081 Planet of Evil

 Started 28-Apr


Well made, well acted, great direction and effects. The lighting is very, very good indeed. Imaginative script but the science is somewhat confused.

The trope count is pretty high. The Tempest (the ship visiting a far off island to to investigate some lost expedition), Forbidden Planet (the spaceship, the monster from the id), Jekyll and Hyde (Sorenson's transformation), Space 1999 (the rubbish about anti-matter)

The jungle set in p1 is magnificent but it defaults to studio whenever the dialogue starts and is gone never to return by p3.

The last ep has some hard to explain plot twists.

• How does accelerated neutron radiation cause "anti-man" to duplicate many times?
• How does the antimatter create an elastic gravitational drag back to Zeta Minor?
• How do we explain the mineral sample behaviour? 
• What is the stuff in the bottle that dissolves it into star filtered photographic effects? 
• How is it safe to drink? 
• When the Doctor dissolves some on the bench does this convert the substance into non-anti matter? Is the leftover product (ash?) returned to the container? If not doesn't that violate the "return all the antimatter to the planet" rule? If so why doesn;t the reaction continue (albeit more slowly) in the canister?
• Ho does the Id monster communicate? How does the Doctor establish the anti matter return deal? Is this governed by Zeta Minor laws or customs? Is there more than a physics reason for the mineral sample behaviour?

Tom is great in this. He is revelling now as the Doctor. His character has grown into a confident, dark, seriously moody guy... the script helps with some good lines. Again the new Doctor uses a gun (with some justification I guess) and lets people die without
Dialogue triumph

DOCTOR: For a time, but it set up a cycle of chemical change. There's no way back, Sorenson. You've reached the point where your tissues are so monstrously hybridised that the next metabolic change could be the final one.
SORENSON: No.
DOCTOR: There isn't much time.
SORENSON: No!
DOCTOR: You and I are scientists, Professor. We buy our privilege to experiment at the cost of total responsibility.


Elizabeth has a dead set "man of the match" performance in this. Those bits with the 'icy suction' feeling are chillingly effective (she makes it so believable) and the funny, quirky bits show confidence and cool.


SARAH: Let's go, shall we?
DOCTOR: How?
SARAH: Through the window.
DOCTOR: They're magnetically locked.
SARAH: But the power is low.
(The Doctor goes to the window and starts to push the pane downwards.)

Frederick Jaegar's return to DW (he was in The Savages 1966) is very good. Frederick's Professor Sorenson performance is very strong and affecting, his distracted avoidance of reality is convincing.

VISHINSKY: You all right, Professor?
SORENSON: Oh, yes. It's nearly dawn. The days are quite safe.
VISHINSKY: But how are you? Galactic Mission Control received no word from you. They sent us to investigate.
SORENSON: I'm well. I'm more than well. My theory about Zeta Minor has proved to be true. Only last night I made the vital discovery in Sector five.
VISHINSKY: Where are the others?
SORENSON: Baldwin returned to the base last night. He was suffering from, from fatigue. He'll be fine now. Come, I'll show you the way.
VISHINSKY: There were eight in your expedition.
SORENSON: Yes, we've had difficulties. Conditions are hard. We've lost some, but the important thing is the mission has been a success. We found what we came to find.
VISHINSKY: How many have you lost?
SORENSON: He'll be fine now. It's just tiredness. He needs a good rest. It's not far.

Jaegar and Ewen Solon (a sort of 2nd division version of David Niven and not half bad either) make this and several other potentially dodgy scenes into acting gold.

As for the others...The acting's a bit variable.
Prentis Hancock as Salamar probably makes the biggest mistakes... just a little too strident.

How weird are the Morestran crew? Even Forbidden Planet had Anne Francis....Those shirts and the hairy chests on a long space voyage....Maybe that's what makes 'em so strange? (I'm kidding...)


Notably I think this may the FIRST time the Doctor uses the TARDIS in a 'short hop' to solve the plot. Specifically the TARDIS transfers from the spaceship to the minesite pool and back to return the Antiman.

Up to this point the TARDIS has been a method of transport to get into each story (any story not on Earth), occasionally its lack of proximity a reason why they can't escape (War Games)
There have been short trip uses of the TARDIS in The Green Death (ep1) and mid story transfers of location (Planet of the Spiders p3, Evil of the Daleks p6, Daleks Masterplan p5 etc.)
But the writers have not before this resorted to using the TARDIS to cheat. Maybe they should have? Imagine how much quicker Marco Polo might have been if the Doctor decided on short trips?

This plot device (literally so) gets way overused in the 80's and it bugged me everytime I saw it. That and not locking the TARDIS door on the way out..... Rant mode cancel.


To be real this is moody and effective and probably stands up quite ok.

It's main problem is comparison to its neighbours..

In Series 13, it's in 5th place because the 4 ahead of it are so damn good.


ABM Rating 3.21/4.00
LJM Rating 3.80/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.30/10   

No. 18 (out of 81)


Link to Cumulative Rankings

Rankings Scoreboard

080 Terror of the Zygons

 Started 27-Apr


We watched the DVD on the big screen with info text, all in one go.

This is the best directed DW serial so far.

Douglas is back and so is the ECU and the directed action. New is the lighting. Not just the red/green in the Zygon spaceship but the mist greenish cast in nearly every inside shot that suggests cold, misty Scottish highlands (or something). It's subtle but it's there.

Take p2. After the end of  ep cliffhanger (which revealed the Zygon with a crash zoom as it lunged for Sarah).  The whole ep just hums.

Consider these images:

• The Doctor's head as he looks out the medical unit window.
• The full profile shot of the Zygon with shadow cast on the wall behind as it locks the decompression chamber door.
• The hypno scenes... 
• the shots of Sarah looking for Harry in the barn
• The UNIT soldier in the impenetrable mist as he hears the Skarasen.
• The lingering hand of the crushed UNIT soldier.
• The way the recall device moves on the table and the camera defocusses to Sarah's reaction.
• The approach/retreat follow shots of the Doctor as he run across the moor being pursued by the Skarasen.

Reading this you do not have to look these up. They're seared into your brain. This is the way great direction works.

According to the stories of those who worked on the show, the main ingredient of this was hard work and continuous insistence on making lighting and sets line up in shots properly. There seems to be some of the 'it's only DW so who cares' attitude being vanquished here (albeit intermittently).

