Going Through Doctor Who (Spoilers all Eps aired on BBC/BBCA)

[rushy]

The Silurian Gift is basically yet another take on the same story. It'd be okay, but there already is a definitive Eleventh Doctor Silurian story. Someone really needs to do something new with them. And Madame Vastra doesn't count!

PLOT

Disguised as a journalist, the Doctor finds himself in Antarctica, investigating "Fire Ice", which is meant to solve the world's fuel problems. However, that fuel belongs to the Silurians, who've been woken up again and have a rebellious upstart who just won't have peace...

CHARACTERS

The Eleventh Doctor is too subdued. He sounds far more serious and plot-centred than he ever did in the episodes. That's just not his character.

Lizzie is alright as a stand-in companion. I did love the way she tricked the Doctor into believing her credentials.

The bad guy(Pelham) is surprisingly complex and is partially even redeemed towards the end.
The Silurian characters(a father and a young daughter) are exactly whom you'd expect.

Also, the Sea Devils make a cameo and shoot stuff.

NOTES

*I look forward to seeing the Myrkas. I presume they're the dinosaurs from the early The Silurians episodes, but they were never identified there.

*The Doctor would make a brilliant reporter. He and that guy from Newswatch could've made history.

BEST QUOTE

"I thought that you were the one I was going to have trouble with." The Doctor being hilariously gullible.

CONCLUSION

Same old, same old.

[rushy]

The Silurians is definitely the dreariest Doctor Who tale yet. From either a thematic or visual level, there is nothing positive about this story. It's very depressing.

PLOT

A nuclear research centre attracts the attention of a race of reptilians who were hibernating below the Earth. Upon waking up, they reveal themselves to be the original owners of the planet and attack the humans with a virus to claim the planet back. After they're outwitted by the Doctor and sent back to sleep, the Brigadier sneakily blows them all up.
Over the course of Seven. Looooong. Episodes.

To give the story some much needed credit, the last two episodes are brilliant, with Episode 6 showing the terrifying infection of London(for once, I'm with Mary Whitehouse on this one) and Episode 7 showing the betrayal of the Brigadier, from a certain point of view anyway.

But the rest of it is just a loooong wait until the Silurians show their faces and then a looong, noise-filled battle of wits between the Silurian leader and a leftover from Potter Puppet Pals. And I'm not kidding about the noise, it even beats that five-minute alarm from The Invasion.

CHARACTERS

For no apparent reason, the Third Doctor is very cranky in this serial. And while I can understand his being depressed about being on Earth, he should've expressed that, not constantly hamper everyone's cooperation and patience. If he hadn't been so stubborn and had carefully explained his plans to the Brigadier, events might've moved on in peace.
And why is he still wearing those borrowed clothes?

In contrast, Liz has calmed down considerably from her Isobel Travers-style feminism attack in the last story and is now a perfectly spunky-yet-loyal assistant a Doctor needs. She's really good.

The edgy relationship between the Brigadier and the Doctor is really interesting and to give good old' Steve Moffat an ounce of credit, I can completely understand that scene in Death In Heaven when the Brigadier wanted the Doctor to salute him. Makes total sense, for once.

The guest stars are all great. I loved Peter Miles as Dr. Lawrence. He's so passionate about being annoying that you can't just ignore it. No wonder they brought him back.
Masters is a morally strong businessman and very creepy when sick.

Even characters like the headstrong Major Baker and the Silurian youngster(that performance is classic "so bad it's good") stand out. In fact, all the characters are very remarkable in this story.

NOTES

*The Silurian costumes aren't very good. They look like costumes and only the mouths move - barely.

*Masters is really dedicated to his job, isn't he? I mean, he's covered in blisters and in complete delirium and yet he still heads for the ministry, step by step.

*I don't think I've mentioned the new intro yet. It's good, but looks like a bad copy of the previous ones. And why is it shorter?

*As another reviewer pointed out, Nicholas Courtney is an excellent on-the-phone actor.

*What is that liquid that the Doctor pours into Bessie at the end, I wonder.

*Of course, the Doctor conveniently wrote the formula right before getting kidnapped.

*And the crumpled paper is of course the last place Liz checks.

BEST QUOTE

"Heureka!"

CONCLUSION

Sad and overlong, but has its strengths. A classic, even though it's not necessarily that good.

[rushy]

The Ambassadors Of Death is an excellent story of complex political intrigue and humanity's first properly real venture into the alien(until they started doing it every Christmas).

