I started the day with a good workout, and while it was an early start, it was really worth it. The gym was quiet, and the workout felt great. I really like doing this, and am really pleased I have decided to make it part of my routine. It made me feel more energized all day. I need to work on better workout music on the iPod, but that will come.
Mission to the Unknown
Episode 1 - Mission to the Unknown
We’re in another one of those jungle sets that these early production teams did so fantastically well. It’s full of hidden dangers. Those Varga Plants are deadly, and what far more threatening than what we saw on Mechanus, a few stories ago. Was that an early example of end-of-season budget constraints? I remember commenting that the early stories in the season were extremely lavish, so perhaps the money had run out. That is not the case here.
This is a taut little science fiction thriller. The crew is most likeable, and their leader is very motivated, once he realizes that his suspicions were correct, and he has to reveal his true purpose in bringing them to Kembel. He provides lots of great background into the Daleks in their role of galactic onquerers. These are the Daleks I remember from the annuals and the TV 21 comic strip. They are more interested in conquest than running after the Doctor. These are the Daleks I love.
Everything soon turns into a race against time, as the Varga plants are closing in, the crew expect the Daleks to show up any moment, and the only method of escape is gone! The Daleks soon show up, of course, and their weapons are far more effective on this ship than they were on the TARDIS.
The lineup of aliens that are allied with the Daleks is wonderful. There are some imaginative designs, and I absolutely get the feeling that this is gearing up to something big. The production team are pulling out all the stops here, with aliens, and Daleks and even body horror, with the effect that the Varga Plants have on people.
The episode ends with typical Dalek over confidence, despite their victory in this story! The tape recorder contains all the secrets that will reveal their plan. I wonder when we will return to it.
The Myth Makers
Episode 1 – Temple of Secrets
I suppose we are not going to get back to that tape recorder immediately. We are on a plain with two greek-looking warriors in some fine outfits doing battle. This immediately sets the scene for us. No Daleks around this week.
What we do get instead is some fun and wonderful dialogue. It is very florid and alliterative. Donald Cotton is a real find. He has taken a lot of what made Dennis Spooner so good at the historical and really gone to town with it! The script is incredibly rich and varied, based on which characters are talking. In more formal scenes it seems like iambic pentameter is being used, and then when Agammemnon and Menalaus are dining alone and more relaxed we get bawdy pun after bawdy pun. It really is hilarious.
Everybody is quite excited to be in ancient times. The Doctor is having an awful lot of fun playing the father of the Greek Gods, and Vickie, is absolutely enchanted. She has dreams of meeting a hero. Little does she know what lies ahead for her.
This story looks like it was spectacular to look at; great costumes, epic sets, and later some set pieces I would love to be able to see. It would be quite a treat to have even one episode recovered for the archive. I am already looking at this as an underrated gem in “Doctor Who’s” crown.
Episode 2 – Small Prophet, Quick Return
What a brilliant episode title this is. I love all the puns that were sneaked in when we had individual episode titles. This might be my favourite, although if they had stuck with “Is there a Doctor in the Horse?” that would absolutely have trumped it.
As the action starts to introduce the Trojans, it’s interesting how their dialogue is different from the Greeks. It is far more modern, without any of the florid twists and rhythm that dominated the speech of their foes. I’m sure it was deliberate, and I think it makes the viewer have great sympathy for this doomed people, even if they would prefer a body to a shrine.
I like how the scene where the Trojans discuss the TARDIS, and Cassandra gives her warnings about objects being brought into the city, foreshadows the horse that will be their downfall. It’s almost as if they found that it was all right the first time, so it would be the second time as well.
Priam has taken an immediate shine to Vicki, and is already showing off for her. In many ways his behavior is similar to that of the Doctor, and he calls her “my child” as well. He has some suspicions, however, and wants to try and shape her, unlike the Doctor who is more interested in opening up people to the possibility of who they can be, and encouraging them to reach their full potential.
Episode 3 – Death of a Spy
As we return to the Greeks there is trouble afoot for the Doctor, who must come up with a way for them to defeat the Trojans. I’m not convinced that he is completely serious about building an aeroplane, even one powered by catapult. But Odysseus’s comment about it being nothing but a “parchment dart” is very funny, so it is a well-earned joke. I am enjoying Odysseus and the Doctor matching each other wit for wit in this story.
Back in Troy, Steven and Vicki are bickering up a storm in a different way, until they are interrupted by Troilus. Vicki is earning to use her charms on this young man, who is quite clearly smitten with her. They have a lovely connection and chemistry, and his panic when he thinks Steven might be the special friend of the object of his affections is most endearing. Once Troilus leaves, Vicki shows that she and Steven have become firm friends, of the platonic variety though. She saves food for him, much to his surprise. How could she do otherwise? It’s not in her nature.
Overall, I don’t feel that the Doctor has that many qualms about being part of this situation, as he is finally forced to use the idea of the Horse. Is it because this is only mythical quasi-history, and many feel it is only a story, rather than fact? Or does he feel like he has no choice if he wishes to survive? Perhaps this is a “fixed” moment and he knows he must play his part. This time, unlike in Pompeii, he does it without any angst, despite what he must know it will mean for the Trojan people. It’s inevitable, I suppose, that if you visit interesting points in history that sometimes you become involved. It will happen many times in the future, not only in Pompeii, but also in London in 1666. Somehow his actions here feel the most deliberate.
Despite all the tension and the portents of doom that hang over everything, the episode ends with a dreadful pun. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I simply smile. This is great.
Episode 4 – Horse of Destruction
The scenes featuring the Trojan horse on the reconstruction look quite impressive. I am not completely sure whether or not they came from the story though. Does anyone know? So little footage and pictures exist of this, I am intrigued about how well it all worked and how the production team pulled it off. It seems such an ambitious thing to undertake. If I could only have one episode of the missing 108 returned, I think it might be this one, just to see how it was done.
The whole episode conveys a terrible sense of inevitability, and the story becomes more visual than verbal. We all know how this story ends. The Trojans seem perfectly nice, with a few exceptions (yes, Cassandra, I’m looking at you), and don’t deserve the fate that awaits them. The Greeks are also a mix of good and bad, but there really isn’t a villain in this story. The crew have been caught up in events and must do whatever they can to survive and get out in one piece.
Troilus is getting quite needy and protective of Vicki. Their relationship has grown quite nicely through this story, which is not always the case. These early production teams seemed to want to make sure that a companion’s departure did not come out of nowhere, but was part of the story. As the tension mounts, the Doctor seems very relaxed about escaping, but Vicki is panicked, and wants to be sure they all get away. Ironically, she doesn’t.
This is a weird leaving sequence for Vicki. She doesn’t really say goodbye, although the Doctor gives her his blessing in the confusion. He is still most concerned for her safety, of course, but she must manage on her own now. She chose to stay in this time for Troilus and nothing else. It’s very romantic. Vicki will take all she has learned; her optimism, hope, and morality to make a great new life with him.
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