Our first lost episode! The wiping of "Marco Polo" has to be one of the great tragedies in the history of Doctor Who. I had previously watched the synopsis included on the "Edge of Destruction" DVD, but it did not prepare me for this marvelous story. If this seven-parter can be carried by the soundtrack and photographs, imagine watching the original! My heart breaks at our loss.
Harry -
Let us offer the Salute of Rassilon to the fine folks behind the Loose Cannon Doctor Who Reconstructions, who have enabled us to hear and partially see the lost stories at their original length. A 30-minute reconstruction of a seven-parter can't help but be painfully abridged.
Sarah -
All Hail Loose Cannon Productions! This project would not be possible without their fine work.
Harry -
Harry -
Let us offer the Salute of Rassilon to the fine folks behind the Loose Cannon Doctor Who Reconstructions, who have enabled us to hear and partially see the lost stories at their original length. A 30-minute reconstruction of a seven-parter can't help but be painfully abridged.
Sarah -
All Hail Loose Cannon Productions! This project would not be possible without their fine work.
Harry -
I spent a bit of each morning last week watching "Marco Polo". Just one or two episodes a day, it made for an excellent week.
As the story begins the TARDIS continues to malfunction, leaving the crew in the hands of fate. They meet up with a mixed group, neither entirely heroes nor villains. This is the murky dynamic that will be explored, twisted and resolved over the next seven episodes.
Sarah -
Everyone is at the top of their game. And, the complex narrative and moral ambiguity of the story are especially remarkable when you consider that this was a series aimed at children.
We begin as we ended "The Edge of Destruction" – with a giant footprint. Is this a Yeti story, an alien ice planet? No, it’s 13th Century Cathay and The Doctor is in a testy mood. A burnt-out circuit in the TARDIS deactivates the lighting, heating and water supply. Oh No! What are we to do?
But wait, there are some travelers who may wish to help us, as long as we’re not evil spirits sent to deceive them…
Our introduction to the fierce warlord Tegana, the most interesting human baddie we’ve met so far, is startling. And then there’s Marco Polo! I love the women’s reaction: Susan: "Who is he, Barbara?"
Barbara: "I was asking myself the same question."
Hubba Hubba!
Marco’s narration over the map is an excellent device and has the advantage of being charmingly low-budget.
Mark Eden and Derren Nesbitt are note-perfect as Marco Polo and Tegana. Tegana’s cool contempt is terrifying, even as he charms and deceives Marco. One does wonder, however, why he bothered with the poison. Did I miss something or did that plot point lead nowhere?
Hartnell is a joy in Marco’s tent -- swinging from old crank to charming flirt when Ping-Cho serves her soup. Then there’s his hysterical laughter when Marco reveals his plan to take the TARDIS. Of course, Tegana has plans of his own.
And, once again, the TARDIS crew finds themselves unwilling pawns in the schemes of others.
Harry -
I agree that this is a very grown-up story right from the start. Tegana wants to do away with the strangers, but out of culture shock rather than bloodlust. At no point in this story will he lapse into moustachio-twirling panto villainry. He is simply acting out the role one would expect from a cautious emissary and a calculating warrior. (Yes, the poison was a brief notion and never really seemed a viable threat to anyone.)
As for Marco, he doesn't leap off the screen like the swashbuckling historic character I was expecting (despite his dishy Errol Flynn looks!). To me, Marco's character is "charismatically ambiguous". He plays his cards very close to his chest. The less he says to the newcomers, the more I want him to speak and reveal what he really thinks of the situation. This is where his brilliantly-conceived journal comes in.
"I wonder what the strangers' reaction will be when I tell them what I propose to do..."
So! Marco is not to be the hero of the story, but will play the role of kidnapper who will lead the TARDIS crew on a journey that may spell their doom.
The map graphics are endearingly low-budget, but effective.
In episode two, the caravan sets off to cross the Gobi desert, the TARDIS now seized by Marco as a gift he will present to Kublai Khan in Shang-Tu.
Here we have the first of William Hartnell's occasional lengthy absences from a story (which occurred from time to time when he would go on holiday!). To explain it away in the story, apparently the Doctor is sulking! I love this.
Sarah -
Having The Doctor spend most of this episode sulking off camera is brilliant. I laughed when Marco called him "difficult and bad tempered." Yep, that’s Our Doctor!
Harry -
The caravan makes camp and Ian and Marco engage in a game of chess, an obvious metaphor for the head-games that are being played out among many sides in this story. Marco is constantly the focal point for antagonism, whether it is between himself and Tegana, Ian, the Doctor, or even Ping-Cho, whom he is delivering to an arranged marriage.
Sarah -
The chess scene is so well-played by Marco, Ian and Tegana. Tegana is already starting to play the others off against one another. He’s so smooth – I wish I could see Derren Nesbitt in motion.Tegana – "Can you save your king?"
Marco – "I think so, Tegana."
Chilling.
Harry -
The highlight of this episode is the sandstorm. I'm sure it sounded better than it looked on film, but Susan and Ping-Cho's terror is quite gripping.
