DOCTOR WHO - SEASON-BY-SEASON: SEASON THIRTEEN

A MILD WARNING: 

I wrote something similar to this in my Season Eight Review. I felt I needed to post another warning for this one. Although, admittedly, this one doesn't need to be quite as severe. 

We're about to enter another era that is greatly-loved by fans. Many, in fact, refer to this as the Golden Age of Doctor Who. I, unfortunately, am not one of them. 

I won't deny it, there are some excellent stories during this period. There's some stuff, here, that is absolutely amazing. There are some mediocre tales, too. And even some downright awful ones. Essentially, this era is really about the same as any period of the show. No better or no worse than any other time in Doctor Who. Such an opinion might actually offend some of you, of course. So I'm warning you, in advance: if you are in love with the next few seasons and consider them a high point in the show's history, some of what I have to say about it may rankle you. 

I will add, however, that it shouldn't bother you as much as my Reviews of Seasons Eight to Eleven might have if you were in love with that stage of the show. I do consider most of the content that was produced throughout that time to be a bit below average. This time, I'm just saying that this is not, necessarily, as great a period as fans make it out to be. But it is still pretty good. 

So, if claiming that the rest of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes Era is not Absolute Perfection is going to cause you to foam at the mouth with fury, you may want to read the next few entries with caution. 

FAKE CLASSICS

I can see why so many fans are excited by this season. I count, at least, three stories in it that are widely regarded as Classics. But I have to emphasise the term "widely regarded". Cause, really, I don't think any of them actually qualify for that status. 

While I don't expect any Classic to be absolutely perfect (although some of them are!), there are enough missteps in all three of these stories to cause them fall shy of the reputation they have garnered. Some, of course, have far more problems than others. So I'll start with the tale that nearly achieves that much-coveted title of "Classic". Then I'll work my way down til I, eventually, reach an adventure where I just can't understand why it's loved so much. I actually think it's pretty bad. 

Fake Classic #1:

Pyramids of Mars is the story that comes closest to actually being the Classic people see it as. Sutekh is an awesome villain. I love how the Doctor only just manages to beat him. The Time Lord would have had no chance of winning if the Osiran had broken out of his prison. The Universe, quite simply, would have been toast. Sutekh just has that much raw power and that makes him quite cool. 

He's brilliantly realized, too. Particularly the voice work Gabriel Woolf does for the character (note to future production teams: if you want to bring him back to voice someone like, say, Satan - just use his natural voice. Don't modulate the Hell out of it til it is no longer recognizable!). The quality of this villain, alone, makes the whole story pretty damned good. 

Now, I have already done a GREATEST HITS entry about Pyramids (you can read it here: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/03/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-greatest.html) so I won't go into too much detail about its problems. If you want a deeper dive, go check out the link I just posted. 

The biggest issue I have with this particular tale is just how much it has to mark time. The core premise cannot fill up four episodes if its life depended on it. So the writer creates a subplot with the Poacher during Part Two that is completely extraneous. He also turns the Doctor into Indiana Jones for the better part of an episode. The Time Lord must assail various traps set up in Horus' pyramid rather than actually advance the plot (I've moaned about this several times, already, Either read the GREATEST HITS entry or go check out my Season 11 Review where Death to the Daleks does the same trick. More than likely, we'll be going down this avenue again in the Season 14 Review when we discuss Hand of Fear). The sidequest in the TARDIS where the Doctor shows Sarah the future of Earth if Sutekh is freed is also, technically, filler. But it, at least, demonstrates something interesting about the consequences of time travel. 

If you do the math, two-episodes-and-some-change represents the time that is spent dealing with  trying to stop Sutekh from escaping into the Universe and making a huge mess of things. The rest of the run-time is made up mainly of inconsequential nonsense that just stalls the plot until we get to the Doctor manipulating the Time/Space Corridor in the last few minutes of the story. 

There's a lot about Pyramids of Mars that I really love. If, maybe, it had been a two-parter - I would be agreeing with most other fans that it's a Classic. Bur nearly two episodes' worth of padding prohibits me from being able to do that. 

Fake Classic #2:

Terror of the Zygons is dripping with atmosphere. It's beautifully-shot by the Great Douglas Camfield.. The outdoor footage looks particularly gorgeous (even though it contains visual cues that give away that we're not really in Scotland!). It also has one of the most haunting scores a Doctor Who story has ever produced. The whole tone of the story is very impressive. 

The Zygons, themselves, look great. One of the best creature designs from the Classic Series. I would even say they look a bit better than the ones that pop back up during New Who. The re-vamps look ever-so-slightly comical. The originals appear genuinely menacing. 

Terror of the Zygons is, in many ways, a visual triumph. There's no denying it. But, when you get right down to it, the basic premise of the story involves aliens wanting to disrupt an energy convention. Yes, it's an international one. So that does make things just a little bit more special, I suppose. But, overall, this is a horrendously weak plot. You've got evil aliens sitting at the bottom of Loch Ness for several centuries, scheming to take over the world. And the best they can come up with is upsetting a conference! 

The four parts do fill up all right with doppelganger intrigue, claymation sea monsters and some nice spaceship model work. It may have a weak plot, but there's enough there to keep things interesting. But the whole storyline is far too bog-standard to label it a Classic (there are now so many spaceships that have crashed into Earth that we should probably have a giant "Slippery When Wet" sign or something of that nature floating in front of our planet). On top of being a massive re-tread, it also has a fairly weak ending. Beating up Broton in a basement and then tossing a prop at a bad hand-puppet is not exactly a spellbinding climax!

I suppose most fans consider the tale a triumph of style over substance. And, to some extent, I can see that. But I still need something to be a bit more than just a passable runaround if I'm going to consider it one of the greatest stories the show ever made. 

Fake Classic #3:

Much of the same people that brought us Terror of the Zygons also created Seeds of Doom. So I would imagine it's also viewed as being a triumph of style over substance. Since, again, there's not a whole lot of plot going on. But, whereas Terror of the Zygons is still a passable runaround, I find Seeds of Doom to be greatly troubled. 

Here's how it still could have been decent: Rather than taking a helicopter up to Antarctica, the Doctor and Sarah manage a short hop in the TARDIS to get to the base. There is no second pod - only the one. It germinates and turns the one scientist into an Axon Painted Green. Scorby still shows up and steals the husk. He sets the bomb but gets killed by the Krynoid while trying to make his way back to his plane. The Doctor and Sarah escape the blast radius and make it back to the TARDIS. Sarah is sad about the lives that were lost but the Doctor re-enforces the fact that, at least, the Krynoid was stopped before it took over the whole planet. They depart in the TARDIS and we get a nice little two-parter that is a cute homage to The Thing. The Doctor and Sarah race off to and participate in a completely unrelated four parter that finishes out the season. 

Sadly, this is not the story we get. Instead, we must endure another four episodes of the exact same damn story. Yes, the location is different. Yes, the Krynoid gets much bigger (and, somehow, develops vocal chords?!). Yes, UNIT gets involved, this time (and, for once, actually seem to be a bit useful). But, for the most part, this really is just the same story twice. It's a good thing that Krynoid pods travel in pairs. Otherwise, we would have no plot to repeat for the next four parts. What a lucky coincidence! 

This is not the only problem, however. There's a fairly bad Cliffhanger Resolution in here, too. At the end of Part Two, Sarah and the Doctor are fleeing the base in Antarctica as it erupts into a huge series of explosions. At the start of Episode Three, it's revealed that they made it clear of the blast. Which already seems like a stretch. They were only a few feet away from the bomb with seconds left when it went off. But, okay, they can run really fast. We'll let that go. The explosion still knocks them out and they seem to be found some time later by a rescue team. Now, maybe the Doctor might still be okay because of his superior Time Lord physiology. But Sarah was lying unconscious and exposed in a polar region. She's as good as dead. Essentially, she should be a companionsicle! 

But, of course, she's fine. Not even a hint of frostbite. And the story continues...

Seeds of Doom is riddled with several plot holes of this nature. Even the final scene doesn't make a lot of sense. Apparently, the Doctor forgot to cancel the coordinates and the TARDIS has taken them back to Antarctica. How could it do that, though? It never took them there to begin with! The Doctor and Sarah's first trip to Antarctica was by helicopter. Perhaps the writer knew in his heart of hearts that my suggestion of how the plot should have went was the better one!    

On top of multiple plot holes, those last four episodes really do just plod along. Lots of running around Chase's estate getting captured and escaping over and over. Everything moving just as slowly as possible so we can fill up the run-time til the Krynoid can finally get destroyed in an airstrike in the last few minutes. We could have gotten to that moment sooo much faster. But, instead, we have villains doing ridiculous things like putting the Doctor in a giant mulcher but not hanging around to make sure he gets killed (if he doesn't want to watch it, at least leave a guard, there!) Conveniently enough, Sarah can come into an empty room  and rescue him a short while later. Freed for the third or fourth time from Chase's clutches, the two protagonists can continue marking more time - I mean - trying to save the world!   

"But Rob!" some of you might be saying, "What about Harrison Chase?! One of the greatest villains in the history of the show!" 

Admittedly, he is a bit fun. Tony Beckley certainly commits to the part and has a good time with it. However, I have issues (surprise! surprise!)...

In a short while, I'll be discussing Professor Solon in Brain of Morbius. Another great villain from this season. Part of what makes him so awesome is all the layers that have been built into the character. He is absolutely delightful to watch throughout all four episodes because of the depth that Philip Madoc mines from the role. 

Chase, on the other hand, is pretty one-note. He's a millionaire douche-bag who's obsessed with plants. A bit later in the story, he becomes more obsessed with plants. That's the only real range the character has. Beckley, himself, doesn't really go anywhere with the part. But it's hardly his fault. There's nowhere for him to go. He is enjoyable to watch for a bit. But being so two-dimensional for six whole episodes does, eventually, wear thin. 

A similar thing happens with Amelia Ducat: Someone who had the potential to be a colorful eccentric. Unfortunately, she's written as a total caricature. Poor 'ole Sylvia Coleridge has to handle her role the same way Beckley does. Try to have as much fun as possible, knowing that is all you can really do with the part.  

I could moan some more but I think I've made my point. There's very little good that I have to say about Seeds of Doom. There are a few nice lines that Baker gets (ie: "You must help yourselves" or  "I win!"). But, beyond another great job from Douglas Camfield, a bit of decent dialogue for the lead is the best compliment I can give it 

This, in my opinion, is several miles away from being a Classic. I'd even say it's a bit of a dud.  

HOW THE REGULARS ARE DOING

On the Character Development Front, things are looking a bit better for our leads. Sarah Jane does seem to be getting a bit better-written this season. She is, at least, proving a bit more useful. Last year, she tended to just need to be saved a lot from the dangers that present themselves in the Doctor's travels. This time, though, she's actually doing a lot more of the rescuing. Particularly in The Android Invasion. She's quite the heroine in that one. She gets the Doctor out of several nasty situations. She even takes out the android guarding the door to her cell all on her own during Part Three (although I'm not sure how she doesn't get shocked herself in the process as she is holding one of the cables and should, therefore, be part of the circuit that's being completed when the android steps in the water. But who am I to argue? It's just science, after all!). It turns out she's a pretty good shot, too, in Pyramids of Mars. 

