The Masque of Mandragora - Episode 4

This opening story hasn’t been the best as far as I am concerned. I think that it’s fair to say that it’s been a bit of a damp squib. Louis Marks might not be the most successful writer in the show’s history but I think that he has written solid stories in the past. Sadly this isn’t one of his best. Despite not really caring or understanding what was been talked about. I did find the performance and directing to be enough to find some good stuff in it.

I remember during some of the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton stories where I would have quite happily skipped that story if I wasn’t so determined to watch/listen to every Doctor Who story. Whilst I haven’t felt like whilst I have been watching the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker era, I came pretty close during this story. I think the main stumbling block has been that it is a classic case of style of substance.

The idea of a ball featuring in the final episode does make it seem like it’s a final episode because it’s such a grand thing and its done very well indeed. The BBC has a reputation for doing good costumes in period dramas and that is definelty the case during this episode and in fact the previous episodes. I got the feeling that this episode doesn’t have much of a fast end of episode pace to it that I would expect. I still like the ball that happens but I think that the pace doesn’t really change in this episode compared to the previous ones.

The way that the whole thing was dealt with was rather good but I wasn’t really bothered by what happened to the mandragora helix. This episode wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it could have been but I still think that this story was a disappointment. The next story is the final one to feature Elisabeth Sladen and it’s a shame that her penultimate story is such a weak one. I was watching the extras and this story was due to the success of ‘Pyramids of Mars’ which is a pseudo historical story. The difference between that story and this one is that the Mars story was a more traditional Doctor Who story that had something to it and this one this one doesn’t and so it wont go down as one of the finest Tom Baker stories.

The Masque of Mandragora - Episode 3

The thing about this story is that part of me likes it but then part of me is totally frustrated with it. The opening episode is always the best one because it sets things up and its usually the cliffhangers in future episodes that make the thing work. The previous cliffhanger was total disappointing and so the episode started off in a slightly disappointing way. Not even Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen can get me excited.

I will be honest and say that the whole sacrificing angle to be rather tiresome and as a result I thought that the whole episode was a massive disappointment for this reason. The thing is that unless this sort of thing interests you then you are not going to be that excited by things. That’s not a critiscm of Louis Marks or of Philip Hinchcliffe but just that this story isn’t working for me. There are probably people who aren’t fans of stories that I like such as ‘Inside the Spaceship’. Doctor Who attracts different sorts of fans and some will like sacrificing.

I haven’t mentioned until now that Tim Pigott-Smith and that’s largely because he has been up against Gareth Armstrong’s Giuliano and in this episode he does have a few scenes on his own but it does seem like he is a bit wasted in this story and the role could have gone to someone else and Pigott-Smith could have had a meatier role which would befit his talents.

The bit where Federico unmasks Hiernoymous only to see a glowing sphere where his face use to be was the only good moment in the entire episode and that was the cliffhanger. I think that I have finally lost patience with this story and its probably lucky that the next episode is the final one because this is a story that has failed to grip me in any way. I think had it not been for the costumes and the location filming then I would have been really annoyed with this story.

The Masque of Mandragora - Episode 2

The Doctor uses humour to get out of feeling the chop from the executioner. It’s the future as far as Doctor Who during Tom Baker’s time is concerned. After escaping he manages to run around the set of the Prisoner which is worth it because it does look beautiful.  Sarah spends the first part of this episode about to be sacrificed. She is rescued by the Doctor just in the nick of time. There cant be many more ways that Sarah can be put in significant peril so its just as well that it does last too much into this episode.

There is a small bit of interest in what is going on between Giuliano and Federico. Giuliano is worried that if Federico is ruler he will stifle learning. I like Jon Laurimore and think that  his performance is just behind Norman Jones’. Gareth Armstrong’s Giuliano is a bit wetter but due to Armstrong’s performance its not as wet as it could be. Norman Jones returns to Doctor Who as Hieronymous, he had previously appeared as Major Baker and here he is just as intense as he was in the story. His performance is somewhat overshadowed by his huge beard. That is a beard and a half that he wears in this story.

It’s not an episode that feels like it has a lot of padding but I would be at a push to try and describe any of the major points of this episode. The whole thing plods along at a good pace and I thought that the performances of several people helped make this more interesting. I don’t find any to do with predicting the stars and horoscopes and all that stuff so that’s maybe why I have never found this story to be particularly interesting. However it does have a small charm to it and I am still looking forward to the final episodes.

