The music is usually subtle and you
rarely feel its presence (there's one exception in Quillam's first scene).
The direction by Ron Jones is, for once in a studio-only story, effective,
with a subtelty not usually seen in his work.
MARK
OF THE RANI-
Season Twenty-Two has often been maligned by
older fans as being vicious and macabre and explicit and violent (sounds
rather like a popular range of books, doesn't it?). Yes it was violent,
and the better for it, too. Two stories were very good; two were slightly
disappointing continuity-less fests; and the other two were, and let's
be honest, candidates for THE TOMORROW PEOPLE. Mark of the Rani, along
with Glen McCoy's Mishmash, are the last
two (Let's jaunt, Doctor!). This release is Tarzan and Jane No-Relation-to-either-of-the-Lead-Actors-with-the-Same-Surname's
first attempt at bringing the quality of the second season of SPACE:1999
to DOCTOR WHO. Now take a deep breath...
At first glance, this story would appear to have
all the hallmarks of a great DOCTOR WHO story- lots of film, lots of action,
lots of maggots... It looks lush even without Peri's cleavage in sight.
And then there's Kate O'Mara as the Rani. While the interior of her TARDIS
is gorgeous, she's just not very interesting as a character, nor is she
particularly evil, just unethical (You can't allow that, Jean Luc. Put
a sock in it, Bev!). Anthony Ainley's Master is brilliant as usual, transcending
the awesome awfulness of the proceedings (Aw-shucks)
with a new found liking for extremely flowery language (hither me with
a sausage). We have yet another blonde man in his twenties who doesn't
act in Luke Ward, a character made less wooden by being turned into a tree.
Whereas the Doctor had always loved to namedrop and hint at his helping
hand in history, here we actually meet an historical figure. Why? Stephenson
is mentioned less than Faraday (who doesn't even appear). To round off
the guest cast is the old guy from Bergerac. And did I mention Peri's chest
was covered up? A blooper, surely?
To look at, it's executed to a very high standard.
The abundance of film and Sarah Hellings's assured direction helps the
story, as do the thick accents- rather like Horror
of Fang Rock without the light-up lettuce for a villain. The production
values are very good, nothing looking particularly cheap or tatty but ultimately,
it just doesn't engage you in the same way Revelation
of the Daleks or even
the Two Doctorsdo.
I can't find major fault in any one area, but it just doesn't work. Mind
you, neither do episodes 9-12 and 14 of Trial of
a Timelord or Time and the Rani.
Is there any reason for buying this Tosh Lyons?
Remember you're getting a quality product from the people who named a crewmember
of Moonbase Alpha Shermeen in A Matter of Balance. But to be fair, it makes
the whole thing work better than the four part versions seen here, almost
like an episode of Blake's 7 with twice the budget and half the script.
The Doctor spends a lot of time solving puzzles, some of which work, some
of which do not (my favourite is the one where the Doc is suspended between
two Luddite trees). There is always something going on, but it doesn't
build up to anything extraordinary. It is rather like having two episode
ones (or four normal-length episodes). Special mention goes
to the baby T Rex- the most convincing reptile seen in the Eighties.
The whole season was full of experiments other
than longer episodes/ fewer episodes thing. This is the first story not
to feature Peri's cleavage, gone but not forgotten, though we won't see
or hear of it again (until the next Missing Adventure to feature the Sixth
Doctor written by a man). She does, however, look like the credit card
hologram in Time to make Trax.
The idea of teaming up the Rani with the Master
might have seemed a good idea at the time, like the idea of Eddie Murphy
starring in Star Trek IV- The Voyage Home. But the end result is more like
Batman Returns, the evil of two villains in one film diminishes in proportion
to the crappidity factor of the script. One more film analogy
to finish with- Dumb and Dumber accurately describes this stories' villains.
But what ultimately makes this release attractive is its 1987 sequel, Two
and the Ronnies.
RATING- Better than A Day at the Races but not
as good as A Night at the Opera, I give it Sheer Heart Attack.
THE TWO DOCTORS
On the surface, the Two Doctors is just an excuse to whip across
to Spain, get some easy publicity by having a former Doctor return and
generally piss-fart about. It recieved a mixed response apon its initial
broadcast (probably because the hiatus broke during its showing- when something
is axed, people tend not wait until the end) and over the years (I have
only seen it about 4 times in total) its reputation has remained sullied
for whatever reasons. It was watchable but I felt antipathy towards it,
expecially the last time I saw it. After watching it this time, I wonder
why I was so harsh.
I suppose the trick is never watch long stories in one sitting, particularly
as there were only two 80's stories longer than 100 mins. The plot
is not so overloaded but considering the extra episode, it does work at
its leisurely pace, not feeling padded like many of the Tom Baker six-parters
(ie Armageddon Factor or
Invasion of Time). For some reason,
80's stories seem to need longer story lengths due to added complexity
of some of the plots (especially in the final two seasons).
Robert Holmes script is not as good as Caves
of Androzani but then, what is? Considering the elements given
to him to weave into a story, he did an excellent job, particularly on
the characterisations. The dialogue is even more flowery as the last story
but more considered and mostly delivered with verve.
