suggest this but here we go. I think that we should start off with the rather odd cliffhanger resolvement because I was expecting something more than what we got. Also I must have missed something whilst listening to the previous episode because I was surprised when it was made evident that the existence of the Macra is something that is up for debate.

The true nature of the colony is made abundantly clear when they are trying to brainwash them. Only Ben seems to have been affected by it. It’s great seeing Ben like this as its not something that we would expect his character to do. In fact either Ben or Jamie would have worked because Polly wasn’t quite as convincing way back in ‘The War Machines’. In fact it was only now that I realise that the whole companion under the influence of some other force is similar to War Machines which was written by Ian Stuart Black and so he thought that as it worked there so it would work here.

After the light hearted tone of the previous episode we now have the somewhat more dramatic tone of potential brainwashing and a totalitarian style attitude. The main energy of the episode comes from the fact that Ben seems to be working against the Doctor, Polly and Jamie which isn’t something that would happen normally so something is working against them and that is always fun to watch (or in this case listen to). Normally the fact that this doesn’t exist on video would be a source of great frustration however the thing that I have to bear in mind is that there is a good chance the Macra that appears in this episode (and the other two) would look inferior to the CGI one that we would see in the 2007 episode ‘Gridock’. Sometimes less is more and this is definitely one of those cases. I did like this episode and thought that everyone worked really well in it and Michael Craze got to do something substantial during this 25 minutes and it seems that this story is shaping up nicely which isn’t something that I thought I would be saying but there are still two more episodes to go and a lot can happen in 25 minutes.  

On a side note its another short review.

The Macra Terror - Episode 1

This is sadly another story that doesn’t exist at all. It’s the third story to be written by Ian Stuart Black and at the end of the previous episode we got to see a claw and it would have been nice to see what was on the end of the claw but sadly we won’t be able to. What’s odd when listening to this is that the mystery would have been somewhat subdued due to the rather annoying perky music. The music does have a purpose and that is to help create an atmosphere that immediately looks false. I must say that despite the annoying music, the atmosphere feels different to previous stories as there is a sense that the Doctor and friends have stumbled across a potential revolution. The Doctor and company are so preoccupied with getting a makeover, that the claw almost seems to be forgotten apart from a brief mention when they first land. It’s nearly two thirds into the episode before it’s properly mentioned.

As we don’t have any video evidence of what the Macra look like we are left with the pictures and I was looking at the picture whilst listening to Anneke Wills reading the narration that made this cliffhanger somewhat better than it looked on TV. I suppose that there are some benefits to not having things on TV. The setting is somewhat of a thing for me as I felt that it seemed very similar to The Underwater Menace although its probably a darker setting than Atlantis and more grown-up.

Like the Underwater Menace there is a gentle pace to the first episode. It doesn’t rush itself and I quite like that. Even though there is nothing to look at during this episode the story was working enough to keep my attention and I think that all that stuff to do with them getting a makeover was designed purely to pad the episode out a bit and keep things ticking along before the final stages of the episode. I thought that the regulars all performed well and the supporting cast all did well with what wasn’t the greatest set of supporting characters ever devised. I thought that Gertan Klauber as Ola was a particular highlight and think that we will prove to be quite fun to listen to over the next three episodes. A good opening episode and hopefully listening to this story again will elevate my appreciation. But I’m not holding out much hope though.

The War Machines - Episode 4

Despite the great end to the previous episode it seems that the worst thing that could happen to William Hartnell is that he will either choke on the smoke or be a bit flat. Either didn’t happen and instead the War Machine just went around him. The inclusion of the pub/bar scene where Kenneth Kendall appears seemed a great way of making the WOTAN menace greater because every time the camera cuts to the machines I can’t quite believe it’s a threat.  Kenneth Kendall is a big name to have appeared in Doctor Who. He was a big BBC news reader of the period and so much have been a big coup for the show.

All it does is spray its smoke and smash boxes. When it starts to kill people it starts off with the War Machine killing someone in a phone box. Even the Doctor refers to it as a harmless machine. Despite the best efforts of everyone including an American journalist it just looks like they are worrying over nothing. It has to be said that the War Machine might have seemed good on paper but in reality it just didn’t have what the viewer would want and its hard to decide whether its due to budget or the resources available.

I like the interaction between Michael Craze and William Hartnell. Anneke Wills is reduced to be back with Professor Brett presumably under hypnosis. Craze does the heroic role very well and  despite not being the strongest (visually) in the world his determination is what is impressive. The way that the Doctor manages to save the day is quite good even though he’s not physically there when it happens. He gets the newly programmed War Machine to do all the work for him. It’s probably the most logical way of getting round the fact that Hartnell isn’t as mobile as he once was. They cant let Ben save the day because he’s a mere companion. I like how when Professor Brett’s hypnosis is gone and Sir Charles look towards the Doctor, all they see is an empty area where he once was. That’s what the Doctor should do.

