Day 5 - Marco Polo/The Keys of Marinus

Another sleepless night passed last night. I can’t make up my mind whether the bed or couch are more comfortable.  Neither feels right. I suppose it will take time, but I cannot imagine it ever feeling like home. I have been making a list of what was missed in the move, and things that I still need to go and buy. There are simple things like a kettle. But none of them seem that important. Because, above all, the only missing piece that really matters, and the piece that would make me and here complete and like home again, is her.

Episode 5 – Rider from Shang-Tu

Oh to be a 20^th century science teacher in the 14^th! All the tricks that can be used to frighten away less advanced warriors! The bamboo trick works a treat, and helps the crew regain some of the trust from Marco that had worn away over the previous episodes.

The friendship with Ping Cho that Susan has built up comes to fruition as the young girl betrays Marco and takes the key to help the travelers escape. It is clear that she has developed a great friendship with Susan, and wants the best for her, even at the cost of her own future. Although there is also the sense that perhaps she hopes that the TARDIS crew can take her away from that future, and help her to escape as well.

Once again, as seems to be common in these early stories, we get another false ending. Just as the travelers may get away, they are thwarted again, this time by the arrival of Tegana as Susan slipped away to do what she feels to be right, to say goodbye to Ping Cho, and fulfill the promise she had made to her friend.

Episode 6 – Mighty Kublai Kahn

We are now getting closer and closer to Kublai Khan, and the plot thickens accordingly. The TARDIS crew got so close to escaping, but now the TARDIS is missing, and they are basically prisoners again. All because the various members of the crew put Ping Cho and the relationships that they had developed over the course of this story above everything else, because it was the right thing to do.

Ian and Marco’s debate as Ian tries to tell the truth about where the travelers come from is wonderful. Marco really is a very smart and clever man, and he his argument is incredibly powerful and completely undeniable. Once he knows that Ian is capable of lying, even though it was for the best of intentions; the protection of Ping Cho, then everything he says is suspect.

The appearance of Kublai Kahn is a wonderful joke. This powerful emperor who has been built up throughout the last 6 weeks, is a weak old man, full of aches and pains. And those aches and pains cause him and the Doctor to hit it off straightaway, leading to a wonderful image of the two old men hobbling off together!

Episode 7 – Assassin at Peking

So it all comes down to this; everything seems like it will depend on a game of backgammon! I’m not sure you could get away with that today. But the acting, dialog and the sets are so wonderful it feels perfect. The palace in Peking may be the most sumptuous set yet, and looks amazing in the colour photographs that exist and are incorporated into this reconstruction.

The regulars also get to wear some fine costumes. It must make a change from the clothes which got so filthy in the first couple of stories.

After the fun of the first half of the episode, things get serious towards the end, as Tegana finally acts on his plans. The final duel looks very well put together, and seems like it goes on for quite a while. It would be wonderful to see it again.

I love that, in the final scene, Marco acknowledges that he did believe Ian after all, and that the argument before was purely that, a debate that needed to occur between two honorable people who respected each other, and understood each other, and did what needed to be done.

And so the journey comes to an end. It has been full of drama, comedy and excitement, and thoroughly deserves its reputation as a lost classic.

The Keys of Marinus

Episode 1 – The Sea of Death

I’ve always had a soft spot for The Keys of Marinus. I love that it’s basically a set of six mini-adventures, and that provides great weekly variety, as we get to meet new characters and explore new places each week, in a classic quest story structure.

The opening TARDIS scene shows a very happy and contented crew. Ian and Barbara seem to be enjoying their adventuring now, and the Doctor is visibly more relaxed around the teachers now, and they share jokes and gently tease each other. It shows how far they have come from the distrust and anger of the opening episode. This character development has been gradual, and has come from facing adversity together, and from the many weeks that have passed during the adventures they have had so far.

The island looks very alien, and turns out to even more dangerous than Skaro in a way, with its sea of acid and lack of any plant life at all. The pyramid has an interesting design, and director John Gorrie has managed to convey a sense of scale with it, even if a couple of the shots leave something to be desired.

The Voord are a fascinating race to me. It does seem like they are indeed just “men in rubber suits”, which is too bad, since I always liked to think of them as very weirdly shaped aliens, rather than SAS in strange helmets.

The whole concept behind the Keys is rather troublesome if you think about it too much. The Conscience seems to provide Arbitan with incredible power, which must be used responsibly. Based on his treatment of the crew when they express the same concerns, in basically forcing them to comply, the viewer is forced to wonder whether he deserves such responsibility. These concepts are very familiar to the modern viewer from the many futuristic dystopias that we have seen in films and television. I don’t know how new it would have been to viewers back in 1964 though. Anyone know?

Episode 2 – The Velvet Web

Now we arrive in Morphoton. The clue’s in the name, of course, with its derivation from the Greek God of dreams.

I adore the scene between Ian and Barbara before they go to sleep for the first time in the city. She almost kisses him goodnight. There is such intimacy and closeness about the, and it is growing all the time. I realize that some of this may be me projecting my own feelings on what I am seeing, and my own desire to recover that intimacy, but for me the affection between the two characters jumps off the screen.

Part of the brilliance of early Doctor Who is the performances. There is complete commitment from everyone, which was not always the case later. Jacqueline Hill’s performance once she wakes up and sees the truth about is wonderful. You can sense the fear, and the desperation, which balances with the humour in watching the other characters look at dirty mugs, and pieces of junk as delicate scientific equipment and delicious food and drink.

I think the brains look great, and really quite scary, and their voices are rather effective. It’s a shame that this story only lasts the single episode. I would like to have seen it stretched out a little more and explore the conflict between the regulars.

Episode 3 – The Screaming Jungle

So the holidays for the regulars begin. We get an episode without the Doctor, as he has gone on ahead to look for the 4^th key. Everyone must have been getting very tired by now, with the programme now having run for over 20 weeks.

This screaming jungle looks less impressive than some of what we have seen so far, but the traps that Ian and Barbara encounter are ingenious, and well put-together, even if they are staples of Saturday morning adventure serials. It’s all very well done though, and Ian and Barbara keep the episode moving along well, as they try to solve all the clues.

The idea of a screaming jungle is quite scary, and is accomplished quite effectively, as it starts to destroy the laboratory, making for a fine climax when they finally work out Darrius’ cryptic final hiding place for the key and can get away. And of course they find themselves in more trouble!