PLOT

After three astronauts disappear during a space mission, the Doctor and his allies begin to investigate, but uncover a web of questions and deceit. How can UNIT succeed when London itself appears to be the villain?

I adored the mysteries, the way that the story introduces red herring after red herring and the baffling events that make no sense out of context. The way the mystery of the astronauts is maintained for so long and how the aliens themselves are truly incomprehensible.

If I had any complaints, it's that the story never reveals what happens to the alien spaceship after the Ambassadors return. The immediate threat is over, but the Doctor just leaves. Perhaps it's right to let humanity take their first step alone, by it's deeply unsatisfying when the credits roll.

Also, even though the slowness works very well in this story, I do think it could've lost an episode easily.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor has calmed down after the unpleasant performance in The Silurians and he seems to have settled well into the role. He plays the Doctor very passively, unlike the previous larger-than-life portrayals. However, he is charming and very competent and I rather like him.

I've also grown fond of Liz Shaw and her standing as the Doctor's intellectual equal and assistant. This is what the Capaldi/Clara relationship should've and could've been like. There's a strong mutual respect and understanding between the two characters.

The Brigadier shines as well, particularly in the scenes with General Carrington. His pragmatic and morally-sound yet fallible character is a fantastic role model.

Benton's re-appeareance is very low-key. If I hadn't known the character beforehand, I doubt I would even have noticed or remembered him.

The guest characters are all strong and make an instant impression, like the strange Space Centre Controller(who keeps staring into the distance - I call it unique), the funny French guy(who was so nice he fooled me twice), the Ministry guy who just wants everything to work out on its own and the mad General Carrington.

The whole cast is very solid, I must say.

NOTES

*What the heck is up with that transmogrification trick? Why doesn't he do it all the time?

*Very nice to see the TARDIS console again. Also, I see the new production team figured out how to turn it on.

*It took a bit to grow on me, but the new, experimental title sequence is pretty cool.

*However, I hope they finally calm down with those.

*If the Doctor hadn't referred to it as a force field(yet another bizarre use of the term), I would've thought his anti-theft mechanism was related to that magnetic chair he had, remember that?

*What in-story reason does the Doctor have for taking his console outside the TARDIS itself? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to work with inside?

BEST QUOTE

"It was my moral duty. You do understand, don't you?"

CONCLUSION

Our first true Jon Pertwee classic.

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Inferno is a very impressive, unique story, but is unusually limited for not really being about anything besides the concept itself.

PLOT

In the midst of a dangerous drilling operation, the Doctor's latest experiment with the TARDIS console sends him "sideways" into time, into an alternate reality where the United Kingdom is replaced by a fascist Republic and everyone the Doctor knows are callous, evil versions of themselves.

Well, actually, that's a bit misleading. One of the more fascinating aspects of the "mirror universe" is that the characters seem to be adapted to the evil, not actually evil themselves. The Brigade Leader is brutal and self-centred, sure, but he's more defined by his loyalty to the regime than anything else. The guest stars are practically the same in both worlds and Liz is also careful, but potentially good and does ultimately redeem herself.
The only exception is Benton, who might as well have twirled a moustache.

What really didn't help the story were the monsters though, whose presence(which happens to be a major drive of the story) is never explained.

CHARACTERS

I like that the Doctor's utmost desire to escape his exile has remained a prominent character trait. It keeps the TARDIS relevant(although we haven't seen the blue box in a while. I presume something happened to the console room set) and makes for some pretty cool storylines as we obviously see here.

Nicholas Courtney is great as the Brigade Leader, as he doesn't have the cool that the normal one would have. His nervous breakdown at the end was brilliantly acted. But the Doctor's right though - that moustache was made for his face.

Stahlman is obviously the best "insane base commander" we've had yet. The way he kept ignoring any reason from anyone whatsoever was just awesome. What an admirable nut. He reminds me of my dad. A lot.

Greg and Petra were an odd, but compelling couple, especially in the parallel universe. Greg was quite memorable - the way he went from comic relief to a dead serious man was very well written and acted.

I thought Sir Keith was perhaps a little too lightweight, but he was fine too.

The best of all, though, was Caroline John in a very captivating performance as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. You could just see the glimmer of compassion in her eyes. It's such a shame her time on Doctor Who was so short, since the rapport between her, Courtney and Pertwee was a big reason for why this season worked.

NOTES

*They really should've used the earlier sequence for the actual crossover to the other universe, instead of that ridiculous disco ball.