Probably part of what's contributing to her being better-used in the plots is the fact that Harry Sullivan decides to stop travelling with the Doctor in Terror of the Zygons. The writers now only have one companion to contend with and give her a lot of the stuff that would have probably been assigned to Harry had he stayed.  

Harry's decision to go did sadden me quite a bit. As I said in my Review of last season, I would have really liked him to stay. I greatly enjoyed this TARDIS Crew and wished it had lasted longer. We do, at least, get Harry back a few stories later before he's truly gone from the show. Although, it is interesting to note that he gets duplicated for quite a bit in both the adventures we see him in this season. Ian Marter plays fake versions of his character almost as much as he plays the real Harry Sullivan!   

It's also in this season that both the Brigadier and Benton will fade into the woodwork once and for all. It may sound a bit heartless, but I'm not so upset by this. Losing the characters means UNIT stories will get phased out, too. By this point, I'd had all the UNIT adventures I need. Giving the whole organisation a rest for a while was just what the show required. The Brigadier would, at least, return now and again in a few years' time. On each occasion, the character was marvelously re-created by both Nicholas Courtney and the writers that were bringing him back. 

And then there's the Doctor, himself. Tom Baker is still doing those bizarre mood changes at the start of most stories. But it's definitely less abrasive, this year. Like he's getting a better handle on where exactly he wants the character to go. It does still come across as a bit weird, though. He fluctuates between grim and morbid and whimsical and lighthearted with little or no motivation. Even in something like Pyramids of Mars, where he has some license to get very dramatic because of the nature of the threat that Sutekh poses to the Universe, the shift in personality still doesn't quite make sense. He's this darker more serious character even before he realizes Sutekh is involved. I actually think it would have been more effective if he had been more jovial until learning of the Osiran Menace and then suddenly becoming more serious, afterwards. Instead, he's already ominous right at the start of the tale. Admittedly, the little: "I'm a Time Lord, I walk in eternity" speech is nice. But, maybe, he could have bounced back from that moment and become fun for a while until he found out about Sutekh. Or, maybe, the speech just needed to go elsewhere. 

But I will say that, at least, the character is starting to feel more consistent. As I said, the mood jumps aren't as big as they were in Season Twelve (he also seems to be the same personality in both Brain of Morbius and Seeds of Doom). The performance, however, is still a bit disjointed. Which definitely affects my overall enjoyment of the season. But things are starting to get a bit smoother with how Baker is handling the role.

THE GENUINELY BLAND

There is a strange new phenomenon that develops around this time in the show. Middle-of-the-line stories, of course, have always existed on Doctor Who. In any TV series, really. But there is something about a Tom Baker tale that is only just okay that feels "extra mediocre". It's strange, really. They just come across as really unmemorable. So much so that, whenever I watch certain seasons of Baker, I always have to check a program guide. I really can't remember the order of things. Some of his stuff really stands out, of course. I can always remember where Deadly Assassin shows up. But I'm not always sure how other stories in that season were arranged. There's just too much of a muddle of blandness in there, sometimes.

Planet of Evil is distinctive only in the fact that it is the first story of this kind. Otherwise, it's a pretty insignificant runaround. 

Admittedly, one or two other things do stand out a bit. It's probably the most gorgeous jungle set they ever made. And the concept of a portal into the Universe of Anti-Matter is pretty cool. I especially like that the Doctor uses his status as a Time Lord to survive falling into the pit. 

But there's also quite a bit that weighs the story down. The biggest problem being the way they suddenly switch from being a tribute to Forbidden Planet to Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hide during Part Three. Introducing this whole new subplot of Sorenson fighting his transformations into a monster really just feels like a bunch of filler to get us through the episode. 

Certain plot elements are not making sense, either, as we get into the latter parts. We're never given a clear explanation, for example, of how the canister full of crystals that the Doctor carries with him throughout Part Four actually repels the versions of Sorenson that are made of pure anti-matter. The Doctor just needs some way to defend himself against the creatures so he can make his way to the Quarantine Bay, and this seems to be the thing that does it. Also, I'm pretty sure that a toffee tin full of anti-matter never actually got ejected. Morelli appears to get killed before he can accomplish the task.

Ultimately, the bad points of Planet of Evil don't outweigh the good. But they do tend to neutralize them. So that this story really does feel like filler. But, somehow, it's extreme filler. I care far less for Planet of Evil than I do for a lot other stories that fit the same description.  

There will be other stories like this in later seasons. They're not just bland but, almost, "super vanilla".  And, because of this, they too will feel very forgettable.  

THE FAKE BLAND (SEE WHAT I DID, THERE?!)

At last, we get to the story that I think was the best of the season. 

There are quite a few homages that happen throughout Season Thirteen. Of course, there's always a delicate balance between referencing the source material and legitimately ripping it off. Doctor Who, for the most part, never falls into Category B. But there are some stories that do it better than others. And then there are some who do it magnificently. 

Brain of Morbius does an absolutely perfect tribute to the best Hammer Horror versions of Frankenstein. 

Particularly in the sense that Hammer could have made Frankenstein much more gimmicky and superficial and gotten away with it. Instead, they gave us a Doctor Frankenstein who was a tortured genius and a "Monster" that actually stirred quite a bit of pathos. 

Brains of Morbius does something similar. It's not an exact duplication. The Monster, for instance, is not really pitiable in the slightest. But there are still plenty of gorgeous layers built into the various characters that inhabit the plot. Which is shown in both the writing and, especially, the acting. 

In fact, let's spend some time talking about the cast:

Philip Madoc is, clearly, the Star, here. He is an excellent actor in anything he does. He even manages to lift the hugely uninteresting character he was given in Power of Kroll. But Solon is the best role he was given in the show. There are quite a few levels to the part and Madoc makes sure to bring all of them out. Every line he has is expertly delivered. Showing every nuance to the character that needed to be displayed. There is not a nanosecond where I'm not enjoying what he puts on screen. He is truly great. 

However, we can't ignore the other performances, either. Although a much simpler role, Condo is also played to perfection. And the Voice of Morbius (along with some more great movement work from Stuart Fell once the renegade Time Lord finally gets a body) is fantastic too. How great is it when Morbius reveals that he envies a vegetable?! We love it when he says that!! 

And then, of course, there's the Sisterhood. Both speaking roles are done excellently, too. But watch those extras well. Even they play their parts with complete conviction. The costumes and make-up enhance things wonderfully, of course. But the very looks that they deliver in the background as we watch the dialogue being said is very impressive. There is not only a definite alieness in their portrayal, but they also seem quite vicious. There's a real danger to them. 

I also just love the whole concept of the Sisterhood. It was great to see another race in the Universe that was equal in power to the Time Lords. One would expect that they, too, are experts at time travel. But their potency lies in completely different areas. Which I thought was quite imaginative on the part of "Robin Bland". The ritualistic dances that they perform were also great to watch. Nice work on the choreographer's behalf. The Sisterhood is truly an awesome idea at work. So glad the Eighth and Twelfth Doctors go back and visit them. 

Does this mean I consider Brain of Morbius to be the True Classic of the Season? Sadly, there are still enough flaws to it that rob it of this status. 

The editing in Part One gets particularly wonky, in places. The initial exploration that the Doctor and Sarah make of Karn is very choppy. Which ends up giving us a very bad first impression of the story. Things also do drag just a bit in Part Three. At the risk of sounding like a groundling, we could have used with a bit less talk and a bit more action in this episode. 

And then we have Solon blowing Condo's stomach open with a gunshot. This is one of the few times where I actually think the production team went just a bit too far with the violence on a family show. One of the rare occasions where I actually find myself vaguely agreeing with Mary Whitehouse!!

Admittedly, they're minor enough flaws. But it's still enough to make this an amazing story but not quite a Classic. 

The Doctor solving the Sisterhood's problem with the Sacred Flame by using a simple firecracker is, to me, the quintessence of Doctor Who. The tackling of a major conflict with something absurdly mundane is what the show is all about. And Four is the best for these kind of moments. 

I still remember my very early days as a fan quite fondly. I wasn't entirely sure if I liked the program until the moment where I watched Baker throw his hat over a Dalek eyestalk during Destiny of the Daleks. From that point, onwards, I was in love with the show. Saving a race of immortals with the sort of pyrotechnics generally carried by naughty schoolboys is another one of those moments that I love.  The Fourth Doctor is always a sheer delight when he executes such things

I also think: "Touch the blue paper and stand clear!' is a great final line!

THE GENUINELY AWFUL

And then, finally, we get to The Android Invasion. This would be another story that would make it into my Bottom Five. In fact, it might just be the worst Doctor Who story, ever.  

I really only re-watch this one when necessary. Like if something that happened in it pertains to a blog entry I am working on . I would never just put it on to be entertained. I'm actually pretty sure the last time I saw it was 10 years ago when I decided to celebrate the 50th Anniversary by watching every single existing episode. 

Like so many other stories that I don't like, the core premise makes little or no sense.  The Kraals go about their business in a way that is so impractical that it's completely ludicrous. This becomes a bigger and bigger problem in the way a lot of 70s Who is written. Even a stronger story like Pyramids of Mars is built on the crux of: "Why would you leave a massively powerful god-like being that wants to destroy the Universe all the necessary equipment he needs to escape from his prison?!" It's almost as if the scriptwriters are hoping you don't look too closely at things. 

Android Invasion's irrational central conceit is greater than most. Terry Nation decided to write a plot that mirrors the idea of nuclear test sites that created false villages to destroy so that scientists could view the results of the effects of a nuclear blast. The Doctor and Sarah land near a sort of false Devesham and get embroiled for a while in the mystery of it all. Slowly but surely, they manage to work out what's really going on. A couple of episodes get burnt as they do. And then we turn to the  Kraal's actual attempt to wipe out humanity. 

The construction of a test village populated with androids might make some degree of sense if the Kraals were not planning to use a virus on Earth. How do you actually test a disease on something that's not organic?! 

"But Rob," you might try to correct me, "It wasn't about weapons testing in the fake android village. It was about testing the androids in a real-world scenario so that the Kraals could occupy Devesham on Earth and use it as a stronghold as they release their virus on humanity."

To which I reply: "Why would they need to do that? If you're releasing a plague on humanity, you just need to land your ship, toss out the virus canister from a hatch, seal things up tightly and  open the  canister by some kind of remote control. Then let the disease do its work. Why do you need to take over a small, near-useless village with androids?!" 

They don't even need Guy Crayford, really. I'm pretty sure any old ship could just land and dump the virus (does it even need to land?! It could even just do a fly-by!). There was no need for a ridiculous, barely-believable cover story that Crayford was returning after being stuck in space for 2 years. 

