The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe

I know I'm always saying Steven Moffat is the Robert Holmes of the current generation of Doctor Who writers. Aside from writing brilliant stories (though he was upstaged this year by Neil Gaiman's effort) he also has a habit of plundering literary sources for ideas as the last two Christmas specials attest (oh, and I loved the Androzani Major reference too).

Anyway, onto to this years festive effort. It was okay but  not in the same league of some of this years episodes. Matt was as enjoyable as ever and Claire Skinner made a good stand in companion (and it was nice to see Amy and Rory at the end. But would the Doctor really wait two years before seeing them again since the events of The Wedding of River Song?). One thing I did miss was the "Coming Soon" trailer at the end so we could look forward to next years goodies. But that's a minor quibble about what was an enjoyable episode.

"Christmas Day on BBC1..."

... and Boxing Day on ABC1!

Doctor Who Lego!!!

Need it say more?

Ziwzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO

My appreciation for Delia Derbyshire is increasing. Not only did she arrange the original version of the Doctor Who theme, she also created this astonishing piece of work for the 1960s anthology series Out of the Unknown (the BBC's answer to The Twilight Zone) seen here performed live at the Roundhouse event in 2009.

Sadly the episode it comes from, The Prophet, no longer exists in the BBC's archives. Which is a great shame as, judging by just this piece of music and the images in this clip, it must have been one hell of an episode.

Time and the Rani

Hmmm.

I suspect, considering how badly received The Twin Dilemma was, that John Nathan-Turner decided to go in the opposite direction with Sylvester's first story. Instead of making the new Doctor unlikable he makes him a total idiot. Fortunately Sylvester did recover from this (especially after Andrew Cartmell took hold as script editor). And then there's the script that makes no bloody sense whatsoever (even Pip & Jane Baker didn't enjoy writing it). And then there's Bonnie Langford of which the less said the better.

Is there anything good about Time and the Rani? Well, it's well directed, the production standards are high with the first use of CGI in Doctor Who. But otherwise it's not that great.

Frontios

Wow! That wasn't what I was expecting.

The only scene I can remember from Frontios' original transmission was the cliffhanger to part 1 when the TARDIS is destroyed. So I was pleasantly surprised when I watched this DVD to discover how good it was.

First things that struck me was the production values. Some scenes looked like something out of the current series. The only thing that really lets it down is the music (not one of Paddy Kingsland's better scores) and the realisation of the Tractators (basing them on wood lice was a good idea, but the costume lets it down badly). All the cast are good, but Peter Davison is really good in this story. It seems like there were maybe only three writers who really got a handle on the fifth Doctor's character and Christopher H. Bidmead was one of them (the other two were Robert Holmes and possibly Christopher Bailey).

I think I'd vote this as being second only to The Caves of Androzani and being one of the best stories of the fifth Doctor's era.



Mara Tales

Things to like about Kinda and Snakedance:

• Christopher Bailey's scripts which contains some cracking dialogue.
• The direction by Peter Grimwade and Fiona Cumming (possibly one of the most underrated directors in Doctor Who's history).
• Janet Fielding giving her best performance as Tegan (in Snakedance she's a freaky as hell).
• Peter Davison. I don't think he gives a better performance as the Doctor until The Caves of Androzani.
• Simon Rouse's Hindle. Probably one of the most convincing mad men ever portrayed (next to John Simm's Master).
• Richard Todd's Sanders.
• Martin Clunes in what I believe was his first television appearance.
• The rest of the guest cast for both stories.
• The design work, especially in Snakedance. And I don't think the jungle in Kinda is that bad (but it probably should have been filmed at Ealing like Planet of Evil and The Creature from the Pit. But there's no way you could film it on location. Where in the Home Counties would you find a jungle anyway?)
• Peter Howell's music. I'm familiar with a lot of it from my mum's scratchy old Music of Doctor Who LP (yes, vinyl!), but I'd never heard the music from the last few minutes of episode four of Kinda and it's simply wonderfull!
• For once, in Snakedance, we see the Doctor as a normal person would see him; a raving madman with no justification for his wild prophesies of doom (of course until it's too late).
• Okay the giant snake isn't that great. But I still think it's better than the CGI alternative!

