The Three Doctors - Episode 4

The final episode of this anniversary story comes at the end of what feels like a rather short story. Bob Baker and Dave Martin have written the best story of their careers in Doctor Who so far and I think that Lennie Mayne has directed the story very well and managed to maintain the egos very well. The story has to deliver in this final episode and never has a final episode of a story mattered more than here.

William Hartnell makes his last appearance in a Doctor Who episode and he’s saved the best until last. I know that I have been rather harsh about the point of Hartnell’s involvement given that he’s very unwell but when you think about the early days of the show and how he dominated the screen at times, it’s a shame to see how he has been reduced to effectively a bit part. His final scene was short but sweet and he would pass away just over two years later. Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton are both on fine form during this episode and deserve to take equal billing. I had forgotten about how funny Patrick Troughton could be and that is one of things that I have enjoyed about this story. Jon Pertwee has also been good in this story showing how different his version of the Timelord has been from his predecessors.

Considering she fell down the pecking order slightly, Katy Manning still gives a very strong performance and does stand in the background and is very much involved in the story. Even John Levene is getting more of the story than he would normally have done. He seems to have fallen into the role of what Jamie would have done had he not been stuck on Emmerdale Farm. Levene doesn’t do the action stuff like what Frazer Hines use to do but still gets stuck in.

Omega continues to be quite impress and there is a good special effect that occurs during this episode when his mask/helmet is removed, it shows nothing and there is a nice use of CSO to show Omega raising his helmet with both Doctors still in shot. Omega becomes even more unbalanced and I always think that an effective unbalanced individual is always worth watching.

The scene where they all walk through the singularity point is a good scene because it feels like the end. The way that the Brigadier leaves them is perhaps the nicest end because they all think that the Doctors will stay with Omega forever. It might have been obvious to people that the Doctors weren’t going to be stuck with Omega for long and so it was going to be interesting to see how they would get free and it was perhaps rather a simple way but it was still good to watch and was effective enough to be done quickly and tie up that particular loose end just before the story ended.

This episode sees the Doctor given his freedom and for the first time since ‘The War Games’ he is allowed to travel in his TARDIS and go wherever he wants. This fact would have meant a bit more had the Doctor not done a few stories on other worlds. Ok they were at the beck and call of the Timelords but the fact that the Doctor has the freedom now isn’t the thing that comes to mind when this moment occurs. The episode ends the serial rather well and it feels like this episode has a lot packed into just twenty-five minutes. I never got bored and never found anyone annoying and I think that this episode was the best of the four. With the show now going to feature more other world adventures, it means that this is the beginning of the end for UNIT and the Brigadier, Benton and Yates aren’t going to feature in it as much as they use to and that’s a shame but the success of the show is made on continuous change. I think that ‘The Three Doctor’s is a wonderful celebration to the show and as the show enters its second decade, there is a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to. The show has never been in better shape.

The Three Doctors - Episode 3

A few stats again to start this entry. This is Jon Pertwee’s 79^th episode as the Doctor with William Hartnell appearing in his 132^nd and Patrick Troughton appearing in his 120^th. There now I can get on with the episode. The episode now moves from Earth to wherever they have landed now. It’s inevitable that the show moves to a quarry but for some reason it works quite well and the location filming (mainly around the entrance to Omega’s base) is done well and Lennie Mayne did well.

This is the episode where Omega is introduced. His introduction is fairly impressive and its quite quick before we find out that he is determined to get revenge. Omega is the one that invented Time Travel but paid the ultimate price which would explain why he’s gone a bit bat poo crazy. I commented that Pertwee didn’t really have much involvement in the previous episode but he more than makes up for it in this episode. The first several minutes are the Doctor talking to Omega and every so often it Jo and Tyler. The action then moves to Troughton’s Doctor along with the Brigadier and Benton. All the stuff with the Brigadier is funny and is continuing to have fun with it. Benton does feel like he’s just making up the numbers. Omega is well realised and that’s done due to Stephen Thorne’s performance. He was really good as Azal in ‘The Deamons’ and here he uses his height to be very imposing and everytime he’s on screen he is brilliant.

