(664) Delta and the Bannermen - Part 3

I am grateful that this wasn’t a four part adventure because I don’t think I could stand another episode of the antics at the Shangri-La. I am getting slightly bored of pointing out the same problems that have appeared in each of the three episodes.

Billy had been taking something to turn him into a Chimeron. He ends the episode by going away with Delta and the kid who looks about 13 or 14 and just goes off with them. Kohll could easily have dropped Billy from the story and it wouldn’t have made much difference. What made it even worse is that Ray is left pretty much heartbroken. This is not perhaps the best ending to an episode there has ever been.

Gavrok doesn’t get to be very good in this episode because he spends the entire episode looking rather foolish. First of all he is defeated by stumbling into the force field that he created that comes after he and his guards are attacked by bees and honey. I think that Don Henderson deserved a better ending because he has worked very well during the three episodes.

The incidental music is normally something that works quite well in these stories but on this occasion it just doesn’t work. It’s possibly the first time that Keff McCulloch has put a foot wrong. When I remember how he saved the day with the in the previous story but that means that this story suffers.

There is a bit in the episode where there is about 10 of them working together. So much for the Doctor looking like the one that saved the day in Paradise Towers yet somehow falls short during these three episodes. I think I remember watching a documentary on Paradise Towers and McCulloch said that he was told to put this story to one side and that shows.

Delta and the Bannermen is only the second story of the 1980’s to be rated in the 6’s. At the moment it was ninth from bottom. The other 1980’s story was The Horns of Nimon so its in pretty good company. This story has been a bit of a disaster. Very little worked in this serial and I think that some of that should be placed at the feet of the writer because he hasn’t got a grip of what a Doctor Who story should be. Yes they deserve some credit for trying to do something different but they just messed up with this. Thankfully

(663) Delta and the Bannermen - Part 2

You know how I was saying that with the serial being three episodes it means that there is less padding and more opportunities for the pace to pick up. Well this episode pretty much blows that theory up in to thousands of pieces. This episode is about 90% padding and 10% relevant narrative. For the first time in a few episodes, Bonnie Langford wasn’t the most annoying aspect of the episode. But that is because of the facts that she had very little to do and also the fact that there were far more obvious annoying aspects of the episode.

The baby that looked gross at the end of the previous episode looks even worse when it sitting in Delta’s arms. There is a scene where Billy walks in and seems to accept the situation when he walks in. A few minutes later the baby had turned into a real baby that has the bad luck of having its face painted green. It’s the acceptance that Billy has that is something that doesn’t make any sense. I like the character of Delta and Belinda Mayne plays the role very well and I believe that she is a Queen. It’s just a shame that she is forced to spend the episode being mother and having to deal with Billy who is one of the worst characters in the entire serial and possibly even one of the worst supporting characters in Doctor Who.

I think the root of the problem with this serial is that there is an uneven mix of humour and non-humour. Weismuller and Hawk continue to be annoying in this episode and their only good moment comes when they meet Gavrok. Sadly Gavrok doesn’t wipe them out. Speaking of Gavrok, I think that Gravrok saves this episode and Don Henderson was a masterful piece of casting. His final scene where he is munching away at a piece of meat is a great moment in the episode.

Of the central performances, Sylvester McCoy has the better time but only just. He spends a little bit of time showing Burton inside the TARDIS for no real reason. Then he gets on Rachel’s bike and spends an awfully long amount of time riding around looking for Delta and the dopey one. His best moment comes when he encounters Goronwy played by the wonderfully delightful Hugh Lloyd. I wonder if Hugh Lloyd counts as stunt casting considering he appearing in countless episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour and lots of other shows between 1957 and this point.

The final scene with the Doctor and Gavrok is by far the best scene in the entire episode. It’s the first time that I have felt that it was Doctor Who which is a worrying thing considering that the show is suppose to be showing its good side. There seems to be way too much time given to bike trips and nonsensical relationships. At least there is only one episode left.

(662) Delta and the Bannermen - Part 1

After being somewhat disappointed with Paradise Towers, I wasn’t looking forward to this story because it’s never been one of my favourites. One of the arguments that people use to critisce John Nathan Turner is the use of ‘stunt casting’. One of the examples used for this argument is this story where it features the appearance of Ken Dodd. This is the first three part story since Planet of Giants (1964) and the three episode format will become commonplace during this period of the show and an advantage of the three episodes is that there isn’t going to be a much padding and that will mean there is a faster pace to proceedings.

The action starts pretty much from the moment that the titles finish. There are explosions and there is a nice gun battle. Sadly there are some green creatures who look like the toy soldiers from the Toy Story movies. That does somewhat devalue the moment. What does work in these scene is Gavrok. Gavrok is played by Don Henderson and was perhaps the big name in this serial and definelty not considered to be stunt casting.

The Doctor and Mel arrive in a huge hanger deck and I like how this freaks the Doctor out and he wants to leave but then trouble appears. Whilst I don’t agree with the argument that Ken Dodd was stunt casting, I do think that his first appearance is rather poor. It is just cheesy and totally not what the show should be about. Somehow the Doctor and Mel are the 10 Billionth people to visit. Even the Doctor is surprised that 10 billion people have use the shuttle. The introduction of the pilot leaves me rather downhearted because I think that this is an example of just how tired the show appears because it’s hard to believe that this would have taken place even just a few years ago. When they start singing Rock Around The Clock, I start to get frustrated because it just seems to add fire to people’s arguments against JNT. Hawk and Weismuller are a double act that appear quite early on. They are a couple of Americans. I know that they are American’s before they open their mouths because Weismuller is wearing a New York Yankees jacket. Then they proceed to look like a couple of inept spies. Imagine Jago and Litefoot but without any of the charm and they are treated as a duo that are being kept out of the way. Sadly they are in our way.

Delta escapes from her planet and leave on a ship and lands by the Doctor then manages to get on the coach before it takes off which seems rather odd and then blurts out who she is when she is supposed to be keeping a low profile.

The story takes place in a holiday village which doesn’t look like the nicest place to visit. I have never visited such a place and have never really seen the appeal of them. Then there is a ‘getting to know you dance’ which just seems horrible to me.

Billy is a rather bland individual who for some reason decides to fall for Delta instead of Rachel. This is just what the story doesn’t need, a love triangle. Rachel could have been a companion if JNT had not chosen Sophie Aldred. I don’t think that she would have worked as a companion but in the context of this story I thought that she worked quite well. There was something rather charming about Sara Griffiths’ performance.

Delta’s baby is perhaps the most disgusting thing that I have ever seen in Doctor Who before or after. I know that I have commented on how horrible some effects look when an aliens head ooze but this is way beyond what I think is acceptable in a Doctor Who story.

This isn’t a story that I truly hate but I am really struggling to find something positive in this episode. I think that this being three episodes long is something that is going to work in the serial’s favour but as I continue through this season I am convinced that nothing will change my opinion of this season and at the moment it’s the worst season in terms of average ratings. Season 2 has the lowest average rating which shows how bad this season has gone so far.

On a ratings note, this episode was watched by 5.3 million people whereas 16.3 million people were watching Coronation Street. That’s the widest margin since the season started.