(695) Survival - Part 3

Today is the final episode of the McCoy era and effectively the final episode of the classic era. I know technically the TV movie is the end of the classic era but this is the end of the original run. The show has changed a lot over the previous 694 episodes but it’s fair to say that its star has dimmed during the last decade despite showing signs of improvement in stories such as this one. There is something final about this episode. Ace being possessed by the cat people is something that wouldn’t have happened in previous stories.

Ace’s development is wonderfully done but its down to Sophie Aldred who continues to impress me and in her final episode she shows how underrated she has been. “This is the only home I know” is a wonderful line from Ace. It’s fair to say that Ace has been through the ringer in this season and it has been one of the successes of the season.

I like how the Master is trying to fight the possession attempt although its clearly only a matter of time. He is playing Midge to do his dirty work and this comes to ahead during a scene where Midge and the Doctor are playing chicken on bikes. Once Midge had failed he was killed pretty much by the Master. The Master seems to start off as the new more likeable Master but there is a moment where he chuckles to himself and it seemed like he was going to return back to his bad old self. When he kills Karra it seems like he is back and continues like this leading up to the big scene with the Doctor. This scene is one of my favourite in the McCoy era. It’s one that I think these two characters should have had years ago. The sword fight between Pertwee’s Doctor and Delgado’s Master in The Sea Devils lacks something compared to this one.

“If we fight like animals, we die like animals” is a wonderful line that Sylvester McCoy delivers brilliantly. It’s frustrating that the show ends just when McCoy is really starting to get into his stride. I have really changed my opinion of the McCoy era and episodes like this shows why.

Midge is rather amusing in this episode and I don’t find him very menacing at all. Things get even worse when he dons a suit and starts to act all macho in front of other guys at the training gym. The use of Midge is one of the things that doesn’t quite work but at least his involvement doesn’t disrupt the flow of the episode.

The final speech from Sylvester McCoy wasn’t how the show was due to end but when it became clear that it may not return this was added on and if the show hadn’t returned in 1996 or 2005 then this would have been a lovely way to end 26 years of superb storytelling.

I like on the production notes on the DVD that it ends with Doctor Who 1963-89, To Be Continued? There is just one more Doctor Who DVD with production titles on it so its going to be something else to get use to when the Christopher Eccleston era comes along in two days. This is a major moment in my marathon and I am really sad that I have left this era of the show. The show has had some really great stories but then again its had some really poor stories. Despite the fact that the budget wasn’t as big as it could have been and the narrow minded bosses at the BBC weren’t keen to spend some money on the show and wanted Doctor Who to achieve Star Wars type things on a miniscule budget, the show has shown that with the right kind of writing, directing and performances that Doctor Who can hold its own. Now comes the era of the show where its clear a bit more money has been spent on it and it’s the era of the big TARDIS. Roll on the one day McGann era.

To end sign off on this portion of the marathon I thought I would end with one of the greatest speeches in Doctor Who.

“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do.”

(694) Survival - Part 2

The Anthony Ainley version of the Master has always suffered a problem. Roger Delgado is always going to be the best Master and I think that the problem that Ainley has had has been the fact he was treated almost in a lighter vein than Delgado. He was never allowed to be as serious but in this story that completely changes. It is almost a completely different delivery of the character from Ainley. One such extreme example is that he has become like the Cheetah people with cat teeth and howling at the moon.

There is a fair bit of humour in this episode. There is the bit where the Doctor has been snared by Ace’s trap and is hanging upside down and then there is the dig that Ace delivers at the Doctor where she asks him if he knows any nice people. The humour in this episode is pitched just right because without it, this episode would be very different and perhaps not as strong.

The Doctor and the Master get a good face to face scene which serves to set up the plot for the rest of the story and that is the planet is breaking up and the Master needs the Doctor’s help. The scenes between the Doctor and the Master in recent serials have been mixed but never have they had the awesomeness that this one had. I would have to go back to Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado to find that sort of great face to face.

Ace has a nice/weird bonding moment with Karra (played by Lisa Bowerman). This leads to more great scenes from Sophie Aldred. The episode ends with her looking towards the Doctor and her eyes have changed. Sophie Aldred has continued to impress me with her performance not just in this story but since she joined in Dragonfire and its another reason why the decision to rest/axe is frustrating because I think that with a few more stories, Ace could have the same sort of fan reaction as Sarah Jane.

Despite the regulars impressing and Anthony Ainley holding his own, the supporting characters haven’t really made much of an impact in my opinion. The only one of the supporting characters that came even close is Midge. Midge is a character that is quite good in this episode because he becomes possessed by the cat people and the Master uses him to teleport back to Earth. I know what the character of Midge is going to do in the next episode so I find myself more impressed what the Midge in this episode as a result.