*Why doesn't Sir Keith have any authority in the last episode? Not only did the minister give express orders for the drill's shutdown until further notice(or so I thought), but isn't there some kind of a rule for when your boss is as nuts as Stahlman was?

*The Doctor has just returned from the parallel dimension. Instead of carefully explaining how to avoid the coming catastrophe, he idiotically destroys his credibility by smashing up consoles and screaming about doomsday.

*After arriving in the alternate universe, why does the Doctor just leave the TARDIS console there unprotected instead of using that very handy Time Vector Generator trick?

*How did Bessie follow the Doctor to the other dimension instead of the much closer bookshelves? And how did it escape, seeing as it was outside the workshop when the Doctor fled? I guess he might've brought it inside between episodes, but it still doesn't answer the first question.

*Why doesn't the Doctor try again after ending up on that rubbish tip in the last episode? I mean, doesn't he at least know how to get into parallel worlds? I mean, it's a start.

*And how does he even know that? Didn't the Time Lords say: "The secret of the TARDIS will be taken from you."? They're still acting like it's just a technical issue.

*Seriously, what was that green ooze?

BEST QUOTE

"One of the Doctor's inventions. He used to call it 'the door handle'."

CONCLUSION

A fun, imaginative story that goes on for a bit too long and doesn't have that much thematic substance to it.

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Terror Of The Autons is silly and awful. It makes little sense, its' effects are crap(and not the enjoyable kind), it's played as a farce and it's just stupid. Definitely the worst season opener yet.

PLOT

After avoiding Time Lord punishment in The War Games, the Master has found his way to Earth and makes a deal with the Nestenes(who've upgraded from octopus to lightning) to help them invade via some technobabble surrounding a radio tower.
Until he decides: "Nah, screw it." because the Doctor said so and literally reverses everything.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee is practically Peter Capaldi without the accent in this story, spouting nonsensical venom towards UNIT with every other line.

His new assistant is the childish Jo Grant(imagine yourself playing with a baby, going all goo-goo, gaa-gaa, wow! Now imagine that as an actual character), who does not make a very good impression on me.

Of course, there's Roger Delgado, who practically drips class and sophistication. It's a little overwhelming, to be honest. I prefer the more feral John Simm. It doesn't help that his character isn't explained at all. He's just suddenly the Doctor's archenemy.
They also don't treat each other as ancient childhood friends(yes, that was written later, but it worked with the Second Doctor and the War Chief), instead it's rather played like the Meddler got a real big ego after regenerating.

The Autons themselves aren't nearly as threatening, ironically since now they have all plastic on their side. But as I said, it feels like a pantomime.

The only redeeming aspects are Michael Wisher's Rex Farrell(plus parents), who felt like a real person and whom I felt sympathy for, and the Bowler Hat Time Lord(who was also treated as if we were supposed to know who he was), who was just awesome.

NOTES

*The CSO is something I haven't yet had to bring up, but by god, the rumours were true. It's hideous, it really is.

*Why does UNIT need the RAF to bomb something? Don't they have their own helicopters and stuff?

*What's with the tension between the Brigadier and Yates(he's even hammier than Benton)? Again, I feel like I've missed a season or two.

*So now the Doctor just needs a new Mark I dematerialisation circuit? Soon he'll be telling us he's stuck on Earth because his TARDIS can't get the latest Adobe Flash Player update.

*I did like the way the Brigadier forced Jo and the Doctor together, just because he could.

BEST LINE

"Not, particularly, no... in fact I'm looking quite forward to it." NEW ARCHVILLAIN IS HERE TO STAY!!!

CONCLUSION

Rubbish.

[rushy]

The Mind Of Evil is loads of fun. Why worry about the story so much if the characters are played perfectly, the direction is stellar, it looks cool and the best thing of all - it adds, not rewrites continuity!

PLOT

As part of a scheme to start World War III, the Master(hell yeah!) introduces Earth to a new form of punishment for criminals, which erases the negative aspects of an individual. His plan goes haywire when the Keller Machine goes renegade.

It's so much fun. The Keller Machine is not very intimidating on its own, but the combination of memorable incidental music, brilliant camera work and flashy lights all work to make this a particularly cool monster. UNIT is shown at their very best with an awesome shootout(now there's an upgrade from season 7!)
And of course, we have the Doctor and the Master at the centre of it all.

CHARACTERS

Roger Delgado breathes the character in and out. You cannot take your eyes off him. He plays the role rather like an evil, hypnotic version of the Eighth Doctor, with a delicious charm and simplicity and his famous chemistry with Pertwee is palpable.