Two very different stories which proves how flexible Doctor Who's format is.

The Masque of Mandragora

The Masque of Mandragora is probably one of the unsung gems in this golden age of Doctor Who. It may not be in the same league as say Genesis of the Daleks or The Talons of Weng-Chiang but it's still a lovely story.

Live at The Roundhouse

In May 2009 "The Radiophonic Workshop" (aka Mark Ayres, Peter Howell, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb and and the legendary Dick Mills, all of whom had at some time or another composed the music and/or created the special sounds for classic Doctor Who) performed a special concert celebrating the history of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The rich history of the Workshop was performed with Doctor Who playing a large part of the proceedings.

I never got the see the concert. According to Wikipedia the event was filmed, but has never been realised commercially. However amateur footage has surfaced on YouTube (where else?).

The first clip shows The Workshop performing, live no less, the original Delia Derbyshire arrangement and selection of special sounds and music. In the second clip they perform, again live, the Peter Howell arrangement concluding with a special arrangement of the theme.

It's performed live. It's astonishing and great testament to the work of all the people who worked for the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. And both versions of the theme music have never sounded so good!

The Seeds of Doom

When I posted on Planet of the Spiders, I said who great the title sequence was for Pertwee's last series and it got better when Tom Baker came along. Well, judge for yourselves.

Well, I like it!

Anyway, what of The Seeds of Doom? I can sum it up in one word: brilliant! Everything in this story works.

Where do we start? Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen were in their stride by this stage. They were always good in any story of this era, but if you combine a really good script and good direction (Robert Banks Stewart and Douglas Camfield respectively - arguably one of the best, if not the best, directors ever employed on the show) with actors of their talents you're in for a cracker. The guest cast are all impressive with Tony Beckley, John Challis and Sylvia Colderidge as the stand outs.

It's an example of Doctor Who at it's best. What more can I say?

Revenge of the Cybermen/Silver Nemesis

Two stories from two different eras.

Revenge of the Cybermen is a bit an oddity. At a time when Phillip Hincliffe and Robert Holmes were setting out their version of Doctor Who (think Genesis of the Daleks which was the story that preceded it), this story feels like a throwback to the 1960s. Which isn't surprising as Gerry David hadn't been involved with the programme since the Patrick Troughton days. It's probably;y the weakest story of Season 12, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Tom Baker was starting to hit his stride as the Fourth Doctor and Elisabeth Sladen is as good as ever. The guest cast are pretty good and, despite was Phillip Hinchliffe says in the documentary, the Vogans are well realised.

I have to admit I approached Silver Nemesis with some dread. My memory of it being 90 minutes of poorly written drivel. While it;s not drivel, it is poorly written with a number of set pieces in search of a plot. Sylvester and Sophie are good, and Fiona Walker's Lady Peinforte and Gerard Murphy's Richard make a good double act. The production standards are high, but the story is a mess (and it's a bit of a worry that over 20 minutes of footage was cut from the final product - enough for another episode). Definitely the weakest story of Season 25 (and of this box set).

Planet of the Spiders

First thing that has to be said is how good was the title sequence from Pertwee's final season of Doctor Who?

And, of course, it got even better the next series with the TARDIS finally making an appearance in the titles, but more on that later.

Planet of the Spiders brings the curtain down on the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who. Some commentators have said, perhaps somewhat cruelly, that the serails production code - ZZZ - is appropriate. I wouldn't go that far, but I would suggest that it suffers from the same problem most six parters suffer from: it's about two episodes too long. Also, I think Barry Letts was trying to be George Lucas about 25 years too early with the amount of blue screen in the show. Metebelis III looked really convincing when we briefly saw it in The Green Death twelve months earlier, but here you can tell it's a studio set. And the spider's citadel is badly let down by bad lighting (a fault designer Rochelle Selwyn admits to on the documentary accompanying the disc. She did make her thoughts known to the lighting director which was subsequently ignored to the productions detriment).