This has been another solid episode with an impressive cliffhanger. The penultimate episode of the McCoy era is another example of how good the show has been in the last year and a half. It also shows how for the first time in the 1980’s the show that it’s felt like a drama and not an enjoyable twenty-five minute bit of fantasy.

(693) Survival - Part 1

The moment has finally arrived. Survival marks the final story for Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred and the final story to be made in the UK by the BBC for 16 years. Today’s episode marks the 807^th day that Sylvester McCoy has been the Doctor and that’s five days longer than Peter Davison was Doctor. It’s rather good that the final story of the original era is on Earth in London which is the same as An Unearthly Child. I know that wasn’t intentional but if the show hadn’t returned in 2005 then there aren’t many stories better to end the era on.

One of the few things that doesn’t work in this episode is the cat that hisses. Unfortunately it just doesn’t look convincing and it would have been better to have not seen it at all. Maybe they could have got away with it just being on screen but the hissing totally ruins it. The crane shot used in this opening scene with the guy washing the car was impressive. There are some impressive scenes that have been directed well by Alan Wareing.

I cant make my mind up about Paterson. His first scene shows his a tough but firm individual. He starts off as stern but after being knocked out by the Doctor with just one finger, he loses that edge and becomes a rather more entertaining person. Hale and Pace is another example of stunt casting that people use to attack the JNT era of the show. I remember growing up watching them on a Sunday night but I think that their casting didn’t really suit the characters and just doesn’t let the episode flow. I know it’s a brief scene but apart from seeing the Doctor buy some cat food, it doesn’t really add anything to the episode. The Doctor spends most of the episode trying to hunt for the right cat. It’s almost like Perivale is so boring it has made the Doctor snap.

This story also marks the final appearance of the Master as played by Anthony Ainley. It’s the first time that the Master has been seen since 1986’s Trial of a Timelord. We don’t see him fully until the end where he is the cliffhanger. I don’t know whether people were suppose to know that its him with the extreme close up but a good attempt is made to at least hide this until it was suppose to be revealed.

The costume/mask for the Cheetah People doesn’t look too bad in this episode because we don’t see it too close or for too long a period of time. There will be more about that in future episodes but from an first glance look, its not the worst costume that has been in the show in recent years.

The planet that Ace finds herself on in the latter stages of the episode really does look like another world even though all they have done is paint the sky pink. It was clearly filmed during a warm period (a rarity in Britain) and this help in creating this new world.

This has been a very good episode with very few faults. I thought that the performances of the central characters has been one of the best things for the first time in quite sometime. I notice that I haven’t commented on the performances of the regulars recently as much as I did in the early days but they have both worked really well and I look forward to the final two episodes of this story. Wow, that’s a depressing thought that I only have two episodes of the McCoy era is over.

(692) The Curse of Fenric - Part 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(691) The Curse of Fenric - Part 3

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

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

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

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

(690) The Curse of Fenric - Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

(689) The Curse of Fenric - Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

(688) Ghostlight - Part 3

This episode is the final episode of Doctor Who to be made in the classic era. I have got use to the three episode format because there are plenty of positives to take from them such as they are shorter and don’t have to accommodate as much padding. The problem that there has been with the narrative of this serial is that it seems that the plot has been crammed into this single episode. Only now do things start to happen but I am still at a loss to describe what the actual theme of the story was. I get that the Doctor was trying to do his Dr Phil thing on Ace and there was a thing about Josiah Smith but apart from that it’s still a bit of a mystery.  

Light appears at the very beginning of the episode and I am somewhat disappointed with him because he offers very little to the story despite this sort of god-like vibe. I get that he is the most superior being in this story but that’s only because he’s the one with some colour in his costume. I don’t see the point of Control. Control wants to become ‘lady-like’ for reasons that are total confusing and I found this aspect of the script to be totally dull.

There’s a great bit where Ace is tormented by her regret with what would happen in 100 years. It is perhaps my favourite part of the episode. Sophie Aldred really has been superb in this story because it’s explored more of her character and her mental state. I thought that this was a strong episode for Sylvester McCoy as well because he showed us why his Doctor is often underrated by using words to defeat situations as opposed to convoluted devices.

I knew it had to come sooner or later. Mrs Pritchard shows some emotion for the first time in this serial. She smiles for the first time when she shares a scene with Gwendoline when its revealed that they are actually mother and daughter. They end up being turned into stone which seemed like a nice end for the pair. It’s typical that we wait until the end before something good happens with Gwendoline. She actually shows some menace and I thought that she was plausible as a baddie (just).

Smith plans to assassinate Queen Victoria which is the first interesting thing about Smith for quite sometime. I don’t know why its taken so long for this to surface but at least it showed a reason why there was something dodgy about Smith. It has been a good performance from Ian Hogg because the character of Smith could have been sent up in a rather pantomime fashion but Hogg does a good job in towing the line.

