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REVIEW: The Awakening by Eric Pringle

SERIAL: 6M, 2X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


As I have mentioned before, Doctor Who owes a lot to the Quatermass serials of the 1950s, and perhaps one of the most copied of the serials was Quatermass and the Pit. It influenced Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Daemons, and Image of the Fendahl. Perhaps the last story to feel this direct influence was from a writer who had been submitting storylines for the show as far back as the Tom Baker era, Eric Pringle, who until 1984, didn't get his chance...

Tegan asks to visit her grandfather, Andrew Verney, a historian living in the village of Little Hodcombe. But the village, under the direction of local magistrate Sir George Hutchinson, is undertaking war games, re-enactments of the time when the English Civil War came to Little Hodcombe, and levelled it. And the problem is, the war games are becoming all too real, with Hutchinson and his second-in-command, Willow, preventing anyone from entering or leaving, and apparently intent on recreating things for real. The Doctor and his companions soon realise that Hutchinson is reviving the Malus, a gigantic living weapon so strong, it is able to bring projections of people from the Civil War. The awakening of the Malus has begun, and its servant Hutchinson, in his madness, will slaughter the entire village to serve his master...

The Awakening is tightly plotted by Eric Pringle, and while the storyline could have filled four episodes (which was the original intent for the story), it works perfectly well with two. It actually combines elements of The Daemons (an alien entity mistaken for the Devil residing within an old church in a rural village) and Image of the Fendahl (a lunatic working to revive an alien menace under the mistaken impression that the alien being will grant him power). Not quite original, though the war games and what they feed the Malus add an original angle, and it is well done. Good dialogue too ("You speak treason!" "Fluently!").

The characters are actually rather singular, although considering the fact that it is a two parter rather than a four parter, this is only to be expected. The regulars are well-done, and Denis Lill (who, ironically, played Dr Fendelman in the aforementioned Image of the Fendahl) as Hutchinson, Glyn Houston as Wolsey, and Keith Jayne as Will deserve particular praise. But I feel that Polly James was miscast as schoolteacher Jane Hampden, and while she makes a good performance in the first little bit of the story, her performance degenerates.

The production is nice and tight, with good location filming and nice, moody sets in the church. The Malus itself is very well realised, considering, and looks very menacing, even if it is just a face stuck behind a wall most of the time and a rather grotesque puppet for the rest of the story. The "ghostly lights" effects, though, have aged particularly badly from the Eighties.

Overall, The Awakening was actually quite a pleasant surprise. Let down by only a few problems, it is one of the best two parters in the series, never mind Peter Davison's era.


SCORE: 9.5/10


And now, the DVD trailer for the second Revisitations set, which has the next story, Resurrection of the Daleks, along with The Seeds of Death, and Carnival of Monsters.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz9CQLVDTPs[/youtube]

BTW, purists may be wondering whether I am going to be watching the original (but ultimately untransmitted) four part version of Resurrection of the Daleks, or watch the 2 45-minute episode version (that was ultimately transmitted). I have decided to watch the 2 45-minute episode version, as not only have I watched the four part version and not the two part version, but I have decided to watch the versions of the episodes (optional CGI effects notwithstanding) that were originally transmitted.

REVIEW: Resurrection of the Daleks by Eric Saward

SERIAL: 6P, 2X45 minute episodes (on transmission)

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


The Daleks were meant to return at the end of the 20th season, as one of a number of old adversaries to return for that season. But industrial action meant that the story, scripted by Eric Saward and originally called Warhead, was not produced until the next season. With Janet Fielding leaving, and the original director, Peter Grimwade, fell out with John Nathan-Turner, the story was already a difficult one. And with the previous Dalek story one of the most disappointing, could this one fall into the same trap?

Trapped in a time corridor, the Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough end up landing in modern day London near some abandoned warehouses, where a man called Stien from the future is hiding from his pursuers. Meanwhile, far in the future, a Dalek task force teamed with human mercenaries, attacks a rundown space prison. Its only prisoner: Davros. With Turlough accidentally transported onto the Dalek ship thanks to the time corridor, the Doctor and Tegan must convince some bomb disposal soldiers that they are telling the truth, and proof soon arrives when a Dalek, sent to capture the Doctor, comes through. But why do the Daleks want to capture the Doctor? What do they want with Davros? And what does Stien have to do with the Daleks?

This story is, frankly, bleak and dark and violent. Trademarks, as it turns out, of Eric Saward after what we saw in Earthshock, but that had a certain style. This is doesn't have style. It's dark and dirty. This isn't a bad thing, but even by the standards of the show at the time, it's rather shocking in terms of tone. Of the guest cast, only three characters, all villains, definitely survive onscreen (though Davros later returns). The Doctor not only uses a gun and explosives to kill Daleks, but is at one point prepared to shoot Davros. And Tegan's departure, abrupt and as ill-foreshadowed as it is, is quite appropriate, with the Doctor remarking afterwards that he may need to mend his ways, exposing his companions to such peril and death. Unfortunately, as is often the case with a Dalek story with Davros in it, the Daleks are frankly boring, and the use of their time corridor doesn't make sense until the very end, and even then it isn't that much.

