The beginning of the great alliance.
A question. If an episode does not contain the Doctor or his companions, can you officially call it an episode of Doctor Who?
Mission to the Unknown is the prologue story to the saga that is The Dalek's Master Plan. As a stand alone story, it is not bad. On the whole it actually reminded me of an episode of The Twilight Zone, where we have three space travelers from Earth who have crashed on to an alien planet. One is a CIA equivalent who is trying to determine if the Daleks are indeed planning an invasion of Earth. Two of the crew are killed by plants introduced by the Daleks and the agent himself is killed before he can fire the rocket that has the warning message. Meanwhile, the Daleks cement an alliance with six other races to conquer the Earth solar system.
If you treat this the independent story it is, it is quite good. The tension is high and the pacing keeps the story moving. More important, the Daleks are competent and succeed in killing the crew. This is good as it reminds the viewer that the Daleks are to be treated as a credible threat and not as incompetents as they sometimes come off as.
Obviously you wouldn't treat this as a regular Doctor Who episode, but it makes for an interesting space adventure that it wouldn't hurt to watch again.
Overall personal score: 2.5 out of 5
Friday, November 20, 2015
The Girl Who Waited
This isn't fair. You're turning me into you.
The Girl Who Waited is probably my favorite from Series 6. What's also interesting is that it is actually a Doctor-lite story as well.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory land in a hospital facility where normal time is observed but an alternate sped up timeline is also created for the victims of a plague on the planet. The victims are allowed to live what feels like long lives in the span of about a day. Amy is accidentally trapped in a sped up timeline and when the Doctor and Rory go to get her, they overshoot and end up meeting an Amy that has waited thirty-six years for them. She has become angry and bitter. But she agrees to help save young Amy if they will save her too. Young Amy is pulled forward into old Amy's timestream but knocked out in the run back to the TARDIS. Rory brings her in but the Doctor locks old Amy out. He tells Rory that the two Amy's are a paradox and he must choose which one he can save. Old Amy begs him to not let her in and she gives herself over to the sedation robots.
There is so much to enjoy with this episode. It is emotional but not in an overly schmaltzy way. You feel the genuine pain that old Amy has felt in being alone for so long and you sympathize with her in that anger as well as her fear that to rescue her younger self might cause her older self to cease to exist. You also sympathize with Rory who loves Amy no matter what version but must choose to let one die in the end.
Although well structured so that you don't really notice it, it is a good thing that this is a Doctor-lite episode. I enjoy the Eleventh Doctor's whimsy as well as the contrasting seriousness he brings, but in those poignant moments between Amy and Rory, it was important that they be given space and to have the Doctor and his whimsy removed aided in keeping the tone right with it's somber edge.
All the actors did a very good job in this one. Of course, it was a very small cast as besides the main three there was only the central computer (voiced by Imelda Staunton), the robots and the holographic receptionist; none of which had as much screen time and Amy and Rory or even the Doctor. But it was Amy and Rory that carried this episode and they did an excellent job.
I actually did watch this episode again not that long ago and I enjoyed it as much as the first time I watched it. I'd happily go and watch it again at any time.
Overall personal score: 5 out of 5
The Girl Who Waited is probably my favorite from Series 6. What's also interesting is that it is actually a Doctor-lite story as well.
The Doctor, Amy and Rory land in a hospital facility where normal time is observed but an alternate sped up timeline is also created for the victims of a plague on the planet. The victims are allowed to live what feels like long lives in the span of about a day. Amy is accidentally trapped in a sped up timeline and when the Doctor and Rory go to get her, they overshoot and end up meeting an Amy that has waited thirty-six years for them. She has become angry and bitter. But she agrees to help save young Amy if they will save her too. Young Amy is pulled forward into old Amy's timestream but knocked out in the run back to the TARDIS. Rory brings her in but the Doctor locks old Amy out. He tells Rory that the two Amy's are a paradox and he must choose which one he can save. Old Amy begs him to not let her in and she gives herself over to the sedation robots.
There is so much to enjoy with this episode. It is emotional but not in an overly schmaltzy way. You feel the genuine pain that old Amy has felt in being alone for so long and you sympathize with her in that anger as well as her fear that to rescue her younger self might cause her older self to cease to exist. You also sympathize with Rory who loves Amy no matter what version but must choose to let one die in the end.
Although well structured so that you don't really notice it, it is a good thing that this is a Doctor-lite episode. I enjoy the Eleventh Doctor's whimsy as well as the contrasting seriousness he brings, but in those poignant moments between Amy and Rory, it was important that they be given space and to have the Doctor and his whimsy removed aided in keeping the tone right with it's somber edge.