This story hasn’t been as much of a grind as I thought it was going to be although I suspect watching it in one go isn’t the best way to watch this adventure. Halfway through this season and I think that the show was well on its way to getting its mojo back. It’s just a shame the plug was pulled two stories later. I have just over a week left of the classic era and as the episodes are progressing I am getting more annoyed that the decision was taken to rest the programme but then on the other hand excited about what is coming my way.

(687) Ghost Light - Part 2

I had forgotten to mention that this is a 100% studio based story with only a few shots of the house shown sporadically throughout the three episodes. It takes nearly five minutes for Ace to be rescued although it’s not clear whether she saved herself or the Doctor was the one that saved the day. In fact for the first 10 minutes or so I really didn’t understand what was going on. It all looked very nice but I couldn’t write down what happens in this episode.

Mrs Pritchard continues to be a laugh a minute character as she pretty much puts the boot into Gwendoline calling her a music hall trollop which I thought was a bit strong. That said she continues to be an impressive presence in the story. It difficult to know what to make of Smith because he seems like a villain but has troubles. There is a scene with Smith where he looks less than well and Matthews slowly becomes a chimp and whilst this happens he has a rather sinister chuckle.

Inspector Mackenzie is a character that appears to be a comedy character. He was sent to the house in 1881 and mothballed and is then woken up and proceeds to eat food. It seems like he has been created like this because at the moment there is zero humour and I think that the story needs something but not too much and McKenzie gives us that.

As this is Ace’s story its only right that I talk about her ventures in this episode. She starts off of course about to be attacked by the monster but its one scene in particular which always has the same effect on me. It when she is in bed having breakfast and talking to Mrs Grose. The line where she says she might take a walk around Perivale village and every time I hear that line I just wish that they had some money in the budget to do location filming and around 1880’s Perivale.

The biggest development is the introduction of Control. Control was heard (briefly) in the first episode and their involvement in the episode is greater in this episode. Although even by the end of the episode we haven’t seen a physical body. With this being a three part story it would have been wiser I think to include either Control or Light in this episode. I worry that the final episode is going to be a rush job.

Light appears at the end of the episode and its bright light on the Doctor’s face is what forms the cliffhanger. To be honest it’s not a terrible ending but it’s not the sort of smash grab feel ending that I think the story needed but I suppose that it suited the style of the episode. Overall though I think that this story is one of style over substance. There is very little going on but at least the sets look very impressive so there is something to keep me glued to the screen for the remaining episode.

(686) Ghostlight - Part 1

Even though this was the second of four stories in the season, it’s was the final story to be produced in the classic era. The next time a Doctor Who story would produce again would be in the US of A. The thing about this story is that it’s one that I have found very confusing and as a result its not one of those that ranks in my top ten. I do have hope hopes that over the next three days things will be made clearer. The opening scene is very eerie and things are made even eerier when the servants are pretty much tripping over themselves to leave.

This story is arguably a cruel lesson from the Doctor. Ace has a secret that we learn the house that this story is set is the one that she burnt to the ground a hundred years in the future. This is some nice development of the character of Ace and it shows that it was possible to develop characters in the classic era. It’s a good episode (and indeed story) for Sophie Aldred as she takes this rare opportunity given to her and runs with it. She even manages to make the character of Gwendoline seem a bit more animated because she does come across at the beginning as just a bit of nothing.

There is a funny routine in the first half of the episode where Ace’s clothing causes controversy. The fact that her shoulders are on display is something that shocks people. It’s hard to remember that this story takes place in 1883 when such things aren’t as informal as they are today. God knows what they would make of Clara of Amy Pond. The supporting characters are all in different ways. Ian Hogg plays Josiah Samuel Smith. The character is wonderful because he is very passive aggressive from start to finish. Mrs Pritchard (Sylvia Syms) is very creepy and doesn’t crack a smile at all. She does the dirty work for Smith and I struggle to decide who is the more evil. Michael Cochrane returns to Doctor Who after appearing in Black Orchid (1982) but this is arguably his strongest role. Here he plays Redvers Fenn-Cooper who is a little bit mad. Carl Forgione plays Nimrod and from the moment he appears on screen he is someone that the viewer is able to trust because he doesn’t talk down to the Doctor. Forgoine is impressive because he goes to the trouble of walking like a Neanderthal.

The cliffhanger is perhaps the only disappointing because its Ace being menaced by some weird creatures. There is something good about the fact that she doesn’t scream but apart from that I was left disappointed with the ending. I will be honest and say that despite enjoying what I see, I am still struggling to understand just what is going on. I get that the Doctor is trying to understand Ace a bit more but apart from that it seems like they have arrived in a low rent Upstairs Downstairs.