The regulars are, as usual, portrayed well, and while the Doctor is uncharacteristaically violent in this story as noted above, there is redemption for him when he realises this. Tegan's departure is wonderfully acted by Janet Fielding, who shows a companion finally fed up with the violence that has occurred. Of the guest cast, msot are average, but of particular note is Maurice Colbourne as the mercenary Lytton, Rodney Bewes as conflicted Dalek replica Stien, Jim Findley as Mercer, and Rula Lenska as Styles. Terry Molloy is a revelation as Davros, making the most of a role that could have been all ranting and actually imbuing a small amount of subtlety into the character (where the dialogue allows, anyway), subtlety that was lost when David Gooderson took on the role in Destiny of the Daleks.

Production wise, well, I know the space prison is meant to look derelict, but it doesn't have to actually look like it was put together out of forklift pallets (which it seems to have). The futuristic sets look cheaper than usual, noticeably so, and the Dalek helmets worn by the mercenaries are silly. That being said, Matthew Robinson is an excellent director for action, and the sequences set in the warehouse are very moody and atmospheric, as is the location shooting. Costumes, the Dalek helmets thing notwithstanding, are pretty good, and there is some surprisingly gruesome makeup to show the effects of the mercenaries' gas attack.

Resurrection of the Daleks is rather too bleak for its own good, and has other production failings, but it is an excellent resurrection of the Dalek story. A bit more style and more foreshadowing of Tegan's departure might have gone a long way to boosting this story, but it's still a good one, if one can take the dark tone in one's stride.



SCORE: 9/10

Last edited by Quatermass on 07 Aug 2011, 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

I just found this thread and it is GLORIOUS!

Thank you. I've done it based on the DVDs currently available in Australia, with the exception, so far, of Frontios (which I haven't bought yet for various reasons, but which I intend to watch and review later). A few of the Davison stories I watched when I was only 8 or 9 years old, and they were on early in the morning on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation, nothing to do with the American ABC). I missed quite a few episodes (I have vague memories of watching the first episode of Black Orchid, the first few episodes of Time-Flight, the last episode of Snakedance, a couple of episodes of Mawdryn Undead and Enlightenment, as well as the second episode of The Awakening), but I'm pretty sure I managed to watch the entirety of Arc of Infinity and Warriors of the Deep. While the entire stories didn't actually catch, I do remember incidents that I saw all the way through.

Have you read my review thread all the way through?

BTW, a bit of help if you're confused with my ratings system. My ratings system (based on the one I developed for my book reading blog) basically has two medians. 7.5/10 is what something has to achieve to be averagely entertaining. Now, for it to be truly average Doctor Who (instead of averagely entertaining), I'd prefer it to be 8.5/10.

Confusing, I know.

Your rating system is perfectly understandable!

I am about 3/4s of the way through your reviews. I agree with the majority of them!

Okay, well, I'm curious. Which ones don't you agree with? And your reasoning why. Hearing the reasons for differences of opinion is interesting.

BTW, I'm writing up my review of Planet of Fire shortly.

REVIEW: Planet of Fire by Peter Grimwade

SERIAL: 6Q, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


After the falling out with John Nathan-Turner mentioned in my review of Resurrection of the Daleks, Peter Grimwade was still contracted to write one last story for the series, and so was given a rather daunting task. Not only did he have to set it in Lanzarote, and write in a new companion, Perpugilliam 'Peri' Brown, but he also had to write out three characters. The unpopular android Kamelion was to die. Anthony Ainley, who had reached the end of his contract as the Master, was also to be sent off. And finally, Turlough, the character Peter Grimwade wrote the debut story for, was to leave the TARDIS...

Kamelion is suffering. While trying to help the Doctor soothe the android, Turlough detects a distress call, emanating from Earth, and something he recognises from his own home planet. Despite his attempts to sabotage it, the Doctor tries to track the signal, all the while wondering why Turlough is so shifty. The signal is emanating from an artifact that botany student Perpugilliam Brown, aka Peri, has stolen from her stepfather, but has to be rescued from drowning by Turlough. But Kamelion, now under the influence of the Master, has re-set the controls of the TARDIS for distant Sarn, a volcanic planet inhabited by a superstitious race who are unaware that their planet had been influenced by Turlough's homeworld, Trion. Why is the mark of Logar branded not only onto the arm of Malkon, the Sarn's Chosen One, but also Turlough's? What does the Master want with Sarn? And given Turlough's shiftiness, will the Doctor's friendship with him be at an end?

Planet of Fire has a sound storyline in which Peter Grimwade manages to combine many disparate elements required into a functional story. However, compared to the ambitious but flawed Time-Flight and the far better Mawdryn Undead, Planet of Fire feels staid, pedestrian even. And there are two major flaws with this admittedly singular story. The first is of style: it doesn't feel like the right sort of story to end the Doctor and the Master's conflict. The second is, what is the Trion distress beacon doing on Earth in the first place? It's never explained, and that is very irritating. Still, Turlough's departure is foreshadowed enough, as we finally learn something of his past, and why he was on Earth in the first place.