The Kraal's plan is, without a doubt, the most contrived, nonsensical scheme an alien race has ever put together to overthrow the Earth. The Zygons might have been a bit silly with their attempt to interfere with the World Energy Convention. But they got nothin' on the Kraals! 

Since we mentioned Guy Crayford, we need to, at least, get into that the eye-patch for a bit. I've gone on about this almost as much as the Scaffolding Cliffhanger in Genesis of the Daleks. There is nothing more ridiculous than a man who wears a patch over his eye for two whole years and never bothers, once, to look under it. This is, without a doubt, Doctor Who's dumbest moment. 

Essentially, the Kraals could have executed their masterplan in a matter of minutes. Like I said, fly a spaceship in, release the plague and just let nature do its work. Instead, we get four episodes of stuff that makes no real sense. Packed with even more illogical nonsense. Like the TARDIS having a function that causes it to dematerialise if you put the key in it. Why would it have that?! Wouldn't you want to be able to get into the TARDIS before it leaves?! 

There's about a dozen other things that happen in the plot that are equally illogical. A Season Review, of course, is not really the place to delve into all of them. Let's just conclude things by saying that The Android Invasion is an absolute embarrassment. It almost makes you wish the BBC were still scrapping episodes during this time and that this one had gotten tossed into the bin. 

Never to be seen again. 

FINAL VERDICT

So, there you go: The usual cross-section of stories that vary in quality and entertainment value. Like, say, most seasons of Doctor Who. I'm sorry, but if you are one of those fans that sees this as one of the most amazing seasons the show has ever produced - then I can't really agree with you. In my eyes, it's average. Nothing wrong with that, of course. But I can't get into the whole mentality that so many of you have. I don't believe this is Doctor Who at its absolute best. There's some great stuff, here. But there are some legitimate problems, too.

It's odd, but - as much as I disliked a lot of Pertwee - the show had some legitimate direction while he was in the role. For his first three seasons, it was all about him trying to liberate himself from his exile. Once he did get free, there were still some decent through-themes going on. Like a nice 12-part intergalactic Dalek/Master Saga. Or the Journey of the Crystal from Metebilis Three. Or even the character arc Mike Yates went through. 

Tom Baker's first season still feels very interconnected. It's all about attempting to get Harry Sullivan back home after he doubts the abilities of the TARDIS at the end of Robot. I quite liked all of that. Even took it a bit for granted. 

There's still some attempt at a sense of continuity in Season Thirteen. Now we're, supposedly, trying to get Sarah back home (even though we know she's not going to stay once the Doctor gets her, there). But, somehow, it all still feels too loose. Most of the season comes across more like pointless meanderings. Which, in some ways, is perfectly in keeping with the Fourth Doctor's personality. But still, it feels too random. Like the production team should have spent more time thinking things through before assembling the stories they did. 

This, to me, is what stops Season Thirteen, more than anything, from being part of the Great Era that it's meant to be. It's still quite good. But I can't call it amazing. 

Sorry. 

 

DOCTOR WHO - SEASON-BY-SEASON: SEASON TWELVE

The Season Reviews continue. At last, we've made it through my least favorite period of the show. I don't have to sound so much like a Negative Nancy, anymore! But how much more do I like this new era? 

I guess you'll find out....

A NEW DOCTOR (AND ALL THE TRAPPINGS THAT COME WITH IT)

What I consider a low point for the show is over. Finally, I can start enjoying adventures where the Master isn't always up to, basically, the same thing. Where the UNIT family don't keep doing the same type of jokes over and over. No more alien menaces invulnerable to bullets but can still get taken down by a MacGuffin that the Doctor builds in the last few minutes of the final part (that reverses the polarity, of course). No more kung-fu fights with stunt doubles in bad wigs. And, most importantly, no protracted chase sequences that never really looked all that great because you need a real budget to achieve a visually interesting car chase (or hovercraft chase, or whatever...). 

Jon Pertwee didn't just leave the show - the production team that worked with him the whole time went too. So Doctor Who should change directions. And, hopefully, I like the changes that are being implemented. 

We're off to a very good first impression, at least. Even though Terrance Dicks is the author of the script for the first story in the season, our show's protagonist is being treated very differently.Tom Baker doesn't just have fun with the part, but Doctor Four is being written to be a lot sillier than his predecessor. And it's a great time. No matter how often I watch the first episode of Robot, Baker has me cracking up every time. Doing skip rope with Harry, choosing ridiculous costumes, blowing crushed dandelions into the Brig's face... It's all absolutely delightful! 

But then these weird tonal shifts start happening. We'll see this occur over and over throughout the Hinchcliffe era. The Doctor just suddenly becomes much more serious as Ark in Space commences. We could say that the regeneration made him erratic for a bit and now he's stabilised, but Robot and Ark seem to flow into each other. The character, pretty much, turns on a dime. The whole thing feels a bit too abrupt. 

This harsh changes in Baker's interpretation continue throughout the season. The transition into Sontaran Experiment isn't so drastic, though. He does seem a bit more lighthearted, again, for this story. But it doesn't feel like as much of an about-face as it does from Robot to Ark. We can believe it's the same person that transmarted down to Earth that we saw on Nerva Beacon. 

Geneis of the Daleks, however, brings us back to a very grim Fourth Doctor. I suppose, in some sense, there's not much room for a lot of humor in the story. But it's still just feeling very disjointed. Especially as we get to Revenge of the Cybermen and the Doctor is as big a buffoon as he was in the first story of the season.  

All of these adventures seem to follow directly after each other. Had there been a few "unseen adventures" in between these changes in mood, they might feel more natural. But the Fourth Doctor seems to just jump into new personalities for little or no reason at the start of every tale. 

One could argue that the Fourth Doctor is just very mercurial. That it's part of the character. Sixie, after all, was subject to some pretty big mood swings, too. Particularly in his first season where he would frequently fly off into wild tantrums. But such harsh transitions definitely felt like actual elements of the character. The tantrums were written right into the script rather than seeming like choices the actor was just suddenly making with the character. It's especially odd that Tom Baker changes his approach at the beginning of a story and then, more or less, maintains that attitude until the end. And then, at the beginning of the next tale, it's a new interpretation. 

This, very much, has the feel of an actor who just doesn't know what he wants to do with the part. Which, for me, makes for a fairly uneven performance. I don't expect the Fourth Doctor to be entirely "one note" either, of course (indeed, that was one of my bigger complaints about Three), but this is a very strange approach to take if you're making the Doctor mercurial. The mood changes would seem a lot more natural or even believable if they didn't happen at such specific points in the story structure. 

So, while I do love that this new Doctor doesn't take himself so seriously, I am having some trouble with how Tom Baker is handling the role. Admittedly, this isn't the easiest role to settle into. But there has to be a better way to do things than just trying on a different predominant mood at the start of each new story. 

A CHANGE-UP WITH COMPANIONS TOO

Elisabeth Sladen also seems to be changing her approach to Sarah Jane in this new season. Which does make sense. Companions that are around when the Doctor regenerates will frequently go in new directions. After all, they must spark off a whole new personality that has manifested itself in the Time Lord. The changes caused in Sarah by the regeneration are, in fact, more subtle than some other occasions where companions have gone through this. Clara, for instance, tends to almost bully Eleven while they travel together. But, with Twelve, it's more of a power struggle between them where she's not always the winner. This change in dynamics brings out all sorts of nuances in the character that we weren't seeing when she was with the previous incarnation. 

The more significant alteration that we see in Sarah is how she's actually written. Whereas a conscious choice does seem to have been made during Season Eleven to make her a more capable female companion, she tends to go back to being a lot more of a damsel-in-distress with this production team. Dicks makes her a bit more useful in Robot. Her investigative skills as a journalist do cause her to unveil some important plot points. But, even by Part Four, she's regulated to just being carried around like a Fay Wray from King Kong. Throughout the rest of the season, she needs rescuing over and over. We're back to a female companion who is, ever-so-slightly, offensive to even the mildest of feminists. 

There is one more thing that influences Sarah Jane's behaviour.:The fact that Harry Sullivan is, now, also a traveller aboard the TARDIS. Harry seems to mainly frustrate her. She does snark at the poor fellow quite a bit throughout the season. Even seems to threaten him a few times. Thanks to Sladen's abilities, it never makes us truly dislike her. Somehow, she still seems charming in amongst all the verbal abuse! 

Harry, himself, is an interesting new twist on the male companion. It was originally anticipated that the new Doctor would not be as physical as Pertwee so Harry was meant to be a man-of-action that  would handle most of the violence in the story. In the tradition of 60s male companions like Ian, Steven, Ben and Jamie. But, since Tom Baker was plenty capable of scrapping, Harry develops in a very different way. He is, essentially, a bumbler. Put into stories principally for comic relief. This isn't something entirely new, of course. We did get plenty of good laughs out of Jamie, too. But Harry seems to go even further with this. To the point where Four, quite famously, proclaims: "Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!"  Poor 'ole Harry has to just take the criticism on the chin. He did, after all, just do something intensely stupid that nearly ended the Doctor's life. 

So there's quite a bit of changing up that happens with the companions during this season. Including, of course, the fact that there are actually two of them. Throughout Pertwee's Reign, it's really just him and one other companion. This is the first time we've seen three travellers aboard the TARDIS in quite a while. 

THE TRUE CLASSIC 

Some big changes happen with the leads of the show - but it doesn't end there. Some very curious things are going on with the stories, too. The whole vibe of the show is certainly less formulaic with this new production team in charge (for a time, at least). And the adventures are definitely becoming more space-bound, again. Aside from Robot, the Doctor goes nowhere near 20th Century Earth for the duration of the season. This certainly pleases me enormously. The more time away from that location and time period, the less things will feel like the Pertwee Era. 

But there's something else. Since Inferno, I've found nothing in the content of the show to be all that truly outstanding. Essentially, that was the last tale we got that I would legitimately label a Classic. There have been some decent stories - don't get me wrong. I'm not about to just crap on four entire seasons of Doctor Who. I'm quite fond of Mind of Evil, for instance  Curse of Peladon is a surprisingly good story, too. But there's nothing beyond Season Seven that really gets me to feel like I'm watching some truly exemplary Doctor Who. There's some really good stuff. But nothing that takes my breath away like a True Classic does. 

Finally, in Season Twelve, we get that again. And it happens, pretty much, right out of the gate. Robot, of course, is more like one last gasp from Letts and his Crew. But then we get Ark in friggin' Space. 

I love this story. Really, I do. It's in my Top Ten (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-10-fave-who-stories-8.html). Many people that have been influential in New Who also site Ark as being one of their favorites.  Everything about it is just so damned magnificent. Really, when a guy wrestling with green bubble wrap on his hand is still one of the most compelling things you've ever seen, you have to give a lot of praise to the quality of this story. 