I say mostly because Jacki Pearce as Chessene does have a habit of
going a little broad in her performance, especially when her speeches start
rabbiting on about destiny. Laurence Payne's third appearance in the series
is his best role of all and is a Holmes creation down to the bone (despite
repeating some of the more grandiose stuff so much that it loses impact-
i.e. "I shall set her among the gods," as if he was asking for change
for the phone. Shockeye is a brilliantly realised character whose character
is both funny and horrific. Holmesian is a bit overused in DW circles but
Shockeye is probably Holmes' second last great character.
Poor Nicola Bryant. She gets her butt fondled by Colin Baker and John
Stratton and Frazer Hines touches her in the infrastructure (touches her
what?)
Nicola the Great (beats that Neighbours girl hands down) is terrific
as usual as is Colin. Strange how losing his coat makes his Doctor more
appealing, as if DW fans are so superficial that a coat turns us against
a fine actor. For years I believed Colin's Doctor was one of the best and
this season shows he is. How I'll feel after Trial of a Timelord is another
matter. Oscar Botcheby, another Holmes trademark (making fun of theatrical
types) is a diversion but ultimately just a sacrificial lamb to give the
story some danger, because you know the Two Doctors and their companions
aren't going to emerge with so much as a scratch. Though if Nicola Bryant
was wearing those T-shirts that change colour depending in hear she'd have
msle hand prints all over her (see Planet of Firereview).
Annita is suitably Spanish just as the two Sontarans return menace to their
race after Derek Deadman's horrendous miscasting in Invasion of Time (He
plays the short idiot in Never the Twain). The new Sontaran suits are impressive
apart from the neck pieces which fit poorly, apparently the actors cast
as Varn and Styke swapped roles, the same thing happening later to the
Chocolate Starfish Sontaran of Shakedown (the fans for money).
But we haven't even mentioned the return of Patrick Troughton and Frazer
Hines. Frazer would have been about 40 (probably well over) and hides the
years well here. Despite the one horrendous gaffe with having Jamie aware
of the Timelords and the 2nd Doctor working for them the story works well.
It would have worked better with the Third Doctor but then it was Pat who
expressed a desire to return to the show soon after
The Five Doctors was made. Despite the appearance of clutching at dried
hay, having an old Doctor appear every alongside the current Doctor every
few years might have been a nice boost. This is a fitting swansong for
the second doctor.
Fans decry some of JNT's show-business casting (most of which worked
with the exception of Richard Briers), Classic Trek did it in the 60's
by casting a well-known lawyer as Gorgon and Babs is totally guilty of
it, casting DJ's and show-biz reporters in minor roles all the time. A
story that is a minor classic, one that gets better and better with time.
TIMERASH
Timetrash is easily the least interesting
and well-made story this season though at least compared to the Warriors
of the Deep and Twin Dilemma, it at least has decent characterisations.
While Doctor Who has usually always had at least one story per season written
to be cheaper than the others, usually without location work and model
work taped rather than filmed, these often tended to be the most disappointing
productions and when combined with poor scripts, it's interesting to see
which stories tend to float to the top of everyone's most hated episode
lists. (Horns of Nimon, Paradise Towers,
Happiness Patrol).
The story is patchy and based around silly gimmicky
set pieces that invariably look cheap (the Timelash itself is a prime example
of this, looking like the aftermath of an explosion in a combined tinsel
and polystyrene factory, though why anyone would combine the two under
one roof is anyone's guess. I can understand the transport costs would
be reduced...) Things like the Doctor's use of the crystals to solve everything
is a bit of a cheek, showing little imagination in any of the solutions
offered.
Timetrash is unusual among the poorly
regarded stories in that the acting is really good. All the key characters
are brought to life, particularly Mikros (again, meaning "small" in Greek-
I hope Vena stands for "not easily disappointed") being one of the few
'young rebel leader' types in the series that doesn't give you the impression
that the Rani's tree mines were more common in the BBC Television Centre
than at first glance.Jeananne Crowley gives Vena a dignified air, a little
static in some scenes but keeping with the character (She was Sidney Reilly's
mad wife in Reilly-Ace of Spies). Dicken Ashworth makes what appears to
be a cameo (he was originally to be killed off in episode two, while Tracey
Loise Ward as Katz gives some life to a pretty thankless role. The various
Borad's are nothing special, the make-up used for the mutated version a
little too cheap but the stand-out guest woulkd have to be Herbert (H.G.
Wells to you and me). Glen McCoy obviously did a lot of research into Well
but left out the fact he was a bit of a sex maniac.
Apart from the block of 4 by 2 who gets hurled
into the Timehash at the start of the story and Mailin Renis, the cast
are pretty well chosen. Apart from this season's second Blake's 7 regular
appearing as guest villain. Whereas Jackie Pearce gives us a variation
on Servalan, Paul Darrow shows another side to his talent, the ability
to exactly resemble dried dog shit. I've seen Darrow in many roles and
this is the only time he's reeked so much. Timeshash is made to
look pnatomime as a result despite the strength of the rest of the cast.
Nicola Bryant isn't given anything interesting
to do, given actions and dialogue that wouldn't be out of place in a Hartnell
story. Ms Greer should have kept her bra flambe-free and used it to strangle
Glen McCoy instead. Colin Baker's performance is good, his dialogue is
actually quite good, or does his performance rise above the scripts limitations?
