Salt of the Earth

At last! A Time Trips story I actually enjoyed. Which is surprising considering it's a Pertwee story. But it was engaging and enjoyable.

The Green Death

           "You disappoint me, Doctor. I should have thought you'd have guessed. I am the BOSS. I'm all around you. Exactly. I am the computer."

Right, all together now... the one with the maggots!

In some way The Green Death is the beginning of the end of the Pertwee era. It's a good story with some good performances (notably the recently departed Jerome Willis) but it's Katy Manning's last story. And Jo gets one of the most emotional leaving scenes for any companion.

I dare anyone to watch that final shot and not feel a lump in the throat.

The other thing I enjoyed about this realise was the inclusion of Death of the Doctor from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Now this is the first time I'd seen a SJA episode and I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful to see Katy again as a much older but still the same Jo Grant. Watching her, Liz and Matt bounce off each other was wonderful. And the final lines where Sarah Jane says she sometimes sees what the Doctor's other companions do once they've returned to Earth was beautiful.

And in what (I think is) the final instalment of The Doctor Forever we hear the story of how Doctor Who came back in 2005 from the woman who made it happen; then Controller of Drama Jane Tranter. If it hadn't been for this woman and her belief in the series there's no way we'd be where we are today.

The Ice Warriors

Here's something you might not know; the name of the floor manager on this story was Snowy White! Rather appropriate for a story set in the ice!

First observation is the animation for the missing episodes two and three is the best I've seen yet. And this is probably the loudest Doctor Who story thanks to Peter Barkworth's constant shouting.

But the best thing is the impressive design for the Ice Warrior's costume, aided by Bernard Bresslaw's performance as the leader Varga. No wonder they became one of the memorable monsters of this era.

The Moonbase

           "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought."

With the exception of the above quote I regret I can find little to like about The Moonbase. There are some other good lines, the film sequences set on the moon are well directed, the redesign of the Cybermen, the first story where Troughton settles down the becomes the Doctor we love. But other than that it's a mess. The real low point has to be when a tea tray is used to plug a hole in the base's structure. And this was a story written by a qualified scientist?

The animation used to recreate the missing first and third episodes is a bit hit and miss too, but at least the story is now complete in some form, even is it isn't that great.