(561) Four to Doomsday - Part 4

So there is a small possibility that there would be something in this episode that elevated it above the previous three and then I remembered that there is one moment that is usually used when talking about Peter Davison’s time on the show and that is the moment when he plays cricket outside of the ship. I forgot to write in the previous review and say that it got 6.88 which is the first time that an episode got under the sevens since part three of ‘The Horns of Nimon’. One reason why I was worried that this episode would get another under seven score when the dancing returns because as I may have mentioned before, I don’t really like the dancing because it doesn’t really add anything to the story.

I did notice in the early stages that the tempo was very low and there didn’t feel like an urgency which was odd considering that this was the final episode. Tegan also spends most of the episode in the TARDIS so it seemed like this was her episode to do very little. The episode seems to be building up to the great moment where the Doctor is trying to get to the TARDIS and is cast adrift and uses a cricket ball to give him momentum to get to the TARDIS. Now obviously, scientifically speaking this nonsense but as a piece of entertainment its great because it just looks awesome. On an effects level it was very good because it still looks good compared to todays standards.

The final few minutes of the episode are quite good and I like how the Doctor shows a more aggressive side when he throws the virus at Monarch which leads him to shrink and thus ends his plans. It does happen literally without about a minute left to go and then they board the TARDIS. It’s a shame that this happened towards the end of the final episode instead of the first episode. If this had been the case then I would have been a bit more positive towards the story and also Terence Dudley. As it stands I think that this story has been utterly disappointing and I would be surprised if this story isn’t the weakest story of the season. Another plus point (lets end on a positive note), is that the cliffhanger with Nyssa fainting for no reason. Kinda is up next and that will be an interesting experience.

(560) Four to Doomsday - Part 3

So this story is one that is never going to rank highly in my Doctor Who ratings but at least this story is consistent, consistently bad but at least it was consistent. The problems with this episode continue from the previous episodes and that there is a lot of talking and stuff happening but I would be at a loss to explain what I thought happened. What I would say about this episode is that there was one thing that I did actually like. You might want to have a sit down for a moment but there was something more substantial that the cliffhanger to write about.

The thing that was a positive for this episode was the development of Adric. He does seem to be back to the Adric that we saw in ‘State of Decay’ because he’s quite conniving and not a team player. I thought that this was something that worked well in the favour of adding some conflict between the four regulars. Unfortunately, Nyssa is the one that’s given the short straw in this serial and suffers the fate of being put under. She only becomes useful towards the end asking the Doctor for his sonic screwdriver and a pencil.

The purpose of what Monarch was doing is explained but to be honest I was so distracted from the story that I neither understand nor care really about what was going on. The thing about Monarch is that he likes to act like the big man but the moment that he is questioned by Enlightenment and Persuasion then he throws a bit of a hissy fit. That’s slightly frustrating although I would say that the visual of the three of them in the chamber is quite good and that’s the only reason for having those scenes in it.

It’s another poor episode and the sooner that I finish watching the next episode the better so I can get on with some better stories. The commentaries of the Peter Davison DVD’s are fantastic if you get the chance to listen to them because they rip these stories to shred (some warrant it more than others) and I was so bored with this story that I was tempted for a while to actually listen to that instead.

(559) Four to Doomsday - Part 2

So its clear that this story isn’t going to improve in my opinion and the problems with this story are even more evident in this episode. I think that Terence Dudley has not really grasped what makes a Doctor Who story because he has written a story that manages to fill the entire running time and yet only have one 10 second moment which has something interesting in it. The problem would normally be that the writer doesn’t know what the new Doctor is going to be like but on this occasion Terrence Dudley has totally missed the mark.

First thing that comes to mind about just how wrong he got it came with the dances. Now its not just one brief moment of dancing but there are several minutes of this and the Doctor and Adric are watching them. It’s nice to know that there isn’t any great rush to sort things out. The other problem is that in between these pointless but visually nice moments, there is a mystery about the ship that isn’t given nearly enough screen time.

