Doctor Who

[joeplus]

Was that real?

Jesus.

[davidcotton]

Ooh, presuming everything is broken ... how much is it?

£20 for cd or download, or get it as part of a specials bundle for about £55.00 This gets the Unit:Dominion boxset, Love and War (Bernice Summerfields first adventure)Dark Eyes and Voyage to Venus along with Voyage to The New World (or you can get the last two on download only for £1.00 each!).

Cheers

[Sprite Machine]

Incidentally, I'm off on holiday now, so this is my last write-up for a while. If I watch any more episodes while I'm away, I'll do a round-up when I get back.

Hello!

I have watched four more Troughton serials. Again, most of these are reconstuctions with just the odd episode here and there that has been found and restored. I continue to be impressed with Patrick Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor. He's really transformed this show for me now. Fortunately too, a lot of the stories so far are more up my street. Less of the "we're trapped in this historical time period oh noes" and more proper sci-fi stuff. I'll recap what I've seen lately and briefly what I thought of them...

The Underwater Manace. 4 episodes, 2 missing. The Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie discover Atlantis! Apparantly, the ancient lost city is still populated, surviving under the water, sealed away from the world above. While the heroes are offered up as a sacrifice to the Atlantan god, a scientist that the Doctor recognises hatches a plan to raise Atlantis out of the sea. However, he is quite mad and really intends to blow up the whole world or something. This wasn't a bad serial, and again allowed the Doctor to dress up in disguise (this is becoming a theme). The city gets flooded and destroyed at the end, so the production was fairly good, with pools of water and stuff. I'd rate this as passable.

The Moonbase. 4 episodes, 2 missing. Now this one I really did like. Set in the future, Earth has established a base on the moon that controls the tides and the weather of Earth. Already an interesting premise, the base staff soon go missing one by one, after developing a strange illness, and all turns out to be a Cyberman plot! Didn't see that one coming at all. The Cybermen want to control the weather of Earth and wipe humanity out. I didn't manage to catch how these Cybermen survived the destruction of Mondas, or if they were from somewhere else, but the design has had a slight change, in that they now wear fully silver suits, so they appear to be metal all over. Their voices are changed a bit too. I would rate this one as very good, and a shame two of the episodes are only reconstructions.

The Macra Terror. 4 episodes, all missing. Another cool sci-fi episode. A human colony on another planet, far from Earth in the distant future. What seems like a peaceful civilisation has a dark underbelly, in the form of creatures called Macra. They've been using the colonists to mine gas from the ground that they need to survive. They control the the leader of the colonists, who controls the whole colony by feeding them instructions in their sleep. No-one ever meets the leader, he only appears on the video screen to give instructions. It's all very sinister. Anyone who proclaims to have seen a Macra is taken away to be 'cured'. The Doctor uncovers it all and the Macra are defeated by reversing the flow of gas and releasing their controlling grip on the leader. I enjoyed this one too and would have liked to have seen some surviving video. Alas, such was the BBC.

The Faceless Ones. 6 episodes, 4 missing. This was another very cool sci-fi concept, this time set in present day (1966) Earth. The Tardis lands in Gatwick airport, and although being held by the authorities should have been the extent of their problems, they uncover another sinister plot! A private travel firm is abducting young people under the pretense of taking them abroad on their planes, but en route they are being miniaturised and transported to an orbiting space station. The planes convert to spaceships. The Doctor just happens to learn all this when he finds someone one of the aliens has murdered for knowing too much. They're taking people in order to assume their form, as the aliens' true appearence is grotesquely 'faceless', with featureless scaly (possibly green?) faces, apparently due to some sort of illness. It's another interesting premise because, like the Macras in the previous episode, they aren't actually evil as such, they're just trying to survive, and they consider their own form of life to be above humans in all respects. That said, the mood of this one is very much invasion of the body-snatchers, with imposters in key roles in the airport, and no-one sure of who is real, and it takes a while before the Doctor can convince the airport staff that anything is even wrong! Once they realise something strange is happening, the Doctor is given free reign by the police to sort it all out. In the end, they defeat the aliens due to a stupid design flaw of their transformation process - ie. the original humans have to be kept safely stowed away, or the transformation process can be disrupted and the copy alien can be killed. They threaten the aliens with this and get them to leave, although the Doctor offers to help them find an alternative treatment for their condition. On leaving the airport, Ben and Polly choose to stay behind on Earth, as they are now back where they left. The ever-loyal Jamie stays with the Doctor and they return to the Tardis, only to find that it is missing! Dun-dun-duuuunnn!!

