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

[rushy]

The Three Doctors is my first real, big-time disappointment with Classic Doctor Who. It's just moronic. It's bad. It's so bad.

PLOT

On paper: The inventor of the Time Lord power source - the Eye Of Harmony - has been trapped in the anti-matter universe in/on the singularity of a black hole for thousands of years. Driven mad by hate, he has found a way to attack the Time Lords whom he blames for this.
In desperation, the Time Lords send the Doctor times three to stop Omega from destroying the universe.

In reality: The Third Doctor, Ian Levine-as-the-Second-Doctor and the First Doctor's puppeteered corpse vs an over-actor in a quarry. Plus Einstein for no reason whatsoever.

It is absolutely abysmal. The whole script is nonsense, filled with dialogue that a 10-year old might write, the characterisation is all over the place and the sets are cheaper than ever before(okay, not as bad as The Keys Of Marinus, but still).

CHARACTERS

William Hartnell is met with a combination of his debilitating illness and being forced to read his lines off from charts and gives us Zombie Doctor. His delivery of "Now, what's a bridge for, eh?" is a heartbreaking parody of himself.

Patrick Troughton is both intensely over the top and out of character. His lovably frivolous Doctor is replaced with a flippant, self-centred one. He's quite honestly an annoying nuisance for much of the story who keeps getting himself into arguments with the Third Doctor over nothing. It's easily his worst performance.

Jon Pertwee is the only one of the three who puts in a competent showing, but given that he's the current one at the time, that doesn't really get my mood up.

The Brigadier is characterised here as an utter buffoon(I've heard people say that his character has been on a downslope since Season 7, but I wouldn't say that. He's been mostly consistent depending on the writing as far as I'm concerned, until now) whom Benton and the Second Doctor have to follow around to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Probably the dumbest moment for him was when he entered the TARDIS and exclaimed: "So this is what you've been doing with UNIT funds and equipment!" as if he wasn't very well aware of what the TARDIS was!
As if he wasn't the first person to accept the reality of the TARDIS and aliens all the way back in The Web Of Fear!!

Both mr. Ollis and Dr. Tyler are completely useless and serve to pad the story out. It could've been a two-parter by the way, because it's basically just "Doctors and companions go to the other universe, trick Omega to blow himself up and go back home". It feels very short.

Jo Grant is her usual self, either shouting "NO, YOU CAN'T!!" 30 years before Rose Tyler did or saying what is possibly the worst line in DW history: "And we are all together, goo goo ga joob?" Okay so she's even worser than usual.

Which brings us to Benton and dare I say it, he's actually pretty good.

NOTES

*To be fair, The Three Doctors does boast one of the coolest cliffhangers yet: UNIT HQ flying into a black hole. That one moment was fantastic. Although it was kind of ruined by the double zoom on Palmer's face.

*I also kind of liked the episode 3 cliffhanger's slow zoom on Pertwee's terrified face.

*The resolution of the story is also pretty neat, with the recorder saving the day in a very clever sci-fi way.

*The running gag of the Doctor looking for the recorder("It's about this long with holes in it...") was amusing.

*The Brigadier's fourth-wall-breaking "Dun dun duuuun!" look into the camera after seeing where UNIT HQ is... I just don't know what to say about that.

*Is it just me or does Ollis never change his expression throughout this whole story?

*Even the editing here can be bad since there are awkward gaps between Hartnell's dialogue and the other Doctors'.

*One of the Time Lords is the one who put the Second Doctor on trial. And what do you know, his dialogue is bad and his performance facepalm-worthy.

*The incidental music had its ups and downs. The First Doctor theme is actually really good, but the tinkly music in Omega's lair quickly got on my nerves.

*Where's the beach that the Brigadier kept going on about? Sand does not equal beach! Especially not dirty, dusty sand with rocks in it!!

*I forgot Benton does indeed have one idiot moment to him as well. Throwing bubble gum at potentially violent anti-matter. Oh dear dear dear...

*It's kind of odd seeing the Second Doctor in a blue shirt, I must say.

*When Bessie first appears in the anti-matter universe, how are her wheels already dirty? She hasn't been driven around yet!

*I love a good coin flip, but since when does the Second Doctor do that?

*Speaking of him, when exactly does this take place in his timeline? I mean, there's no reference to him knowing about future events here, but he IS pretty different from what he used to be and it was also remarkably easy for the Time Lords to track him down(which they apparently couldn't do for the whole of the First and Second Doctor eras). So that would suggest season 6b again.
However, they also had no trouble finding the First Doctor which brings me to my second question: why did they let the Doctor be free for so long? My only theory is that they used the Third Doctor's timestream to locate them, which broke the First Law Of Time(as they mentioned here) and they couldn't do that in the earlier eras since they weren't relative to the Third Doctor then.
I love to nitpick like that.

*Kind of slow, those anti-matter blobs, eh?

*Also, they remind me of roasted meat. Whenever I see a "Gel Guard", I always get hungry.

*The final goodbye scene was genuinely great. I loved it.

BEST QUOTE

"I hope I don't meet me again."

CONCLUSION

A disgracefully bad celebration of the first 10 years of Doctor Who.

[rushy]

Carnival Of Monsters is a splendid romp with a very creative idea about it.

