With pristine location filming now a distant memory, how long will the honeymoon period last?
Episode 1
The opening titles immediately provoke a reaction from Sue.
Sue: Is this the first time we’ve seen the words Doctor Who and the… in the title?
Me: The first and only time.
Sue: You sound annoyed. What’s wrong?
Me: Well, you probably won’t have a problem with it because you think the character’s name is Doctor Who.
Sue: It is Doctor Who.
Me: Well, I don’t agree.
Sue: Even in the face of all this mounting evidence? You’re insane.
Me: The title of this story is wrong on so many levels, it’s difficult to know where to start.
The story itself begins with two potholers exploring some caves.
Sue: This doesn’t look like it was shot on film. We’re back in the studio again, aren’t we? That’s a shame. Still, at least the sound is OK, even if the colours are a bit smudgy around the edges.
The potholers are suddenly attacked by a dinosaur.
Sue: At least the director is doing his level best to hide the fact that the monster isn’t very good. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it effect, thankfully.
We then cut away to the Doctor tinkering with a vintage yellow car.
Sue: You see! His number plate is WHO. Why would he have that number plate if his surname wasn’t Who? You’ll just have to accept it, love – that’s his name.
Talking of names, it’s here that the Doctor decides to christen his new mode of transportation.
Sue: I had no idea that his stupid little car had a stupid little name. How quaint.
The Doctor and Liz take Bessie for a spin over to Wenley Moor’s nuclear research facility.
Sue: So is this supposed to be a British version of the Large Hadron Collider?
Me: Sort of.
Sue: Do they end up sucking everyone into a black hole. Is that the plot?
Me: And where exactly does the dinosaur fit in?
Sue: Don’t look at me, I didn’t write it.
In the reactor room, where Dr Quinn runs the show, Sue is amused to see him use a complicated intercom system to ask his colleague, Miss Dawson, to join him.
Sue: Why doesn’t he just turn around and wave at her? She’s standing two feet away behind some glass!
And no, she doesn’t recognise Fulton Mackay from Porridge. It’s either early-onset Alzheimer’s or she genuinely doesn’t care about the same kind of shit that I do.
Sue: So is the Brigadier in all the Jon Pertwee stories?
Me: He’s in most of them.
Sue: Good. Oh, that poor bloke can’t close his briefcase properly but he’s carrying on with the scene anyway. What a trooper. And he’s got the serious hots for Liz. He’s borderline creepy when he’s in the same room as her.
As the scientists conduct an experiment, a Cyclotron technician starts to behave very oddly indeed.
Sue: Are the aliens hypnotising the humans again? It’s the same old story every week!
Incredibly, something that has changed is Sue’s appreciation for the show’s incidental music.
Sue: I really like the music in this one. Is it Dudley?
Me: No, it isn’t.
Sue: I didn’t think it was. It’s a lot better. I love those oboes.
The episode concludes with the Doctor being attacked by the same dinosaur that we saw at the top of the show.
Sue: Oh dear, that really does look a bit naff.
Episode 2
Sue doesn’t say very much during this episode, which, as regular readers of the blog will know, is a very good sign.
In fact, the only thing that drives her mad is the identity of the actor playing Captain Hawkins.
Sue: I know that voice. I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere before.
Me: You have. He’s very famous.
After spending several minutes trying to place him, she gives up.
Sue: Just tell me.
Me: It’s Paul Darrow!
Sue: Is that supposed to mean something to me?
Me: He’s Avon! From Blake’s 7! We named a cat after him! She’s out there playing with Blake and Orac the hedgehog right now. How can you live with me and not know this stuff?
Sue: I thought Avon was a girl’s name!
Me: I thought the cat was a boy. How did I know Avon was going to get pregnant!
Sue: But we’ve never watched Blake’s 7 together. I thought we were going to save that for the sequel? Adventures with the Wife and Blake? His voice is very familiar though. Would I have seen him in anything else?
Me: Well, he did insult some of my students last week.
Sue: That’ll be it.