[Teabag]

Does that mean you've got the Invasion next? Good times.

[Sprite Machine]

Nah, Evil of the Daleks is next.

[Teabag]

Oh yeah, the Invasion must be much later then. Been a long time since I read the episode guide in my 20th anniversary Radio Times special.

[Davros sock drawer]

Yay Sprite Machine!

Glad you're enjoying Troughton, I've not seen or heard any of these stories (although I have read the Target novelisations) so it's great to read your thoughts on them.

I'm genuinely excited to hear what you think of some of the later stories, especially the classic Philip Hinchcliffe produced Tom Baker era, and also the early 80's stuff.

[Gabe]

I haven't read any of this thread at all, and am also rather late to the party regarding Doctor Who (I've only watched since Matt Smith took over and just now finished the last 2 episodes Series 7, Part 1) - but what do people make of Series 7 thus far? I thought it was terrible, and really tarnished all the good that was built up over 5 and 6; spoilered thoughts:

I had read about Moffat wanting to move away from each series having an overriding story arc and each episode being an isolated adventure, but I thought by doing so it destroyed the best thing about Smith's incarnation - that being his relationship with Amy. Actually, I think it also distilled Rory and Amy's relationship too and it almost felt like Darvill was trying too hard and Gillen was phoning it in.

Whilst I understand the story-direction they had to go in (with Gillen wanting to leave) it just felt like Amy didn't care about her raggedy-man any more; we lost the interplay and quips they shared, their mutual affection/need and it didn't help that none of the episodes were much good (the cube and dinosaur episodes in particular were rubbish). Even the final episode felt weak and lacking any real heart; Amy seeing Rory die was handled much better in previous episodes and had a bit more punch, for example.

I do feel a bit deflated by it, really; both series 5 and 6 gave the promise of big things to come (which have yet to be realised) and I wanted the 3 of them to share those experiences together - and I feel sad that they now never will.

[linkster]

Amy seeing Rory die was handled much better in previous episodes

Man, that says it all.

The last episode I remember enjoying was Amy's Choice but I've so long grown apart I can't remember when it was or much about it

[El Pibe]

The new assistant is lovely.

[locke_211]

Hello!

I have watched four more Troughton serials. Again, most of these are reconstuctions with just the odd episode here and there that has been found and restored. I continue to be impressed with Patrick Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor. He's really transformed this show for me now. Fortunately too, a lot of the stories so far are more up my street. Less of the "we're trapped in this historical time period oh noes" and more proper sci-fi stuff. I'll recap what I've seen lately and briefly what I thought of them...

Episode 2 of The Underwater Menance is the most recently recovered episode, found in 2011! Out on DVD in some form next year, I think.

And here's 30 seconds of surviving material from The Macra Terror:

There's quite a few little clips like this from across the missing black and white stories. The Australian censors were wusses so when they bought copies of these stories, they edited out anything remotely scarey. A few years ago, the results of their edits were found, giving us a rather bizarre collection of isolated fragments of people screaming and being brutally murdered.

The Macra also return in the Tenth Doctor episode,

Gridlock!

Tennant was amused by the idea of challenging RTD to bring back a rubbish forgotten monster instead of the Daleks or Cybermen, and that was the rather good result.

[Made of Ghosts]

Something about the ultra-fuzzy black & white actually does make that a bit unsettling.

[Sprite Machine]

There's quite a few little clips like this from across the missing black and white stories. The Australian censors were wusses so when they bought copies of these stories, they edited out anything remotely scarey. A few years ago, the results of their edits were found, giving us a rather bizarre collection of isolated fragments of people screaming and being brutally murdered.

That's excellent.

I also didn't know the Macra came back in a modern episode; I'll have to watch that again sometime. I recall enjoying it.

---

Evil of the Daleks is next. I must say, I wasn't sure where this episode was heading at first. The Doctor's search for his Tardis leads him to an antique dealer's shop, where he and Jamie get transported back in time. It turns out the owner is from Victorian times and the Daleks have provided a time machine to capture the Doctor and lure him back. The Daleks were accidentally brought from their planet Skarro by a scientist experimenting with mirrors or something, and they've used him to capture the Doctor, and forced the house owner, Mr. Waterfield, to co-operate by capturing his daughter.

Their plan is a bit contrived but I can go along with it. They need the Doctor and Jamie so they can explore "the human factor", the unique thing that made them fail to conquer humanity in the past. With the Doctor's arm twisted, he succeeds is isolating this human element and implanting it in three Daleks, who end up turning into child-like playful creatures, their sense of manace and obedience erased.