The Masque of Mandragora - Episode 1

The first episode of ‘The Masque of Mandragora’ is the start of the fourteenth season of Doctor Who and also the third with Tom Baker as the Doctor. It is also the penultimate adventure for Elisabeth Sladen and this is a story that I haven’t really thought that highly of in the past. I have often thought that it’s a rather dull story.

Sad of me I know but I quite like the change in font used to list the title and episode number. That not the only thing that’s new in this fourteenth season. I think that it’s a nice opening scene with the Doctor and Sarah wandering through the TARDIS corridors. It ends with Sarah and the Doctor walking into the second control room. This is the first time that we have seen anything other than the bright white console room. It’s a nice relatively small console room and has atmosphere and character in the sort of way that the main room just doesn’t have.

Something of interest is that the location scenes were filmed in Portmeirion which is where they filmed the original version of ‘The Prisoners’. The location work is just as good as it was when Douglas Camfield directed the previous story. Rodney Bennett returns to the show and uses what he does very well.

Federico is like Chase in the previous adventure, its clear that he is a nasty piece of work from the moment that we see him. Giuliano comes across as the exact opposite of Federico. It seems at first like this is just going to be a family dispute. This continues a bit more before Federico is talking to the Doctor. I like the line when the Doctor says he cant see Federico’s future because he doenst have one. This is the 47^th episode for Tom Baker as the Doctor and whilst at times during the previous story that he was a bit cross more times than would be expected of him but here he’s a lot more calm and confident than he has seemed in the past.

The way that the episode ends is one of those that slightly frustrates me because it ends with the Doctor about to have his head lopped off but the camera focuses in on the sword and it ends just before it goes in. I always think that this sort of thing is rather silly cause we all know that he makes it as the departure of a Doctor always makes the news so it wasn’t going to be his last episode and I cant even think of a reason why I should really be worried about that. The only reason that anyone would have to tune in the next week is to see how he gets out of it. I like this opening episode as it has a fresher feel to it than the previous stories. Whether this good feeling will continue for the rest of the story will be seen but I am looking forward to find out.

Planet of Evil - Episode 4

The final episode of this serial which hasn’t exactly been the greatest in Doctor Who history. The reprise was quite well resolved because the Doctor and Sarah are saved by Vishinky at what felt like the last minute. Once the Doctor gets saved he throws himself into the story and it’s the best episode for Tom Baker as far as I am concerned that he has had in this serial. Elisabeth Sladen hasn’t been paritcuarly memorable since the serial started. I was expecting things to get better for Sladen since Ian Marter left but obviously in the case of this adventure that wasn’t the case.

There is a nice scene between Sorensen and the Doctor. Unfortunately its over before it begins but there is a bit more between these two towards the end. I think that Frederick Jaeger has been one of the best things in this serial and really turns the madness up to 11 and he seems to be having lots of fun when the anti-matter version of the character really takes over. The effect of used on Sorensen which achieved a blue light effect was quite well done. It’s from this moment that I actually start to get interested in the adventure. The drama comes from when its revealed there is more than just Sorensen. The effect of the anti-matter Sorensen is far more impressive than the original anti-matter creature we saw in the first part of this story.

I think that Prentis Hancock is really good in this episode and his best moments come when he is arguing with Vishinsky. I think that the way that Salamar was killed was perhaps the best way that he could have done since the character had reached its natural conclusion. The best moment came between Salamar and Vishinsky came when Vishinsky took control and the reaction of Salamar’s face was pricesless. It looked like Sorensen was not going to make it during this episode but he makes it and is free of the anti-matter. It was the best way to end the character and it even ends

I think that this was a good end to what was a rather lacklustre story. Ok there was a good idea at the centre of it but for some reasons it just didn’t grab me in the way that I would have expected. That’s not going to be the case in the next story but the thing about Planet of Evil is my opinion of it hasn’t changed really but I think that the Zygons story is the better of the two that season thirteen have produced so far.