I should probably interject here and explain that part of my job entails me teaching students the finer points of Blake’s 7 during a lecture on 1970s telefantasy for a university module called MAC387: Science Fiction and Fantasy Television. I am not making this up. I even talk about the Silurians. Anyway, each year I show them the climatic last five minutes of Blake (it’s technically from the 1980s but what can you do?) and, without fail, they always laugh their socks off. So, Paul Darrow, beautiful man that he is, recorded this for me, so I could play it to them as their laughter subsided.
Meanwhile, back in Doctor Who and the Silurians (sigh), the Brigadier is annoyed that there are now two monsters for him to deal with.
Sue: I’m glad there are two monsters. The first one was shit.
And then we get our first look at a Silurian’s third eye (from its point of view).
Sue: Is the red bit on top of the lens there because it’s bleeding? This POV sequence is very good, actually. It reminds me of Halloween a bit.
As Quinn heads for the Silurians’ base, we are treated to our first blast on a kazoo.
Sue: OK, the music has gone a bit mental now. Bring back Dudley. No, wait. Hire someone else.
When the Doctor and the Brigadier gang up on Dr Lawrence, Sue finds their rapport to be quite charming.
Sue: It’s obvious that the Brigadier and the Doctor have a lot of mutual respect for one another. I really like that. He’s basically a companion, isn’t he?
The episode concludes with Liz under attack from a Silurian in a barn.
Sue: Poor Liz. I’m sorry that I didn’t say very much about this one. That’s the trouble with the good ones: I get too wrapped up in it to say anything.
Episode 3
Sue: It must be really hard to get around with vision like that. I’d constantly bump into things.
It’s around this point that Sue believes she has finally identified the titular monsters.
Sue: Have we seen these aliens before? Are they the Ice Warriors? They aren’t? But they are reptiles, aren’t they?
When Dr Quinn turns up at the barn, miles out of his way, the Doctor’s suspicions are aroused, but Sue has far more important things on her mind.
Sue: Bessie is going to get soaked in all that rain. He should have put the roof up.
She is, however, impressed by the big-budget helicopter sequences.
Sue: It’s looks great but what are they trying to do with those silly flares?
And then Dr Quinn activates the recall device given to him by the Silurians.
Sue: You know, I’m sure I’ve heard that sound somewhere before. It’s driving me mad.
Me: When you picked me up from that Doctor Who convention on Saturday, Paul Jones was doing an excellent impression of it behind your back. To tease you.
Sue: I knew I’d heard it somewhere before! So is that what you fans do at these conventions? You sit around doing impressions of Doctor Who sound effects all night?
Me: Not all night, no. By the way, how did you find the convention? You stayed for all of one hour. Well, when I say “stayed”, you actually hid in the restaurant for a bit.
Sue: The food was terrible. The prawn starter was an Asda ready-meal that had been smothered with balsamic vinegar. It was awful.
Me: Yes, but apart from that, what did you think?
Sue: It was a lot more normal than I imagined it would be. A bit boring, really. I thought everyone would be dressed up. I did see the back of Peter Purves’ head at one point – not that I would have known if you hadn’t pointed it out to me – and I got to meet that nice Rob Shearman, which was nice. You never told me he was so nice.
Me: So would you go to another one, if, say, it was all about Matt Smith and you could meet the Moff and have your picture taken with him?
Sue: Really? I could meet the Moff? Would I be able to go for a drink with him so we could have a chat?
Me: No, you’d have about 30 seconds with him. Tops. They’ll probably call security if you refuse to leave.
Sue: Right. OK, I’m game. How much?
Me: (cough) 100 quid. 120 if you want a photo with the Moff.
Sue: 60 quid each doesn’t seem unreasonable. Book the tickets.
However, when I go to the website to book the tickets – she still allows me to buy them when discovers the real price – there is no tick box available that will guarantee a photo-op with the Moff. So she tells me not to bother. I really am not making this up.
Meanwhile, back in Doctor Who and the Silurians (sigh).
The episode concludes with our first good look at a Silurian.
Sue: Is that a fish?
She’s not sure what to make of the “aliens” (“It’s hardly worth dragging out the surprise for three episodes”) but she’s convinced that she’s met them somewhere before.
Sue: Are you sure we haven’t seen this lot before?
Me: They turn up quite a lot in the Matt Smith era.
Sue: Do they? I think I’d remember them if they did.
So I show her an image of a 21st century Silurian.
Sue: Piss off! They look nothing like them!
Me: I know! Ridiculous, isn’t it?
Sue: The new ones look so much better. The old ones look terrible.
We then get into a big argument about which Silurian is best – the ones that look completely “alien” or the ones that look they’ve just walked off the set of Star Trek.
As I am the one writing up this blog entry, I win.
Episode 4
Sue: I’m really surprised they killed Dr Quinn like that. Off-screen, as well. I thought he’d be there to the end.
When the Doctor is confronted by a Silurian he immediately offers his hand in friendship.
Sue: I love that. That sums up the Doctor for me. Anyone else would run away or shoot at it.
As the Doctor rues the fact that Silurian ran away from him, Sue picks up on Pertwee’s enunciation.
Sue: Has the Doctor got a lisp?
Me: Have you only just noticed that?
Sue: Yes. Is it part of the punishment doled out by the Time Lords? He can’t speak properly and people won’t take him seriously? Is that it?
As the Brigadier and the Doctor lock horns over the best way to proceed, Sue frowns.
Sue: I’m picking up quite a bit of tension between the Brigadier and the Doctor all of a sudden. The Doctor doesn’t trust the Brig, does he? It’s difficult to watch because I like both of them. I do have a problem with this story, though.
Me: Oh yes? What’s that?
Sue: It’s all the funny noises. They must be using frequencies that our dog can’t stand. Look at her – she’s leaving the room to get away from them. It’s not right.
Deep beneath the Earth, the Silurians question the captive Major Baker.
Sue: These Silurians strut around like they own the place.
Me: They do own the place.
Sue: Yes, but they are walking around like they are super-cool dudes. I’m not saying they look cool, they just think they look cool.
When the Doctor and Liz are harassed by a dinosaur, Sue exclaims:
Sue: I’m pretty sure that’s Chroma.
OK, she didn’t really say that. What she really said was, “That looks a bit dodgy”. Ha! Just you bloody wait, love.
And then Geoffrey Palmer turns up as a Permanent Under Secretary.
Sue: Oh, it’s him! You know! Him.
Several hours later, she will finally remember that it’s “him out of Butterflies“, which I will take as a victory. Until she starts singing the theme tune (that’s usually my job whenever she cooks).
Sue: This is very gritty episode. It’s like we’re watching an adult drama for a change. This is definitely not for the kids.
Episode 5
The biggest topic up for discussion throughout this episode is the young, hot-headed Silurian, or as Nicol so eloquently puts it as she strides through the living room.
Nicol: It’s Jar Jar Binks!
Sue agrees. I patiently explain to them both that the Silurian who wants to destroy humanity with a deadly plague is nothing like the lovable Gungan from the Star Wars prequels, but they aren’t listening. And it’s all because he keeps shaking his head uncontrollably when he walks and talks.
Sue: Maybe he’s got Parkinson’s Disease?
Me: It’s Packer doing the Silurian voices by the way. You know, Paaaacker.
Sue: What? All of them?
Me: Yes.
Sue: **** off!
Me: I’m not making it up. It’s Peter Halliday from The Invasion. The actors are probably overcompensating with their body movement because they aren’t the ones doing the talking.
When we finally discover the truth of the Silurians’ predicament, Sue is incredulous.
Sue: That’s one hell of a lie-in!
She is, on the whole, rather taken with the idea that the Silurians are an indigenous lifeform. But she’s also sure that she’s seen it all before.
Me: You have. Matt Smith did a two-parter with practically the same plot and the same aliens. This one is better.
Sue: I wouldn’t go that far.
Me: Do you want me to sleep on the couch tonight?
When the younger Silurian plots our downfall, Sue believes that the Doctor has been tricked.
Sue: Has the Silurian gone back on its word already? That was quick!
Me: No, this is a completely different Silurian.
Sue: They all look the same to me.
Me: Racist.
As Masters assures Dr Lawrence that he will try to save his career, Sue just can’t help herself.
Sue: Hang on a minute, this guy’s name is Masters. He’s not the, you know, is he?
Me: No, he most certainly isn’t!
As Masters prepares to leave for London, he doesn’t look too well.
Sue: It’s probably just Ria’s cooking repeating on him.