PLOT

The TARDIS materializes inside a Miniscope, a miniature fishbowl-zoo where various members of alien races are kept and toyed with. It's up to the Doctor and Jo to uncover the mystery and save themselves and the others before the officials in the outside world find a way to destroy the Miniscope!

Although let down by a lack of locations(the only places we see are the circuitry of the Miniscope, the 1920s ship and the Drashig swamp), the idea and writing keeps the story fresh and exciting. The CSO has never been used better and the characters are very entertaining, constantly winding each other up, so to speak. I also like the clever way that Robert Holmes sets up the alien planet by simply having the three officials talk to one another.
One would say it's a great writing effort.

CHARACTERS

One must admit it's downright bizarre seeing Jon Pertwee's Doctor as free as a bird, but not bad at all. He is pretty strong here(but then again, he very rarely lets you down and never because of his own failings) and his rapport with Manning has only improved.

Speaking of Katy, she's actually got a lot of good material. I loved the comedy scenes with her stuck in a time loop. Her enthusiasm frequently makes up for her over-acting.

The officials(one of whom looked and spoke uncannily like Ambassador Soval from Star Trek: Enterprise) were really funny and added loads of texture to the story. Same goes for the two entertainers who visit the planet. They are... colorful to say the least.

The Drashigs were excellent. That scene were they rose from the swamp certainly looked terrific.

NOTES

*One of the deleted scenes they should've kept in was the 1920s lot going through the loop one last time.

*The costume worn by the lead entertainer, whatshisname, makes Colin Baker's Coat Of Awesome look subdued.

*The fingernails of the lead entertainer are criminally filthy and long. It's not the worst I've seen(that would be some Russian guy in a shop whose hands looked like the wicked witch's), but I seriously wouldn't have let a camera shoot my hands when they looked like that.

*Cybermen! Why couldn't we have seen more of them?!

*I finally realised what the Miniscope joke from Robot Of Sherwood was all about. It just shows that putting in random references like that is stupid.

*Speaking of Capaldi's days though, has anyone else noticed the titles of the Series 9 episodes? I think it's gonna be a magical season, don't you?

*Why does the lead entertainer think the TARDIS is a blockage, when it's inside one of the contained areas(the 1920s ship)?

*How and why does the TARDIS materialize inside a Miniscope? And before you say that the Miniscope turned the TARDIS little and she takes the Doctor where he needs to go, the TARDIS couldn't have been shrinked while it was still in the Vortex and that explanation was conceived 38 years after this story aired.

*The sonic screwdriver only works on electronic locks? Allow me to howl in laughter.

CONCLUSION

It's a bit overrated, but still very good.

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Frontier In Space is all over the place. It starts out with a dishwater-dull, but still understandable story and then the plot just gets stolen by the Master(a final "hell yeah!" for Roger Delgado) until concluding in a pretty bonkers way.

PLOT

The Daleks use the Master to manipulate the Human and Draconian Empires into war, until their plan is interfered in by the Doctor and Jo.

The first two episodes are some of the most boring Doctor Who has ever produced. It felt like a sequel to The Space Pirates, honest. After the Master shows up and literally kidnaps the Doctor and Jo from the story, it does perk up considerably, but make no mistake - the only thing saving Frontier In Space are the characters. Speaking of which...

CHARACTERS

Since this is Roger Delgado's final story, I feel it's appropriate to start with him. Now, I don't know if it's because the story sucks so much or because my mind is colored by the foreknowledge of his departure, but in my opinion, this is possibly Delgado's best performance.
The gentle way the Master treats his prisoners, all of his scenes with Jo Grant, his indignant arrest by the Draconians... Delgado rocks. He really does.

In fact, Episode 4 is just like Episode 4 of The Time Monster in the sense that it's just him, Katy Manning and Jon Pertwee being a cocktail of fun.

Yet, I think Delgado's comic talent is also what prevents him from being the best Master. Beyond Terror Of The Autons, he was never menacing or even dangerous. We only knew he was evil because he laughed at the wrong things. We never saw him actually do the wrong things. His gentlemanly behavior, especially towards Jo Grant, robbed him of the evil displayed by Anthony Ainley and John Simm later on.

I think General Williams was a really good character, a stick in the mud with a hint of villainy about him, but he ultimately turns out to be loyal, kind of like an even grumpier Captain Hart.

The Draconians are somewhat overestimated, in my opinion. Just because their design enables them to talk normally, they are cool? No.

The president showed remarkable sexism for being in charge of a future Earth, declaring Jo Grant to be corrupted by the Doctor despite the evidence being equally against them both.

NOTES

*The amount of times the same sets were reused in this story(most notably the prison cell) is just hilarious.

*I actually liked the story about the lunar prison. Mostly, because it's the nicest prison ever. Sleep whenever you want, do whatever you want...

*Where did the Master go at the end? The moment the Ogrons got frightened of the monster and accidentally clubbed the Doctor, he just disappeared.

*If the Ogrons worshipped the monster, why did they refer to it as "the monster"?

*The scene where the Master ranted about the Daleks was priceless.

*I also loved watching him tolerate the Ogrons' stupidity.

*Showing the future newscasts was a good decision, even if it didn't look very good.

*There's a nice hint of the Daleks' hatred(later revealed in Asylum Of The Daleks), when they allow the Master to keep the Doctor alive for him to witness the fall of the Human and Draconian Empires.

