The End of Time

Just seen it! A review to come on 1st/2nd Jan

Who Review - the Waters of Mars

I sat up, as per usual, waiting for the episode to be uploaded on the net. I am sure the BBC are annoyed at this sort of thing but for all us fans living outside Britain, it really is the only chance we get to see the show.

Anyway....

I didn't like this episode that much. There was the ever so tiresome running about; that annoying robot (Gadget, Gadget!), which - oh, quelle surprise! - gets souped up by the sonic screwdriver; the "monsters" were dribbling zombies; there's that guy from "Neighbours". I didn't like the bit with the Doctor wandering off as the Bowie Base crew were infected, one after the other, by The Flood and then coming back, in an almost deranged state, because he controls time as the last Time Lord.

Phil BC at AVPS blog makes an interesting observation about how history is presented in this story. Take a gander there.

I suppose I always want Mars base personel, who are under attack from Zombies, to pull out a BFG 9000 and zap the bastards. As Red Dwarf's Kryten might say: "An excellent plan, sir, except for two serious flaws - 1. we don't have any BFG 9000s ; 2. we don't have any BFG 9000s because they don't exist."

Positives? I like the way the standard BBC quarry was made to look like Mars and the base had a nice design when compared to past stories. And in best Who and Star Trek tradition, the people on the base present a future vision of a unified human race.

Only a few more weeks to go and it will be Xmas and the return of Donna, the Master, Ood and the closing moments of the Tennant era.

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the Waters of Mars

I am beginning to get excited. In a few weeks time, we will see the next Doctor Who episode. What will be revealed though? We know from the Easter Special (Planet of the Dead) that something is returning from the darkness and there will be four knocks . Four knocks= Sound of Drums= Master. The Waters of Mars can be played with to give Wars of the Master.

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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Who Review #153 - Remembrance of the Daleks

This was broadcast around the time of the 25th anniversary and that is reflected in the story: there is a playful reference to UNIT when the Doctor calls the Group Captain "Brigadier"; the action features Cole Hill School (where Ace picks up a book - Susan's? - on the French Revolution) and the junkyard at Totter's Lane, all references to An Unearthly Child; the silly bit on TV, where the BBC presenter says it is 5:15 and time for a new sci-fi show called Doc....

The first episode suffers from plunging straight into the action. Normally, there is a little build up before characters meet and the enemy is revealed. Here it is done very briefly and quickly. Still, the story begins to settle down after the hurried start - there is a little bit of mystery with regard to a small girl - as we discover the Dalek factions are at war and both after the Hand of Omega, which the Doctor has left on Earth.

The story is a bit contrived though. Everything is taking place in the old haunt; the Dalek factions know about the Hand of Omega and the Doctor could take something so important from Gallifrey...huh??? Other silly bits are the pantomime fascists, seeing a Dalek spaceship land on a school playground in 1963, and the Time Controller is a plasma globe! Oh and another problem: Davros is back, again.

It's a lightweight bit of fun, with some good scenes here and there, but nothing special. It is easy to see how the show had changed if you compare this story with Genesis of the Daleks.....
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Who Review #152 - Dragonfire

The season finale sees the series return to slightly more normal Who and is a distinct improvement on the proceeding stories.

There are some nice touches throughout the story. There is Pythonesque moment when the Doctor talks to a guard, in order to distract him, and the latter turns out to be an expert in Philosophy. Tony Selby is back once again as the comic crook Glitz. They finally get rid of Mel, who is replaced by the sweet Sophie Aldred (Ace). The "Dragon" is actually an OK design. Edward Peel is excellent as Kane. Kane's death is one of the Who moments as the special effect is comparable to the famous face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The end of episode 1 is the silliest in the history of the show, surely? The Doctor, for no reason, climbs over a railing and looks set to plummet to his death! (This is compounded still more when the girls climb down to a ledge using a rope ladder; the drop has vanished?)

Classic Mel
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg!" (when she sees the Dragon)

Classic Ace
"Ace!" "Professor." "Brill!" "Nitro 9"

An OK story.
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Who Review #151 - Delta and the Bannermen

Ken Dodd, that guy from the Flying Pickets, humanoid aliens travelling to a holiday camp in 1959 Wales in a bus shaped spaceship, Rock n Roll inspired incidental music, a green alien baby...yep, a quirky story is in store.

I never really got in to this particular story. It really is the dreaded pantomime sci-fi. At least Bonnie Langford doesn't screach...much.

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Who Review #150 - Paradise Towers

This is actually a fun story because of its social commentary; Paradise Towers is quite simply a look at all those dreadful inner city tower blocks and estates which were heralded as great places to live when they were built but have become a ghetto. There is a hint of "Lord of the Flies", because the inhabitants of Paradise Towers were sent to live there because of a war.

It is told in an innovative fashion, e.g. girl gangs with an odd vernacular ("Ice hot!" or "Build high for happiness"); bureaucratic and almost fascist caretakers - led by an OTT Richard Briers.

The story is surprisingly violent (knife wielding cannibal grannies, killer robots that feed humans to the Great Architect, a war where young adults have not returned) but that is lost because of the light, one could say whimsical, treatment of the production. As other reviewers have noted, the incidental music simply ruins much of the impact. Bonnie Langford's Mel really does grate in this one as does Briers at times.

Classic Mel
"aaaaargh...aaaargh...aaaargh"

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Who Review #149 - Time and the Rani

A new season and a new Doctor, Sylvester MacCoy. My initial reaction was "Oh no!" because I remembered him for his clowning about on the children's show* "Tiswas".

