(602) The Five Doctors

When the Three Doctors aired to celebrate the shows 10^th anniversary, it was done quite well and it had one simple premise with the three Doctors and a few of the regular companions. Fast forward 10 years and the show has progressed a lot since then. This episode got its world premiere on American TV and formed part of the BBC’s Children in Need night. There are a couple of problems before the story even starts and that Tom Baker isn’t in it because I imagine that as he only left two years before that enough time hadn’t passed by. Also William Hartnell had died eight years before so they decided to recast him with someone who looked like him.

The ‘episode’ starts off with a brief clip from The Dalek Invasion of Earth with the William Hartnell speech that he gives to Susan. It is almost as if they are highlighting the fact that the person that is playing the First Doctor isn’t the real one. In fact Richard Hurndall is the first of the Doctor to be picked up. Richard Hurndall does a fairly good job in what must have been an impossible postion to be put in. He was never going to convince us that he was trying to do William Hartnell but he does enough to make me appreciate that they tried to get around a problem in the best intended way possible.

The scoop effect is rather poor and looks a bit lazy really. Hurdnall’s happens when he is walking in a garden. The one with the second Doctor and the Brigadier is better. I think the one used for the special edition is much better but that’s with the advancement of about 25 years’ worth of technology.

The return of the Brigadier seems a lot better than in Mawdryn Undead. I like how he gets to spend most of his time with Patrick Troughton’s Doctor. The Brigadier is perhaps more associated with the third Doctor, I like how they work together on screen and I am reminded of such stories as The Invasion and The Web of Fear. The brief appearance of Jamie and Zoe is quite nice even if Zoe is wearing a bubble dress. Their appearance is rumbled when the Doctor reminds us that Jamie and Zoe had their minds erased which is true.

This episode sees the return David Saville to Doctor Who after playing Carstairs in The War Games. It was more of a cameo and I do wonder whether they realised this when they put him in but it was fun for the fans to watch. The “You’ve had this place redecorated….Dont like it!” seems to have become a bit of a running joke because it pops up in the 50^th Anniversary special.

Jon Pertwee is doing his action bit from the moment that he appears on screen. He has missed a beat since he left the show 221 episodes ago. The opening scene between the third Doctor and the Master is quite good because the Doctor is still very distrusting and even though Pertwee had some great chemistry with Roger Delgado’s Master. It seems that things don’t change even if the actor does.The Third Doctor gets to slide along a rope to get to the tower. There is no way that the other Doctors would do. Pertwee is just brilliant in this story and he gives it the same enthusiasm as he did when he was the main man. The brief reunion of the Third Doctor, Mike Yates and Liz Shaw is a good one that is used to keep the Doctor from progressing in the chamber. Sadly its ended with Liz doing a rather odd deliver of ‘stop him’.

Elisabeth Sladen returns to the show with K9. This is where people get confused because they assume that they were both together during Sarah Jane’s time on the show but it was only in the 1981 K9 special and this story that this happened. The reunion of the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane is slightly undermined by the Doctor trying to pull Sarah Jane up small incline. My back garden is steeper than the one in this scene.

There are clips from the transmitted story Shada used to at least have Tom Baker appear in the 20^th Anniversary. A plausible point is used to explain why the Fourth Doctor isn’t used in the story.

The Master’s first scene is quite good as the idea of the Doctor being requested by the Timelords is something that would have been expected and then the Master is left perplexed when he is asked to help the Doctor. After a while he does look like he wish he hadn’t bothered when he gets knocked by two Doctors. His plan to work with the Cybermen is quite clever and its clear that things aren’t going well in this partnership. He is going to use the Cybermen to his own ends but its clear that whilst he’s smarter than the Cybermen he still hasn’t got the nack of thinking his long term plans through. Sadly after a punch from the Brigadier, he is left to have a bit of a kip of the floor.

It doesn’t seem like Susan has really grown up in the 19 years since she left the Doctor. She manages to twist her ankle running along and it seems like we are back in 1964. She is then reduced to being stuck in the TARDIS with Turlough and this is a problem with this story and that there are too many companions and not enough for them to do.