The Doctor is beginning to show even greater signs of becoming darker, with him threatening to break off his friendship with Turlough if he is concealing anything from him, as well as being willing to kill Kamelion (albeit out of mercy and at the android's request) and leaving the Master to die. Peter Davison and Mark Strickson are, as usual, great. Dallas Adams is surprisingly good as Kamelion taking the form of Peri's stepfather, Howard, though Gerald Flood's few lines, while fine, do nothing to imbue life in the shoddy Kamelion prop. Anthony Ainley, unfortunately, is wasted here as the Master, though he gives it a good shot. While Nicola Bryant gives her all as Peri, I have to admit, she is rarely written well, and this story, her debut, isn't at all her best. Here, she comes off mostly as an immensely irritating spoilt brat, although her nightmare about Howard (possibly, as a spin-off novel has suggested, about sexual abuse) and her shouting down the Master (as well as attacking the shrunken Master in his own TARDIS) have to be counted. The other cast members are fine, with the only exceptional guest performance being from Peter Wyngarde as Timanov, doing his best with an averagely written role.

Production wise, this story does make use of extensive and admittedly spectacular location filming in Lanzarote. Sarn is an eerie, desolate world that looks very much like a volcanic world. The studio work is nothing spectacular, but the new change effect for Kamelion is certainly better than the original used in The King's Demons. In fact, the special effects are, for the most part, quite impressive for the time.

Planet of Fire could have been better, but given what had to be fitted in, I can see that it could have been a lot worse. It's a decent enough departure vehicle for Turlough, even if it wasn't as good a vehicle for the Master or Kamelion leaving, or Peri arriving...


SCORE: 8.5/10

REVIEW: The Caves of Androzani by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: 6R, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


John Nathan-Turner was reluctant to ask old writers to return, but eventually, with script editor Eric Saward, finally decided to bring back Robert Holmes. Although his work on what eventually became The Five Doctors went nowhere, he did get brought back for Peter Davison's final story as the Doctor. But would this tale of greed and darkness be a suitable finale for the fifth Doctor?

Landing on Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Peri explore some nearby caves, really blowholes that periodically vent primeval mud from the planet's core. The Doctor has visited the planet before, and was certain that the planet, unlike its twin, Androzani Major, was not going to be colonised. Problem is, the Doctor and Peri are soon caught up in a war, with the Federal Army on one side, and the deranged android maker Sharaz Jek on the other. A t stake is spectrox, a substance that grants extended life when refined. But raw spectrox poisons, and the Doctor and Peri have unwittingly touched raw spectrox. Framed for gun running by powerful Androzani Major businessman Morgus, rescued by the insane Jek to be his companions cum prisoners, and dying from spectrox toxaemia, the Doctor and Peri are in a race against time to not only find a cure, but extricate themselves from the situation. In a world where morality and life is cheap, innocence are dead, and truth does not exist, can the Doctor survive and save Peri's life?

I mentioned before that one of the failings of Resurrection of the Daleks was that it was dark and bleak. While the same can be said about The Caves of Androzani, it also has style to it, Robert Holmes' distinct style. The whole thing this time has the feel of Grand Guignol, with Robert Holmes allowed free reign with grotesque dialogue that he may not have been allowed to use since he last wrote for the program. But this is also a story about the Doctor pushed to his limits, having blundered into a bad situation and badly endangering the life of Peri (he even admits that 'curiosity has always been my downfall'), as well as being caught up in a labyrinth of lies, deception, and corruption. There's even one of the best cliffhangers ever in the series at the end of episode 3 which I did not understand on all levels until recently. I thought that the Doctor was ranting at Stotz, but it's actually hinted (by the effect later used for the regeneration appearing over the Doctor's vision temporarily) that he is also yelling at himself when he yells "I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU STOP ME NOW!"

Peter Davison gives his all in his final performance as the Doctor, with his regeneration scene, if not quite emotional, then quite affecting, given the fact that he even hints that he may die instead of regenerating, and after her frankly irritating debut in Planet of Fire, Peri seems better written, and Nicola Bryant does well. Every guest character and actor is both written and performed spot on. Christopher Gable's Sharaz Jek is a study in insanity, from subtle mutters to ranting yells in colourful language ("You stinking offal, Morgus, LOOK AT ME!! !"), but while creepy in the extreme (he's the first of what I like to call Peri's Paramours, or characters who lust after Peri, as they often do) and not truly likeable, he is perhaps, rather ironically, the most sympathetic of the guest characters. John Normington as Morgus is a master of understated villainy, and Maurice Roeves plays Stotz with sadistic glee.

Production wise, virtually everything is spot-on. Roger Limb's music adds atmosphere and pace to times when it is needed, Graeme Harper's direction is a revelation, and, well, virtually everything works. No wonder he came back to success in the new series. The only thing that doesn't, really, is the magma creature, although that is shot enough times in dim lighting to help hide the more egregious flaws.