The final scene is quite a bit haphazard because it’s the exit scene for Dodo as we hear that she’s going to stay in London. I think it would have been nice for a pre-filmed scene to have been filmed as it would have made for a more satisfying exit for the character.  The episode does all the action that there hasn’t been in the previous episodes. I thought that the episode was rather good though it was done largely due to Michael Craze and William Hartnell. As we approach the end of William Hartnell’s time on the show  it seems that the third series has picked up and is starting to be a more consistant than it was way back during Galaxy 4. As a four part adventure I think that despite the War Machines being about as scary as Sooty, The War Machines is a good story and does a good job in introducing Ben and Polly and the modern day setting helps make it appear more enjoyable than if it had been set 60 years before or after the transmission dates. Now we approach the final story of the season and its safe to say that this season has improved greatly.

The War Machines - Episode 3

It dawned on me after finishing the last episode that despite some positives in this story, I don’t quite know why I have a soft spot for this story. It’s not because it writes Dodo out of the series or that it introduces Ben and Polly. Remarkably its exactly two minutes before a single word of dialogue is spoken we get the reprise of Ben being targeted by WOTAN. Polly has apparently been taken over though I must admit that I don’t find it terribly convincing. It’s hard to tell whether she’s just pretending or whether she is genuinely under WOTAN’s control though its revealed that she was under WOTAN’s control eventually.

I think that Michael Craze really stands up in this episode. The scene where he raises his voice at Sir Charles after he escapes is one of the best scenes in the episode. It’s clear that he’s going to be a great addition to the show and is the one to take over the strong male role after Peter Purves’ departure. Even though she spent the whole episode playing hypnotised, Anneke Wills gave a good performance and its clear from the previous two episodes that she’s going to another great addition to the cast. William Hartnell’s involvement in the story has been consistant in the last few episodes as he’s in it but its enough to let Craze and Wills do all the energetic stuff.

When the action moves to Covent Garden, there is an awful sense of the inevitable. It’s clear that the army aren’t taking things as serious as they should.  This section isn’t helped by the slowest killing of soldiers in TV history. The War Machines move so slowly and don’t really do anything that its amazing they lost one person. This whole section last for and its only because of how the episode ends that its worth enduring. The sight of the War Machine approaching the Doctor who stands in front of it in defiance is one of the best cliffhangers ever. It’s such a great way to end the episode that it makes me want to watch the final episode now. The final episode is one that I am looking forward to and I’ve decided that this story is one of my guilty pleasures.

The War Machines - Episode 2

The story doesn’t waste much time in continuing with the story. After the brief reprise it’s back to the story and the plan. The plan seems to become more confusing especially in terms of how they managed to get the workers to co-operate so quickly. There is a strange thing at the beginning where they call the Doctor ‘Doctor Who’. It’s always been Doctor and in the very first story it was thought that his name might be Doctor Foreman but this seems like a mistake by someone in production. The part of the episode where the tramp meets a sticky end is quite a good little scene as he seems nice enough and the whole thing was rather well done and the tramp did seem to have come straight out of an adaptation of Oliver Twist. The scene ends with the first full shot of a War Machine. It’s not the greatest thing ever designed as its bulkier than a Dalek, doesn’t seem to do very much apart from destroy cardboard boxes and when it fires at people it misses them. Also they cant communicate with anyone and just not a good creation.

The final scene of Dodo is quite a good one. Its where WOTAN tries to hypnotise the Doctor and after he puts the phone down there is the moment where Dodo thinks that he has been taken over WOTAN. After a moment of the Doctor trying to get Dodo’s mind cleared, she’s packed off to Sir Charles’ house where his wife will take care of her. That’s the last time that she will ever been seen again and that’s effectively her goodbye scene and it happens half way through the episode. It’s a shame that she wasn’t given a better exit as even though she was annoying at times, she had redeemed herself somewhat in the previous episode and every companion deserves better than what Jackie Lane got here.

One thing that I like is the location filming. Setting it in Modern day London means that we get some great scenes outside and it allows us in a weird kind of way to see 1966 London. The filming lends something different to the story that we haven’t had for a long time and that a bit of reality which is a funny thing to want in a science fiction drama. The whole feel of the story is much more real than other stories this season and its also the characters that have helped with this and in particular Anneke Wills and Michael Craze who have immediately striking as Polly and Ben respectively. There is a bit of feistiness between them but its not that often. Sir Charles Summer (William Mervyn) is quite likeable and seems like he’s designed to be an ally of the Doctor’s. Even Professor Brett (John Harvey) and Major Green (Alan Curtis) have been effective villains.