The costumes are interesting, very 80's but still
believable, and believable in the fact that everyone doesn't wear the same
thing. The sets are good but overlit, the scenes in the Timelash chamber
when the tunnel is in operation, with the more subdued lighting shows how
more considered lighting would have rasied the tone.
Overall, a very average story. Not so very bad,
but not good. Just very, very average. In the same way Nightmare
on Eden is average.
REVELATION
OF THE DALEKS
This story is more the end of an era than the
last episode of Trial of a Timelord. Although
broadcast after the announcement postponing the next season, it was the
first story affected on screen with the Doctor originally getting out
the word 'Blackpool' before the end credits (leading directly leading on
to Graham Williams' Toymaker script for the original season 23).
It starts of as a low key story, with a slightly
panto atmosphere but soon shows its black heart. Amusing and horrific at
the same time, this story seems forgotten by many fans, who understandably
had other things on their minds when this was first broadcast. In Australia,
we did not get these episodes until early 1986 by which time the Cyber
invasion had already been and gone. Possibly Colin Baker's best story,
the last one in which his Doctor impresses as a hero (despite the costume).
As I said, the story starts out fairly low key,
almost silly but Saward's almost Holmesian characters each have their own
agendas, pushing the story in different directions. The casting for this
story is particularly effective without a single wooden performance, thjough
perhaps some of the guards could have been better trained- they look and
move like their ill-fated
colleagues in Seeds of Death. Terry Molloy
gives his best performance as Davros, shadowing the Daleks, who say very
little until the middle of episode two. William Gaunt (The Champions)
is excellent as Orcini but perhaps Eleanor Bron's Kara is a little hammy.
But only a little. Trevor Cooper as Takis shows her is a good dramatic
actor (as opposed to his oafish Devis in Star Cops and his usual comic
roles). Incidentally, this whole season has a very Greek flavour to naming
things as I've already mentioned in the reviews of Attack
of the Cybermen and Timelash (I
also missed out Varos, meaning weight). But Necros means dead and Takis
is the dimunitive of Dimitri (as Peri is to Perpugilliam, supposedly),
or Jimmy. But Jimmy the morgue worker isn't very scary, is it?
Alexei Sayle's casting may seem like stunt casting
but he had done many straight dramatic roles before this story (ie- Gorky
Park). Clive Swift's egotistical Jobel is a creation you don't normally
see in Doctor Who but makes a change from people being on one side or the
other. He just doesn't care about anything but his work. In fact most of
the 'good guys' are antagonistic towards each other until the end when
they all come together. Davros is defeated by his own creations once more
but strangely enough, both he and they escape with only the frozen Dalek
army being destroyed.
The cast, I like. The script, I love. The direction,
I adore. Graeme Harper's last contribution to Doctor Who is a triumph and
a pity he was never asked back considering one of the major failings of
the Sylvester McCoy era is poor direction of complex plots, something Harper
handled well here.
The sets are excellent and the costumes not too
ambitious but thankfully non-spacey. Video effects are the most extensive
seen in a while, though one gets the feeling a number of new effects devices
were available to the crew compared to the previous story which looks no
better than the late 70's stories.
The series would never be the same, this, the
last story to be made without a cloud over the series' future. In fact,
had the hiatus not occurred and JNT allowed to move on, the series would
probably still be being made today. But it's not.
The Foxtel cable showing was the first time in
Australia this stoary has been seen uncut. Jobel's death used to consist
of Tasambeker charging Jobel, a quick flash of the hypodermic stickingout
of his chest before a cut to the next scene. Now we see Jobel's lingering
death in all its horror. The deaths are handled much better and with more
emotion that the similar Cyberman story earlier in the season. Conversely,
the Dalek exterminations are less horrific than last season and the Daleks
blow up on a more regular basis, and strangely, seem to blow apart beforeexploding.
One prop note: The DJ's rock and roll beam is a slightly modified version
of Shooty and Bang Bang's lasers from the TV version of Hitch-Hiker's Guide
to the Galaxy.
A great story. And probably the last great (existing)
story yet to be released on video.
TRIAL
OF A TIMELORD
Hmmmm. After the series was put on hiatus and
the new season cut down to 14 twenty-five minute episides, the shortest
seaosn length ever, the original scripts for season 23 were scrapped
in favour of one long story. Since the series was on trial' by BBC lowerarchy,
JNT decided that the Doctor should also be put on trial, parallel that
extends to the series future- The valeyard being the distillation of the
Doctor's side, somewhere between the 12th and 13th regeneration (he only
has 12 regenerations, but thirteen selves). So the Cartmel era would see
the darker side, the side close to the colour of shit, which is appropriate
since most of Cartmel's influence smells like that.
The Mysterious Planet was always lumbered with
the worst story of the season. I don't feel that way any more. The story,
Robert Holmes last full story- written whilst the author was seriously
ill, isn't a masterpiece but is very solid, engaging over four episodes
and with better casting, might have been quite good. I think many people
were disappointed with the new look but as the season progressed, expectations
were lowered.