The Caves of Androzani is perhaps the best finale ever given to a Doctor in the series. Dark, but stylish and enjoyable, it's one of Robert Holmes' masterpieces, proving that he can go with changes.



SCORE: 10/10


And now, the DVD trailer to the next story, The Twin Dilemma. I am not personally looking forward to this one, as this is, by repute, one of the worst stories.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYaNA4cxJkk[/youtube]

PROGRESS REPORT SIX: THE REIGN OF TURNER 2: NUMBER FIVE IS ALIVE!

STORIES: Total for this era: 19

Cumulative total: 92. 14 William Hartnell, 6 Patrick Troughton. 17 Jon Pertwee. 36 Tom Baker. 19 Peter Davison

TIME: Total for this era: 19 days

Cumulative total: 99 days

PERCENTAGE NEVER WATCHED BEFORE: 10/19, or 53%

Cumulative total: 36/92, or 39%

MILESTONES:

Last pure historical story televised

Revival of the Cybermen

First death of a long-running companion

First appearance of Colin Baker in the series

Return of the Black Guardian and the Brigadier

Introduction of Kamelion

20th Anniversary



COMPANIONS: Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, Kamelion, Peri


THOUGHTS: While I'm sure that the Peter Davison era of the series has less fans than some other eras of the show, I found myself surprised by the high quality of many scripts and productions, given the time and budget. I was also, less pleasantly, surprised, in perspective, about how really dickish the Fifth Doctor could be at times, probably more due to the writers than anything else. I thought of him as being more vulnerable.

While there were many flawed productions in this era, overall, there weren't that many that fell below the norm. Despite a few of John Nathan-Turner's more questionable decisions (like the celery on the Doctor's lapel, the 20th Anniversary featuring an old adversary coming back each story, and Kamelion), it all worked. How much of it is due to JNT, and how much of the stories' quality depended on script editor (for the majority of this era) Eric Saward is unknown, but while not as strong on hard science as the first JNT season was, it is still strong on story and production values.

Peter Davison is a good Doctor. Not one of my favourites, admittedly, but he leaves a lasting impression, and while some of his companions varied, they still were at least fairly interesting, from spirited Australian Tegan to the shifty Turlough. If Philip Hinchcliffe and Robert Holmes' time on the series could be considered a golden age for Doctor Who, then the Davison era seems to come, at least in retrospect, not far from second.

But controversy was in store. With a new actor in the role, Doctor Who was about to enter its darkest period yet, and the show was in a fight for survival...


BEST STORIES: Kinda, Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, The Awakening, The Caves of Androzani

WORST STORIES: Four to Doomsday, Time-Flight, Warriors of the Deep

REVIEW: The Twin Dilemma by Anthony Stevens

SERIAL: 6S, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No (not every episode, anyway).


With a new Doctor at the helm, it had been decided between John Nathan-Turner and Colin Baker to make the new Doctor unlikeable, at least at first. However, while Baker wished to dress in something dark and sinister to reflect this new personality, Turner ordered a costume that would be effectively a symphony of bad taste. This could be tolerated, if Colin Baker's first story as the Doctor, and the last of season 21, was a good one to go out on...

Unstable after his traumatic regeneration, the Doctor begins to suffer mood swings, culminating in a brutal attempt to murder Peri in a fit of insane paranoia. Realising what he has done, he overreacts, deciding to make himself a hermit on the barren asteroid of Titan 3. But he is far from the only visitors. A pair of young mathematical prodigies, the twins Remus and Romulus, have been kidnapped from Earth by the Time Lord Azmael, an old friend of the Doctor's. Azmael's ruling position on the planet Jaconda has been usurpred by giant gastropods, led by the brutal Mestor, and they need the mathematical genius of the twins for their own plans. The Doctor needs to find a way to save Jaconda and indeed the universe, but he may not be able to, given that he is no longer in control of himself...

Okay, I'll admit that making the Doctor initially unlikeable is, in theory, an interesting idea. The Doctor initially was something of an antihero and an opportunist, and there were later versions of the character that were darker. But I feel that the extremes that they go to here are ludicrous. Some scenes seem right, but others, well, the Doctor going so far as to throttle Peri or verbally abuse her to the point where she would be well within her rights to break his arm are just plain wrong. The plot, too, is a rather ludicrous one. While Mestor's plan proper has some merit and threat to it, it seems to be built too much around the gimmick of the titular twins. That being said, things improve a little once they get to Jaconda, and the mythology behind the Gastropods is actually interesting. Considering that Eric Saward apparently rewrote Anthony Stevens' original scripts extensively, one wonders how much worse it could have really been. There's some well-written dialogue at times, though, misplaced as it sometimes is.

The characterisation is pretty bad for all characters except Nicola Bryant's Peri (who manages to be the only sane person in the story) and Maurice Denham's Azmael (who has his poignant moments). However, the performances aren't all bad. Colin Baker makes the most of a bad script, although his debut wouldn't have made a good impression of the sixth Doctor. Indeed, it isn't until the final episode that we see his true colours emerge. Edwin Richfield does surprisingly well with Mestor, playing a rather badly written character with admirable aplomb and menace, if a little overwrought. A young Kevin McNally does a decent, but not stellar job as the rather singular Hugo Lang. But the titular twins, played by Gavin and Andrew Conrad, are flatter than a stale bottle of beer.

The production design varies. Some sets, while cheap-looking, work, and others just either look shoddy, or else wrong. Once they get to Jaconda, things improve and look a little atmospheric at times. There's at least one really dodgy special effect (that of the effect of the rejuvenator on Azmael), but otherwise, things work, especially with the acid bottle exploding on a force field and Mestor's later demise. The costume for Mestor could have looked more menacing, but otherwise works, though by the looks of the other Gastropod costumes, not enough money was left over for them. The Jacondans are intriguing in terms of make-up, looking rather bird-like, but unfortunately do little to raise the game of this story.

I'll admit, I tried to go into The Twin Dilemma unprejudiced, as the last time I saw it was when I was very young, and my eyes didn't see the flaws in the story. But while this story is not the worst story ever, it ranks with the worse. Very disappointing beginning to the sixth Doctor's era, not to mention after the masterpiece that was The Caves of Androzani.



SCORE: 5/10


Anyway, here's the DVD trailer for the next story, Attack of the Cybermen...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAl02gciRHk[/youtube]


...and just because I've just discovered it, the trailer for a DVD release that I am anticipating very strongly, Day of the Daleks, with a special edition version with brand-spanking new effects!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MevFX6yyFko[/youtube]

REVIEW: Attack of the Cybermen by Paula Moore (by Paula Woolsey, with unspecified contributions by Eric Saward and Ian Levine)

SERIAL: 6T, 2X45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


This story has a somewhat confused paternity, with it going out under a pseudonym for Paula Woolsey, with whom then script editor Eric Saward was in a relationship with. How much she contributed is unknown, although it is known that both Eric Saward and fan consultant Ian Levine had contributed. To what degrees remain unknown and contested by those involved. However, regardless of this, the story should be appreciated on its own merits...

While trying to repair the TARDIS' chameleon circuit, the Doctor picks up a distress call on Earth from a stranded alien, unaware that said alien is Commander Lytton, the mercenary formerly employed by the Daleks. Lytton is apparently leading a group of thugs to heist diamonds, but in reality is looking to contact a group of Cybermen, hidden in the sewers beneath London. The Cybermen have captured a time machine, and they intend to change history for their own purposes. After capturing the Doctor and Peri, and thus the TARDIS, they are all taken to Telos in the future, where the revived Cybercontroller is waiting. But all is not well on Telos. The native population once thought wiped out, the Cryons, are waging a war of sabotage against the Cybermen, the time machine's original owners are escaping to try and get it back, and Lytton has his own reasons for being on Telos. For the Cybermen intend to prevent the destruction of Mondas, and the Doctor needs to stop them...

Okay, I'll admit it. Attack of the Cybermen is heavy with what is called fanw***, multiple references to past stories that casual viewers may not understand. But like The Five Doctors and other similar stories, I feel that Attack of the Cybermen could have worked. But there are too many things left unexplained (it's only implied, rather than stated outright, that the Cryons are sabotaging the Cybermen tombs, and how they picked up Lytton's distress signal is only stated in the novelisation, as is Bates and Stratton being the original crew of the time machine. And then, there's the fact that Lytton barely knew the Doctor, and vice versa, during the events of Resurrection of the Daleks) to let it all work, and the second episode in particular feels messy, with many mistakes made by the Cybermen. It needs some disengagement of the brain before one can enjoy it, but it is possible, though it is a rather dark and violent story.

The Doctor seems to be settling into his new persona, or at least more than he was in The Twin Dilemma, though he has an out of character moment when he (assumedly as a bluff) tells Peri to shoot the policeman Russell, though Colin Baker does fine, as does Nicola Bryant as Peri. Maurice Colbourne as Lytton is a delight, given a meatier role, and Brian Glover as the thuggish Griffith adds some levity to the proceedings ("GET-TING A BIT ROUGH IS IT?"). Terry Molloy gets his one and only appearance in Doctor Who without the Davros mask, and does decently as undercover policeman Russell. David Banks is surprisingly understated as the Cyberleader, adding more power to his performances, but unfortunately, though Michael Kilgariff was theoretically a good choice for the Cybercontroller (having played the role, sans voice, in Tomb of the Cybermen and played the Robot well in Robot), both his noticeably bulky figure and his rather subpar performance let things down. Bates and Stratton are acted well, but they evoke little sympathy and are thus repulsive characters. The Cryons, however, are much better, eerie and ethereal, with Faith Brown as Flast and Sarah Berger as Rost particularly noteworthy.

