Who Review #160 - Survival

And so the long journey started in a junkyard on... 10 March nears its close!

Doctor Who was cancelled and for many long years Who fans had to make do with fan fiction and the slow stream of releases from the BBC, amongst other things. What is all the more disappointing is that the stories were actually beginning to get better when the plug was pulled. McCoy and Aldred were quite a good Doctor/companion combo. Ace was certainly a lot different to many of the girls, carrying explosives around as she did and being something of a strong willed tomboy.

the McCoy era
spoon player
doffing his hat
r-r-r-r-rolled Rs
clown but also broody

Survival has some poorly realised ideas, notably the black cat and (to a lesser extent) the Cheetah people face masks. Those aside, the story is interesting, with some good performances from McCoy, esp. Aldred , and Antony Ainley as the Master.

And we are left with a lovely concluding line, for the time being anyway....

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do

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Who Review #159 - Curse of Fenric

There are lots of lovely horror references in this story, notably to the Fog and to vampire yarns, as well as lashings of Nordic mythology. The latter has a scene that reminds me of Salem's Lot, when the priest (played ably by Nicholas Parsons) falls prey to the vampiric girls because his faith has gone and it will not protect him. The faithless priest is something of a commentary on WWII, as he lost his faith because of what happened. We delve into more of Ace's past; in a way, this has more to do with New Who than the classic show, as companions weren't developed this way previously.

There are lots of great scenes (and it actually manages to be creepy in places) and a good production level in general.

A classic.
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Who Review #158 - Ghost Light

There are fans who love this story to bits because of its complexity. I think it tries to be too clever for its own good. Still, there is the philosophical point: evolution, dialectics, change. Another positive - Ace is developed, her past is discussed, something that would be done further in the next two stories. We are kept guessing as to what is happening for quite a while. The sets and costumes are great, the music OK. I was a bit annoyed by the creatures in the basement as I simply struggled to understand what they were saying. Josiah reminded me of Bernie from the Weekend at Bernie's farce! And what was all that with his plan to assassinate Queen Victoria? (To think she goes and founds Torchwood, despite being indirectly saved here by the Doctor....The ingrate!)

Lord Flashheart Line
Ace: Where have you been?
Doctor: Where haven't I been?
(the viewer: WOOF!)

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Who Review #157 - Battlefield

After a long break (since the Android Invasion), UNIT return as does the retired Brigadier and the Doctor's vintage roadster, Bessie.

There are some elements in the story which were later to become commonplace in New Who: the new Brigadier is a black women (mirroring the greater opportunities for people in society) and a UNIT soldier tells Brig. Bambera that whenever the Doctor appears, all hell breaks loose.

The story plays with Arthurian legend, which is fun I suppose, but it does relapse more often than not into sci-fi pantomime as Knights wander around the British countryside like extras from Monty Python's Holy Grail. The incidental music is dreadfully intrusive and doesn't fit the scenes or action.

Jean Marsh is the evil Morgaine and quite good in the part. Just think, Nick Courtney and Jean made their first Who appearance in the Daleks Masterplan.

Classic Brigadier
we finally see Doris!

The story is actually heavy on nuclear armegeddon; the Destroyer is well made and has been argued by some to be a metaphor for a nuclear device.

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Who Review #156 - the Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Another quirky story!

There are some visually appealling features in the story: clowns that drive hearses, the deserted setting of the circus, spy kites. In fact, the story touches on that typical "neurotic hang-up": bloody clowns! I hate the things and think they are creepy. The story has a distinct dreamscape/ nightmarish quality about it.

The story builds up really nicely; something is happening at the circus but what? We meet some oddball and interesting characters as we get to the circus: Cook and Mags, Bellboy, the head clown (who is a menacing figure and played well by Ian Reddington). Probably the worst character though is the kid - a snotty, little geek played by Gian Sammarco, with shades of Adrian Mole here and, apparantly, a figure poking fun at certain types of Doctor Who fan! The story has that little sub-text: the family in the audience are TV viewers or BBC executives and Doctor Who as a programme is on trial! (Then BBC director Michael Grade was not a fan of the show at all and 1989 would mark a dark moment in the show's history....)

All in all, an entertaining and original story.
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Who Review #155 - Silver Nemesis

The Cybermen return in what is a pointless mess of a story.
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ps. The chess game is important for a later story.....

Who Review #154 - the Happiness Patrol

The Happiness Patrol are magic: leggy lasses in pink minis, pink/purple wigs, high heels and they carry big guns! One of the foes is unforgettable: the Bertie Bassett's inspired Kandyman, who executes people by drowning them in liquid confectionary.

This is another of those quirky stories, in the positive sense of Paradise Towers - visually,it is off-beat and there is a delightful blues sound in the incidental music .

Believe it or not, the story is a look at Thatcher's Britain! Sheila Hancock's Helen A is Mrs. T. There is possibly a gay rights message in here somewhere too (a prisoner wears a pink triangle).

The only let down is the Fifi puppet. Still, one of my favourites from the McCoy era.
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