Speaking of the star, the Third Doctor's performance has been perfected. His brusque behaviour makes him fun to watch and he has a natural leadership aspect about him which defines his character.

Jo has calmed down since the horribly tacky last story and while she still overacts a little, she's quite nice here.

The guest stars all fee very natural and do a splendid job, even the not-so-beloved Barnham.

As for the UNIT family, they're all cool and lovable in their own ways. Except for that annoying Cosworth guy.

NOTES

*In case you're wondering how I know of fan opinion of this story, I check reviews immediately after finishing the last episode.

*Sorry it took me so long to post this review: I've been busy, plus I didn't realise this story was in colour until two episodes in so I had to rewatch those.

*How did the Keller Machine go from erasing negative aspects to just showing off people's fears to just killing them? How does that work, I mean?

*Seeing the Doctor's former foes is cool, but badly executed(they're basically green photographs flying into the camera). I can barely make them out. In the first scene, I caught a Cyberman and later, a Dalek and maybe an Ice Warrior.

*Same goes for the Master's fear. I think the Doctor should've laughed like he was taunting him, not just cackling maniacally, although that was pretty hilarious.

*The Doctor's clothes are getting reaaaally outlandish now. The red jacket is cool, but those purple things just look ridiculous.

*I like that little moment where the Brigadier just stares at Barnham for a little while with no reason.

*I thought Barnham's death was both pointless and badly shot. It just looks hokey, if you have to see it to know it.

*I know the Master set him free, but Mailer was a little too trusting of him, especially for a criminal.

*Why does the Keller Machine need to destroy the Doctor's trap if it's just meant to fool it? It's like a mouse destroying the cheese on the mousetrap(well, supposing the trap was rusty and wouldn't kill him, but that's a story for another time).

*Why does the Keller Machine take so much from Barnham, yet it leaves everyone else before that alone?

*How does Barnham's positive personality exactly stop the Machine? I know the Doctor says he has immunity, but it should still affect him and Jo.

*Also, why is Barnham childlike? Is maturity evil?

*How does the scientist know every aspect of the Keller Machine and can't figure out that there's an alien parasite in it?

*Nick Courtney's Cockney accent = approved.

*We're really into classic Who with names like this and The Seeds Of Death cropping up, eh?

BEST LINE

"Let me tell you sir, that I AM a scientist! And I have been for several thousand...!!!"

CONCLUSION

If the story was better, it'd undoubtedly be a masterpiece.

[rushy]

Enjoyed some of the first three Doctors' comics today. By far, the best ones were the Third Doctor ones, with highlights being

1) The Third Doctor playing the Second Doctor's recorder.
2) The Doctor learning how to levitate.
3) An adventure on a "star-beast", which he subsequently murders for being too big and dangerous, despite the beast only having attacked two small ships.
4) "Take me to your leader."
5) "Holy Venusian vegetables!"

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The Claws Of Axos is the first time my opinion of a story has been completely turned around. It starts out awfully, with a slapdash direction and story and develops into a pretty fun and imaginative runaround.

PLOT

The wholly organic Axons offer the Earth a mineral ostensibly capable of anything. Before UNIT can blink an eye, however, the Axonite turns into a mass of organic matter and starts to destroy everything in sight. The Doctor makes a deal with the Master(who was held captive by the Axons) to repair his TARDIS and there's a chicken-leg eating, grandpa base commander on the loose!

Admittedly, it's still pretty nuts, but it's a lot of fun and the Axons really are ahead of their time. It still has a cheap feel to it in the end, but it actually manages to entertain very well. It's like the anti-Seeds Of Death, which was saved by great direction and acting alone.

CHARACTERS

I don't imagine I'll ever like Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor that much. His strong-willed, self-interested persona had as much to do with shaping the modern Doctor as Patrick Troughton did, but he's just not as memorable or enjoyable to watch. He just doesn't have that special something to make him stand out like many of the others do.

But despite this, he is a great actor and his interactions with the Master(hell yeah!) and the Brigadier are hilarious. I loved the way the two Time Lords worked together, as if it took little effort at all. There's a matter-of-fact , not really hateful relationship they have that I don't think ever reappeared in later Master stories.

And Roger Delgado is still a dictionary example of class.

I like Chinn. He's a stubborn old goat, the worst of his kind, but really, he's so pathetic he kind of earns my pity a little.

What was up with that tramp at the start?! What show did he think he was on?!

