DOCTOR WHO: SEASON BY SEASON - SEASON FIVE

So we took a brief break from Season Reviews to handle a nice, long-winded ANALYTICAL essay. But I am trying to review all 38 seasons of Doctor Who before the 60th Anniversary has come and gone. So I can't slack off on these too much! 

Let's pick up where we left off....

Season Four of Doctor Who was hardly the show at its best. At the risk of sounding too cruel, we should almost be a bit thankful that great chunks of the stories from that year have gone missing. We should even be a bit regretful that footage of Patrick Troughton prancing about in a gypsy outfit as guards in leather fetish outfits pursue him did actually survive. It's an image I'd rather not have stuck in my head! 

In many ways, Season Four is comparable to Season Twenty-Four. There was just too much going on behind-the-scenes and it had a serious consequence on the overall content that was created that year. But, just like Season Twenty Four, lessons were learnt from mistakes. The seasons that followed were a vast improvement and the Show was back on its feet. In fact, some of the best stories in the programme's history were made after Production stumbled its way through Season Twenty-Four. 

Something similar happens after Season Four. Indeed, there are quite a few fans who claim that Season Five is one of the best, ever. Troughton now had a firm grip on what he wanted to do with the role. His companions were brilliantly-conceived and excellently portrayed. Writing and production, in general, was way better than most of what the previous season had to offer. 

And then, of course, there were the monsters. Probably what Season Five is best remembered for. The Cybermen were back and being treated much better than they were in The Moonbase. There were also the menacing Yeti skulking about in two stories, that year. And, of course, we got the Great Intelligence and the Ice Warriors. Foes so iconic that they have made several more returns to the series over its many decades. 

Even the sentient seaweed in Fury from the Deep was pretty creepy! 

Without a doubt, Season Five does get the show back on track. There is nary a hint of Troughton in a gypsy costume! 

BUT IS IT THAT GOOD?

So I think it's safe to say that I am quite happy with Season Five. Review over, right?    

Of course not! 

I did mention in an earlier paragraph that certain segments of Fandom consider Five to be one of the best seasons the show ever made. Let's home in on that. As many of you know, I don't always agree with Popular Opinion (rarely agree might be a more accurate term!). Is this the case, here? Will the Great Contrarion rear his ugly head, once more? Or is the high regard Season Five receives completely mitigated? 

Let's spend this particular Review breaking things down a bit. I will look at all the strengths of Season Five and put them under a microscope to see if they really are as great as people say. Let's also examine any flaws that might exist in the stories and determine their level of potency. Once we've accomplished that, we'll go back to that Main Question: "Is Season Five as good as everyone claims?!" With the amount of detail I'm going to go into, I should be able to give a fairly solid answer. 

THE REAL PROBLEMS

So we'll start at the bottom and work our way up. Let's look at the genuine problems of Season Five and then, slowly but surely, move towards the aspects that have made it great. This way, we end the entry on a high note. 

As usual, I'll go straight to the Elephant in the Room and look it dead in the eye.  There is one big problem with this season that can be summarised in three simple words: 

Base. 

Under. 

Siege. 

This particular plot structure does tend to get abused quite a bit during Season Five. But, if we're being honest, it happens a few times in Season Four, too. In many ways, it reminds me of the "end-of-story supporting cast slaugherfests" that I complain about in Seasons Twenty-One and Twenty-Two. It does just seem like the writing in Doctor Who can get a bit lazy from time-to-time and a certain device gets overused. 

What can, sometimes, save us from getting tired of the repetition is a sense of variation. Something that I feel does happen adequately in Season Five. Tomb of the Cybermen and The Ice Warriors only start becoming a base-under-siege tale during their latter half. Web of Fear has a prevailing sense of futility running through it - the good guys seem to have little or no hope of protecting their base effectively. Abominable Snowmen is interesting because the base is a primitive monastery. The base in Fury from the Deep is trying to defend itself at sea while The Wheel in Space, of course, is a space battle. 