The bickering between Troughton and Pertwee’s Doctor is fun to watch and normally would be something of great annoyance but on this occasion it works really well. What works better is when they seem to be getting on. Hartnell’s involvement again comes at the end of the episode except with the Second and Third Doctors otherwise engaged, it means that Billy Hartnell has to interact with the Timelords and this marks a first for his Doctor.

The episode seems to go in a strangeness that I haven’t seen before in Doctor Who. The Third Doctor is battling inside Omega’s mind. The episode ends with the Doctor being held in some sort of wrestling move with Omega taunting him. It’s a strange ending so I can’t decide whether it’s a good cliffhanger or not. It’s certainly not boring and the story is maintaining my interest.

The Three Doctors - Episode 2

The second episode of this story continues this anniversary adventure and the thing that I didn’t mention about the previous episode is that it aired on December 30^th 1972 and so if you were being pedantic you could argue it wasn’t an anniversary episode whereas this episode actually aired on January 6^th 1973 so aired in the anniversary year.

The initial moments of the episode with Troughton’s Doctor and Benton felt like a blast from the past even though they didn’t have many (if any) scenes together the last time they were together back in ‘The Invasion’. The look on the Brigadier’s face when he first sees Troughton’s Doctor is priceless. You can always rely on Courtney to give us the best. I like how the Brigadier doesn’t care what the Doctor looks like as long as he’s there. Courtney was probably the best person in this episode as he had some of the best lines. Troughton came a close second but I think that Courtney is making the most of the situation.

Despite being the current Doctor, Jon Pertwee doesn’t feel like the most important of the three. Despite appearing already, its six minutes before Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning actually contribute to the story. Once the episode gets going, his presence is greater. The problem is that with this being a multi-doctor special it does feel like Pertwee is being kept busy until Troughton turns up. This is the first time that Pertwee has felt like anything but the main star. Troughton is on fine form again. From the moment he meets the Brigadier for the first time to the look on his face when the Brigadier tells UNIT personnel that he’s the Doctor’s assistant, Troughton doesn’t put a foot wrong.

Lethbridge Stewart gets to go inside the TARDIS for the first time ever. It’s another priceless shot. It’s better than Benton’s astonished face in the previous episode. I also like how he gets more agitated the longer he is in the TARDIS. Some people would get freaked out by being in that position but as the Brigadier is suppose to show no fear so he just does what most people in his position would do and that is shriek until he gets his/her own way.

Hartnell’s involvement was marginal but yet it was important. I am still in two minds about whether his involvement is the right thing for the best interests of the story. I suppose if your going to have him in the story then it should count and they should get the best out of the situation which is something that Bob Baker and Dave Martin do well.

The cliffhanger was bonkers. Bonkers in a good way mind but still bonkers. The sight of UNIT HQ going through the black hole is something that shows that 1970’s Doctor Who had some cracking moments which could rival new Who. This is a feel that this is an anniversary story because it still doesn’t feel like a standard Doctor Who story. That’s not a critiscm by the way but more of an observation. I am still enjoying this story very much indeed and think that the best is yet to come.

The Three Doctors - Episode 1

Today I start on the 10^th season of Doctor Who and the first story of that anniversary season is the first multi-Doctor story. It’s the first time for a long time that I have wanted work to be over as quickly as possible so I could start this part of the marathon. This is the first time since ‘The Tenth Planet’ that William Hartnell has appeared in a Doctor Who episode (last seen on September 26^th) and it’s the first time since ‘The War Games’ that Patrick Troughton has appeared in Doctor Who (January 23^rd). The story sees us return to the Gallifrey for the first significant scene since Patrick Troughton’s last story. This is by way of introducing Hartnell and Troughton.