Planet of Evil - Episode 3

Ok so it’s clear that I am not going to rate this story as one of my favourite Tom Baker stories. Maybe with the final two episodes I might be able to find some positives to write about. The previous episode ended with the freeze frame of Tom Baker falling into the black hole. There is a good bit where the Doctor seems to be quite close to the anti-matter creature and then somehow manages to get out relatively unharmed. The thing about this episode is that it doesn’t feel like it’s achieving very much. At this point in a four part adventure it really should feel like it’s building up to something and yet it doesn’t feel like it at all.

Sorensen has gone from someone that I like because he has honourable (if slightly selfish) reasons to someone who is a little bit annoying. There is a distinct change in his look because he is changing. The scene of his eyes being the first thing of him to change did seem to have a bit of Jekyll and Hyde about it. It’s well performed by Frederick Jaeger.  Just a few minutes later, he is killing people and the full change is quite gruesome considering that this is a family show. Salamar goes from being a normal supporting character to someone that has drunk the mad drink because he then goes and point a gun at the Doctor. Way to go from hero to zero in the space of about 10 minutes. There is a moment when the Doctor punches Salamar and it’s a great punch. I know I should be surprised that the Doctor did such a violent act which seems more shocking considering that Jon Pertwee’s Doctor tended to use non violent means to subdue an opponent. It is perhaps the most exciting moment in the entire episode which is daming with faint praise.

The cliffhanger was perhaps the best one of this serial because it was this one that seemed like it could have quite a grim ending. I am still not totally convinced that this story has improved that much but at least there is only one episode left and its not the worst Doctor Who story ever.

Planet of Evil - Episode 2

The second episode of this story starts with the less than convincing anti-matter monster. What it lacks in visual menace it does make up for it in ability to cause a convincing death. One thing I don’t get about the deaths in this story however is what happens to them. When they are killed they disappear yet in the next shot they are a skeleton. It might have been because they couldn’t make it work on screen but it just looks a bit odd as it is.

One guy in the supporting characters look an awful lot like Terry Scott from Terry and June. Clearly its not but it made me smile a bit. It was at this point that I realised that the story wasn’t connecting with me. I think that Louis Marks should be praised for trying to do a different type of story but unfortunately it just doesn’t work. Another major problem that there is about this episode is that apart from learning that the planet is trying to stop people leaving with its minerals, there is nothing that really happens and that’s a frustrating thing that happens.

I do love the bit where the tracking prop is flying around the jungle and the shot that we see from its POV is one of if not the best shots in Doctor Who. Even when it was flying through the jungle it still look really good. I think its quite good that its dropped into the plot that no one may be allowed to leave the planet because of what Sorensen has bought on board. It’s hard to dislike Sorenson even when the viewer knows that what he’s doing isn’t a great thing. His discovery is for the greater good but its made clear that he’s also thinking about his legacy.

The Doctor falling into the black hole ends with a freeze. It’s a trick that was last used in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ and I think that it works better here than it did in that episode. Despite some good things that happen in this episode, I just can’t get excited about this story. It’s not terrible and its directed with a certain level of enjoyment but I just think that the story itself is not great. I would like there to be a bit more drama to proceedings because at the moment it’s one of the least exciting stories of Tom Baker’s tenure.

Planet of Evil - Episode 1

Planet of Evil is a story that I have never really had much love for this story. It’s not one that I have had any real interest but I am hoping that watching an episode a day will change my opinion. This story was written by Louis Marks who previously wrote ‘Day of the Daleks’ which was an ok story and before that wrote ‘Planet of Giants’ which is a highly enjoyable adventure. One thing that this story does have in its favour is the set of the jungle. It’s very dark and very claustrophobic which the point is presumably.

The death of Braun is quite simple but very effective and it pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the story. Baldwin is the next to go in a similar fashion. It’s very typical of the tone that Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes were aiming for and the more that this progresses, the more that its clear that the show is trying to (in a nice way) distance itself from the Pertwee/Letts/Dicks era of the show.

The famous Ealing Studios is where several scenes were filmed and this is perhaps the first time that it looked like some money had been spent of the story. It’s still obvious when it’s a BBC studio and when its Ealing but they still match up pretty well and it’s a good quality of the story that perhaps doesn’t get flagged up when people are knocking the show about production values.

It’s six minutes before we see the Doctor and Sarah and their first scene is in the TARDIS and it’s the first time that we have seen the TARDIS interior since ‘Death to the Daleks’. Tom Baker’s first TARDIS scene is a very good one because he races around it and pressing buttons like he’s been doing it for ages. Now that Harry isn’t around it means that the Doctor/Companion relationship between the Doctor and Sarah can become stronger as the stories progress and I think that Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen have become closer than Sladen had become with Jon Pertwee.