There are some visual effects problems. The Skarasen and the spaceship and the way Broton's undies are showing when he dies in p4. Less well recognised is the oil rig and the way the doors in the Zygon spaceship aren't quite big enough for the Zygons.... This is all down to the budget not the work. Better are the Zygon spaceship control panels, especially the lighting and lighting design, the monster tootth cast and the various explosions. The clever use of the model Zygon spaceship on location is only obvious when it's pointed out.

The costumes of the Zygons are (otherwise) a triumph. The voices... are spectacularly chilling. There is a strong case for arguing these are the best rubber suited monsters ever filmed.
They look scary, they sound scary, they act scary. They are ridiculous if you look hard.but they are simultaneously visually arresting and allow the actor to go completely over the top. The costumes allow the actors to act and look convincing... that double is almost unprecendented even in modern CGI fuelled movies. Best in a notoriously risible form but best nonetheless.

The soundtrack (music by Geoffrey Burgon, special sound by Dick Mills and BBC RW) is right on the spot. My favourite is the sequence in p3 when Sarah inadvertently gains access to the Zygon spaceship.

Performances are outstanding. John Woodnutt is excellent as the Duke/Broton. Tony Sibbald is good as Huckle, Angus Lennie convincing as Angus, Lillias Walker chilling as Sister Lamont, Ian Marter is great as Harry. The cast is relatively small but well used. Liz Sladen makes good work of a mostly limited role. Nick Courtney is solid in his ast appearance for the 70's. Tom Baker is on form. He's cheeky with Broton and yet serious with the fears of others. It's all good.

The story has one slight issue for mine. Why are the Zygons suddenly motivated to go homicidal and take over the world? They've been dormant/hiding in the Loch for 100's of years. Why now? Did something provoke them? The question is not asked or answered. Nearest related is the dialogue early in p3 where the Doctor speculates the Oil company medical centre has been built in the area that the Skarasen habitually uses for an overland shortcut to the sea.

There are some tiny problems with this story but they just demonstrate that nothing is perfect. Series 13 has started with a strong story. Will anything beat it. Well...


ABM Rating 3.73/4.00
LJM Rating 4.40/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.81/10   

No. 4 (out of 80)

Link to Cumulative Rankings

Rankings Scoreboard

079 Revenge of the Cybermen

 Started Tu 23-Apr


Altogether more disappointing than the previous few stories.

First 2 parts are more appealing than the last 2.

Mostly this is due to the Cybermen's mis-portrayal as faux-villain robot men. Partly this is down to Chris Robbie's performance (hands on hips and strange mid-Atlantic accent) but the scripted dialogue is full of irony and sardonic comments, even some similes.

Other acting is a mix of good and less good. Surprisingly David Collings and Kevin Stoney are hammy and less than credible as Vogans. Adding to this surprise is Michael Wisher hiding as Magrik too. Perhaps some blame for this can be layed on the crappy masks? Given the Davros factor from the previous story (next in production) this shows that masks and mask acting is toss up whether it works so should be approached carefully and used more sparingly.

Ronald Leigh Hunt and William Marlowe are stylish and war film tough as Stevenson and Lester. Jeremy Wilkin as Kellman is memorable but the character seems disposed of wastefully at the end of p3.

Location filming is impressive but is less than well used since successive shots are location film, studio video, location film etc. This jars awfully. Set decoration on Voga is nice but overall design is pedestrian.

The plot is hackneyed. The motivations of various characters do not stand up to logical scrutiny. (What is the Cybermen's original aim? Why don't the Vogans exploit their goldy/money position better (e.g. be more like Switzerland)?

The writing is poor due to the way the script was developed. Like Invasion of the Dinosaurs last series this has suffered from excessive rewrites. This should be recognised as a red flag for "sh*t" story. Maybe it should have been scrapped and something else tried. Presumably this was not done in order to pursue the re-use of the Ark in Space sets to save costs.

Series 12 is done. It's got a high average due to 2 very good stories in the (to date) lowest ep count series yet. Series 7 was like this too.

The new production team of Hinchcliffe and Holmes are well established but they have shown with Revenge... that they are capable of a mis-step if they let it happen.


ABM Rating 2.60/4.00
LJM Rating 2.25/5.00
SPJ Rating 6.35/10   

No. 58 (out of 79)

Link to Cumulative Rankings


Rankings Scoreboard

078 Genesis of the Daleks

Started 15-Apr

We watched the Blu Ray.

Well this is it. The summit, the peak of classic DW according to some other polls. (#3 in DWM 474 50th Anniversary poll of 2014 and the Mighty 200 Poll of 2009... and no1 in the DWM 254 1998 Poll ...see below)


There are lots of things in this DW serial which are excellent.


The lighting, the costumes, the music. All really, really good. There are few coloured characters and no sign of any Kaled female roles, there's a structural problem in the narrative in p3 and 4 but this is quibbling and unimportant.

I'm personally not sold on the idea that this is the greatest ever DW story because the theme is actually very un-Doctor Who-ish.

The story is about the Genesis of the Daleks. The horrible, machine creatures are created deliberately and with thought and skill by a desperate group led by the megalomaniac Davros in the belief that this was their method of salvation from extinction. As self delusional as this motivation might or might not be it is at least seriously sincere.

Ultimately the Kaleds and the Scientific Elite in the bunker are annihilated by this project and the Daleks survive. The Doctor's mission actually fails. The future is not saved. The cost not even reduced.

What did we learn? Not much. What did we see and hear? The Genesis of the terrible Daleksand we met the truly sensational, terrifying Davros. Which is a ride that's worth it I guess.

It is good that a DW story does not end happily but the net gain from this initiative is The Time War. If I was the Doctor I'd have told that Time Lord in p1 that "you can't rewrite history" and asked to teleported back to Nerva Beacon.

But the whole idea seems misconceived.

So what is this about? Fascist domination is inevitable? And there's nothing anyone can do about it? Apart from set aside your differences and fight terrible wars for "what you know is right"? And probably lose them? What does this piece recommend or suggest anyone should do about this problem? Um....