(685) Battlefield - Part 4

It’s with a certain amount of sadness that I watch today’s episode because it’s the last time that we see Nicholas Courtney in Doctor Who. It’s his 107^th episode and the original plan was to kill him off and I am glad that they didn’t because it would have totally killed the vibe of the story. This is the episode where the Doctor finally gives up the idea that he’s Merlin although he does do a cheeky in-joke note from himself.

Mordred uses the end my life line which is what the Doctor used in The Happiness Patrol. It seems to carry more wait when its directed towards the Doctor because we all know that he wouldn’t do it even if he had to. Morgaine’s willingness to see let Mordred be killed was a great thing for the character to do. It just made her seem more like a loathsome person but there is always something that reminds me that its Jean Marsh so I do find her loathsome at all.

There’s a great moment where Lethbridge-Stewart knocks the Doctor out to destroy the destroyer. It’s a nice little moment because it means he gets to be the military hero. The moment where the Doctor thinks that Lethbridge-Stewart is dead is a lovely moment before Lethbridge-Stewart reveals he is ok. There is something quite impressive about Lethbridge-Stewart being the one that destroys the destroyer.

The big finale scene comes with the Doctor stopping the nuclear bomb from being set off. It leads to a great scene which allows Sylvester McCoy and Jean Marsh to shine and fight over an umbrella. It’s another example as to why McCoy is an underrated Doctor. The Doctor talks Morgaine into stopping the nuclear bomb from being detonated. Morgaine reaction when she learns that Merlin is dead is superb and Marsh makes us feel sorry for her.

The final scene set at Lethbridge-Stewart’s house is a lovely one. Doris goes out ‘with the girls’ as she, Ace, Bambera and Shou Yuing go off in Bessie. It’s a men doing the house work and the women having fun thing which is quite amusing. This has been a rather entertaining episode and it’s memorable because of several outstanding performances. This is the first story for quite sometime that has gone up in my estimation. It’s still not a classic by any means but I think that it’s a stronger start to the twenty-sixth season that I thought.

On a separate note. The character of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has been on our screens for close to thirty years. He is arguably one of the greatest character (apart from the Doctor of course) in the shows history. He has been an ally of the Doctor whilst keeping a militaristic point of view. It’s impossible to say that the character wouldn’t have lasted as long if it had been played by another actor but I don’t think that anyone else would have bought the charm to the role. It would have been nice to see Lethbridge-Stewart in New Who.

(684) Battlefield - Part 3

This is the episode where I think that it makes slightly more sense. I don’t quite know why but it felt more like a Doctor Who story than a Merlin story. It might have something to do with the fact there is less stuff about Merlin in it than normal. The beginning of this episode see the infamous moment with Sophie Aldred. It occurs when the glass cracks under the pressure of the water and as she is ‘ejected’ from the pod she is in fact being pulled out by members of the crew. It’s a rather worrying thought about what could have happened had Sylvester McCoy not told the crew to pull her out.

The sight of Ace coming out of the water with the sword is something that Aaronovitch must have thought of from the very beginning. It must have been quite hard to resist the temptation of having the Doctor appear with the sword. The first good thing that happens in this episode is how the snake thing is dealt with. I like that its Lethbridge-Stewart that saves the Doctor which isn’t the first time that’s happened. The first meeting of the two Brigadier’s is rather amusing though Bambera is the more active one. I suppose as she is the younger of the two, then it would make sense for her to be the one doing the shooting. Her comedy double act with Ancelyn is still quite amusing.

Morgaine does a wonderful job of being the strong threat that she is. I still think that Jean Marsh is fantastic. Firstly she stops a bullet and then grinds it into dust before killing Lavel and then resorting Elizabeth’s sight which is sending mixed signals in my opinion. If you want to come across as menacing then restoring someone’s sight isn’t the best thing to do. I think that the character Lavel was poorly served in this episode, she was quite good in the scenes with Lethbridge-Stewart so it seemed rather sad that she suffered such a disappointing death.

This episode marks the return of Bessie although I don’t think that this story really merited this. They even went to the trouble of changing the licence plate to WHO 7.

The best scene comes when the Doctor storms in between Ancelyn and Mordred. I don’t think that I have seen Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor be like this before. He has got close but never like this. It’s a great moment for McCoy. Despite nearly being killed, Sophie Aldred does a good job in this episode despite being asked to stand inside a chalk circle. I could still see Shou Yuing as a companion and that’s mainly due to her interaction with Ace.

The Destroyer is a very impressive creation. The mask is one of the finest that I can remember seeing in the show. I liked that we didn’t see it properly until the end because at first all we see is the silhouette and so the build up to what it looks like is done well. The revelation is a good cliffhanger and I am slowly starting to like this story much more than I use to.