In the first scene with Salamar (played by Prentis Hancock), we are told that there is only enough fuel on their ship for a return journey and some emergency supply. This seems not to relevant in the first episode but it’s a point that will have some importance in future episodes. I think that whilst they are good characters, I cant believe that someone like Vishinsky would be answerable to Salamar. Michael Wisher makes his second appearance in two seasons when he appears as Morelli. At first I didn’t recognise him but it was only when he spoke that his voice became recognisable.

The cliffhanger was ok. It was just the anti-matter creature approaching the screen. I will comment more on the anti-matter creature as it becomes more involved in the story. As an opening episode, I thought that it was a perfectly fine episode but I still don’t think that the four episodes together will be any better than I previously thought. Then again it’s fair to say that it wont be any worse than I thought.

Day of the Daleks - Episode 4

The final episode of this story comes at the right time because there is no way that this would have stretched to six episodes. I was thinking that considering this isn’t a Terry Nation story it’s a perfectly fine plot, Louis Marks has written a good story in the past in the form of ‘Planet of Giants’ and was given the job of bringing the Daleks into the groovy seventies. Sadly some aspects of this story are from the sixties.

The reprise is just as uneventful as the cliffhanger. The way that it’s (thankfully) ended is when the controller intervenes. Sometimes the controller is quite clever in the things that he does. The controller still thinks that he’s got a future with the Daleks though in the end he does redeem himself by letting the Doctor and Jo escape. Pretty soon he is shown as a failure and is exterminated. Clearly he didn’t go to extermination acting because it’s a rather lifeless (forgive the pun) performance and it’s a shame because I have found Aubrey Woods to be a interesting influence over the four episodes.
The fact that the war was started by one of the guerrillas going back in time and accidentally setting off the bomb which gets blamed on styles and so the guerrillas have accidentally created a paradox. I think that it’s a clever way of explaining how this started. They could have done a rather feeble way of explaining this but Louis Marks has done well with this aspect of the story.

The main point of the first episode takes centre stage in the latter half of this episode when Styles returns and its good to have Styles and the Brigadier back because it feels like there is a bit of meat to the story. Wilfred Carter has been very good as Styles and even when he’s being told to leave the house he’s still acting like an unreasonable civil servant.
The Daleks attack on Syles’ mansion is rather pitiful and very disappointing. Lets take this step by step. Firstly the fact that there are just three Daleks and a couple of Ograns is rather a flimsy group. If your that desperate to prevent someone changing history, wouldn’t you use more. Secondly, why come from the rear and lead the only means of escape free for everyone to leave at their own convenience? It’s a rather poor way to end the episode and it’s a shame really.

The way that the episode ends is nice because it’s a nice two shot with the Doctor and Styles who discuss about the importance of making sure the peace conference goes ahead. It’s a ending with a moral that stands true even today. As an episode its rather frustrating which is pretty much how I feel about this entire story because there are things about it. It was good to have the Daleks back but again the voices and the fact they don’t do very much means that their first story since 1967 is a rather underwhelming affair. The ninth season gets off to an awkward start.

Day of the Daleks - Episode 3

The penultimate episode of this story starts off with the really good cliffhanger. The Doctor manages to find himself in the 22^nd century by accident and its means that we don’t see Nicholas Courtney apart from the in the reprise. The fact that the Doctor moves to the 22^nd century is the natural progression of the story. The shot that is used to show what 22^nd Century earth looks like is rather disappointing compared to the special edition version we get. It’s basically a block of flats which is a horrible sight but doesn’t exactly scream 22^nd century. Anyway that’s the only exterior shot we get because pretty quickly the Doctor gets the scene with the controller.

The Daleks have been quite static up until now but at least we get some movement, mainly at the start but it’s better than nothing. I find it rather frustrating when they whinge about productivity being low. You would have thought by now that they would realise that they need to feed the slaves in order to get any results. Oh well it’ll come to them sooner or later.

