The Ribos Operation - Episode 4

I have been continuing my tradition of watching the documentaries on the DVD’s after I finish the final episode of the story and I watched the one about the Graham Williams era on Doctor Who. It’s hard not to be impressed with Graham Williams considering just what he had to go through. What with strikes, budgets and Star Wars, it was amazing that all the stories he produced were anything other than rubbish. Ok so I haven’t been too positive about this story on the whole but before I even started to watch this episode I was feeling more positive towards this story.

I think that the scenes between Binro and Unstoffe are quite sweet really. It’s because Timothy Bateson and Nigel Plaskitt playing it perfectly. Binro’s final scene is quite sad and I think that it was the wrong thing to do. Sholakh is very good in this episode and seems like a more likeable person than the Graff Vynda-K. When he dies, its another sad moment. I was thinking that all the wrong people are being killed and also I wish that I noticed him earlier but I think that his role could have been made bigger. Paul Seed gives his best performance in this episode and it only really happened after the death of Sholakh. The fact he goes on roaming to avenge the death of Sholakh is perhaps a rather foolish if not quite accurate.

Garron gives a great little speech which feels like an act of defiance against the Graff Vynda-K. I have liked Iain Cuthbertson and thought that even his final scene shows why he’s such a great character. The seeker returns in this episode and she’s just as annoying as she was in previous episode, that’s why when she does meet her maker it comes as a blessed relief. Out of all the deaths in this episode, hers was the best.

The final scene between the Doctor and Garron and the business with the jethrik was quite funny. Garron tries to do a switch and the Doctor does a double switch and leaves Garron with a rock. I haven’t mentioned until now that the Jethrik was the first segment of the Key to Time. That’s because its largely been forgotten due to all the business with the Graff. The idea that all the segments would be disguised as other things helps narratively to make the task of finding them just that little bit harder.

Not only do I have to judge this story on its own merits, but I have to judge it as one part of a story arc. On its own it doesn’t really feel like Doctor Who. Had the Doctor and Romana not got involved then it wouldn’t have made much different and would have made a fine period drama. As part of the story arc it does a good job of pretty much setting up the upcoming season. It’s a perfectly fine serial and there are some good performances.

The Ribos Operation - Episode 3

The episode starts off with a bit of humour which seems to undermine any tension that there might have been at the cliffhanger. I know that the humour has replaced the darkness in these stories and I have no problem with humour in Doctor Who but I think that two seconds after the episode starts isn’t perhaps the right time to do this. It doesn’t take for the Graff Vynda-K to realise that he is being conned (even though he must have suspected something in the previous episode.

Binro the heretic is introduced in this episode and becomes a nice person when he helps Unstoffe hide from guards. He’s played rather sweetly by Timothy Bateson. In one scene he tries to prove to Unstoffe that there are other worlds and Unstoffe tells him that he’s right and one day people will believe him. In just a few short scenes he has become one of my favourite characters in the story. Primitive Mumbo-jumbo is the reaction from Sholakh when the seeker is doing her thing. Oddly enough it’s the same reaction I gave. I haven’t commented much of Sholakh because he’s sort of been one of the quieter characters but I thought that he was quite good and worked well with Paul Seed to make the Vynda-K and Sholakh just as good a double act as Garron and Unstoffe.

The story does come across quite good when the action moves into the catacombs because it shows us that there is more to Ribos than the two or three rooms that are starting to look less appealing as the story progresses. I suppose that this is one of the limitations of a studio bound story is that eventually the sets lose their appeal.

The duo of Baker and Tamm seem to working well together, there still seems to be a bit of a frostiness (forgive me for that one) but I like the dynamic between the two. I think that its better than the one the Doctor has with Leela.

The episode ends with the Doctor, Romana, K9 and Garron hiding from the Graff Vynda-K and it’s a rather disappointing ending. The whole episode felt a bit like the previous one in that there isn’t much happening. I mean stuff happens but I cant think that isn’t one of Robert Holmes’ best scripts. It’s not terrible but when you have written the sort of stories that he has written then anything below par is going to look weaker than if it had been written by another writer. I still maintain that the story is holding together and I still maintain that the excitement isn’t there really. Apart from that its ok.

