Doctor Who

[squirtle]

I recently caught up with the last few episodes of the latest season. It was ok. Matt Smith was excellent, the stories...not so.

However, one thing that really needs a revamp is the music. God, it's so overbearing now and LOUD and annoying. Tone the fucking stuff down, for crap's sake. It undermines a lot of what's going on for so much of it. I'd love to see them peel the music back and go for something synthey rather than the overdone bombast we have now.

[Sprite Machine]

The Fourth Doctor (Summary + Best Episodes)

The arrival of Tom Baker seemed to bring with it a change of tone - not for the first time. Since the character was more jovial (compared to the stern Pertwee version), the stories developed a humour to them as well. When coupled with dark themes, this gave some of the stories a distinctive style of their own. It added wit and charm to darkness and horror, and handled it all with confidence. I've watched this show gradually transform from melodramatic stage drama to rather ambitious TV sci-fi that pushed the envelope in many ways. Some serials, like The Deadly Assassin, made bold changes to shake up the format, and it's been an interesting journey to work through them.

This era of Doctor Who is widely regarded by fans as the definitive era, the golden years, and I can see why. Certainly, seasons 13 and 14 represent a high point of quality and consistency. There are a few missteps along the way, and towards the end things start getting a bit stale, but nevertheless, this is the most consistent run of good stories so far.

Along the way has been a collection of companions who have perhaps been overshadowed next to the Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith was witness to the Doctor's transformation from Three to Four but her potential was never fully realised. Romana was an attempt to match the Doctor's intellect, but she was never developed much as a character herself (before or after her change of appearance). Leela was my favourite, being so out of touch with the world(s) around her, and providing a primal energy and resourcefulness that complimented the Doctor nicely. Her departure was weakly handled. But before I agonise over my favourite serials, there is the matter of the Doctor himself.

Thoughts on the Fourth Doctor

What can I say about Tom Baker as Doctor Who that hasn't been said countless times before? All I can add, as an outsider (coming from modern era first), is that I see exactly from where Eccleston, Tennant and Smith draw their inspiration. He IS the Doctor, the yardstick by which others will always be judged. Tom Baker portrays the Doctor as an eccentric alien, but maintains an air of humanity and compassion. He always gives the impression that he has a universe of thoughts running through his mind, evidenced by his absent-mindedness and in the way he changes his mind or contradicts himself and others at the drop of a hat.

He is able to be preoccupied by the smallest of things, like his scarf or jellybabies, even while the fate of the universe hangs in the balance. The way he faces down death with a smile, mockery and an undercurrent of threat, is just masterful. Such is the Doctor's strong presence, that he is even able to assert his authority in any given situation, pretending to be somebody else or simply dodging the questions and taking charge, without the need for the 'psychic paper' McGuffin of later series.

If I have any complaints about Tom Baker's version of the Doctor, it would simply be that some of his mannerisms start to wear thin. After seven years of TV (crammed into four months), that is understandable. Admittedly, offering jellybabies to people remained as funny to me as ever, but his contradictory plans, low mumbling punctuated with shouts of "come on" in the last couple of seasons did start to grate. The way he would escape death so often could weaken the sense of threat and drama. Also, on occasion, his character became a little too detached and inhuman, but this was a rarity.

On the whole, Tom Baker has been superb, so much so that even the poor stories are brought to life by his performance. He has effortlessly topped my list of Doctors, so my order of preference right now looks like this:

Tom Baker > Patrick Troughton > Jon Pertwee > William Hartnell

Episode Highlights

Picking out the cream of the crop of Tom Baker stories has been difficult. Not only do I have to choose from seven seasons of stories, more than any other Doctor, but there are just so many that are almost impossible to separate without being a bit ruthless. It would be easier for me to list the bad ones, or certainly quicker, or to pick twenty-odd serials that I thought were good enough to mention. Alas, I am imposing a limit of seven, which seems fair, so inevitably, some good ones slip through the net. A shame, as I enjoyed The Android Invasion and The Pirate Planet, for instance, but they won't get a mention. Oh, hang on, they just did!

The Sontaran Experiment (2 parts)

A low-key tale of Sontaran wickedness and Time Lord cunning. Gripping sci-fi done on a tiny budget.

Pyramids of Mars (4 parts)

A change of scenery and an imposing villain add a lot to this well-written four-parter.

The Deadly Assassin (4 parts)

This mystery story changes to a darker tone, brings back an old villain and explores the Time Lords home world.