The brief appearance of the Dalek is a bit of a shame really when you consider that the show wouldn’t have got to the 20^th year without the Daleks so they deserve a better role in this story. The first appearance of the Cybermen is very atmospheric. They get a better deal in this story. There is one shot when they are approaching the Fifth Doctor and the Master and Peter Moffatt did a great job with this. The Raston Robot is a brilliant creation and one that is used to superb effect. It’s a simple creature and one that doesn’t do a lot yet manages to create a lot of carnage. It’s attack on the Cybermen is one of the best scenes in this story. This sequence only last about a minute but is incredibly violent for a Doctor Who story.

I like the idea that the story takes place on Gallifrey as it seems right to use this setting for the 20^th Anniversary of the show. The Timelords are an interesting if yet flawed race and it seems quite obvious that they would do a treachery style story for Gallifrey. There is a scene which is funny to me. “No not the mind probe” is a line that Paul Jericho delivers quite well and yet everytime I hear it I find it amusing.

I like how the Doctors seem to be on their own individual storylines that over the course of the story start merging into one. The Fifth Doctor (you thought I had forgotten about him didn’t you!) seems to have been given the role of trying to figure out who the traitor to Gallifrey is. The traitor turns out to be the President. He has done this to get immortality. He has clearly gone mad because he’s gone from wearing white to black. This is the most important plot strand so its not surprising really that he gets to do this but it’s a shame that he stuck for an awfully long time waiting before he figures out that there is a spare room.

The three Doctors don’t meet until 20 minutes before the end which is perhaps the right way of doing things. Whilst the Doctors are working together, its nice to see the Brigadier, Sarah Jane Smith and Tegan. The big scene takes place in the tomb of Rassilon and whoever removes a ring gets immortality. If I have learnt one thing from TV, its that immortality isn’t a great as it sounds. The President gets his chance at immortality thanks to the first Doctor speaking up him even though the others said the opposite. He ends up being part of the tomb which must be a horrible way to live.

The final line about running away in an run down TARDIS away from his own people being “How it started” is a nice way to end this adventure. I am a little confused as to how I feel about this because on the one hand it was a nice story but on the other hand there are way too many characters in the piece and as a result it slightly makes the end result a little bit odd. I think that there are some good things in it and the running time is one of them. They could have done four 25 minute episodes but the feature length running time allows the story to progress at a nice pace and Terrance Dicks did a great job of writing a story and Peter Moffatt did an equally great job in directing.

To end this review I would just like to point out that there is just one season of Peter Davison’s era left. That has gone quick although there is one or two stories that I must endure before I get to arguably one of the finest stories in Doctor Who history, The Caves of Androzani.

(601) The Kings Demons - Part 2

This episode starts off with the reprise and its never made clear whether the other people in the banquet room know that Estram has changed into the Master. The King is revealed to be a fake King although he does make The Doctor a knight and also the kings champion. The problem with this episode is that I still feel like there is padding going on which for a two-parter. It takes quite a long time for the episode to actually find its feet.

Tegan is the one that is the voice of reason when she suggests that they should leave and yet it takes about another 20 minutes to do so. This episode sees the introduction of Kamelion and its at this point that the episode starts to pick up. If you thought I was negative about K9, trust me K9 is like one of the greatest ever compared to Kamelion. There is nothing good about the character and it was always ambitious to think that Kamelion would do anything of any note.

Turlough is move from one area to another and as a result doesn’t actually do anything. Tegan  spends a fair amount of time in the TARDIS. So they are just being kept busy which is a shame really.

The story is ended simply by the Doctor, Turlough, Tegan and Kamelion boarding the TARDIS. That’s it. That was worth two episodes? It has to be the worst two parter and Terrence Dudley’s track record continues to get worse. The next time that he will be see Kamelion is in Planet of Fire so it wasn’t going to be the most used companion.

This episode is a disappointing end to what has been largely a good season. I don’t know if I am being too harsh on Terrence Dudley but I can only go based on what was put on TV. Everyone is doing their best with what they are given. I thought that Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson & Anthony Ainley are triying their best to hide the shortcomings of the plot and also the creation of Kamelion. Oh well this story is thankfully out of the way and I am really looking forward to the 90 minute Doctor Who adventure which sees a lot of classic elements of the show bought back to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the show.