All the actors did a very good job in this one. Of course, it was a very small cast as besides the main three there was only the central computer (voiced by Imelda Staunton), the robots and the holographic receptionist; none of which had as much screen time and Amy and Rory or even the Doctor. But it was Amy and Rory that carried this episode and they did an excellent job.
I actually did watch this episode again not that long ago and I enjoyed it as much as the first time I watched it. I'd happily go and watch it again at any time.
Overall personal score: 5 out of 5
The Mythmakers
It's a bit late to say woe to the horse.
It is very unfortunate that The Mythmakers does not exist, except as recons. This was a very enjoyable story with a nice balance between action and engaging dialogue.
Probably the most enjoyable thing about this story was how real and fleshed out the characters were. Odysseus is a brash and arrogant blowhard who you can't help but enjoy. He would be an entertaining man to have a drink with. Paris is a simpering, upper class prat and provides excellent comic relief without becoming too farcical. Even Cassandra is good. She is shrill and you don't like her, but that is part of the character and it's easy to see how that kind of attitude plays into the legend of her prophecies not being believed.
Even the things I didn't like, I understood. Vicki was being written out of the show so her romance with Troilus is understandable. However, her introduction to Troilus is not shown and the romantic scenes they have afterward seem a little stilted because of that. Maybe it would have been better if it wasn't a recon so that some of the physical acting could be observed, but the romance was not developed as well I would have liked it, certainly to justify leaving Vicki behind.
I would enjoy it greatly if they found this one. I could watch it again although I think I would like to find a better recon if I did. The audio wasn't synced quite right at times. This would also be an excellent candidate for animation treatment. But a good story at the very least.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
It is very unfortunate that The Mythmakers does not exist, except as recons. This was a very enjoyable story with a nice balance between action and engaging dialogue.
Probably the most enjoyable thing about this story was how real and fleshed out the characters were. Odysseus is a brash and arrogant blowhard who you can't help but enjoy. He would be an entertaining man to have a drink with. Paris is a simpering, upper class prat and provides excellent comic relief without becoming too farcical. Even Cassandra is good. She is shrill and you don't like her, but that is part of the character and it's easy to see how that kind of attitude plays into the legend of her prophecies not being believed.
Even the things I didn't like, I understood. Vicki was being written out of the show so her romance with Troilus is understandable. However, her introduction to Troilus is not shown and the romantic scenes they have afterward seem a little stilted because of that. Maybe it would have been better if it wasn't a recon so that some of the physical acting could be observed, but the romance was not developed as well I would have liked it, certainly to justify leaving Vicki behind.
I would enjoy it greatly if they found this one. I could watch it again although I think I would like to find a better recon if I did. The audio wasn't synced quite right at times. This would also be an excellent candidate for animation treatment. But a good story at the very least.
Overall personal score: 4 out of 5
The Idiot's Lantern
HUNGRY!
A middling story can become a very good story with good acting. Conversely, that middling story can become downright bad with poor acting. The Idiot's Lantern had some downright painful acting moments.
The villain of the story is called the Wire and is living inside televisions in an electronics shop. It plans to take over the bodies of people as they watch the coronation of Elizabeth II, which historically was a period where the purchase of televisions increased dramatically. However the Wire exposes itself by feeding early and leaving a small number of faceless people, including Rose. The Doctor learns what the Wire is doing and traps it on a videocassette when it tries to attack during the coronation broadcast.
The set up of the story is fine and there are actually some scary moments, especially with the reveal of the grandmother without a face. The Doctor's pseudo-companion Tommy is a refreshing change from Rose, even if he isn't that memorable. So there were some nice elements to work with.
The wheels started to come off with the Wire though. I don't know if it was the direction or the natural tendency of the actress, but the performance was painfully over the top. Every time she would throw her head back and yell "Hungry!" it was like nails on a chalkboard. Whatever enjoyment I had of the story to that point got thrown right out the window. The resolution of the story also seemed a bit contrived as the Doctor had to climb a radio tower to provide some high-wire tension to the end of the story.
I can't say that I've been inclined to watch this one again. It was a middling set up to start and the performance of the Wire only drove it further down. I'd go out of my way to avoid watching this one again.
Overall personal score: 1 out of 5
A middling story can become a very good story with good acting. Conversely, that middling story can become downright bad with poor acting. The Idiot's Lantern had some downright painful acting moments.