That's worse than bleak, it's devastating and defeatist. DW is meant to be more hopeful and less nihilistic. DW is meant to show us that there is a solution to the problems of the world/universe not deny that it's possible.

I marked it down several tenths of a point for this.




ABM Rating 3.49/4.00
LJM Rating 4.30/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.34/10   

No. 9 (out of 78)

Link to Cumulative Rankings


Rankings Scoreboard

---

2014

http://doctoroo.blogspot.com/2014/06/from-doctor-who-magazines-first-50.html

DWM 2014 Survey: Full List of Results
From Doctor Who Magazine's 'The First 50 Years' poll - Issue 474


001. The Day of the Doctor (11)
002. Blink (10)
003. Genesis of the Daleks (4)
004. The Caves of Androzani (5)
005. City of Death (4)
006. The Talons of Weng-Chiang (4)
007. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (9)
008. Pyramids of Mars (4)
009. Human Nature/The Family of Blood (10)
010. Remembrance of the Daleks (7)
011. The Robots of Death (4)
012. The War Games (2)
013. Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (9)
014. Terror of the Zygons (4)
015. Dalek (9)
016. The Web of Fear (2)
017. The Eleventh Hour (11)
018. Inferno (3)
019. The Power of the Daleks (2)
020. The Seeds of Doom (4)
021. The Deadly Assassin (4)
022. The Ark in Space (4)
023. The Tomb of the Cybermen (2)
024. Earthshock (5)
025. The Five Doctors (5)
026. The Curse of Fenric (7)
027. Vincent and the Doctor (11)
028. Spearhead From Space (3)
029. The Girl in the Fireplace (10)
030. The Green Death (3)
031. Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (10)
032. Horror of Fang Rock (4)
033. The Invasion (2)
034. The Evil of the Daleks (2)
035. The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (10)
036. School Reunion (10)
037. The Doctor's Wife (11)
038. The Dæmons (3)
039. Turn Left (10)
040. The Name of the Doctor (11)
041. The Brain of Morbius (4)
042. The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang (11)
043. The Waters of Mars (10)
044. Midnight (10)
045. Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (10)
046. The Daleks (1)
047. The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1)
048. The Daleks' Master Plan (1)
049. Asylum of the Daleks (11)
050. Doctor Who and the Silurians (3)
051. The Three Doctors (3)
052. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (10)
053. The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone (11)
054. The Time Warrior (3)
055. Utopia - Last of the Time Lords (10)
056. The Enemy of the World (2)
057. The Christmas Invasion (10)
058. The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (11)
059. Terror of the Autons (3)
060. The Sea Devils (3)
061. The Aztecs (1)
062. Logopolis (4)
063. Kinda (5)
064. Carnival of Monsters (3)
065. Day of the Daleks (3)
066. Father's Day (9)
067. The Angels Take Manhattan (11)
068. The Snowmen (11)
069. Fury from the Deep (2)
070. Revelation of the Daleks (6)
071. The Fires of Pompeii (10)
072. Rose (9)
073. The Mind Robber (2)
074. The Stones of Blood (4)
075. Enlightenment (5)
076. The Mind of Evil (3)
077. The Time Meddler (1)
078. An Unearthly Child (1)
079. Survival (7)
080. Ghost Light (7)
081. Planet of the Spiders (3)
082. The End of Time (10)
083. The Crimson Horror (11)
084. Marco Polo (1)
085. The Tenth Planet (1)
086. The Unquiet Dead (9)
087. The Abominable Snowmen (2)
088. A Good Man Goes to War (11)
089. Tooth and Claw (10)
090. The Lodger (11)
091. The Girl Who Waited (11)
092. Planet of Evil (4)
093. The Curse of Peladon (3)
094. The Keeper of Traken (4)
095. The Time of the Doctor (11)
096. The Ambassadors of Death (3)
097. A Christmas Carol (11)
098. The Androids of Tara (4)
099. Resurrection of the Daleks (5)
100. The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1)
101. The Hand of Fear (4)
102. The Unicorn and the Wasp (10)
103. The Ribos Operation (4)
104. The Masque of Mandragora (4)
105. Amy's Choice (11)
106. Partners in Crime (10)
107. The Shakespeare Code (10)
108. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (7)
109. State of Decay (4)
110. The Visitation (5)
111. Smith and Jones (10)
112. Snakedance (5)
113. The Moonbase (2)
114. The Pirate Planet (4)
115. Warriors' Gate (4)
116. Robot (4)
117. Mawdryn Undead (5)
118. The God Complex (11)
119. Hide (11)
120. The Bells of Saint John (11)
121. Castrovalva (5)
122. Image of the Fendahl (4)
123. Planet of the Daleks (3)
124. Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel (10)
125. Planet of the Ood (10)
126. The Seeds of Death (2)
127. Frontier in Space (3)
128. The Crusade (1)
129. The Wedding of River Song (11)
130. The Face of Evil (4)
131. The Romans (1)
132. Cold War (11)
133. The War Machines (1)
134. The End of the World (9)
135. Vengeance on Varos (6)
136. Gridlock (10)
137. Invasion of the Dinosaurs (3)
138. The Two Doctors (6)
139. The Claws of Axos (3)
140. The Sontaran Experiment (4)
141. The Ice Warriors (2)
142. The Faceless Ones (2)
143. Full Circle (4)
144. The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky (10)
145. The Myth Makers (1)
146. The Android Invasion (4)
147. Frontios (5)
148. Death to the Daleks (3)
149. The Next Doctor (10)
150. The Macra Terror (2)
151. Let's Kill Hitler (11)
152. Doctor Who (8)
153. The Runaway Bride (10)
154. Destiny of the Daleks (4)
155. The Awakening (5)
156. Black Orchid (5)
157. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (11)
158. Voyage of the Damned (10)
159. Battlefield (7)
160. Revenge of the Cybermen (4)
161. Planet of Fire (5)
162. The Sun Makers (4)
163. A Town Called Mercy (11)
164. The Power of Three (11)
165. Closing Time (11)
166. The Highlanders (2)
167. The Vampires of Venice (11)
168. The Trial of a Time Lord (6)
(The Ultimate Foe (6))
169. Mission to the Unknown (1)
170. The Reign of Terror (1)
171. The Rescue (1)
172. The Happiness Patrol (7)
173. Aliens of London/World War Three (9)
174. The Leisure Hive (4)
(Mindwarp (6))
(Terror of the Vervoids (6))
175. The Chase (1)
176. 42 (10)
177. The Wheel in Space (2)
178. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (11)
179. Boom Town (9)
180. The Doctor's Daughter (10)
181. New Earth (10)
182. The Mark of the Rani (6)
183. The Edge of Destruction (1)
184. The Ark (1)
185. The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People (11)
186. The Beast Below (11)
187. Attack of the Cybermen (6)
188. The Invasion of Time (4)
189. Night Terrors (11)
190. Nightmare of Eden (4)
191. Planet of the Dead (10)
192. The Keys of Marinus (1)
193. Victory of the Daleks (11)
194. The Smugglers (1)
195. The Idiot's Lantern (10)
196. The Invisible Enemy (4)
197. The Celestial Toymaker (1)
198. The Savages (1)
199. Colony in Space (3)
200. The Lazarus Experiment (10)
(The Mysterious Planet (6))
201. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (11)
202. The Gunfighters (1)
203. Nightmare in Silver (11)
204. The Armageddon Factor (4)
205. The Long Game (9)
206. Silver Nemesis (7)
207. The Krotons (2)
208. Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution ofthe Daleks (10)
209. Terminus (5)
210. Galaxy 4 (1)
211. The Creature from the Pit (4)
212. The Power of Kroll (4)
213. The Mutants (3)
214. Planet of Giants (1)
215. Dragonfire (7)
216. The Monster of Peladon (3)
217. Delta and the Bannermen (7)
218. Four to Doomsday (5)
219. The Web Planet (1)
220. Love & Monsters (10)
221. Arc of Infinity (5)
222. The Time Monster (3)
223. The Horns of Nimon (4)
224. The Underwater Menace (2)
225. The Sensorites (1)
226. Warriors of the Deep (5)
227. The Curse of the Black Spot (11)
228. The King's Demons (5)
229. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (11)
230. Paradise Towers (7)
231. Meglos (4)
232. The Space Museum (1)
233. The Rings of Akhaten (11)
234. The Dominators (2)
235. The Space Pirates (2)
236. Underworld (4)
237. Time-Flight (5)
238. Timelash (6)
239. Time and the Rani (7)
240. Fear Her (10)
241. The Twin Dilemma (6)