The direction is decent but the story could have
used better. The special effects mostly good, though the pacing of the
action scenes is a bit flabby. The opening scene of the Time Lord space
station is nicely done, but a bit too showy, in an unneccesary way.
Tony Selby and Glen Murphy as Glitz and Dibber,
instantly identifiable as Holmes creations are just about the best thing
to emerge from this season and as a result, they steal the show. It's a
pity that Glitz was only used as a comic foil in his later appearances,
alas without Dibber, who was not as stupid as Glitz made out. The rest
of the cast is mostly adequate, Roger Brierly bringing Drathro to life
with a voice to match its physically intimidating dimensions, similar to
the giant Robot but without being a clone. Humker, Tandrell and Balazar
are all realised in a genuine fashion but Tom Chadbone is you'd think he
was actually in Macbeth as part of McDuff's deciduous army. Joan Sims is
totally unable to make any of her dialogue, which is rather flowery, seem
real. Michael Jayston and Lynda Bellingham bring life to their respective
roles but as the season wore on, the interruptions to the narrative seemed
to be excessive with many courtroom scenes repeated.
Mindwarp is a weird story as it has a lot going
for it and a lot detracting from it. In its favour is the look at the Mentor's
homeworld with Chris Ryan and Nabil Shaman being particularly good.
Patrick Ryecart is a cartoom nad scientist but
I mean that in the nicest possible way, it's just a pity that the rest
of the cast put no effort into things. Brian Blessed is loud as usual in
his sf appearances but it's just the same character he portrayed in Blake's
7 nearly a decade earlier. The direction is better than say Warriors
of the Deep or Twin Dilemma but it still has many faults.
In fact I'd say it feels disjointed, a trait exacerbated by cutting to
the trial scenes.
The sets aren't at all special, nor the costumes,
and if it wasn't for the fact it was integral to the trial plot, it wouldn't
be worth making a big deal about.
Terror of the Vervoids is silly, with very little
to do with the trial apart from upping the stakes for the Valeyard. In
fact, there are dozens of adventures the Doctor could have used to illustrate
his innocence- this isn't what I would show anyone if I wanted to save
my life if I were the Doctor. Colin's girth seems to have expanded considerably
or is it that compared to Bonnie Lanfords, Barbie-like waist, even Lalla
Ward would have looked like more like Lard.
Despiet being annoying and talking in cliches,
Ms Langford plays Mel as if they were in a Children's BBC teen-spy drama.
More Nancy Drew than Sarah Jane, but with dialogue by Pip and Jane Baker,
who obviously buy a very expensive thesaurus before every script as they
seem intent on making the most of it. The dialogue isn't as pretentious
as Mark of the Rani (but then
what is?) however it still gets a little stilted in places, particulalry
when the Doctor speaks, whereas in previous instalments of this season
saw most trial sequences bogged down by dialogue that reeked of artificially
long-legged carnival workers.
With practically every humanoid character either
a murderer, saboteur or hijacker, and the Vervoids not making much of an
impact until the second half of episode 12 (or part 4 of the story), this
story would worked well as a two parter with onlt the Doland, Vervoid stuff
and less of the Agatha Christie stuff (Ten Trite Tales). The acting is
so variable with corny dialogue that this story is just a slightly better
budgeted Timeflight/ Timelash
but with a worse script.
The Ultimate Foe has the uneviable task of wrapping
everything up is two episodes. Not only that, there was no script editor,
Robert Holmes died after completing only one episode, Eric Saward refused
to change the endiong of his version of episode 14 so that things were
resolved and to cap things off, JNT chose Pip and Jane to tie up all the
loose ends. Despite this, its by far the best made part of the whole season.
The direction and acting are the best this season
and the script actually makes sense of the whole thing, even if part 13
seems a little slow and part 14 a bit too rushed (even though the last
episode is 30 minutes long!). The particle disseminator is as close to
pissy as is possible without actually showing a stream of yellow liquid
and what the hell is a megabyte modem, a rather quaint name for something
taht has nothing to do with a PC. Other than being pissy.
The
Seventh Doctor-
Time and the Rani, Paradise
Towers, Delta and the Bannermen, Dragonfire,
Remembrance
of the Daleks, Greatest Show in the
Galaxy, Happiness Patrol, Silver
Nemesis, Battlefield, Curse
of Fenric, Ghost Light, Survival
TIME
AND THE RANI-
Let the Curse of Cartmel begin...
My knife is blunt. So I will be blunt as well.
Tim
and the Rainy: It's not funny, it's not interesting, it's not well
directed, it's not a good story, it's not a convincing regeneration, Mel
is in it. "Nadir" is an overused word in fandom. You never hear people
use it in real conversation except to describe anything with Lada on the
bonnet. But the 1987 season of Doctor Who attracts labels like nadir in
much the same way dogs attract fleas. This month's release begins the new
naming policy of J-NT:-Time and the Rani, Paradise and the Towers,
Delta
and the Bannermen and Dragon and the fIRE (Abbreviated to DIRE).
You have sixty seconds to read this paragraph.
