Today was a weird day. Great workout this morning, which made me feel fantastic. But when I got back I was exhausted and crashed. As a result I don’t feel that I accomplished as much as I should have. I also fell behind on editing these blogs and posting them. I am rather disappointed in myself for that.
It feels strange trying to work out what to do in the evening now. For so long I have had the structure of a partner, and while I want that again, that will take time. It’s an odd feeling, and it feels even more odd during the weekend. When I’ve been working all day it is good to come back and relax, but when I have not done as much as I wanted to during the day that feels wrong somehow. It will take time though.
Some friends in the group have invited me to dinner next Saturday, so that gives me plans for next weekend. It will be good to go out and be social, so I am looking forward to that, even if it will just be the three of us.
Episode 1 – The Executioners
I love this jazzy music as the TARDIS hangs in space. Actually the score for the whole story is quite jolly, and befits the light hearted nature of the piece.
Ian is wearing a very snazzy shirt as he sits reading. The book he is reading sets the tone for the whole story. This is not going to be especially serious. The whole atmosphere on the ship is extremely domesticated. Everyone is working on their own activity. It’s a fun insight into life on board the TARDIS. The time-space visualiser sequence smells of padding, but it’s so much fun that I cannot begrudge it the padding.
Then the story proper gets going. This has to be considered the third part of the Dalek epic really. In the first story we met them, in the second they invaded earth, and now they have come to regard the TARDIS as their arch enemy and it must be destroyed. This is a fairly typical progression in raising the level of the threat for a returning adversary.
Aridius is quite well realized (in the main anyway – I forgive the odd visible tarpaulin as a rock formation. Ish.) It looks hot too, especially while the Doctor and Barbara lie sunbathing. Then we discover something I had forgotten; the visualizer is slightly more than padding, since it shows the crew that they are in trouble after all, and the Daleks are following them.
The sandstorm sequence is also well done and leads to our opening cliffhanger, as we get the now-cliched “surprise” appearance of a Dalek! It is making a very weird sounds it makes too as it rises up out of the sand. (The Dalek had to be flying to accomplish this feet I would imagine. Yep, flying Daleks all the way back in “the Chase”!!! Rob Shearman would be proud).
Episode 2 – The Death of Time
The Daleks are taking no prisoners this time; There’s no messing about with taking prisoners, just exterminating. They will forget about that soon though, but in the meantime they just kill the first Aridian they see without a thought. The Dalek trapped on top of the hill looks a bit funny, as it commands its comrades, but makes for a nice perspective shot.
The timing is a bit strange in this episode. Barbara and the Doctor seemed to be sheltering from the storm all night, but when we go back to Ian and Vicki in the morning they are still staring at the weird looking alien!
As we discover the story of Aridius, we are told another story of a planet that has gone through terrible misfortune. This time, however, there is no one to blame. It is simply a natural disaster. And at the same time we find out about the perils that are facing Ian and Vicki. The explosion is an impressive set piece and works quite well, especially the shot of Ian and Vicki experiencing it.
Daleks know exactly how to play the Aridians, and they do so ruthlessly. Once the aliens have done what the Daleks want them to do they simply exterminate them. It’s exactly what I expect them to do. As the Daleks attempt to destroy the ship, we get our first inkling that the TARDIS is pretty much indestructible.
The Daleks have put the Aridians in an impossible position, making it very difficult for either the viewer or the TARDIS crew to be mad at them. The Mire beats attack that saves the TARDIS crew is fortuitous and quite well realized. I love that Barbara has to give up her cardigan again. It is very funny, especially since it was only in the previous adventure that she lost one!
I love watching Dalek ranting. It always makes for a good episode ending.
Episode 3 – Flight Through Eternity
This episode is a total hodge podgre, as if Terry Nation realized he only had 4 episodes of story and needed to pad, pad, and mad some more. The end result is such fun though that I cannot be disappointed. Morton Dill is hilarious. Peter Purves has great comic timing, and his reaction to the Daleks, and to the TARDIS crew is so very funny.
The Marie Celeste sequence is very ambitious for such a throwaway piece of an episode, but it is a fun concept to have the Daleks be the reason for the mystery. So, despite the obvious padding, this is an enjoyable episode.