There’s an odd that the controller doesn’t pay eye contact with one of the technicians. The controller’s behaviour is quite interesting in this episode as he continues to play the generous host when he first encounters the Doctor. This leads to the best scene of the episode is the food scene with the controller, the Doctor and Jo where the Doctor takes the controller to task much to Jo’s disappointment. I like how she’s defending the controller even though she hasn’t seen what the Doctor’s seen. It doesn’t take much for Jo to side with the Doctor and this leads to them escaping. It’s good that they have been reunited (even though its not been very long).

There’s another clever shot from Paul Bernard. It comes at the end of the Doctor/Jo/Controller scene when the Doctor’s talking and the camera pulls out before it being clear that we’re looking at a screen. It’s simple yet effective and I am surprised at how impressed I am with this effect. Then again compared to some aspects of this story it doesn’t take much. There’s a great moment where the Doctor and Jo are on a trike. It’s a typical Pertwee moment. I could imagine Jon Pertwee being impressed with the trike but Katy Manning must have been a little bit nervous.

The cliffhanger is ok but not as good as the previous. The Doctor being strapped to a table with images of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton appearing on the screen. It’s a nice way to set up the final episode and as an episode I thought that there was nothing particular special but its not a terrible story. The only time that I get frustrated with things is when the Daleks talk any to be honest they haven’t actually done anything really which is odd.

Day of the Daleks - Episode 2

After not been terribly impressed with the opening episode of the Daleks’ overdue return, I was hoping that the story might make up for the mistakes of that episode. The episode starts with the Doctor being taken for Sir Reginald Styles. It’s good that we learn a bit more about what the guerrillas are doing and why they want to do it. I don’t think that they are particularly good really and they seem rather hapless. You would have thought that they would know what Styles looks like and make such an amateur error. Ok they might not have endless resources at their disposal but I just think that they would make a better attempt to try and discover what his appearance is. Speaking of Styles he only gets a brief mention in this episode when the Brigadier mentions that he has got the Chinese to attend the peace conference.

The Doctor and Jo have mixed fortunes in this episode. Jo gets transported to the 22^nd Century by accident and as if that wasn’t bad enough she gets transported in front of the controller. I like how the moment that Jo and the controller start talking, he is doing his very best to come across as her best friend trying to get information out of her. I now like the character and think that he’s a lot smarter than he was made to look in the previous episode. Sadly Jo doesn’t come across as particularly smart as she gives up lots of information about where she came from with next to no coercion. The Doctor is less active in this episode due to the fact that he spends most of it with a gun pointed at him.
At one point there are about five or six ograns which is a lot more than the number of Daleks we see in episode four. The Ograns are simple yet effective as they are quite imposing yet aren’t particularly smart.

Something I didn’t mention before was the location filming. Paul Bernard has done a good job in making the location footage look part of the story not just something to break up the studio filming. Another thing that Bernard did well was the shots where the controller is talking to the Daleks via the CSO screens. Basically he done well in making the image of the Daleks appear over the controller shot and for the controller to appear in exactly the right place. Those who are smarter than me might not be impressed with that but I think that it must be tougher than it seems to make that work.
The cliffhanger was a cracking one. A dalek appearing in a dimly lit tunnel is a fantastic image and it’s a great moment in the story. Sadly the voice of the Dalek diminishes any threat of menace that we had heard earlier but I think that its started to get going which is a relief after the rather underwhelming opening episode. My optimism has been elevated a lot more from this 25 minutes and I have high hopes of the next two episodes.

Day of the Daleks - Episode 1

This is the first episode of season nine, quite amazing to think that I am this far into it. This is the 60^th story of Doctor Who and coincidentally it has been decided to bring the Daleks back after Terry Nation’s attempt to take over America didn’t work when he realised that outside of Doctor Who they don’t really have much value.

The last time I saw an episode with them in was technically episode two of ‘The Evil of the Daleks’ but the last time they featured in a story was way back on October 31^st 2013, an amazing 135 days ago. Since they last appeared Victoria, Zoe and Liz have all been and gone, Jamie also left and Jo has arrived. The show is now in colour and the cosmic hobo has been replaced by a dashing dandy. A lot has changed in 135 days.

I’ve decided to watch the original version instead of the special edition version with good stuff put in, partly because this version (to the best of my knowledge) is the four part version.

The episode starts off with quite a mystery. Sir Reginald Styles is working and encounters someone in military gear and is about to shoot him before disappearing. The current setting of the story is that Styles is involved in some peace talks that may not go ahead unless he intervenes. This might sound similar to what was happening in ‘The Mind of Evil’ but at least they made the effort in trying to put a different spin of world peace.

It takes 13 minutes for the Daleks to appear and that’s quite quick compared to previous stories featuring them. It’s a nice but brief scene and that’s it until the very end. It’s almost like they wanted to get their first appearance out of the way so that they could carry on telling the story. The Doctor and Jo become 1970’s Ghost Hunters as they spend the night in Styles house. It’s rather uneventful and nothing happens until daylight. This seems like more of an attempt to just keep them busy until the guerrillas appear again. The Brigadier does more in this episode than he did in the five episodes of ‘The Daemons’.

The controller set does a good job of looking futuristic, the controller himself is rather good and looks very different to most humans. He is the latest is a long line of people who are working for the Daleks. His involvement doesn’t get much mention in this episode but its clear that there’s more than meets the eye and this will become evident in future episodes.

The Daleks’ voices are not the greatest. The advantage to watching the new version is that Nicholas Briggs is the voice and it’s a lot better. Sadly due to the fact that I am not listening to Briggs’ voice means that the ending isn’t quite as good as it could be. I have to admit that this episode is rather underwhelmed by this episode. Considering it’s the first Dalek story for five years (or 135 days), I would have expected there to be more of a deal made of this fact. The fact that they are given such a low key return is rather unsettling and I hope that I feel better as the episode progress.

Day 45: Planet of Giants - Crisis

The final part of this three part story resumes where the Doctor and Susan are about to drown after Smithers pulls the tap. There’s some good acting when Susan and the Doctor are in the overflow pipe watching the water go past them.

We are introduced to the final two supporting cast members. Bert and Hilda who appear to be a couple and Hilda is the one answer the phone and is the one that starts to put things together. It all starts when Forrester decides to impersonate Farrow by putting a handkerchief over the bottom of the phone. It was never going to work and its all Forrester’s fault by thinking that this was going to work.

The regulars have to do a nice selection of weird and wonderful things. They first try and prop up the phone to raise the alarm but being so small it’s a difficult task and also it doesn’t work because their voices are too low to understand. It does achieve something as it further puzzles Hilda. I love the cut away that they use when the phone is being propped up. It’s such a funny sight and its obvious how they are doing it. Not quite sure how they could have done it without looking daft so it may have been a bit harsh of me to make fun of it. When that doesn’t work they try something far more ambitious. The plan is to set a fire in the lab to try and alert the authorities to the lab. They try and use a match stick against the gas tap. There’s some clever editing done to try and make it look bigger than a studio. The explosion is well done and it’s at this point that the policeman walks in and as their story ends it seems that they are being apprehended.

Barbara’s getting worse and by the halfway point she’s fainted. When she recovers we learn that once they get back to the TARDIS they will return to normal size and she will be better so it’s a matter of trying to get the police to the house whilst getting back to the TARDIS in time. They do and the Doctor manages to bring a massive nut that when it goes inside the TARDIS it shrinks to its normal size. It’s a good bit of special effect.

The central performances are all good and no one really puts a foot wrong. Even Susan is given a good time in this story and its one of those rare stories where everyone is given a good crack of the whip. The supporting cast at times almost steals the show with Forrester being one of my favourite baddies so far in the show. Hilda and Bert were good late additions to the story and even though it was late in the story it was just right and they because quite important to the story.

The cliffhanger is leading us into the second Dalek story and the final story for Carole Ann Ford. As it is we don’t see anything because the scanner is faulty. As a three part story this is better than the second one as its more action packed and fun than the middle episode. There is a nice bit of drama with Barbara and trying to stop Forrester and Smithers. I have always liked this story and watching it like this shows why it wouldn’t have worked as a four parter. When the DVD was released they wasted their time in trying to reconstruct in some feeble attempt to make us wonder and feel like we were robbed but to be honest there was a lot of padding in that reconstructed episode and it works much better like we have it.

Day 44: Planet of Giants - Dangerous Journey

The episode starts with the regulars trying to not get killed by a cat. It’s actually quite good moment as they are waiting for the cat to get bored. Once it does then the story moves on and we are introduced to Smithers who seems to be working with Forester and is just as calm about the death of Farrow. He tries to be someone who wants the same as Forrester but is more interested in the scientific fame than the money.