Hinchcliffe delivering a Classic so quickly is very re-assuring. I never claim that Seasons Eight to Eleven are terrible - but they're still pretty rough, in places. It was quite difficult getting through that re-watch to write the entries about those seasons. I wanted so badly, sometimes, to just move on to a new era where I can be really impressed, again. At the risk of sounding harsh, I wanted to view content that could, once more, make me proud to be a Who Fan. Rather than just be saying over and over: "Meh. It's a passable runaround, at best!" (or, in some instances: "Good God! This is terrible! Why do fans like it so much?!") And I'm very glad I get that feeling back so quickly in Season Twelve. I needed Ark in Space so badly! 

THE FAKE CLASSIC 

There is still one phenomenon, however, that carries over from the Pertwee Era. The Infamous: "Why is Everyone Calling this a Classic?!" Scenario. We're still getting stories like The Daemons and The Green Death that fans have a love for that completely baffles me .Where I can't, for the life of me, understand what all the fuss is about. The whole tale seems very poorly constructed but, because a certain generation loved watching it when they were kids, it's considered outstanding. 

This problem definitely persists in the Tom Baker Era (and we'll see it, again, many years later when RTD resurrects the show). Childhood nostalgia seems to create rose-tinted glasses about certain yarns that, when viewed objectively by mature eyes, really aren't as good as everyone says. Some aren't, necessarily, terrible either. But they're still not written so tightly you can bounce a quarter off of it like Ark in Space was. The level of appreciation they get, as far as I'm concerned, is not merited. 

Genesis of the Daleks is one of those stories. 

It has an enormously cool premise. Which I think most fans get so caught up in that they ignore all the problems with its execution. That opening scene with the Time Lord sending the Doctor on his mission is great. It totally gets me hyped for what's to come. Particularly the first time I'd watched the story. By this point, I'd heard about the Greatness of Genesis of the Daleks and was expecting to be blown away. 

But then, a few minutes later, the Doctor steps on a land mine. That should be the end of the story, right there. The end of Doctor Who as a show, in fact. But, somehow, they get out of the predicament unharmed. And all I'm thinking is: "I don't think land mines work that way!" 

Then there's some capture-and-escape with Harry and the Doctor in the Kaled outpost to pad things out a bit. Which might not be so bad except we're still only in Part One! This is the first episode and, already, we need to mark time?! Things do not look promising... 

Which is probably the biggest problem with Genesis. Sending the Doctor back in time to prevent the creation of the Daleks is a great idea. But if you're going to make it a six-part epic, there needs to be enough plot to fill it. And there just isn't enough material to do that. You really feel it in Part Six where Davros seems to plead endlessly with the Kaled scientists to remain loyal to him. Those Daleks are just taking sooo long to come back from mopping up the Thal survivors. Will they ever fill up the episode - I mean - get there in time?!   

There are other problems, too (don't get me started on that Cliffhanger on the scaffolding!) but all the blatant padding is the worst. 

There are also some great moments in there. Davros presenting a Dalek to the Kaled scientists for the very first time is very gripping to watch. The "Have I the right?"Speech is excellent. And so on.... But my real point is: there are just too many issues with this story that, for me, prohibit it from being considered a Classic. It's pretty good, in places - but it's also quite awful in others. But, because it's just so awesome that we're seeing the Daleks at the Dawn of their Creation, fans tend to gloss over a lot of the bad stuff. 

It's for this reason that Genesis of the Daleks did not make it into my Top Five Dalek Stories Countdown that I just completed. It will, however, probably make it into my Greatest Hits series, sometime soon....

BAD BOOKENDS - PART ONE 

Aside from harboring another "Fake Classic", there is one other major problem that this season suffers from. Its first and last stories are, basically, not very good. 

I have spoken, already, of how much I enjoy Tom Baker's acting during Robot. Sadly, that's about all I like. He has so much talent that his charm, alone, almost manages to save the story. Which says a lot since this is his very first time in the role. Most actors are a bit more timid in the earlier stages of a performance. But Baker comes in with a very comforting bravado that firmly establishes, right from the onset, that he is the New Doctor. He's quite different from previous Doctors - but he's still definitely the Time Lord we all know and love. 

There almost seems to be a battle going on as the episodes of Robot progress. Baker is practically throwing his charisma at the production. Getting us to be so enchanted with him that we don't really notice how bad things are when they cut away to another plot thread. Slowly but surely, however, he loses the fight. No actor possesses the talent to make us forget how bad of a story Robot is! 

My biggest problem with the whole tale is that it has too much of an Invasion of the Dinosaurs Vibe going on. Another weird fringe group has devised the most impractical of ways to take over the world. Really, there could be no clumsier method to obtain secret launch codes to nuclear missiles than to send a giant robot traipsing around busting into places and stealing the components to a disintegrator gun. Can we draw any more attention to ourselves, Think Tank?! If you want to break into a vault, hire a burglar with safe-cracking skills. Your plans are much more likely to succeed. 

I get it, of course. The story needs a sci fi gimmick of some sort. So that's why we get dinosaurs last season and a giant robot, this time. The story would be pretty boring if Think Tank really did just do the most practical thing. But if putting in gimmicks makes your story highly implausible, then maybe you should be scrapping the premise altogether and giving us something better. 

There's also a bit of a cheat going on with Professor Kettlewell. Trying to distance himself publicly from Think Tank even though he is actually one of their leaders does make a sort of sense. But some stuff goes on in Part Two that's pretty illogical. He acts upset when K1 shows up at his home/lab and reveals that its Prime Directive has been altered. If someone else were there that he was trying to hide his involvement with the Scientific Reform Society from then this reaction makes sense. But he's alone with the robot. Apparently, he is the one who is truly responsible for K1's reprogramming. So why would he appear distressed about his creation being tampered with? Is it for the robot's sake?! No. It's for the audience, of course. So we can stay fooled until Part Three. Where it is, at last, revealed that he is the mastermind behind it all. 

A similar thing happens when Winters and Jellicoe come storming in menacingly through Kettlewell's front door later in the same episode. Why would they actually be so intimidating toward him when it's just them in the room? He's their ally. The man who is realizing their vision for them.  They're only acting sinister because, again, the audience needs to be fooled. This, to me, is full-on bad writing. An author is allowed to be deceptive with the viewers to hide a plot twist. but not at the expense of  realism. You can fool us, but you still have to make sense. 

And then we must deal with Part Four. We see another problem that this tale has in common with Invasion of the Dinosaurs. 

I try not to come down too hard on Classic Who for poor visuals. As I've said many times: the show was doing the best with the little it was being given. If you read my review of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, you may have even noticed that I don't mention how fake the dinosaurs look. I figured the Elephant on the Table didn't really need to be addressed, for once. We all know the dinos look bad. We should just move on and discuss the stuff that was fixable in the story (like the actual script!). 

But the effects in Part Four of Robot are just a bit too much for me to swallow. Michael Kilgariff stomping about among doll houses in a robot costume while carrying a Barbie dressed up as Sarah Jane Smith throws any credibility the story had out the window. The whole sequence just looks way more ridiculous than my suspension of disbelief can handle. Even smaller visual problems like the way they get Elisabeth Sladen to grasp a pipe done in CSO rather than giving her an actual set piece to hang on to just adds insult to injury. This is genuinely unwatchable. 

When folks talk about bad introductory stories to new Doctors, it's usually Twin Dilemma and Time and the Rani that come up in the conversation. Neither of these stories are great, of course. I also don't think they're that bad, either.. And I would rather re-watch either of those tales over Robot any day.  

BAD BOOKENDS - PART TWO

After being away from the show for quite a while, the production team decided it was time to bring back the Cybermen.  Understanding their behind-the-scenes background,  Gerry Davis was commissioned to write a story involving them. Davis, of course, had been crucial to their development way back in the early 60s. So it was kinda cool that they got a hold of him 

If Revenge of the Cybermen had been made back in the 60s, it would have probably worked quite well. But it doesn't really fit in with how science fiction was being produced at the time. One of the best examples of this is the amount of really forced dialogue we get in order to deliver exposition. Somehow, this sort of thing feels comfortable in 60s Sci-Fi. But, in the 70s, it comes across as horrendously unnatural. The argument that takes place when Vorus is summoned by Councillor Tyrum in Part Two, for instance, sounds more like a dissertation on the Abridged History of Voga than it does an actual debate between two rival leaders. 

Still, I will say that the first half of Revenge of the Cybermen is largely enjoyable. But as we reach the end of Part Two, two crucial problems arise that cause the whole thing to unravel: 

1) The Vogans are really stupid with gold: The mines of Voga might be chocked full of the valuable mineral, but how the gold is actually used once it's unearthed seems largely counter-intuitive. Firstly, there's the fact that Sarah and Harry can free themselves from their shackles because they're made of gold and are, therefore, fairly malleable. One would think that even the dimmest of Vogans would be like: "Hey! If we want to incarcerate someone, maybe we shouldn't make the restraints out of something they can easily break out of!" 

The stupidity, however, doesn't end there. Eventually, a few Cybermen come down to the planet and start slaughtering small armies of Vogans that are trying to defend the caves. Here is a civilisation that seems to make everything out of gold. A mineral that is lethal to the Cybermen. But the one thing Vogans couldn't be bothered to craft from the substance was their freakin' bullets! 

Vogan soldiers dropping like flies. A society that lives in perpetual fear of the Cybermen. They have the one thing that can kill them with relative ease. But no one thinks: "Hey! Let's keep some gold bullets handy in case those nasty Cybermen show up someday..." 

There's even supposed to be something called a glitter gun. No one had the idea to keep one of them hanging about?! Or how about just trying to jump the Cybermen and stuff gold dust down their chest grates like the Doctor, Harry and Lester eventually attempt? Nope. Instead, they just get endlessly slaughtered as they try to kill the Cybermen with regular damn bullets. 

So stupid. 

2) Silliest Cybermen ever: Right from their first appearance in the story, the Cyber-Leader does this weird hand gesture that almost looks a bit comical. As they board Nerva Beacon at the end of Part Two they start firing from their head units. This also looks a tad silly. 

It just gets worse in the final two episodes. There have been some complaints about how the Cyber-Leaders in 80s Who stories seem to show more emotion than they ought to. They have nothing, however, on the Cyber-Leader from Revenge of the Cybermen. This guy reads more like a villain from the 60s Batman TV Series  than the commander of an army of ruthlessly logical cyborgs. 

There's some serious camp going on here. And it's quite cringey to watch. The Leader vigorously shaking the Doctor like a martini after his cybermat attack fails looks almost as ridiculous as that "Giant Robot" from the beginning of the season rudely breaking all those nice doll houses. 

Not only do the Cybermen act very silly throughout the latter half of the tale, but their actual plot doesn't really seem to hold together very well, either. As the whole adventure comes to an end, things really do feel like they've fallen apart. Gold might be lethal to Cybermen, but I'm not sure why it would interfere with the radar signals their human bombs are giving off as they descend into the planet (especially since the radar system they're using is not the product of Cyber-technology. They're in Nerva Beacon control room as they track them). Or why the radar would keep following one person while the other two start coming back up from the mines. Twice the amount of signals getting closer to the surface should have a much better chance of being noticed than one signal that's going down deeper. 