This includes the four indiviual segments of The Trial of a Time Lord. Where they'd appear on the list. As in 2009, the entire Trial, it seems, is greater than the sum of its parts!

---

2009

https://gallifreymatrix.fandom.com/wiki/The_Mighty_200

The Mighty 200

In 2009, Doctor Who Magazine released a survey called the Mighty 200. The results are shown below:

1. The Caves of Androzani
2. Blink
3. Genesis of the Daleks
4. The Talons of Weng-Chiang
5. The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
6. Human Nature/The Family of Blood
7. Pyramids of Mars
8. City of Death
9. The Robots of Death
10. Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways
11. The Girl in the Fireplace
12. Turn Left
13. The Stolen Earth/Journey's End
14. Remembrance of the Daleks
15. Dalek
16. The Seeds of Doom
17. Terror of the Zygons
18. The Evil of the Daleks
19. Earthshock
20. The Deadly Assasin
21. Power of the Daleks
22. Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday
23. The Web of Fear
24. Silence in the Library
25. The Tomb of the Cybermen
26. Horror of Fang Rock
27. Last of the Time Lords
28. The Ark in Space
29. The War Games
30. The Curse of Fenric
31. The Invasion
32. Inferno
33. School Reunion
34. The Daemons
35. The Impossible Planet
36. Spearhead from Space
37. The Daleks
38. The Five Doctors
39. The Green Death
40. The Brain of Morbius
41. Fury from the Deep
42. The Dalek Masterplan
43. Midnight
44. The Dalek Invasion of Earth
45. Doctor Who and the Silurians
46. Revelation of the Daleks
47. The Time Warrior
48. The Christmas Invasion
49. Father's Day
50. The Sea Devils
51. Terror of the Autons
52. Tooth and Claw
53. Logopolis
54. The Unquiet Dead
55. The Tenth Planet
56. The Fires of Pompeii
57. The Aztecs
58. The Three Doctors
59. The Abominable Snowmen
60. The Mind Robber
61. An Unearthly Child
62. Carnival of Monsters
63. Rose
64. The Shakespeare Code
65. Marco Polo
66. Smith and Jones
67. The Stones of Blood
68. Rise of the Cybermen
69. Kinda
70. The Keeper of Traken
71. Day of the Daleks
72. Enlightenment
73. Image of the Fendahl
74. Gridlock
75. The Time Meddler
76. Ghost Light
77. The Visitation
78. The Ice Warriors
79. Planet of the Ood
80. Survival
81. Warriors' Gate
82. The Curse of Peladon
83. The Unicorn and the Wasp
84. Planet of Evil
85. The Masque of Mandragora
86. The Massacre of St. Bartholemew's Eve
87. State of Decay
88. Castrovalva
89. Planet of the Spiders
90. Ambassadors of Death
91. The Sontaran Stratagem
92. The Mind of Evil
93. Resurrection of the Daleks
94. The End of the World
95. The Androids of Tara
96. The Hand of Fear
97. The Romans
98. Partners in Crime
99. Planet of the Dead
100. The Crusade
101. Full Circle
102. Mawdryn Undead
103. The Sontaran Experiment
104. Frontios
105. The Ribos Operation
106. Robot
107. The Next Doctor
108. The War Machines
109. The Pirate Planet
110. The Awakening
111. The Seeds of Death
112. The Moonbase
113. Frontier in Space
114. Voyage of the Damned
115. The Runaway Bride
116. The Face of Evil
117. Black Orchid
118. Planet of the Daleks
119. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
120. Snakedance
121. Destiny of the Daleks
122. The Faceless Ones
123. The Android Invasion
124. Vengeance on Varos
125. The Two Doctors
126. The Myth Makers
127. The Rescue
128. Death to the Daleks
129. The Claws of Axos
130. Revenge of the Cybermen
131. Invasion of the Dinosaurs
132. Aliens of London
133. Mission to the Unknown
134. Planet of Fire
135. Doctor Who: The TV Movie
136. 42
137. The Macra Terror
138. The Idiot's Lantern
139. The Enemy of the World
140. The Doctor's Daughter
141. Boom Town
142. The Trial of a Time Lord
143. New Earth
144. The Reign of Terror
145. The Highlanders
146. Battlefield
147. The Sun Makers
148. Mark of the Rani
149. The Leisure Hive
150. The Lazarus Experiment
151. The Celestial Toymaker
152. Evolution of the Daleks
153. Love and Monsters
154. The Ark
155. The Invasion of Time
156. The Wheel in Space
157. The Chase
158. The Edge of Destruction
159. The Smugglers
160. The Keys of Marinus
161. Attack of the Cybermen
162. The Savages
163. Planet of Giants
164. The Invisible Enemy
165. The Long Game
166. The Krotons
167. Nightmare of Eden
168. The Armageddon Factor
169. Terminus
170. The Happiness Patrol
171. Colony in Space
172. Galaxy 4
173. Four to Doomsday
174. The Power of Kroll
175. The Gunfighters
176. Silver Nemesis
177. Arc of Infinity
178. The Web Planet
179. The Monster of Peladon
180. Delta and the Bannermen
181. The King's Demons
182. The Mutants
183. The Sensorites
184. The Creature from the Pit
185. Warriors of the Deep
186. Dragonfire
187. The Time Monster
188. Meglos
189. The Horns of Nimon
190. The Space Museum
191. The Dominators
192. Fear Her
193. Paradise Towers
194. The Underwater Menace
195. The Space Pirates
196. Time-Flight
197. Underworld
198. Time and the Rani
199. Timelash
200. The Twin Dilemma

