Carnival of Monsters - Episode 2

I didn’t mention that the cliffhanger was rather bizarre because it had a good idea but didn’t come across very well with the TARDIS being lifted by a hand. The thing that struck me after a few minutes is how the issues that I had with the previous episode have pretty much disappeared. I still prefer the stuff with the Doctor and Jo but I don’t find the stuff with Vorg to be quite as dull as possible because it seems that Robert Holmes has given them something to do. There is a moment when the Ograns make an unexpected appearance. There is also a moving appearance of the Cybermen. The only time that they would appear during the Pertwee era. It’s quite sad when I think about I think about it.

Seeing Ian Marter talking about beating the Doctor to “within an inch of his life” and playing via Queensbury Rules is funny because we know who he’ll become. It’s rather odd that in the middle of all of the stuff that happens on board the SS Bernice, that they can find the time to have a little fight. Of course the Doctor wins which will come as no surprise. The Doctor and Jo go from the SS Bernice to a set that looks like the set from Top of the Pops. They spend an awful long time there and whilst at first its fun to see, the novelty wears off. Thankfully they end up on location in a marsh instead of a quarry. They don’t really seem to do very much in this episode and that’s why the stuff with the grey people and Vorg was much more interesting.

The episode ends with a Drashig appearing and roaring. Even though it’s a puppet, its quite well done and does look impressive in close up. It’s a perfectly fine end to a perfectly fine episode. I think that I am slightly more positive towards this story than perhaps my writing suggested in the previous episode. I still think that it suffers from being in the shadow of ‘The Three Doctors’ but at least I think that the next two episodes have enough that will keep my interest.

On a stats related finale, I thought that for a while I would list how long its been since significant people/baddies have appeared. The Brigadier (2), The Master (18), The Ice Warriors (24), The Daleks (28) and The Cybermen (108).