(600) The Kings Demons - Part 1

Todays episode is the 600^th episode of Doctor Who. It does Doctor Who returns to the two part adventure and this two parter also sees the series come to an unexpected end due to BBC strikes. This story sees the return of The Master and the introduction of Kamelion which is perhaps the worst companion since Dodo. The story takes place in 1215 where the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough meet the King who has been acting rather strangely. Terrance Dudley has managed to make nothing last 25 minutes which is quite an achievement. There doesn’t seem to be any real reason why the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough would stay in 1215 and yet they seem to willingly walk into trouble.

Anthony Ainley is playing Sir Giles Estram (or Master). It’s clear that its Ainley and so I think that its just fun then to watch him do the things that he does. His best moment comes when he has a sword fight with the Doctor. It’s a brief fight but it does lead to Estram revealing to be the Master and the Master delivers one of the finest lines in Doctor Who when he says that the Doctor has been so naive.

Janet Fielding is wearing a new (and perhaps more practical) costume than the one she has had to wear since Arc of Infinity. Sadly that is about as interesting as she is allowed to be in this story because there isn’t much to do she is just reduced to standing, watching and wrapping a massive blanket around her. Turlough doesn’t fair much better because wanders off and then is chained up. It’s fair to say that the Doctor has the best of times and that is perhaps being quite generous. There was one moment when he and Tegan are sitting at the banquet table and this sight did remind me of the Doctor and Adric sitting observing what was going on in Four to Doomsday. That perhaps should tell you a lot about my opinions of this episode when this is one of the most interesting moments that I could right about. That’s not strictly true because there was something else.  Like in Terrance Dudley’s previous script, this episode features something that isn’t often seen in Doctor Who and on this occasion its jousting which always seems a bit of a pointless sport.

The location filming is good and bearing in mind that this would have been recorded in the winter of 1982 there is a great sense that everyone is freezing cold and yet still manage to deliver the lines in a coherent way.  In a way this is just a stop gap until the 20^th Anniversary story. There was suppose to be a Dalek story that followed this story but obviously that would become Resurrection of the Daleks which forms part of season twenty-one. I haven’t really got much interest in this story and can be at least relieved that this is a two part story. There is no reason really for the Master to be in this story and that is pretty much all I can say about todays episode.

(599) Enlightenment - Part 4

So this the final episode of the Guardian Trilogy and it does have to do a lot because it has to finish the story but also finish off the trilogy in a way that is satisfactory and that is a lot of pressure for Barbara Clegg and I think that she manages to do it rather well. The episode starts off with the great reprise where Lynda Baron is talking to screen and its still impressive. I like how Wrack seems to hate the Doctor after just a short time and it’s the same level of hatred that the Master has for him and that one has been going on for a lifetime.

The relationship between Tegan and Marriner seems to take an odd twist which shouldn’t be a surprise considering how much this has been used in the story. Tegan thinks that Marriner is in love with her but he doesn’t know what love is. When he disappears its quite sad because I thought that the character was rather nice. Turlough goes through quite a manic period in this episode. There is one part where he talking to Wrack with his eyes wide open. It’s quite a uncomfortable moment.

Wrack’s plan of blowing up Striker’s ship with the gem is worked out in that way of being very close to the nick of time type thing. The Doctor smashes it thinking that it breaking it up would stop it but it just increased the power, now they just pick up the stuff but I wondered why they didn’t just pick the carpet up and take that outside. There is a bit where they are running around the same set trying to get up onto the deck but its clear that they are just going around the same set but I suppose it’s the restraints of the studio that means it is perhaps a bit silly.

The big scene between the Black and White Guardian is very good although the early stages of it are ruined by the sight of the stupid birds on the guardians heads. The surprise twists start with the Doctor being awarded Enlightenment but turns it down. Turlough is then offered part of it by the White Guardian. Turlough has to make the decision of which to give the Black Guardian, it’s either enlightenment or the Doctor and he chooses enlightenment which causes the Black Guardian to go up in a ball of flames. There is a hint that there would be a third outing but sadly that never happened on TV.