Bill Filer is pretty useless and has a dodgy American accent.

And Jo Grant is still the worst companion yet.

NOTES

*The TARDIS console room receives a very lukewarm reintroduction. I don't doubt it was still in the public consciousness, but it should've been a bigger event.

*Also, the new console room is plain bad. For one, the console looks much cheaper. For two, it's bizarrely tucked into a corner and the room itself has a very odd shape.

*I like the round scanner though. It looks more advanced than the little TV.

*Hey, the Master has a laser gun! Is that what gave him the screwdriver idea later on?

*I'm not really sure what the galactic yo-yo thing means... can he leave temporarily and then come back?

*Why did Jo think the Doctor would return in the end?

*I love the way the Master just sort of exits the plot in his TARDIS.

*The beautiful TARDIS hum is STILL there!! I totally expected it to be gone by now.

*Unfortunately, the door sound has been replaced by that other one used on the SIDRATs and the Drahvins ship and someplace else.

*Also, only one of the doors seem to work.

BEST LINE

"Just remember, it's your head on the block, not mine!"

CONCLUSION

Nothing great, but a fun diversion, Pertwee style.

[rushy]

Colony In Space is a fairly good story, although not spectacular. It's entertaining and as the first Third Doctor alien planet story, it could've been much worse.

PLOT

To prevent the Master from gaining possession of a doomsday weapon, the Time Lords dispatch the Doctor and Jo to a space colony to find and stop him.
There, they side with the colonists against a tyrannical mining corporation that threatens to destroy all their hard work for the sake of "duralanium".

Overall, it's basically a season 6 Second Doctor story that has the Time Lords, the Master and a big bomb tacked on it. I guess they were going for safe territory with Malcolm Hulke. It's a testament to his writing skill and the acting that the patchy story works so well and leaves a much more competent aftertaste than its recent predecessors.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee has great fun uncovering the dilemma of the miners and colonists and acts as a reasonable mediator throughout.

Jo Grant might be from the 70s(or 80s, depending on the protocol), but I think she was a little too terrified of what is obviously a grey, harmless quarry.

The Master's(hell yeah!) presence wasn't asked for, but Delgado certainly doesn't make it worse. I did think it was better on its own though, without the doomsday weapon(which was reintroduced into the plot far too late). I liked that he was the Adjudicator, it was a clever twist.

Of the guest cast, everyone gives strong performances. I thought Captain Dent was a great villain with no redeeming qualities, very dangerous and self-centered. His assistant, whose name slips me was also pretty good and often made me wonder whose side he was on.

A notable reappearance from Bernard Kay(Tyler from The Dalek Invasion of Earth).

I liked that the upstart colonist wasn't treated as a secondary villain or nuisance, but ultimately turned out alright. The leader himself was also very dignified and realistically performed. Both thumbs up.

The aliens were never explained, which was really annoying, especially their last-minute turn to the good side.

NOTES

*I love that moment when the Master casually leaned on the buggy(at the entrance).

*Nice to see the Time Lords again. They don't look nearly as cool as they used to though.

*It's kind of funny how the Master's TARDIS looks much more like the one the Doctor used to have. He even uses the same kind of key, which really doesn't make sense.

*Although they weren't used enough, I think the aliens looked really good.

*It's funny how much smaller Delgado looks when compared to Pertwee. It makes him look like the little brother.

*When the rocket exploded, I was shocked. It was a perfect red herring.

*How much longer can they credit the Doctor as "Doctor Who" and the Master as "the Master"? It looks all kinds of awkward.

*Why would the Brigadier not understand what happened to them? Wasn't he the first person to accept the existence of the TARDIS?

CONCLUSION

It's a decent runaround and worthy of the occasional rewatch.

[rushy]

The Daemons makes no sense whatsoever. Everything that happens and I do mean everything has no basis on logic. It's a minefield of plot holes.

PLOT

The Master is the head of a satanic cult trying to make contact with the Devil. Need I say more?

CHARACTERS

The main characters give all their usual performances, although I must note that Benton and Yates get to participate in the plot, which is very nice. They make a good double act actually.

In the later episodes, there's a Morris dancer who seems peculiarly obsessed with being the Master's pet and stopping the Doctor. For the love of me, I couldn't figure out when he came into the story and what his motivation was.

The Master himself is a bit odd, at one time promising great power and at the second, scaring the villagers into following him, making his previous claims a bit pointless.