As Troughton hadn’t really been gone that long, it seems quite easy for him to get back into the character and from the very moment that he appears in the story he is fantastic. He hasn’t missed a beat. The lack of Jamie means that the recorder becomes his companion and it’s a nice reminder to the early days of Troughton’s time. In an anniversary story, its only right that there are little nods to the past. Sadly William Hartnell’s involvement in this story is perhaps a burning issue in this story. He was too ill to take part in the story to the extent that Troughton and Pertwee were. The scene where all three of them are talking to each other and Hartnell’s Doctor is yelling at the other two is a fun scene. That’s why I’m have mixed feeling with Hartnell’s involvement because he’s not in it enough to feel like a proper part of the story yet when he is in it he’s still magnificent.

There are two effects used here that don’t entirely work and that’s the psychedelic blob and a sort of white sphere. It’s used to take Mr Ollis, Doctor Tyler, Bessie. Another rather poorly realised thing are the Gellguards. They look stupid and they walk at a ridiculous speed and yet still manage to get past a group on UNIT soldiers. There is a good x-ray picture which is used to show Ollis’ face.  I love the line that the Brigadier gives about UNIT being a top secret organisation yet about five minutes later the Doctor and Jo drive past a UNIT signpost with the Brigadiers name on it. Not terribly top secret.

It’s a cracking opening episode and in some ways it doesn’t feel like a normal Doctor Who story. It feels like after the last few stories, that this is a sort of light hearted adventure that doesn’t really have the seriousness that a normal story would have. All the performances are fun and it feels like a fun adventure with more fun to come. I feel like I have a renewed enjoyment to watching Doctor Who and I would like to think that this is a new strong period of Doctor Who but I suppose only time will tell.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 4

Well the moment has been prepared for. This is the 134^th and final episode with William Hartnell as the Doctor. Sadly this is the final episode and it no longer exists so before we get the animated episode on DVD we get a mix of existing footage and telesnaps. After being away for the previous episode, William Hartnell returns for his final episode. There is a nice mention in his first scene where he talks about ‘this old body wearing a bit thin’. General Cutler is boarding on maniac. The desperation for getting his son down is quite fun to watch. He’s not interested in the Cybermen invading but is more concerned with his son’s rocket.  It’s a great little scene where Cutler is blaming the Doctor for his son’s death even though its not official. Sadly Cutler is killed and it’s a shame but I suspect that with everything going on he would have just been getting in the way.

The Cybermen make a welcome return and there’s a nice moment where the Doctor tries to negotiate with the Cybermen in trying to live on Earth in peace. They are more concerned with the rocket and the next portion of the episode is focusing on the rocket and disarming the warhead. Polly has suffered in the last couple of episodes and she has been reduced to being taken as a sort of hostage. Her purpose in this episode seems to be interacting with the Doctor. Ben helps Barclay to try and disarm the warhead and he comes up with a plan and uses his intelligence to try and defeat the Cyberman that is standing outside. The thing about this part of the episode is that despite showing that Ben is quite good at putting plans together, it feels like this area drags on a bit.

The episode benefits from the telesnaps and also the captions that run at the bottom of screen. It does its best but I don’t really pay much attention to the caption as the plot was quite entertaining.

William Hartnell’s final few scenes are quite sad to watch. It’s unclear how much acting is going on and its weird to think that this is the same William Hartnell who was the cranky grandfather figure that we met in that Junkyard. The regeneration is quite a mesmerising one it’s the build up to its that quite interesting. The way that the transition from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton  was achieved was very good and works effectively even 47 years after it was done.