The villain of the story is called the Wire and is living inside televisions in an electronics shop. It plans to take over the bodies of people as they watch the coronation of Elizabeth II, which historically was a period where the purchase of televisions increased dramatically. However the Wire exposes itself by feeding early and leaving a small number of faceless people, including Rose. The Doctor learns what the Wire is doing and traps it on a videocassette when it tries to attack during the coronation broadcast.
The set up of the story is fine and there are actually some scary moments, especially with the reveal of the grandmother without a face. The Doctor's pseudo-companion Tommy is a refreshing change from Rose, even if he isn't that memorable. So there were some nice elements to work with.
The wheels started to come off with the Wire though. I don't know if it was the direction or the natural tendency of the actress, but the performance was painfully over the top. Every time she would throw her head back and yell "Hungry!" it was like nails on a chalkboard. Whatever enjoyment I had of the story to that point got thrown right out the window. The resolution of the story also seemed a bit contrived as the Doctor had to climb a radio tower to provide some high-wire tension to the end of the story.
I can't say that I've been inclined to watch this one again. It was a middling set up to start and the performance of the Wire only drove it further down. I'd go out of my way to avoid watching this one again.
Overall personal score: 1 out of 5
The Reign of Terror
Then tomorrow, the 27th of July, 1794 will be a day for history.
The Reign of Terror was a pretty good historical. In fact, setting aside 100,000 BC, I don't think I've seen a historical I didn't like.
As the title implies, the story takes place at the end of July, 1794 when the Reign of Terror came to an end with the arrest and execution of Maximilien Robespierre, leader of France. Despite this, politics doesn't factor in much as it mostly a cloak and dagger drama involving first the escape from prison and then fulfilling the mission of an English spy in the French government. Episodes four and five are missing, but fortunately have been nicely animated so the story doesn't go through too jarring a shift as recons can be.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. Like most six-parters, it was too long though. This can be blamed principally on the fact that it was William Russell's turn to go on vacation. However, because Ian is the man of action and the de-facto star of the show, he was separated from the group for two episodes and filmed ahead of time for episodes two and three. Had this not been necessary, episodes two and three could have been condensed into one episode with the British spy making himself known to the resistance much sooner than the beginning of episode six.
Actually, I would have liked to have seen more of the machinations that went on in episode six, in which Napoleon is courted by the conspiracy that is overthrowing Robespierre. That was a only a coda which could have been expanded. It is interesting that Barbara makes a note of how amused she is that the people of the time are scrambling to see if they can prevent events that she knows will come to pass and how she learned that lesson in The Aztecs. That might have actually been a more interesting source of conflict if the Doctor and his companions had fallen into the hands of the resistance earlier and were forced to aid them in the attempted prevention of the rise of the three consuls, knowing that this would fail.
Still, there is a good bit of history and drama about this story that is enjoyable. One of the things I couldn't help pick up was the overwhelming use of "citizen" when addressing people. I'm sure there was historical precedent for this but given that this story was made in 1964, it was difficult not to pick up a little Soviet vibe from this; especially given the irony of how everyone was addressed with the same title but clearly still worked in a ranked society.
I would not make this story my first choice of a First Doctor story to watch again, but it was entertaining and flowed fairly well. I could sit down and watch it again without complaint.
Overall personal score: 3 out of 5
The Reign of Terror was a pretty good historical. In fact, setting aside 100,000 BC, I don't think I've seen a historical I didn't like.
As the title implies, the story takes place at the end of July, 1794 when the Reign of Terror came to an end with the arrest and execution of Maximilien Robespierre, leader of France. Despite this, politics doesn't factor in much as it mostly a cloak and dagger drama involving first the escape from prison and then fulfilling the mission of an English spy in the French government. Episodes four and five are missing, but fortunately have been nicely animated so the story doesn't go through too jarring a shift as recons can be.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. Like most six-parters, it was too long though. This can be blamed principally on the fact that it was William Russell's turn to go on vacation. However, because Ian is the man of action and the de-facto star of the show, he was separated from the group for two episodes and filmed ahead of time for episodes two and three. Had this not been necessary, episodes two and three could have been condensed into one episode with the British spy making himself known to the resistance much sooner than the beginning of episode six.
Actually, I would have liked to have seen more of the machinations that went on in episode six, in which Napoleon is courted by the conspiracy that is overthrowing Robespierre. That was a only a coda which could have been expanded. It is interesting that Barbara makes a note of how amused she is that the people of the time are scrambling to see if they can prevent events that she knows will come to pass and how she learned that lesson in The Aztecs. That might have actually been a more interesting source of conflict if the Doctor and his companions had fallen into the hands of the resistance earlier and were forced to aid them in the attempted prevention of the rise of the three consuls, knowing that this would fail.
