I am in major catch-up mode now with the marathon and this blog. Of course the gap is for a good reason; it’s been insanely busy with other writing projects, and work, and events. I am only now getting write up episodes watched quite some time ago, and it will be good to get these up on the site. So here goes.
Episode 1
It's strange to think here in 2011, that when this episode was broadcast the time period portrayed was the future. 1986 was nothing like this in my experience, but there are lots of nice touches. I like the multi-cultural base. It’s a science fiction staple of course, especially for stories set in the near future, but it is nice to see here, and is done rather well. It’s been just as much a staple in Doctor Who, and was still there in 2009’s The Waters of Mars. Is this because we as a species always want to hope things will get better, and we can all get along without focusing on the differences between us?
Despite the idealism of harmony between races, we continue to get stereotypical treatment of women when Polly shows up on the base, and the men treat her with a 1960’s attitude. It’s an interesting contrast to
Ben and Polly don't look wrapped up warmly enough for the South Pole, but perhaps these are some more of those famous TARDIS coats that can protect the wearer against almost anything, despite looking normal in their appearance.
Hartnell is brilliant here, giving a no nonsense Doctor, but one who still has a sense of fun, and enjoys poking at authority figures. Even here in his last story, Hartnell is going toe-to-toe with Robert Beatty’s General Cutler, in a battle of wills between two strong men; neither of these characters are going to back down, and this clash lasts throughout the story when both characters are on screen.
It's fascinating that the Doctor knows what's going to happen in this story. He is showing that he has advanced knowledge of the future just as he has always exhibited of the past. Knowing what we know now, this is obvious, but at the time this was a first. His behavior here, makes me wonder if 1986 is a fixed point in time? It seems like it must be, and that leads me to wonder how much of what will transpire during this story does the Doctor already know of? This is a major change for the character, who didn’t know who the Daleks were when he first encountered them. The character is evolving and developing and becoming ever more like the man we know today.
The concept and effect of the upside down planet is well carried off, and still holds some shock value for me. Then, right at the end of the episode is the moment I have been waiting for. The Cybermen are revealed, and to this day, they are my favorite Cybermen ever!
Episode 2
We don't see what the Cybermen do to the soldiers, but it's clear that whatever they did was horrific and deadly. Seeing the gear from the soldiers scattered in the snow by the TARDIS is a chilling moment. This story specializes in this kind of chilling scene. The destruction of the spaceship is another example. The reaction of Polly as the signal cuts out is shocking and very affecting. He audience is as shocked as the characters.
One of the things I love the most about these Cybermen are their sing-song cybervoices. The sound is inhuman, but retains a mockery of human intonation. It acts as a reminder of their organic origins, making these metal men seem more chilling than did the robotic voices that come along later.
This seems a good time to talk about a constant criticism of the 1st Doctor, and Hartnell in particular; the so-called "Billy fluffs". Everyone talks about them as if he is the only one who ever fluffed a line. This happens all the time in 1960s television; it happens in Quatermass; Robert Beatty does it in episode one of this very story. But neither of those incidents get the criticism that Hartnell comes in for. It seems to be that because he is the lead he gets the bad reputation, and it is very unfair. As I have watched his full run of episodes I have been so impressed with Hartnell as an actor; comedy, drama, compassion, excitement - he does it all. His confrontation with Kang here is wonderful, and as he contemplates the Cyberman's responses to his statements you can see the Doctor's brain working and Hartnell is as alert as we've ever seen him. He inhabits this character completely, and it is brilliant!
There's something rather amusing about Ben escaping thanks to an old movie.
Episode 3
What a travesty that in his penultimate episode all William Hartnell does is keel over and then lie on a bed. It really is most upsetting. I have come to love this Doctor so much, and this is a sad ending.
Meanwhile we are getting our first alien invasion story and the tension is building very nicely indeed. And in another first, later on we get a companion crawling through a ventilation shaft. That is a tradition that is even more a part of Doctor Who than the Cybermen are. So much so that in Terminus two of the companions spend the entire story doing just that!
This story is full of some excellent performances from the guest cast. David Dodimead does worried scientist very well, and above all, Robert Beatty gives a very emotional performance as a man on the edge. He is willing to do anything, and he is personally invested in this, which heightens the tension of the 2nd half of this story to almost unbearable heights. It is interesting to compare Cutler to later military characters. Many of the do-anything archetypes we see later are present in this character and his blundering in regardless is something that that later Doctors would delight in commenting on and Hartnell would doubtless be challenging were he not collapsed on a bed. (Yes, I am very bitter about not getting to see that here).
The tension at the episode's end is very well done. You can feel it as the noise of the rocket gets louder and louder. Well done to director Derek Martinus.
Episode 4
This episode is a bit of an anti climax isn’t it? Everything seems to end rather easily. But along the way though we finally get to see some devious Cybermen, and the real invasion and a last wonderful 1st Doctor bluff. There’s even a moment where he feels that he may have miscalculated after all. How Doctor-ish is that? Up until that point it had almost felt like General Cutler was the villain of the piece, but once we see the ruthlessness of the Cybermen, we can be reminded that he is really just a desperate father, with too much destructive power at his disposal.
When we see the Doctor and Polly imprisoned on the Cybership, I am pleased to see that the cells look like they could double for conversion chambers. It’s a nice hint at the real horror of these creations.
Finally, what can I say about the end of this episode and the first “renewal” of the Doctor. There is a lovely symmetry to the trauma of that first TARDs flight we saw back in An Unearthly Child, as we experience the trauma of this first regeneration. What was the audience to think? It certainly seems to shake Ben and Polly.
Goodbye Bill. You were magnificent. But now it's onwards to meet this new Doctor...
