Doctor Who stories that should be released on DVD asap (with asterisks to indicate pressing urgency of release!!)
** Decent story. A worthy addition to the DVD shelf
*** Good story. slightly surprising it has been passed over thus far
**** Get it the #%&* out on DVD already!!! &*^%# to the wall classic!
In chronological order...
TIME MEDDLER **
A snappy little 4 parter & it would be the first full Steven/ Vicki release
WAR MACHINES **
A modest charmer & the only complete Ben/ Polly adventure
ICE WARRIORS ***
With animation (or preferably CGI) for the missing episodes 2 & 3
WAR GAMES ****
The extra star for the lavish packaging & bonus feature possibilities. The story perhaps only worthy of 3 & a half
THE SILURIANS ****
!!!!! My most anticipated release at the moment
TERROR OF THE AUTONS/ MIND OF EVIL/ CLAWS OF AXOS/ COLONY IN SPACE/ DAEMONS ****
A masterful Master box set. He appeared in every story in Season 8 so it makes perfect sense. A fitting tribute to wonderful Rog. This is really the only way I would buy Axos & the best way to flog off the dreary Colony
FRONTIER IN SPACE/ PLANET OF THE DALEKS ***
As the double header it really is, this 12 part space opera would be a superb anorak filler
DEATH TO THE DALEKS ***
Can't wait to hear the striking incidental music restored!
TERROR OF THE ZYGONS/ ANDROID INVASION ****
Linked by being the final two appearances for both Benton & Harry & also the final UNIT story proper (not including the brief scenes in 'Seeds Of Doom'). Zygons contains some of the finest incidental music in the shows history, as does the wonderful...
SEEDS OF DOOM ****
All hail Geoffrey Burgen! Best TB story not out on DVD as yet
FULL CIRCLE/ STATE OF DECAY/ WARRIOR'S GATE ***
A superb set that would be more than the sum of it's parts. The only way I would buy Full Circle
MAWDRYN UNDEAD/ TERMINUS/ ENLIGHTENMENT ***
A fab triple set of the Guardian trilogy. Enlightenment is the only individual story I'd rush out for, but together they are almost a match for the E-Space trilogy
PLANET OF FIRE **
A modest story. A polished production if a little bland. Certainly one of Ainley's best showings
TRIAL OF A TIME LORD ***
The bonus features & packaging will lift this one above its station
HAPPINESS PATROL ***
This should be considered the 'Rocky Horror' of the Who canon. People should have dress up parties to watch it & lay on hors d'oerves & champers!
Cheers, The 'Cozer
Oh..and as for the Animated/CGI Hartnell/ Troughton missing story reconstructions. GET MOVING BEEB!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!
Power, Evil, Masterplan, Fury, Web...the palette waters!!!
Showing posts with label COLIN BAKER. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COLIN BAKER. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A little spelunking in 'The Caves of Androzani'
Oh wondrous Caves! How deep & dark thine are!
I watched the DVD of Androzani a couple of days ago while I was in bed with a heavy cold (or perhaps lite-flu would be a more apt description). It was a first time viewing of the story on DVD for me & the first time I've watched it in several years. I was impressed at how well it held up. I was worried that its high standing in fan esteem was largely due to the ho-hum quality of many of the stories surrounding it. Thankfully, it seems, not so.
Firstly the faults. Nicola Bryant struggles with some awkward & unlikely dialouge. The scene early in episode 1 examining the lumps of fused silica where she fumbles with the terrible 'reticular vector gauge' joke, to which the Doctor replies sarcasm is not her stong point, is particularly cringeworthy. Her accent falters at times too, in that same 'joke', a very English sounding 'glaa-ass' grates in her faux-yank drawl. The characterisation of Peri was a troubling mess from the start really. The production team didn't seem to know what to do with her. There was half-baked botany bollocks, clunky American cliche crap & not much else. That aside, she does quite well in Caves & I much prefer her here than in 'Twin Dilemma' & most of season 22. She is quite sweet & innocent, a far cry from all the dreadful nagging & sarcasm she was lumbered with later.
The greatest fault however is the 'Mire Beast'; an absolutely wretched creation. It serves no important purpose & could just about be excised from the story all together by a nifty re-edit. It wears a cloak too?! What were they thinking? The caves themselves don't quite convince either. Studio floors with a bit of dirt thrown about don't cut it I'm afraid.
The pros? There are a wondrous multitude. Morgus is simply superb. Every deadpan line is a sweetmeat delicacy! Lines to camera almost never work, but Normington not only gets away with it, he leaves me wanting more. He turns the dastardly villian cliche inside out. There is no maniacal laughter or rubbing of hands; just simmering, unblinking malevolence. Stotz, Chellack & Salateen are all suitably shifty & self interested to varying degrees. The scene where Salateen laughingly realises his life will be spared by the Doctor & Peri having contracted Spectrox Toxaemia is particularly striking.
As with 'Resurrection of The Daleks', we have here a very dark story with very few (if any) sympathetic support characters, but Caves is all together more involving. Holmes' characters are more deeply textured & far more fascinating. Resurrection's convoluted nastiness just leaves me cold, but the unrelenting bleakness of Caves draws me in & leaves me breathless at times. Even the smaller parts add further richness to the piece; the icy & viciously efficient Krau Timmin a case in point. Her little side-plot victory over Morgus, dressing him down with her feet on his desk, is a marvellous touch.
Jek, like Morgus, is a masterful villian. Gable's voice & gestures are perfect. He conveys the complex character & its many contradictions using only these things & one eye. Once or twice he teeters on the edge of OTT, but always pulls back just in time. He & Morgus are a formidable duo. It is so rare in the history of the show to behold two classic humanoid villians in one story. Most stories have trouble raising one that is in any way memorable. Jek's love for Peri's innocence & beauty, which in the end almost redeems him, is beautifully played & utterly believable as she lays sweating, suffocating & barely conscious. Gable plays the desperation wonderfully; feverishly mopping her brow & trying to comfort her while the Doctor hunts for the bats milk.
Which brings me to Davison. I hope I haven't exhausted my superlative supply because he deserves to have lots of them shining on his sitting room mantle. The smiling, optimistic & energetic Doctor of early Davison era has been replaced by a stone dry, impatient, dour & no-nonsense demeanour that suits the story perfectly. Davison gives his swansong absolutely everything he has. His ailing Doctor, whether spitting out a very hard to deliver (but stunningly believable) "I'm not going to let you stop me now!", or panting & staggering through endless dunes while being chased & shot at, is compelling to watch.