However, there are some good things. All the UNIT crew are as good as ever, with Richard Franklin being the stand out. John Kane's sensitive portrayal of Tommy is excellent along with Kevin Lindsay as the gleeful Cho-je and George Cormack as the Doctor's old mentor K'anpo. The spiders themselves are well realized with the Great One being very convincing (a great example of when Chromakey does work!) with great vocal talents from Ysanne Churchman, Kismet Delgado and Maureen Morris. Otherwise the rest of the cast are forgettable.

But this is Pertwee's swansong and I have to say he isn't too bad. His final scene is very moving, especially if one think of recent events in the real world with the sad passings of both Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen.

But the regeneration itself is rubbish!

So, Planet of the Spiders: not as bad as most people suggest, but not great either. But the series best years were just around the corner.

The Mutants

Ah yes. The Doctor Who story mentioned in Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. And one story that I have no memory of ever seeing before (a rarity for Jon Pertwee's Doctor).

First the good bits: the realization of the story's monsters, the Mutts, is pretty good along with most of the visual effects (Ky's transformation into a mutant is good by 70's standards. Though I hope when Stubbs dies in episode 5 by being shot in the arse was more a miss-timed video effect and not deliberate). Katy Manning's as good as ever (Pertwee seems to be in neutral) and Garrick Hagon's Ky is the most impressive out of the guest cast (Paul Whitsun-Jones' Marshall has to be seen to be believed). Otherwise it's a pretty bland story. Probably could have been improved by cutting it to four episodes instead of six.

The Wedding of River Song

If anyone were to ask me what's the most beautiful scene ever filmed for Doctor Who, I think my vote would go to this one.

A fitting tribute to a much loved actor and one of the most loved characters in Doctor Who.

Anyway, The Wedding of River Song (such as it was). It was okay and tied up all the plots line (except who the hell was Madame Kovarian?). One could argue that the nature of the Doctors "death" was a cop out, but I thought it was handled quiet well.

On the whole I thought series 6 (both parts) was enjoyable and built on the foundations Moffat established last year. Matt Smith has certainly settled into the role and has become one of favorite Doctors. The dynamic between Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as the first married couple in the TARDIS has been great too (I really missed then in Closing Time) and Alex Kingston is always welcome. The standout episodes for me were The Doctor's Wife (come back Neil Gaiman!). A Good Man Goes to War, Let's Kill Hitler! and Closing Time.

Roll on Series 7!

Closing Time

What's better than a Steven Moffat episode? A Neil Gaiman one? Or how about Gareth Roberts?

Closing Time begins with the Doctor on a farewell tour visit to Craig Owens from last years The Lodger. Really it's a two-hander between Matt Smith and James Corden and the interplay between then is excellent. It also has this years "what the?" moment when the Cybermen capture Craig and begin to convert him. For a moment I thought they were going to go through with it (which was the effect Roberts was hoping for when writing that scene. If they had it would have been the blackest thing ever to happen in Doctor Who).

The only letdown the was the last scene. It would have been better to end it with the kids in the street watching the TARDIS depart instead of cutting to Madame Kavorian and company setting up River for next weeks episode (Frances Barber's over-acting annoyed me). But otherwise Closing Time was one of the best episodes of this series.

Mannequin Mania

Two classics from my favorite writer from the original series, Robert Holmes.

First up Spearhead from Space. Aside from being the first story to feature Jon Pertwee's Doctor, it's also the first story made in colour and on film no less; something that was a happy accident for the production (a strike having put paid to the original plan to record the studio scenes at Television Centre and per usual) and one that does wonders for it. Watching it again it reminded me of an episode of The Avengers instead of Doctor Who.

Of course, Spearhead also introduces us for the first time to the Autons, one of the most effective monsters ever made for the series simply because they can take the form of whatever they like. Who can forget the scene from episode 4 when they begin their invasion by marching down Ealing Broadway?