There is a fair amount of credit that should go to Raymond Cusick. He has managed to create the sets for the regulars to walk around and do it too the right scale. The sets look brilliant and even when they are looking at a giant photo of something its still impressive. Also the fly that Barbara sees is well realised. The four regulars wander from one place to the other and its back to the amusing briefcase for Ian and the first time for Barbara and one of them get a tap from a paperclip which just adds to the madness of this tale.

There is an extra threat introduced in this story after Barbara picks up some wheat which at the time has this chemical on and its clear that its could kill her. Not quite sure why Barbara doesn’t persist in telling Ian that she has touched the insecticide. Even when she gets the chance towards the episode and she lets the opportunity slide. This might be to prolong some sort of exciting in the final episode.

There’s a shot where the Doctor is climbing up the pipe and he looks exhausted which is either acting or not (cant tell). William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford get to do some good acting together and it’s the first time in a long time since its just been them two. It’s a nice opportunity to see what they were like before Barbara and Ian joined them. It’s a good performance from Ford and even though she’s talked down to by Ian its her interaction with her grandfather that is nice in this episode.

The B-Plot of this story is the DN6 insecticide. Forester has killed Farrow and the thing about Smither is that he is just a slightly less horrible person that Forrester and he’s quite a slow person because he spends most of the episode trying to clean up Farrow’s blood. He also never really wants to get involved in what Forester is doing even though he will benefit from it. It is Forester that is the fun part of this bit of the story and it’s Alan Tilvern that make it fun to watch. Sadly though not much tends to happen in this bit and its good how it tends to have a play like feel with just the two of them.

The cliffhanger is just as barmy as the previous one. The danger in this cliffhanger comes from a sink, as I write this it just seems to get stranger than I ever thought it was. As an episode it seemed to move along at a good pace and the idea of a tiny Doctor and a tiny Barbara is quite an amusing one. It’s clear why they reduced it to three episodes because there isn’t much of a story in four episodes.

Day 43: Planet of Giants: Planet of Giants

The second season of Doctor Who starts with a three part story. It was intended to be a four part but was reduced to three to make it more tighter. If you buy the DVD then you will the truly awful reconstructed episode. This opening episode doenst have to do a reprise so there its not clear just how much time has passed since the last episode. At the start of the episode the doors opening during flight and was quites interesting is that presumably outside is the vortex and yet its basically a white cyclorama. There must have been a worry for the viewers at the time this was transmitted that it was going to be like Inside the Spaceship which of course it isn’t.


There’s a lovely moment when the Doctor apologies to Barbara for being snappy with her. He admits that he loses his manners at stressful moments. This episode sees the return of the fault locator, its days are numbered but it was quite fun to see it. It’s clear that something has happened and when the regulars leave the TARDIS they notice that something isn’t quite right and the natural assumption for the viewer is the that the Giants refer to something else and the regulars are normal height.

It takes just before the half way mark before they figure out that they have been reduced in size. They spot an ant and also the tail end of an earthworm. At this point the story moves to introducing the supporting cast. Well we just get two of them. Mr Forrester is instantly a horrible character. He is behind a new insectide and is more worried about the money he would lose than its affects. I think that Forrester is a wonderful character and Alan Tilvern plays it brilliantly. Forrester kills the government man because he doesn’t give him the result that he wanted. It was a brief but important scene.

Ian is caught in a briefcase and he gets to do some fantastic acting in the briefcase. Not quite sure where you learn that sort of acting but it’s a unintentially funny moment. After Ian gets ‘caught’ Susan becomes a bit too hysterical and its seems like its back to square one. It’s another reason why you can understand what made Carole Ann Ford want to leave the show.

It’s not something that you notice at first but it’s a very small cast. There are only 6 speaking parts including the regulars. It’s a very tight number of characters in this story and that’s always good because it means that people will get more action.

This is an notable episode because it is the first to be worked on by Dudley Simpson who would go on to work on Doctor Who through out the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The cliffhanger is an absolutely barmy one. After being reunited, Susan screams and they all look at an extreme close up of a cat. It’s the only time in the shows history (until Survival 25 years later) where a cat becomes menacing. It’s a good opening episode. It’s clear that the production team felt comfortable to try and do something different because they feel that the audience could suspend their believe and go with the flow. I have always liked this story and it’s a good opening episode.