I was impresssed by the effectiveness of the scenes of the Doctor being chased through the dunes & later carrying Peri back to the TARDIS. The grainy film stock & grey skies combine with the rumbling soundtrack to conjur some of the most striking scenes in the history of the show. This in an era that generally suffered from cheap glossy videotape, garish costumes & ham-fisted overhead lighting. Hats off to (Graeme) Harper! You forget for several minutes at a time this was an early/mid 80's JNT story! The incidental music, although uniformly strong through JNT's first few seasons, is particularly atmospheric & foreboding in Caves.
The Davison/ C. Baker regeneration is probably the greatest in the history of the show. The tension of the moment was never greater before or since. The Doctor saves Peri on the point of death & collapses with the immortal, fearful line that Davison nails; "Is this death? feels different this time". The Master's malicious taunts followed by the 'white noise' cacophany is the stuff of fan boy foam & froth. Stunning. Even Colin's brief moment shows qualified promise. He is immediately arrogant & salty, but with no warning of the mugging, bickering buffoon that would emerge in the worst moments of the following season. So not even the last scene can spoil the grandeur of Caves.
Caves...thou art shining with glowing phosphoresecent glory!....
Lucozer..
I watched the DVD of Androzani a couple of days ago while I was in bed with a heavy cold (or perhaps lite-flu would be a more apt description). It was a first time viewing of the story on DVD for me & the first time I've watched it in several years. I was impressed at how well it held up. I was worried that its high standing in fan esteem was largely due to the ho-hum quality of many of the stories surrounding it. Thankfully, it seems, not so.
Firstly the faults. Nicola Bryant struggles with some awkward & unlikely dialouge. The scene early in episode 1 examining the lumps of fused silica where she fumbles with the terrible 'reticular vector gauge' joke, to which the Doctor replies sarcasm is not her stong point, is particularly cringeworthy. Her accent falters at times too, in that same 'joke', a very English sounding 'glaa-ass' grates in her faux-yank drawl. The characterisation of Peri was a troubling mess from the start really. The production team didn't seem to know what to do with her. There was half-baked botany bollocks, clunky American cliche crap & not much else. That aside, she does quite well in Caves & I much prefer her here than in 'Twin Dilemma' & most of season 22. She is quite sweet & innocent, a far cry from all the dreadful nagging & sarcasm she was lumbered with later.
The greatest fault however is the 'Mire Beast'; an absolutely wretched creation. It serves no important purpose & could just about be excised from the story all together by a nifty re-edit. It wears a cloak too?! What were they thinking? The caves themselves don't quite convince either. Studio floors with a bit of dirt thrown about don't cut it I'm afraid.
The pros? There are a wondrous multitude. Morgus is simply superb. Every deadpan line is a sweetmeat delicacy! Lines to camera almost never work, but Normington not only gets away with it, he leaves me wanting more. He turns the dastardly villian cliche inside out. There is no maniacal laughter or rubbing of hands; just simmering, unblinking malevolence. Stotz, Chellack & Salateen are all suitably shifty & self interested to varying degrees. The scene where Salateen laughingly realises his life will be spared by the Doctor & Peri having contracted Spectrox Toxaemia is particularly striking.
As with 'Resurrection of The Daleks', we have here a very dark story with very few (if any) sympathetic support characters, but Caves is all together more involving. Holmes' characters are more deeply textured & far more fascinating. Resurrection's convoluted nastiness just leaves me cold, but the unrelenting bleakness of Caves draws me in & leaves me breathless at times. Even the smaller parts add further richness to the piece; the icy & viciously efficient Krau Timmin a case in point. Her little side-plot victory over Morgus, dressing him down with her feet on his desk, is a marvellous touch.
Jek, like Morgus, is a masterful villian. Gable's voice & gestures are perfect. He conveys the complex character & its many contradictions using only these things & one eye. Once or twice he teeters on the edge of OTT, but always pulls back just in time. He & Morgus are a formidable duo. It is so rare in the history of the show to behold two classic humanoid villians in one story. Most stories have trouble raising one that is in any way memorable. Jek's love for Peri's innocence & beauty, which in the end almost redeems him, is beautifully played & utterly believable as she lays sweating, suffocating & barely conscious. Gable plays the desperation wonderfully; feverishly mopping her brow & trying to comfort her while the Doctor hunts for the bats milk.
Which brings me to Davison. I hope I haven't exhausted my superlative supply because he deserves to have lots of them shining on his sitting room mantle. The smiling, optimistic & energetic Doctor of early Davison era has been replaced by a stone dry, impatient, dour & no-nonsense demeanour that suits the story perfectly. Davison gives his swansong absolutely everything he has. His ailing Doctor, whether spitting out a very hard to deliver (but stunningly believable) "I'm not going to let you stop me now!", or panting & staggering through endless dunes while being chased & shot at, is compelling to watch.
I was impresssed by the effectiveness of the scenes of the Doctor being chased through the dunes & later carrying Peri back to the TARDIS. The grainy film stock & grey skies combine with the rumbling soundtrack to conjur some of the most striking scenes in the history of the show. This in an era that generally suffered from cheap glossy videotape, garish costumes & ham-fisted overhead lighting. Hats off to (Graeme) Harper! You forget for several minutes at a time this was an early/mid 80's JNT story! The incidental music, although uniformly strong through JNT's first few seasons, is particularly atmospheric & foreboding in Caves.
The Davison/ C. Baker regeneration is probably the greatest in the history of the show. The tension of the moment was never greater before or since. The Doctor saves Peri on the point of death & collapses with the immortal, fearful line that Davison nails; "Is this death? feels different this time". The Master's malicious taunts followed by the 'white noise' cacophany is the stuff of fan boy foam & froth. Stunning. Even Colin's brief moment shows qualified promise. He is immediately arrogant & salty, but with no warning of the mugging, bickering buffoon that would emerge in the worst moments of the following season. So not even the last scene can spoil the grandeur of Caves.
Caves...thou art shining with glowing phosphoresecent glory!....
Lucozer..
Sunday, July 8, 2007
The Doctor's Favourite Companions! (Davison/ C. Baker/ McCoy eras)
Turlough - Like Leela, Turlough is an odd case. After a striking & memorable debut in the Black Guardian trilogy, he became less interesting as the character progressed. After 'Enlightenment', it felt as if writers were not really sure where to take him. The character had a great exit in 'Planet Of Fire', but it felt like Turlough was treading water & making up the numbers as a generic companion from 'King's Demons' through to 'ROTD'. Although Strickson is energetic & does have a pleasing, 'itchy in his own skin' quality (even after he escapes the Black Guardian's control) Turlough feels like a promising but ultimately fumbled opportunity to do something really different...7.5/10
Perpugilliam Brown - Initially quite likeable in her brief time with Peter (& also briefly forming the foxiest of all Dr/ companion couplings - Pat/Frazer aside of course), the lame 'mouthy American' stereotype was wound up several notches by the writers during Colin's reign & the constant bickering was painful & embarrassing. Just as the character was finally showing potential & Nicola was able to show some subtlety & depth in 'Mysterious Planet', along came the ghastly 'Mindwarp' & that was that. I really like Nicola & I was starting to like Peri again for the first time since 'COA'. Unlike her bosoms, Nicola herself was constricted by bad scripts & poor characterisation & never had the chance to really impress, but then again, look at the shizen season 24 had in store for her had she stayed!...7/10
Melanie Bush - Rather than retread all the usual criticisms of the most maligned companion in the history of the show, I will try to find something to praise. I thought she was quite sweet in the scenes with Tabby & Tilda in 'Paradise Towers'. I did feel sorry for her. She had a couple of ok bits in the awful 'Delta & The Bannermen' too. The character was so poorly written & uninspired that Bonnie had buckleys!. I think she's probably a somewhat better actress than the part ever allowed, I mean, come on!...Carrot juice quoffing, fattie-troubling, computer-programming bundle of sickly sweet in frilly polka dots. You try & work with that! Not really any worse than Jo or Susan for mine & with a far more wretched character brief...5/10
Ace - The thing that annoys me about Ace is that after years of companions being very definitely 'also rans' with little back story or character exploration, these things were laid on really thick with Ace & I didn't find her that interesting. The 'Ace Who' bent of season 26 was not a good move, even though the story quality was generally pretty good. Aldred played her well though & made her sympathetic & highly watchable. A vast improvement on Mel, & though her popularity may have been aided by such severe relativity, Aldred & McCoy were probabaly the best team since Tom & Lalla by the end of season 26...8/10
Next up....the McGann moment, the Eccleston months & the Tennant (hallelujah) ERA....
Love minus zero, The Lucozer...
Perpugilliam Brown - Initially quite likeable in her brief time with Peter (& also briefly forming the foxiest of all Dr/ companion couplings - Pat/Frazer aside of course), the lame 'mouthy American' stereotype was wound up several notches by the writers during Colin's reign & the constant bickering was painful & embarrassing. Just as the character was finally showing potential & Nicola was able to show some subtlety & depth in 'Mysterious Planet', along came the ghastly 'Mindwarp' & that was that. I really like Nicola & I was starting to like Peri again for the first time since 'COA'. Unlike her bosoms, Nicola herself was constricted by bad scripts & poor characterisation & never had the chance to really impress, but then again, look at the shizen season 24 had in store for her had she stayed!...7/10
Melanie Bush - Rather than retread all the usual criticisms of the most maligned companion in the history of the show, I will try to find something to praise. I thought she was quite sweet in the scenes with Tabby & Tilda in 'Paradise Towers'. I did feel sorry for her. She had a couple of ok bits in the awful 'Delta & The Bannermen' too. The character was so poorly written & uninspired that Bonnie had buckleys!. I think she's probably a somewhat better actress than the part ever allowed, I mean, come on!...Carrot juice quoffing, fattie-troubling, computer-programming bundle of sickly sweet in frilly polka dots. You try & work with that! Not really any worse than Jo or Susan for mine & with a far more wretched character brief...5/10
Ace - The thing that annoys me about Ace is that after years of companions being very definitely 'also rans' with little back story or character exploration, these things were laid on really thick with Ace & I didn't find her that interesting. The 'Ace Who' bent of season 26 was not a good move, even though the story quality was generally pretty good. Aldred played her well though & made her sympathetic & highly watchable. A vast improvement on Mel, & though her popularity may have been aided by such severe relativity, Aldred & McCoy were probabaly the best team since Tom & Lalla by the end of season 26...8/10
Next up....the McGann moment, the Eccleston months & the Tennant (hallelujah) ERA....
Love minus zero, The Lucozer...
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
5, 6, 7, 8 - WHAT DO I APPRECIATE?!
Scores out of 10...with comments where I had them...
#5. PETER DAVISON
CASTROVALVA - 6.5
FOUR TO DOOMSDAY - 5.5
KINDA - 7.5
VISITATION - 6.5
BLACK ORCHID - 7
EARTHSHOCK - 8.5
TIME FLIGHT - 5 ("Shurrah sharubbish!")
ARC OF INFINITY - 6
SNAKEDANCE - 7
MAWDRYN UNDEAD - 7.5
TERMINUS - 6.5
ENLIGHTENMENT - 8.5 (Lynda's Wrack wasn't the only impressive quality!)
KING'S DEMONS - 7
FIVE DOCTORS - 8.5
WARRIORS OF THE DEEP - 6
AWAKENING - 7
FRONTIOS - 7
RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS - 8
PLANET OF FIRE - 7.5
CAVES OF ANDROZANI - 9 (Morgnificent!)
#6. COLIN BAKER
TWIN DILEMMA - 4.5 (What dilemma? Whether to ever watch Dr Who again?)
ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN - 7
VENGEANCE ON VAROS - 7.5
MARK OF THE RANI - 6.5
TWO DOCTORS - 7 (Pat scores about 4 of the 7 pats on the head here)
TIMELASH - 5 (Turdsplash!! sorry, it's just too easy with this one, I've got more..)
REVELATION OF THE DALEKS - 7.5
MYSTERIOUS PLANET - 7.5
MINDWARP - 5 (Komplete Yrcarwreck!)
TERROR OF THE VERVOIDS - 6.5
ULTIMATE FOE - 6.5
#7. SYLVESTER McCOY
TIME & THE RANI - 4 ("I have the overactyl, nothing can save Dr Who now!")
PARADISE TOWERS - 6.5
DELTA & THE BANNERMEN - 5 ("Here's to the poo-ture! crud is the answer!")
DRAGONFIRE - 6.5
REMEMBERANCE OF THE DALEKS - 8 (Nice one Keff!, you lost it a whole point)
HAPPINESS PATROL - 8
SILVER NEMESIS - 6.5
GREATEST SHOW IN THE GALAXY - 7.5
BATTLEFIELD - 6 (That muscle mary the Destroyer sums this up..all huff..no puff!)