---

1998

https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/DWM_265

The 265th issue of Doctor Who Magazine was released on 7 May 1998.

This issue was notable for displaying the results of the first series-wide poll to declare the favourite episode of all Doctor Who episodes aired at the time. Genesis of the Daleks received the honour of being the first serial chosen by fans as the best. Conversely, The Twin Dilemma suffered the unfortunate distinction of coming in at the very bottom of the polls.

1 Genesis of the Daleks
2 The Talons of Weng-Chiang
3 The Caves of Androzani
4 Pyramids of Mars
5 The Robot of Death
6 Remembrance of the Daleks
7 City of Death
8 The Tomb of the Cybermen
9 The Evil of the Daleks
10 The Web of Fear
11 The Deadly Assassin
12 The Curse of Fenric
13 The Seeds of Doom
14 Inferno
15 Spearhead from Space
16 The Invasion
17 Earthshock
18 The Power of the Daleks
19 Logopolis
20 The Ark in Space
21 Horror of Fang Rock
22 The Daleks
23 The Five Doctors
24 Doctor Who and the Silurians
25 Terror of the Zygons
26 The Tenth Planet
27 The Dæmons
28 Fury from the Deep
29 The Ice Warriors
30 The Abominable Snowmen
31 The War Games
32 The Keeper of Traken
33 The Three Doctors
34 Revelation of the Daleks
35 Terror of the Autons
36 The Green Death
37 Ghost Light
38 The Brain of Morbius
39 The Dalek Invasion of Earth
40 The Sea Devils
41 The Aztecs
42 Warriors' Gate
43 The Masque of Mandragora
44 The Daleks' Master Plan
45 State of Decay
46 The Visitation
47 Kinda
48 Resurrection of the Daleks
49 Castrovalva
50 The Two Doctors
51 The Stones of Blood
52 Full Circle
53 The Time Warrior
54 Survival
55 The Mind Robber
56 The War Machines
57 Marco Polo
58 Image of the Fendahl
59 Enlightenment
60 Carnival of Monsters
61 Frontios
62 Black Orchid
63 Frontier in Space
64 The Celestial Toymaker
65 The Mind of Evil
66 The Curse of Peladon
67 The Hand of Fear
68 Planet of the Spiders
69 The Crusade
70 The Sontaran Experiment
71 Planet of Evil
72 Vengeance on Varos
73 The Ambassadors of Death
74 100,000 BC
75 The Moonbase
76 Mawdryn Undead
77 The Pirate Planet
78 Planet of Fire
79 The Faceless Ones
80 The Leisure Hive
81 Day of the Daleks
82 The Androids of Tara
83 The Face of Evil
84 The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
85 Snakedance
86 The Trial of a Time Lord 13-14
87 Robot
88 The Android Invasion
89 Doctor Who (1996)
90 The Ribos Operation
91 The Awakening
92 Attack of the Cybermen
93 The Seeds of Death
94 The Massacre of St Bartholemew's Eve
95 The Sun Makers
96 The Highlanders
97 Battlefield
98 The Time Meddler
99 The Invasion of Time
100 Planet of the Daleks
101 Destiny of the Daleks
102 The Macra Terror
103 The Reign of Terror
104 Shada
105 The Wheel in Space
106 The Keys of Marinus
107 The Trial of a Time Lord 9-12
108 The Mark of the Rani
109 The Enemy of the World
110 Revenge of the Cybermen
111 The Romans
112 The Armageddon Factor
113 Death to the Daleks
114 The Claws of Axos
115 Inside the Spaceship
116 Silver Nemesis
117 The Happiness Patrol
118 Arc of Infinity
119 Mission to the Unknown
120 Invasion of the Dinosaurs
121 The Ark
122 The Smugglers
123 The Chase
124 The Trial of a Time Lord 1-4
125 Planet of Giants
126 The Invisible Enemy
127 Dragonfire
128 The Trial of a Time Lord 5-8
129 Colony in Space
130 The Myth Makers
131 Galaxy 4
132 Terminus
133 The Creature from the Pit
134 The Sensorites
135 The Rescue
136 The Monster of Peladon
137 Nightmare of Eden
138 The Savages
139 Meglos
140 Four to Doomsday
141 The King's Demons
142 The Krotons
143 The Mutants
144 The Web Planet
145 The Time Monster
146 The Power of Kroll
147 Warriors of the Deep
148 The Space Museum
149 The Dominators
150 The Horns of Nimon
151 Delta and the Bannermen
152 The Gunfighters
153 Paradise Towers
154 Underworld
155 Time and the Rani
156 Time-Flight
157 The Underwater Menace
158 Timelash
159 The Space Pirates
160 The Twin Dilemma

077 The Sontaran Experiment

 Started 13-Apr


We watched the Blu Ray version with Info Text.