(683) Battlefield - Part 2

After appearing to not get that he was Merlin in the previous episode, he is acting like its true in an attempt to fool Mordred. Later on there is an inscription in the ground which the Doctor says he put there. This is more implication that he has a secret identity. I don’t know whether I completely buy the whole idea that the Doctor could be Merlin. This is probably what is going to stop me from totally embracing the story. But as was shown in Remembrance of the Daleks, Ben Aaronovitch can write a good story so there is going to be enough on screen to maintain my interest.

Something that stood out from this episode is that it doesn’t waste anytime in getting going. It starts quickly and doesn’t really stop until the very end of the episode. Another thing that stood out to me is the humour that I don’t remember noticing in the past. There is a nice bit of comedy coming from Bambera and Ancelyn. This seems like Aaronvitch’s nod to Robert Holmes because this is an amusing double act.

Lethbridge-Stewart starts the episode in the helicopter and makes the oh so hilarious joke asking the pilot whether Bambera is a good chap. Lethbridge-Stewart does start the episode appearing to be an old fossil which isn’t how the Brigadier should be portrayed. Ok so I don’t expect him to be like he was during the Pertwee era but he should have been written better than this. I didn’t mention in yesterdays entry that it had been 80 episodes since Nicholas Courtney had last appeared in Doctor Who. After the helicopter has crashed, Lethbridge-Stewart encounters Morgaine and that is about all that he does in the episode. Morgaine (Jean Marsh) gets to become involved in the story and one of the first things she does is to shoot down Lethbridge-Stewart’s helicopter. She might not appear to be a nice person but there is one scene where she has a go at Mordred for dishonouring people. I found it amusing where Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney face each other because of course they played brother and sister in The Daleks Master Plan.

The Doctor and Ace find themselves underground and the sets used are very impressive because the lighting is rather low. They walk into a room where Arthur from another dimension and Ace pulls the sword out (sigh). This leads a weird snake like thing following them around the room. This story is somewhat infamous because of one scene where there is an accident that happens at the end of the episode where Ace walks into a tank and it is filling up with water (more on the accident in the next episode) but as a cliffhanger its rather good because there is no clear way of Ace being rescued because the Doctor is knocked out. I have commented on how I don’t like it when the regulars are put in peril because they are always going to be ok in the next episode but I think that this is a rather good cliffhanger and if I were watching in 1989 then I would have definelty tuned in for the next episode.

This has been a strong episode with the best thing being that Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney get into the story and more screentime. There are still things that I like about this story but I still think that things won’t go well for much longer. That pessimism isn’t a great as it was at the end of the previous review but it’s still there. As for ratings, this story is currently the fourth best McCoy story.

 

(682) Battlefield - Part 1

Battlefield marks the beginning of the final season in the classic era. The beginning of the end so to speak. If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you will know that I love stats and the gap between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth seasons is the shortest since the season fifteen and sixteen break. That’s 245 days if you’re interested. Back to the episode and this episode marks the final appearance of Nicholas Courtney in Doctor Who. No I am not counting the 1993 Dimension in Time special or the 2008 Sarah Jane Adventures story. The Brigadier was last seen in the twentieth anniversary special and has now left UNIT.

Battlefield is another story that I think has a bit of a bad reputation. I for one have had many problems with this story over the years. Only watching it because it’s the last Brigadier story. I think that one of the problems that I have is all the business with the Doctor being Merlin or the suggestion of such a thing. This episode also sees the final TARDIS scene in the classic era and it’s very dimly lit which is what makes the scene atmospheric. The Doctor is in less than a humorous mood at the beginning of this episode. This is confirmed with the line of “It has a graveyard stench is which he gives when he looks at the UNIT site. Sylvester McCoy has really become very good as delivering.

When the Brigadier realises that the Doctor is around, you can almost see the sparkle in his eye. It really doesn’t take long for him to get back into his uniform. There is a nice scene between him and Doris where she basically says that he cares more about playing soldier than the home they have. It’s weird seeing the Brigadier’s wife Doris. After years and years of her name been mentioned it’s nice to be able to put a face to the name.

It would be wrong of me not to mention the return of Jean Marsh who played Sara Kingdom in The Daleks Master Plan in 1965. We don’t see much of her sadly but I think she is such a good actress that even when she is just a face on a screen she can act just as good as everyone else. Angela Bruce has the unenviable task of playing the new Brigadier. Although she is sharing the role later on she is the one in charge and I think that she does a sound job in this episode. I like how she uses the word shame to clearly hide an expletive that couldn’t be used even when everyone is watching Corrie. Ling Tai plays Shou Yuing who for all intents a purposes seems to be a ready-made companion. She gets on well with Ace from the get go, has the same attitude and she has very good on screen presence.

The cliffhanger is quite good as it comes after an intriguing scene about the Doctor being thought of as Merlin.  Overall it’s a perfectly good opening episode. There is plenty to like but I get the feeling that things wont keep going well for long. Maybe that’s the pessimist in me but time will tell.