GHOSTLIGHT - 8.5
CURSE OF FENRIC - 9
SURVIVAL - 7.5
#8 - PAUL McGANN
ENEMY WITHIN - 6 (McGann Whoknighted...9, Eric-ham Robertspur..Nil)
Thanks loves...The Lucozer
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The Lucozer's 'Top 5 Most Criminally Underrated Doctor Who Stories'
Aaahh....the quest to find the 5 most criminally underrated stories in the whole of Doctor Who....
I hope to bring some much needed & long awaited attention to some neglected gems that have fallen on hard times. These gems, through no fault of their own, have found themselves trolling the dives & seedy bars at the lower end of critical opinion & 'favourite story' lists.
On occasion they have found themselves in the unsavory company of the likes of 'Delta & The Bannermen', 'Nightmare Of Eden' & 'The Twin Dilemma' (shudder) having to resort to lewd acts of Xoanan knows what to get by in the vicious, unforgiving world of Doctor Who fandom. I was propositioned by 'Death To The Daleks' in a dark alley just last night! Death has fallen on the hardest of times. Times that will change if I have owt to do about it!! "Death" said I, "you need not offer me that, I would be glad to take you home for a viewing!"......
First up (chronologically), from 1968, another hungry undernourished slice of 'Death'!
1) 'Seeds of Death' (Troughton/1968)
Granted it's no 'Evil' or 'Web', but what it is is jolly good. There is a grand sense of adventure in this eminently enjoyable tale. The rocket trip to the moon & T-Mat stuff are a little kitsch, but still fabulous fun. The character of Fewsham I find most intriguing; his struggles with his guilt & his conscience are beautifully written & quite gripping to watch.
The Ice Warriors are genuinely frightening in the claustrophobic confines & shadowy corridors of the Moonbase & the Weather Control Station. The shots of the Ice Warrior stalking through the foam covered park are creepy & superb. I would argue this is their finest showing from four starts. Alan Bennion as Slaar is particularly wonderful, bringing depth & great menace to a character stuck in a stiff plastic suit, daft helmet & silly cape & having to rely mostly on his sinister voice & heavily made up lips to do it.
Seeds never drags as badly as some of its six part counterparts do (though it is often criticised for padding) & it has some truly great moments of suspense & dialouge. The line "your leader will be angry if you kill me, I'm a genius" is one of the most oft quoted in the history of the show & deservedly so. It is a marvellous synthesis of the 2nd Doctor's manner & wits into one small moment.
The 'T-Mat nerve centre' prop & daft costumes are the obvious cons, but they are just cosmetic. The Pat, Frazer & Wendy team are in smashing form & Seeds is a big cut above the underachieving drabness of the 'The Dominators' & 'The Krotons' from early in the uneven 6th season. Dudley Simpson's frantic, percussive incidental music is stunning; it adds hugely to the tension & drama. Perhaps the finest of the Troughton era bar the marvellous score for 'The Invasion'.
Seeds is a great pulpy romp, certainly lacking the depth & finesse of a true classic, but a super example of 'monster invasion/ base under seige' Doctor Who. Never self importantly absorbed in excessive exploration of characters or sci-fi/fantasy wank, it purely sets out to be entertaining action/ adventure. The 'wrong signal' ploy to see of the Ice Warriors is a simple & charming conclusion. Nice one Seeds!
2) 'Death To The Daleks' (Pertwee/1974)
Sure it looks a tad shabby at times, but it has a palpably tense & sinister feel to it. That's what I'm after in Doctor Who dammit! Part one is superb; the promise of sunny, effervescent 'Florana', the TARDIS being drained of all power & then the Doctor & Sarah both wandering alone in the darkness…shivers & tingles! The unnerving stillness & sense of impending trouble in these scenes & in the moments before the Exxilon arrow attack is fantastic.
The startling incidental music in 'Death' probably bows only to the 'Sea Devils' in the whole of the Pertwee era. It is marvellously evocative & has been unfairly maligned by some over the years. The sound the city beacon makes & the moment Sarah first sees it are indelibly stamped on my memory. The Doctor's 'wonders of the world' line as the city crumbles at the end is a lovely touch.
The Daleks losing power renders them vulnerable & allows us to see their true resourcefulness & cunning; perhaps more than ever before. The sweet Bellal is sensitively played & quite charming. He has a touching rapport with Jon as they explore the city. Dr #3 is marvellous when he meets new beings such as Bellal for the first time. He shows great sensitivity & respect. His first meeting with a Silurian in the cottage in 'The Silurians' is another fine example.
There is clearly more inspiration & effort in this script than 'Planet Of The Daleks'. 'Death' is gritty, atmospheric, involving, tightly plotted & full of wonderful moments. A few flat guest performances & lack of overall production polish aside, criminally underrated.
3) 'Leisure Hive' (T. Baker/ 1980)
'Leisure Hive' marks the brilliant beginning of the greatest re-invigoration of Doctor Who in the show's history. Only 'Spearhead' comes close, though it's 'new stylings' were foreshadowed by 'Web Of Fear' & 'Invasion'. The new series you might say? Well that only really hit its stride with 'Unquiet Dead'. This amazing about-turn in Leisure was surely a huge shock on the heels of Season 17 dross like 'Nightmare' & 'Nimon'. It was an immediate & self assured creative success (if not a success in the ratings up against 'The A-Team').
The new title credits & Peter Howell's new version of the theme tune are striking. One can only imagine how exciting it must have been for long term fans to have seen them for the first time back in 1980. After 6 seasons with unchanging credits, it must have been a wonderful surprise, up there with the unheralded revelation of the Cybermen after a 7 year absence in 'Earthshock'. These credits still excite nearly 30 years on.
All of a sudden the show seems to have become 'adult' again. It has an invigorating urgency about it & has regained the earnestness it had so palpably lacked through the Williams reign. The new production team seems to be hungry & eager. There is innovation & ambition evident in every department. JNT is widely criticised for the way the show developed (some say degraded) during his reign, but at first & throughout the whole of season 18 he got it mostly right.
The design & production polish throughout season S18 are so far superior to S17 it is mind boggling. The scripts generally were several cuts above as well. JNT also pulled off the seemingly impossible & pulled the by now almost unquestioned & dictatorial TB back from the lazy self parody & excessive humour that had contributing hugely to eroding all the credibility the show had. In 'NOE' & 'CFTP' I would go so far as to say it had none.