Episode 4 – Journey Into Terror
This Haunted House set looks great, even though it still feels like padding. Just a little bit more cerebral this time. But overall, this is a very silly episode, but it’s held together by the reactions and interactions of the TARDIS crew. They are all so comfortable around each other. If anything this group has even more chemistry than the original crew, but part of that could simply be the comfort level that they have reached.
Maureen O’Brien has a wonderful set of facial expressions, which she uses to great affect while Barbara is attempting to assuage her fears. It really is a lovely comic gift. I had never really had much of an opinion of Vicki before undertaking this project, but she has a very important role, and she fulfills it very well. I can now see that she is much more than a replacement for Susan. She is the first of the young female companions that the Doctor loves to surround himself with; To make him feel young? To keep his view of the universe fresh? Whatever the reason, I see Vicki as being the first of a line that goes all the way through to Rose Tyler and to Amy Pond.
The Doctor’s theory on where they could be is quite a leap, and it doesn’t make much sense. Besides, if the TARDIS could land in the human mind, why couldn’t the Dalek time machine? Landing in the human mind is an interesting idea though. In many ways it’s more interesting in what we actually got, but not completely suitable for Saturday teatime television in 1965!
The robots versus the Daleks makes for a fun ending to the episode as the haunted house goes completely crazy, but again it simply seems like a diversion from the main event, which should start soon as we head for Mechanus.
Episode 5 – The Death of Doctor Who
This story has features a great variety of locations. This is not the best forest we’ve seen, but the vegetation is original, and deadly.
I am very excited that we have finally made it to Mechanus. I always loved the Century 21 Dalek strip, which I got to read when it was reprinted in Doctor Who Magazine (then called Doctor Who Monthly). I always imagined that the Dalek-Mechanoid rivalry had been in the series a lot, and was quite disappointed when I actually saw it. The comics were so impressive, but watching them Mechanoids now always reminds me of the strip, and as a result I always enjoy it a lot!
The double storyline is quite ambitious, especially in an age without even CSO. It doesn’t completely work but it’s a good idea and quite effective in several of the sequences. Barbara is in shock at the lie of Ian’s death, and seems not to react at all. Ian’s reaction is a lot faster when he fears that she is in trouble. That’s the Ian and Barbara relationship that I love. The battle with the robot Doctor is well put together but it really is a shame they used Edward Warwick so much in scenes where only one of the Doctors needed to be seen. I’m sure there were reasons for it, but it would have made the episode more effective for me.
At last. It took all episode but here’s a Mechanoid. Hooray!
Episode 6 – The Planet of Decision
I always find it a shame that the Mechanoids do not arrive properly until episode 6. As I talked about in the previous episode, I am a big fan of Mechanoids. I love the design, and wish they could have been used more. What we do get though I enjoy immensely.
Steve seems most damaged by being on his own so long. But he seems to be reinvigorated by the arrival of the Doctor and his friends. The story he tells about how the Mechanoids came to be is very original, and a fascinating origin.
Ian has such a great motto: “we don’t give up so easily” It really is the way that the Doctor and his companions always are, from the first story to the most recent. They never give up! There’s a great sense of the height of the city from the shots that the Richard Martin puts together. I’m not sure how they did the shot of Barbara;s foot, but it’s most effective.
Daleks against Mechanoids! It just seems so right! The Mechanoids look so good sliding around their city, and they are definitely a match for the Daleks (much more so than the Cybermen will be in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday).
In all the celebration at beating the Daleks, there is a sudden bout of melancholy. We have to say goodbye to Ian and Barbara. I am happy for them; delighted in fact, but am very sorry to see them go. The Doctor is the same, but as always he reacts with frustration. Of course he only gets that way when he really cares, as is evident by him checking in on them with the time-space visualiser. (That must still be in the ship somewhere, and maybe it’s how he keeps up with all his old friends).
The final sequence featuring the two of them enjoying London, on the buses and in Trafalger Square with the pigeons is absolutely delightful. And it makes me smile knowing that they will go off to Cambridge, get married, and never age! They are wonderful and I have loved spending time with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment