Season two gets underway with little suggestion of any change from the
first run, and their dialogue even points to having just left their previous
adventure in France, so no space for a missing adventure in here!
Perhaps it's with the foreknowledge of the next adventure, but I do find
Susan most annoying and I wouldn't mind seeing the back of her really.
I don't know if it's her voice, acting character, but she just grates
on me. I think the whiney nature of the character is not helped by the
fact that she hardly smiles. She seems a very dour sort of person and
if she's not actually shrieking, then she's worrying about what she might
have to shriek at next.
I am struck by how extraordinarily good the sets are for Planet of
Giants. Although there are one or two silly moments were people notice
something that would have been in plain sight all the time, in the most
part the giant surroundings are fantastic, particularly the kitchen sink.
The story is extremely parochial and very unusual for the show in both
the number of guest actors and the nature of the story. It is their only
adventure on contemporary Earth so far in the programme and yet Ian and
Barbara don't seem to dwell on how close they came to getting home. Right
place, right time, wrong size! The series is very focused on adventure
and it doesn't often stop to give any kind of emotional feedback from
the characters aside from what relates to the story.
I don't know whether I noticed it because of my knowledge about the production,
but episode three is very jumpy. I happen to know this is because it is
two episodes chopped down into one, but the plot does make huge leaps
forward which at the time must have seemed relatively pacey, although
God knows how long those last two episodes would have seemed unedited.
The
Dalek Invasion of Earth
From the point of view of someone watching these stories in order, this
story is fascinating. You couldn't imagine a more different adventure
to the quirky, pokey Planet of Giants. The first episode is a
slow build up, but the reveal of the Daleks is fantastic although as with
all modern telly, it was no doubt spoiled by publicity and trailers at
the time! The story is a sprawling epic with countless characters and
set against a backdrop of a completely destroyed Earth. What a shocking
scenario!
Okay so the production values are a little shaky at times, and I don't
know what's happened to the Dalek voices, but the ambition of the serial
is extraordinary. I can't feel I can say too much else about this adventure
which hasn't been said so many times before, except to underline the contrast
between the first two stories of the new season. The Dalek Invasion
of Earth really was the blockbuster of its day.
Susan's departure (seen from the point of view of today's cynical TV execs)
is not surprising. It had been on the cards for a while that Barbara and
Susan were surplus to requirements and although accounts of the time differ,
it seems that only the Doctor and Ian were seen as vital to the show continuing.
Poor David has only known her five minutes and he doesn't know what he's
let herself in for. It's a sombre ending to a sombre story. Although the
humans are victorious against the Daleks, it is at a great cost, and leaves
feeling quite exhausted.
The
Rescue
The Rescue is a fairly light tale. Only a couple of characters are introduced
and despite some potentially disturbing undertones regarding the situation,
it is a gently diverting story involving murder, lies, emotional blackmail
and exploitation.
Koquillian is a disturbing creation and with Tristram Carey's disturbing
metallic score on top, the whole effect is to create one of the show's
more horrific creatures, which therefore makes the revelation that the
monster is not for real all the more interesting. It's a mystery as to
why the Doctor describes the planet's inhabitants in the style of Koquillian's
costume rather than the humanoid appearance which turns up at the end
- methinks the writer had not thought up twist at that point.
But nevertheless, a cute tale which introduces the cute Vicki as played
by Maureen O'Brien. By flashing a bit of leg in the first few minutes,
she achieves what Susan failed to do in the previous two years - provides
something for the dads. She is sweet, and fresh and immediately provides
a new dynamic for the group as she's both outspoken and vulnerable. A
very welcome addition to the crew.
The
Romans
What's great about how the Romans starts is how unusual the beginning
is. In some ways its a shame because this is the first time a new companion
has been introduced, and yet we see nothing of her reaction to the ship
or its surroundings. Whilst this might have been interesting, I find it
more beneficial that there is no tedious acclimatization and she is immediately
just one of the crew. A direct replacement for Susan without the transitional
period.
The rest of the story achieves what it sets out to do and is funny, thrilling
and a bit daft. I found this story much more fun than I did when I was
younger however I still get a pang of relief when I remember that it's
only four episodes, when I always think it's going to be six. The fun
is over, the TARDIS takes off and get's caught in something which starts
to drag it slowly down...
The
Web Planet
The Web Planet gives me great joy and I will defend this story against
any of its detractors. Some viewers are eager to point out that the planetary
backdrops are obviously fake on Vortis, but you never hear the same observation
trotted out when people are discussing the merits of The Aztecs which
also has painfully obvious two-dimensional scenery. Why is it acceptable
to use the wooden rocks on Vortis as ammunition against this ambitious
story, whilst people happily gloss over the polystyrene tomb-stone in
The Aztecs?