JNT's team gave the Doctor a sumptuous new look & his vision of the Doctor is that of a quite grave & world weary man with a sparing dry & melancholy humour about him. This major shift in the Doctor's mood & manner gave us back a true sense of his long history; hundreds of years of experiences, littered with more than his share of death & loss. You wouldn't have known it from the scene chewing silliness that prevailed from '77 to '79. Good riddance to the casual flippance that had no relation to the Doctor we knew! Tom is a brilliant & charismatic actor & he was using his full range once again.
Leisure has many evocative & memorable moments. The Doctor ageing in the Tachyon machine...all the Pangols marching out...The story itself is merely good, but the whole of 'Leisure' is executed with such style, swagger & joy that I can forgive its minor shortcomings & silly plot holes. The guest cast are generally strong too; no more of the season 17 cardboard extras! The incidental music is absolutely gobsmacking; at turns marvellously rousing & at others tender & almost tear inducing.
Lalla & Tom are absolutely wonderful together. With the lead duo taking things seriously again, the sense of drama & our interest return with full force. 'Leisure' is a bold & wonderful first step by the JNT regime.
4) 'Mysterious Planet' (C. Baker/ 1986)
This story will always have a special place in my heart. For a long time it was the only Dr Who story that I had on tape (I'm mystified as to why that happened?) & for an even longer time it was the only Colin Baker story I had in my collection full stop. Colin's stories were not repeated in Australia until 1993 & even then were on at 4.30am!! Despite the nostalgia factor, I actually would pick this story if I could only have one Colin Baker story in my collection now. I honestly believe it is the best Colin Baker story of all. Better even than the patchy & flawed 'Revelation OTD' (more on that another time) It is also the only story that my sister, a devout non-fan, actually asked if we could watch one day! Go figure!
There are flaws certainly, the Humker & Tandrell silliness, the mystery of the planet being all but solved in the first 10 minutes, some sketchy design choices; but on the whole it looks polished & is pulled of with a fair amount of style. The story barrels along at a cracking pace & never forgets it primary duty to entertain. Robert Holmes script gives Colin some lovely passages that he delivers well; "planets come and go, stars perish, matter disperses, coalesces & reforms into other patterns, other worlds, nothing can be eternal" etc. There are also lovely touches such as the sacred texts. I thought the 'UK habitats of the Canadian Goose' scene blushingly daft as a child, but now I think it is brilliantly quirky & inspired.
The shifty double act of Glitz & Dibber are a treat. I adore their casually sinister banter as they peice together their guns in the first episode. It is a shame though that Glitz is rapidly softened from unconscionable thug at the start of the story to (almost) loveable rogue by the end (& in subsequent appearances). The season 23 'more comedy' mandate seems to have come into effect HALF WAY THROUGH the first story. This change is most evident in the court scenes, initially unsettling & credible, they rapidly degenerate into panto-ish silliness & repetition despite the valiant efforts of Jayston & Bellingham.
I can't state strongly enough how wonderful the first few minutes are, in fact most of the first episode. It is genuinely mysterious & engrossing & there is very little to fault. The stupendous first shot of the spacecraft & the time scoop, the TARDIS being dragged down the beam, the Doctor's first chilly exchanges with Michael Jayston's exquisitely malevolent Valeyard in the half light. All wonderful stuff that could stand proudly against any era of the show. I couldn't say that about many other episodes from season 22 or 23 sadly.
A crucial factor in the ultimate success of the story is that Colin is the most 'Doctor-ish' we have seen him to this point & more sympathetic & likeable than ever before. He is genuinely concerned for others, endearingly curious & generally dry humoured rather than the often cringeworthy buffon of prior stories. Colin gives the most relaxed, assured & natural performance of his reign. The same can be said for Nicola. Even when Col does slip back into mugging arrogance; "this is my best side", (delivered to Drathro's security camera), it is mercifully brief.
The rapport between Colin & Nicola has vastly improved from season 22. Their scenes together wandering through the forest & exploring Marble Arch are their finest bar none. There is genuine affection & SUBTELTY in the performances! It is such a shame that just as they were finally building a mature & believable rapport, they struck the craggy 'shitberg' that was 'Mindwarp' & that was that. In this though, albeit briefly, most of the the childish bickering & over acting is gone.
Gone too are the indescribably bad stabs of synthesizer incidental music that had made their wretched tiffs seem even more forced & painful ('Timelash' & 'Attack Of The Cybermen' being just two of many examples). In fact, the incidental music is the finest of Colin's era. It is generally tasteful & suitably dramatic at the right points. It responds appropriately to the mood of each scene. Genius! You'd think it was rocket science looking at its forebears.
Of the other support cast, Joan Sims gives the most uneven performance; wavering from tender & subtle in her scenes with Peri in the hut to awkward & OTT in her 'rousing' battle speeches. Probably she was miscast. It was almost another 'Beryl Reid', but she actually copes pretty well in comparison. Tom Chadbon as Merdeen is very laid back (some might say too laid back), but I would say his performance is dry & laconic rather than wooden. Merdeen lives a shitty existence in underground tunnels ruled by an megalomaniac robot, so I think his performance is quite apt. The naive, dorky Balazar is also quite well realised.
'Mysterious Planet' is a qualified success & began 'Trial Of A Timelord' with great promise that was all too quickly squandered. As Robert Holmes last contribution to the show, it is a solid if not spectacular farewell, with Colin & Nicola at their all too brief peak.
5) 'Happiness Patrol' (McCoy/ 1988)
Why does this divide people so? I am happy (& glad!) to see some champions for it amongst the Gallifrey One reviews, but a hell of a lot of people still seem to think it is embarrassing rubbish & the finest (or worst?) example of the daft camp & pantoesque leanings of the late JNT era.
The best way I can tackle reviewing this story is to first mention the way I saw it on first viewing as an 11 year old kid. I thought it was horribly gaudy, woefully overacted, painfully unbelievable & much too bizarre. The way I saw it then is pretty much the way a lot of people still see it now. It has taken several further viewings, several years more experience & an understanding of Graeme Curry's intent to change my perspective. I now feel it is an unfairly maligned (by some) & widely misunderstood minor classic. I should also point out that I am no push-over for the mid to late McCoy era. I feel that amongst its contemporaries, 'Rememberance' is very good, but overrated (thanks Keff!) & 'Silver Nemesis'is absolute rubbish.