Still, there is a good bit of history and drama about this story that is enjoyable. One of the things I couldn't help pick up was the overwhelming use of "citizen" when addressing people. I'm sure there was historical precedent for this but given that this story was made in 1964, it was difficult not to pick up a little Soviet vibe from this; especially given the irony of how everyone was addressed with the same title but clearly still worked in a ranked society.
I would not make this story my first choice of a First Doctor story to watch again, but it was entertaining and flowed fairly well. I could sit down and watch it again without complaint.
Overall personal score: 3 out of 5
The Christmas Invasion
No second chances.
The Christmas Invasion was a bit of a bore to me. It wasn't bad, but when you are relying on Rose and Jackie Tyler to carry the plot for 2/3rds of the story, odds are it just won't go that well.
The Doctor has just regenerated and is unconscious. Meanwhile Earth is invaded by the Sycorax who implement mind control over all people with a certain blood type. PM Harriet Jones as well as the TARDIS (containing the Doctor, Rose and Mickey) are captured and taken aboard the Sycorax ship. The Doctor is revived and he breaks the Sycorax control over the hypnotized humans. He then battles the Sycorax leader where his hand is chopped off but he is able to regrow the hand due to being with 15 hours of the regeneration. The Sycorax leader is killed and the Doctor and all humans escape. As the Sycorax ship attempts to retreat, Harriet Jones orders it destroyed. The Doctor is outraged by this that he starts a whisper campaign that ends with Jones' removal from office.
This story felt padded. Since the Doctor was out of commission for so long, there is a painfully slow build up to the confrontation with the Sycorax. Holding some of humanity hostage provides a certain level of tension but the actions of the companions and the government seem like panicked arm flailing while waiting for some one else to save them.
Worse, because of how much time had been spent on the Doctor being out of the action, his actions against the Sycorax made them look like a very weak threat, which is always disappointing. The Doctor shuts them down with ease and his battle with the Sycorax leader, while good, does not pay off the time spent building up.
The fight with the Sycorax leader does give one of my favorite scenes with the Tenth Doctor though. After the Doctor has disarmed the leader, he tells him to honor the fight and leave Earth. He then walks away with Rose. The Sycorax leader instead rises and rushes at him from behind. The Doctor throws an orange, which had been his bathrobe pocket to a button which causes the wing on which they had been fighting to bend and the leader falls to his death. The Doctor doesn't even look at him as he falls, his face goes dark with anger as he mutters, "No second chances." This is glimpse that we are given of the dark side of the Doctor. The Tenth Doctor was the one that let it closest to the surface and it was my favorite aspect of the Tenth Doctor.
A good finish can help a story, but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable to sit through the dull opening bits. You would be just as well served to start 30 minutes into the story. You'd miss very little and would skip the dull parts. That's what I would probably do if I were to pull this up again.
Overall personal score: 2 out of 5
The Christmas Invasion was a bit of a bore to me. It wasn't bad, but when you are relying on Rose and Jackie Tyler to carry the plot for 2/3rds of the story, odds are it just won't go that well.
The Doctor has just regenerated and is unconscious. Meanwhile Earth is invaded by the Sycorax who implement mind control over all people with a certain blood type. PM Harriet Jones as well as the TARDIS (containing the Doctor, Rose and Mickey) are captured and taken aboard the Sycorax ship. The Doctor is revived and he breaks the Sycorax control over the hypnotized humans. He then battles the Sycorax leader where his hand is chopped off but he is able to regrow the hand due to being with 15 hours of the regeneration. The Sycorax leader is killed and the Doctor and all humans escape. As the Sycorax ship attempts to retreat, Harriet Jones orders it destroyed. The Doctor is outraged by this that he starts a whisper campaign that ends with Jones' removal from office.
This story felt padded. Since the Doctor was out of commission for so long, there is a painfully slow build up to the confrontation with the Sycorax. Holding some of humanity hostage provides a certain level of tension but the actions of the companions and the government seem like panicked arm flailing while waiting for some one else to save them.
Worse, because of how much time had been spent on the Doctor being out of the action, his actions against the Sycorax made them look like a very weak threat, which is always disappointing. The Doctor shuts them down with ease and his battle with the Sycorax leader, while good, does not pay off the time spent building up.