The Ribos Operation - Episode 2

Today’s episode is Tom Baker’s 100^th episode as the Doctor. Sadly the episode is not as great as I would perhaps have liked. The episode’s studio bound setting was something that I thought would help add an atmosphere to the story but sometimes it works against it. I also get the feeling that this story could easily be held on earth because it has a very Russian vibe going on with the incidental music and the design of the sets. I like the fact that there aren’t computers and any futuristic things going on. There is a line that Garron gives when he responds that it will take a few weeks to get a response about something and the Graff Vynda-K reacts normally to it. The episode starts off with Romana about to become a meal of the Shrivenzale. I’ll be honest that I only knew it was called a Shrivenzale because it appears on the information text.

Graff Vynda-K does come across as a rather grown up child. He goes hysterical when talking about how he was betrayed. He is the male version of Queenie from Blackadder 2. Paul Seed is rather good as the Vynda-K and I think that I could easily see Bernard Horsfall play this role. Seed comes across as someone who would jump down your throat just because you asked what time it was. I like the partnership between Garron and Unstoffe. I think that Nigel Plaskitt (Unstoffe) is having a lot of fun with his accents. I mentioned in the previous episode review that double acts/partnerships are Robert Holmes’ calling card and he does it well but I think that Iain Cuthbertson (Garron) and Nigel Plaskitt work well together but I think that this con that they are attempting would make the worst episode of ‘Hustle’.

The thing I didn’t really pick on until the end of the episode is that the Doctor and Romana don’t really have a great deal to do. In fact I can only remember one scene that they had together that seemed to stick in my mind and that wasn’t a particularly spectacular scene. Mary Tamm is allowed to settle into the role and does seem like she’s been playing the role for more than two episodes. Sadly I would expect that Mary Tamm is wondering whether she made the right decision in taking on this role. At the moment, Romana is the only female character in the entire piece. I think that changes in future episodes but its rather worrying that more female characters weren’t introduced.

The way that the episode plods along is a worrying thing considering how much energy seems to have been on show during the course of the previous episode. It was only in the last few minutes that had anything about them. I think that there was too much talking and a lot of sitting down. I want more running and more action. Graham Williams was bought in to make the show less scary than it had been under Philip Hinchcliffe’s era and whilst I can say that the show has benefited from this (though I would like more scary stories), I think that Williams has done a top job as producer and whilst this episode was lacking in excitement I think that the story is holding together.

The Ribos Operation - Episode 1

It struck me as I started to watch this episode that there are three seasons of Tom Baker’s Doctor remaining. He’s about to reach the 100 episode soon and it feels like the end is approaching at a faster and faster rate. This is the first episode of the Key to Time season which is the first season/series of Doctor Who to have a story arc that ties all the adventures together. This wouldn’t happen again until the show was bought back in 2005 so this is quite a bold experiment that producer Graham Williams has embarked on. This episode also introduces the late great Mary Tamm as the first incarnation of Romanadvoratrelundar or Fred. I like how there is instantly a frosty reception between the two (forgive the pun given the setting for the story). It does remind me of the current Doctor and Clara’s relationship but this was is more frosty.

The opening scene has to do a lot considering the scale of what its about. The opening is unlike anything that the show has seen in the show in 480 episodes. The story introduces the White Guardian who look like he should be on the Costa del Sol. The explanation is rather good and shows that the journey to find the six segments isn’t going to be easy. At the very end of the scene we are told about the Black Guardian who is suppose to be this big force but we wont meet him until the end.

The camera seems to fall in love with Romanadvoratrelundar when Mary Tamm first appears on the screen. There is a snobbery about Romandvoratrelundar. She brags about how she’s smarter than the Doctor and inspects the cleanliness of the console. The friction between the two seems worse than the Doctor and Leela. It’s quite good that they have decided to go with someone who can challenge the Doctor intellectually because this hasn’t really happened since Liz Shaw was in the show. Compared to her predesecor, Romana isn’t going to get stuck in but is instead going to judge those that do and let her mind do all the action.

The planet of Ribos is recognised completely in studio and normally this would be an issue for me but I think on this occasion it adds something to the story. The only that disappoints in this episode for me is the creature. Unstoffe and Garron are the first two people we meet who seem to be a rather odd double act. Double acts are a recurring pattern in Robert Holmes stories. Another interesting character is the Graff Vynda-K (played by Paul Seed). Graff is someone who is looking to buy a planet from Garron and is hoping to seek revenge on the planet that forced him into exile. Unstoffe and Garron are conmen so it was clear that there were going to bring problems but if memory serves me correctly then they will be fun problems.

The cliffhanger sees Romana suffer her first peril when she becomes a potential meal. I don’t know whether it was a good way to use the character so new in the show. Apart from that and the dodgy monster that is munching on Romana, this is a good if perhaps ordinary opening episode. I think that this season of Doctor Who is going to be very different to any that Tom Baker has had.

