The visa came through today, and so the India trip is a GO! I am very excited, now that it is really going to happen, and have started making lists and plans. At the same time some other nice things have been going on, and I am really feeling like I am getting the hang of this life that I now lead. Some of it has been time, and some of it has been the comfort of doing this marathon and writing about it every day, and still more of it has been finding new things to make me smile. Those are the best things of all.
Episode 1 – The Celestial Toyroom
We have a very knowledgeable Doctor here. He knows of the Toymaker, and how powerful he is. It’s another first in the programme’s history, that he is so aware of the enemy that they are facing, and knows so much about him. It begs the question, however, of how he could he know about the Toymaker and not the Daleks? Is it possible that the Daleks were nothing but a local nuisance until the Doctor landed there, and showed them a world beyond Skaro that was ripe for conquest and exploration, and fuelled their ambitions?
Anyway, I digress. This is story is a great concept. Micahel Gough is extremely sinister playing the Toymaker, with a great costume and design concept. He and Hartnell spar very well, in a way it reminds me of the sparring with the Monk, but there’s a more sinister than in those clashes. This time it isn’t as much of a game, despite the Toymaker’s raison d’etre, and the argument is colder, and the consequences far more serious.
The presentation of the Trilogic game is interesting, especially the effect of moving the game forward all those additional moves, which is very well done. This is a story that really suffers from the lack of moving pictures. It’s difficult to get the hang of the games that Steven and Dodo are playing, and how the action plays out. I get the impression that this is full of visual jokes, and that just doesn’t work so well on audio.
Episode 2 – The Hall of Dolls
It’s goodbye to Hartnell for a while, as he becomes invisible in the story. But behind the scenes we see the beginning of the attempts to get rid of you, the reasons for which are ridiculous based on the performances that we have seen recently; Even in this story itself. He has been a confident and strong hero that I believe in absolutely.
The array of characters on display in the Toymaker’s realm is wonderful and show great imagination in the writing and the design. But they are all deadly, and as they work against Steven and Dodo. I think Brian Hayles is having fun with the Queen’s dialogue; “A Playing Card” speaks the Queen in a clear Lady Bracknell reference.
You have to feel sorry for the playing cards. They have been trapped in the past by the Toymaker, and simply want their freedom. Some of the Toymaker’s victims are more sinister and less sympathetic that these two, although in their dealings with the fool they are more brutal. I find their last actions together, as they elect to lose together, are very sweet.
It’s Steven and Dodo working together that has helped them win out against the Toymaker so far. It seems that previous competitors were too busy thinking about saving their own skin, and they continue to do so as his pawns, rather than working as a team.
Episode 3 – The Dancing Floor
We get another lovely set of caricatures here. The Toymaker has realized that he needs to get Steven and Dodo to make a mistake if they are going to lose a game, and so he is pulling out all the stops. The two companions have to carry a lot of this story, with the Doctor struck dumb and incorporeal. Every stalling tactic at his disposal is predicted by the Toymaker, who knows every one of his tricks. It’s going to be up to the companions if they are going to get through this one. When the Toymaker actually gets involved with his creatures, and has to threaten them, there really are no holds barred. Michael Gough has scary down pat as he reminds them of the consequences of failure.
This is another episode where the visuals would go a long way to improving the episode. There are likely lots of visual gags and business going on, which does not come across well in the audio only. There are still some fun lines still to be had though, particularly in the interactions between the sergeant and the cook. This is even more of an issue when we reach the Dancing Floor of the episode title. It’s easy enough to follow what is going on in the sequence, but there are several times when all we hear is dancing music and watch pictures.
Oh, here’s Cyril. Things are going to get serious now.
Episode 4 – The Final Test
The last game is TARDIS hopscotch. This will be more fun since we are back into moving pictures.
Cyril is a very disturbing character. Peter Stephens does a great job portraying this schoolboy, who pretends butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, but seems certain to have several tricks up his sleeve and a very nasty streak to go with them. It’s a very creepy performance.
It seems most appropriate that Cyril is hoist by his own petard. He tried to play just one trick too many, and that allows Steven and Dodo to win through. Unlike the rest of the Toymakers playthings he is the one we feel least sorry for as he loses. He revels in his role almost as much as his master, and was a most unsympathetic character.
I like the confidence that the Doctor becomes full of as he gets ready to leave. He seems to have a plan. But is he or the Toymaker the more overconfident one. They are so well matched. Now that Hartnell and Gough finally get to work together they really spark. It’s a very clever trap that the Doctor almost falls into; a real catch-22, but the Doctor’s solution is ingenious. I especially like how he tricks the Toymaker into thinking the idea is a failure, before his perfect mimicry act sets them free and defeats his enemy!
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