To me this has always seemed slight. It seems not so much a story as a small cutaway.

Probably this is because there's only two episodes. In recent years we've become used to shorter (45 minute) stories so it seems kind of modern (which is curious.)

Like the previous two parter it has an air of confidence. Tom Baker is settling nicely into his role (despite the location injury troubles). Liz Sladen is confident as the (now) cast veteran. (All of 14 months!!) Ian Marter as Harry has a charming ease to his performance. He could easily be a total joke or a hopeless buffoon but he has so far retained some credible dignity.

Kevin Lindsay is good again as the Sontaran. History shows that he died in April 1975 of the heart condition that ailed him during the shoot (in September 1974) some 6 weeks after broadcast (March 1975).

The Galsecs led by Donald Douglas as Vural are desperate and noisy. Their characters are sketchily and rapidly drawn (by necessity).

The story resolution is the problem with this....

The Doctor decides to engage the Sontaran in a fight.

Umm. Well, that's not really Doctor Who. Trick him with corrupting his experimental data, interrupt his comms with Sontaran military command, flatten his battery, make the terrulian drive robot turn against him, make the Sontaran fall down the hole (he won't be able to climb out, will he?)

No, a stupid hand to hand fight.



ABM Rating 3.10/4.00
LJM Rating 3.80/5.00
SPJ Rating 8.40/10   

No. 19 (out of 77)

Link to Cumulative Rankings


Rankings Scoreboard

076 The Ark in Space

 Started 12-Apr


We watched a Bluray of all 4 parts on HD big screen in one go.

On Bluray you can see *EVERYTHING*:

• The the saw marks on the isolite (and the sets look so damn cheap.)
• reflections of cameras, 
• holes in the curtains, 
• dodgy bits of carpentry and 
• things sticky taped together, 
• bubble wrap, 
• studio hands holding stuff up.

Also you can see the sleepers swallowing and blinking or cardboard cut-outs (look at the upper rows!) and that the cables are corrugated trunking, the props are made of tin bits. the slime trails are glad-wrap covered in more washing-up liquid.

The sound is weird too. There's lots of bits where the audio is overdubbed e.g. whenever the trolley is **moved** in p2 in the cryogenic chamber there is NO dialogue.... the clanky, squeaky wheels are being overdubbed. In p1 there's loads of odd silences too.

But that's not the point.

The point is the atmosphere and the horror. The desperate inevitability of the creepy Wirrn, The fight against the psychological invasion of Noah's very being.. that fight Noah has with the bubble wrap and fairy liquid in the start of p3....not necessarily the first time the idea was used (as pointed out in the DVD Info text) but fresh to DW.

The production team was the dream team. And they did the business. Holmes, Hinchcliffe, Simpson, Murray-Leach, Kidd, James, all of 'em. Job of their lives on a shoddy budget. If only the blinkered Beeb had an idea of what they were doing when they had people making this for them.

---

One little issue is the possible casual rascism... The original script is supposed to say Vira is a black woman. She was not cast that way. The Doctor has a line about 'all races, all creeds' being included in the Ark but Noah has a line about gene pooling and compat evaluation (not clear exactly what that means but it does not sound good) and others about regressives and the "elimination' of regressive factors are mentioned a few times (by Noah in p2).

This is the language of race theory... or at least it sounds like it could be.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_race_theory
They don't mention obvious terms like 'half caste' or 'octoroon' but these scripted lines could be read as a dog whistle by the insidious rascist right. Whether it's intentional or just thoughtless is not easy to judge.

Admittedly this is perhaps a little technical and harsh considering the historical reality of film and TV up to this point in time (1974) but it does seem kinda ugly when it's pointed out.

It would be very regrettable since the story is so inspiring about the future of humanity that this thoughtless casual bigotry might allow this piece to be appropriated by racist sympathizers. That of course might be an objective of race theory sympathizers regardless which is why this is so dangerous. (Is their campaign my responsibility? This is very hard to address sensibly... Ark in Space is not racist... it can't be... this is like wishing in a bad dream... this issue is such a can of worms.)

Classic DW does not have an exemplary record on this issue generally (or others like feminism or class justice) but at least it's trying better than most. Isn't it?

---

Part 3 rocks. No lingering in that one. This is a reliable sign that this is a good story.

I can't pick the best scene but for mine it's either of these two. The Earth High Minister's speech at the start of part 3 or the convo the Doctor has with Noah in part 4.

---

from p3 0m52s

• WOMAN [OC]: Hello, Space Station Nerva. This is the Earth High Minister. The fact that you are hearing my voice in a message recorded thousands of years before the day in which you are now living, is a sure sign that our great undertaking, the salvation of the human race, has been rewarded with success.

• WOMAN [OC]: You have slept longer than the recorded history of mankind, and you stand now at the dawn of a new age. You will return to an Earth purified by flame, a world that we cannot guess at. If it be arid, you must make it flourish. If it be stony, you must make it fertile. The challenge is vast, the task enormous, but let nothing daunt you.

• HARRY: Sounds like a sort of pre-match pep talk.

• WOMAN [OC]: Remember, citizen volunteers, that you are the proud standard bearers of our entire race.

• Of the millions that walk the world today, you are the chosen survivors. You have been entrusted with a sacred duty, to see that human culture, human knowledge, human love and faith, shall never perish from the universe.

• (Noah smashes his green appendage against the console, trying to kill the alien thing.)

• WOMAN [OC]: Guard what we have given you with all your strength.
• And now, across the chasm of the years, I send you the prayers and hopes of the entire world. God speed you to a safe landing.

•  (Vira returns to her duty.)

• HARRY: Well, I bet that did your female chauvinist heart a power of good.
• SARAH: Why?
• HARRY: Well, I mean, fancy a member of the fair sex being top of the totem pole.