Reviewers, Ready! Criticisers, Ready! The concept
is too big- the end of the whole universe, makes for a very impersonal
threat, especially the way it is presented here. The brain is too big-
"It might be a tumour?" There is a 'big hair' motif throughout the story-
Mel, The Rani, The Lakertyans, Einstein, the thin sixth Doctor- all have
visited the hairdressers for this story. Bosnia-Herzogovina is a more cohesive
union of disparate elements than those in this script. Strange Matter-
good name, why not call it Bad Stuff or Weird Rock or Complete Bollocks.
The Rani spends time impersonating Mel- as if one weren't bad enough. The
acting standard is poor- there is more wood here than in even Edward Woodward's
name. The Lakertyans, a race of indolent, impotent, incompetent ingrates
in deep doggie-doo, radiate all the charm of that girl in sea Quest who
offers to sleep with anyone before they die.
But to paraphrase Vanessa (Did I really pose
for those?) Williams- I've gone and saved the best for last. Bonnie Langford.
What is it that makes people suddenly like her enough to stick her in books.
Well, if you're completely unable to articulate the Doctor's character
as it appeared on TV, why not just rewrite everyone to suit your limitations.
The less said about Dancing Queen, the better. But let me just add this:
With the constant revisionism of opinion within fandom, Bonnie Langford
will soon be the most popular companion. Someone should submit a MA to
BBC Books featuring Mel tentatively called Mel Dies Horribly- Film at
Eleven.
When the Beatles recorded Sgt. Pepper in 1967,
they used to cut up audio tape, throw the bits up in the air, and splice
the pieces back together in any old order. Remarkable how years later,
Andrew Cartmel used this same method when script editing Time and the Nanny
(and every story thereafter). 'It was twenty years ago today, Sergeant
Benton taught the Bok to slay.'
RATING- It is impossible to ascribe a number
to quality DOCTOR WHO. With Time and the Rani, it has never been
easier. 2/10. (Don't the bubbles remind you of the trees in Mark
of the Rani?)
PARADISE
TOWERS
Ever since I saw the Fox telemovie, ever since
I realised how good a bad script could be entertaining with the right production
values, I've had very little time for bilge like Paradise Beach.
I haven't seen it since 1988, when my first impression was one of hmmmm,
and hoped Delta and the Bannermen and Dragonfire would be
better. They were (just) but eight years between shots should have changed
my opinion. It has.
I hate it even more, finally consigning Pacific
Drive to the same Shame File as Horns of Simon, Happiness
Breadroll and The Thyroid Invasion.
Nothing succeeds like excess, but this story just plain sucks . Over-acted,
way over-written, too many episodes for the rather scant storyline- it
all adds up to a mess. Moronic characterisations, particularly the Caretakers,
super-cringeworthy dialogue and a propensity for ham worse than Babe and
you have a recipe for pictures of smashed television sets owned by rich
fat record producers being splashed all over the UK tabloids. If they didn't
cost so much, I'd have smashed mine. So I did the next best thing and smashed
the next-door neighbour's.
'If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't
say anything at all,' someone once said to me but she was an arsehole.
Parasite
Towers has reasonable sets. End compliment. But the sub-Huxley satire
of the script is tiresome after episode one when all the running around
in circles begins. Why, with the entire universe to explore, would the
Doctor want to go to Paradise Towers? The Caretakers, gangs, old cannibals,
all supposed to be a spoof of the tower block flats crowding the inner-cities
of Britain, but as a source for intergalactic adventures, it falls far
short of the mark, unlike a jumper from the top of one of the aforementioned
tower blocks.
One reason why the story doesn't work is that
Bonnie Langford plays Mel as if she were a precocious eight-year-old, something
which she undoubtedly was. Misread the story synopsis, 'Rezzies eat Mel
Bush,' and you could have had a half-decent X-File or even an XXX film.
Even seeing a companion in her togs isn't a good enough reason to fork
out 25 bucks, seeing how it is only Bonnie Langford. Paradise Cowers
hurts me as a Doctor Who fan the same way being impaled by a rampant forklift
would hurt my chances of winning "1997 Person without a Gaping Hole in
their Stomach Award."
Any fan poll which didn't feature these four
episodes in the "Ten Worst Stories" section would be extremely suspect.
It is one of the very worst stories ever, certainly the worst McCoy story
(and most of his are white and crumbly) probably of the 80's. At least
there are very good excuses for The Krotons and Horns of Nimon
being so poor. Paradise Towels was four of only fourteen episodes
made in 1987 and all of the upheavals behind the scenes couldn't make up
for the sheer awfulness of this story. Any Doctor Who story that you can't
watch for longer than ten minutes at a time isn't worth a single Fly-By
point. I will think long and hard before watching it again. And to think,
Remembrance
of the Daleks is only a season away...
RATING- Vomiting is slightly more fun and less
colourful
DELTA
AND THE BANNERMEN
The first three part story since Planet of
the Giants in 1964, Delta is much maligned for its silliness
but is probably the only 3-part story that fits perfectly into its slot.
Despite the fact the only studio footage is of
a few cutaways of the Doctor in the TARDIS, or probably because of the
locations, this is least cheap-looking story this season with the best
production values of the season and the best acting. Not hard in a season
which was generally two steps back in most regards, but still rather good.
Pipped only slightly by Dragonfire as the best story of the season,
I would give Delta and the Bannerman the thumbs up in retrospect.