I think that this is another episode which doesn’t allow you take a breath. It starts from the very beginning and continues until the very end and I’m really enjoying this story which I think is only let down by the weak way that Jackie Lane was written out. Other than that the second half of this adventure is just going to be as good as the first half.

The War Machines - Episode 1

The War Machines is the final story to feature Jackie Lane and thus starts the era of awkward exit for companions.  The story was written by Ian Stuart Black who’s previous work had only finished airing seven days before this episode was transmitted.  The DVD lists that he wrote this based on an idea by Kit Pedlar. I’m never quite sure why they do this. Why didn’t Kit Pedlar write the whole story? Why did ISB have to do it? I suppose that unless it’s been answered somewhere else that we will never know. This episode also introduces Anneke Wills and Michael Craze as Polly and Ben respectively. The episode starts off in a weird fashion with a title sequence that we haven’t seen in Doctor Who before, its very 1960’s and when that’s done the story starts off with the arrival of the TARDIS on modern day earth. The story likes to use the newly built Post Office Tower as a part of the story. The story deals with what is in effect a super computer, one that connects to other computers around the world which is pretty much what we have now. In 1966 it must have been something that seemed like 100 years away whereas in less than half that time this idea became a reality (but without evil computers). It’s never really explained what created the evil aspect of WOTAN and why it wants to overthrow humanity. It’s a shame really as it would have given a bit more to the story.

There’s a lovely opening scene with Dodo and the Doctor where they notice the PO Tower and the Doctor talks about the same prickly sensation that he experienced when he first met the Daleks which obviously confuses Dodo.  Polly is introduced in rather a dull way. She is purely introduced as a secretary and judging by the cheeky way she interacts with Professor Brett its clear that this isn’t the line of work that she’s suited to. When the story shifts to the Inferno which is apparently the hippest place in town, we are introduced to Ben who comes across as a rather sad and downbeat person. Ben is a sailor who’s a bit glum because he’s got to spend 6 months away from the sea. Ben is clearly the one who takes the mantle of action hero/tough guy from Peter Purves. Within minutes of being introduced he’s gone from being a sad person to a gentleman.

The groundwork for Dodo’s exit is started quite early when its clear that her interaction with WOTAN has had a difficult effect on her. It leads to her spending most of the episode is spent by her having headaches and quite quickly she is taken over properly by WOTAN. In fact lots of people seem to be taken over by WOTAN which is quite impressive considering its just a computer with a silly W on the front. Professor Brett, Dodo and Major Green are the first three to be hypnotised. The final scene where the hypnotised are gathered and we hear the voice of WOTAN. It’s a well created voice but I think that they could probably have done something that was slightly more audible and easier to understand.

It’s a very good opening episode. It’s nice to have a story set on modern day Earth where they don’t immediately get into trouble. All the building blocks are in place and its great how it doesn’t seem obvious from this episode that Ben and Polly are about to becomes permanent additions to the TARDIS. There has been something about this story that I have liked and I think that the modern day setting is what is making this one of my favourite stories of the third season.

The Savages - Episode 4

The final episode of The Savages is where hopefully it ends in a satisfactory manner and also does the same in giving Peter Purves a satisfactory ending. The episode starts off with Dodo and Steven being choked by smoke and its quickly resolves. The episode allows Steven to show his leadership skills without even really knowing it. I really liked this episode as I thought that it tied up all the loose ends and does it well. When the Doctor was having his life forced drained from him it turns out that Jano got more than he bargained for and I thought that it was a clever spin on what looked like a rather normal plot point. The story builds up to the inevitable moment where the bad guys are taken down a peg or two and the good guys are victorious. The moment where things get smashed up by the locals is a moment which I think would have looked good on TV.

The moment that Steven is picked to be the leader is a curious one. The fact that he Doctor is pretty much pushing Steven into this position of leadership is something that wouldn’t have happened with Ian and it shows how far the Doctor has come since the very first episode. The departure is quite sad as I have grown to like Steven and thought that Peter Purves has done the role and the show proud and he has been a very good part of the show. Even Jackie Lane was quite emotional in this scene and it made Peter Purves final scene even stronger.

