(661) Paradise Towers - Part 4

The final episode of this story again starts off with that stupid shot of the tower. I do wonder why they went to the trouble of setting this on another planet because it could easily have been set on earth in the future. To be honest that is just a minor problem with a story that starts off slightly frustrating before becoming more frustrating and that frustration receding a bit in this episode.

I had forgotten that Richard Briers isn’t killed by because he becomes the body for the monster. I didn’t think I would like the new Chief Caretaker would be any fun but after a while I sort of got use to it. I think that it was a mistake for this to happen but writer Stephen Wyatt has admitted that this is one of the things wrong with it. The performance that Richard Briers gives is something that I have enjoyed but in this episode he sort of goes into zombie mode and that is disappointing. It’s not often that someone of Briers’ calibre comes into Doctor Who but he did very well and was the best thing about this serial.

Mel seems to have forgotten about the troubles because she starts the episode by taking a swim and within seconds is attacked by a yellow thing and also has the double misfortune of being stuck with Pex. Despite this being the episode where Pex shows us he is a hero and even when he has given his life pushing the Chief Caretaker to the explosives. To be honest I just wasn’t fussed about the loss of the character.

A good portion of the episode takes place in the pool. The Rezzies (Maddy), The Red and Blue Kangs, Pex, Mel and The Doctor have a good scene where they all seem to join forces to fight the Chief Caretaker. This is the first time that people have worked together to try and defeat someone. It feels like a plan is forming and its actually building up to something. There have been several groups yet there has been no real connection between them. Also I found the introduction of the Rezzies in the pool scene to be rather ill thought out because there must be more than three rezzies in Paradise Towers.

I am really glad that I this serial is over. Admittedly this episode is by far the serial so far but to be honest its too little too late. There was pace, there was some drama and more importantly there was something to like. Watching one of the documentaries on the DVD, writer Stephen Wyatt revealed that he wrote the final three episodes in two weeks which shows in episodes two and three but the necessity to tie things up means that we don’t have people meandering around. Paradise Towers will be remembered for wasted opportunities and just want to move on.

(660) Paradise Towers - Part 3

Today is the 660^th episode of Doctor Who. 60 episodes ago I was watching The first episode of the Kings Demons, it’s surprising just how much a decline there has been in quality of stories. There is a distinct lack of energy in this episode than in the Kings Demons. I regularly visit the Den of Geek website which looks at a report from 1988 which gave Bonnie Langford an appreciation index score of just 34 (out of 100). Whilst I think that the character has taken a step backwards in the last few episodes but I think that she deserves a better score than 34. The willingness in which she decides to stay with Tilda and Tabby is probably part of the reason why 56% of people surveyed in the 1988 survey say that they wished that Mel had been eaten in this story.

I do like how Tilda and Tabby do the menacing thing quite well. Tabby is killed by whatever came up in the waste disposal chute although I do find it slightly implausible that she ca be pulled through in. Tilda is slightly more plausible. It’s amusing that Pex tries to make it seem like he saved Mel when in effect he had very little to do with it. Mel finally makes it to the top floor with Pex and it’s the nicest thing in the entire Tower.

The two standout supporting performances came from Judy Cornwell (Maddy) and Richard Briers (Chief Caretaker). They get a nice scene together where the Chief Caretaker bribes Maddy with Tilda and Tabby’s flat in exchange for remaining quiet. The performance that Cornwell gives is very similar to what she would play in Keeping up Appearances. Briers’ performance is brilliant from start to finish although his demise is somewhat disappointing. He was one of the best things in this story. I suppose that it’s a good thing that there is just one episode left.

I think that this episode was the first time since Sylvester McCoy became the Doctor that we saw the Doctor as most people remember his Doctor to be and like. There is a distaste for what is going on in Paradise Towers. It seems that McCoy is starting to get to grips with his role and what he wants to achieve with it. Even Bonnie Langford seems to be better in this episode although I do think some of this is sympathy because she is stuck with Pex.

It’s been a more watchable episode but I will still be glad when this serial is over with. It just hasn’t lived up to any of the potential. I still don’t like the shot of the tower at the beginning of the episode and think that they made a mistake getting rid of the Chief Caretaker but the worst thing apart from that about this episode is that it just isn’t connecting with me.

(659) Paradise Towers - Part 2

I think that any goodwill that I had with this serial has well and truly gone. My heart started to sink when the first thing that is shown is a picture of what Paradise Towers is suppose to look like. The inside definelty looks better than the outside. The Doctor is about to be killed by the Chief Caretaker but as luck would have it the Doctor is spared whilst the Chief goes somewhere else. There is a funny scene with the Doctor and the Deputy Caretaker. The Doctor uses his intelligence to outsmart him and the other guard. This is one of the few enjoyable moments in the entire serial.

The incidental music is rather good. This was apparently a last minute addition from Keff McCulloch as a previous contribution proved unpopular with JNT. I haven’t been a fan of McCulloch’s contribution in the past but the theme tune and the music in this episode have made me change my mind.