BEST QUOTE

"Right, we'll see who rules the galaxy when this is over. DO NOT FAIL THE DALEKS, indeed! You stupid tin boxes..."

CONCLUSION

Only for the Master fans.

[rushy]

Planet Of The Daleks is a decent homage to The Daleks, but generally uninteresting otherwise.

PLOT

The TARDIS lands on Spiridon, near a Dalek base where the eponymous monsters concoct a plan to build the greatest Dalek force ever assembled(until the Time War, when they magically got billions of them). The Doctor and Jo team up with a Thal fighting force to stop them.

Although it's fairly innovative for a Dalek story - I liked the use of ice as a weapon, the development of the Thals and the Dalek Supreme, it's still pretty padded, just like the story it pays tribute to(and yes, I know it was written by the same man, but it doesn't feel like a rip-off).

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee has some really great moments here, like the scene where he teaches Thal Sidekick about the nature of courage and where he asks Thal Doctor not to promote war back on Skaro.

And yes, I couldn't remember their names. All of the names in this story were terrible.

Whoever operated the Daleks in this story should have been fired. The plungers, fire-arms and eyepieces are constantly fixed in random positions, sometimes laughably(for example, a Dalek is looking at the ceiling whilst talking in one scene). They shake around ridiculously whilst talking and hit the wall at least once. The worst of all is the Dalek Supreme, who has a pretty cool design, but ruins it by flashing his lights as if he was intentionally trying to miss the dialogue.

And why do they all have irises in their eyepieces now? It looks daft. Also, the black makeover makes them look terrible. Daleks should always be golden.

Most of the Thal bunch were forgettable, other than for the always-reliable Bernard Horsfall, whose performance was mostly really strong and understated, except when he starts blaming his wife/girlfriend for distracting him whilst he tries to blow up the Daleks. But that's just the writing.

NOTES

*It seems that I must revise my Dalek Timeline again. First Genesis Of The Daleks, then all the other stories, then The Evil Of The Daleks, then The Daleks and now Planet Of The Daleks. I have no idea how the Daleks can even exist in this story, given that the Thals wiped them out last time, but hey ho. Maybe some of them survived elsewhere. The implication seemed to be that they were gone from Skaro.

*The claustrophobic studio jungle is very reminiscent of Skaro, I must admit.

*Before Jo left the TARDIS, I was convinced that the ship had landed on Skaro and we were going to see a monochrome frozen jungle, like in the original story with black oil being squirted around because of the acid lakes and stuff. It looked terrific on the monitor screen. Plus, it would've been both sensical and a great callback to the 1960s era. Shame.

*Oh yeah: why is it called Planet Of The Daleks if the TARDIS never even lands on Skaro?

*It's nice that the Doctor can actually control his flight through time and space now, properly I mean. Not that tumbling about that the First and Second Doctors were stuck with.

*The Dalek army looked fantastic. And scary.

*The Dalek Supreme's ship was gigantic, so how come there were only three Daleks in it?

*Why did the Doctor change costumes whilst suffocating inside the TARDIS? Also, since when does the TARDIS lack in oxygen? What about all those visits to Mars and the moon and planets that don't have oxygen?

*Having the Doctor contact the Time Lords for directions felt wrong.

*Considering that the Thal Romantic Lead only showed up in Episode 6, it seemed quite a leap for him to already ask Jo to come back to Skaro with him.

*It also seemed quite a leap for the Doctor to be OK with it, given how long he and Jo have been together.

*That semi-liquid ice can't really exist, can it? I'm just asking because I've never heard of squishy-jelly ice like that.

BEST QUOTE

"... and then I was rescued by a bowl!"

CONCLUSIONS

It just didn't hold my attention.

[rushy]

The Green Death is a combination of vintage Doctor Who and absurdities. It's got bits that are better than The Ambassadors Of Death and its got bits that are almost as bad as Terror Of The Autons.

PLOT

Hoping to increase efficiency, productivity and profit, Global Chemicals somehow gets an experimental supercomputer to run their business. Meanwhile, they are resisted by the "Nuthutch", a group of ecologists trying to create a clean environment.
When Global Chemicals causes mutated maggots and diseases to appear, UNIT are tasked to investigate and get involved with the Nuthutch's operations.

The story is great. It's complex, has two different plotlines running simultaneously, the characters are fantastic, the direction is high standard(notable scenes include Fell's reprocessing and the intercutting between professor Jones and Stevens), the villains are some of the best ever and it feels very important.
However, there is some bad acting here as well, the writing is obnoxiously in-your-face and unsubtle, the first few episodes down in the mines are dreadful and the Brigadier is starting to feel like a clueless pensioner.

CHARACTERS

I absolutely love, love, love Stevens and the BOSS. They are both portrayed by master class actors. Stevens has this immediately distinctive "director" look about him that makes him perfect for the role, plus his interactions with practically everyone are gold. It's only a shame he never met Jo Grant.

And the BOSS is just mindblowingly good. I can still hear him call out "Stevens...!" Everything he says is quotable and the oscilloscope used as his face is very memorable. Plus, he is given fantastic character depth. Other than the Master, he's easily my favourite of the Pertwee-era villains. The scene where he tries to work out the Liar's Paradox is awesome.

Jon Pertwee is also given a lot to do, like investigating the mines, uncovering the mystery behind Global Chemicals. He has great chemistry with the BOSS, I must say.