The Doctor and the Brigadier arrive at Wenley Hospital to find Major Baker expiring from the Silurians deadly disease.
Sue: Don’t touch him, you idiots! Opps, too late. I hope it’s just measles.
Sadly, it isn’t measles and Baker is dead. And, as the Doctor says, he’ll be the first of many.
Sue: Oh, it’s all gone a bit Survivors, now. What would Greg do?
Episode 6
Sue: Hang on a minute, the Doctor just called it an ‘alien’ disease. Are the Silurians alien or not?
Me: I think he means “unknown”. Don’t be so pedantic.
Sue: It’s a crucial point, surely.
As the Brigadier barks some orders into his personal radio, Sue smiles wistfully.
Sue: We couldn’t afford walkie-talkies when we were kids, so me and our kid would steal car aerials and just pretend.
Me: A racist and a vandal. It’s all coming out tonight.
There then follows one of my favourite scenes from classic Doctor Who, when Masters returns to London and infects the populace.
Sue: This is a great scene. I’m not sure you’d get away with it today, not with all the compliance forms you have to fill in nowadays. It looks like the public haven’t got a clue they are appearing in an episode of Doctor Who. The camera is miles away. It really is well-directed; very gritty and realistic. It’s more Cathy Come Home than Doctor Who at this point.
However, if there is one thing that Sue has become obsessed with, it’s the Silurians’ flooring.
Sue: It looks like Terrazzo. Or maybe it’s Karndean. It’s very nice whatever it is. They are clearly the most advanced civilisation with flooring like that.
Seriously, Pixely, Wood, Miles, Shearman, Hadoke and Sandifer have nothing on Sue.
Sue: I really hope Dr Lawrence gets killed soon. He’s such a dick.
Masters collapses in the street, and half of London follows in his wake.
Sue: Bloody hell, it’s turned into Threads now. This is very bleak.
And then, completely out of the blue, the Doctor suggests that he is several thousand years old.
Sue: Hang on, I thought the Doctor was a thousand and something.
Nicol: The Doctor lies.
Oh, so she is listening, even if her face is buried in the Facebook.
When Dr Lawrence enters with half his face missing, Sue is horrified.
Sue: The make-up is really good. Too good, perhaps. This is not for kids. This whole episode would have traumatised any child who watched it.
And then Lawrence completely flips out.
Sue: ****ing hell!
The episode concludes with the Doctor being kidnapped by some Silurians who have burnt their way through a solid wall into his lab.
Sue: Can he not feel or smell the heat coming from behind him? And surely he can hear that terrible music! My poor dog.
Episode 7
Sue: The Brigadier does a lot of his work on the telephone, doesn’t he? This is a masterclass in telephone acting.
Liz begs the Brig to send down a search party to look for the Doctor, even if it means talking on the Silurians in open warfare.
Sue: She’s changed her tune!
And then Captain Hawkins is shot down by a Silurian’s death ray.
Me: No! Not Paul Darrow!
Sue’s not that bothered. I tut.
The Silurians force the Doctor to rig the power complex to a device that will destroy the Van Allen Belt, which will result in an Earth so hot, it will become uninhabitable to humankind.
Sue: Can he turn it on just for a bit, so they can have a nice summer?
As the Doctor gets down and dirty with the machinery, Sue raises an eyebrow.
Sue: Pertwee is ripped. He must work out a bit. He reminds me of this old, butch lesbian I used to know with grey hair and a tattoo. She’s the spitting double of him. And the Doctor in a t-shirt, that’s not right, is it?
But the Doctor tricks the Silurians and he overloads the nuclear reactor.
Sue: The noise is so loud now I can’t hear the dialogue! What’s going on?
Me: Pardon? What did you say?
With the complex about to explode, the Silurians leg it back to their base for a quick nap.
Sue: The Doctor is just bluffing them. You’d think the Silurians would check his story before they all left.
Sue is therefore completely wrong-footed when she learns that the reactor is actually going to explode after all.
Sue: WHAT?
Thankfully, the Doctor saves the day by reversing the polarity.
Sue: I feel sorry for the Silurians a bit. You can see where they were coming from.
And then the Brigadier issues orders for the Silurians’ base to be destroyed.