I like how the Doctor believes Turlough when he says he didn’t want the agreement in the first place. The Doctor has had to avoid being killed for twelve episodes and I think that it shows great character that he is willing to even go travelling with him. Now that Turlough is a proper companion that doesn’t have any secondary story and can now just be allowed to focus on the story. I think that the episode did what it needed to do and doesn’t use the entire episode to do this. The whole business with Turlough and enlightenment only goes on for about six or seven minutes and yet it doesn’t feel rushed. Barbara Clegg’s only contribution to Doctor Who is a good one and also Fiona Cumming has done a good job and the whole four episodes have been probably the best  of the season so far and watching the feature length version of this story is even better. Sadly I know that ‘The King’s Demons’ is coming up next. So at least this story will end up as story of the season.

 

(598) Enlightenment - Part 3

The penultimate episode of this story manages to make up for the lack of development that there was. At the end of the previous episode, Turlough decided to go overboard and what I was surprised with how much better it seemed. There seemed to be a bit more drama in it this time. The few moments when he is overboard is quite good but sadly the effects of Turlough being rescued don’t work entirely well. In fact it’s fair to say that Turlough doesn’t have the best of times in this episode. You could say that his chickens had come home to roost and so the predicament he finds himself in is of his own doing.

Lynda Baron finally makes an appearance as Wrack. She is the captain of the Buccaneer and her ship is the most interesting because Baron makes it seem the more fun. I like how Baron plays Wrack totally straight. Wrack is easily the best thing in the episode and I wish she had been in the story from the beginning. Wrack has been pulling the strings in the story without even being on screen. She is the one that has been handing out red gems like they are smarties and she does the same when she puts a gemstone in Tegan’s tiara.

Marriner has gone from being a bit creepy to being someone quite useful. He is helping the Doctor to locate Turlough and what he’s feeling and I thought that Christopher Brown’s performance has been somewhat underrated over the past three episodes. Even in his brief appearance Valentine Dyall’s performance is great. I haven’t spoken too much about Peter Davison and that is simply because it doesn’t really stand out that much. It’s not terrible but with everything else going on he does tend to blend into the background. Janet Fielding is slightly better but when she gets hypnotised by Wrack then it does feel like the character is back to the norm for a classic companions.

The cliffhanger is great but not because its dramatic or anything like that but simply because I adore Lynda Baron and she makes the ending of the episode work. I love how she is looking at the screen by Baron which ends with her cackling at the screen as the camera focuses on the jewel that is in Tegan’s tiara. So its fair to say that I have enjoyed this episode but not necessarily because of the narrative but because of the performances. The next episode has an awful lot to live up to and ties up a lot of loose ends. Only time will tell if this is done but this story is doing a good job of telling a story.

(597) Enlightenment - Part 2

Well Christmas is over for another year and the celebrations are a distant memory so now its time to not look at these episodes with a festive cheer. Ok that might sound like I am about to rip this episode to shreds but that’s not true. I’m just stating for the record (if such a thing exists) that that I’m back to reviewing these stories as I see them. After the rather mysterious and interesting opening episode, things seem to be moving at a slower pace in today’s episode. Something that starts the episode after the reprise is that Tegan becomes seasick.

Tegan’s seasickness is somewhat odd because I just think that someone who wanted to be an air stewardess would be affected. It’s also something that is sorted out quite quickly and seems to be a plot point just to get her into her room. Tegan wakes up in the room with a picture of Aunt Vanessa and there is a sense that Marriner has been going through her mind. This is where we learn a lot more about the Eternals who are involved in this race.

The Captain (Barron) is strange but he explains what the purpose of the story is. The information text reels off a list of people who were considered for the role of Striker including Peter Sallis who had appeared in ‘The Ice Warriors’ and was starring in Last of the Summer Wine and as much as I think that Sallis and the names given would have been good additions I don’t think that they would have done better than Barron. There is a good attempt to dislike the Captain and his crew but I personally cant find it in me to dislike him. Yes what they are doing is horrible and the lack of conscience is also horrible but Barron’s performance is so good that I am almost willing to look past it.