The way that the Cybermen are defeated is a bit odd. It’s got nothing to do with the Doctor’s involvement. Mondas’ destruction is solely of its own doing and its only by nothing being done on Earth that meant that Mondas was destroyed. The story is written so that the Doctor isn’t involved as much as he normally would be and its probably because Anneke Wills and Michael Craze that make you realise that the Doctor’s involvement is pretty small. It’s a weird episode to try and review because of what happens. It’s not a normal season finale or final episode of a story. It’s the end of the first era of the show. It’s a shame that the Hartnell era is over. It’s been quite an enjoyable ride since the very first episode way back with An Unearthly Child. As a story, it’s a great first story for the Cybermen and the whole under siege base format makes the story much more claustrophobic and enjoyable. A brilliant way to end the Hartnell era.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 3

The penultimate episode in William Hartnell’s final story doesn’t feature in it as he told the production team via telegraph that he was too ill to attend. I think that the story manages to work around this as he was in the background in the previous episode anyway.  This is the final episode in the William Hartnell era to exist on video because the final episode doesn’t exist except in animated form. The plot of the episode is split into two. The first being the Cybermen invasion which is briefly shown at the begin at the episode and the second being the General’s attempt to get his son back.

The Z-Bomb is something that is very much of its period. Nowadays it would be a generic bomb or missle. However its effect seems to be just as big and when the General wants permission to use it and doesn’t get it he uses a technicality to get around this. I like how the General has gone slightly mad in this episode. It’s countered by Barclay who has become more likeable as the story has gone on and becomes an allie of Ben and Polly. He helps them come up with a way of stopping the Z-Bomb from being launched and rather predictably it falls to Ben to do it.

It’s 15 minutes into the episode before the Cybermen are heard from again and when they do we get the same walking across the horizon as we did in episode one but there are more of them and its looks just as good.  There is an ambush so their walk outside is somewhat cut short. The snowy set is rather more impressive in this episode. The Cybermen are somewhat on the side-lines in this episode which isn’t something that I’ve noticed before. The second half of the episode deals with the countdown to the launch of the Z-Bomb. There is a nice bit of tension when we see whether what Ben has done is enough to stop it and the countdown gets very close to lift-off. It’s a nice little cliffhanger which creates enough of an excuse to see what happens in the final episode.

It’s a solid enough episode especially when you consider that it doesn’t feature the Doctor and the Cybermen are somewhat conspicuous by their absence.  The story and the characters are good enough to make you forget those that aren’t in the episode. It’s building up nicely to what will be a fine finale to the end of an era in Doctor Who.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 2

The second episode is where we finally get to hear the Cybermen talk. After the great first glimpse at the end of the previous episode. It’s nearly five minutes before we get to hear them speak and it’s a great build up. It’s done with someone doing the voice off screen with the actor opening their mouth to try and time the words. Sadly this doesn’t quite work at times as the actor opens his mouth just a second after the speech starts. It’s the same problem that they have with the Daleks. There is a nice backstory as to what the Cybermen and where they have come from. It’s a short yet concise explanation and it fits the Cybermen well. The Cybermen instantly show their dominance over the humans by twisting a gun that Ben is holding like it’s a plastic prop. Oh wait a second!!

Ben gets to be quite resourceful when he is locked in a projector room. The moment is made even more dramatic when he has to kill a Cybermen and is horrified when he’s done it. He is the most active of the regulars in this episode as William Hartnell doesn’t really do anything apart from sit down. His involvement in this episode is somewhat limited. It’s a shame that in his final adventure he isn’t more active but that’s a fact of his illness and Anneke Wills also suffers from the same fate but at least she gets to stand up to the Cybermen for a short while.

The stakes get even more raised when General Cutler discovers that his son has been sent into space and the General thinks that his son has been sent on a death mission. This turns an amusing character into something quite different. The fun and humour has gone from him and we have someone who doesn’t care about anything else except for getting his son back.

The cliffhanger lacked the impact that the first one had. It was good but compared to episode one it was never going to be as good. As an episode it did its job very well and I thought that it was carried the story along well. Despite the Doctor being somewhat side-lined, the story continued well without (as many of the last half dozen stories have done) without him. I still think that the story uses all its positives well and I’m enjoying it immensely.