The mystery about what the title actually means is something that doesn’t really get resolved. It was mentioned in the reprise that they are four days left before they get to earth. No real detail is given as to what will happen when they get to earth but the word doomsday in the title could have done with a bit of explanation instead of one of the dances.

The only time there is anything interesting is when Bigon reveals that he is infact an android but sadly this comes so late in the episode that I had lost any real excitement about it but I will say that this was a much better cliffhanger than the first one. This is one of those short reviews because so little happened that I just cant be bothered to write anything else so that’s that for today.

 

(558) Four to Doomsday - Part 1

Four To Doomsday was actually the first story that Peter Davison recorded as the Doctor and it was written by Terence Dudley who becomes the 50^th credited writer of Doctor Who and becomes the first person to be credited as a writer and a director. On this occasion I have to say that this story has never been one of my favourites and I am afraid that on the basis I can’t say that the opinion is going to change. I don’t think the reason is because it was Peter Davison’s first story but because the story isn’t very interesting.

The problem ultimately with the episode is that very little happens. The Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan & Adric arrive and spend a while having a look around before coming across the Monarch and his associates who call themselves Enlightenment and Persuasion. They looked quite good as a creation and I thought that Stratford John is a good piece of casting. Sadly they don’t look the same for long as after a drawing from Tegan Enlightenment and Persuasion become a bloke and a woman. This revelation comes forms a cliffhanger. I can’t say that this was a particularly good cliffhanger because if I were watching in 1982 then I wouldn’t say that there would be much of an incentive to watch the next episode.

Whilst I cant say anything positive about the story I can at least say something good about the TARDIS crew. They seem rather friendly with each other considering that in later stories they don’t seem quite the cohesive unit in future stories. This episode starts the season running gag about Tegan trying to get back to Heathrow in 1981 begins here. Considering that she outlasts both Adric and Nyssa, its weird to see her fretting about getting back. Even though she’s told repeatedly that she could get back just moments after leaving in Logopolis, she still keeps banging on about wanting to get back. I get the feeling that this is going to be a problem during the course of this season. As for Adric and Nyssa, they don’t have much to do in this episode. Peter Davison seems to be having fun in this episode and its perhaps no surprise considering this was really his first episode as the Doctor.

As I mentioned this was a bit of a disappointing episode and the next three episodes are going to be a bit of a tough watch. Maybe there is something that is going to pop out and show me I am wrong. I meant Burt Kwouk is in this story so that must mean something.

 

(549) The Keeper of Traken - Episode 4

The final episode is another episode of two halves but they aren’t that different to each other. The first half is the aftermath of the Melkur becoming the Keeper. It’s safe to say that it was never going to be the most popular appointment in history. Knowing what happens in this episode, I just want it to happen and I surprised to find out that the big scene between the Doctor and the Master doesn’t happen until seven minutes before the end. That’s pretty much what this whole episode and story have been about to be honest but before I finish this entry, I will talk about other aspects of the episode like I normally would.

I think that the sight of Melkur in the Keeper’s chair is still impressive and I also like the idea that he can pop up pretty much anywhere which perhaps isn’t quite a big thing considering the original keeper popped up in the TARDIS in episode one. The Melkur not having the power for a while does seem like a narrative stalling method which does work. The lead up to the eventual confrontation between the Doctor and the Master is quite good but I was just wishing that it would happen. The scene where the Doctor finds himself inside the Master’s TARDIS is a great little scene and it’s the first time since ‘The Deadly Assassin’ that the Master has appeared in Doctor Who and I think that Geoffrey Beevers is a superb piece of casting not just because Beevers doesn’t wear that odd mask and costume that Peter Pratt wore but instead we get to see Beevers use his whole body to show us why even when he is playing the role for Big Finish he is so damn good at it. On a side note, go to the Big Finish website and purchase from the Main Range page the story ‘Master’ which is one of the finest stories ever made. Anyway back to the story and I just wish that the scene with the Doctor and the Master was longer but that’s my personal opinion.