Miss Hawthorne was kind of nice in a proto-Harriet Jones kind of way. The spat between the Doctor and her was funny. Science! Magic! Science!

NOTES

*There's a hilarious exchange of dialogue between Yates and the Brigadier at one point where Yates reveals to him that the Master is involved and he sounds ridiculously chirpy. Brilliant.

*Where exactly do the Daemons fit in with the Beast in the Tennant era?

*I'm pretty sure the hole in the heat barrier is completely impossible.

*Pertwee's final line is absolutely dreadful. "You see, Jo? There's magic in the world after all." Ugh.

*I love that a remote control equals magic in 1971.

*Lolz, that gargoyle.

BEST LINE

"Jenkins, chap with the wings there, five rounds rapid." Could it be anything else?

CONCLUSION

What the devil did I just watch?

So that was Season 8. It was horrible. The Mind Of Evil was alright and Colony In Space wasn't too bad either, but the rest could go into the garbage bin. The Pertwee era is taking a sudden dive.

[rushy]

Day Of The Daleks is an admittedly unexpected way to return the Daleks to the show, but not bad at all. No, I think the season's opened with quite a good bang.

PLOT

Rebels from the future come to assassinate a politician to prevent a Dalek occupation in the 2170s. It's up to the Doctor to uncover the mystery of a perfectly harmless human being's effect on the timeline.

The Ogrons are a really good addition to the Dalek list of henchmen - although the Robomen might've been more appropriate.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee shines here in his aristocratic glory, consuming wine and cheese whilst battling with guerrillas. His arguments with the Controller are also excellently performed.

I thought the Controller was brilliant. He was extremely villainous, but proved himself capable of seeing beyond the borders. Nice hair, too.

Jo Grant was surprisingly toned down. She was actually likable instead of childish.

I hate it when the aliens talk like theeeey'reeee iiiin sloooooww moootioooon, which is why I wasn't too fond of the Ogrons, but they look and act alright in battle.

The Daleks' voices are complete crap, that has to be said. Even the repetition of the Nick Briggs voice is far better, as the special edition proves.

The rebels were mostly faceless, other than the woman who comes to believe the Doctor's claims.

NOTES

*How does the Dalek invasion relate to the one from The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, which takes place in the same time period, but seems completely different?

*How did the Chinese go so hostile again? I would've thought all that trouble ended after the events of The Mind Of Evil. At least there's some continuity.

*The Master isn't present! What a shock twist for the kids.

*I think this story takes place before the events of The Chase, since the Daleks seem to be experimenting with time travel.

*It also seems to take place after the events of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth, since the Dalekanium bombs are freely available now. I guess the Daleks just came back for a second strike or something. From what I've told, this whole story's a paradox that is supposed to not make sense.

*Why on Earth does the Doctor still take the console outside? I thought they fixed all their set issues after season 7. And I can't believe we're still dealing with that dematerialisation circuit.

*Who left that trike near the control center and whatever for?

CONCLUSION

An epic start to season 9. Just what the doctor ordered.

[rushy]

The Curse Of Peladon is an atmospheric and inspired thriller and is the best use of the Ice Warriors yet.

PLOT

The Time Lords dispatch the Doctor and Jo to facilitate Peladon's union with the United Federation of Planets(hang on, whatever happened to that Bountiful Human Empire?) which is threatened by the overprotective High Priest Hepesh.

While Hepesh did threaten to turn into a cartoon villain in the final episode, I was mostly really impressed. I liked the characters, the aliens looked magnificient and the Ice Warriors turning over a new leaf is an excellent piece of character development.

CHARACTERS

The Third Doctor is right at home in this story in the role of the detective who has to uncover the mystery of who is attempting to prevent the union and also the politician who can argue, argue, argue. He's positively dashing here.

Jo also manages to be somewhat likable and less ditzy than usual. I really liked her interactions with the King and her ability to stand against the Ice Lord.

I loved the aliens. I mean, Alpha Centauri is probably the campest character ever to be on Doctor Who, but I don't really count that as a bad thing. It added humor to a dramatic story. Arcturus was a skull in a jar. Lolz. And the Ice Warriors were of course, magnificient(and fortunately not redesigned like most recurring aliens).

David Troughton as King Peladon was a bit of a momma's boy(it's as close a description as I can get), but his dilemma was interesting and he was written very well.

NOTES

*Why do the Time Lords care about Peladon joining the Federation? And why do they send the Doctor of all people?

*I bet Patrick Troughton tuned in for this story. I wonder what he thought of it.