Again it's easy to see why Russell T. Davies' paid homage to this in 2005s Rose (also, as Derrick Sherwin and Terrance Dicks both point out in the commentary, everyone thinks the glass was smashed in the original. But it never was, only hinted because the BBC couldn't afford to replace the glass!). 

Terror of the Autons, the second story included in this set, also has a number of firsts to claim. The first story to feature The Master, Jo Grant and Captain Mike Yates. Also, while Spearhead takes a somewhat more adult approach to its storytelling, Terror really marks the beginning of the cosy UNIT family which would last for the rest of the Pertwee era. It also contains a lot of dodgy Chromakey (a.k.a. blue screen or Colour Separation Overlay at the BBC liked to call it) effects which would also be a hallmark of the Pertwee era (though as Phil Collinson, producer of the 2005 relaunch, points out in one of the documentaries on the DVD people in 40 years time will probably also say the same thing about some of the effects used in the new series).

Best thing about Terror is Roger Delgado's Master, who manages to outshine Jon Pertwee (something that I'm sure went down well with him!). He's very suvave, very dangerous and has a nice line in black humour (I love his line when discussing how McDermott gets killed by an Auton plastic chair: "He sat down in this chair and just slipped away.").

As I said in the beginning of this post, these are two classics by Robert Holmes and are in some ways a template of what was to come when he took over as script editor for Tom Baker's first three years as the Doctor. Out of the two, I think Spearhead is the strongest for its adult approach to Doctor Who. But both are great examples of classic Doctor Who.

The God Complex

Doctor Who meets The Shining anyone?

One of the best episodes of the series so far. Very creepy and effective. Also, Amara Karan's Rita is another that can be added to the list of companions who never were.

The ending was wonderful too (did anyone else notice that Amy and Rory's house was blue?) and very emotional.

The Girl Who Waited

This was an improvement on last week. The story was pretty good and Karen did a great job of playing the two Amy's and was Arthur especially when Rory had to made the decision to save or leave the older Amy (mind you I could see that coming a mile off).

The only thing I'm wondering about was the ending when Amy asked where the older version of her was. The way I remember the scene playing out, the Doctor looked quiet shocked that she remembered her. Maybe a harbinger of the things to come?

Night Terrors

After last week I found this episode to be a disappointment. It was an interesting enough premise and entertaining enough, but it just didn't engage me.

Earth Story

Now this was different. One was a Doctor Who story I'd never seen before; the other was one I have no memory of watching before.

First story, The Gunfighters. This is a story with a mixed reputation within fan circles. For many years the popular myth that it was one of lowest rated stories of all times and an absolute clanger. Having seen it for the first time, I thought it was pretty good. Donald Cotton's script  is pretty witty with some great one liners (sort of City of Death fifteen years early. And it's a great shame that his first contribution to the series - The Mythmakers - no longer exists in the BBC's archives because the novelisation is hysterical. But I digress). You can certainly see William Hartnell's enjoying himself. The reproduction of Tombstone within the confines of Doctor Who's budget is excellent, even to the extent of using horses within the studio to add to realism. Director Rex Tucker uses the sets to his advantage, employing some high-angle shots to cover the action. The rest of the cast are in good form even if the quality of some of the American accents are all over the place. The one thing I wasn't too sure of was the musical score. Instead of traditional incidental music we get The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon (sung by no less than Lynda Baron - yes, Nurse Gladys from Open All Hours) which virtually narrates the whole show. It's different but it get a bit annoying after a while. Other than that, I think The Gunfighters is one of the better stories of the Hartnell era and terribly underrated.

Then on to The Awakening. I'm sure I must have seen this story at some point, but I have no memories of it. Which is a shame because, like The Gunfighters, I've come to the conclusion it's an undiscovered gem of the Peter Davison era. Again, Eric Pringle's script is excellent and you can sense Peter Davison and the cast enjoying themselves with this story. The story's monster, the Malus, is very convincingly realised being a massive face leering menacingly through a church wall. My only complaint is that the ending is rushed but otherwise it was a great two episodes of Doctor Who.