There is much to applaud in 'Happiness'. There are lovely (gulp) 'Kafka-esque' touches such as the 'Waiting Zone'; where pointless, head spinning beauracracy prevails ("You're not under arrest but... step over that line & you're a dead man") & also in the impersonal & dehumanising doling out of letters to denote rank & worth (the icy, iron fisted Helen 'A' & the ambitious 'heavy' Priscilla 'P' for example). The scene where Silas P attempts to grovel his way up the alphabet is fantastic, as is Helen A's swift, clipped retort "Not quite, the very top, I hope, Silas P?". In this society, your worth ultimately comes down to your letter. Climbs up & slides down the alphabet ladder are desperately desired & fearfully dreaded respectively. As an 11 year old I had no idea what beauracracy was let alone being able to tell when someone was satirising it. I just thought it was all far too odd. Several years on though, I feel the 'clever social satire' credentials are in good order & I enjoy the story very much on this level.
Although the McCoy/ Aldred team is on fine form & has some lovely moments (could have done without McCoy's singing & "laughing" victory though!) I find the Doctor & Ace to be the least fascinating players in this most curious grotesque. They are sidelined somewhat by a wealth of intriguing, well written & finely textured support characters. The troubled, melancholy Susan Q, the droll, theatrical & shifty Gilbert M, the seemingly dotty & submissive but ultimately duplicitous Joseph C. Were he & Gilbert M on together for years? They seem to have had a lot of practice with their little barbs at one another. All three characters are beautifully played with nuance & delicacy. The distinction between the artifice that each character is forced to maintain under Helen A's regime & their true inner selves is intriguing to watch played out in these & many other characters.
What I read as over-acting as a young whippersnapper, I now see as characters either valiantly struggling with the artifice & fearing death for failure in maintaining it (Susan Q) or on the other hand, so practiced at it that they have forgotten how sickeningly false they appear (Priscilla P, Daisy K). The same goes for the design. Yes, clearly it is hideously colourful & garish. Surely that's the point though? The artifice of the design is ugly because all true emotion has been sucked out & it is presenting what is really fake, uninspired happiness.
The Kandyman is a joy to watch "It's all in there somewhere; caramel, sherbet, toffee, marsipan". Never did a list of sugary sweeties sound so terrifying. He is genuinely intimidating & his voice drips with malice. His demented nursery rhyme 'theme' adds to his impact too. All the "Fondant Supreme" stuff is marvellous. The Co-Pilot & I are big suckers for it. It makes us giggly school girls. I also really like the overhead pipe design in the Kandy Kitchen.
Sheila Hancock is just superb. I hang on every poisonous word that falls from her pursed lips. She can change gears in half a blink. Her rants about the miserable drones & such are masterfully delivered & perfectly cold & callous. Helen A sets the tone for the whole story. Hancock has the gravitas in this central performance to give the whole thing a big shot of credibility. If she hadn't taken it seriously & played for laughs, the whole thing could have fallen apart. The rest of the cast follow her lead & thankfully for the most part play it straight. Helen A is no cardboard villain. She has incredible depth & mystery to her. The final scene of her cradling her beloved Fifi in her arms as the incidental music swells is a gem & I genuinely feel for the twisted, misguided old bitch.
A fourth episode could have allowed for fleshing out of the Pipe People side-story a little, but in three parts it may have been wiser ultimately to excise them all together. With the brisk way they are brushed over & their drab design & muffled voices it is hard to engage with them in their plight. Despite a few dubious design choices (not all of them can be excused as 'for effect') & mercifully brief silly moments, this is captivating & intriguing to watch. Intelligent & innovative Doctor Who that is stretching for new ideas & new frontiers.
So that's it, thanks for reading!
The Lucozer
I hope to bring some much needed & long awaited attention to some neglected gems that have fallen on hard times. These gems, through no fault of their own, have found themselves trolling the dives & seedy bars at the lower end of critical opinion & 'favourite story' lists.
On occasion they have found themselves in the unsavory company of the likes of 'Delta & The Bannermen', 'Nightmare Of Eden' & 'The Twin Dilemma' (shudder) having to resort to lewd acts of Xoanan knows what to get by in the vicious, unforgiving world of Doctor Who fandom. I was propositioned by 'Death To The Daleks' in a dark alley just last night! Death has fallen on the hardest of times. Times that will change if I have owt to do about it!! "Death" said I, "you need not offer me that, I would be glad to take you home for a viewing!"......
First up (chronologically), from 1968, another hungry undernourished slice of 'Death'!
1) 'Seeds of Death' (Troughton/1968)
Granted it's no 'Evil' or 'Web', but what it is is jolly good. There is a grand sense of adventure in this eminently enjoyable tale. The rocket trip to the moon & T-Mat stuff are a little kitsch, but still fabulous fun. The character of Fewsham I find most intriguing; his struggles with his guilt & his conscience are beautifully written & quite gripping to watch.
The Ice Warriors are genuinely frightening in the claustrophobic confines & shadowy corridors of the Moonbase & the Weather Control Station. The shots of the Ice Warrior stalking through the foam covered park are creepy & superb. I would argue this is their finest showing from four starts. Alan Bennion as Slaar is particularly wonderful, bringing depth & great menace to a character stuck in a stiff plastic suit, daft helmet & silly cape & having to rely mostly on his sinister voice & heavily made up lips to do it.
Seeds never drags as badly as some of its six part counterparts do (though it is often criticised for padding) & it has some truly great moments of suspense & dialouge. The line "your leader will be angry if you kill me, I'm a genius" is one of the most oft quoted in the history of the show & deservedly so. It is a marvellous synthesis of the 2nd Doctor's manner & wits into one small moment.
The 'T-Mat nerve centre' prop & daft costumes are the obvious cons, but they are just cosmetic. The Pat, Frazer & Wendy team are in smashing form & Seeds is a big cut above the underachieving drabness of the 'The Dominators' & 'The Krotons' from early in the uneven 6th season. Dudley Simpson's frantic, percussive incidental music is stunning; it adds hugely to the tension & drama. Perhaps the finest of the Troughton era bar the marvellous score for 'The Invasion'.
Seeds is a great pulpy romp, certainly lacking the depth & finesse of a true classic, but a super example of 'monster invasion/ base under seige' Doctor Who. Never self importantly absorbed in excessive exploration of characters or sci-fi/fantasy wank, it purely sets out to be entertaining action/ adventure. The 'wrong signal' ploy to see of the Ice Warriors is a simple & charming conclusion. Nice one Seeds!