Sue: Oh, Brigadier, I am very disappointed in you.
After a little comic relief (Sue actually believes me when I tell her that Bessie runs on human blood), the Silurian base is blown to smithereens (with, it has to be said, a tiny explosion).
Sue: I bet the Doctor will be bloody furious with the Brig in the next episode.
And then, as a very special treat (that I wasn’t even aware of) we watch a reconstructed trailer for The Ambassadors of Death that appears at the end of the DVD.
Sue: Blimey, the next one looks good as well. Oh, I could just watch some Debbie Reynolds right about now.
The Final Score
Sue: That was excellent. Again. I might have to give this one another 10. (She thinks for a bit) No, it’s one episode too long and the dinosaur served no purpose whatsoever, except to put me off. Some of the Silurian acting was a bit over the top as well. No, I think I’ll give it -
9/10
Sue: It was very good, though. Like watching proper telly all of a sudden. Some of the location work was some of the best I’ve seen in the series so far and the plot was complex enough to keep me entertained. Are they really all this good?
The experiment continues…
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Does Sue know Greg was at the convention at the weekend as well?
Sue liked this one?! Maybe I’m stomping on fandom, but it’s basically Cold Blood and Hungry Earth, except 40 years out of its league and at least 50 minutes longer than it should be.
Ah well, on location and colour must be a blessing.
Are we not to mention Pertwee dressing up as a woman?
Much as I love Matt’s stories, Cold Blood and Hungry Earth is also 50 mins longer than it should be (the second 50 mins specifically)
Why would we mention Pertwee dressed as a woman? Not yet, anyway.
Haven’t lined them up side by side, but my impression watching the Matt Smith story was that it was pretty much a remake of this and the other Pertwee lizard encounter shoved together.
And I would say that “it’s basically Cold Blood and Hungry Earth, except …” is a bit like calling Secret Army “just like Allo Allo, but serious”.
That’s pretty much what I thought too. I think I’d have enjoyed this more if I’d watched it years ago – it’s a great concept but the Matt Smith story does it a lot better, and it’s not even one of my particular favourites. There’s plenty of good non-Silurian stuff in it though – episode three being one big chase, episode six turning into a stop-the-plague story, so it’s not a complete loss.
Not sure I like the idea of Amy Pond as a representative in humanity’s first diplomatic summit with another species…
She likes him being called Doctor Who in the title? Oh for the days of The War Machines and “Doctor COMMA Who”! :p
Still, great to see just how much she is loving Pertwee so far.
Oh and for the record, the whole time I watched Pertwee, I never guessed he had a lisp. Maybe it’s because I’m American and I might be missing the subtler aspects of the British accent, but I never caught on until someone informed me. Gosh, was I shocked.
The noise WAS horrendous, but I really like this episode. Does she like Liz any better now? And I really hated to see Avon die in this. I loved him so much better than Captain Yates. To be fair, any show if you take out only the one key scene and none of what led to it, its going to have no impact. The last scene of Blake’s 7, oh man! But if you hadnt seen any of the show and Blake and Avon, it wont mean anything. Sad but true.
I KNEW Sue would notice carpentry.
Ambassadors for a long time bored me, but I finally rewatched it and found I really liked it. I really really really want her to love Roger though. If she prefers the blonde I dont know what Ill do.
Yeah! Me too – actually I had never looked at the floor if the Silurian base scenes. But I have always been really impressed by the look of the base. I love the kind of fused glass look.
Fab.
At last! It took fifty-two stories, but “the new ones look so much better” is thus far the first and ONLY time I’ve vocally responded with an “oh fuck off”.
Enjoy The Ambassadors Of Death while it lasts Sue, because it’ll be the last good proper music you get for ages – it’ll be stylophones, Bronze Age moogs and Malcom Clarke’s trimphone for a good three seasons after that. When Stradling, Ayres and company wanted to adopt a UNIT theme for the DVD documentaries, did they bother looking at ANYTHING from the remaining four years of Pertwee? Nope; they plumped straight for the ‘UNIT on the move’ flute and electric piano music adorning the vehicle bits of AoD. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
Hur hur. Loved that jazzy minor mambo on AoD. Played it on a gig a couple of times. It’s so Avengers, isn’t it?