The spacesuits that are worn in this story are quite impressive and wouldn’t look out of place in todays Doctor Who. It’s very rare for costumes from the 1980’s to not look rubbish or cheesy by todays standards but here the costumes work really well and I like the colour scheme which is probably the reason why I think that way I do. I like the filming that takes place on the deck of the ship. The whole visual that is created with this is rather impressive and its credit that Fiona Cumming deserves. I made a note of highlighting the fact that this story was the first story to be written and directed by women which shouldn’t really be highlighted but is. Cumming is one of the best directors in Doctor Who because she knows what she is doing and directs her stories well. Even when things are moving slowly she still manages to make what you see on screen work.

One thing that does stand out in this episode is the small matter of Turlough trying to kill the Doctor. This is now officially the dumbest plot idea in Doctor Who. They got away with it in the first story but now it just seems like they have given up on it and that is why it doesn’t seem to be getting as much screen time as it perhaps should considering it’s the last story in the trilogy. Turlough is starting to crack under the pressure now that the Black Guardian has decided he isn’t the best man to kill the Doctor. Turlough ends the episode by jumping overboard. This is quite an effective cliffhanger but I think that the episode as a whole has been a little bit disappointing. It didn’t feel like it was actually doing anything and hadn’t progressed enough in my opinion. Also there isn’t any of Gladys Emmanuel yet.

(596) Enlightenment - Part 1

So today is the first episode of 2015. I have about eight months left which doesn’t really sound like that long considering I have been doing this for nearly 20 months. Yet there are still seven more Doctors left to watch (admittedly two of those will only take two days to watch). Today starts with the first story without Sarah Sutton in as Nyssa and I didn’t think that I would say this but I didn’t really miss her. I think that the fact there are just three people in the TARDIS is a good move and it means that there is an equal share of screen time and action for the regulars. The DVD for this story features the usual four episode version and a special version which has new CGI effects and is edited to be one feature length story. Sadly I will be watching the four part version but I may watch the movie length one at the end. This is most importantly the first Doctor Who story to be written by a woman. Barbara Clegg gets this particular honour in the 127^th Doctor Who story. It is also directed by Fiona Cumming so its an all female show.

The episode starts off in quite a low beat way with a nice TARDIS scene with the Doctor trying to fix the console with Tegan and Turlough playing chess. I like the low lighting that is used, its one of the few instances where it isn’t brightly lit.

The White Guardian makes his first appearance in this trilogy and it’s a great scene because it creates some mystery and it’s made even better with the appearance of the Black Guardian. The White Guardian’s performance isn’t as good as the Blacks because the White Guardian just spends his time spluttering out the odd word which doesn’t make any sense. This works in the context in the story but he does come off second best.

The place that the TARDIS has landed on is a very strange place because everyone seems to be acting very strange. Especially Marriner who seems to have a fixation on Tegan. It’s a nice performance from Christopher Brown because there is something mesmerising about the way that he appears on screen and Janet Fielding’s reaction as Tegan helps make it seem even more bizarre.

There are two famous faces that pop up in this story. The first being Tony Caunter who returns to Doctor Who as Jackson and would go on to play Roy Evans in Eastenders from 1994 to 2003. He previously appeared in ‘Colony in Space’ and plays quite a fun character that seems to be a sort of jack the lad kind of guy. The second is Keith Baron who plays Striker, Striker is the captain and comes across as such. It’s important when you get someone like Baron that they need to be able to pull off the part and thankfully that is the case. There is a third famous face that appears but that will have to wait.

The revelation that they are on a sailing ship in space isn’t revealed until the cliffhanger which must be quite an impressive ending if your watching it for the first time but after countless views its hard to really see it for the ending that it is. I think that Clegg has done a good job in creating a nice mixture of mystery and claustrophobia because there aren’t that many sets where there is a lot of open space. There is plenty to like going forward in this story and I do hope that this story will do a good job of completing this trilogy of stories up. So far the signs are looking good.