I like the fact that journals have made something of a return to the new Doctor Who. John Smith kept his Journal of Impossible Things, and River Song has her spoiler-packed blue diary.
The journal-map feature of "Marco Polo" is also a way of cutting through a lot of travel time and meshing the key scenes together. This story seems to take place over the course of many weeks if not months.
Sarah -
This story finally gives Susan a chance to do more than scream or yell, "Oh, Grandfather!" Her developing friendship with Ping-Cho is a sweet depiction of two homesick teenage girls. How perfect that they get to play Nancy Drew and set off after Tegana. Nancy Drew, of course, would have been considerably more quiet than the two of them. Could they have possibly made more noise?
Speaking of noise, the sound design of the storm is positively brilliant – and the lack any moving images may have made it more terrifying.
One thing I really liked about this part of the story is how it all hinges on the primal need for water. Our travelers have been threatened by so many things, but their biggest threat now is the simple lack of water…and, of course, Tegana.
Harry -
In two episodes, this story has packed more punch than many other stories in the history of the show. I agree with Rob Shearman's suggestion that Sydney Newman could have built an entire series around the journey of Marco Polo's caravan.
Onward!
Sarah -
Hooray for condensation! Having been allowed back into the TARDIS after a fainting spell (and another "Oh, Grandfather!" from Susan), The Doctor is able to capture the moisture forming inside the TARDIS after a cold night. The explanation is worked in so seamlessly that it would be easy for the children watching not to realize that they were learning science.
A favorite moment was The Doctor complaining about the "rushing about" everyone is doing at the oasis, when he wants to get to work on the TARDIS.
Harry -
The teachable moments in early Doctor Who were part of the brief that Sydney Newman set down, which was a very Canadian thing to do. Everything we produce up here has to have some educational value, no matter how notional it may seen. Hockey games? What better way to learn about Scandinavia. Canadian made sitcoms? Let us immerse ourselves in our nation's rich cultural diversity. Every other show on Canadian TV? Let us immerse ourselves in America's rich cultural diversity.
It's too bad the show moved away from this. Imagine David Tennant's scene with Donna at the Shadow Proclamation..."Donna, come on, think: Earth, there must have been some sort of warning. Was there anything happening back in your day, like... electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the... sky?"
"Well, how should I know? Um, no. I don't-- I don't think so. No."
"Oh, OK, nevermind."
"Although, there were the bees disappearing."
"The bees disappearing. The BEES disappearing. Sayyyy... Donna, did you know that because of its unique composition and chemical properties, honey is suitable for long term storage and is easily assimilated even after long preservation?"
"Wha?"
"Honey, and objects immersed in honey, have been preserved for decades and even centuries."
"That's... great."
"Now where were we? Oh yeah, the BEES disappearing..."
Sarah -
I would love to see Catherine Tate’s reaction to that!
Meanwhile, back in Cathay, our clever Barbara reads the signs at the Oasis and realizes there were probably no bandits. Her suspicion of Tegana grows, leading her to follow him to the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, where she finds herself trapped again. First the Daleks, now this!
Harry -
My admiration for Barbara grows with each episode we've been watching. We are only on the fourth story of Doctor Who, but she has been put through hell! How many times has her life been imperiled already, but she bounces back each time. She is a rock.
It is also interesting how much the Doctor's lack of dominant screen time doesn't hinder this story. This is truly Marco's tale.
Sarah -
Barbara may just be my new favorite companion!
It is impressive that the story carries on so well without The Doctor. Of course, things heat up when he's on screen. Calling Marco a "poor, pathetic, stupid savage" was definitely a high point!
The tension between everyone at this point in the story is so intense that Ian starts breaking plates. When chem. teachers start smashing crockery, you know things are spiraling out of control! Poor Ian, when he’s ready to play the hero, the guard turns out to already be dead. Still, he does get to use the bamboo trick, which is right clever.
Harry -
I have neglected to say much about Ping-Cho. It's too bad that in a story like this, with a web of tension criss-crossing between so many characters, her straightforward plight seemed an afterthought. Maybe that's why the resolution of her story -- though a happy ending -- seemed a bit of a happy coincidence.
Sarah -
I really liked the whole sequence of Ping-Cho stealing the key and her rationalization that it was OK because she wasn't "telling" Susan where it was. Her homesickness is so great that she has to help Susan, who is, of course, tripped up by her promise to say goodbye to Ping-Cho before leaving. And so, the TARDIS crew is foiled yet again in their attempts to escape.
And then it's Ping-Cho's turn to escape. It seems no one in this story is where they actually want to be. Still, the return to the way station means that we get to see Wang-lo again, which brings me no small amount of joy.
The upside of all the failed escape plans is that we get to meet the Mighty Kublai Khan! How wonderful is it when he and The Doctor commiserate about age and their many complaints? Hartnell's charm in these scenes is endearing.
Harry -
The Doctor really did act like a cantankerous brat for most of this story, flashes of his old arrogance returning. Who would have thought it would have been the "mighty" Kublai Khan that he bonded with? He totally mellowed out after that.