Production wise, the story is actually quite good. The sewers are moody and atmospheric, with the black-painted scout Cybermen adding to the darkness, and the tombs of Telos, despite not looking as impressive or indeed as they were in Tomb of the Cybermen, are still quite eerie. The command centre of Cybercontrol doesn't work, though, looking a bit too cheap, but the fridge that the Doctor and Flast are locked into works, even if the logic doesn't. The location work is fine, especially that used for Telos, and the costumes, especially for the Cryons, is right on cue.

Attack of the Cybermen, then, can be enjoyable, as long as you don't think too much about it. A dodgy and frankly overly violent story and characterisation is nonetheless compensated for by a pretty slick production in which only a few cracks actually show. And, of course, there is better yet to come in the season...


SCORE: 8/10

Okay, well, for those of you following the thread, I'm considering a line of action. While there was some debate as to whether I would actually go onto the new series or not, I am considering the following:

*After I finish the seventh Doctor's era, I will then do a sort of miscellany catch-up. This so far will include The Gunfighters, K9 and Company, the TV Movie, as well as the special editions of Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Planet of Fire, The Curse of Fenric, and Battlefield. This is already my intent.

*After all that, I might start on the new series. After each new series season is completed, I will review any classic series stories that I managed to obtain in the meantime.

*Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures do not count, technically. I may do them at a later date, and possibly in separate threads.

*If a new series story is a two or three parter, it will be referred to by all of its episode titles and will be watched together, and considered a single entity for review purposes.

*Once I have finished the run of available classic and new series stories (up to and including series 5), I will update this thread whenever I obtain a new DVD.

REVIEW: Vengeance on Varos by Philip Martin

SERIAL: 6V, 2X45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


One of the criticisms of Doctor Who during this era was that it steadily became ever more violent. While this is a valid criticism to a degree, Vengeance on Varos, the debut script for Philip Martin, has come in for a particularly strong amount of criticism, as it involves a world where torture and executions are broadcast for entertainment. But is Vengeance on Varos really as bad as some critics claim?

The TARDIS is stranded in mid-flight, as the power isn't making it through to where it must be used. Luckily, there is just enough power for a small jump, and the Doctor sets a course for the only known place for Zeiton-7 ore, the element he needs. But Varos in its mining period is not a welcoming place. A former prison planet, the inhabitants haven't progressed far, with inequality between the Governor and his Officers, and the people who toil in the mines. Rescuing the dissident Jondar, the Doctor and Peri soon find out that the Varosians are kept in line by broadcast executions and torture, and the current Governor, desperately trying to negotiate a fair price for Zeiton-7 with the sadistic mineral export executive Sil, is also in danger of having his measures, and his life, voted down by his audience. While the alien Sil schemes with the Chief Officer to keep the price of Zeiton ore down, the Doctor, peri, Jondar and Areta flee through the Punishment Dome, but Varos is watching, and the Doctor is not expected to survive beyond the next cliffhanger...

Vengeance on Varos was originall written as commentary on the video nasties that were raising concern in Britain at the time, but nowadays, it seems to echo reality TV more. While it is far from the first to prefigure reality TV (Nigel Kneale's TV play The Year of the Sex Olympics and Stephen King's novella The Running Man preceded this story), it is one of those stories that became more significant over time. The addition of the characters of Arak and Etta commenting on what is happening is inspired, occasionally adding levity to a story that badly needs it. The story is rather dark and grim, but with a much better sense of hope than in last years' Resurrection of the Daleks and The Caves of Androzani. Unfortunately, Jondar's reason for being imprisoned are not explored in the transmitted story, which confuses things (although it is shown in a deleted scene), and Sil seems too obviously malevolent to be taken seriously as a mining export delegate.

The Doctor's most controversial moment, the acid bath sequence, isn't as bad as some claim, as the Doctor merely defends himself. While his quip is rather out of character, Colin Baker's assertion that the character is alien does help, and Baker does well in this story, getting into the stride of the character and showing much genuine concern for Peri. Nicola Bryant gives her all as Peri, despite the fact that the character is one of the least well-written companions. Of the guest cast, particular praise has to be given to Martin Jarvis as the Governor, and Nabil Shaban as Sil. Jarvis performs the Governor, easily one of the most morally ambiguous allies (at least eventually) of the Doctor ever in the show, and makes us feel sympathy for him in his impossible position. Shaban is a delight as Sil, playing a truly malevolent and self-centred creature with relish. Forbes Collins as the Chief Officer, Nicholas Chagrin as Quillam, and Stephen Yardley and Sheila Reid as Arak and Etta respectively are both good. However, Jason Connery and Geraldine Alexander as Jondar and Areta respectively seem somewhat miscast, unfortunately.

The production seems a little cheap. It all works and suits the oppressive atmosphere of Varos, but somehow, I think that they did the sets a little on the cheap compared to other Doctor Who stories, and the buggies, while good in theory, don't do so well in practice. But the lighting and direction are spot-on, and the special effects, while not spectacular, work.

Vengeance on Varos is a good story in need of reevaluation. A bit too dark and grim for some, it is nonetheless an important commentary on society that has increased in relevance as time goes by.