Not a great story but one with few actual flaws- apart from clashing with
the tastes of Most Doctor Who stories. It's almost like a slightly more
serious episode of Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this , despite the
fun atmosphere, is the least panto-like story of the year.
The video effects are excellent, with matching
of CSO layers near flawless. The idea of one story each season being completely
made on location was actually a good one as the studio work of the McCoy
era was generally disappointing.
The acting is the best this season and while
the decorations may be flippant, the story works.
It's a story that grows on you while the more
mundane ones surrounding it were more acceptable at the time probably because
they weren't as different from fans' expectations. Just as for years, everyone
took Jeremy Bentham's word that Gunfighters was terrible but didn't
think it was that bad once they saw it, so Delta
doesn't age. Despite
the fact that the Doctor cradles a Fender Stratocaster copy at the end
when Strat copies were rarer that the real thing- that's why the Beatles
never used Strats- they were too hard to get a hold of compared to other
makes like Hohner and Rickenbacker.
This is the only story this season where Mel
isn't totally annoying and the only time this year that McCoy got his performance
right as a caring Doctor that wasn't a carbon copy of Patrick Troughton.
Delta's a bit bland but the rest of the cast are great, particularly Ray,
who was prepped to be a companion but in light of Ace, who's contemplating
what might have been?
Not really important. Just like this season.
It's a pity, because Cartmel hasn't actually done much wrecking yet. The
first two stories if the season were total shite and the last two average,
but what the hell was Cartmel playing at?
DRAGONFIRE
Back when this story premiered, it was hailed
as the season's best, average anywhere else, but the best out of the 4
1987-produced stories. Over a decade later, I feel Delta and the Bannermen
is
actually the better story in everyway. While Dragonfire isn't bad, it's
not great. Just average. The averageness is everywhere. The sets are ordinary,
the plot silly with rather bland acting all round. Edward Peel as Kane
is probably the only stand-out of the guest cast with Tony Selby reduced
to comic relief in a story that would have been more at home as an episode
of Red Dwarf. The rest of the cast are going through the motions with Sylvester
McCoy's performance so wacky that it wouldn't be out of place in one of
Ken Campbell's silly stage shows of the 70's (rent one of the early Secret
Policeman's ball videos, maybe even the first one and you'll see what McCoy
used to do for a living).
The special effects, oddly enough, are excellent,
from the hand-guns to the model work to the Dragon itself. The explosion
of the Nosferatu is probably the best such scene in the series history.
Kane's death is also suitably chilling.
The dialogue is so hammy that no amount of refrigeration
could hide the smell of rotting bacon. Brigg's is a frustrated comedy writer
at heart with the comedy being the best of the McCoy era but the drama
one of the least interesting with most of the story plundered from sources
such as Aliens and Superman (even the set designs bought into that one).
Mel's on her way out after so the less said about
her the better but even her leaving scene is full of clichés (no
more dodgy dealings!). McCoy's performance proving that Patrick Troughton
didn't die, but possessed Sylv. But the one highlight of the story is Sophie
Aldred who single handely breathed life into this story and is the only
reason to watch it. Sophie was the main reason to tune in next season though
as things were to turn out, there was at least one story that proved to
be better than anything for years. DragonfireIS
the
story before it.
Sylvester ist ein grosse schniedlevutz.
REMEMBRANCE
OF THE DALEKS
or "Oh My God, they Killed Cartmel!"
"You Beauty!"
This is an important story for many reasons. One- it is Sylvester McCoy's
only near perfect story. It is one of the few post Davison stories to be
in most people's Top 10. Two- It is probably the last Dalek story ever
and one of the best. Three- It marks the beginning of Cartmel's attempts
to rewrite history and the only only time it actually works. It also marks
the beginning of Fanboy Who- where the series is starting to be made by
fans.
Ben Aaronovitch's first contribution to Doctor Who is his only worthwhile
one but what a contribution. The script is both well written and understandable,
unlike practically everything still to come. The acting is top notch and
the direction assured. The familiar settings help this story's credibility
no end with no cheapness to be seen. Caves of Androzani may the fan's favourite
but this (before the Telemovie) is what I'd show a non-fan and not be (so)
embarrassed.
The Daleks are on top form, particularly Davros' new-look army. The
Renegade Dalek's look pretty spiffy too, although they appear to be the
older casings.
After Davros' capture by the Dalek Supreme's forces on Necros it appears
he managed to regain control of the Daleks by re-engineering them, only
to have a number of Daleks loyal to the Dalek Supreme rebel against the
changes. This story is more relevant to fans in 1998 than it was 10 years
ago with fascists such as Pauline Hanson and David Irving running around
with firecrackers up their arses. All the professed bigots- both humanoid
and pepperpotoid have done to them what they would do to others- are exterminated!
All except for Smith's mum. That's a plothole if ever I saw one. In fact,
apart from a few faceless soldiers, only those controlled by the bad guys
are killed.
Three quibbles that Cartmel should have seen. 1) I.M. FORMAN. 2) Why
does Gilmore order Mike to take Ace with him in episode 1 considering she's
so young and a Captain wouldn't allow a strange girl into a combat situation
in the 60's. 3) Why doesn't Gilmore place Smith under arrest immediately.