Let's Kill Hitler!

Wow! That was... probably the most insane episode of Doctor Who I've ever seen! And brilliant too! I loved every minute of it.

Doctor Who Series 6.2

Doctor Who makes its return next Saturday (yippee!!!) with the second half of series 6 (or series 6.2 as I'm calling it). Hopefully I'll get my thoughts of Let's Kill Hitler (probably the most lurid title in the shows history) but late next Sunday night. But in the meantime here's a recap of the major plot points of series 6.1

Who and Me

This autobiography of Barry Letts who had a longer association with Doctor Who, having at various times written, directed and produced the show. It covers Barry's early life and career before moving on to his first contact with Doctor Who.

It's an interesting read, especially if you're interested in the efforts that go into producing a series like Doctor Who along with the politics of working for the BBC. Less interesting is Barry's views on Bhuddism which he occasionly goes off on a tangent on. But that's a minor quibble.

This only coveres his time producing Doctor Who up to the end of Jon Pertwee's second series. I'm guessing a second volume was planned, but sadly Barry died in late 2009 just before this book was published.

The War Games

First thing that has to be said is that Patrick Troughton had one of the best Doctor Who title sequences ever. If you haven't seen it here's a clean version below.

Now that that's out of the way, what of the story itself?

In many ways, The Wars Game is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. The last story to feature the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and the last story to be filmed in black and white. It's also the first story to feature (albeit only briefly) the Time Lords.

The War Games has a reputation of being nine episodes of boredom. And then the Time Lords turn up. Having never seen this story before I was able to approach it with fresh eyes.

While it perhaps a few episodes longer than it should be, it is an unfair assessment. The story does hang together really well and the production standards are excellent too, with some pretty nifty direction by David Maloney.

But of course it's episode ten that everyone remembers. The Doctor facing his Waterloo moment as the Time Lord's put him on trial for breaking their most sacred law: non-interference. And he is not found wanting. Patrick Troughton is excellent here, conveying his moral outrage. And then we have to say goodbye to Jamie and Zoe.

Again Fraser Hines and Wendy Padbury are really good. While the Time Lord's have some compassion of not totally wiping their minds, you realise that Jamie will have no memory of meeting Zoe.

And so we come to the end of an era, with the Doctor being exiled to earth and the second Doctor spinning off into oblivion. Ready for the next phase of the programmes development.







Rose



While I was channel surfing last night when I stumbled across a repeat of Rose on UKTV. I came in just as the title character enters the TARDIS for the first time and that wonderful shot where we get to see the new console room in all it's glory. And it got me thinking.  Has it really been six years since Doctor Who made it's comeback? I can remember all too well the anticipation waiting for it to make it's Australia debut; waiting for 7.30 on that Saturday night in May when it did. And then seeing the TARDIS flying hell for leather through the vortex and hearing Murray Gold's strident arrangement on the theme music and thinking IT'S BACK!

While there are bigger episodes in series one (I'm thinking of Dalek and The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances - Steven Moffat's blueprint for the show four years early), Rose is good at what it does: re-introducing the series to a new audience. It's the story of Rose meeting the Doctor and it does it really well.

Christopher Eccelston makes an immediate impact as the Ninth Doctor (his first words are"Run!" which says it all about the Doctor!). Billie Piper manages to brush aside the concerns some people had about her acting ability by making Rose believable and likable (though I still prefer the series one version of Rose to the love-struck teenager of later years). And of course, it's in this episode we're introduced to someone who is possibly the most normal person ever created for Doctor Who. I'm speaking of the one and only Jackie Tyler (take a bow Camille Coduri.) The only weak point in the cast is Noel Clark's Mickey Smith who comes across as wet and unlikeable (and you have to wonder what did Rose see in him?).

It might not be a classic. But it's what brought Doctor Who back better than ever. And for that it'll always be one of my favourite episodes.