I liked the way they handled Jo's departure, even though I wasn't very fond of professor Jones. He just kind of annoyed me with his nonstop jokes. I think his worst moment was when he shouted "isn't life great?" at the end. Ugh, as Jo might've said.

Mike Yates shines! It's nice that they brought him back and gave him a bit of a villainous role, since he is an integral part of the UNIT Family as far as I'm concerned. He's the adventurous one. His little story in Global Chemicals was entertaining.

I think the maggots looked okay. Giving them rat skulls was an inspired choice as it makes them a bit more menacing. I was far more interested in the computer storyline though.

Hi, Benton. You da man! Hey, that maggot-calling scene might've been campy, but at least he still looks and acts like a UNIT officer, unlike the rest of this lot.

Elgin was little too sarcastic for my liking, but it's sad that the actor got sick. I think he would've been fine in the rest of the story.

NOTES

*Probably the most wonderful directorial choice in this serial is having us see the wheels turn in the BOSS's metaphorical head.

*Why does an oil company need an experimental computer?

*Metebelis III looked fantastic. I hope we can have a whole episode there someday.

*Another great directorial moment was the zoom on Jones's face when Elgin gives his bio. It's like an old documentary.

*Where did Jo get that fancy purple dress from? And why was she wearing it for a simple dinner?

*I can see the sonic screwdriver is starting to go to regular use. I still can't understand how the people back then thought it was a get-out-of-jail-for-free card though, given that it hasn't been used more than twice in one serial so far.

*How can the BOSS feel "his circuits are on fire" at the end? I mean, I can buy sentience through inefficiency, but physical pain?

*So, was Stevens hypnotised or brainwashed or what? Why was he on the BOSS's side for so long?

*Given that this is one of the very few Doctor Who stories I have on DVD, I can't help noticing the difference between video and film a lot better. I remember noticing it years earlier on other British series as well and struggling to understand why people suddenly seemed to move a lot more fluently.

*That first man acting like he's rocking in the CSO lift looks dreadful.

*But the CSO in this story isn't as bad as Terror Of The Autons, so I won't bang on it too much.

*Given that I hate mosquitoes, that giant one looked pretty terrifying actually.

BEST QUOTE

"Connect, connect, connect, connect, connect, connect, connect, zim-bom!" - The BOSS enjoying his world takeover.

CONCLUSION

Terrific and terrible at the same time.



Season 10 was so-so. Carnival of Monsters and this story were impressive, but the rest of it, not so much. Much of the season is simply uninteresting, unfortunately. It has a very tired feel about it.
But now, we enter an era of Doctor Who that I almost dread... the Sarah Jane Smith era. I always feel nervous before the Big Ones and this is definitely going to be a Big One.

Note also that we are only five serials away from Tom Baker. How time flies when you're having fun.

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The Time Warrior is a t'rrific callback to the Hartnell historicals and also a splendid introduction to the famous Sontarans(Sontar-ha!). Short, funny and oh yeah, Sarah Jane is leagues above her predecessor in terms of everything.

PLOT

Crashing on Earth in the 19th century, the Sontaran commander Linx establishes an alliance with the brutish thug Irongron and his cronies in an unnamed castle to repair his ship and return to the glory of war that is his destiny etc.
His use of time travel to bring forth scientists from the 20th century, who for some reason can fix an alien craft that an alien can't attracts the attention of the Doctor, who arrives on the scene to put an end to Linx's efforts.

I just thought everything worked. The setting was atmospheric and interesting, the characters were very memorable and likable, the villains were awesome and even the special effects weren't shabby. Since it's a post-season 7 Robert Holmes script, it's also a given that it's exceptionally witty.

CHARACTERS

The new team-up of the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane was worth the wait. Sarah's overzealous feminist attitude is presented as charming and inspiring instead of annoying(like that ultrafeminist scientist in The Time Monster and Jo in The Green Death), her naturally sweet persona also mellowing the Doctor. I mean seriously, Pertwee has never at least acted happier. These two are like bread and butter.

Whilst the heroic medieval people are a bit wet(minus sir Edward's professor McGonagall-ish wife), the villains are epic. It's great seeing Linx's and Irongron's relationship deteriorate and Bloodaxe, Irongron's "secretary" just spices things up a bit.

My favourite of all though, was the clumsy, but endearing professor Rubeish, who would've made a unique and fun companion. Shame.

NOTES

*Why is the Doctor still hanging around UNIT? His exile is long lifted, Jo is gone, what's keeping him? Did the Brigadier promise him free jelly babies for life or something?

*Sarah Jane is absolutely gorgeous in that "tough on the outside, soft and clingy on the inside" kind of way.

*I love that moment when both Linx and Irongron fantasize about cutting each other's head off.

*Because of technical issues, I watched the story with the awful CGI add-ons(though I rectified it somewhat later). NEVER USE CGI IN OLD DW STORIES. IT DOESN'T WORK.

*How did the Doctor not notice Sarah Jane hitching a ride in the TARDIS? I mean, he only followed less than a minute after her and by that point, I personally would still be wandering around the console room, dumbstruck.

*That robo-knight was a great LOL moment. It's like a giant Lego soldier!

*The reason why Linx wore his helmet for the first episode was really flimsy. Why would a Sontaran care if a primitive didn't find his appereance pleasing? Do Sontarans have self-image issues?