As it was, I didn't watch many of the stories at the time because I didn't have tele in the fall of 1987 (I relied on a schoolmate, who recorded episodes) and I moved to Denmark in 1988. I was still pretty negatively disposed to the show at the time so I wasn't particularly bothered; the show seemed to have descended into some sort of sci-fi pantomime. I finally saw all the episodes on BBC Prime, the European BBC service, some years ago. I stiill can't shake the impression that this era of the show has a pantomime feel.

The new titles, logo and theme score are irritatingly cartoonish but, thankfully, the Doctor has ditched that idiotic Colin Baker costume and wears something a bit more stylish.

This story sees the return of the lovely Kate O'Mara as the Rani. Kate is something of (surprise, surprise) a pantomime villain; however, I love her impersonation of Bonnie Langford's Mel, minus the toe curling screaming. Sylvester brims energy. Otherwise, the story itself is plain awful. Not a good start for the new Doctor for sure.

Classic Mel
"Aaaaaaaaaaaarg...aaaaaaaaaaaarg...aaaaaaaaaaarg...aaaaaaaaaaaarg!!!" (which tempts one to think of Bonnie Langford as Violet Bott in "Just William", to wit: I'll thcream and thcream until I'm thick, I can!)
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* It is sometimes discussed whether Tiswas was entirely devoted to children, what with Sally James quite often running about in rather revealing costumes....

Who Review #145 to 148 - the Trial of a Timelord

This is the longest story in Who history, coming in at 14 episodes; however, like many other fans, I tend to cut it into four stories: The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp, Terror of the Vervoids and the Ultimate Foe.

The best review I have read is on the BBC website. It pretty much coincides with my own thoughts.

I think C.B. was a bit better as the Doctor in these episodes but he didn't get the chance to show what he could have been; the result being, he remains my least favourite Doctor. Nicola Bryant left in what could have been truly dramatic fashion; as a companion, I didn't like her much. Her best role was in Caves of Androzani. Her replacement is the unbelievably dire Mel (Bonnie Langford), the worst companion since Adric.

This terribly jumbled and, at times, rather tedious story has its good parts: Glitz is a funny character; Brian Blessed is his usual roaring, larger than life self in Mindwarp, which also sees the marvellous Sil return. The Vervoid episodes are the best. Some of the costumes and sets in the various settings look really good.

But on the whole, a great disappointment (because the Valeyard and whole trial is a stupid idea) and marking the beginning of the end....
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Who Review #144 - Revelation of the Daleks

After a number of irritating and poor stories, here comes C.B's best. It's a six out of six stars in case you are wondering.

There are some great characters and performances: the hopelessly infatuated Tasambeker (Jenny Tomasin, who was in Upstairs, Downstairs) and Jobel (Clive Swift, Richard in Keeping Up Appearances); William Gaunt as Grand Knight of Oberon, Orcini and John Ogwen as Bostock, the Knight's squire; Alexei Sayle as the OTT DJ; Eleanor Bron as the OTT Kara.

Terry Molloy gives what I think is his best Davros here. He exudes menace and insanity. The scenes where he cackles hysterically stick out in one's mind. The Daleks are quite good in this; there is now a battle between Dalek factions and both are just as evil.

The atmosphere of the story is quite dark in places, thanks to OK scenes and incidental music.

Not for the first time, this is a story which moves along OK without Peri or C.B's Doctor about. That's rather telling about this era, really.... And Dr.Who vanished, for 18 months. Ratings were collapsing and the programme was close to being cancelled. Even old fans like myself had lost interest. It is only in recent years that I have actually watched the entire Colin Baker years and tried to find something positive. (Colin Baker, it should be said, is a fine fella and really enthusiastic about the show; it hardly seems fair to pan him so much.)

The crisis spawned this song, which is simply dreadful - a bit of a Band Aid style song, only in bad taste, with *celebs* and Nicola Bryant showing her singing was worse than her acting. One of the writers Ian Levine (a big Whovian) said this of his effort:

It was an absolute balls-up fiasco. It was pathetic and bad and stupid. It tried to tell the Doctor Who history in an awful high-energy song. It almost ruined me.

As said
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Who Review #143 - Timelash

It's awful.

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Who Review #142 - The Two Doctors

This is the worst story to come from Robert Holmes' pen. The Sontarans, after a long break, and Jamie and Troughton's Doctor might sound like an attractive idea; they are wasted here, alas. It's another jumbled up piece of twaddle. It meanders and bores and is truly stupid in places.

The 2nd Doctor is travelling with Victoria (conveniently dumped somewhere to learn graphology...huh?) and Jamie, yet talks about his trial and that he is even on a job for the Time Lords (totally at odds with the War Games).

Blake 7's delightful Servalan aka Jacqueline Pearce makes an appearance. I think the best part was John Stratton's Shockeye, a cook who will serve anything and that includes humans.

Classic Peri
another bikini top and basically her costume through the story, which included a headband worthy of a 1980s pop band.

The shots in Seville are nice, but...ermmm....
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Who Review #141 - The Mark of the Rani

The plot isn't fantastic but what is lacking in that department is more than made up for by the delightful Kate O'Mara as the Rani and the way she, the Master and the Doctor bicker.

There is some good incidental music and location shooting.

Not exciting but fair enough. Just don't think about the Tree!
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