2) 'Death To The Daleks' (Pertwee/1974)
Sure it looks a tad shabby at times, but it has a palpably tense & sinister feel to it. That's what I'm after in Doctor Who dammit! Part one is superb; the promise of sunny, effervescent 'Florana', the TARDIS being drained of all power & then the Doctor & Sarah both wandering alone in the darkness…shivers & tingles! The unnerving stillness & sense of impending trouble in these scenes & in the moments before the Exxilon arrow attack is fantastic.
The startling incidental music in 'Death' probably bows only to the 'Sea Devils' in the whole of the Pertwee era. It is marvellously evocative & has been unfairly maligned by some over the years. The sound the city beacon makes & the moment Sarah first sees it are indelibly stamped on my memory. The Doctor's 'wonders of the world' line as the city crumbles at the end is a lovely touch.
The Daleks losing power renders them vulnerable & allows us to see their true resourcefulness & cunning; perhaps more than ever before. The sweet Bellal is sensitively played & quite charming. He has a touching rapport with Jon as they explore the city. Dr #3 is marvellous when he meets new beings such as Bellal for the first time. He shows great sensitivity & respect. His first meeting with a Silurian in the cottage in 'The Silurians' is another fine example.
There is clearly more inspiration & effort in this script than 'Planet Of The Daleks'. 'Death' is gritty, atmospheric, involving, tightly plotted & full of wonderful moments. A few flat guest performances & lack of overall production polish aside, criminally underrated.
3) 'Leisure Hive' (T. Baker/ 1980)
'Leisure Hive' marks the brilliant beginning of the greatest re-invigoration of Doctor Who in the show's history. Only 'Spearhead' comes close, though it's 'new stylings' were foreshadowed by 'Web Of Fear' & 'Invasion'. The new series you might say? Well that only really hit its stride with 'Unquiet Dead'. This amazing about-turn in Leisure was surely a huge shock on the heels of Season 17 dross like 'Nightmare' & 'Nimon'. It was an immediate & self assured creative success (if not a success in the ratings up against 'The A-Team').
The new title credits & Peter Howell's new version of the theme tune are striking. One can only imagine how exciting it must have been for long term fans to have seen them for the first time back in 1980. After 6 seasons with unchanging credits, it must have been a wonderful surprise, up there with the unheralded revelation of the Cybermen after a 7 year absence in 'Earthshock'. These credits still excite nearly 30 years on.
All of a sudden the show seems to have become 'adult' again. It has an invigorating urgency about it & has regained the earnestness it had so palpably lacked through the Williams reign. The new production team seems to be hungry & eager. There is innovation & ambition evident in every department. JNT is widely criticised for the way the show developed (some say degraded) during his reign, but at first & throughout the whole of season 18 he got it mostly right.
The design & production polish throughout season S18 are so far superior to S17 it is mind boggling. The scripts generally were several cuts above as well. JNT also pulled off the seemingly impossible & pulled the by now almost unquestioned & dictatorial TB back from the lazy self parody & excessive humour that had contributing hugely to eroding all the credibility the show had. In 'NOE' & 'CFTP' I would go so far as to say it had none.
JNT's team gave the Doctor a sumptuous new look & his vision of the Doctor is that of a quite grave & world weary man with a sparing dry & melancholy humour about him. This major shift in the Doctor's mood & manner gave us back a true sense of his long history; hundreds of years of experiences, littered with more than his share of death & loss. You wouldn't have known it from the scene chewing silliness that prevailed from '77 to '79. Good riddance to the casual flippance that had no relation to the Doctor we knew! Tom is a brilliant & charismatic actor & he was using his full range once again.
Leisure has many evocative & memorable moments. The Doctor ageing in the Tachyon machine...all the Pangols marching out...The story itself is merely good, but the whole of 'Leisure' is executed with such style, swagger & joy that I can forgive its minor shortcomings & silly plot holes. The guest cast are generally strong too; no more of the season 17 cardboard extras! The incidental music is absolutely gobsmacking; at turns marvellously rousing & at others tender & almost tear inducing.
Lalla & Tom are absolutely wonderful together. With the lead duo taking things seriously again, the sense of drama & our interest return with full force. 'Leisure' is a bold & wonderful first step by the JNT regime.
4) 'Mysterious Planet' (C. Baker/ 1986)
This story will always have a special place in my heart. For a long time it was the only Dr Who story that I had on tape (I'm mystified as to why that happened?) & for an even longer time it was the only Colin Baker story I had in my collection full stop. Colin's stories were not repeated in Australia until 1993 & even then were on at 4.30am!! Despite the nostalgia factor, I actually would pick this story if I could only have one Colin Baker story in my collection now. I honestly believe it is the best Colin Baker story of all. Better even than the patchy & flawed 'Revelation OTD' (more on that another time) It is also the only story that my sister, a devout non-fan, actually asked if we could watch one day! Go figure!
There are flaws certainly, the Humker & Tandrell silliness, the mystery of the planet being all but solved in the first 10 minutes, some sketchy design choices; but on the whole it looks polished & is pulled of with a fair amount of style. The story barrels along at a cracking pace & never forgets it primary duty to entertain. Robert Holmes script gives Colin some lovely passages that he delivers well; "planets come and go, stars perish, matter disperses, coalesces & reforms into other patterns, other worlds, nothing can be eternal" etc. There are also lovely touches such as the sacred texts. I thought the 'UK habitats of the Canadian Goose' scene blushingly daft as a child, but now I think it is brilliantly quirky & inspired.
The shifty double act of Glitz & Dibber are a treat. I adore their casually sinister banter as they peice together their guns in the first episode. It is a shame though that Glitz is rapidly softened from unconscionable thug at the start of the story to (almost) loveable rogue by the end (& in subsequent appearances). The season 23 'more comedy' mandate seems to have come into effect HALF WAY THROUGH the first story. This change is most evident in the court scenes, initially unsettling & credible, they rapidly degenerate into panto-ish silliness & repetition despite the valiant efforts of Jayston & Bellingham.
I can't state strongly enough how wonderful the first few minutes are, in fact most of the first episode. It is genuinely mysterious & engrossing & there is very little to fault. The stupendous first shot of the spacecraft & the time scoop, the TARDIS being dragged down the beam, the Doctor's first chilly exchanges with Michael Jayston's exquisitely malevolent Valeyard in the half light. All wonderful stuff that could stand proudly against any era of the show. I couldn't say that about many other episodes from season 22 or 23 sadly.