*Those cubicles looked very unprivate.

*Nice hairdo, Brigadier.

CONCLUSION

You can never have too many historicals.

[rushy]

Invasion Of The Dinosaurs is a decent callback to season 7's more serious, politically-minded stories, but suffers from too many production issues to be a great romp.

PLOT

The Doctor and Sarah return to London to find it evacuated and UNIT in more trouble than ever before - dinosaurs have shown up all over the city. Shortly afterwards, Sarah disappears and the Doctor is being threatened by a trusted friend...

While I find it incredibly hard to believe that the technology to manipulate time to the extent as suggested here could've been possible in 1970s England(then again, we've seen time machines built in the Victorian era...), I must admit the plan of the bad guys is pretty impressive. Ludicrous, certainly, but very clever and well-thought out.
I only didn't understand why the ship couldn't simply have been sent back in time instead of rewinding the Earth.

CHARACTERS

The strong rapport of Pertwee and Sladen continues to be the season's highlight. They're very charming together and to be slightly childish for a second, Sarah is sooooooo cute when she pouts.

The Brigadier on the other hand is such a sad case. He's become completely irrelevant. I'm itching for a story where Benton gets his job. Benton's my hero now. My only regret is that he never got to punch the Master the way he punched Finch.

Mike Yates looks at least 10 years older than last we saw him. The new crooked look suits him much better than the affable dolly face he had before btw. His betrayal is a plot twist I particularly enjoyed and I'm very disappointed that it didn't really get much resolution. It was still a very solid piece of drama though and easily Franklin's finest hour in the role.

Of the other villains, I'd say the Minister was the most memorable, simply because he was so British. It's like having Jeeves be the bad guy. Peter Miles was Peter Miles like always, but he wasn't really given anything to do. Finch was a poor man's Roger Delgado, like I already implied. And Whittaker's assistant was just forgettable.

Watch out for Carmen Silvera(Edith!)!

NOTES

*I'm not too annoyed by the dinosaurs so I didn't make a fuss about them. Yes, they're horrible enough to warrant a CGI do-over(unlike the effects in the previous story), but they were tolerable.

*The Doctor's line about there being nobody walking around because it was Sunday immediately gave me an Ian flashback. The first episode was very Dalek Invasion Of Earth.

*My opinion on the Whomobile is mixed. On one side, it looks awesome, but on the other, it makes very little sense. Where did it come from? Why does the Doctor need it instead of Bessie? Why does the Doctor even use such a conspicuous vehicle? And why does he use it for this particular occasion anyway?

*The Doctor's moral message at the end was far too unsubtle. But at least it's a pretty decent and optimistic one.

*The Doctor and the Brigadier both spend at least an episode in the London Underground and not a single reference to The Web Of Fear?

*The guns look pathetic here. The actors just point and act like they're shooting unlike in the earlier stories, where they were at least loaded with something.

*Episode 4 is practically logic-free.

*In case any of you were wondering whether I watched the first episode in color or black-and-white, I picked the colored one. It was the way it was made, even if it looks better in monochrome.

BEST QUOTE

"And I presume you have a better theory?" Pertwee's growling delivery is magnificent.

CONCLUSION

I liked it a lot, but it also highlights how different the show has become since season 7, for better or for worse.

[rushy]

Death To The Daleks has a great premise and opens really well, but it's like Terry Nation decided to just write another story in the last two episodes.

PLOT

1) The TARDIS is stranded on the planet Exxilon by a power-sucking mechanism, forcing the Doctor and Sarah to go find help. On the way, they meet up with officers from the planet Earth who are searching the planet for a cure to a big plague ravaging their empire and the Daleks who are also being affected by the same plague. The three sides form an alliance to uncover the source of their problems and battle the crazed primitives trying to burn them all to death.

2) The living city of Exxilon has found new victims and draws them in, but instead of killing them like it did all the other supposedly advanced Exxilons, it gives them simple IQ tests until it blows up for no reason(the Doctor was taken away by the "antibodies" in the middle of his work), the Daleks turn evil again like they always do and that's it.

I love the first half of this plot and I hate hate hate the nonsensical and dull second half.

CHARACTERS

What makes Death To The Daleks notable is the use of Daleks as potential allies in a crisis. Watching them tolerate the others and work together on a mission to stop the city and the primitives guarding it was great. But in the latter half of the story, the Daleks start shouting orders again and it becomes a retread of earlier stories.

There's really nothing notable about the Doctor or Sarah, character-wise here. They're still a great team, but there's no stand-out moments.

Of the guest stars, I liked Galloway the best. He was a bit of a comic book character, rubbing his beard and going "yes..." about the Daleks' evil plans non-chalantly. But hey, he had some personality. I don't get why he didn't just set the bombs on a timer at the end, though.

The good Exxilon, Blaal was nice and played really well, but I liked the idea of the Exxilons as Lord of the Flies-style cultists much better.

NOTES

*The Daleks blowing up little police box models was the cutest thing ever.

*Where did they get all those bullets for their machine-guns, though?

*I loved the design of the Exxilon city, particularly that beaming light on the top. It was a very spectacular sight.

*The TARDIS being trapped by a planetary system that shouldn't affect it in the Time Vortex anyway is just like The Web Planet, down to the unorthodox method used to open the doors(in the former story, he used his ring).