None of this makes a lot of sense. 

Of course, the Vogans have become just as ludicrous by the end of the tale. Do we have to keep shooting people who want to launch the Skystriker? Can the three Vogans just standing around doing nothing actually grab somebody?! Was it really necessary to take that much life?! How about just knocking someone over the head with the butt of your rifle rather than firing it?!  

Hell, you could even just put Vorus in handcuffs that he will probably break out of within  minutes because, more than likely, they'll be made of gold (but those damned bullets aren't!). This would have still delayed things long enough for the Doctor and Sarah up on Nerva Beacon. And no one would have to die.   

Instead, however, everything just turns into a big illogical mess as Revenge reaches its conclusion. Again, the first two parts are okay. But it all falls apart after a while. 

Ultimately, a really bad way to end the season. 

FINAL VERDICT

As we come to our conclusion of the Review, I can already imagine what some of your are saying: 

"But Rob! You're writing the Final Verdict even though you've barely mentioned The Sontaran Experiment!" 

I am trying not to just review every story individually as I write these. But, rather, look at the Season as a whole. Sometimes, admittedly, story-by-story does work better. But I'd rather not get too formulaic with this. Nonetheless, I'll say something brief about Sontaran Experiment. You won't be happy with me if I don't! 

It's a decent little two-parter that stays entertaining, throughout. Nothing exceptional. But still good. Nice to see the Sontarans back again so soon. Returning this quickly helps to establish the long-term presence they will have on the show. 

Better? 

I have criticised Season Twelve quite heavily, in places. I don't think Genesis of the Daleks is as great as everyone says. I'm not that fond of Revenge of the Cybermen. I called Robot downright awful. You'd almost think I don't enjoy this season at all. 

If I'm being honest, though: I still quite like Twelve. I'd almost say it's the equivalent of a Season Seven for Tom Baker. Pertwee's first year was still waaaayyy better, of course - but this one stands out quite nicely, too. Even if there are a few nasty stumbles, I enjoy this season more than quite a few of the others Baker will star in (which should brace you a bit for some future reviews of periods of the show that I know some of you will have strong feelings about!).  

Much of the success of the season, I feel, is owed to its three leads. This really was a good TARDIS team that, oftentimes, doesn't get the credit it deserves. When the content wasn't quite up to standard, the performances of Baker, Sladen and Marter could really help to lift things. Had the show continued with all three of them, the next few seasons of Who would have probably been the genuine Golden Age that fans claim it to be. As it stands, it is still quite good with just Four and Sarah. But I think a third member of the crew would have boosted things tremendously. 

In general, I don't like it when it's just two people in the TARDIS. Sadly, that's all we're getting for quite some time, now (even when K9 does come along - I don't really consider him a companion so much as just a prop!). 

But I will, at least, have happy memories of Baker's first season. Where a bohemian, a cantankerous journalist and an imbecile had some great adventures together....

DOCTOR WHO : SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON ELEVEN

End-of-year Countdown is over. Time to get back to some Season Reviews and other such nonsense. 

MAKING THIS EVER-SO-SLIGHTLY LIKE A BOOK OF LISTS

The last few Reviews of this nature were just me going through each story of the season and expressing my feelings on them. I feel that might actually be getting a bit boring so I decided I might try to spice things up a bit. 

However, I do still think a story-by-story review works best for this period. Or perhaps I just lack creativity and can't come up with something new and different (I'm betting on the latter!). Whichever the case, I'm going to still adhere to the format but implement a slight variation in its execution. 

Thus far, I was reviewing the stories of the last two seasons in chronological order. This time, I will be ranking them from best to worst. Hopefully, that will keep things fresh and interesting.  

All right, then. Let's start with what I feel was the best story of Season Eleven: 

1. Death to the Daleks

Yup. You've read that right. This is the story I enjoy most from this season. After some serious thought, I realised this was the most tightly-written and entertaining tale of the year. 

Death to the Daleks is far from perfect, of course. The Dalek self-destructing after realising that Sarah Jane and Jill have escaped is, perhaps, one of the silliest things I've ever seen a Dalek do (and this is the same monster that patrols the bottom of a river for no readily apparent reason!). Another super-silly moment occurs when Part Three ends on an almost baffling cliffhanger ("Oh my God! A checkered pattern on the floor!"). 

You also need to, sort of, view the story in a vacuum. Otherwise you notice that it engages in certain trends that the show repeats a bit more often than it should. Death to the Daleks, for instance, uses a fairly-cheap time-filler that we will see a few more times in Pyramids of Mars and Hand of Fear. When a writer needs to fill an episode or so, they make the Doctor assail a whole series of traps. In Death's defence, the convention is justifiable. The city would probably have defences of this nature. Also, this is the first time we see this writing trick used. So, at least, it's not getting tiresome, yet. By the time it pops up again in Hand of Fear, I've had more-than-enough of it. 

You also need to pretend that you've never watched Planet of the Daleks from the previous season. Nation does re-use a few plot devices from that adventure, here. Once more, however, we can defend Death a bit. What he does re-hash works much better this time. I especially like that he maintains a fairly constant sense of peril throughout the four parts but doesn't do so at the expense of realism. We don't get stuff like the TARDIS running  out of oxygen because it's covered in spores!   

What it all really boils down to is that the flaws of this tale are pretty minor. Otherwise, I find it to be very engaging from beginning to end. Some interesting things get done with some of the supporting cast. Particularly Galloway, of course. He is a jerk throughout the four episodes but then goes out as a hero. A sentient city was also a very neat concept that we hadn't really seen before in the show. Nor has it been explored that much in science fiction, in general. Very inventive on Nation's behalf. It's quite cool when the Doctor mourns its passing at the end.

Having just done my Top Five Dalek Stories, you can tell this is not the best tale we've ever seen that has featured the Skarosian Tyrants. But it still holds together quite nicely. There are some other decent stories this season, but I find this one the most enjoyable. Certainly the least problematic. 

2. The Time Warrior

Most of you would have, probably, made this Number One on your list. I do think it's a fairly strong story, too. Particularly in the way it introduces the Sontarans. It fills out so many interesting details about them that it would have been moronic not to give them further appearances on the show. In fact, until War of the Sontarans, I'd rank this as the best story ever made that featured them (War, I feel, beats this one. The Vanquishers ties it. Any other Sontaran Adventure is inferior). 

Things go great for the first two episodes. Then it starts suffering the same fate as Carnival of Monsters. Robert Holmes seems to be having problems with creating enough plot to fill his four-parters. Once more, we get some really unnecessary runaround to pad things out. The Doctor and Sarah break in and out of Irongron's castle over and over. To the point where one wonders why Lord Edward is so frightened to attack. My garage when I forget to lock it is a more impenetrable fortress! 

There's also that incredibly ludicrous sequence where the Doctor dodges bullets at point-blank range for the better part of five minutes. Quite possibly, the biggest stretch of credulity in the whole history of the show. By this point, Time Warrior has lost most of its steam. Hal killing Linx at the end with an arrow to the probic vent (even though he wasn't actually aware of the weakness - just a lucky shot, I guess!) is pretty cool. But I'm still just not that particularly interested, anymore. The whole thing just kinda fizzles out.

I absolutely adore that first half, though. Enough to get me to still consider this to be one of the best Sontaran stories ever made. Much praise to Kevin Lindsay for really fleshing the creature's personality out. Great prosthetic work, too. Linx actually looks better than several other versions that came after him. It even beats the New Who design that we got up until Chibnall re-did them. 

3. Planet of Spiders

Sadly, this story should be at the top. A tale seeing off the latest incarnation of the Doctor should be the best of the season. We would see this for Doctors Four and Five, at least. But not so much for this one! 

There are some things that I do really enjoy about Planet of Spiders. It's central message of conquering your fears being more important than life, itself, was certainly illustrated quite beautifully. Particularly, of course, in that final scene where the Doctor stumbles out of the TARDIS and regenerates right in front of Sarah Jane and the Brigadier. 

I also quite like everything that was going on with Cho-je and K'anpo. Finally meeting the Doctor's Mentor was quite nice. And how he was capable of projecting his future incarnation was massively cool. 

A lot of fans find Tommy's inclusion in the story a bit distasteful. I can see their point. Having an actor portray someone with special needs is always tricky ground to stand on. But I quite enjoyed the whole journey Tommy goes through. Not sure if that makes me insensitive or something of that nature. But I thought Doctor Who Does Flowers for Algernon was quite fascinating. 

The extended chase scene is, actually, somewhat entertaining most of the time. It does, ultimately, go on for far too long, though. What makes it even more ridiculous is the fact that Lupton and the Spider  teleport out as the Doctor is finally about to capture them. Why didn't they just do this when they were first trying to flee the UNIT base? Why run around for the better part of 20 minutes and then teleport out?! The whole thing was, in the end, a pointless indulgence that brings the story to a pretty big screeching halt. It has a few fun moments, admittedly. But it's mostly just pointless. 

Here's a complaint I never hear about Planet of Spiders: Doctor Who Producers, please keep your religion out of my show! This really is, pretty much, a recruitment video for Buddhism. Like, people should have been turning towards the camera on a regular basis and saying: "Hey kids! Doesn't Buddhism look cool?! You should join!"  I don't mind religious imagery in a Who Story. Kinda does that a bit. As does Doctor Who - The Movie. But this really does feel more like Letts is foisting his beliefs on us. It's strange how, because it's Buddhism it doesn't bother us as much. I guarantee you if he had gone on as much as he did about his faith but he was a Christian, fans would have grumbled This isn't me trying to sound like one of those "Put Christ back in Christmas" -types. I'm just trying to give some perspective. Too much time is taken in the plot to just explain Buddhism to the audience. Almost as if a religious belief is being sold to us. I don't think Doctor Who should ever be a place where anyone does any kind of evangelising. No matter what the religion is. 

The other major problem is a complaint you've heard me make about Pertwee Six-Parters several times, already. In defence of Spiders, the padding is less obvious (except, of course, for an extended chase sequence that eats up most of Part Two!). But it still feels like we just don't have enough story to fill the episode count. A great amount of time is spent getting to know some villagers that have been enslaved by the Eight Legs. Which almost wasn't too bad of a way to fill the plot. Except that their whole thread is brought to this very abrupt end in Part Six and we really don't get a particularly clear idea of what becomes of them in the aftermath. Which makes the whole subplot feel strange and disjointed. Revealing it for what it really is: fairly pointless filler.  

Planet of Spiders is, at best, a mixed bag. There's some things I really enjoy about it. But then there's also stuff that I greatly dislike. Which makes it not a very good story for a Doctor to go out on. End of Time - Parts One and Two is probably still the worst. But this might just come in a Close Second. 

4. Monster of Peladon

And now the quality starts to dip into something genuinely bad. I wouldn't quite call Monster of Peladon an absolutely terrible story. But I can't call it good, either. Slightly below average would probably be the most accurate way to describe it. 