The Robots of Death (4 parts)

A "Who-dunnit" with robots, thought-provoking themes and a cast of likable characters.

The Sun Makers (4 parts)

An Orwellian nightmare pushed to farcical extremes, it is nevertheless very modern and watchable.

City of Death (4 parts)

A jaunty contemporary style makes this a lighthearted adventure in Paris and beyond.

The Leisure Hive (4 parts)

A solid story is backed up by the best studio direction and audio work I've encountered in this series so far.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Sprite Machine

[davidcotton]

John Pertwee

Nice summary. As I said earlier I was just a little too young at the time the Baker episodes were going out so the Davison era is the one I remember fondly. I also seem to remember rightly or wrongly that the golden age did include the davison run and the beginning of the end really began with the Colin Baker episodes (though I did like a few of the C Baker episodes, and the audios have shown what a great tv doctor he could have become).

How far are you planning on going with these reviews Sprite?

[Davros sock drawer]

A lovely summary Sprite. I have more to say on Logopolis when I'm less busy , but glad you generally enjoyed it.

[Sprite Machine]

Fixed!

How far are you planning on going with these reviews Sprite?

All the way, baby!

A lovely summary Sprite. I have more to say on Logopolis when I'm less busy , but glad you generally enjoyed it.

Thanks. Yeah, I did.

[Davros sock drawer]

So yeah, I was nearly 7 years old when Logopolis first aired, and I can remember it pretty well. I especially remember Tegan's aunt being shrunk to death by The Master in the first episode, and the final scenes of The Doctor hanging onto the cable before plunging to his doom. I seem to remember being pretty upset that he was changing, although after only a couple of episodes of Davison I was fully onboard with the fifth Doctor, who was really "my" Doctor as a child.

Baker is my favourite though, and as you say it really is a definitive portrayal. So many good stories that my favourites aren't all the same as yours, and yet all the stories you singled out are brilliant (maybe not The Sunmakers though). For the record, my fave seven would be:

Genesis of the Daleks

Pyramids of Mars

The Seeds of Doom

The Robots of Death

Horror of Fang Rock

City of Death

Warrior's Gate

But really seven is nowhere near enough. Depending on what mood I'm in when you ask me I could pick any different 7. Talons, Fendahl, Deadly Assassin, The Leisure Hive, Brain of Morbius, Zygons, etc, etc. It is, as you say, much easier to pick out the duffers, and most of those would come from seasons 16 and 17.

So it's Peter Davison next. If you think Baker is a tough act to follow now, imagine what it was like in 1981! And yet, somehow he managed it. It's certainly not the end of Classic Dr Who, and you've got some great stories coming up still, from what was in all honesty the show's last gasp of greatness until the reboot.

[pranny]

This been posted yet? : http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/13/google-maps-doctor-who-tardis-easter-egg/

Google maps tardis yo!

[Sprite Machine]

Castrovalva

(Blog has pictures)

In the grand scheme of things, regenerations do not occur very often in Doctor Who, and new performances should be savoured and enjoyed while they last. In many respects, the writers seemed to agree here, as Castrovalva explores the nature of regeneration more than any previous story. This isn't even really a story ABOUT anything else. It is just about the Doctor trying to find a place to recover (the Tardis's "Zero Room", and later the peaceful city of Castrovalva), and the Master using all the tricks at his disposal to finish him off while he's at his weakest.

[Picture: A confused Doctor roams the Tardis, looking for the Zero Room. That scarf didn't suit him anyway.]

So, Peter Davison. He has some big shoes to fill. On the face of it, he seems perfectly pleasant. A clean cut nice guy, but lacking that dark undercurrent that Baker had. To be fair, it's really too early to pass any sort of judgement. I will say that, early on, he does a fantastic job of impersonating Patrick Troughton while, in a confused state, he relives his earlier years. He even calls his companions Jamie and Victoria at one point, a lovely touch. But he is quick to attain a sense of identity, casting aside the recorder, unravelling his scarf, and picking up some new clothes and a cricket bat. As he says, he's not feeling himself anymore, he's feeling whoever he is now, and it's "absolutely splendid".

[Picture: Do not trust this man. Not because he's actually the Master, but because he appears to be wearing two hats.]

With the Doctor out of action for much of the story, it falls to the companions to push the plot along. Unfortunately, these characters are weak and there hasn't been enough time to establish them yet, so it doesn't work out so well. Tegan displays a protectiveness over the Doctor that betrays the fact that she's only known him for a day. Not to mention her Aunt was recently killed by the Master and she doesn't even bring it up again. As for Adric, getting captured by the Master was probably for the best, but how exactly did that happen from within the Tardis?