The fight with the Sycorax leader does give one of my favorite scenes with the Tenth Doctor though. After the Doctor has disarmed the leader, he tells him to honor the fight and leave Earth. He then walks away with Rose. The Sycorax leader instead rises and rushes at him from behind. The Doctor throws an orange, which had been his bathrobe pocket to a button which causes the wing on which they had been fighting to bend and the leader falls to his death. The Doctor doesn't even look at him as he falls, his face goes dark with anger as he mutters, "No second chances." This is glimpse that we are given of the dark side of the Doctor. The Tenth Doctor was the one that let it closest to the surface and it was my favorite aspect of the Tenth Doctor.
A good finish can help a story, but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable to sit through the dull opening bits. You would be just as well served to start 30 minutes into the story. You'd miss very little and would skip the dull parts. That's what I would probably do if I were to pull this up again.
Overall personal score: 2 out of 5
Thursday, November 19, 2015
The Dominators
Quarks! Attack!
I'm not entirely sure why The Dominators is regarded with such low regard. There are flaws of course, but the overall story is not worth the slag it gets in my opinion.
The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the planet Dulkis where another group of aliens called the Dominators have arrived. The Dominators use robots called Quarks to destroy a watch base and a pleasure tour party, although some survive. The Dominators plan to destroy the planet and convert the minerals into fuel for their own fleet. There is some adventuring where the Doctor and Jamie are captured but manage to trick the Dominators to let them go. They also travel to the capital city but the government refuses to help due to their pacifist nature. The Doctor and Jamie return to the island and organize the survivors into a resistance such that they are able to steal the bomb the Dominators are planning to use. The Doctor plants the bomb on the Dominator's ship where it blows up and he and his companions leave in the TARDIS as the island is buried in a volcanic eruption.
This story does have it's slow moments. It is easily an episode too long and some of the capture and recapture scenes between the Dulkans are a bit too repetitive. I would also argue that nearly all the scenes with the ruling council are unnecessary and are more for a cynical poke at the pacifist culture.
That being said, the Doctor himself is quite good and the bickering between the two Dominators is somewhat (and probably unintentionally) funny. There is an air of two people who have been together for too long, especially since one is a hot head interested only in filling blood lust while the other is trying to actually fulfill his mission.
The Quarks are also a bit undervalued. This might be due to a backlash as the BBC was convinced they would be a new craze like the Daleks were and were pushed a bit too hard. But the Quarks are a reasonable enemy as tools of the Dominators. They worked well in the action scenes, which also were an enjoyable part of the story.
Is this a classic story? No. It's entertaining in a bit of a silly way that just seems to work for me. I would take a number of Second Doctor stories over this one, but I think it works well enough and would watch it over again if in the right mood.
Overall personal score: 2 out of 5
I'm not entirely sure why The Dominators is regarded with such low regard. There are flaws of course, but the overall story is not worth the slag it gets in my opinion.
The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive on the planet Dulkis where another group of aliens called the Dominators have arrived. The Dominators use robots called Quarks to destroy a watch base and a pleasure tour party, although some survive. The Dominators plan to destroy the planet and convert the minerals into fuel for their own fleet. There is some adventuring where the Doctor and Jamie are captured but manage to trick the Dominators to let them go. They also travel to the capital city but the government refuses to help due to their pacifist nature. The Doctor and Jamie return to the island and organize the survivors into a resistance such that they are able to steal the bomb the Dominators are planning to use. The Doctor plants the bomb on the Dominator's ship where it blows up and he and his companions leave in the TARDIS as the island is buried in a volcanic eruption.
This story does have it's slow moments. It is easily an episode too long and some of the capture and recapture scenes between the Dulkans are a bit too repetitive. I would also argue that nearly all the scenes with the ruling council are unnecessary and are more for a cynical poke at the pacifist culture.
That being said, the Doctor himself is quite good and the bickering between the two Dominators is somewhat (and probably unintentionally) funny. There is an air of two people who have been together for too long, especially since one is a hot head interested only in filling blood lust while the other is trying to actually fulfill his mission.
The Quarks are also a bit undervalued. This might be due to a backlash as the BBC was convinced they would be a new craze like the Daleks were and were pushed a bit too hard. But the Quarks are a reasonable enemy as tools of the Dominators. They worked well in the action scenes, which also were an enjoyable part of the story.
Is this a classic story? No. It's entertaining in a bit of a silly way that just seems to work for me. I would take a number of Second Doctor stories over this one, but I think it works well enough and would watch it over again if in the right mood.
Overall personal score: 2 out of 5
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