I really haven't complimented Brian Hayles adequately in these reviews. He's written some extremely solid stuff over the years. Curse of Peladon was even strong enough to merit a sequel. He did some very good world-building in the first tale that left plenty of room for expansion. 

The direction he takes his sequel in was a good one. Curse was a tale that took place mainly in Peladon's Royal Court with aristocracy and ambassadors. It was nice to delve into what life was like for the lower classes. In this sense, I do find Monster enjoyable. 

I'm not sure why Hayles falls prey to the Plight of Properly Filling a Six-Parter. He's written stories of this length before and done just fine. Done excellently, in fact. You don't feel any real sag in either The Ice Warriors or Seeds of Death. 

But Monster of Peladon definitely drags in places. To Hayles' credit, he comes up with something slightly more clever than the capture-and-escape formula. Instead, he gives us "coup attempts that succeed for a bit and then fail". It works the same way as capture-and-escape. It eats up a bit of time but then restores the plot to exactly where it was before. Hayles doesn't incarcerate a few significant characters and then have them break out for a bit only to get re-apprehended shortly, thereafter. Instead, he has the miners attempt an uprising that makes a bit of headway before it's nipped in the bud by their oppressors. It amounts to the same thing, of course. Time still gets eaten without the plot really moving forward. Just look at how the miners have to attack the Federation armory twice during the first two parts. But, even when they get their hands on more advanced weapons, their situation doesn't really change. And that's because a miner's revolution isn't a true plot thread in the narrative. It's just there to mark time. 

The general plotting of the whole tale gets very troubled, sometimes. There are elements to the story that Hayles just drags out for so long that things start feeling preposterous. Ettis stealing the sonic lance and pointing it at the palace is one of the better examples of this. He swears he's going to use it to destroy the aristocracy but then doesn't finally get around to it til an episode-and-a-half later! I would think that if you were that bitter with your government and had the means to take it down that you would pull the trigger right away. Not sit around for a while with the weapon at your disposal until the Doctor can come along to try to stop you. 

The other major problem with this tale seems to lie in how it was directed. It has the same sort of "flat" tone that The Mutants had. Although it doesn't seem to be the fault of the actors, this time. Most are doing a great job. Eckersley, in particular. He gives the sort of performance that telegraphs his hidden agenda all over place but you don't notice it at all the first time you see the story. Only in the re-watch do you spot the clues. 

If a TV show feels flat even though it's populated with good actors, then you have to look more closely at how the whole thing was shot. Monster of Peladon is completely studio-bound. There are a few scenes that appear to have been recorded with a proper film camera. Otherwise, it's all done with the three-camera system that was in popular use at the time. It can be very easy to just keep those cameras in, more-or-less, the same spots for every scene. Giving us a repetition of angles that can become quite monotonous after a while. This is what appears to be happening, here.  

With both the writing and the directing suffering, it's hard to lift the story. No matter how good the cast is. Because of this, I find Monster of Peladon largely disappointing. 

5. Invasion of the Dinosaurs

The last of the Great Pertwee-Era Messes. There had to be one more, I guess, before he went.

I'm usually quite merciful the first time I watch a Doctor Who story. I'm just so excited to enjoy something I haven't seen before that I'll, happily, sit through that initial viewing. Even if I'm not enjoying a lot of what I'm seeing.  

I came very close to giving up on Invasion of the Dinssaurs. It's just such an uninteresting, ill-constructed script. Malcolm Hulke had disappointed me quite badly with The Sea Devils. But this one sank to even greater depths. If I were to list my Five Least Favorite Doctor Who Stories (and I just might, someday), this one would make it in. 

There is a publishing company that specialises in producing anthologies that review every episode of a cult series. They commission me from time-to-time. Not just for Doctor Who but other TV shows that I have a working knowledge of. A few years ago, they asked me to review Invasion of the Dinosaurs. "Give us something really unique." they requested. So I did my best to deliver.  

If you really want a clear idea of why I'm not fond of this story, I'll paste the review at the end of the entry. 

The only thing I don't mention in that particular review is the largely extraneous quality of Episodes One and Five. Five is another prime example of one of those later sections of a six-parter where the plot has run out for a bit so they just stall for an entire episode. Sarah Jane Smith does an extensive "escape-and-get-re-captured" routine. The Doctor, meanwhile, participates in another awful chase sequence. Many like to complain about the big one that takes place in Planet of Spiders, but I think this one is far worse. Pulling into a garage to escape your pursuers and then finally abandoning your vehicle and standing in some nearby bushes while they conveniently don't go in your direction is one of the most boring, unimaginative action sequence I've ever had to sit through!   

To add insult to injury, however, we also have Part One. Another one of those episodes that is trying to just kill time til a big, exciting cliffhanger. So a whole lot of nothing happens. The cliffhanger isn't even all that special. We're supposed to be shocked that there are dinosaurs in London but they show a nice big T-Rex halfway through the episode. Thus rendering the shock at the end of the episode rather ineffective. The Doctor and Sarah are still in danger from the T-Rex, of course. But why go to all the trouble of changing the name of the story so as not to ruin the cliffhanger and then ruin the cliffhanger anyway?!  It's all quite silly. 

For years, they didn't show Part One because it was only in black-and-white. The fact that we had no real problem understanding the story without it shows just how useless the first episode was. 

Anything I like about Invasion of the Dinosaurs? Some interesting developments with Mike Yates. But, even then, those developments are poorly-handled. His involvement with Operation Golden Age should have been kept a secret from us for much longer so as to make it a major shock when his hand is, at last, revealed. 

Incidentally, working out who is secretly involved with Operation Golden Age was not a great test of our deductive skills. It was, pretty much, any supporting character except Benton and the Brigadier. And that goofy private who shows up for a few scenes. But, even then, I wonder about him....

SOME ASSORTED NOTES: 

There are a few more things worth noting about this season beyond just a story-by-story analysis. So let's go through it. 

Sarah Jane Smith

This season is pretty significant to most fans as it sees the introduction of one of the most-beloved companions in the show. 

I have said it before in here (so, hopefully it's not too much of a shock!) I'm really only so fond of Sarah Jane Smith. There are far worse companions, of course. But I don't think I would even put her in my Top Ten. I think Elisabeth Sladen does a great job in the role but, most of the time, the writers really don't give her much. 

I will say: I think the character gets its best treatment in this season. Unlike many female companions before her (and even a few after), she doesn't just speak out against chauvinism but still prove, pretty much, useless without a man to help her. She actually does get some things done all on her own and can prove useful to the plot beyond just asking the Doctor what's going on and creating complications by getting into trouble and needing rescuing. 

She's even good for, occasionally, saving the Doctor's life. Or, at the very least, she flings herself at someone who's about to harm him and extends his life ever-so-slightly until something else can happen that saves him properly! 

Pertwee Bowing Out 

I have not always been kind when discussing Jon Pertwee's performance in the role. By no means do I believe him to be a bad actor. I don't really think he would have had such an illustrious career if he had been without talent. I especially don't think he would have gotten a part like the Doctor if he wasn't good at his craft. 

I am very happy with how he does during Season 7. At the time that he started as the Doctor, he had worked mainly as a presenter rather than an actor. So he lacked confidence in his abilities as a performer playing a "proper" role. This ended up serving to his advantage, though.  It made him work that much harder to get his character to look convincing and feel as three-dimensional as the part would allow. 

From Season 8, onwards, he gets a boost of confidence. Which I felt works to his detriment. There are times where it definitely feels like he's walking through the role. Or "phoning it in" as they like to say in the Biz! It really does feel, sometimes, like he's just going through the motions rather than being in the moment. There are other nuances to the performance that are going on that still make it look pretty good. But "being present" is a very important thing for an actor to be doing when he is in the middle of a scene. And there are occasions when it feels like Pertwee isn't doing that. 

Having said all that, I do feel Pertwee starts putting in a stronger effort during this season. He knows he's on his way out and wants to make sure he goes out on a high note. I still think he's at his best in Season 7, but he also does quite well, here. Which gets me to enjoy his final year more. 

Those Darned Six-Parters! 

I have grumbled several times about six episode adventures during the Pertwee era. But I do think they do the most damage during Season Eleven. You can see, quite clearly, in my story rankings that the four parters were the most-appreciated. Things don't begin to really flounder until we move into six episode tales. Other seasons still had decent six-parters among the bad ones. But even Planet of Spiders barely holds its head above water. Monster of Peladon is sub-par. Invasion of the Dinosaurs is terrible. 

What makes matters worse is that this is Pertwee's final season. You want things to go out with a bang. But most of the strong content was done with mid-way through the season. So, instead, the whole era closes on twelve continuous episodes that are quite poor. I can't help but think that Monster and Spiders would have worked better with two episodes trimmed off of each of them and another four parter put into the line-up. 

I get why six-parters get commissioned. Production is just trying to help a writer out. The author makes  more money off of a longer story. But if they can't provide us a plot that requires six parts to tell it, then I don't see a point in paying them the extra cash. Spread the wealth a bit and give us three good stories rather than two long, crappy ones. Especially when you're seeing your lead off.

CONCLUSION: 

While I've made it abundantly clear that I'm not fond of most of the Pertwee Era, I will say that Season Eleven is, at least, my second favorite season from this period. Much of this is owed to two traits that I've already discussed. I do find Pertwee is putting out a better performance than usual, here. And Sarah Jane Smith is a definite improvement over Jo Grant. These two developments boost my enjoyment of this season considerably. 

It also seems that the production team have figured out that they have, pretty much, milked the UNIT Family for all its worth. Aside from Invasion of the Dinosaurs, the Doctor only spends portions of a story on Contemporary Earth. Which is good. When he gets away from UNIT, we are less likely to be subjected to all those tropes that have been driving me nuts. 

I do also like that a bit of ongoing drama was created with the regular cast by having Mike Yates go through a whole arc over the course of the season. I wish more of this sort of thing had occurred. Even the Brigadier's character tends to lack depth. Nicholas Courtney, more often times than not, manages to mine things out of the scripts that weren't really put there by the writers. 

Having said all that, I'm still not entirely sure why the Doctor goes near the 20th Century at all during this season. He spends so much time resenting his exile.in earlier years that it makes no sense that he's still going back to UNIT so much. Three talks endlessly of how much he loves to travel. But we really don't see much of his actual wanderlust in action. I do think I would have enjoyed this era much more if there had been a greater amount spacebound stories once the exile was rescinded. Instead, it almost feels like he is still trapped on Earth. Both seasons where he's meant to be "free" see him on Modern-Day Earth quite a bit. Season Nine, in fact, has him away from the 20th Century nearly as much as Season Eleven. And he was still serving his exile in Nine. 

But, at least it's finally over. Three regenerates into Four during the final minutes of Planet of Spiders. A new era is upon us. Not only is the Lead changing, but there will be a major shake-up behind the scenes, too.  I know many fans adored Letts and Dicks. But, judging by their output and how it relates to my own tastes, I'm only so fond of them. I welcome the change that's about to come with open arms.