[Picture: Adric caught in the Master's web. Like a fly caught in a... web.]

The entropy theme has been ditched completely (recursion seems to be the new thing now!) and events just seem to conveniently "happen" as the plot demands, rather than naturally forming. The Master's plan just comes out of nowhere and stretches believability. Still, he gets what was coming to him. Some of the concepts are great, like the recursive structure of the city and the perception filter on its inhabitants. The Tardis being sent backwards to "event one" and having to eject a portion of its own mass is also a cool concept. And, ultimately, I did enjoy the new Doctor struggling to find his feet and come to terms with his new identity.

[Picture: Castrovalva, as designed by M. C. Escher.]

On the whole, there's some good stuff here, but I did find it a bit underwhelming. It's early days, and there's a lot of potential ahead. I only hope I don't spend the next three seasons thinking "well, he's good, but he's no Tom Baker".

[Davros sock drawer]

I think Davison plays it differently enough that you shouldn't feel like that. He's more human and vulnerable than the 4th

Again, fond memories of Castrovalva. As a kid I found the bizarre MC Escher structure of the town rather scary.

This is one of the worst Tardis crews unfortunately. And they're going to be around for a little while yet.

[FishyFish]

But. Nyssa, lovely, lovely Nyssa.

Plus, she strips to her knickers in one episode.

[Darren]

But. Nyssa, lovely, lovely Nyssa.

Plus, she strips to her knickers in one episode.

Boy, did I stop watching at the wrong time! Peter Davison just seemed too boring to 11 year old me after growing up with mad old Tom.

[zxcvbnm]

I take it you mean this...

I can still remember that episode as if it was yesterday. The things she did to a younger me.......

[Teabag]

There's also a bit in Mawdryn Undead where you can see right down her top.

[davidcotton]

Big Finish announce a limited (500) release on double LP of The Light At The End. The price? £100 !!

[Davros sock drawer]

There's also a bit in Mawdryn Undead where you can see right down her top.

Not really worth looking though. Peri on the other hand...

[NEG]

There's also a bit in Mawdryn Undead where you can see right down her top.

What's down there?

[Teabag]

Cigarettes. I couldn't believe it.

[Sprite Machine]

Four to Doomsday

(Blog has pictures)

In Four to Doomsday, the four-strong Tardis crew meets four people from four cultures in Earth's history on a spaceship and the story lasts for four episodes. It doesn't end in doomsday, though.

[Picture: The Doctor is nearly beheaded and shot.]

The spaceship is one of the more lavish I've seen in Doctor Who. I suppose it should be expected that production values gradually improve over time (it's been nearly twenty years since 'The Sensorites'), but this one is particularly spacious, multi-storeyed and detailed with sliding doors, lights and functional-looking equipment. I dare say, if shot on film, it would look almost movie-quality. Its leader, the green-skinned Monarch of Urbanka, is also made-up with well-realised prosthetics for the show's time. He's also quite a charismatic presence, despite his tyranny.

[Picture: "His Majesty", the Urbankan Monarch.]

His devious plan does rather fall apart under scrutiny. Going back and forth between his home planet and Earth, to pick up figures from history and turn them into robot slaves or androids, seems like an awful waste of resources. Admittedly, the android reveal is a good one, the nightmarish imagery of a face being lifted up to reveal a hollowed out head and a circuit board can never fail to have impact - but as a concept, this is starting to become a little overdone. What a nice surprise, then, that the Monarch turns out to be a fleshy after all, and foiled by his own poison.

[Picture: The Urbankans turned the Greek Philospher Bigon into an android. They should have just let Bigon be Bigon. (I am so sorry.)]

Special mention must be made about this Tardis crew, because frankly I've not encountered such a tiresome bunch as this. Adric is especially irritating in this story, and it pleased me greatly to see him get his arse kicked by Tegan. Tegan is hysterical, and to be fair, that's to be expected, as she grows frustrated with the predicament she's in and everything that's happened to her. Sadly, seeing her flustering about the Tardis doesn't make for enjoyable viewing. Nyssa is actually okay, but much like the others, she's not particularly good at acting, or the part is just woefully underwritten. She faints at the end of the story, probably because she's bored and wants something to do.

[Picture: "Weeeeee!!!!"]