When we get to my Review of Season Eight, you'll see that one of my biggest problems with it is how the plots rely too heavily on the premise of the Master meddling in  things he doesn't understand. Admittedly, there's a bit of a variation on that formula, too. But, oftentimes, it doesn't feel like enough. Whereas I don't feel this is the case with Season Five. Yes, it still would have been nice if there had been a bit less reliance on the base-under-siege premise, but I don't feel it works all that much to the detriment of the entire season. It's presented in enough different ways that I don't think it gets too tiresome. 

ANOTHER REAL PROBLEM

The only other major problem that I feel Season Five has (and, really, I didn't really think the first problem was all that big!) is the one story that some fans like to praise because it doesn't rely on the base-under-siege formula. While it does offer something different, there are a lot of other problems with the whole thing.  In fact, I'd go so far to say that Enemy of the World is a bit of a mess. 

If I'm being really harsh, it veers perilously close to being another Underwater Menace. There are some really preposterous aspects to the story. Even the chase scene right at the beginning seems a bit silly. You'd think these guys hell-bent on killing Salamander might, at least, ask a few questions before trying to take him out. Especially once they see an actual ally trying to protect him. But the writer wanted to start the adventure with a bit of peril. So he arranges a clumsy chase sequence that only makes so much sense.     

One of the biggest problems with Enemy, of course, is how silly it all looks as it attempts to visualize what the world will be like in 2018 (or thereabouts). Whenever Science Fiction tries to only go a few years into the future, things tend to go badly. Particularly when we finally reach that year and it turns out people aren't walking around in plastic skirts or wearing helmets with giant antennae sticking out of them! 

I do attempt to, at least, reconcile this issue with a bit of headcannon in a FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES essay: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/10/fixing-continuity-glitches-quick-fixes-5.html. Take a look at it, if you like. I make more plastic skirt and antennae helmet jokes, there!    

The final revelation of Salamander's secret plot is, perhaps, the most ludicrous aspect of the story. I'm still not sure how you can get a small group of people in a bunker to engineer natural disasters across the world. I guess it's some sort of special technology that Salamander invented since he does seem to dabble in weather control. But it does all seem a bit too far-fetched. Trapping people in an underground base and telling them there was a nuclear war also feels a bit like the fake spaceship in Invasion of the Dinosaurs. I'm just not sure you can work a scam like that all-that-effectively. After a short while, people are bound to test the illusion you're creating for them and bust the bubble. 

I will admit, I could be criticising Enemy of the World too hard. But I do feel it's a bit of a stinker. Which definitely jeopardizes the whole Season Five is One of the Most Amazing Season Ever! Concept that certain fans believe in. 

THINGS START GETTING BETTER

And so, we begin to climb the Ladder of Quality. We have a few tales in Season Five that I would say are "mostly good". They are definitely decent stories but are riddled with a few significant flaws. Which deny them the much-coveted title of "Classic". And also make it a bit more difficult for Season Five to earn its reputation. 

Admittedly, Wheel in Space is an improvement over The Moonbase, But only so much. There is still a bit of that sense of: "Look everyone! We've brought the Cybermen back! Get excited! Don't look at the story too hard! But get excited!" The plot only seems to hold together so well. One of the biggest issues I have is that the Cybermen actually seem capable of engineering supernovas. With that sort of technology at their disposal, why are they so worried about defeating a space station?! 

Trying to get us excited about the return of this particular foe becomes even less effective since there was a really good Cybermen story at the beginning of the season. We didn't need to see them again, so soon. Or, if Production is going to bring them back - it needs to give Tomb of the Cybermen a run for its money. There are some problems with Tomb too (which I will get into shortly), but it is still infinitely superior to Wheel. Which makes the problems the season closer has all-the-more glaring. 

The other story that fits prominently into this category would be The Ice Warriors. Overall, it's a fairly good yarn. The monsters, themselves, are well-constructed enough that we see them return several more times. The main premise is fairly interesting, too. This might just be the first time Doctor Who delivers a bit of an environmental message.