The Space Museum & The Chase

Back in 2003, in honour of the programme's 40th anniversary, the ABC began screening every episode of Doctor Who from the beginning (or what they could show considering that a number of the early episodes are missing from the BBC's archives); an admirable task that took just over three years to complete. Shortly after they began this odyssey, the following was overhead in the children's section of the library I was working in at the time.

Kid A: I watched Doctor Who last night. Dad warned me not to expect Star Wars type special effects. But, you know, it wasn't bad!

Kid B: Yeah, it was really good wasn't it!

And this would be been around the time the original Dalek story was being screened. Had they been watching The Space Museum however, I fear they may have formed a different opinion.

Sadly, The Space Museum is not the greatest example of early Doctor Who. It starts off promisingly enough with the TARDIS crew arriving on the planet Xeros before they're actually arrived by jumping a time-track (whatever that is. Probably the earliest example of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff) and the Doctor and company having to figure out what's going on. But at the end of episode 1, time catches up with them and they arrive. And that's when things start to go downhill.

The major problem with this story is that, while the Morok's may have been subjugating the Xerons' for years, no one cares and nothing really happens. Okay, a revolution happens, but that just seems to be incidental. The regular cast put in good performances, but that's it. Ahhh... but what's this gliding into view at the end of episode 4? A very familiar shape. Yes, the Daleks are back! And this time they mean business!

And so we move onto (or cut to) The Chase which involves (perhaps not surprisingly) a chase. Having been defeated twice by the Doctor (in The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth) the Daleks are out for revenge, pursuing the TARDIS through all eternity. And so begins what the Discontinuity Guide call "One of the most bizarre Doctor Who stories, six episodes of unconnected set pieces with only the barest remnant of a plot." But who cares - it's got the Daleks in it!

Actually The Chase is notable for two other things. The first being the one and only appearance of the Mechanoids. As the latest attempt to find the next big thing after the Daleks, the Mechanoids come close to succeeding. However, the fact that they were a little too big for the studios Doctor Who was recorded in at the time effectively killed off any chance of a rematch between them and the Daleks. Just watch the video below to see them in the battle scene from the end of episode 6.

 

The other thing The Chase is notable for is the final appearance of original companions Ian and Barbara. In them, William Russell and Jacqueline Hill created a template for how companions in Doctor Who should be: brave, resourceful and above all real people.  The viewer can't help but as moved by their departure as the Doctor was (buy all reports William Hartnell wasn't too happy in real life either).

So a mixed bag with this release. The extras on The Space Museum are pretty light on (maybe everyone was too embarrassed to talk about it?) but there's more on The Chase. Daleks Conquer and Destroy is the best, analysing their enduring appeal.

Nothing at the End of the Lane

Yes, a Doctor Who blog. Like that hasn't been done before. So why am I starting one?

To be honest I never thought I'd start one. But then I thought I'd never start blogging either.

My love affair with Doctor Who started in the early 1980s when my mother parked me in front of the TV while she went to attend to my baby sister. The story in question was City of Death episode 1. I remember very distinctly my reaction to the cliffhanger: Julian Glover pulls his face off revealing the monster within. I screamed and ran from the room (I like to think that my screams blended in with the radiophonic scream of the closing title music. It probably didn't, but it's a nice image at any rate). I must have come back the next night because I've been hooked ever since (of course, now that I'm older I have watched City of Death several times since and can appreciate it for the classic it is. It's remained one of my favorite stories, not just because it's my first, but also because it's screamingly funny. What else would you expect for a story written by Douglas Adams?).

So, why the blog? I did think of covering Doctor Who from time to time in my other blog. But every second post would have had a Doctor Who reference in it. So I decided to spin my obsession off into a blog of itself own where I could do justice covering all things Doctor Who good, bad or bizarre (I'm still trying to figure out my Karen Gillan was recently found in a New York hotel corridor in the nude. And why did no one take any photo's of this momentous occasion? But I digress).

Shall we being?