The Cast are fantastic with many familiar faces though I'm still trying
to fathom what Rachel's function is. George Sewell, Michael Sheard, Pamela
Salem, Peter Halliday, Simon Williams- all greeeeeet! And Sylvester and
Sophie are on top of their respective games. The girl was a bit flat in
places but then at least we weren't offered Grange Hill cast-offs with
the denouement being effective as far as the audience is concerned though
the fact Ratcliffe didn't know who the girl was at the cemetery was a bit
far fetched.
The best Doctor Who since 1984 and my second fave. To quote Del Tarrant-
"It's all downhill from here."
GREATEST
SHOW IN THE GALAXY
Not a brilliant story but an enjoyable one. This
is probably slightly better than Silver Nemesis, but is a hangover of the
more pantomime style of schlock like Time and the Rani and more disgustingly
by the same author's Paradise Towers. It
is mostly enjoyable to watch and is a pretty traditional Doctor Who story,
despite the garish surroundings (it is a circus). The characters are all
typically British in the way only Doctor Who could get away with. It is
also childish with some of the characters such as Nord and Whiz Kid grating
instantly. The whole point is taken about the Gods of Ragnorak but why
the silly 50'a charade things of the family.
Sophie Aldred doesn't really do anything
interesting in this apart from be moody and McCoy is left to carry the
story. TPMackenna plays the same character he plays in everything, someone
cultured with a dark streak, the same character he has played with slight
variations in everything he's been in, including Callan and Blake's 7.
The special effects are quite god apart
from the the scene where the Doctor travels to see the Gods of Ragnorak,
a sequence which is one of the most amateurish in the 80's stories. A bit
of glitter some solarisation and feedback around the edges accompanied
by Sylv's gurning make this a bit of a clunker in the late 80's.
The music is one of the best scores of
the post-Radiophonic Workshop era evocative without OD'ing on the handclaps.
A romp is probably the best way to describe the story.
THE
CRAPPINESS PATROL.
Pure Dirge masquerading (or cross-dressing in
some fan circles) as satire. This pile of fecculant drivel is the final
nail in the coffin of the series. It also has the distinction of the being
the last truly shite story. This is the last bungled operation to remove
the bullet lodged next to the series heart. Everyone involved should be
shot.
SILVER NEMESIS
An anniversary story for the series 25th year and becomes the 150th
story if you count Trial of a Timelord as four separate stories (which
it isn't). The story is a little silly and the acting, direction and production
doesn't quite match the extra scrutiny a story like this would receive.
The story is over the place and contains all the elements that marred
the latter years of the show.
Rambling story, mortal enemies having pleasant conversations that aren't
finished run off do the same with someone else than returning to finish
the conversation with the original mortal enemy before anyone's life is
threatened. Look at all of next seasons stories for confirmation of this
theory.
The Nazi's are a waste of space, and totally unnecessary in a
three part story that's overloaded. They're the obvious candidates for
being left out of the second draft. Not that there seemed to have been
much of a second draft.
Lady Peinforte was all right but a Cyberman story should have them
as a bad guy, not three separate sets of baddies. Mark of the Rani proved
it doesn't work abut here it's just ridiculously top heavy. This is one
of the few stories where the Doctor and Co make no allies (apart from Richard's
rescuing them from the Cyberleader at the end), but still there are
two many characters working against the Doctor. Fiona Walker is an excellent
villain but I can't help but feel that having people time-travel through
black magic ruins 20 years of work overcoming some of the sillier concepts
from the Hartnell era.
The last Cyberstory had similar character overloading and in
the end the Cybermen don't suffer in this story but nor does their stature
increase. The new weapons go back twenty years in terms of special effects
(the making of vid has the video effect operator explain an effect was
planned but obviously the accountants put a stop to that.). The video effects
are very good and there are lots of bangs and flashes from the visual effects
department (they even got a helicopter to simulate thrust from the cybership)
but the direction of the battlescenes is so lethargic that you get the
impression all the combatants are heavily sedated. Karl runs across the
field to recover the bow and a Cyberman tracks him the whole way and fires
after he returns to cover. It's like the joke from Red Dwarf.
"Why does anyone we meet want to kill us?"
"Why can't anyone we meet shoot straight?"
Very obviously a hip fan story, the style should appeal to those who
liked the New Adventures. IE its disappointing. The whole concept of trying
to reestablish the Doctor's mystery is a misguided one. It worked very
well in Remembrance of the Daleks but would start to get archly out of
hand next season. At least here he only has an idea of what's going to
happen rather than firm knowledge.
Anyway it's a Cyberman story.
BATTLEFIELD
Season 26's opening story is another that should
have been better. It has some of the best characters (One of Ben Aaronovitch's
strengths) but the story is so dire that it has fallen apart.
So having characters from King Arthur's legend
turn out to be aliens is not a bad idea, just one that was badly handled.
Again, there's a lot of mortal enemies having conversations walking off
and coming back to finish the job later. Again there's more proof that
magic is real. Again there's poorly directed action scenes. In fact the
action scenes are total rubbish with virtually no editing to tighten things
up (it sure as hell needed tightnening).