Still reckon I prefer the minimalist approach of this period to the overbearing cack-handed epic symphonic soup we get nowadays. Does Murray Gold actually know what “underscoring” means?
Pass me the bass clarinet nurse, I’m having one of my turns…
I thought the music got lot better this season.
I mean the 2011 season.
Fair play, you may be right there. At very least the sound mixing seems tamer. Seems so to me anyway, since I’ve only had to rewind a few bits to catch gabbled, muttered throwaway lines, rather than rewatch whole episodes with subtitles.
Still prefer “less is more” though. I mean, it’s Dr Who not Lord of the Rings… Murray, dahling…
She noticed the title! Surely there’s no way back for her now…
Apologies to whoever picked me up on this last thread: yeah, it is Marylebone. Paul Darrow’s a good sport, isn’t he!
Please please please tell me you dress Orac the hedgehog up in little multicoloured flashing LEDs for parties. Pleeeease!
The Wurzel era is off to a blinding start as far as Sue’s concerned, and I’m glad about that. Still reckon she’ll be cheering for Jo to get killed off at every opportunity and go wobbly at the knees over Benton…
If we’re talking about dishy blokes then it’ll be interesting to see if she recognises the Dominator starring in the next episode.
The Paul Darrow speech is inspired! Do you play it over the silent bit of the end credits? It’s as if the music was faded down in readiness!
“Pertwee was ripped”????
Ye gods.
I’ve known about Chromakey/CSO for over thirty years. It is thirty-five years since I first read ‘Doctor Who – The Three Doctors’. It takes me until reading this post to get the pun in ‘I’m pretty sure that’s Cromer.’ I have such a literal mind, evidently. (Or alternatively, not at all.)
It took me donkies’ years to get that too.
Just got it. But then I was only two at the time.
It’s taken me until this comment to get that. Good work.
Whenever it’s been quoted (a lot) I assumed it was to highlight the Brigadier’s inveterate parochialism. (I didn’t assume in so many words). Turns out to be a bit of a mult-layered in-joke, that we’re all getting for the first time.
Same here. i always just assumed that Cromer had some significance that was lost to this American.
For what it’s worth I got the pun first time I saw the DVD (I was 7 when it was originally repeated).
*smacks forehead*
I’ve NEVER realised that. Genuinely! It’s like Neo being an anagram of “One” all over again…
Ah, MAC modules, I remember those. Never did any myself as I was busy with all my AND modules, but I had plenty of friends in the media department who did.
Glad that Sue can appreciate at least some of Carey Blyton’s music, I love it all myself.
Mention of Rob Shearman reminds me of the very enjoyable conversation we had on Sunday at the con, during a lull in his signing session, quoting bits of Peter Miles dialogue at each other in the appropriate accents. Having done Nyder, we started on Doctor Lawrence and his death-knell rant: “You can clear out of here, all of you! And take that crazy Doctor with you! Well, are you going?!! Or do I have to throw you out myself?!!!!” I expect Michael Troughton and the other souvenir stall-holders must have written us off as a right pair of prannies. (“Speak for yourself, Simon!” exclaims the esteemed author…)
I really love this story – and my favourite scenes revolve around the London plague outbreak. Geoffrey Palmer’s collapse against the railings is terrific! I concede that the story is too long, but I don’t mind, because it doesn’t bore me. It develops from one story (Quinn’s quest) into another (the plague and how to beat it), just as all the good six-parters do e.g. Seeds of Doom being a two-parter in Antarctica followed by a four-parter in Chase’s mansion. A far cry from something like The Time Monster which, frankly, I struggled to get through and never want to see again.
Incidentally, the CD of Carey Blyton’s music is a good’un, and the suite of music from The Silurians is much less kazoo-heavy than in the transmitted version. There’s a lovely theme for the Brigadier on that disc. Maybe you should play it to Sue the next time she’s cooking?!
Yes, those London plague scenes are genuinely chilling, and one of the best features of the story. It’s weird how the show would go in just a couple of years from a masterpiece like this to the dross of The Time Monster – it’s equally odd that Pertwee’s 7-parters feel considerably shorter, in general, than his 6-parters.