Ultimately, however, there isn't quite enough there to sustain the six episodes. The story does plod along a bit, in places. I'm also only so fond of the performance the actor playing Leader Clent delivers. While he may not be a villain, the whole thing does feel just a bit "Zaroffian"! 

GETTING BETTER....

At last, we start getting to the really outstanding stuff. The stories that truly come to mind when we are going on about the greatness of Season Five. 

I've talked quite a bit about Tomb of the Cybermen when I listed my Top Five Cybermen Stories last year (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/12/book-of-lists-top-five-cybermen-stories.html). The biggest thing I point out is that there is a huge difference in quality between the first two parts and the next two. But I'm also quick to add that the latter half isn't really all that bad and I find myself able to forgive the flaws that exist in it because Episodes One and Two are just so damned good. 

Which does mean that the season is off to an amazing start. I think this gives a tremendous boost to Season Five's reputation. Especially considering that, most of the time, a new year of the show tends to start off with a bit of a whimper. Unearthly Child was a great way to begin the very first season of Doctor Who (and, even then, it's just an excellent first episode - the rest of the story is passable, at best). But the start of every season after One is nothing all that special. Until, of course, we reach Season Five.

Though there are a few problems, we do really get a strong opener, here. And this does put a very different complexion on things. Season Five feels very different from its predecessors because of this. Which really makes it stand out. 

I could rant and rave some more about Tomb. But, really, you're better off just reading the link I posted where I review it pretty comprehensively. No need to keep singing the same praises over and over! 

THE TRULY EXCELLENT

From this point onward, it's nothing but the good stuff. We really do get 18 of the most solid episodes of Doctor Who ever made.

It is a pretty huge shame that only one episode of The Abominable Snowmen is still intact. On the surface, it's a simple tale of a monastery trying to defend itself from an alien threat that lurks both within and outside of it. But it's so well-executed that it's hard not to fall in love with such a straightforward little adventure (at least, from what I've seen of reconstructions and the novelisation).

The Great Intelligence works well because he is so delightfully abstract. A shapeless consciousness seeking to establish a foothold on the Earth in the Himalayas. Up until this point, most villains and/or monsters in Doctor Who work to a fairly standard pattern. They traipsed about with a bit  of firepower and got you do to do what they wanted by pointing a laser gun at you. The Great Intelligence was something truly unique (okay, the Animus in Season Two is slightly similar - but the Yeti stories look considerably less silly than The Web Planet!). Because he is so different from so many other menaces the show had produced, the battle against him is much more engaging. And the Intelligence, itself, is considerably more sinister than most other foes that the Doctor has had to fight, thus far.

Abominable Snowmen's sequel is a great example of how much of a difference recovering the story can really make. Like any other lost story, I gleaned whatever I could about it through the usual channels. I thought it was quite enjoyable. But when they found five of the six episodes back around 2013, I was totally blown away but what I saw. Web of Fear is a really intense adventure that steps up the game the Great Intelligence first began only a few episodes previously. When you think about how hastily this second story was penned, you have to be really impressed by the writing skills of Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln. The fact that they got Camfield to direct it solidifies its success. This is, easily, my favorite story of the season. Although I have to wonder if that opinion could change if a certain other story was recovered. 

The only bigger shame than Abominable Snowmen only having one part still in existence is that Fury from the Deep doesn't have any full episodes at all. Even without proper visuals to assist me in my enjoyment of it, this looks like a really great story. It's very moody and atmospheric but still has a decent plot. So often, when a Classic Who story has a great vibe to it, the narrative seems to suffer. Terror of the Zygons, for instance, looks great and is very creepy, in places. But there's barely enough story to it to fill two parts. Much less four.   

Not so with Fury. The evil plans of sentient seaweed as it invades a refinery has enough twists and turns to it to keep us very nicely engaged. Victoria's departure ends up being quite touching, too. Particularly her last scene with Jamie. It could be just me, but there always seemed the slightest hint of romantic implication between the two. So it does almost seem like, in their final moments together, Jamie might just decide stay behind with her. 