This is all just a ruse, however, as the Daleks merely wanted to isolate this factor so they could create an anti-factor of sorts, a dalek element that they would force the Doctor to disperse over Earth (hence the need for his Tardis) and turn all of humanity into obedient Dalek slaves.

I did find this story a little bit drawn out at 7 episodes, however everyting comes to a head in the final episode when they're transported to Skarro and we see for the first time the Dalek Emperor. The Doctor does a clever capsule switch and makes a load of Daleks become human-like, and so a big battle breaks out between the two sects, causing their Dalek city to collapse, and what looks like the Emperor being destroyed. Alas, since the video was lost to deletion, it's hard to make out, and it's a shame it's missing, because it sounded pretty epic. The Emperor looked pretty big and imposing too.

This was a passable serial which ended up having a pretty excellent ending. Allegedly the end of the Daleks for good, says the Doctor (we know otherwise!). It's also the end of the 'season', whatever that meant at the time. Waterfield died in the Dalek rebellion, but his daughter Victoria survived and would appear to be joining our heroes on their adventures.

Next up is... Tomb of the Cybermen.

[CarloOos]

Tomb is a classic. First Troughton I ever saw, still have it somewhere on a massively worn-out VHS.

The other one I used to watch loads was Seeds of Death, think you've got a while before that though.

[Davros sock drawer]

Tomb was my absolute favourite Doctor Who story as a kid - in Target novelisation form! But it's still pretty excellent in TV form, and Victoria is

[locke_211]

Tomb is often criticised for being racist - see what you think!

[Sprite Machine]

Hmm, the black man servant? What with that and the "the women can stay here" remark, I wondered what year this was supposed to set in at first. I thought it was a 1920s expedition on Earth but then they started talking about spaceships and centuries passing and I got confused.

Three parts to go. I still like Troughton a lot. Also, first ever mention of the Doctor's age! (450 Earth years).

[Sprite Machine]

So, Tomb of the Cybermen. Unsurprisingly, I liked it. Classic Who villain plus sci-fi plot gets my vote any time, and this one was handled well. Much like in Power of the Daleks, the villains are a force not to awaken, and the danger comes principally from the rogue human characters who wish to control them (and use them to take over the Earth).

At four parts long, the story was tight enough, with dramatic cliffhangers capping each part. The Cybermen were the new metal-/foil- coated variety as seen in 'The Moon Base', and although they still look like men in foil suits, with those electronic voices, they were scary enough. The Cyber-Controller and Cybermats are new, although the latter weren't particularly scary, nor seem to do anything, although one escapes at the end in what I assume will become a relevant plot point in a later episode.

For its time, the production design was fairly impressive. Although a lot of the control panels and doors look like they're made of wood, I was impressed by the large array of stasis pods from which the Cybermen emerge. There were also good pyro effects from their laser gun weapon, and some neat eletricity special effects.

I thought I was going to be disappointed by Victoria's easy acceptance into this group, considering her father was killed in the previous story and seemingly forgotten about, but then episode 3 had a welcome bit of banter between her and the Doctor, in which the Doctor describes his way of thinking about their adventures and how no-one else in the universe is lucky enough to do what they're doing. The Doctor's character has been largely sidelined up until now (particularly in Hartnell's episodes), so this was a nice moment that added to the character, and I hope it continues.

Certainly, this was amongst the best Classic Who serials I've seen in my epic marathon so far, and the first Troughton story to be without missing parts, which was a treat. He didn't play his recorder in this one, though. Shame.

[Davros sock drawer]

Yay!

You've correctly identified an all-time classic scene between the Doctor and Victoria there, frequently voted for in fan best-of lists.

Must have been nice to actually watch a whole Troughton story with nothing missing. I wish they would do more reconstructions like the one for The Invasion.

So what's up next?

[DeNeo]

The Christmas special is airing at an unusually early time this year:

'The Snowmen' will retain the sci-fi drama's traditional December 25 slot, airing at 5.15pm on BBC One in the UK

[Sprite Machine]

So what's up next?

The Abominable Snowmen!

This six-part story starts when the Doctor and co arrive at a Tibetan monestery in the Himalayas, and discover the monks there have been terrorised by a group of yetis.