Image of the Fendahl - Episode 4

I am watching this episode after just seeing Peter Capaldi’s first episode as the Doctor. First of all I thought that Deep Breathe was really good and I think that they made the right choice. The sight of a Dinosaur in London sort of does a great deal to make up for ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’. Now its back to business as I watch Tom Baker’s 84^th episode and the thing about these episodes is that I honestly couldn’t tell you what was going on. There is a lot of great things going on but I would be hard pressed to come up with an explanation. Image of the Fendahl is a case of style over substance.

The effect of transforming Thea into the gold lady was done quite well and also the effect of raising her up so she would be vertical was also a good effect. To be honest I think that this was a bit of a waste for Wanda Ventham because she’s a very good actress and she’s reduced to cameo status which is perhaps the worst thing that I can think of in this episode.

The performances from Tom Baker and Louise Jameson have been really good and the lack of K9 has definelty been a plus point. The writing has been good but its George Spenton-Foster who has really showed what can be done. If I was being picky then I could argue that the directing has been so good that it got in the way of me following what was actually going on because I was enjoying what I was looking at.

The idea that Max kills himself is quite a bold thing for a family show. It does fit in quite well with the dark theme of this story. We don’t see the death which perhaps makes it more grim than if we had seen it on screen.

The ending of the episode is rather odd because the priory explodes and we don’t have final scene with the surviving characters and before we know whats going on, the story moves back to the TARDIS where Leela’s hair is totally different. This has been a better story than I have thought in the past but it’s one that is slightly confusing and the fact that its been this baffling whilst entertaining shows how good a writer Chris Boucher was. The setting probably helped a lot but as I approach the next story I know that I am not too far away from one of my least favourite stories and I fear that this improving attitude to stories wont continue. As it is, Image of the Fendahl is a better story than ‘The Invisible Enemy’ but not as good as ‘Horror of Fang Rock’.

Image of the Fendahl - Episode 3

Despite the story being in the third part, I couldn’t actually tell you a great deal about it. The cliffhanger was quite good and it’s resolved in a good way. The Doctor and Leela are reunited very quickly in this episode and Leela starts off by saving the Doctor.

Max doesn’t seem entirely convincing in his current role as the baddie. He just comes across as a little bit wet. Wanda Ventham doesn’t really do very much in this episode so it falls to Adam and Dr Fendelman to be the supporting characters moving that part of the story. Mrs Tyler becomes more important to the story. She is the only bit of comedy in this story and she’s in her prime during this episode. With the Doctor preoccupied with other things, he can’t pretend that liquorice allsorts are jelly babies and do other funny things.

The running theme of these episodes has been that not a great deal has been happening but stuff has been going on to keep me entertained. This is going to be one of those short reviews because despite this being a well written and well directed episode (along with the other two), I cant really say a great deal about this episode.

This episode doesn’t really get going until the final few minutes of the episode when the Fendahl creature appears. It looks a lot better than the swarm/nucleus thing that we saw in the previous story. It’s a shame that it waited until the end of the episode for this to happen as I would have liked this more than Max attempting to do the whole baddie thing. This perhaps isn’t the strongest episode but it’s not a terrible episode by any means. It’s good that there has been some progression as far as activity is concerned and I still can’t get past the fact that I am enjoying this story far more than I thought.

 

Image of the Fendahl - Episode 2

There was a feature on one of these DVDs that looks at cliffhangers and this is one of those featured an its featured because it’s a bit of a confusing cliffhanger. I believed this and have thought since then that it was a slightly odd ending but I was wrong about the cliffhanger because it seems perfectly fine. I think its more down to the editing that it might not be the most straight forward of moments but I think that the DVD feature gives it a reputation that it doesn’t deserve. The episode manages to keep the Doctor and Leela apart for the entire episode which is good because it means that they have can have to different (yet equally good) plot strands.

This episode features another former soap star as Geoff Hinsliff who appears as Jack Tyler in this episode and would go on to play Don Brennan in Coronation Street from 1987 to 1997. He represents the cobbles whilst Derek Martin represents the dreary soap Eastenders. I cant make my mind up about Jack Tyler because there is something not quite right about him. He seems like he’s a nice character but Hinsliff plays the role in such a way that it comes across more like he’s hiding something and that is a bit off putting.