 

(681) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Part 4

Today’s episode is the final episode of the season but due to scheduling problems it is the first episode of 1989 which is the final year of the original run. Ratings wise, this was watched by 1.7 million more than had watched the previous episodes on December 28. There is more plot development in the first couple of minutes of this episode than there has been in the previous three episodes. The thing that has worked quite well is that director Alan Wearing has done a relatively good job in keeping me distracted from the fact that nothing substantial has been happening.

The family finally show us what they are really about. They are actually the Gods of Ragnarok who are visually very impressive and are made out of rock (obviously). All they want is to be entertained and the Doctor does several tricks to try and amuse them and it’s extraordinary that this is happening in the final episode. One thing I don’t like about this section is the incredible number of rolling r’s that the Doctor uses. I must say that I am slightly disappointed with what happened here. After waiting for a long time for this encounter, it seemed that this was just a bit of padding which again is odd considering that it’s the final episode.

Captain Cook has been the unexpected star of the episode because he is just superb from the very beginning. There was always something fun every time he was on screen. Even when he was being horrible to people there was something to enjoy about him and T.P. McKenna has been a very good piece of casting. That’s not to say that Jessica Martin (Mags) and Ian Reddington (Chief Clown) haven’t been just as good but in this episode I thought that the Captain was the stronger of this trio.

The performances from the regular have been quite good although neither have been particularly outstanding. That is probably harsh bearing in mind that Sylvester McCoy does do his magic trick routine well and if Britains Got Talent were around in 1988 then he wouldn’t get buzzed by Simon Cowell.

The explosion that happens as the Doctor leaves the tent is fantastic and its made even better when you take into consideration that McCoy doesn’t flinch. It kind of makes up for the disappointment of the Ragnarok/Doctor encounter. The ending is quite nice because it sees Kingpin and Mags going off to set up a new circus. All’s well that ends well and I haven’t hated the last four episodes as much as I was expected. I thought that there were good things but there is something in it that I find underwhelming. Despite my reservations it was a good ending to what has been a vastly improved series and I think that the show in back going in the right direction.

(680) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Part 3

Today is a very important day in Doctor Who fandom (not that you need reminding of course). 10 years ago today the show that seemed dead and buried returned. I remember going to my friend’s house somewhat nervous about what I was about to see. Little did anyone know that the show would go on the journey that it has done since then. I would watch Rose today to celebrate but I must stay strict and watch it in the correct order.

The episode doesn’t start in a particularly good way as it takes several minutes to get going. It seems slightly odd that in the penultimate episode of the story that things are moving a bit more quickly. The thing that does seem to happen early on in the episode is that the clowns seem to be more in the story than before. There is something quite good about these clowns and something that does back up the theory that clowns are creepy.

The writing hasn’t been particularly strong because there wasn’t anything that really stood out in terms of dialogue. The leading stars don’t really do anything that has been on the same level as has been seen during this season.

For the first time all of the supporting performances were quite good. Mags is starting to change into a werewolf. It hasn’t really been suggested up until this episode that she may be a werewolf. It’s alluded to at the beginning of the episode but doesn’t really get addressed until the very end of the episode where it forms part of the cliffhanger. The cliffhanger is rather good and it’s the strongest one so far. There are some good scenes between Ace and Bellboy which suggests that a romance could have possible. I have underrated Christopher Guard’s performance as Bellboy because he really showed me in this episode how good he is. The performance from Chris Jury as Deadbeat was another good one because there is something slightly unnerving. The Captain continues being totally unlikeable by letting the geek to go and perform before him. At least the geek go to explain how he came to be there. When he enters the ring to do his performance he walks in with a cocky attitude. I really couldn’t wait for him to be wiped out by the family. The family spend a long time sitting bored as no one is put in front of them. The three people that play the mother, father and the child are quite chilling and I think that they would have been quite an effective villain. Ian Reddington continues to impress so I won’t say much more cause I have spent two episodes praising him.

Things are building up nicely. I don’t know exactly what to but I think that the story is starting to get going. I still think that this is one of the stories that should have been put in the three episode slot because there isn’t enough to fil four episodes. There was a lot of not very much happening. It took a long time for the episode to get going and took even longer for someone to appear in the ring.

(679) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Part 2

This episode was broadcast just before Christmas 1988, its hardly the most christmassey episode that there has ever been but after not enjoying the previous episode a great deal it was nice to know that things improve greatly in this episode. I still maintain that the cliffhanger from the previous episode is appalling bad. However its all forgotten when the Chief Clown suddenly appears and convinces the Doctor and Ace to enter the Circus tent.

I like how there is a bit more information about the Psychic Circus when Morgana talks about how the Circus went from place to place but have made home on Segonax and is then stopped from saying by who. This means that they suddenly become good guys because they are being repressed by a mystical force and also by the Chief Clown. There is something odd about the family that are just sitting in the stands of the circus. Obviously I know their involvement in the story but there is a nice mystery about them.