This kind of snobbery is exactly the attitude which keeps
the general public from thinking that science fiction is an acceptable
brand of mainstream drama. It's easy to poke fun at a man dressed in a
giant fibreglass ant costume. It's the obvious thing to do. Finding fault
is a very fashionable thing to do in our very media-savvy world. But instead
of asking "how did they ever think that costume would work?",
people should look past the inadequacies of the design and ask the much
deeper questions.
Ludwig Wittgenstein was a philosopher who observed "If
a lion could talk, we would not understand him." I am reminded of
this quote when we are treated to such poetic delights as one of the Optera
saying, "The wall is silent, we must dig with our weapons so that
it speaks more light." This is a struggle of oppression between two
warring factions of giant insects, and our band of human explorers are
caught up in a world unlike anything they've seen before. It's a storyline
so fantastic that it deserves to be enjoyed purely as a concept, and it
prompts you to consider the values, perceptions and day-to-lives of intelligent
aliens who have nothing akin to the technological system we term "civilization."
To draw attention to the technical failings of this story
would be unfair due to the scope of the adventure which has a tragically
low budget. The Web Planet creates a totally alien world with not one
single design-friendly building. The dwellings are gigantic living organisms,
or caves, and it makes the prospect of losing the TARDIS in a setting
so alien is utterly shocking.
The
story is also filled with harrowing moments, such as when one of the Menoptra
has her wings ripped off in the Zarbi prison camp - Oppressors have to
consider such factors on a world where half the inhabitants can fly. Ian's
underground mission to burrow beneath the centre of the parasite invader
is very traumatic, as long as you suspend your belief with as much conviction
as William Russell plays his scenes.
There are people who say that you can't be gripped by a
story without humanoid protagonists. These people are wrong. Are the first
two episodes of The Daleks rubbish because the Thals are yet to arrive?
No. They're excellent because the lack of humanoids makes the world of
the Daleks all the more fascinating. The four-strong TARDIS crew are all
the viewer needs to latch on to and their involvement in the plight of
the insect world is enough to keep me interested.
Vicki has slipped seamlessly into the role of Susan but
the Doctor seems far more protective of this sweet little newcomer than
he ever was of his own flesh and blood. Interesting, but hardly surprising!
Our heroes all save the day - converging in an almost identical
scenario as the aforementioned Dalek story - in order to defeat the evil
menace in a slightly unclear manner, much as in that same Dalek adventure.
Once all is wrapped up, there is a very curious but heart-warming final
scene as the Zarbi play and their larvae squirt water. The grateful survivors
of the Animum rejoice as the time-travelers leave.
I like The Web Planet. So there.
The
Crusade
Back to Earth following amazing alien escapades, and we've landed in a
forest. I have an interest in history, but the precise ins and outs of
Richard III's jaunt to the Holy Land is something I'm a little sketchy
on. I happen to know that the first chequing system was devised for rich
nobelmen who wanted to cross the bandit-ridden territory whilst going
off to fight, and the Knights Templar formed part of the "bank"
which allowed them to recoup their wealth from a stash when they arrived,
based on a certificate which said how wealthy they were. Clever, eh?
But that aside, I'm struggling really. Learning about the relationship
between the English King and his Muslim Counterpart is fascinating. The
dialogue is absolutely superb and the discussion about warmongers and
speakers in episode four verges on the Shakespearian. Most impressive
and enjoyable fare.
It's a fantastic experience watching in order, I must say. You get a totally
different complexion on things. And its lovely when the continuity ties
in. After watching The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans
and The Web Planet, in the story The Crusade Barbara
is asked where she comes from. She replies that she's from a world ruled
by insects, and before that she was from the time of Nero and before that
in Earth's far future. its really nice to hear their recent adventures
all mentioned in one sentence.
King Richard puts me in mind of Marco Polo in his relationship with the
main characters and I enjoyed this story but I can't think of a great
deal to say about it. Following this historical, I'd hazard a guess that
the next trip will take us into the realms of futuristic spaceyness. Sure
enough, our heroes' next journey takes us to...
The
Space Museum
I have mixed feelings about this story. It opens with magnificent promise
and a chilling idea. Something has gone wrong with the TARDIS and somehow
the time travelers haven't fully arrived in this new location. They are
not leaving any footprints, and no-one can hear them. It's a chilling
idea and the horror reaches a crescendo when The Doctor and company find
their future selves trapped in a glass case on display in this space museum.
I have mixed feelings about Vicki too. She is attractive and lively, and
yet doesn't seem to entirely take the situation seriously. Whether this
is the deliberate direction of the series or her acting style, I'm not
sure but somehow she undermines a lot of the potential tension in the
situation. Nevertheless The Space Museum's opening episodes provides
one of the most impressive concepts of the series so far.
Sadly however, this doesn't come to fruition, as the past/future conflict
is just kind of skimmed over as their future versions in the glass case
vanish and they "arrive". The way this scene is shot, and the
incidental music combine to be impressively cinematic and it is tremendously
effective in terms of style, but what we're seeing isn't really in keeping
with what I've been expecting. I thought that in some manner the main
characters would be found to arrive a second time, and they would go through
the process which would cause them to create their footprints and so on.