The Doctor, thankfully, is likeable. He's retained his wits, his cunning and his curiosity, but now he's just so... pleasant. He's more of a positive role model for the companions, I suppose. Less of a nutter. I don't have any problem with his performance at all. I could grow to be quite comfortable with him as the leading man. The space jump sequence at the end of part 4 was quite utterly ridiculous, though. Let's ignore for a moment the problem of surviving in a vacuum… the Doctor is saved by a cricket ball, really? Hmm, maybe that's ingeniously funny; it just didn't bowl me over.

[Davros sock drawer]

Couple of factoids for you:

• This was actually the first story that Davison filmed, I've only seen Four to Doomsday once myself, but I seem to remember that you can tell he's not fully settled in. He gets better IMO.
• Nyssa faints at the end because she wasn't in the cast when the next story (Kinda) was scripted. So they wrote her out.

The rest of the season is a lot more interesting I think, for various reasons. I'll be very interested to hear what you make of the next three stories in particular.

[Davros sock drawer]

Oh, and some thoughts on the new companions here:

http://www.shadowlocked.com/201012201157/reviews/doctor-who-complete-reviews-four-to-doomsday.html

One problem with the new Doctor though is that he blatantly can't keep control of the new team of companions. Although given that this is Nyssa, Adric and Teabag that we're talking about here, that's no real surprise. This is one of the biggest problems of Four To Doomsday, and it's definitely the story that proves that this is the Companion Team From Hell. Nyssa, as usual, does relatively little apart from float about in the background like the Phantom Raphaelite of Non-Entities Past. Even when she's asked to look startled at the arrival of a mysterious stranger, Sarah Sutton duly obliges with the expression of a thick goldfish.

In the meantime, it's left to Adric and Teabag to wrestle for the prize of Biggest Pain. Adric's certainly a contender, annoying the hell out of everyone else and then demonstrating never-seen levels of gullibility by following Monarch around like a puppy dog in a bowlcut wig. If Monarch commands Adric to jump, then Adric will ask how high and whether he can make him a cup of tea while doing so. Ironically, this time it's not entirely Matthew Waterhouse's fault - although his clunky performance certainly doesn't help matters. Given that Adric's got a badge for mathematical excellence, you wonder why a writer's been allowed to reduce the kid to the level of a thick simpleton. Surely anyone with just a hint of a brain could sense that Monarch's up to no good? Well, evidently Adric doesn't, given that he's constantly gushing about Monarch's grand plans. Totally unbelievable, and maybe the sign of a production team hell-bent on making Adric even more of a laughing stock than normal.

But inevitably, it's Teabag who scoops off with the prize. Teabag's penchant for stomping about and carrying on like a cross between a thick toddler and a menopausal shelf-stacker knows no bounds in this story - right from the start when she's whinging on at The Doctor for failing to get her to Heathrow Airport. The nadir of this comes in part three, when she starts shrieking and yelling at The Doctor to get her away from Monarch's ship. When this comes to no good, Teabag decides to hijack the TARDIS and try to pilot it home herself. Cue several embarrassing scenes of Teabag wailing and crying like a three-year-old in a supermarket aisle failing to get her own way after her mum refused to buy her a packet of sweets.

In one way, it does show the fallibility of the new Doctor, who can't keep control of his companions, but my god, the air-hostess is bloody annoying. Janet Fielding's performance is also lots of one-note shrieking and little else, so that doesn't help. Altogether, it's stories like this that threaten to drag the era of the Fifth Doctor down, just because of the awfulness of the companions, who between them seem to have a mental age of five.

[Fireproofradiator]

I really liked Four to Doomsday when I watched it again a couple of years ago. Some lovely visual stuff (frog prince between princess and prince charming, the WOMAD-like dance bits). Like a lot of early Davison its got some good sci-fi ideas in it and although the companions are as rubbish as everyone says Davison is lovely. He is my doctor tho.

Is Kinda next? *shudders*

[Davros sock drawer]

Yep, one of my favourites that. Some seriously creepy imagery.

[squirtle]

I watched the first three episodes of Horror at Fang Rock last night on US Netflix. Was fun. Gonna watch the finale tonight. Would have watched it last night but my partner wanted to go to bed but said she wanted to know what happens in the end.

[Teabag]

Episode 1 of Kinda is amazing. It's like Twin Peaks.

[Davros sock drawer]

I watched the first three episodes of Horror at Fang Rock last night on US Netflix. Was fun. Gonna watch the finale tonight. Would have watched it last night but my partner wanted to go to bed but said she wanted to know what happens in the end.