*The castle looked absolutely gorgeous. The opening was great.

*The TARDIS's fall off the cliff was very reminiscent of The Romans, wouldn't you agree?

*I can just imagine the King going crazy because of all the torches that keep being moved and not put back to their original position.

*How exactly does Alpha Centauri talk? At least with Arcturus, I can imagine that the voice is coming out of his giant Arcturusmobile.

*What is Arcturus anyway?

CONCLUSION

A lovely little story. Nothing more, nothing less.

[rushy]

The Sea Devils is an awesome, fresh take on the stuck-on-Earth formula(I wish we could've seen more of the Doctor travelling the world, or at least England) with a reinvented returning monster.
Unfortunately, all that gets thrown out of the window by one man... Malcolm Clarke. The incidental music in this story is the worst ever. Ever. It even induced me a headache. I couldn't bear to watch this again and it's all because of him.

PLOT

The Doctor and Jo take a trip to a far-away prison to check up on their arch-nemesis - the Master. Meanwhile, the aquatic cousins of the Silurians(dubbed "Sea Devils") emerge from their underwater bases and intend to reclaim the planet as their own.

Again, apart from that truly awful music, it's an update on The Silurians in every way. The pace is faster, the characters are more interesting and the Master is involved(although to be honest, even I am getting tired of him).

CHARACTERS

To be fair to the original tale, the predicament doesn't seem to bother the Doctor nearly as much. Also, Jo is completely useless in this story, unlike Liz.

Trenchard is great. He has the pomposity of a villain(he reminded me of Colonel von Strom from Allo Allo), but is also innocent and merely a tool of the Master's schemes. A very good performance from Clive Morton.

Same goes for Martin Boddey's Walker, a truly despicable and quite frankly horrifying political nitwit as the Third Doctor might say. His utter lack of caring towards the loss of life scared me much more than anything the Sea Devils might've said or done. HE would've been my reason for hiding behind the sofa.

Captain Hart is basically the Brigadier, but grumpier and and less inclined to believe the Doctor. He does earn respect, however, for his dedication to duty. He grew on me.

Coming back to the Sea Devils, they are MUCH better than the Silurians. Quite why they haven't been brought back in the new series is a mystery to me. Their voices are cool, the head looks better and the net vest just fits the image perfectly.

And finally, the Master. Now, I don't know why a prison would have swords lying around, but the duel between him and the Doctor was fantastic. Also, you have to love the end where the Sea Devils screw him over and the Doctor just mocks the hell out of him.

NOTES

*The scene where the Doctor steals Jo's sandwiches is the funniest piece of comedy I've seen on the show for a long time.

*Flippin' Sea Devils...

*Watching the documentary, I can't help, but feel extremely proud of the actor who played Captain Hart and used his outfit to commandeer an actual Navy cannon to use on set.

*The director of this story, Michael Briant, is hilarious. That story about MI6 coming to investigate their submarine miniatures was great. Not to mention the "indecent" Sea Devils without clothes. Jeez...

*The Master's theme tune will never leave my head now. Dumdumdum... doo DOO doo...

*Why didn't anyone go after the Master's hovercraft at the end?

*How exactly is it a hovercraft anyway(same goes for the one in The Enemy Of The World)?

*The TVs in that jail are very odd.

*That scene with The Clangers isn't anywhere as good as the homage given to it in The Sound Of Drums. I just have no idea what Delgado is doing in that scene.

CONCLUSION

A great action story, but the music makes it unbearably bad. Someone needs to redo the music.

[rushy]

The Mutants is a clever tale, mixing a good political anti-racist message with a truly fascinating biology lesson. In some ways, it's Doctor Who at its finest. In others, not so much...

PLOT

The Time Lords send the Doctor and Jo to deliver a package to a native of the planet Solos in the far future. However, they are seriously undermined by a maniacal Marshal who is determined to keep the planet for himself, his scientific lackey and their arch-enemy, a warrior driven mad by his own hatred.

What really bugs me about The Mutants are the Solonians, who are treated like complete dolts. They look like a Roman-Gaul blend and refuse to listen to reason despite having little alternative. Well, there is Ky, but I can't take him seriously after his first scene(and I am so tired of all the speeches).

CHARACTERS

Seeing him in his prime, I can safely say now that Jon Pertwee will never be my favourite Doctor. He just doesn't hook me the way Hartnell and Troughton did, he's too normal in the role. I don't get that alien sensation with him at all. He's likable, for sure, but he doesn't really go beyond that. He's a bit thin on character.