The final scene is great because it ends with the Master seemingly defeated and that appears to be the end of it. The Doctor and Adric are on board the TARDIS but one of the things I like about this story is that its not the end because we have the ‘regeneration’ moment with the Master taking over Tremas’ body which is a mixed moment because whilst visually it’s a great thing to see, I liked Tremas so much over the course of the four episodes that it’s a shame that he paid the price for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The last shot is of Nyssa walking into an empty room and that is a proper cliffhanger for a final episode.

It was a great ending to a great story and my appreciation for this story has gone up even more and I think that Tom Baker’s penultimate story shows just how good Tom Baker has been recently and also how much JNT and Christopher H Bidmead have improved the show in such a short amount of time. However as much as I have enjoyed this story I do feel a bit down because I know what comes next. The moment has been prepared for and things are about to get loud.

(548) The Keeper of Traken - Episode 3

This episode is an episode of two halves because the first half is pretty much like Traken itself. It’s very peaceful and very tranquil with nothing that would shake the skin off a custard. The first noticeable thing that appears at the beginning of this episode is that Melkur is after the power that the Keeper possesses. I don’t know if it was just because I wasn’t paying attention in the previous episodes but this is the first time that I have actually heard the purpose of Melkur in the story. The thing about Traken which is quite baffling is the speed at which things happen there. Kassia has gone from being a new bride to the new Keeper in an extraordinarily quick amount of time. I also cant believe that no one has noticed the change in character that Kassia has undergone in the same short amount of time. I guess that when things are as laid back as they seem on Traken that such changes in personality aren’t taken too seriously.

The second half of the episode is where the action really shows whats good about the story because this is where we learn a bit more about Melkur. It was great how there were more and more shots what the master Melkur sees. It’s not until the very end that the figure turns around and even though he’s not named as the Master in the credit there cant be many people who watched this in 1981 that this was the master. It’s quite fun that just under a week since the Master changed gender that we are getting a new Master in this story. The Melkur design has been on of the highlights of this serial and it gets better in at the end of this episode where it becomes the Keeper after consuming Kassia and the sight of the Melkur sitting in the Keeper’s chair is a great one and it makes for a great cliffhanger. The cliffhangers have been the main weakness of this story and its good that they have managed to rectify the situation a bit here.

The performances have all been quite good with Nyssa being one of the strongest ones. She has been a bit in the background so far so it was good how she seemed to develop quite a lot here. I think that with a bit more work she will show everyone why I think that she’s one of the best companions in Doctor Who. Tom Baker’s performance has been good but I think that it’s a bit tame compared to how it’s been in other stories in the season. The fact that the Doctor and Tremas are friends is still something that tickles me and I like how despite being a little bit of a spare part in the episode, Adric continues to impress me.  

This sets up the final episode brilliantly and I think that this story is even better than I have previously thought of. It’s weird to think that this time next week I will be in the Davison era and a tiny bit of sadness is starting to creep into my enjoyment. If only the show had been like this in the previous season then I could see myself saying that I wish Tom Baker had gone on for a bit longer but I think that he is getting the set of stories that he deserves.

(547) The Keeper of Traken - Episode 2

So the penultimate story of the Tom Baker era is off to a good start due which is perhaps down to nostalgia and I have to try and take that out of my watching and review this story like I would with any other story. I still think that its strange that the Doctor and Tremas are working together and are the best of friends throughout this story. Anthony Ainley is very good as Tremas and I still believe him as a good person even though a few episodes later he will be the exact opposite. Tom Baker and Anthony Ainley work well together and they are not the only good double act that appear on screen in todays episode. I think that Adric and Nyssa are a good fit together and its probably due to the fact that they appear to be the same age so the two sides of the story work quite well.