*What was the point of those IQ tests anyway? And how did the Doctor know so much about them?

*The tiling trap where you have to jump on the white tiles only was just... dumb.

CONCLUSION

I really wanted to love this story, because Episode 2 was terrific, like The Daemons done right and with some meaning, but the great set-up just degenerated into farce. Shame.

[rushy]

The Monster Of Peladon is simply too long. The first half of the story is a pointless retread of the original(except less atmospheric and with no Ice Warriors), whilst the second half is actually quite pact and a nice, if unnecessary way for the Ice Warriors to return to their roots.

PLOT

The TARDIS makes a return trip to Peladon, but 50 years too late. The Doctor and Sarah find the planet in near civil war as the miners of this week's ultra-valuable-mineral-only-available-on-this-planet, trisilicate refuse to work because of their fear of Aggedor(whom, last I checked was confirmed not to be a God).

Besides the setup, everything is the same. The Queen is in over her head, her High Priest is a stubborn old goat, everyone suspects the Doctor(although considering that he never explained who he was, I'm not surprised) and even Doctor Who's very own Jar Jar Binks is back. A round of applause to Alpha Centauri!

To be fair, once the Peladonians united in their fight against the thuggish Ice Warriors in league with Galaxy 5(???), I really got into it. There was an optimism to the union that I liked, plus the story went a lot faster.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee gets to be a selfish git one last time, ignoring Sarah after she realized he wasn't actually dead and frequently blows her off throughout the story.

Sarah rocks. She solves mysteries, genuinely helps out and is pretty fierce overall. I must say it again: she is a fantastic companion. Certainly the best we've had since Ian and maybe Jamie.

I also loved Eckersley, since he's so calm and collected and not at all villainous. It's a real surprise when he turns out to be a baddie(which I unfortunately spoiled for myself by reading the reviews ahead).

I'm not sure turning the Ice Warriors back into bad guys is such a great idea. Yes, it's hard to give them a reason to continue showing up once they stop being nasty, but why have them show up anyway? They're my favourite monsters, but they are completely unnecessary for this story. It could've very easily been the Ogrons or someone else.

The Queen was an improvement over David Troughton. She had less acting range, but at least the feminine nature of the character was natural(and I have nothing against normal gayness, but King Peladon was just ridiculously gay). The only thing that really didn't make sense to me is the King's name being Peladon and hers not.

I liked Ortron more than Hepesh, because he was nicer and ultimately redeemed himself(and yet somehow got far less mourning).

NOTES

*I forgot to talk about the new title sequence earlier so I'll do it here. It's awesome. The 2001-esque opening and Pertwee's serene pose and the Time Vortex... the only issue I have with it is that it's too blue. The eye gets no rest.

*One of the Ice Warriors is hilariously misshapen and looks like a wobblehead toy, with a giant head and small body.

*Brian Hayles apparently forgot the origin of the Ice Warriors' names halfway through this story, since Alpha Centauri says early on that "the Ice Warriors, as the Doctor calls them" (and mind you, Alpha Centauri has dealt with them for more than 50 years), but later, Azaxyr refers to his people as Ice Warriors.

*I would kill for Azaxyr's cape. Also the Doctor's outfit. But then again, he always looks fashionable. Well, almost always(sorry Sylvester!).

*The new Ice Warrior guns look abysmal. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

*Nice of them to reuse the old splash effect from The Seeds Of Death, though.

*I'm kind of annoyed they pulled the "is the Doctor dead or not?" card twice in one episode.

*I'm honestly surprised by the amount of foreshadowing to the Doctor's regeneration in this story. They're really making a big fuss out of it. I bet it'll be awesome.

BEST QUOTE

"While there's life, there's..."

CONCLUSION

A passable story, but would definitely be better remembered if it were a four-parter.


So this is it. The next story is Jon Pertwee's(and the season 11) finale. Now, for the first time, I honest to God haven't seen the story, read any reviews or directly checked any Wikipedia pages for the plot. But this is the internet so I do know the basic gist of what is going to happen and how, but not the details.

I'll see you guys at Metebelis III...

[rushy]

Planet Of The Spiders is thematically Pertwee's strongest outing. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best, but it's certainly heartwarming to see that the team really did pull out all the stops for their finale. It has a very contemplative feel to it, tying together all the plot threads of its era and featuring complex characters like Tommy and Yates.

PLOT

The spiders of Metebelis III come to Earth to find the blue crystal that the Doctor stole during his previous trip there. With his curiosity peaked, the Doctor pursues the mystery back to the Blue Planet, only to discover a colony of humans subjugated by the spiders. Meanwhile, the spiders' alliance with cultists from a Tibetan meditation centre threaten the life of Mike Yates and Sarah...

I hate to admit it, but when I really examine this story, it falls apart. It's like The Day Of The Doctor all over again. But Planet Of The Spiders isn't remembered for its' story, it's remembered for the regeneration(or maybe the neverending car chase in Part Two). Well, I didn't like Kan'po telling us how it's gonna be alright and nice(this really is like a Moffat story at times). And I'm not kidding. He threatens the fourth wall with that speech. It's that bad. Sarah Jane is also really melodramatic, but reliable old Pertwee saves us.