The Doctor gets handpicked by the Ringmaster and it’s clear that it’s a trick. There are moment where the Doctor knows that something is going on and is letting himself been manipulated so that he can get to the centre of it. The manipulative Doctor starts to show more of itself in this serial and in this episode. He wants to meet the people but doesn’t say so although his face tells us this. McCoy really starts to own the role in this season and its this aspect of the character that he seems to thrive in.

The geek that was annoying in the previous episode is still annoying in this episode and it’s explained that he has come of his own choice but it’s not clear whether this is a known thing on earth and who told him about it. He gets to perform in the circus much to his shock. I am happy about this because that this means his time on the show is going to be shorter. Another character that bugged me in the previous episode Nord is also back in this episode but I didn’t find him annoying, it seems that the reigning in happened between episode although he doesn’t last long as he’s killed in the centre of the circus.

The tent set is very good and I think that lends something that wouldn’t have been achievable in a studio set. None of the interior sets are spacious and all of them mean that the characters are all up close and personal. I even like the exterior filming (although I didn’t mention in the previous episodes review), it helps that they were filming during lovely weather as this makes the quarry filming not seem like it was filmed in the endless number of quarries that the show has visited over the previous twenty-five years.

The cliffhanger is much better than the previous one and as a whole the episode is much better than the opening one. The writing is stronger and the performances are much better. It’s funny to think about the production problems that the show was having during this time and if you didn’t know this then you would be able to tell on screen because the whole thing works. The rating for this episode is back in the sevens and the average rating for the story is in the sevens although its still one of the lowest rated McCoy stories. Half way through and the story itself is still something that is puzzling me because again there are things that quite good but its still not a great story. I worry that the next two episodes wont really change anything but maybe I will be proved wrong.

(678) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - Part 1

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is one of those stories that I cant make my mind up about. On the one hand there are things that are quite good but then there is something that bugs me about this story. This is a story that was mainly filmed in a carpark due to asbestos being found in a BBC studio. Stephen Wyatt returns to writing duties having penned the previous season’s Paradise Towers. There were interesting things about that story so its perfectly plausible that the same could happen in this adventure.

I think one of the first problems that I have is with Nord who from the moment he appears on screen is rather annoying. It’s largely down to Daniel Peacock’s performance because I think that it could have been reigned back. I have recently watched Peacock in an episode of Only Fools and Horses and he is playing pretty much the same character (minus the bat helmet) so I don’t find the character to be interesting. Another problem is the fanboy that appears to be a rip on Doctor Who fans. Even if there is an argument that it’s not a fan, I think that it’s just another annoying character. The character just doesn’t make any sense in the context of the story and there is no explanation as to where he has come from.

There are good things that work in this episode. One of the successes of this story is that of the Chief Clown who is played superbly by Ian Reddington. There is something very chilling from the moment that he appears on screen. He doesn’t say much with his mouth but his face and hands do all the talking and that is what makes the character so good. I like the idea that he is travelling around in a hearse because there is quite dark and sinister about that and the whole imagery works. I do like the Stallslady because I think there is something lovely about her. She seems to be the only one in the entire piece that it talking sense.

Captain Cook (T.P. McKenna) and Mags (Jessica Martin) are two interesting characters. There is something weird about the Captain but Mags is more normal and she is the one that I find less annoying. There is something interesting about Mags and she is one of those characters that could easily have found her way inside the TARDIS.

This is one of the final stories to feature the interior of the TARDIS. It still doesn’t seem right for some reason that the Seventh Doctor has any TARDIS interior scenes. The purpose of this scene is lure the Doctor and Ace to Segonax. Bearing in mind that Ace doesn’t like clowns it seems somewhat cruel of the Doctor to try and persuade Ace that it would be nice to visit the Psychic Circus.

The cliffhanger is terrible. I don’t think that I have seen a worse end to an episode. Even the cliffhanger where the Doctor is hanging off a cliff is better than this one. Ace’s reluctance to enter the Psychic Circus would not be enough to make me tune in the next week. I still have my reservations about this story but have the feeling that something may make me like the next three episodes. Sadly my rating for this episode is 6.97 which is the first time since episode three of Delta and the Bannermen but that’s only because the cliffhanger got 4/10.

(677) Silver Nemesis - Part 3

With the season only being fourteen episodes long, it means that there are two four part stories and two three part stories and sadly Silver Nemesis is one of the three part adventures. I think that the four part slot given to The Greatest Show in the Galaxy should have been swapped with this story.

