The snow looked beautiful this morning! A definite disadvantage of living 20 blocks from work though is that I have few excuses not to go into the office, and cannot work from home. Yes, it is home now. A realization that came to me over the last week or so. And I am glad.
I am excited about the next couple of days, despite some weirdness and setbacks that have set my head spinning, and filled it up with so many different feelings it is ready to explode. But I have some fun plans, which I hope will send me off to India with smile, along with something to look forward to when I return (which will help with the letdown of the trip being over!) But it is early days in so many things, and only time will tell what happens next.
Episode 1
This is a fantastic opening, with some wonderful location work. It’s fun to see the amazement and excitement from Dodo at seeing the completed Post Office tower. It was so new then, but seems so normal now.
It’s interesting how the Doctor already seems to have a position of authority, or at least has built up a reputation as an expert, in some circles of British society. I wonder when he did that. It seems quite at odds with the man we met in “An Unearthly Child”, who was only in 1960s England for Susan. Although based on what we will discover in his 7th incarnation, the Doctor is full of secrets.
This whole story seems quite different and fresh, and is much more modern than what I’ve been watching lately. Ben and Polly are a breath of fresh air, as is the then-present day setting of 1966, which seems more like nostalgia today, with all the glamour of the swinging sixties in London! The location work also adds to the impact. It’s great to see the Doctor wandering around a familiar London again.
The description of WOTAN puts me in mind of SKyNet. It’s never a good idea to network all these computers together. And we are soon shown how bad an idea it is. The computer’s virtual tentacles start reaching out and taking control, leading up to the infamous cliffhanger, where “Doctor Who is required”. Innes Lloyd or Ian Stuart Black are a little confused about the name of their lead character! It’s a good thing this is a compelling story.
Episode 2
Dodo really is behaving rather oddly. I wonder what is happening with her. Meanwhile, the Doctor is right at home in English society, barely noticing the change in his companion. Until he speaks to WOTAN and everything becomes clear to him, and then, most conveniently, Dodo gives the plot away.
Oooh. Ben and Polly are flirting already. Are we going to get another couple in the TARDIS a la Ian and Barbara?
That all-purpose ring is up to yet another new trick! Now it’s a hypnotic tool being used to cure Dodo! And suddenly she is gone from our screens, without so much as a goodbye. I have never been the biggest fan of Dodo, and would usually claim her as my least favourite companion. But I have to admit that I have really enjoyed the time that I’ve spent in her company, and may need to re-evaluate that opinion a bit.
WOTAN is very efficient at getting all these parts into London in such a short time. It’s interesting that the tingle the Doctor feels reminds him of how he felt when the Daleks were around. The War Machines are the closest thing to the Daleks we have seen so far in the series, although they are far more bulky and unwieldy. They also seem to need very specific instructions to actually do anything. Their mallet style arm though seems more deadly at the moment though than the Dalek sucker-style arm.
Episode 3
Anneke Wills does possessed acting very well. Ben’s attempted escape from the warehouse is well put together and makes for a very exciting sequence. Michael Craze does a great job of showing his disbelief at Polly’s behavior. I think I am going to enjoy spending time with these two. They work very well together.
The Doctor has been rather static in this since he discovered what was going on. He has left everything to his new friends Ben and Polly. I hope he starts to become more active soon. It’s quite out of character based on the confidence and power he has demonstrated over the course of this season (when he wasn’t written out of episodes, of course!)
I have to complement Michael Ferguson on a great direction job on this story, especially in the climatic sequence to this episode. This is more like it; the army are attacking in force. This story really does feel so different and modern, and is nothing like we have seen before. It may also be the crystal clear picture that is contributing to this. The restoration team have done a spectacular job on this story. It looks pristine, especially in the film sequences as the War Machine exits the warehouse. The War Machine in full attack mode would be a great sequence even without the great restoration team job, however. It’s big and menacing and means trouble. And there, as the episode ends, my confident hero returns, as the Doctor strides fearlessly towards the enemy.
Episode 4
I like the idea of showing how regular people are reacting to the emergency. It’s something we don’t get often in later invasions, but makes for effective scenes here. The government don’t really know what they are doing yet though, and need to do a better job with cover stories. But this is just a practice run for all the invasions to come. Earth, and especially England, will learn from (some of) its mistakes.
I love watching the Doctor, taking charge completely, and putting together a machine from junk and making it up as he goes along! It’s so very Doctor-ish, and I love that Hartnell is so dynamic and gets to do this, after his inactivity in the previous episode.
Once it is all wrapped up, and we hear Dodo’s perfunctory departure, the Doctor seems saddened to have lost her, and goes into the TARDIS an old man. But all is not lost and it doesn’t look like he’ll be alone for long. Ben and Polly are an adventurous pair! And in they go!
And so I reach the end of the 3rd series of Doctor Who, and for the time being, I reach a short break from this blog, and the marathon watch. I am going to be focusing on the trip to India and the new experiences and adventures that I will be having out there! It’s a new country for me, and full of new things to go and see, and to focus on things I may not normally do. I am very grateful the person who helped me to understand that.
But I shall come back, yes I shall come back, and Season 4, and the 2nd Doctor await me when I do!
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