CHARACTERS

Jon Pertwee is fantastic here, simply fantastic. His terror towards the Great One's power over him was bound to scare kids out of their wits too. His final scene really shows him defeated and dying in a way that I think no other actor playing the Doctor has achieved before or since. I loved it.

Has anyone else notice that Sarah Jane seems to spend most of the season thinking that the Doctor's dead? There's even a double-take on it in this story. Also, her screaming and crying are becoming very Susan-like. Oh god no. Not Sarah.

As for the UNIT regulars, my opinion from their previous appearance stands. Benton is awesome, Yates got a great send-off and the Brigadier is a senile old pensioner. Don't get me wrong, Courtney can still act just fine, but the character is completely farcical now.

Funnily enough, a similar degeneration happens to the villain, Lupton(played by John Dearth in a far inferior performance to the BOSS). He starts out pretty smart and cool and ends up being an irrelevant ranting lunatic who just gets killed off ignominiously.

I thought Kan'po was kind of charming, even though he was far too similar to the Atlantean king from The Time Monster. I thought Cho-Je was really annoying, to be honest. His smile and nonsensical quotes drove me nuts.

Tommy is of course, legendary and a brilliant concept. A retard who is freed by the Metebelis crystal and becomes an intellectual(who can do Venusian Aikido, apparently).

The spiders were all realised far more realistically than could've been expected from the budget, so kudos there.

NOTES

*The Venusian Aikido has become so lame. It went from a paralysing neck hold(basically the Doctor's version of the Vulcan nerve pinch) to just rolling enemies through the air which somehow knocks them all out.

*What were Lupton and his associates doing anyway? They knew nothing of Metebelis III before starting their ritual, so what did they expect to happen, especially since some of them confessed to having come to the meditation centre for peaceful reasons.

*Metebelis III looks crap compared to its earlier appearance in The Green Death. Whatever happened to all the blue?

*How come that one crystal was perfect whilst all the others weren't?

*Did I miss the Doctor explaining why the Cave of Crystal was dangerous, becomes it seems to come out of nowhere?

*Is the Bowler Hat Time Lord from Terror Of The Autons related to Kan'po, by any chance?

*Why did Kan'po project his future self?

*Why exactly did the Doctor's cells need a little push? The Tenth Doctor seemed to do fine on his own and he definitely had more radiation to absorb.

*The Whomobile appeared almost as briefly here as in Invasion Of The Dinosaurs. It really was probably the dumbest idea the Pertwee era ever did.

*I loved the hovercraft though. I didn't even know those things could drive over land and people like that. Heck, I barely had any idea of what a hovercraft was before watching the Pertwee stories.

*The Doctor's knack for dressing color-coded continues here, where he proudly wears a blue bow-tie.

*What was that healing machine and what was that leather satchel it was in?

*Nice new TARDIS key, all alien style.

*One thing I never get in movies that have idiots become geniuses is how do they learn to read? I mean, how does advanced intelligence make you understand written symbols all of a sudden? Has it got something to do with enhanced memory?

*I almost forgot Jenny Laird. Dear God, she monologued every line.

*How did the Doctor get his hands on the BOSS's giant headset?

*What was the point of the cocoons? And why on Earth did the camera show directly that there was a protective mattress underneath?!

BEST QUOTE

"I got lost in the Time Vortex. The TARDIS brought me home."

CONCLUSION

The plot is a bit of a shambles, but it's great entertainment and a wonderful way to finish off the Pertwee era.

[rushy]

Well, this is embarrassing... it seems I never uploaded my Second Doctor retrospective and Top 10 stories into this thread...

[rushy]

*Patrick Troughton - The Second Doctor

*Doc-meter: Initially, the Doctor was extremely sinister and aloof in his demeanor, refusing to directly cooperate with his companions and handling both enemies and allies in a callous fashion. However, these unlikable attributes quickly gave way for a character who, above all his other selves, loved his life of traversing through time and space and was far more dedicated to it than his predecessor, as he found his duty rather than incident to meddle in the affairs of those who needed it.

*Favourite Story: The War Games.

*Favourite Companion: James Robert McCrimmon.

*Favourite Enemy: The War Chief.

*Screwdriver: A pen light-like device that buzzed loudly when working and was used only twice during his career.

*Costume: An unkempt, simplified version of his predecessor's outfit with a bow-tie and shirt replacing his vest and Edwardian tie.

*Worst Story: The Macra Terror.

*Worst Companion: Polly Wright. At least Ben got to shine a bit in this era.

*Worst Enemy: The Krotons.

Overall era: Despite a significant increase in production values, this era was less intelligent and more mainstream with a constant flow of Dalek replacements(some genuinely good, others not). Though this era is heralded as the real beginning of Doctor Who, I'm thinking it's more when Doctor Who began copying from others and lost that whirlwind of "whatever comes next" that made it so unique and enjoyable to begin with.
It became more about what he could do, rather than what he would actually do. Nevertheless, the fun and adventure is still there and the stories are generally good. It's like The Hobbit to the First Doctor's Lord Of The Rings.

[rushy]

Top 10 Second Doctor Stories

10. The Mind Robber - As meta as it can get, the TARDIS lands inside the world of fiction where our characters must defeat the Writer and escape!! How awesome is that? Lots of brilliant, silly moments and a notably atmospheric first episode.