How much better will I actually like it, though? Change does not always produce improvement. The new era might be something different, but I might still find it just as displeasing. 

One might almost be tempted to say: "No way! He's gotta love Tom Baker! Everyone loves Tom Baker!" 

But I am the Great Contrarion. So you never know....

As promised, here is that Review I wrote of Invasion of the Dinosaurs: 

Excerpts from the minutes of the Board of Directors meeting for Operation Golden Age: 

PRESIDENT: Ladies and Gentlemen of Project Golden Age. I wish to announce that this is, without a doubt, the most crucial of all our Board of Directors meetings. For tonight, my Brothers and Sisters of the Environment, we shall reveal our ....Ultimate Plan! 

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: several audible "ooohs" and "aaahhhs" can be heard from those sitting around the conference table)

PRESIDENT: We are gathered here because we are sick of what mankind has been doing to the planet. We've considered many options to reverse these effects and have come up with what I believe to be the best one. Here it is: 

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: The President seems to be pausing a moment for dramatic effect) 

PRESIDENT: We're going to roll back time.We're going to make the entire planet temporally reverse itself so that we can go back to the prehistoric era and start things over again. This will have a huge effect on everyone currently living in the Present. I'm not sure how - you'll have to consult the science team on this - but this will cause everyone but our special little group to have never existed. By reversing all of Time, we will, essentially, be wiping out the entire population of the world. Except our chosen elite, of course. Again, not entirely sure how we're excluded - talk to the tech guys. But when we have re-set the planet to prehistoric times,  we will be able to create an Earth devoid of pollution.  We will make a better world.  

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: more audible "ooohhhs" and "aaahhhhs" from those assembled) 

JENKINS: Excuse me!  

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: This time, there are audible groans from the Board of Directors. No one likes Jenkins)

JENKINS: Rather than rolling back time across the entire planet, wouldn't it be easier to just open up a small rift in time that takes us back to the prehistoric age?  We can then just step through it and go into the past.   This way, we're not wiping the current population of Earth out of existence forever and ever.  We're just going back and setting things up in a new way so that all these people will still exist.   They'll just be living in a more environmentally-friendly version of reality.   Doesn't that seem more ethical?

PRESIDENT: Thankyou for your suggestion Jenkins. But that's not the option we're going with. 

JENKINS: Wouldn't it also prove less taxing on our energy resources and be, overall, more practical? 

PRESIDENT: Again, thankyou Jenkins, with your suggestions. I'd like to carry on now, please!

JENKINS: Okay. Sorry. 

PRESIDENT: In order to do this, we are going to need to evacuate London so that we don't accidentally take people with us that we don't want. 

JENKINS: Excuse me, again...

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: More groans from the rest of the room)

JENKINS: Couldn't we just go out and do this at a remote location? That seems like less work.

PRESIDENT: But we already have this secret bunker ready-made for our purposes.

JENKINS: This organization is made up of all kinds of rich and influential people, isn't it? Surely they could set up a secret bunker far away from any civilization and we can conduct our plans from there. I know that will take some work but it's still got to be more practical than trying to evacuate all of London. Especially when you consider that there will still be all kinds of people hanging around. People we definitely don't want to take with us when we roll back time. Like looters and thieves. 

PRESIDENT: Thankyou Jenkins.

JENKINS: Alternatively, of course, if we go with my time rift idea those looters and thieves definitely wouldn't be able to follow us cause we'd just close the rift behind us after we've sent all the good guys through it. 

PRESIDENT: The decision has been made, Jenkins! 

JENKINS: Right. Sorry. 

PRESIDENT: We've come up with a most ingenious plan to cause the evacuation. We call it .... The Invasion of Dinosaurs! 

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: The Board expresses awe over the name) 

JENKINS: Okay. That doesn't even make sense. 

PRESIDENT:  What? 

JENKINS: The term "Invasion" implies a strategically-organized occupation of a territory and the planned subgigation of a group of people. Dinosaurs have brains the size of peas. They can't organize or plan.

PRESIDENT: Jenkins. This is hardly the time for semantics. 

JENKINS: Of course not. Sorry.

PRESIDENT: We shall do this by scooping up dinosaurs from the past and unleashing them on the city.  This will, no doubt, cause the mass evacuation we need. 

JENKINS: Wow! There has got to be a thousand more practical ways to evacuate London! 

PRESIDENT: What do you mean? 

JENKINS: Well, it seems to me that this whole "rolling back time" thing is going to require tremendous energy, right? 

PRESIDENT: That's correct. 

JENKINS: Although, I'm guessing that just creating a rift will require a whole lot less. 

PRESIDENT: Seriously, Jenkins. Enough with the rift, already! It's tired. 

JENKINS: Fine. I'll let it go. But I'm just guessing that pulling dinosaurs out from the past will sap a lot of that much-needed energy that we need for the rollback, right? 

PRESIDENT: Yes.

JENKINS: So let's come up with another means to evacuate London that doesn't put a drain on our power needs. 

PRESIDENT: Such as....?! 

JENKINS: Just about anything, really. I mean, we've got politicians and military personnel involved with this group. You guys could easily create a false crisis if you wanted to. Claim a lab experiment unleashed a deadly virus or there's been a horrible toxic spill. It wouldn't be hard for you to spread that kind of propaganda with the positions you hold. And it would expend no real energy to accomplish it. Even those looters and thieves wouldn't want to hang around if you come up with the right kind of cover story. 

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: Jenkins has now caused the President to reach a boiling point. He is muttering incoherently in frustration. It is impossible to properly record his words)

CAPTAIN YATES: Excuse me Sir President. If I may intercede....

PRESIDENT: What is it, Mike? 

CAPTAIN YATES: If it's all right with the Board, I'd like to take Jenkins out back for a private conversation. 

JENKINS: Uh oh....

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: Motion is quickly passed to have Jenkins ejected. All except Jenkins voted unanimously. A brief recess is called to allow the President to calm his nerves. During that recess, a gunshot is heard in the distance. Captain Yates returns a short while later without Jenkins. He seems deeply satisfied. Meeting resumes shortly thereafter)

PRESIDENT: Right then. We're back. It has come to my attention that a lot of our membership is going to object to what we're doing.   So here's how we're going to deal with that:  First, we're going to put them all into suspended animation. Then, we're going build a fake spaceship and wake them up on it and hope that they don't clue in to the fact that the spaceship is totally fake.

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: The room is flooded with "Oohs" and "Aaahhs")

GENERAL FINCH: It's weird but I can almost hear Jenkins saying something like: 'That seems largely impractical! If we're putting them into suspended animation, why do we actually need to build a fake spaceship to wake them up in? Especially if they might actually work out that the spaceship is fake? Why not just put them to sleep here and then wake up them up in the New World and tell them that they were in a spaceship in between? The fake spaceship seems like an awful lot of unnecessary work. Won't everything kinda fall apart, anyway, when they go through the airlock and find themselves in a sub-basement rather than emerging from a sophisticated interplanetary vehicle?!"   

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: Room is silent for a moment. Everyone just stares at Finch with daggers in their eyes)

GENERAL FINCH: Or something like that.... 

(SECRETARY'S NOTE: More silence and daggers from eyes) 

GENERAL FINCH: You know what else is weird? I have a feeling that, someday in the future, I'm going to wear an awful prosthetic around my eyes and do a very racially-offensive Asian impression....

(SECRETARY'S FINAL NOTE: As loathe as we were to admit it, the points of the late Jenkins were extremely valid. While many may look upon the plot of Operation Golden Age with great nostalgia, closer inspection reveals that it is full of massive holes and inconsistencies. One might even say that, aside from the surprise betrayal of Mike Yates - which comes far too early in the plot and would have had more impact near the end - the whole thing is a pretty big piece of nonsense. The Lesson to be Learned: when putting together a plot, always listen to the Jenkins in the room)

. 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE DALEK STORIES - NUMBER ONE

As usual, my End-of-Year Countdown spills over a bit into the New Year.

"More blogging, Rob." I always remind myself throughout December, "And less drinking of spiked eggnog!"     

Someday, I'll get my priorities straight! 

If you've followed this blog loyally (and, amazingly enough, some of you have!), it won't be hard to work out what my favorite Dalek Story is. My second favorite Doctor Who Story ever features the Daleks. So it stands to reason that this would, more-than-likely, be my all-time Fave Dalek Adventure. 

And, sure enough, it is.

Here comes the tricky part, though: I've already written a pretty solid Review of this tale when I was compiling my Top Ten Favorite Doctor Who Stories way back when I started this Blog in the 1940s (here it is: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-2.html). I've looked over what I've composed and will do my best to write about new things that I haven't already covered in the previous entry. Basically, I'll examine it more as a Dalek Story than just a great story, in general. 

DAVROS-LIGHT (BUT NOT REALLY)

Probably one of the most interesting twists we get in Remembrance of the Daleks is its treatment of Davros. We know he's in the story, somewhere. We notice his White-and-Gold Daleks, so he's got to be around. But, for most of the story, we don't really see him. 

Since the mid-70s, the Kaled Mad Scientist has been an important component of any Dalek Tale. As I said in a previous entry, I don't think Davros takes away from the Daleks when he's with them. Rather, he does the exact opposite: He enhances them. He handles all the more complicated speeches and, in so doing, allows us a deeper look into their mentality. While a Dalek might rant: "We are the Superior Race!". Davros will take the time to explain why. 

But to finally get a story, again, where we really are just seeing a lot of Daleks with no real sign of Davros gives Remembrance a very interesting tone. It suddenly feels "pre-Genesis of the Daleks". And that has a very nice vibe to it. Nothing against Davros, of course. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest villains the show has ever crafted. That is one Popular Fan Opinion that I won't contradict (I know it's rare!). But it is really nice to get three solid episodes of what feels like just Daleks. Given that there's meant to be a sort of commemorative quality to this particular story, it really does give us a sense of something more traditional going on in the plot. We're getting the old Daleks back for just a little bit. 

Of course, we do discover that Davros was in the story way more than we realized. Which was a great piece of misdirection that produces one of the best plot twists in the story. We're all convinced that he's wearing some weird hat and staring at a map in Ratcliffe's garage the whole time. But that doesn't turn out to be him at all. And, when it is revealed that he was the Emperor Dalek, we do have to pick our jaws up off the floor. That really was a fun little trick that Ben Aaronovitch played on us. 

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

While discussing the whole "we thought Davros was the Battle Computer" plot twist, there is another quality to that moment that I wish to highlight. I love how the Battle Computer is actually a reference to a problem the Daleks were having way back in Destiny of the Daleks. Their over-reliance on logic had thrown them into a horrible stalemate with the Movellans and strapping a child into a computer system was their way to solve the problem. It was a nice demonstration of how adaptive the Daleks are. They are brilliant-but-ruthless problem-solvers. 

It also shows off the benefits of having a true fan writing the story. Aaronovitch has been following the exploits of the Daleks closely over the last few years and is eager to build upon the narrative. He shows an eye for painstaking detail throughout the four episodes. Making subtle but non-intrusive continuity references all over the place. 