It’s early days, but I’m very pleased that Sue is enjoying the Pertwee era so far. She’s right about the music being a bit mental in this one though. It was a brave creative choice, but perhaps not a wise one. It tends to make the Silurians seem more comic than they do already, with their wobbly heads.
Incidentally, my own Special Lady saw this one and immediately asked me to go online and find her a “nodding dog” Silurian, but alas! They don’t seem to exist!
Great to see The Silurians (as I insist on calling it), basking in the glow of Sue’s love. Another top 5 story as far as I’m concerned, and Pertwee’s finest hour. The depth of characterisation Hulke achieves here is astonishing, with even minor characters coming over as three dimensional – superb performances all round too, particularly from Peter Miles, Geoffrey Palmer and Fulton Mackay. The moral dilemma that sits at the heart of the story, meanwhile, is exploited to superb dramatic effect, and Hulke is very good at making both sides as morally dubious as the other. This has to be one of the darkest of all Who stories, with an heroic Doctor caught in the middle and tragically unable, ultimately, to bring about the peaceful coexistence he desires to see between the two races. Sue is right – this is a remarkably adult script, and it would be interesting to know what people who were kids at the time made of it on first broadcast.
Another treat coming up next with the almost-as-brilliant Ambassadors – possibly the most underrated story of them all?
Neil, you need to by Sue a crumhorn for Christmas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumhorn
I feel a bit sorry for Sue in a way – starting with two (I’d go as four) classic stories in a row. I don’t think the Pertwee era ever got as good again.
“Pertwee… reminds me of this old, butch lesbian I used to know ”
Oh I say. You wait till his last season and the biggest bouffant since Barbara’s. Then you’re spot on
Now, not that I am competing here – but I started a journey with my partner to watch, just for ourselves (as and when we felt like it) all of the episodes form the very beginning – a while before yourself Neil. You are going about twice as fast as us and we are not posting anywhere. Just beginning ‘Ambassador’s and she is TOTALLY gripped! In fact, demanding it on return home from work daily (no pun intended!). She has always loved the Classic and New series, but had not seen much of the very early stuff – and I had a good few gaps early on.
We have both adored the feeling of sharing the journey together and it has felt like a treat so far, with the B&W era feeling like a real comfort in some way. I LOVE my partner’s comments as much as you enjoy Sue’s – form the madness of underground kazoos, the awesome drama when Lawrence does indeed loose it (WOW! she said) and overall in Pertwee so far, really enjoying the filmic quality and drama.
It’s a pleasure sharing the journey with you and somehow by accident ending up almost in sync!
My “froms” have turned into “forms” – the same way possibly Eocenes turn into Silurians or then to Cave Monsters.
Though I do like the last name a bit!
Annunciation? This would be the early warning of Caroline John’s pregnancy then?
Good catch. I’ve fixed it.
Sue: Oh, it’s all gone a bit Survivors, now. What would Greg do? – would love this on a t shirt!
She’ll be saying this a LOT in two stories’ time…
Re the “Doctor Who and the…” title — don’t tell her about the titles of the Target novelisations!
Loved Paul Darrow’s speech.
Very, very, VERY much looking forward to Wife in Space with Blake.
A fiver says Sue comes out with “It’s a beumb” at least twice during the next story.
Did somebody say crumhorn?
http://www.youtube.com/user/Mesaprinz#p/a/u/2/BQaFzesH5JY
One of me faves, this. Definitely Hulke’s best work (next to that Season 11 one). A near-perfect script, fantastic performances and a very gritty edge to it. Sue’s right – it’s not really one for the kids – although I’m sure I liked the “funny monsters” at the time…
T-shirt this week:
“I’m glad there are two monsters. The first one was shit.”
First 10/10. Now 9/10. And, I’m willing to bet, similar grades for the next couple. When we finally get to Season 8 the disappoint will sting so much more. Still, at least we may see a return to witty, caustic, cynical Sue; I miss her…
Season 8 will be cruel in a way – she’s been so looking forward to the appearance of you-know-who.
“Not bloody him AGAIN. Why doesn’t he do a Hartnell and take a holiday or five?” Or something like that.
Dont say that. When I heard about Turkey I was so upset.
Fair enough, no offence meant. Great guy, and those eyes… like a pyschopathic bloodhound!