SCORE: 9/10

REVIEW: The Mark of the Rani by Pip and Jane Baker

SERIAL: 6X, 2X45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


The original title of The Mark of the Rani was apparently going to be Too Clever By Far, and this seems to suit the writers, Pip and Jane Baker. While quite good writers, they also have a tendency to write witty dialogue that sometimes overshadows the characters and/or story. Still, their debut story, a pseudohistorical set during the Luddite riots, has an intriguing premise, but would it have legs?

Drawn off-course by a time machine, the Doctor and Peri, intending to head to Kew Gardens, end up in the northern town of Killingworth in the early 19th century, where formerly good-natured workers have turned aggressive, hyperactive, and paranoid, smashing machines in an apparent emulation of the Luddite attacks, and each with a red mark on their necks. The one thing these men have in common is that they've been to a bathhouse. Allying himself with Lord Ravensworth, the patron of inventor George Stephenson, the Doctor investigates. But he is not the only Time Lord. It was the Master's TARDIS that lured him there, but the Master has stumbled across the operations of another renegade Time Lord, the Rani. A brilliant chemist and scientist, but utterly amoral, the Rani has been harvesting a chemical from the brains of humans that she needs for her own subjects back home. And the Master blackmails her into helping him with his own plans. With the Master intending to interfere with a meeting between Stephenson and many other inventors in order to further his own schemes, and the Rani refusing to listen to reason, the Doctor and Peri will be hard pressed to stop them...

The story itself is fine. A little average, but fine. However, the Master really gets in the way of the story here, and I'm not sure that he is necessary. Admittedly, the story would be thin on the ground without him, but as it is, the Master's plot not only cheapens him but also the character of the Rani. After trying to diddle around with Magna Carta, and surviving being roasted to death with no explanation (at least televised, the novel explains how he survived), the Master is suffering from a severe case of motive decay. And the story seems vaguely reminiscent of The Masque of Mandragora (alien forces exploit a pivotal point in Earth's history, and try to interfere with a meeting involving some of the foremost minds of the time), too much for my liking, though the setting is used well.

The Doctor seems finally settled into his persona, and shows far more concern for Peri than before, with Colin Baker doing well. Peri gets more to do, and her botany skills are useful for once. The guest stars are averagely written. Anthony Ainley does his best with rather meagre motivation, but it is Kate O'Mara as the wonderfully written Rani who is the real star. She oozes contempt and haughty condescension in a way that really brings the character to life, and while at times she has her moments being over the top, she also seems more like an amoral b***h than a megalomaniacal idiot, as the Master has been turned into, unfortunately.

The location filming is some of the most extensive the series has seen, and fits the story perfectly. The sets are fine, with the Rani's TARDIS being an impressive set. The music is somewhat intrusive at times, which is a pity, considering that the original composer was too ill to continue the score (and died not long after) and the composing was handed to someone else.

The Mark of the Rani is rather run-of-the-mill, but must be considered for two things if nothing else. The first is that it introduced, if not completely successfully, the Rani. And the second is that it finally solidified the Doctor's new character.


SCORE: 8.5/10

REVIEW: The Two Doctors by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: 6W, 3X45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


John Nathan-Turner was often eager to get overseas filming done for the series, though how much of this was intended as publicity fodder and how much of it as a genuine need for scope of story is unknown. At first, he intended to set what later became The Two Doctors in New Orleans, but the budget wouldn't stretch to that, so Seville in Spain was substituted instead. And having seen how well Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines worked in The Five Doctors, he decided to bring them back. But would this multi-Doctor story succeed?

The second Doctor, accompanied by Jamie, has been assigned to be a Time Lord emissary, in order to try and shut down the time travel experiments of Kartz and Reimer at Space Station Camera in the Third Zone. His old friend Dastari, a brilliant geneticist and physicist, refuses, claiming that the Time Lords only wish to monopolise time travel. But the space station is promptly attacked, and Jamie flees for his life, but not before apparently seeing the Doctor tortured and murdered. Meanwhile, elsewhere, the sixth Doctor, after an unsuccessful fishing trip, collapses in the TARDIS, having a seizure, and claiming that his earlier self has been put to death, an apparent impossibility. Deciding to see Dastari as someone to help, the Doctor and Peri arrive at Space Station Camera, only to find it derelict. Avoiding a computer's attempt at defending the space station, they find evidence that the Time Lords attacked, but a crazed Jamie and a hologram confirms that not only were the Time Lords not responsible, but that the second Doctor is alive. For the station was attacked by Sontarans, with the connivance of Dastari and his chatelaine, the augmented Androgum Chessene, who intends to use the second Doctor as part of an ambitious plan to travel through time...

As a story, The Two Doctors doesn't quite live up to expectations. Robert Holmes writes well enough, but the story seems like an overly explicit fable about the virtues of vegeterianism. Subtlety would have been better in such deliverance. The Sontarans are misused, and while the original novels allow for tinkering with the more blatant continuity errors, there's still no real reason for aliens to go to Seville, though to be equally honest, there is no reason for them to choose London, either. I'm not sure whether the story is confusing at all, as some people have claimed, but it is, at times, badly put together. And the Doctor's (both of him) continual assertion about the Androgums seems to, given their servant status, be rather harsh and out of character for him.