As well as Tabby and Tilda, we are introduced to Maddy who is played by Judy Cornwell. I know Cornwell from playing Rose in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. They are happier to see Mel return and I thought that this was slightly annoying because Mel has spent a long time running around trying to find the Doctor and just missing him. The backwards trend that the character is taking continues to frustrate me.

The Chief Caretaker seems to be working for a monster that has neon lights for eyes. It’s very much a 1980’s idea and one that doesn’t work. I think that they would have been better to not show him at all and just have the voice. Sometimes less is more.

Pex starts off the idea that he is an annoying prat but we learn that he is a bit of a scardey cat which makes sense. No one likes Pex and so I really cant understand why we are suppose to find him interesting or feel sorry for him when the Kang’s start to pick on him. I think if she had the chance, Mel would try and get rid of him. I think sitting with Tabby and Tilda would be preferable to spending time with Pex.

The cliffhanger is rather disappointing. It’s not just because its Mel but because I don’t feel like there is any danger or tension in the cliffhanger. It’s been an episode with lots of potential but sadly it is wasted. For a moment I thought that I was further in the story than I actually was and so was disappointed when I realised that I still had two more episodes left to endure. I am sure that at some point there will be something in this season that shows me that I was wrong about my original ideas about the twenty-fourth season.

(658) Paradise Towers - Part 1

Paradise Towers is a story that like most in this season isn’t one that I rate very highly. I don’t know why and hope that watching this serial over four days might shed some light on it. The Doctor and Mel are on their way to Paradise Towers which seems to be a lovely place to go but we get to see that it’s not as nice as they think. What I find amusing about the state that they find it in is that you have Mel as a perky bubbly person and yet finds herself in such a dump.

The Kangs are really annoying. The Red Kangs are the first group that we meet and the noticeable thing is that they are all women which isn’t something that has been seen in the show before. There is a bit of dancing that wouldn’t have come straight from Adam Ant’s Prince Charming music video if I didn’t know better. Another thing that doesn’t look quite so well is the cleaner which doesn’t seem to be interested in cleaning the tower block up but more interested in killing people and disposing of their bodies. Pex is introduced quite late in this episode and seems to be a sort of Rambo style character but unfortunately Howard Cooke who plays Pex is nothing like Sylvester Stallone and so I don’t believe that he is a tough guy. Even Mel isn’t impressed with him. It’s slightly disappointing the way that the role of Mel has been devalued in the past five episodes. She was quite inquisitive with Colin Baker’s Doctor and yet seems to have taken several steps back.

There are things that I think did work well in this episode. Firstly there is the idea that there is a tower block that has become a rather unpleasant place because it seemed to mirror the feelings of tower blocks at that time and perhaps even today. Richard Briers is another good thing for this serial because at first we don’t see him but just hear him and the character sounds like rather soulless individual. Briers is perhaps best known for appearing in the BBC sitcom The Good Life (1975-78) and an appearance in Torchwood. The Chief Caretaker assumes that the Doctor is the Great Architect.

Something that has changed in my opinion is that of Tilda and Tabby who seem like two nice old ladies but have a rather sinister dark side. A first clue is some bones on a table that Tilda tells Tabby to get rid of before Mel comes in. A question is raised when its clear that they are living in a rather nice apartment whereas everything outside of that apartment is horrible. How are they able to live like this and seemingly have a normal life?

As an episode it was a slightly (just) better than I remember it. There are things that are going to bring this story down and there are things that are going to maintain my interest. After being very underwhelmed with the last story, its good to report that things have got better. To be fair they couldn’t get any worse but there is a long way to go before the show can get back to where it was even at the previous series. I mentioned in a previous review that Doctor Who was now up against Coronation Street. The ratings for the first episode of Time and the Rani was 5.1 million whereas Coronation Street got 14 million. Now for this episode it was watched by 4.5 million and the Corrie episode was being watched by 15.5 million so it was clear who was winning this ratings war.

(657) Time and the Rani - Part 4

It’s a welcome relief that this is the final episode of the story. Despite this being the final episode, there isn’t the sense of it being the big ending and that is due to the writing really but that isn’t the fault of Pip and Jane Baker but unfortunately its their names on the credits.

The Tetrap’s design is still something that I find impressive. This is the episode where they start to turn against the Rani. This leads to a rather amusing scene at the end where they have the Rani tied up in her TARDIS. It does seem odd that they haven’t made an appearance in a Big Finish story because I think that there is something good about them.

The Doctor is using his mixed sayings to annoy the Rani and so doesn’t spend too long in the cubicle.  I think that Sylvester McCoy plays the Doctor in the way that perhaps the way that the Doctor should be straight after the regeneration and the only thing that stops me from writing of Sylvester McCoy is that I know how good he becomes in future series. Bonnie Langford was rather disappointing in this story because I am struggling to think of what she did that was noteworthy. After the good start that had in the previous series, it is somewhat disappointing that she was reduced to pretty much supporting status.

The Rani finally reveals that she want to put right what went wrong with civilisations which doesn’t seem the sort of thing that the Rani had a better plan in her previous story. I think that this wasn’t the best story for Kate O’Mara but she still manages to give an entertaining performance. There aren’t many people in television that would shun sunny Hollywood and want to spend time in a wet grey quarry in Britain.