The Melkur is still a visually impressive villain and its good that we at least get to see it move in this episode instead of just moving its head. What I like is how we get to see that there is more to Melkur than just a statue walking around. There is someone inside and if you think about it then you would realise that it has to be bigger on the inside than on the outside…..wait a minute!!! The most we see from whoever (wink wink) is inside the Melkur is a hand. Kassia was pretty much singled out as one to watch when we learnt that she tended to Melkur in the gardens and in this episode things got slightly stranger as he gave her a neck thing which means that he can control her and does quite soon after putting it on. There are a few moments when her ‘eyes’ go red and it’s a similar effect to the one used in ‘Planet of Evil’. Somehow despite that story being about six years ago, the effect in this episode seems worse than before.

The problem of today’s cliffhanger is the same as yesterdays. I think that todays is slightly better but it seems that all the efforts have gone into making the rest of the episode work and didn’t have any time in working on a satisfying cliffhanger. It that’s the worst thing that I can say about the episode and story then it’s a pretty good episode and it is just as much fun as I have thought in the past. All the performances are really solid and due to my new appreciation of Adric and there being no K9 it means that there isn’t anything to get me annoyed and that’s a good feeling to have.

 

(546) The Keeper of Traken - Episode 1

Before I start this entry, I am going to start by telling a little story. Many years ago when places like HMV still sold VHS’s, I went into that store and discovered in the clearance section a copy of this story for the bargain price of £6.49 and so took it home and I can remember how much I loved this story immediately after watching it. There aren’t many that have made me feel like this and so ‘The Keeper of Traken’ has always held a special place in my heart. Today is the start of another trilogy of stories however unlike the E-Space trilogy, this isn’t an official trilogy but I think that this is a more important trilogy because of what happens during the course of the next twelve episodes. This is also the first episode to feature Anthony Ainley who will be playing the Master at the end of this story and it also sees the first appearance of Sarah Sutton who plays Nyssa. Nyssa is for me one of the best companions in Doctor Who. Everytime there is a Nyssa story from Big Finish, I look forward to theses stories even more.

The relationship between the Doctor and Adric seems to be a lot better than it was when Romana was around. I think I quite like this combination and had Tom Baker stayed in longer or Adric had come in early and Romana left early then we would have had some good stories with this combination. However as it is we just get an episode where they spend it together and most of it is in the TARDIS. The Keeper pops up during these TARDIS scenes and despite watching this story several times over the years, I didn’t realise that the Keeper was played by Denis Carey who most people now would have seen as Professor Chronotis in ‘Shada’. The purpose of the episode is explained by the Keeper in just one scene and we learn how Traken is a nice place and I just think that this is obviously not going to last once the Doctor and Adric arrive.

The story that the Keeper tells is about the Melkur. I really like the design of Melkur as even if you don’t know the big revelation that’s coming about the Melkur, its hard not be impressed with it and it doesn’t really do a lot but what it does do is very creepy and in particular how it just pops up in the crack of the two doors in the chamber. The Melkur will become even more relevant to the story in future episodes but just based on what has been shown in todays episode there is still plenty to like about what is effectively a statue.

On Traken, it’s a studio bound set yet at no point during the course of the four episode did I find myself being bored with the action and I didn’t really miss the outside filming.  The sets do look rather splendid and I think that a lot of time and energy was put into making what appears on screen looks great. John Black’s first foray into Doctor Who is at the moment a success.

If I had to pick some faults with this episode then there are two and just two. The first is the slightly frustrating matter of the Doctor and Adric trying to convince people that they are there for good reasons. The icing on the cake comes when the Keeper says “Evil” and naturally everyone thinks that he is referring to the Doctor and Adric. The second fault is that the cliffhanger is rather disappointing because it doesn’t really have any drama or tension to it. The point of a cliffhanger is to give the viewer a reason to tune in for the next instalment but on this occasion there isn’t really a reason. The only reason that there would be to tune in it to see what is going on elsewhere in the story.

As an episode it’s a good start to the story and things are set up for the rest of the serial. After being slightly disappointed with the previous story, it was nice to get back to being enthusiastic about what I see on screen. As part of the Master/New Beginnings trilogy it’s a promising start and the countdown to the Davison era really starts now.