The Tenth Planet - Episode 1

It’s the end, but the moments been prepared for. This is the final story to feature William Hartnell as the lead man. It’s a story that also introduces the Cybermen to the world. Now this comes out on DVD in October (2013) and so all I have is a old copy on VHS so I was wait for this to come out but then decided against it. This is the period in Doctor Who where base under siege stories were commonplace. The story takes place in a base in the Antarctic and the claustrophobic setting is helped by the sound effect and the snowflakes. The story takes place twenty years in the future  and its good how they haven’t let their imaginations run wild when imagining what the future would be like.

Some of the people at the base do seem like they have come out of a Carry On movie with the Italian’s reaction to being told there is a woman outside verging on the slapstick. Thankfully after the initial arrival of the Doctor, Ben and Polly they are kept to a minimum. What we are then dealing with are some well realised characters. General Cutler is instantly entertaining. When the Doctor says that he doesn’t like his tone, the General replies with I don’t like your face or your hair. It’s a great line and it’s the start of one of the standout characters in the story. I like how the Doctor knows what they will see before they have seen it.  When the new planet is seen on a screen no one has clued that its basically the earth upside down. Someone has got a globe and spun it upside down.

The title is somewhat out of date because in 2006 it was decided that Pluto wasn’t a planet so Mondas is actually the 9^th planet and not the tenth.  However this is irrelevant and the Tenth Planet title isn’t mentioned at all during the story so

The final portion of this episode is brilliant. The sight of the Cybermen walking over the horizon towards the TARDIS is a fantastic shot and also the final shot for the cliffhanger is one of my favourite in Doctor Who. I love the look of this Cyberman and think it’s the best one ever. I know everyone will disagree but if you don’t think that this Cybermen has the best design then I’m sorry but your 100% wrong.  This opening episode has a different feel to previous episode and I don’t know whether those who watched in 1966 could tell that the end was going to come in this episode but as it stands it’s a cracking opening episode with great characters and the rest of the story is going to be a good send off to the original Doctor.

The Smugglers - Episode 4

Ok lets just get through this as best as we can. It’s not been a particularly enjoyable experience having to sit through the past three episodes even though the opening episode has been the highlight.  Sadly the same things happen in this episode as they did in the previous two, there’s a lot of people in west country accents threatening each other.  There did seem a bit more in terms of plot but I would be lying if I said that I knew or even cared what the plot was. I think that there is a clear reason why historical stories have gone off the boil recently. Apart from The Aztecs there haven’t been many historical adventures which have really worked for me.

Lets look at the positives. I think that William Hartnell still delivers a strong performance even though he must have been really unwell at this stage. It’s a testiment to his professionalism that he manages to perform when he must have felt that the show wasn’t quite the same as when he started. No William Russell, No Jacqueline Hill and no Carole Ann Ford. Anneke Wills and Michael Craze continue to impress and I think that they will suit Patrick Troughton’s Doctor more than William Hartnell’s.

At the end of the episode, Polly asks the Doctor where they are going and the Doctor admits that he has no control over the ship which is the opposite of what he would have said just a few seasons ago. It’s surprising as we approach the final Hartnell story that just how much the show and the Doctor has changed since that opening episode back in November 1963. Sadly I must admit that this episode along with this whole story is a poor one. It’s not just that its only on audio but its more that there isn’t much of a story and the first story of the fourth season is of the same standard as the opening of the first story of the previous season. However the end is coming and the moment has been prepared for.

The Smugglers - Episode 3

Ok so after a good start, the story has dipped somewhat in terms of quality. Here’s hoping that the story gets back on track. It does have a promising start as Ben and Polly are accused of being a smuggler and its clear that they are being framed. The Doctor starts the episode pretending to read cards. Sadly despite this good start it goes back to being a generic historical story with fairly generic characters. It’s another episode where I run out of interesting things to say as I don’t have anything to say about it except that it seems like there is something resembling a plot is working its way into it. Something that I didn’t notice before really in the previous two episodes is Anneke Wills’ narration. I have been so use to Peter Purves’ narration and think that whilst I think that Purves’ narration is better, there is something about the way that Anneke Wills delivers the links is rather charming and I could listen to more of it and I do when I listen to the Companion Chronicle adventures that she has done in the past.