Have you seen it before? It's on rotation with Caves of Androzani and Robots of Death for my all-time fave.

[Red Alignment]

Is there classic DW on the UK version of Netflix?

[Yartek]

Only appears to be four classic stories and the TV Movie. There's Genesis Of The Daleks (1975), Resurrection Of The Daleks (1984), Revelation Of The Daleks (1985) and Remembrance Of The Daleks (1988). I love the first and last of those, Revelation is interesting but feels a bit like the Doctor's wandered into someone else's story and Resurrection is a bit meh.

[Sprite Machine]

Kinda

(Blog has pictures)

The Tardis lands in paradise, a peaceful tropical planet inhabited by a docile native tribe (the Kinda). As is often the case, the planet is also being occupied by a research group headed by a brash military leader with a disregard for the local life. However, unlike previous stories, this one doesn't quite go the way you might expect. It is, frankly, weird. Very weird. (You might even call it a Kinda Surprise - I'm sorry.) It's as if Avatar met The Twilight Zone and they both got drunk.

[Picture: There's some lovely direction in this story.]

Credit where it's due, however, as the dream sequences are very creepy, using a high contrast filter and bright lights to really bring out a strong visual style. Interesting video effects continue into the latter half of the story as well, during the prophecy sequence and the reveal of the Mara snake creature. It's a good effort to make a studio shoot look a bit more dramatic and interesting. In the case of the dream sequence, it works really well. These are some bizarre if not unsettling scenes; Janet Fielding handles these well.

[Picture: The Mara snake was, shall we say... ambitious?]

Watching Hindle and Sanders go from uptight military officers to playful children is an entertaining transformation. For a while, Hindle is the sort of character you just want to punch, but he gradually becomes more and more tragic as the effects of the telepathy take hold. Adric plays the role of the suck-up again, although at least this time he's got an agenda. Tegan spends much of the story asleep or possessed, and Nyssa spends the whole time recovering in the Tardis. The Doctor is like a teacher on a field trip, but I like him. His comment about an apple a day made me chuckle.

[Picture: Hindle descends into madness.]

This story is fun and weird, visually interesting but suffers from somewhat poor plotting and drama. I think it's because it tries to establish a lot of rules but leaves it too long and then asks you to go along with it otherwise the plot makes no sense. Suddenly there's a psychic box that turns you into a child, oh but only if you're a man, but actually you might be alright anyway (and it also turns the power off?), reincarnation, a demon from a dream realm and did you know evil snakes hate mirrors or something? And we never see the missing research staff - what ever happened to them?

[Davros sock drawer]

It's an interesting story isn't it? I watched it again last night and this morning, and enjoyed it. It's up there with my favourites I think, because it's full of disturbing imagery and sounds (the Mara 'screech' for example, and the unsubtle "We are communicating via telepathy now" noise for example), and some of the performances are brilliant. Simon Rouse as Hindle in particular when he screams "Don't be Silly! You can't mend people can you?! YOU CAN'T MEND PEOPLE!", but also Nerys Hughes and Richard Todd.

There's also lots of fascinating concepts being examined, apparently based on buddhist philosophy. I thought the box of Jahna and its effect on the people who look into it was really cool, and they managed to somehow get a brilliant cliffhanger out of it being opened and a woman screaming.

Sadly some of the production values let the side down. The obviously visible studio floor for one, and the Mara's final form for another. Apparently they ran out of time and the programme was granted more recording days as a consequence.

Then of course there's Adric. I actually watched him pretty closely this time, and dear God he can't even deliver the simplest line properly. There are a couple of really obvious filler scenes with him and Tegan arguing, and I just wanted to reach into the screen and punch him, hard.

Get this though - apparently Matthew Waterhouse gave Richard Todd tips on acting during the course of production!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Todd

Yeah, I'm sure you had lots to teach him Matthew...

[squirtle]

Have you seen it before? It's on rotation with Caves of Androzani and Robots of Death for my all-time fave.

I haven't watched any classic Who since I was a kid. I finished it. I didn't get why

the monster transformed back to it's original state then spent ages climbing the stairs. Why didn't it just stay a human and get up them quicker? Also, everyone dies. Good work, Doctor.

I've now got the last episode of Robots of Death to watch as well. Leela is hot.

Is there classic DW on the UK version of Netflix?

Use Unblock US free for a week. There's loads on the US one and Robots of Death on the Canadian one all on its lonesome.