It’s a shame that Peter Purves final story doesn’t exist on video but as a four part story its half a good story and half an ok story. I think that the characters were all quite good but it was Jano that stood out for me and after the initial interest the story seemed to settle down and it was only in the final episode that it picked up. The Savages certainly continues the upward trend that the quality of stories are taking in this third series. Just when things are getting good, they get better with the next story seeing another departure and

The Savages - Episode 3

The third part of this story picks up from the life force being sucked out of him and it seems like William Hartnell is going to feature in this episode less than he had done. This is a tad bit frustrating as he seemed to be more involved like he had been in previous stories. In fact as a result of this being on audio you wouldn’t know that he had actually been in the episode. The story meanders along quite well but it isn’t until Jano wakes up after having some of the Doctor’s life energy and starts to mimic Hartnell. It’s a great impression of him and I almost wish that it had carried on a bit more. The episode allows Peter Purves to lead the story and moves things along which is what he has been doing for several episodes now. However due to the fact that this is his final adventure it seems to take on a new meaning and its shows what a good leader he has been to the show and what a good leader he will become. Peter Purves puts in a solid performance whilst Jackie Lane seemed to give a rather mediocre performance.

In terms of plot its safe to say that its not a particularly strong one as it seems to lose some of its pace which is a shame after the previous two episodes. I don’t know why but I just found myself being less interested in the situations featuring the locals. I just wish at times like this that the whole thing or at least a snippet of it existed on video so that we could get a sense of what a good story this appears to be. However the fact that its on audio does mean that my enthusiasm is somewhat reduced.

The Doctor is motionless when Dodo and Steven try and rescue him and its quite a nice image to think that whilst Dodo and Steven are choking to death the Doctor is something that would have looked quite good on tv because the Doctor is someone who wouldn’t let any harm come to his friends so it’s a great way to end the episode. I think that half the episode is perfectly fine and its only the latter part that makes the episode any good.

The Savages - Episode 2

The next episode starts of with a quite a creepy opening as there is a strange figure coming towards Dodo. Sadly its not as bad as it seems as the stranger just goes past her. The improvement of Dodo continues in this episode with Dodo being very feisty towards people around her. It shows what can be done with the character when there is the right story and setting. Despite knowing that this is Peter Purves’ final story it seems at the moment that he’s going to get one of those surprise exits that come out of the blue. The Doctor is the one that explains what is going on and that is the locals are trying to suck the life-force out of people. It’s a pretty good plot point.

With the story not being on video, it’s down to important stuff like music to help the story and it definelty works here as its quite effective. The performances from everyone are all pretty good and even though the story does seem to lack something even though it moves along at a pretty good pace. It’s the most the William Hartnell has been used in a story for sometime after weeks of Peter Purves doing most of the story. Though due to the fact that the Doctor falls victim to the life-sucker device thing. It’s this that forms the cliffhanger and its good that the Doctor does something in this episode because at the beginning it seemed like he was just going to get an easy ride like in The Celestial Toymaker.

This is a good episode but only cause things move along at a pace that you don’t really realise until the end that not very much has happened. It’s a good trick by ISB and the story does seem slightly better than I remember it so I’m looking forward to the remaining two episodes.

The Savages - Episode 1

This is the first time that a Doctor Who story hasn’t had its own episode title, we just get episode 1. It’s also the final story to feature Peter Purves who leaves at the end of the story and this is another story which doesn’t exist on video at all so its back to the audios for the next four episodes. The story is the first to be written by Ian Stuart Black and sees the Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive on a planet which is supposed to be idyllic but even if you ignore the title, its clear that its anything but. The thing that I’ve noticed from the telesnaps is that it is filmed on location and it would have been the most significant location filming since ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’.

It’s something that I never thought I would be sad to see but its nice when the episode has a name as it gives the episode an identity in the story. Whereas just calling it ‘Episode 1’ or ‘Episode 2’ removes any identity about it which is a shame really but a title doesn’t make an episode. What does make the story is the actual idea of a peaceful planet that doesn’t quite turn out like that. It’s strange that the residents seem to have anticipated the Doctor’s arrival. The story starts off quite interesting and despite losing a bit of a mystery there is something about this story which I have never really noticed before. It’s a shame that this story doesn’t exist on video because judging by the telesnaps this story visually is quite stunning.

I think that this story has the potential to be a good story but its one of those that in the past I haven’t thought of highly but theres a good chance that things will change and if its done right then Steven will get the departure that he deserves. Even stood out in this episode from the very beginning and even Dodo managed to not be as annoying and there is something quite good about her being in a situation which isn’t as warming and cheery as The Gunfighters or The Ark and so it seems like she has finally found the tone of story which enables her character to be less annoying.

I am looking forward to the rest of the episode and as the third season draws to a close its seems that after the lacklustre start, the series has finally found its feet.