Maybe that's not important.
A nice aside in the midst of this story is a Dalek, appearing as nothing
more than a museum exhibit, and not for the first time provides a disguise
for one of the main characters.
But as the episodes wear on, there's not a great deal to offer other than
fairly standard political fare with a military coup staged and everyone
lives happily ever after. Even more so than The Sensorites, the
strain of writing something with a science fiction basis seems to take
its toll on the writer. Gone is the Shakespearean quality dialogue and
in return we have quite a few cliches. Nevertheless good fun, but it doesn't
live up to the promise it showed at first.
The story ends with the Doctor stealing a large piece of gear from the
museum and lugging it into the TARDIS. To reflect our heroes' new technology
(although they don't yet know what it does) we the viewer are afforded
a view of something unrelated to the current story and the shocking reveal
is that the Doctor's old enemy, The Daleks are plotting to follow the
TARDIS and exterminate them! A shocking ending to a story which had earlier
teased us with the impotent shell of a Dalek.
The
Chase
Watching these stories in order is really interesting because your opinion
totally changes on stories when you view them in context. The last few
stories have alternated: Future, Past, Future, Past, Future quite rigidly.
So whereas I used to slag off The Chase for being cheap and awful, suddenly
I find it a breath of fresh air. It's a really exciting blend of clips
(Shakespeare, Beatles, etc) and different locations, and comedy and drama.
I have to say, The Chase is amazing!
We learnt lots of interesting things in this adventure, the most significantly
being that the Doctor built the TARDIS himself. Therefore establishing
that he might just be a mad inventor amongst his own people - a pioneer
as he once said before. Combined with the fact that Susan once said she
made up the name TARDIS herself, this clearly suggests that TARDISes are
not commonplace.
The Chase is like the end-of-season finale of its time, cramming
in loads of characters, planets, ideas, special effects, and of course
bringing back the popular Daleks. To have a chase through time is very
dramatic and the idea of time travel is not usually explored in the show.
The final battle with the Mechanoids is extremely impressively put together
(save for a couple of cartoon explosions) and the whole story feels like
an extravaganza of action!
Around this battle ground we meet a new character of Steven.
A rather brash young man with a big chin. He shows a bit of promise but
then kind of disappears at the end of the episode without us finding out
his fate.
This blockbuster of its kind is a fitting
send-off for Ian and Barbara. It's a touching end, but what's quirky is
the fact that they never really say their goodbyes to the Doctor properly.
It's all done off-screen. Their arrival back on Earth is really sweet
but when they find they're two years out, they brush this problem off
very easily! Just as they ignored any implications of leaving their lives
without explanation, they have also ignored the implications of returning
after two years missing!
As these characters leave, I find myself thinking about how little I really
knew about them as people.
The
Time Meddler 9th October 2007
The final story of season two begins with such stark contrast to the previous
story it's quite remarkable. For the last six episodes we had nothing
but murder, explosions, robots, running and excitement. Whereas the first
episode of The Time Meddler finds the TARDIS in the tranquility
of an English shoreline not far from a forest! All is peaceful.. but not
for long!
Steven takes to his new life rather easily. He is sceptical of the TARDIS
but let's not forget he's been a prisoner of robots on a jungle planet
for years and doesn't seem too bothered about his freedom!
The Time Meddler is so different and interesting. A story never
seen before where the Doctor turns up in a place, knowing how things should
be, and is there to protect the natives from his business - rogue time
travelling. Ordinarily he would just be helping against the normal struggles
of oppression, and something like The Crusade has little to distinguish
it from The Space Museum, with the exception that in the latter
there is a satisfactory resolution. This time, we know what should happen
in historical terms, and someone else is there to interfere.
With one less companion, and two experienced ones gone, the Doctor is
more pro-active and more in control of the situation. There is no Ian
to rely on, the man who would normally shout "Doctor, I've got it!"
and solve all their problems.
This story has so much going for it, it's quite mind-blowing. We learn
that other members of the Doctor's (unknown) race are wander around and
our hero is not unique. Quite amazingly, this goes against the fact we
learnt in the previous show that the Doctor built his TARDIS, because
The Monk has his own. Unless maybe the Doctor built all TARDISes?
Following this wonderfully peaceful and revelatory tale, the second season
ends with the final shot reaffirming the three regular cast members with
their faces in the stars, echoing the Doctor's final words from the previous
season - that their destiny is in the stars.
The
story is also filled with harrowing moments, such as when one of the Menoptra
has her wings ripped off in the Zarbi prison camp - Oppressors have to
consider such factors on a world where half the inhabitants can fly. Ian's
underground mission to burrow beneath the centre of the parasite invader
is very traumatic, as long as you suspend your belief with as much conviction
as William Russell plays his scenes.