There is a nice scene early on where Ace admits that she’s scared and the Doctor apologises. What is weird though is how she then decides that she wants to carry on. Ace get to do quite a lot of action stuff in this episode. She spends a good portion running away from a Cyberman with the worst aim in history. There is a nice panning shot where the camera follows Ace along a gantry. There are a couple of good directing shots. Chris Clough has directed these three episodes really well and to give him credit he always directs his stories well and strives to go that extra mile even if things don’t work out as he would have liked.

When the Doctor arrives at the crypt of the statue with the Cybermen it’s a nice quick scene that seems to happen in one take and despite their being little room it is surprising when the Nemesis rises and explosions occur around her. Speaking of the statue/nemesis, it’s a good design and its use to destroy the Cyber fleet is a good use for the character although there is a lot of mystery about its co-operation with the Doctor. It’s a bit of a thankless task being the Silver Nemesis but it’s a good idea of Kevin Clarke’s and he has done a good job in writing a lot of things into just three episodes. I wish that he had written more stories

There is the beginning of a long term story arc where the Doctor is playing Chess. This is something that will be referred to in future stories. It doesn’t look like much at this point but the benefit of seeing all these stories before means that it’s quite a significant moment in the show. The question of who the Doctor is raised in this episode and begins the mystery of the character that Andrew Cartmel tried to bring back to the character. Peinforte knows the secret and threatens to tell Ace about the Doctor

Lady Peinforte and Richard try and hitch a lift and sadly they come across Mrs Remington who is an American cliché and it’s only worth it to see the look on Richards face when Mrs Remington tells her it took just 40 minutes to get from London. Its another instance of something being put in an episode when it doesn’t need to be there. I thought that Lady Peinforte’s death was quite good and considering that the Nemesis looked like her it made sense that they would end up as one. De Flores has been totally pointless in this episode. In fact he has been pointless in this entire story because Lady Peinforte has been entertaining and the Cybermen have been worthwhile as always but what has De Flores bought to the story.

The different journeys of De Flores, Lady Peinfote, the Doctor and the Cybermen meet up in the one place and it’s a very dramatic scene. The Cybermen haven’t felt like supporting monsters and were well used in this anniversary story.

The final scene takes place in 1638 with Richard with a bit of Lute playing with Ace asking just who the Doctor is with the Doctor responding with putting his finger against his lips. This episode has hurried along at a great pace but I think that it finished at the right point and I didn’t feel short changed. I don’t know whether Silver Nemesis is the greatest Cyberman story but it was an enjoyable story and that’s two stories out of three that I have enjoyed very much.

(676) Silver Nemesis - Part 2

The ratings (people who watched as opposed to what I gave out of 10) for this season haven’t been that bad. I mean they haven’t been great either but the first episode of this story was watched by 6.1 million people whereas the previous best was episode two of Remembrance which got 5.8 million. The average season ratings have been in the 5.3 million which is what this episode and the next episode got. Something else that I forgot to mention in yesterday’s review was that this is technically the 150^th story in Doctor Who although they clearly class the Trial of a Timelord as a single story (which I don’t)

The Cybermen really get involved in this episode after a blink and you’ll miss it appearance in the previous episode. They pretty much get their backsides kicked by De Flores at first but then gain control of the Silver Nemesis. The Cybermen seem to be quite good as comedy because the Leader believes that Peinforte is going to go mad and when she reacts badly (not madly) then one of the Cybermen asks the leader if this is a sign of madness in what I thought was clearly a comedic line.

De Flores tries to form an alliance with the Cybermen and its rather tiresome seeing humans think that they can work with the Cybermen and in effect control them. It’s a trick that started with Eric Kleig in Tomb of the Cybermen back in 1967. There is an interesting bit where Lady Peinforte and Richard are followed through Windsor by two skinheads which were common place in the 1980’s. The one of them thinks that Peinforte and Richard are social workers. They are quite clearly stupid skinheads. There is a funny moment where Richard looks at some Llama’s and is terrified by them.  

The Doctor and Ace are doing more travelling as they get back in the TARDIS and do a lot of walking afterwards. I like the bit where Ace blows up the ship and the guards were then killed and her reaction is really good as she clearly takes responsibility for their deaths despite the Doctor’s reassurances that they were dead already.

There is a scene towards the end where the Doctor attempts to try and link its arrival near/on earth with terrible events in history during the 20^th century. It’s first appearance was in 1913 the year before the first world war, the next time was in 1938 which was the year when Hitler annexes Austria and then it arrived in 1963 which was the year Kenned was assassinated. The last two of these points were valid but it’s hard to think that in one instance something bad happened the year after it arrived whereas the other times it arrived in the same year.

The cliffhanger is the reveal that there are thousands of Cyber War Ships in space which have been hidden. I quite like this also it doesn’t quite have the impact that the previous cliffhanger did. The whole episode is pretty much like the previous one and that it has a lot of things going on and manages to keep it going very well. It’s not the greatest Cyberman story but it feels a bit more of a modern day Doctor Who story