Same goes for poor Jo Grant, whose antics have never amused me. I wish Liz could've traveled in the TARDIS, it would've been amazing.

The Marshal is fairly interesting. He doesn't have a very threatening appereance and he constantly shocked me with callousness. I kept expecting him to realise the error of his ways. He's a phantom menace.

Same goes for the scientific lackey, Dr. Jager(Jaeger?), who keeps resisting the Marshal in words, so I kept hoping for him to team up with the Doctor, but he never did.

The most interesting character of all was Dr. Sondergaard, who devoted his life to study the Solonian culture, despite the Marshal's attempts to kill him off. He barely explains his own past, but he doesn't have to - it's all over him.

NOTES

*Why do the Time Lords not tell the Doctor exactly what to do?

*Hey, it's Geoffrey Palmer! I really like him. He's got a very interesting face.

*Why do all the authority figures on this show insist on carrying around sticks? It drives me crazy.

*I absolutely love the contrast between the Administrator's(it would've been a very nice continuity reference had they called him "the Adjudicator") oxymask warning and Skybase's.

SKYBASE: "Have you got your oxymask?"
SHIP: "Oxymasks must be worn."

*Why is the evolution of a whole species controlled by a single obviously artificial crystal? Well, there may be more, but the question still stands.

CONCLUSION

A splendid adventure in space. I'm starting to miss UNIT, though.

[rushy]

The Time Monster is a jolly good story. By the Pertwee era standards, it's admittedly pretty cliche - the whole UNIT cast is involved, the Master is trying to gain power by resurrecting a demon, there's a laboratory experiment and Bessie gets an upgrade. Still, it uses the cliches very well and I can't fault it with much because of that.

PLOT

The Master poses as a scientist to bring forth the Atlantean God Kronos(who has the power to manipulate time at will) and get him under his will.

The only thing that irks me about this story is the complete ignoring of The Underwater Menace(which also took place in Atlantis - which was also destroyed, if I remember rightly). Other than that, it's just great. There's more use of the TARDIS than the rest of the Pertwee stories put together, the Master gets a girlfriend(DAT CLEAVAGE!) and Pertwee has one of finest moments yet. Even Jo is treated as a person and even shares a few scenes with the Master(I absolutely loved that - there's not enough Master/companion interaction).

CHARACTERS

As I said above, Pertwee has one of his best scenes recounting a story from his youth on Gallifrey. It was a beautiful and clever one, I might add. Daisiest daisy, indeed.

Jo Grant finally has something decent to do as she gets to dress up all Atlantean and uncover the Master's plans.

The Queen... dat cleavage, man. It's way more hypnotic than the Master's eyes.

Speaking of the bearded devil, he's absolutely thrilled here, outwitting the Doctor at every turn. When he thinks he's defeated his foe, the man almost does a victory dance, I kid you not.

Of the guest stars, the feminist scientist was slightly annoying - only because she spouted feminist catchphrases in just about every sentence she said. Her sidekick was funny though(what was the point of making him old?).

I love Benton. I really do. He should've been a proper companion. He's incredibly likable when he's given stuff to do.

The Atlanteans were all over-the-top, except for the servant girl.

NOTES

*Why didn't the Doctor ask Kronos to send the Master into UNIT HQ?

*I don't get the TARDIS-in-TARDIS scene. At first, it seems like the Doctor's TARDIS is in the Master's and vice versa, but just a moment later, the Master's TARDIS is back in his laboratory and it's never even mentioned again. They should've just had the Doctor's TARDIS in the Master's and left it alone. Or done a story where the two TARDISes are stuck in each other and lock Delgado, Pertwee and Manning in the console room for a few weeks.

*Benton's naked scene is FAR more hilarious than Tennant's, I'd have to say.

*How come the Brigadier is running in slow-mo, but the others can just come and drag him away?

*Bessie in high-speed is awesome. Bring Bessie back.

*From what I've heard, the minotaur was played by David Prowse of Darth Vader fame. That's the third SW actor in Doctor Who I think, including the guy who played Boba Fett and Julian Glover.

*I'm a little disappointed we didn't see more of UNIT, considering they've been practically AWOL all season.

*LOL The Master being told off by his girlfriend AND his girlfriend's husband.

CONCLUSION

A highly satisfying end to a highly satisfying season.


This is it, guys. The 10th anniversary. The first multi-Doctor story. The return of Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell! The end of the exile! But most importantly - the weekend!!