Of course, the cast is very good but they
don't rescue it from the cruddy script and dire-ction. Seeing the Brigadier
and Bessie again is good and for once UNIT gives fans nothing to complain
about (they've finally learnt from their previous encounters with unexplained
phenomena).
If the original intention to cloth the
warriors in space armour rather than trraditional armour then the script
might have worked a bit better for the audience. The Destroyer is another
McCoy era monster that is almost totally ignored by the production team
(like the Kandyman) a great creation wasted.
CURSE
OF FENRIC
Some stupid elements and some pretentious ones,
but on the whole not a bad story.
The script gets too bogged down in flowery dialogue
but like the previous story the dialogue is quite good, but here so the
direction. It flows in the one direction, despite some jumble. How can
Kathleen Dudman receive news of her dead husband after all the radios on
the base had been smashed? Generally speaking, We have here the season's
best story but only after repeated viewings.
A preview of the new Adventures and the
way they would distort the series beyond our expectations but here, unlike
the book series, it is ayt least somewhat palatable to fans like myself
who are in love with the TV serieswe know as Doctor Who.
GHOST LIGHT
All of the stories of this season have one thing
in common. They try too hard to be atypical Doctor Who. This is no exception
but then it's also a complete muddle with things done with little reason
most of the time. It's also another example of a story where sworn enemies
walk around have half conversations before being interrupted and so on.
There's quite a lot to digest and most
of it is quite good , it's just things like Light and Control being elements
that really aren't necessary when Josiah is villain enough for the story.
It has an Avengers-like quality to some
of the evil characters such as the maids with the handguns, and in
some ways is a very good story but as usual tries too hard to be gothic,
post modern and classical Doctor Who in one 3-part story. The melange of
styles doesn't work. Despite this Ghost Light works a lot better when there's
no promise of anything better next season.
SURVIVAL
The end of an era. Survival is that most curious of story, not because
it is anything special, not very good nore very bad, but the last instalment
of a series that, although there's nothing final about the proceedings,
in retrospect, you knew the cast didn't know where their next pay check
was coming from. Who gives a monkey's about the story which would have
made a great two parter ending when the humans return to Perivale. This
is the last televised Doctor Who made by the BBC. Such a shame it couldn't
have gone out with a bit more of a bang...
The Eighth Doctor-
Doctor Who- The Movie (The Enemy Within)
DOCTOR
WHO- The Discontinuity Guide, Volume 2.
Well one of the more interesting paperbacks
to emerge from Virgin in recent years was The Discontinuity Guide from
the pen, quill and crayon of Keith Topping, Paul Cornell, and Martin Day
(hereafter known as Top- Corn- Day), a light-hearted look at twenty-six
years of a television program, desiccated into 350 pages. You'd think since
that only eighteen or so months has elapsed since that successful tome
was released that a sequel would be a little premature. Well, Disco is
alive and kicking. Doctor Who- The Discontinuity Guide, Volume Two weighs
in at an unprecedented 490 pages of very small print and covers, not as
you might expect, the New and Missing Adventures, but deals exclusively
with the recent Fox telemovie starring Paul McGann.
Whereas the original book looked at each
story individually with sections divided into Fluffs, Goofs, Dialogue Triumphs
and Disasters, Fashion Disasters, Continuity, etc; the new work takes a
new route: Post-Modern American Cliches, It-Seemed-Like-A-Good-Idea-At-The-Time,
This-Will-Shut-The-Fans-Up, and This-Will-Shit-The Fans-Up, That's-a-Bit-Farty
and my favourite section, the What-The-Hell-Was-That-All-About?
In the Cliches department we have the blase
morgue staff (where's the sandwich?), a role perhaps overwritten and definitely
overacted. What may have seemed like a stylish touch- the (unintentionally)
hilarious slo-mo scenes of Grace racing though the hospital corridors in
her gown- is a source of amusement. I can't wait to see it on a Laserdisc
so I can have hours of fun twiddling the jog dial and watch her going backwards
and forwards. I'd kill to see the blooper reel and see Daph go for a tumble,
sprain her ankle and call her personal injury lawyer. Keeping the fans
placated is actually a very small section consisting of Sylvester McCoy's
cameo plus the keeping of the theme music and the police box shape. Keeping
the fans glued to the toilet is a much, much bigger ask, utilising over
60 per cent of the page count. The extra-strong laxatives include: the
first kiss, the second kiss, the Doctor becoming half-human, the whole
climax (not in relation to the kiss mind you) which is so confusing and
overblown that you need to a fiction writer for Virgin to understand it
(That's satire). This last bit is covered in even more exaggerated form
in the What-The-Hell-Was-That-All-About? bit.
All in all, this book, like the novelisation,
the script book, the t-shirt, the video, the phone card, the mug, the model
and the newly-launched fashion line DWNY; is all about marketing of the
movie.
RATING: a mark you give to something to indicate
the reviewer's opinion.
P. S. For those of you who haven't
twigged yet, there is no volume two but this is just an excuse to pick
a few holes in the telemovie. I did enjoy it an awful lot and with very
few exceptions, was very pleased with it. Script-holes and Eric Roberts
uneven performance apart, it was on of the best Who's ever
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