But he, most specifically, goes to great lengths to make sure he's keeping canon about the Daleks straight. He's been watching the conflict that's been brewing between the Daleks and their creator. He understands that he's got to display its ultimate fruition, here. He delivers an excellent pay-off to all the tension that's been building since Resurrection. In some ways, I think only a fan could have written a story like this. 

I'm not only impressed with how well Aaronovitch has kept pace with the most current aspects of the Dalek Saga that's been developing. But his general knowledge of the Skarosian Menaces also shines through. Look at how well-constructed the info-dump the Doctor gives Ace in Part One is. It's concise and makes sure that the more casual viewer has a clear idea of their origins story. It was especially important to re-establish the organic content of a Dalek since Destiny insinuated heavily that the Daleks were now just robots. Other writers since that story had emphasised this too, but it needed to keep getting pushed so that the whole nature of the civil war between the two factions made proper sense. 

And, of course, we love it when the Doctor makes a Dalek Disruptor and notes: "I rigged something like it once on Spiridon."  It really shows off just how well the author knows his Dalek Lore!   

THE ACTION

This is something I do speak about in the other Review but it deserves being mentioned, again. There really are some great action sequences in this story. Many still look good to this day and are more entertaining to watch than some of the fight scenes we've gotten in New Who (where the production team were working with a real budget!). 

The most famous of these sequences takes place during Part Two, of course. When Ace starts taking out Daleks in Coal Hill School with a super-powered bat, it is impossible not to fall in love with her. She already seemed like a fairly fun character in Dragonfire, but now she is massively cool. It's hard not to punch the air just a little bit as she proclaims: "Who you calling small?!" and then takes out the Dalek's eyestalk (and a few other chunks along with it!). 

It's also quite fun when she unleashes a bazooka on an Imperial Dalek. A much briefer sequence but we still love it when she says: "I aimed for the eyepiece!". Ace kicking Dalek Ass really is a crucial element of this adventure. The image of a rebellious teen conquering heavily-armed fascists stirs the heart in some incredible ways. 

But this isn't the only action in Remembrance. We do get some good fights between the human military and the Daleks. And, of course, we also get some nice fights between Daleks and Daleks. Things get especially awesome when they, at last, roll out the Special Weapons Dalek. 

Was there ever a cooler design than the Special Weapons Dalek? I think not!  I still remember my first impression of it. It took a while for Remembrance to actually get broadcast in the part of Canada I was living in during the late 80s. But I was getting issues of Doctor Who Magazine quite punctually. So I saw a picture of it in there, first. Even a mere photo made me think: "This thing looks friggin' great!"

It's been nice to see the Special Weapons Dalek make some cameos in New Who. But, really, most of its glory stems from actually seeing it fire. Watching it bust through the defences of the Renegade Daleks with little or no problem really re-enforced how potent of a weapon this thing is. It's a simple idea, really: Stick a canon on top of a Dalek. I'm amazed it took so long for someone to think it up. But I'm glad that a writer finally did.

FAN SERVICE, IN GENERAL

Aaronovitch has references to Planet of the Daleks and Dalek Invasion of Earth woven into the dialogue. He creates battle sequences between Ace and the Daleks that are so iconic that we see them again, 30 years later, in Power of the Doctor. He even comes up with a new type of Dalek that becomes an absolute Fan Favorite. Remembrance of the Daleks is, without a doubt, a story for the hardcores! If you know your Who, then this story practically sings to you. 

But he does one more thing for the Daleks that is more important than anything. After decades of British stand-up comics using this as easy material, he finally dispels the myth. That's right....

He actually shows us a Dalek climbing stairs!!!!!

At long last, the dumb joke can be laid to rest. The Conquerors of the Universe are not vanquished by any building that isn't handicap-accessible, after all. 

New Who was so smart to address the issue immediately in Dalek so that the ridicule wouldn't begin again. Cause you know there are British stand-up comics out there who are desperate for material! 

It is just ever-so-slightly "meta" as we see the look on the Doctor's face when he witnesses the Dalek coming up behind him as he tries to exit the basement. The look of pure horror says so much!

But there is an even more important point that needs to be addressed as we discuss all this beautiful fan service. And that is the fact that we still get a really great story being told as we enjoy the flexing of fan muscles prominently on display. This is more important than anything. You can show me an endless array of Daleks going up and down stairwells and that won't amount to a hill of beans if we haven't been given a solid plot to go along with it. 

I think of Rogue One when it came out a few years ago. For some reason, it manages to do so much fan service that a lot of folks seem to actually enjoy it. Whereas I find it to be a poorly-structured narrative with a couple of gaping plot holes. I even remember that famous sequence that so many fans foam at the mouth over where Darth Vader kills a bunch of rebels that are trapped in a hallway with him. I watch a scene like that and all I can think is: "How is he so amazing at fighting here but then has the weakest lightsaber duel in all the Trilogies with Obi-Wan less than a day later?!" Most Star Wars geeks, however, ignore this fact and just fall in love with all the pandering. 

I am so glad that Remembrance refused to do that. This is a story that celebrates the show but, more specifically, pays tribute to the Daleks. And they do deserve the honor they receive. I don't think Doctor Who would be alive, today, if it weren't for the Daleks. 

But what's most important about the respect being paid to them is that a casual viewer will get just as much enjoyment out of this story as someone who is into the show far more than they should be! People that don't know their Who as well don't look at it and have to say things like: "That's cute that we see the two guys that picked a fight with Luke in A New Hope. But, now, they have to leave a doomed city in the next few minutes and, somehow, make their way to the outer edge of the Galaxy in less than a day!" 

Thanks, Ben Aaronovitch for remembering that there is more to an adventure than just throwing crap in that will bring a smile to the long-time fans. 

TELLING OFF DAVROS 

My two previous entries before this one both involved stories with Davros. In them, I spend a bit of time going over how important it is that the Doctor and the Skarosian Mad Scientist have some sort of big confrontation. I marvel at how long that verbal sparring match in Magician's Apprentice/Witch's Familiar is and all the interesting directions it goes in. In Revelation of the Daleks I go on about how good Sixie is at just telling him where to go. 

Clearly, a good scene where the Doctor and Davros square off with each other for a bit means a lot to me. I would even say it's an essential ingredient in any story that involves this villain. Fortunately, we always seem to get that moment. Four does a beautiful job, for instance, of just taking the piss out of Davros in Destiny of the Daleks. And we really do find ourselves wondering if Five will actually shoot him in cold blood during Resurrection of the Daleks  It's even quite enjoyable to watch the two of them catch up after the Time Wars during Stolen Earth/Journey's End. 

The confrontation between Seven and Davros in Remembrance of the Daleks is probably the most economical one we've seen, so far. It really only runs for a handful of very short minutes. What makes it so impressive is that I feel it packs the exact same punch as any other Doctor/Davros Clash but does it in considerably less time. 

The Davros Reveal, obviously, helps a lot. This is one of the best "He Was Hiding Under Our Noses The Whole Time" Moments that the show has ever had. Right up there with "Spy .... Master" from Spyfall  (a great Master Story - this is how much I like it: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories_7.html). We did not expect to see Davros under the Emperor Dalek's dome head so that already has us in a bit of a state of awe before they even start to really tell each other off. Although Davros' comment about comparing the Doctor's appearance to his intelligence as the dome slides back is a great opening salvo. 

Another thing that really enhances the brief discussion is the way the Doctor is totally playing Davros like a fiddle. He hurls a few really nice stinging insults at him to build up his anger and then suddenly pivots as the Kaled threatens to use the stellar manipulator against him. As Seven suddenly almost whimpers "Davros, I beg you. Don't use the Hand!", we totally know he's up to something. And we love it. The Doctor is laying the slickest con on a madman armed with a super weapon. And it's absolutely lovely to watch as the manipulation causes things to go exactly the way he wanted them to.The consequences of the trick the Time Lord plays are so huge that it also brings a real sense of grandeur to the whole occasion. Watching Davros' lust for power cause the destruction of his own solar system is pretty mind-blowing! 

There is also just the fact that this is absolutely the best dialogue that's ever  been written for one of these confrontations. Every line is just so good and so well-delivered (particularly impressive that these character are not in the same room together as they say any of them - but we still see an intense hatred burning off of them), that we don't really even notice how short the duration was. Every sentence is absolutely perfect. So there's no need to drag things out. 

Finally, of course, there's that bit of comedy thrown in. While we got some of the best most awful puns in the last two entries, they still can't beat: "Unlimited rice pudding!!!" Literally, one of my favorite lines of dialogue in the entire history of the show.**

CONCLUSION

So, there we go. Another entry where I go on endlessly about the greatness of Remembrance of the Daleks and try to find new things to say about it. Fortunately, it has so many good qualities to it that it's not all that hard of a task.  As a mere Dalek Story, it is simply fantastic. It references their Lore without digging in so deep that it works to the story's detriment. It continues to build on the "soap opera" that's been developing between Davros and his creations over the last few stories. And it also just accomplishes some really cool stuff involving Daleks. Like Ace's baseball bat fight or the Special Weapons Dalek. It ticks off all the right boxes so that we can fall in love with those nasty mutants encased in poly-carbite armor one more time. We're happy to see them back.  Dalek stories can be tricky things. They sometimes feel like cheap ratings grabs. There have been genuine occasions where they have been featured a little more often than they needed to be and have worn out their welcome a bit. Remembrance, however, makes us genuinely happy that they've returned. 

On top of that, of course, is just the fact that this a remarkably well put-together story. Like Revelation of the Daleks, I feel this is something that is just so much more than a mere handful of television episodes. It's a work of art. It achieves this in a different way from its predecessor, too. Revelation stands out because of its unique tone and style. Remembrance is just such a gripping spectacle that it engages anyone that comes across it. No matter how uninterested a person might be in science fiction, if they start watching this adventure, they will stay with it til the end. 

The Doctor monologuing the Black Dalek to death is also one of the coolest things ever!! 

The Rest of the Countdown....

Five:

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-dalek-stories.html

Four-A: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-dalek-stories_11.html

Four-B: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-favorite-dalek.html

Three 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-dalek-stories_24.html

Two: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-dalek-stories_27.html

** Funny Story Regarding Rob Tymec's Career as a Playwright and the Ridiculous Lengths He Will Go To in Order to Put a Silly Reference Into a Script: 

I wrote a play a few years ago that took place in a hospital. It was a bit of a comedy where I was playing a somewhat colorful character who had become bed-ridden for a bit. I was complaining about hospital food and how much they overuse rice pudding in the desserts. 

"They serve a lot of rice pudding?" a character in the scene asks me. 

"They have unlimited rice pudding!" I reply.

During, at least, one performance, there was a hardcore Who fan in the audience that picked up on the reference and asked me about it after the curtain call. I wanted to marry her on the spot, of course. Sadly, she was in a serious relationship, already! 

I still hope she will break up with him and come out to another show....