Instead, the Doctor and the Scotsman sadly go on without her. Happily enough, Zoe is waiting just around the corner... 

It is fortunate that, thanks to the harshness of Australian censorship, a few snippets of footage of Fury still exist. We can, at least, get some tasty samples of how truly disturbing the story looks. There was, of course, also the animation that was done a few years back. But I have never had much good to say about most of the work that's been done in this area. Their style of drawing just doesn't really agree with my tastes. 

Victoria's screams becoming lethal was a fun resolution to the whole conflict. And this is one of the few Who tales where there are absolutely no fatalities. I must admit, it would have been interesting to see Patrick Troughton suddenly proclaim: "Just this once! Everybody lives!" 

A FEW MORE GOOD POINTS

So there you have it. A good chunk of this season is wholeheartedly excellent with tales like Snowmen, Web and Fury. Then you've got a pretty damned amazing story with Tomb of the Cybermen. Ice Warriors and Wheel in Space are quite good, too. Only Enemy of the World is all that significantly disappointing. And, even then, it's more me that doesn't like it. I know a lot of other fans are quite happy with it. 

In my Season Four Review (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/07/doctor-who-season-by-season-season-four.html), I get legitimately quantitative in my final evaluation of the season. I enumerate just how many episodes I find to be poor versus the actual good stuff. While I won't break it down quite as much this time around, I think it is obvious that there is definitely a high percentage of quality content to this season. 

But there are a few more things about Season Five that I think are integral to its success. Most significantly, is the fact that the show really does seem to be finally finding its feet. It has stumbled around quite a bit over the last few seasons. Trying all sorts of different directions with different levels of success. In this season, Doctor Who really seems to be finally understanding what it's about. It develops a proper formula, of sorts, and works quite well with it. Part of that formula, of course, is to only adhere so strongly to it! There will always be room for experimentation. But it is also important that the show now seems to have certain core elements that it will go back to when it needs to. Whereas the first four seasons do feel more like the programme gets lost in the wilderness quite a bit and has no idea where it really is! In Season Five, the show definitely seems to understand where it's going, now. 

The other important development of this season is the firm establishment of the Doctor's ethics. At the show's very beginning, he's a bit of an anti-hero. He's not even all that likeable in his first handful of episodes. Even as the show progresses and his heart warms a bit, he's still quite amoral. He only helps the Sensorites, for instance, because they will allow him access to his TARDIS, again, if he does. There's quite a few stories over the Hartnell Era where he is merely a man caught in a bad situation and is just trying to get out of it in one piece rather than effect a positive change of some sort. In extreme situations (like when he is dealing with the Daleks), he takes a legitimate stand against evil. But, a lot of the time, he's only doing the right thing to save his own skin. As Troughton takes over in Season Four, we do start seeing more and more of a moral backbone developing. I always love to cite that Evils of the Universe speech in Moonbase as being a somewhat pivotal moment where he is starting to have a legitimate credo. 

But I don't think the Doctor truly finds that code of ethics til Season Five. From this point, onward, he is always setting out to right the wrongs he encounters. Regardless of whether or not he stands to benefit from such actions. In fact, most of the time, his moral stance puts him in danger.  This, to me, is one of the most important traits of Season Five. It is here that the Doctor truly becomes the hero we know him to be.   

FINAL VERDICT

Okay, so I've said a lot of good things about Season Five and done little to denounce it. But I have yet to truly answer the question I set out to solve: 

"Is Season Five as good as everyone claims?!"

I think the safest answer would be that I do think this is a pretty amazing season. But I don't think it's quite as good as certain fans would lead you to believe. 

If I were to list my Top Ten All-Time Favorite Seasons of Doctor Who (and I just might, someday!), I don't think Season Five would quite make it on. But it would be pretty damned close. 

Twelfth Place, at worst. Maybe even Eleventh!

Another season reviewed. I'm nearly done watching Season Six, so I will probably write about it in the next entry...