Still reckon the season “arc” was a poor production decision. Monsters plus ringmaster. Again.
It’s all very well to establish a worthy foe for ol Wurzel to mitigate the tedium of exile (and Jo Grant), and also a nice idea that The Spoiler is a manipulator of others for malign purposes – but a whole series of it?
Adopts Bluebottle voice: “Oh look, it’s Morinarty. Ee-hee!”
I love Paul Darrow
**Watching Blakes 7 again**
Was recently reminded of the convict rebellion on the transport to Cygnus when flying Ryanair to Bulgaria. These days. you could still distract the cabin staff by pretending to remove your thumb, but you’d have to pay for your own bulkhead sealing foam…
I do hope after this there will be ‘Adventures with the wife and Blake’ and later even ‘Adventures with the wife in The Village’.
I found this story a little hard to watch the last time I sat down to watch it, but I think it was watching it all in one go, which you’d think would be good, and is fine for 4 parters but it’s these long ones where things start to drag a little.
Ah…. YUS! Number Sue in The Village would be magnificent. “One” might even do this with my number two…
Personally, I’m thinking “Adventures with the Wife on Moonbase 3″.
Ibsen?
A six double-length part Doctor Who with actual suicides instead of Sue just feeling that way? Yeah, that’ll cheer her up.
Moonbase 3 is basically Space 1999, if every episode was Dragon’s Domain but Frontier In Space had called bagsies on the monster first for part six. Micheal Wisher has exactly the same quality as Micheal Sheard, in that the moment he turns up you just instinctively KNOW the whole scenario is about to go tits-up in a grim way, very very fast. Probably why these two Who alumni never actually turned up in Blake’s 7, since even by Terry Nation dystopia standards, that would be like explaining the punchline – even though the first two cameos Sue would guess at would be Hitler and Davros.
I’m loving the fact that My Doctor is getting such high marks from Sue, but, alas, I’m all but certain that when the Pertwee Retrospective is done (before we get to “All Teeth and Curls”), the definitive T-shirt is going to be along the lines of “That all went downhill pretty quick”.
That was such a cool sound clip from Paul Darrow! I remember being excited through every one of his scenes in this, I had such a crush on him and here he was in a Doctor Who story as a UNIT soldier!
I loved this story, it WAS a bit long, but the ending was wonderfully sad. It’s nice to see Sue loving some of my faves.
I second the suggestion of Adventures with the Wife and Blake and the one about the Village that was mentioned earlier! Either would be awesome.
I think you missed a trick here, by the way, in not getting Sue to think it was a four-parter in the same way that the DVD tricked me and the missus. I still remember my bafflement at how they were going to tie this all up in what I thought was the last episode.
It seems that the “Doctor COMMA Who” debate was finally settled today on BBC Breakfast… Don’t know if you saw it but our beloved 11th Doctor said “I am Doctor Who”. No hint of a comma, I’m afraid. But on the plus side, Sue has won that little argument, so yippee!! (P.S. can I have a free t-shirt for solving an issue??)
I’m a new who fan but I like this version better. Then again I was a Trekkie before I was a Whovian so I’m tolerant of rubber suits.
Also, it would be delightful if you and Sue ended up joining us for Gallifrey One: http://www.gallifreyone.com/
Pixely, Wood, Miles, Shearman, Hadoke and Sandifer sounds like the world’s most thorough law firm. They should represent the fellow who did the “Wife in Space” song when he breaks the restraining order.
This story was pretty good, though a lot like the Silurian stories in series 5, but with Unit instead of that lot who worked in the mine. I really love Moffat’s new Silurians better though, the rubber lizard men look a bit naff and the third eye really doesn’t do much for me, just another built-in monster weapon like the one for the ice warriors. But it was an interesting story and I liked the bit about taking the plague to London. Course we never heard didley afterwards, but it was pretty horrific. The Doctor looked like a Navy guy in his white tshirt, with those bulging muscles, eh? And the kazoo music was just dreadful. Most of the music was a bit rubbish. But it was a good episode, and I liked the ending. What would you have done? Blown ‘em to smithereens most likely. 8/10.
Having just recently watched this I think it’s a jolly good story but if it didn’t have that bloody music it would be much more enjoyable.