A crucial factor in the ultimate success of the story is that Colin is the most 'Doctor-ish' we have seen him to this point & more sympathetic & likeable than ever before. He is genuinely concerned for others, endearingly curious & generally dry humoured rather than the often cringeworthy buffon of prior stories. Colin gives the most relaxed, assured & natural performance of his reign. The same can be said for Nicola. Even when Col does slip back into mugging arrogance; "this is my best side", (delivered to Drathro's security camera), it is mercifully brief.
The rapport between Colin & Nicola has vastly improved from season 22. Their scenes together wandering through the forest & exploring Marble Arch are their finest bar none. There is genuine affection & SUBTELTY in the performances! It is such a shame that just as they were finally building a mature & believable rapport, they struck the craggy 'shitberg' that was 'Mindwarp' & that was that. In this though, albeit briefly, most of the the childish bickering & over acting is gone.
Gone too are the indescribably bad stabs of synthesizer incidental music that had made their wretched tiffs seem even more forced & painful ('Timelash' & 'Attack Of The Cybermen' being just two of many examples). In fact, the incidental music is the finest of Colin's era. It is generally tasteful & suitably dramatic at the right points. It responds appropriately to the mood of each scene. Genius! You'd think it was rocket science looking at its forebears.
Of the other support cast, Joan Sims gives the most uneven performance; wavering from tender & subtle in her scenes with Peri in the hut to awkward & OTT in her 'rousing' battle speeches. Probably she was miscast. It was almost another 'Beryl Reid', but she actually copes pretty well in comparison. Tom Chadbon as Merdeen is very laid back (some might say too laid back), but I would say his performance is dry & laconic rather than wooden. Merdeen lives a shitty existence in underground tunnels ruled by an megalomaniac robot, so I think his performance is quite apt. The naive, dorky Balazar is also quite well realised.
'Mysterious Planet' is a qualified success & began 'Trial Of A Timelord' with great promise that was all too quickly squandered. As Robert Holmes last contribution to the show, it is a solid if not spectacular farewell, with Colin & Nicola at their all too brief peak.
5) 'Happiness Patrol' (McCoy/ 1988)
Why does this divide people so? I am happy (& glad!) to see some champions for it amongst the Gallifrey One reviews, but a hell of a lot of people still seem to think it is embarrassing rubbish & the finest (or worst?) example of the daft camp & pantoesque leanings of the late JNT era.
The best way I can tackle reviewing this story is to first mention the way I saw it on first viewing as an 11 year old kid. I thought it was horribly gaudy, woefully overacted, painfully unbelievable & much too bizarre. The way I saw it then is pretty much the way a lot of people still see it now. It has taken several further viewings, several years more experience & an understanding of Graeme Curry's intent to change my perspective. I now feel it is an unfairly maligned (by some) & widely misunderstood minor classic. I should also point out that I am no push-over for the mid to late McCoy era. I feel that amongst its contemporaries, 'Rememberance' is very good, but overrated (thanks Keff!) & 'Silver Nemesis'is absolute rubbish.
There is much to applaud in 'Happiness'. There are lovely (gulp) 'Kafka-esque' touches such as the 'Waiting Zone'; where pointless, head spinning beauracracy prevails ("You're not under arrest but... step over that line & you're a dead man") & also in the impersonal & dehumanising doling out of letters to denote rank & worth (the icy, iron fisted Helen 'A' & the ambitious 'heavy' Priscilla 'P' for example). The scene where Silas P attempts to grovel his way up the alphabet is fantastic, as is Helen A's swift, clipped retort "Not quite, the very top, I hope, Silas P?". In this society, your worth ultimately comes down to your letter. Climbs up & slides down the alphabet ladder are desperately desired & fearfully dreaded respectively. As an 11 year old I had no idea what beauracracy was let alone being able to tell when someone was satirising it. I just thought it was all far too odd. Several years on though, I feel the 'clever social satire' credentials are in good order & I enjoy the story very much on this level.
Although the McCoy/ Aldred team is on fine form & has some lovely moments (could have done without McCoy's singing & "laughing" victory though!) I find the Doctor & Ace to be the least fascinating players in this most curious grotesque. They are sidelined somewhat by a wealth of intriguing, well written & finely textured support characters. The troubled, melancholy Susan Q, the droll, theatrical & shifty Gilbert M, the seemingly dotty & submissive but ultimately duplicitous Joseph C. Were he & Gilbert M on together for years? They seem to have had a lot of practice with their little barbs at one another. All three characters are beautifully played with nuance & delicacy. The distinction between the artifice that each character is forced to maintain under Helen A's regime & their true inner selves is intriguing to watch played out in these & many other characters.
What I read as over-acting as a young whippersnapper, I now see as characters either valiantly struggling with the artifice & fearing death for failure in maintaining it (Susan Q) or on the other hand, so practiced at it that they have forgotten how sickeningly false they appear (Priscilla P, Daisy K). The same goes for the design. Yes, clearly it is hideously colourful & garish. Surely that's the point though? The artifice of the design is ugly because all true emotion has been sucked out & it is presenting what is really fake, uninspired happiness.
The Kandyman is a joy to watch "It's all in there somewhere; caramel, sherbet, toffee, marsipan". Never did a list of sugary sweeties sound so terrifying. He is genuinely intimidating & his voice drips with malice. His demented nursery rhyme 'theme' adds to his impact too. All the "Fondant Supreme" stuff is marvellous. The Co-Pilot & I are big suckers for it. It makes us giggly school girls. I also really like the overhead pipe design in the Kandy Kitchen.
Sheila Hancock is just superb. I hang on every poisonous word that falls from her pursed lips. She can change gears in half a blink. Her rants about the miserable drones & such are masterfully delivered & perfectly cold & callous. Helen A sets the tone for the whole story. Hancock has the gravitas in this central performance to give the whole thing a big shot of credibility. If she hadn't taken it seriously & played for laughs, the whole thing could have fallen apart. The rest of the cast follow her lead & thankfully for the most part play it straight. Helen A is no cardboard villain. She has incredible depth & mystery to her. The final scene of her cradling her beloved Fifi in her arms as the incidental music swells is a gem & I genuinely feel for the twisted, misguided old bitch.
A fourth episode could have allowed for fleshing out of the Pipe People side-story a little, but in three parts it may have been wiser ultimately to excise them all together. With the brisk way they are brushed over & their drab design & muffled voices it is hard to engage with them in their plight. Despite a few dubious design choices (not all of them can be excused as 'for effect') & mercifully brief silly moments, this is captivating & intriguing to watch. Intelligent & innovative Doctor Who that is stretching for new ideas & new frontiers.
So that's it, thanks for reading!
The Lucozer
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