The highlight of the show are the characters. Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker are delightful as their respective incarnations of the Doctor, even if the sixth Doctor has some more out-of-character moments, though any assertion that he is thoughtless about the (admittedly) senseless death of Oscar is debatable. Frazer Hines and Nicola Bryant do well enough as Jamie and Peri. The guest cast are fairly well acted, with Jacqueline Pearce as the Servalan-esque Chessene and John Stratton as Shockeye delightful. And despite the dialogue, the Sontarans are acted well.

The production is varied, but mostly good. Parts of the first episode are rather atmospheric, and the Spanish location filming is pretty good. However, there are a few stuff-ups, particularly with the Sontarans' costumes, not looking quite right thanks to the collars (objections about their size can be ignored, I feel). The Kartz-Reimer module also looks a little cheap, too.

The Two Doctors is a rather overly explicit story that fails on the story front to deliver a strong narrative, but as far as production goes is fairly decent. Disengage your brain a little, and enjoy the last performance of Patrick Troughton in the series...



SCORE: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Timelash by Glen McCoy

SERIAL: 6Y, 2X45 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Amongst the fandom of Doctor Who, one story that remains fairly divisive is Timelash. Written by a newcomer to the series, infamously featuring Paul Darrow (who played Avon in Blake's 7), this story is either considered to be decent but overshadowed by more spectacular stories either side, or completely and utterly abysmal. But is Timelash really that odious? Is this story good, bad, or just ugly?

The planet of Karfel has fallen under the tyrannical rule of the Borad, who not only alienates his people with high security measures, draining power from where it is needed to power hospitals and the like, and banishment through the terrifying Timelash, but he has also provoked the neighboring Bandrils into war against Karfel. Trying to prevent the execution of her lover Mykros after the death of her father, their leader, at the hands of the Borad, Vena steals an amulet from the neck of new leader, the odious Tekker, and falls into the Timelash. Traversing it at that moment in the TARDIS are the Doctor and Peri, and when they arrive on Karfel, they are treated as honoured guests. After all, the Doctor saved Karfel once, a long time ago. But the hospitality is brief. Tekker takes Peri into custody and demands that the Doctor track the amulet down in exchange for her life. Travelling to Earth in the 19th century, the Doctor makes the acquaintance of a young man called Herbert, and rescues Vena. Meanwhile, Peri escapes into the hands of a rebel force. And the Borad watches all. But why has the Borad seemingly provoked a war that he cannot win? What is his interest in Peri? And can the Doctor save anyone from the wrath of the Bandrils, or the merciless Timelash?

As a story, Timelash is actually surprisingly good. Not perfect by any means, with a number of things left unexplained (what else the Borad was doing with time experiments, how the Doctor escaped the Bendalypse warhead at the end, and why the android was affected by the mirror), at least one serious deus ex machina (the Borad's cloning experiments aren't foreshadowed) and some significant padding, but there are some good concepts there. While having the Doctor coming back from an untelevised previous adventure may be confusing to some, I relish this and feel that this experiment should have been tried more. Bringing HG Wells in as a character was an idea that could have backfired, but he is in fact one of the most interesting parts in the story. There's some intriguing playing around with time. And the dialogue is also quite good. Shame about the delivery...

The performances are one of the areas which things begin to fall down. Most range from average to rather thin. Colin Baker's Doctor is fine, and Nicola Bryant does fine with a script that, admittedly, doesn't do much for Peri's character. Of the guest stars, Denis Carey is interesting as the Borad-droid and David Chandler makes a fine HG Wells as a young man. But nothing epitomises the division in this story as the Borad and his lackey, Maylin Tekker. Tekker is played by Paul Darrow, one of my favourite actors, but I feel that he is too over the top most of the time. A real pity, as a more understated performance could have sold the character much better, but the performance as is has a perverse entertainment value. But Robert Ashby as the Borad, or rather Megelan, is a revelation in understated, low-key menace, with a brilliant line (apparently ad-libbed) where he claims the Doctor has made "Another expedition into the realms of duplicity". He is easily the best guest performance in this entire serial, and turns what could have been a bit-part villain into one of the best in the series.

It is perhaps the production of this story where everything begins to truly fall apart. While the world of Karfel is meant to look like a cheap set due to the Borad's banning of reflective surfaces, it does cheapen the feel of the story. The caves are a little better, though the Morlox aren't. And frankly, what the hell is with the interior of the Timelash? Styrofoam and tinsel. Yeuch. Costumes are also bland for average Karfelons, though rebels, the Borad, and the androids look fine.

Timelash is a production that, with a bit more time, money, and care put into it, could have been a really good story. As it is, while not truly abysmal, it is fairly average entertainment. Not the worst of the Colin Baker years, and perhaps not deserving of all derisive comments, but still disappointing.



SCORE: 7.5/10