---

p4 from 15m42s to 16m52s

• DOCTOR: And if we surrender?
• WIRRN [OC]: I have said. You will be allowed to leave the Ark.
• DOCTOR: The Wirrn hate all humans. Once we step outside this chamber we'd be attacked.
• WIRRN: I am the swarm leader. I guarantee your safety. The Wirrn will spare your lives, but leave the sleepers for us!
• DOCTOR: Noah, listen to me. If there's any part of you that's still human, if you've any memory of the man you once were, leave the Ark. Lead the swarm into space.
• DOCTOR [OC]: That's where the Wirrn belong, Noah. Not on Earth, not where you were born. Remember the wind and the sun, the fields, the blue sky? That's Earth, Noah. It's for the human race. Don't abandon it.
• WIRRN: I have no memory of the Earth.

---

In the first scene there is humanist ideals, political commentary, plot development and character anguish, leadership, inspiration.. even a joke.... it's basically space-Gettysburg Address...

This should be read out at school graduations. Compared to most nationalist declarations and rally cries it knocks 'em very flat indeed.

The second quoted scene... What is this story about. Is it how to live forever? Is it how to survive? No. It's why are you alive? There is something very profound in this.

Russell T Davies has said Robert Holmes sadly only ever wrote genre television. If he'd been writing movies or high drama he would have given Dennis Potter and Harold Pinter a run for their money come awards time.
These are examples of why that is true.


The Ark in Space is a stone cold classic. All time Top 10 easy. Even 44 years on.
(After a countback correction this is the new no.1...)


ABM Rating 3.90/4.00
LJM Rating 4.50/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.90/10   

Peak Ranking No. 1 (out of 76)

Link to Cumulative Rankings


Rankings Scoreboard

075 Robot

 Started 9-Apr

We watched compressed DVD copies of p1 then p2-3 before we realised we have a BLU RAY of this.

We then watched p4 in HD with a HD projector on a big screen.

When CSO disasters are decried they never seem to whine about this. Well they should. Underworld might be misconceived and Green Death might be over quickly (at least) . Even the CSO in Planet of the Spiders or Terror of the Autons is practical Barry.

In p4 of Robot it's crude, crude, crude. And according to the Info Text subtitles it took 6 months to finish.due to scheduling problems. (Sarah's hair length changes from shot to shot...)

The plot concerns the 'desperate' fascist scientists who wanna threaten the word with nuclear missiles because people won't listen to them. This might have been twee and may have been dismissed as cartoon-ey convenience in the 70's but these days sounds like right wing political anti vaxx, anti climate change style propaganda. (You know... the corrupt scientists are manipulating the data to make it seem like there's a problem to keep their grant (under)funding and ruin your lifestyle....  The sort of thing conspiracy theory nut Malcolm Roberts might want to tell you...)

After the previous year's Invasion of the Dinosaurs anti-science screed this show might be leaning heavily towards 21st century right wing propanganda. 

The 'king kong' homage aspect of Robot is desperate, explanatory, post-legitimisation. (In short an attempt at a plausible excuse.) The King Kong thing would *not* be obvious to most of the kids watching. Given (in 1974) that the King Kong movie was 40 years old and the 70's and 00's remakes were yet to surface I think many adults watching would have been unaware of the link also. There was no home video in 1974 and B&W King King would be rarely seen on 70's colour TV.

The metal virus is not a great idea. It kills metal robots real quick but has no effect on metal cars (Bessie) or anything like blood (iron) or bone (calcium). I think a metal virus in active solution would be extremely dangerous to animals and plants.(Hint: it's actually a bucket of soap suds dyed red.)

Hilda Winters as played by Patricia Maynard is good and OTT in her role but the writing is not real deep.

Alec Linstead as Jellicoe is boring.

Ian Marter as Harry is new but underused.

Tom is great right from the off. He nails the new 'crazy' Doctor in a very confident and charismatic way. It develops later into a more serious presentation but will also fall apart when the scripts fall away. We'll get to this. For now, he's great.

Ed Burnham as Kettlewell is wasted. The way the Doctor seems to simultaneously or in rapid succession seek collegial rapport with Kettlewell, he trusts him enough to accept an invitation to visit him after hours, then attacks him as suspicious and dangerous (even though he might have been tricked or coerced by Winters and Jellicoe) and then explain/excuse his role as something of a victim is both confused and confusing. Is he a baddie or not? Is he vacillating? Conflicted? The performance given on screen DOES NOT make it clear. In p3 he's supporting the SRS fascists (or at least condoning their campaign) but in p4 he tries to stop the missile countdown (before he getting killed) so he's probably trying to be a goodie. This is Terrance's fault for writing it this way and Chris Barry's fault for letting it get to the screen. It is a major flaw in the story.

The Robot costume is great. The story is terrible. Other performances are good enough.

Part 1 seems incredibly jokey. Part 2 settles down well into a investigation plot and works well. Part 3 falls apart because of the Kettlewell character problem.. Part 4 is insane. How does the disintegrator gun cause the robot to transform to a giant robot? (It disintegrates everything else... such as toy tanks....) What (apart from, of course it does) makes robots grow large? Eating lots of Robot porridge when they're young? This makes no less sense than Brigadiers using a Disintegrator Gun...

At this point in the DW Marathon I guess the fear is knowing that this is peaking and some of what lies ahead is so disappointing. The half mask rubber aliens will be downgraded. The music will go crappy. The studio lighting will go from cinematic back to 'game show'... The scripts will become trash, the Doctor will be played as a clown.

But occasionally there will be a few dead set classics that make it worth it.

Robot isn't one of them.

ABM Rating 2.30/4.00
LJM Rating 3.00/5.00
SPJ Rating 5.80/10   

No. 52 (out of 75)

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Rankings Scoreboard

074 Planet of the Spiders

Started 4-Apr

What is it about this story that makes it so great?

It has crummy CSO (just about any 'exterior' scene on Metelbelis...)

Hammy acting (John Dearth as Lupton is almost pure ham...)

Crappy acting (Joanna Munro as Neska is an expert at unbelievable delivery...)

Sh*t plotting (the 'chase' in p2 goes on for 14 minutes and could have been skipped if the Spider had mentioned to Lupton that we can teleported the fud outta here just a bit earlier.....)

The visual effects are iffy (especially the spiders), just like DW often is. The electronic effects (the hand sparks) still look ok in 2019.

Padding (the episodes reprises are lo-o-o-ng which is a sign the eps are under-running) again what does the 'chase' in p2 actually achieve apart from filling in most of p2?)