The episode continues its good work from the previous episode. The creepy vibe which does seem like it’s a Philip Hinchcliffe story but this is credit to Chris Boucher and George Spenton-Foster. Spenton-Foster’s directing is particularly special but it works for what Boucher has written. Things were going so well that I didn’t notice that Leela’s hair is weird and even better, I didn’t reliase that K9 wasn’t in the episode. Oh yeah I’m a K9 hater. Deal with it J

Fendelman comes across as a slightly mad individual. I suppose he’s one of those mad but brilliant scientists. The thing is that he’s just as barmy as the others now because Wanda Ventham’s Thea is behaving oddly but it is Max is the one that really has become influenced. I think that this is clever because Max really was in the background whilst Fendelman and Thea took centre stage.

The cliffhanger is perfectly fine and it starts with a bit of humour as the Doctor comes across the skull. The Doctor offers it a jelly baby but I think eagle eye fans will know that it wasn’t a jelly baby that he offered but a liquorice allsort. The Doctor becomes possessed and ends up with his hand on the skull. It’s going to be interesting the remind myself how this gets resolved in the next episode but this is the second time in as many episodes that the Doctor has been possessed and it’s the same fate that seemed to follow Sarah Jane if memory serves me correctly.

The story manages to keep things going again whilst not actually doing anything. It’s a solid enough episode and I am still enjoying this story and I am surprised by this. Hopefully the second half of this serial wont disappoint and let it down.

Image of the Fendahl - Episode 1

Ok so I was quite surprised that I enjoyed ‘The Invisible Enemy’ as much as I did and I thought that I would be more likely to enjoy this story as a result. However its amazing what a night’s sleep can do and my enthusiasm for this story has waned ever so slightly. It’s perfectly possible that this would work in the same way as enemy but only time would tell. Chris Boucher has written this story following his double header at the beginning of Louise Jameson’s time on the show. George Spenton-Foster makes his debut as a director. The thing that this story has in its favour is that its an earth story and also is quite atmospheric which is very much like the Philip Hinchcliffe era.

Fun fact: This story features Benedict Cumberbatch’s mom (Wanda Ventham) and also Raquel’s dad (Denis Lill) from Only Fools and Horses.

Fun fact #2: This is the 20^th story for Tom Baker as the Doctor. He is just one behind Patrick Troughton (21), Four behind Jon Pertwee (24) and nine behind William Hartnell (29).

The first six minutes or so show me why I may have been wrong about this story. It’s very atmospheric, creepy and well performed. The story is set in some research house where a group of scientists are doing work and not understanding what they are doing (like most scientists in tv drama). Due to the fact that Denis Lill (Fendelman) and Wanda Ventham (Thea Ransome) are the more familiar faces, these are the two more interesting performances.

Louise Jameson is sporting a new costume (one for the dads clearly) and a new hairdo which just looks weird and I think is going to be a distraction during these stories. This is her 23^rd episode and whilst she’s been in the show a while it doesn’t feel like the character has settled into the show. I don’t know whether this is because the Doctor hasn’t warmed to her but there is just something that doesn’t quite work. It’s funny because if you listen to Louise Jameson on the Big Finish audios (especially with Tom Baker), she’s a lot better and that’s because the writing is better.

The Doctor and Leela spend a lot of time walking around the woods nearby and don’t interact with anyone else. This is a Boucher trait because if you think about it for a large chunk of his previous stories, the Doctor doesn’t interact with anyone. It didn’t take very long for K9 to be written out of the story because in the first scene with the Doctor and Leela, he is in pieces. Good.

I wont pretend to understand what was going on but in a way that doesn’t really matter because the whole episode moved along and was pitched in just the right way that I could just go along with it and enjoy it. I think that this episode doesn’t really want to get too bogged down in what’s going on but just create a lot of intrigue and mystery about the setting and the people who are messing with forces they don’t understand.

Now this episode features one of those cliffhanger in Doctor Who that doesn’t quite make sense. I’ll talk about it more in the next episode but as it is here, the Doctor is frozen to the spot with something coming towards it and Leela is about to meet the end of a shotgun. As cliffhanger’s go it has to be one of the best in this season so far and if I were watching this in 1977 then I would definelty be wanting to know what happens next Saturday as it is, I will have to wait just 24 hours (maybe a bit more due to work commitments) but at least the entertainment is there. Maybe I will like this as much as I enjoyed the previous story. Season fifteen is surprising me and I quite like that. I knew Horror of Fang Rock was going to be a good one but that’s three stories in a row where the quality has been high. Maybe Graham Williams is a better producer of the show than I had previously given him credit for.