9. The Faceless Ones - This one I'm giving the benefit of the doubt, since the existing episodes are very engaging whilst the ones that don't are the opposite. In any case, the story is unique and very interesting and the leads have some great moments.

8. The Wheel In Space - One of the finest Cyberman stories, here we see them employ a complex plan instead of march around like idiots. They have very little to do physically, but their presence is more than enough to carry the story. I loved the first episode, where the Doctor and Jamie investigate an abandoned spaceship. Slow and clever.

7. The Enemy Of The World - The Doctor is forced to masquerade as an international hero in order to learn whether or not he's planning to conquer the world as a resistance group suspects. A notable acting turn from Patrick Troughton, who gets to chew some scenery as the Mexican Salamander, plus brilliant direction and writing. It's admittedly a little too fast-paced to make sense, but very memorable.

6. The Abominable Snowmen - A very refreshing visit to the Tibetan mountains where our heroes help a monastery to uncover the secret of the violent Yeti...

5. The Power Of The Dalsks - A rather depressing tale where our new, creepy and untrustworthy Doctor is faced with his worst foes on a planet filled with fools and madmen. Excellent material, but suffers from some padding and lack of video.

4. The Seeds Of Death - This story wins thanks to its excellent presentation. Cinematic direction, brilliant performances, atmospheric space shots and above average writing. Ambition and effort get you far.

3. The Web Of Fear - Probably the scariest Doctor Who story involving monsters. A group of people are trapped in the dark, oppressive London Underground with Yeti around any other corner!

2. The Evil Of The Daleks - The Daleks at their very best, scary and conniving, here we see them hire the Doctor himself to accomplish their scheme. From the 1960s to the 1860s and back to the alien world Skaro where it all began, this is the Second Doctor's darkest hour.

1. The War Games - Amazingly well-crafted and dependably entertaining, this one just encapsulates everything you could possibly want to see in a Doctor Who story: the mythos, the jokes, the bad guys, the good guys, the action, the adventure, the magic, the horror, the shaky sets. It's the ultimate classic Doctor Who story.

[rushy]

*Jon Pertwee - The Third Doctor

*Doc-meter: Pushed by the Time Lords to become the defender of Earth, the Third Doctor started out as a dashing, witty hero, perfect for fighting injustice... particularly his own. His obsession with escaping his exile often blinded him, along with his fondness for the Master, an old friend/archrival. Nevertheless, his authority and passion more than made up for his ego and after getting free, he treated his friends with fondness and care.

*Favourite Story: The Ambassadors Of Death.

*Favourite Companion: Liz Shaw. (Yes, I know I said Sarah, but looking back, it was Liz that really fit him best)

*Favourite Enemy: The Master. (Hell yeah!)

*Screwdriver: A long silver rod with a telescopic top and a bit of metal replacing the diode.

*Costume: In his earlier years, the Third Doctor wore red and purple capes on top of a suit with frilled shirts. Later on though, he began to favour velvet smoking jackets.

*Worst Story: The Daemons.

*Worst Companion: Jo Grant.

*Worst Enemy: The Gel Guards.

*Overall era: This reinvented era is mostly all about the wrongdoings of humanity. While this moralising does make it a more intellectual watch when compared to the First and Second Doctor eras, it's significantly less fun. The UNIT format had a very limited lifespan(the show completely lost interest in them after season 8) and the highbrow writing seldom fit elsewhere, requiring the show to try and awkwardly return to its roots. Nevertheless, the Pertwee era is very stylish and charming as is its lead star.

[rushy]

Top 10 Third Doctor Stories

10. The Sea Devils - You all know the story here... that music. Everything else here is top-notch: the message(Walker is nightmare conducing), the comedy(that sandwich scene), the Sea Devils, the Master, the whole setting, the chemistry... but it's all let down by the what has to be the worst score to anything.

9. Day Of The Daleks - A great, flashy time travel story let down by some big budget issues.

8. The Time Warrior - A really funny adventure that finally sees the Third Doctor venture into history, but despite its witty dialogue and charming rogue characters, it's missing something.

7. Spearhead From Space - An awesome intro to the 1970s, although the invasion plot feels a bit empty.

6. The Green Death - A rather unsubtle, boring environmental story jazzed up with the best evil duo ever: a Wagner-singing mad AI and a moustache-rocking CEO. It frequently fluctuates between a classic and a trainwreck.

5. The Curse Of Peladon - It has a dark, medieval atmosphere, reminiscent of the Hartnell historicals. The alien ambassadors are very impressive, especially the Ice Warriors. Pertwee gets to do diplomacy like only he can.

4. Planet Of The Spiders - Albeit anticlimactic at times, Pertwee's sendoff is still lots of fun and the villains are really awesome. I enjoyed the regeneration and the way the story set it up.

3. Inferno - What a great way to write horror. It's set mostly in a parallel universe, meaning that there's no getaway fix and no rewriting history. Despite the bleakness of the story, there's also some classic sci-fi humor like the Doctor meeting the counterparts of his friends and later comparing them.

2. The Mind Of Evil - This is my classic UNIT story. All the elements are there and it still feels fresh and realistic. The Master is a brilliant opponent and his Keller Machine is an inspired concept.

1. The Ambassadors Of Death - It's one of the slowest stories I've ever seen, but uniquely makes it work with an intelligent mystery plot, a truly psychologically scary alien race and very interesting characterisation.