Despite all the problems with this story there are some positives. Firstly there is the music. Keff MucCulloch’s incidental music is rather good in this episode and even though its very much of the period, it still seems a lot more modern than the music that had been used the previous series.  Another thing that worked quite well were the models. The models used towards the end of the episode are rather good but I wish that there were more in this story.

The scene where the Doctor is in the TARDIS is one which is unusual because I cant recall many scenes that Sylvester McCoy would have in that set. It’s an odd thing to point out but McCoy’s Doctor is the one spends more time out of the TARDIS than in it.

It’s fair to say that this isn’t the greatest Doctor Who story that there has ever been and I wish I could write that this was the only blip in the season but things are about to get worst. There is always the possibility that now the opening story is over and done with that things can start to settle down but at the moment I don’t think so.

(656) Time and the Rani - Part 3

The first few seconds of the theme tune always get me excited but then I remember that I am watching Time and the Rani and that excitement goes away a bit. Admittedly the problems that there were in the previous episodes weren’t as evident in this episode but the problem that is now on screen is that I just find myself bored with what is on screen which is surprising when you consider that the Rani’s plan is starting to take shape. Kate O’Mara does do a good job in still performing in a rather underwhelming character. The Doctor is more active in this episode and seems more like the Doctor that McCoy would play. It’s a rather comforting performance from McCoy and even though the Doctor is easily fooled with a fake Mel.

One of the few successes involve the Tetraps. I thought that the idea that they are quite vocal which isn’t something that I would expect from a monster in this situation. Normally they would have grunted or stayed silent. I also like that the eyes moved around and one had an extended tounge as this has to be one of the best created monsters for quite some time.

A new set is used in this story. Centre of Leisure is where the Lakertyans relax but it seems to be not the nicest place to be. This is made evident when the Rani unleashes a weapon which kills several. After being somewhat impressed with the sets and the use of the quarry I was quite disappointed with this centre set because it just rather lame and it doesn’t look like much thought went into it.

We finally get to see what was behind the door seen I the previous episodes and it is a giant brain. I don’t know whether many people were disappointed with this or not but it makes sense because it would have to be something unusual for the Rani. This is why I think that the Rani is in some ways better than the Master because the Rani has a specific purpose which seems throughout whereas the Master’s plans tend to be not as well thought out and usually designed to destroy the Doctor.

The episode ends with the Doctor’s brain about to be used to help the giant brain and that is about it. To be honest it’s a case of one step forward and two steps back because the fact that there wasn’t much to like about this episode. This was the second episode in a row that scored in the low 7’s but as a story its still in the 6’s. Now its 6.99 as opposed to the 6.90 at the beginning of this story. At the moment it’s the lowest scoring of the opening Doctor stories which doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

(655) Time and the Rani - Part 2

The thing I didn’t mention in yesterday’s review was that the show had been moved from its traditional Saturday night slot again and placed on Mondays against the little watched show Coronation Street. Sorry, when I said little watched I meant to say ratings juggernaut. If you wanted to bury a show, this was the best way of doing it. It was nice also in the previous episode that didn’t have a close up of the Doctor’s face and so the reprise started off in a better way than usual.

Sadly the problems that appeared in the first episode continue in this episode. Ultimately the problem is that the Lakertyans aren’t particularly interesting and so I find myself wondering why I should care about their current predicament. Despite Wanda Ventham (Image of the Fendahl and Benedict Cumberbatch’s mom) and Donald Pickering (The Faceless Ones), best efforts the character are hampered by their rather silly movements and also the fact that the Lakertyans don’t seem to have a backbone and just seemed to crumble at the power (or perceived power) of the Rani.

All the time that Kate O’Mara and Sylvester McCoy were on screen, I was interested in the story but whenever they weren’t on screen then I found myself just watching all the problems with the serial. Mel finally gets to interact with Sylvester McCoy and the Doctor thinks that Mel is the Rani. Their first interaction is a mixture of comedy and frustration. Mel also thinks that the Doctor isn’t the Doctor because she didn’t see the regeneration. Once they realise that both of them are who they say they are it leads to a lovely bonding moment.

The Rani’s attempt at being Mel thankfully comes to an end in this episode because once the Doctor twigs what is going on the ruse is ended. It must have been slightly frustrating for Kate O’Mara. She went from being the quite interesting character in The Mark of the Rani to having to be Bonnie Langford. Despite having to dress like Mel, Kate O’Mara does her best but its not the best use of the character.

The cliffhanger does feel a bit silly because whilst in terms of drama it works quite well, he basically puts himself by going into the situation. It has been a much better episode than the first one but that isn’t much of a compliment due to that episode being rather poor. I have rated this episode 7.07 which as an average still has this story in the 6’s which at the moment places it 11^th from bottom (137^th place). I feel more confident about this story improving in the final two episodes than in the previous episode. It’s not a perfect story by any means and its current placing is deserved but I can’t help think that the transition period had been better handled that this story (and series) would have worked out differently.