The Squire is finally becoming a good villain and I’m sure he’s the same bloke who appears in The Mutants (1972) and I’m also sure he played a villain in that one. He’s a good piece of casting but sadly the rest of the characters are pretty much your typical characters from this period. The fact that this isn’t on video is really hampering my enjoyment as I think that one of the few saving graces of ‘The Gunfighters’ is that you can see what they are doing and so at least its fun to look at. Here there isn’t any of that which is a shame. It’s a better episode the number 2 buts that only because it starts quite well before calming down a lot. Don’t think that the final episode is going to be much to impress me.

The Smugglers - Episode 2

The next part of this story starts off with the reprise of a mediocre cliffhanger.

The first scene with Ben and Polly was a mixture of amusing, Polly starts off by being scarred of rats and then uses the logic that as they are in a time when magic is seen as a sign of being a witch. Ben and Polly spend the episode trying to find the Doctor and after spending a long time looking for him they decide to go back to the TARDIS. Ian and Barbara wouldn’t have done this and its not a great moment for Ben and Polly.

William Hartnell seems to have fallen back in the habit of sitting down and not doing a great deal. It’s a shame really after several episodes of being mobile. I don’t really remember much involvement from Hartnell in this story. It’s Anneke Wills and Michael Craze who are the more active and it does seem like were back with what Peter Purves was doing for most of his time on the show. Luckily I am liking Anneke Wills and Michael Craze and think that they are doing well in the show even though its been said that Hartnell wasn’t so keen on Wills and Craze being on the show due to them being too young but not sure whether that’s true.

I have given up on this story really because there isn’t much going on. There are a bunch of smugglers trying to cover up a murder and that’s it really. There aren’t any interesting character any it seems like the good start that the first episode had managed to come up with has been ruined because it’s not a great idea and I’m struggling to come up with anything to say about this so its going to be another short entry, hopefully the next episode will be much better because it needs something to try and restore my faith in this story because apart from the combination of Ben and Polly there isn’t much to write about in this story.

The Smugglers - Episode 1

The Smugglers is the first story in the fourth series. It’s the beginning of the end as far as William Hartnell is concerned. The story picks up after the events of the War Machines and its good how the Doctor is angry when he discovers Ben and Polly in the TARDIS. The mood quickly changes when the TARDIS lands and he finds himself amused when Ben and Polly think that they are still in 1966. It drags on a bit but it’s the inevitable routine when someone joins the show. It’s quite funny how Polly is taken as a boy due to the way that she is dressed. The first 10 minutes or so are taken up with quite dull interaction. The Warden gets his injury dealt with and the regulars are on their way. The problem with this story is that not only does it not exist on video but that it’s a historical story that doesn’t actually have a dramatic moment to build up to. In effect it’s a different type of historical to what we have had in the past.

The central performances are all quite good. It’s nice to see a bit of the old cranky Doctor at the beginning of the episode and it shows how he’s mellowed when he’s chuckling to himself. It’s good to see how two people who are from the swinging sixties cope with being wrenched out of their period in time. Anneke Wills and Michael Craze do well in their first proper story and seem to interact well with each other and with the people that they encounter even if the locals are a bit clichéd.

There seems to be a nice moment (I use the word nice in the loosest sense) where there is quite a physical altercation where one person gets killed. It’s a shame that its not on video because I think that this story would work better on video. Sadly the story is just a bunch of people in West Country accents and its like a cheap prelude to Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s a perfectly fine opening episode and it’s a much better opening season episode that what we got with Galaxy 4. Sadly this is one of those stories that I’ve never been a big fan of and think that nothing will really make me change my mind.

The War Machines - Episode 4

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

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

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

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

The War Machines - Episode 3

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

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

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

The War Machines - Episode 2

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

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

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

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

The War Machines - Episode 1

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

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

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

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

The Savages - Episode 4

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

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

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

The Savages - Episode 3

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

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

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

The Savages - Episode 2

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

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

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

The Savages - Episode 1

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

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

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

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