Naturally, all is not as it appears and the yetis are in fact robots being controlled by a disembodied intelligence, who is also controlling the abbot of the monks and one of the Doctor's old acquaintances from a previous visit. To be honest, I found it hard to follow exactly what was happening in this one. Four of the reconstructed episodes were particularly poorly done, with muffled sound, over-exposed images, no captions, and looked like they had been transferred from VHS (they probably had). Admittedly, I could have tracked down some better quality reconstructions, but I wasn't all that interested in the story anyway. It dragged on for too long. About the only thing I liked was the voice of the disembodied intelligence - slow and calm but really creepy. For a moment, I thought he might turn out to be an early form of The Master (since he referred to himself as the master), but it seems there was no relation after all.

The controlling machine is destroyed, seemingly taking the master with it, and the yeti robots are disabled. The Tardis leaves for hopefully warmer pastures.

In short: meh.

[davidcotton]

Just a heads up in case no one who may be interested. Linkster is looking to flog his 8th Doctor BBC Books. There's a thread in ask the forum if anyones interested.

[Harsin]

Looks like the a Tardis control room is getting another overhaul. BBC have put up a preview picture.

[Davros sock drawer]

The Abominable Snowmen!

This six-part story...

It dragged on for too long.

This is something that thankfully happens less and less as the series go on, although obviously there are still the occasional duff 4 parters that drag. By Tom Baker's era you might get one six parter per season, and none after that.

[Hexx]

New trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEJNzJqMtjg

[Jug McKenzie]

On 12/12/2012 at 18:57, Hexx said:

 

[Davros sock drawer]

I must say I'm with you on this jerellis. I've gone right off New Who since the rather lackluster last season.

[Flub]

Rumor has it we're not being told everything with regard the villain in the Christmas special.

Spoiler

Great Intelligence

[linkster]

I must say I'm with you on this jerellis. I've gone right off New Who since the rather lackluster last season.

Fairy tale-style opening voiceover describing the Doctor as being some kind of mythical legendary mystery man? Check.

Doomy threat about some sort of army bringing about the fall of mankind, still likely to be explained and resolved within 55 minutes? Check.

Amazing(ly unoriginal) play on the name, Doctor Who? Check.

Some obligatory running and shouting whilst holding the hand of a companion? Check (albeit with a terrific twist - she's the one doing the running! Brilliant! What a feisty new companion, not the least bit stereotypical this time, just because she's a twenty-something hottie)

Said pretty companion grabbing the Doctor to plant an inappropriate and surprising (!) smacker on his fizzog? Check.

I don't think I've ever been less excited about a Doctor Who Christmas Special. After all, I'm pretty sure I've seen this one at least three times already. I'll still watch it though because Richard E. Grant, etc.

Welcome to my world.

[Sprite Machine]

The Tardis leaves for hopefully warmer pastures.

Lolwhoops! 'The Ice Warriors' is next, and the Tardis lands in the middle of an ice age! All these snowy episodes are giving me a chill at this time of year - brrrr!!

It's the future, and Earth is overrun by advancing ice caps, kept at bay by outposts stationed all over the world. One such outpost (bizarrely an old victorian house renovated into a modern lab) is visited by the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria. An expedition outside discovers a frozen man, it turns out to be a creature from Mars, and he is accidentally awakened, and then revives his fellow warriors from the ice. They plan to free their spaceship (and possibly conquer the Earth, but first things first), and the outpost cannot use its 'ionizer' ray to keep the icecaps away, lest it react badly with the alien's ship's engine, causing a devastating explosion. Skirmishes and kidnappings ensue, as the martians and the humans size each other up and play each other's bluff.

With six episodes, there's a little more to this story than just the alien stuff. The base's leader is a complex character, proud and accomplished, but more concerned with reporting in positive results than in saving lives and doing what's right. Another former scientist-turned-scavenger plays off of this and is ultimately recruited back into the group. He's played by Peter Sallis, which was distracting if only because I kept expecting him to say "cracking cheese, Gromitt!". Still, these scenes are all good, and the lab, props and costumes are all very futuristic-looking.

The aliens are pretty one-dimensional villains, and sound like a cross between Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort. Their costumes are a mix of mechanical and organic, and look a little rubbery, but I did like the weird prosthetic mouth pieces they had - very eerie the way they move when they talk. They also had powerful guns on their arms that made cool warped effects when they fired.

So, pretty good overall, mostly down to the supporting cast.

A word on the restoration: the two missing episodes were condensed as a single 15 minutes piece by the BBC, and presented as an "in-universe" communications failure, with the remaining audio and pictures presented on one of the communicator screens used in the episode. I thought it was very well done and a nice touch to present it this way. That aside, I also watched fan-made full-length restorations of both, just because I want to see every single episode regardless.