The story depends on psychometry and teleportation and psi-power which is clearly pseudoscientifc nonsense. From Professor 'clairvoyant' Clegg to increase your mental powers to infinity. It's all bullsh*t.

But it is all metaphor... (as all great SF is but this is a very important metaphor.)

Well...

It shows that even the most proud and even the most valorous and good can be wrong and not even realise it.
It shows that 'not all spiders sit on the back'. That 'his compassion protected him' and "as his innocence protected him". These little quotes only have context in the story but the meaning is clear and metaphorical.

The transformation of Tommy, Cho-Je's line about "when everything is new how can anything be a surprise", Tommy's answer to Sarah's question "you're just like everyone else?", "I sincerely hope not" and his heroism in the face of the gang: Keaver, Land, Barnes and Moss is a story strand that most reviewers seem to miss. But it's almost literary level characterisation.

It introduces regeneration (and finally names it).

It concludes a story arc that started three series before in The Daemons. (The crystal, Metebelis 3, the guru, the "magic" in the world.) The story arc concept became Bad Wolf, Saxon, etc etc.

The reprise scene in p6 with inserted extra bits is brainbending direction that works. Barry Letts is a master of this form. This, along with Carnival of Monsters ep2, is a magnificent segment of DW brilliance. It only works in DW. If you repeated bits of the story in ANY OTHER movie then it would be a mistake. Only in DW....


The plot in p6 turns on the DW accepting his responsibility. That is a new way to be a hero. To be honest with yourself when others are grasping greedy, hate filled wretches or misguided fools.

Cormack and Lindsay as the monks are pretty much faultless. Franklin and the coterie of Lett's players (Staines, Burgess, Lodge, Forgione) are believable. The Metebelis peasants are a mostly cliched lot but they are there to serve as plot fodder. Geoffrey Morris as Sabor steals a scene early in p5 with some looks.

The spiders are made by the voices. I wish I could tell which actor is which spider. Maureen Morris, Kismet Delgado, and Ysanne Churchman play the Queen, the spider agent from the end of p1 and the Great One with spine chilling, perfect scariness.

Pertwee and Sladen are just magnificent. They play their roles with conviction and believability. The bit where Sarah fights the Queen Spider and yells that 'she's frightened' is close to the best moment in the show. It's scary but the fight is internal, with herself and anyone, even kids can relate to it.

It is eclipsed minutes later by the confrontation of the Doctor and the Great One.
I don't know how to say it. The prefiguring in p5 is part of the setup, not a vital part but an added bonus.

The script is in iambic pentameter, the scene is filmed in hyper-real CSO, the spider is clearly a puppet. The music is Dudley's best work to date. Pertwee is at his most magnificent, appealing to the liberal, live and let live ethic. The Spider is casually dismissive of this in the most caustic and arrogant way. And then through the same arrogance she is destroyed. The Doctor escapes but pays for it with his life.

This is the top scene in DW history. It is the one that the modern show tries to recreate about once a season. Think the Doctor, Rose and the Daleks in Bad Wolf, think Amy's wedding in The Big Bang, think any speech in Heaven Sent...

---

• DOCTOR: I've brought you the crystal. Now why don't you just take it and leave the humans in peace - both here and on Earth?

• (The GREAT ONE gives a short shriek of insane laughter.)

• GREAT ONE: (Contemptuously.) You think I care for the puny plans of my subjects? Earth? One paltry planet among millions? (Shouts.) Give me the crystal! I thirst for it! I ache for it!
• DOCTOR: Well, why is it so important to you?
• GREAT ONE: You see this web of crystal above my head?
• (Above the GREAT ONE hangs a lattice of blue jewels. It resembles a glowing upturned mountain with a flat open top – the place waiting for the crystal.)
• GREAT ONE: It reproduces the pattern of my brain. One perfect crystal and it will be complete. That is the perfect crystal I need!
• DOCTOR: And then?
• GREAT ONE: My every thought will resonate within the web, and grow in power until...until...until...!

• (The enormous SPIDER'S chant dissolves into another mad laugh. The DOCTOR, breathing heavily as his body starts to die under the effect of the crystal in the cave, tries to reason with the insane giant.)

• DOCTOR: But you've built a positive feedback circuit! You're trying to increase your mental powers to infinity!
• GREAT ONE: Exactly! I shall be the ruler of the entire univerrrrsssseeee!
• DOCTOR: Now listen to me...listen. I haven't got much time left. What you're trying to do is impossible. If you complete that circuit, the energy will build up and up until it cannot be contained. You will destroy yourself!
• GREAT ONE: You waste the little time remaining to you! Even now the cave of crystal is destroying the cells of your body. I will grant you one last favour - you may watch the completion of my triumph before you diiieee!

• (The crystal is suddenly plucked by invisible forces from the DOCTOR'S hand. He watches helplessly as it floats upwards towards the webbed lattice. Pointed upwards, it easily slots into the socket at the base of the lattice. Triumphant, the GREAT ONE'S voice shrieks across the cave, almost not believing that its ambition has been fulfilled...)

• GREAT ONE: I...am...com...plete! Now I am...total power! (Shouts.) All praise to the Great One!
• DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Stop! Stop! Don't you see what's happening to you?!
• GREAT ONE: (Shouts.) All praise to the Great One! All praise to me! Bow down before me, planets! Bow down stars! Bow down o galaxies and worship the Great One! The me! The Great, all-powerful mmmeeee!

• (Suddenly, a red glow starts to emerge from the centre of the GREAT ONE'S body. The creature gives a cry of pure pain, its legs flailing about.)

• GREAT ONE: (Shouts.) I huuuurrrtttt! Help mmmeeee! I am burning! My brain is on firrreee!

• (Looking weak and terrified, the DOCTOR turns and starts to flee from the cave.)

• GREAT ONE: (Shouts.) Heeeellllppp mmmeeee!

• (The very cave is starting to shake as the DOCTOR stops momentarily to gain his bearings and then rushes on.)

---

New No.2
What sort of story will beat this one? What sort of story can beat this one?

Main phase of Doctor Who golden age commence...


ABM Rating 3.93/4.00
LJM Rating 4.35/5.00
SPJ Rating 9.40/10   

No. 2 (out of 74)

Link to Cumulative Rankings


Rankings Scoreboard