Speaking of Khan, this brings us to the new batch of characters we meet in the second half of "Marco Polo." Unfortunately they are a bit camp, but not too over the top: the big gay landlord Wang-Lo (oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!), the one-eyed bandit Kuiju (was his monkey also evil?), and Khan himself -- not the menacing war chief that Marco made us out to imagine, but a doddering old man with some kind of Slavic accent. What the hell?
Knowing some of the über-campy characters that still await us on this marathon, these three are quite tame and forgiveable.
Sarah -
Back at the summer palace, Marco Polo and Tegana have a sword fight, Tegana kills himself, Marco returns the TARDIS key to its proper owners, and as a bonus Ping-Cho's fiancee is dead. Hooray -- and we're off to the next adventure!
I LOVED this story. With The Doctor sulking, resting, and such, each of the companions was given a lot to do. Marco was distant yet compelling, Tegana sinister, and Ping-Cho sweet as can be. I can only wonder if we would like it more or less with video.
Lasting image – The TARDIS strapped on the wagon for transport.
Favorite moment – This is tough, given all the excellent moments, but I think I'll go with The Doctor laughing after losing the TARDIS at backgammon.
Best line – "'I couldn't place it in the hanging-garden, now could I?' What does he think it is? A potting shed, or something?" – The Doctor mocking Wang-Lo. I laughed out loud.
Rating: 9/10
Harry -
I want to go and light some bamboo on fire. Probably not the reaction that Sydney Newman envisioned?
Then again, Tegana committing ritual suicide seems a bit much for a kids' programme!
Well, pyromania and impalements aside, this was a fantastic story. I loved our week spent in Cathay!
Lasting image - the white line making its way across the map.
Favourite moment - Kublai Khan appears.
Best line - from Marco's journal: "...the old Doctor continually shows his disapproval of my action by being both difficult and bad-tempered. For three days now, during which time we have covered no more than 30 miles, I have had to endure his insults."
Rating: 9/10
Our marathon continues with Story #5 - The Keys of Marinus...
As the story begins the TARDIS continues to malfunction, leaving the crew in the hands of fate. They meet up with a mixed group, neither entirely heroes nor villains. This is the murky dynamic that will be explored, twisted and resolved over the next seven episodes.
Sarah -
Everyone is at the top of their game. And, the complex narrative and moral ambiguity of the story are especially remarkable when you consider that this was a series aimed at children.
We begin as we ended "The Edge of Destruction" – with a giant footprint. Is this a Yeti story, an alien ice planet? No, it’s 13th Century Cathay and The Doctor is in a testy mood. A burnt-out circuit in the TARDIS deactivates the lighting, heating and water supply. Oh No! What are we to do?
But wait, there are some travelers who may wish to help us, as long as we’re not evil spirits sent to deceive them…
Our introduction to the fierce warlord Tegana, the most interesting human baddie we’ve met so far, is startling. And then there’s Marco Polo! I love the women’s reaction: Susan: "Who is he, Barbara?"
Barbara: "I was asking myself the same question."
Hubba Hubba!
Marco’s narration over the map is an excellent device and has the advantage of being charmingly low-budget.
Mark Eden and Derren Nesbitt are note-perfect as Marco Polo and Tegana. Tegana’s cool contempt is terrifying, even as he charms and deceives Marco. One does wonder, however, why he bothered with the poison. Did I miss something or did that plot point lead nowhere?
Hartnell is a joy in Marco’s tent -- swinging from old crank to charming flirt when Ping-Cho serves her soup. Then there’s his hysterical laughter when Marco reveals his plan to take the TARDIS. Of course, Tegana has plans of his own.
And, once again, the TARDIS crew finds themselves unwilling pawns in the schemes of others.
Harry -
I agree that this is a very grown-up story right from the start. Tegana wants to do away with the strangers, but out of culture shock rather than bloodlust. At no point in this story will he lapse into moustachio-twirling panto villainry. He is simply acting out the role one would expect from a cautious emissary and a calculating warrior. (Yes, the poison was a brief notion and never really seemed a viable threat to anyone.)
As for Marco, he doesn't leap off the screen like the swashbuckling historic character I was expecting (despite his dishy Errol Flynn looks!). To me, Marco's character is "charismatically ambiguous". He plays his cards very close to his chest. The less he says to the newcomers, the more I want him to speak and reveal what he really thinks of the situation. This is where his brilliantly-conceived journal comes in.
"I wonder what the strangers' reaction will be when I tell them what I propose to do..."
So! Marco is not to be the hero of the story, but will play the role of kidnapper who will lead the TARDIS crew on a journey that may spell their doom.
The map graphics are endearingly low-budget, but effective.
In episode two, the caravan sets off to cross the Gobi desert, the TARDIS now seized by Marco as a gift he will present to Kublai Khan in Shang-Tu.
Here we have the first of William Hartnell's occasional lengthy absences from a story (which occurred from time to time when he would go on holiday!). To explain it away in the story, apparently the Doctor is sulking! I love this.
Sarah -
Having The Doctor spend most of this episode sulking off camera is brilliant. I laughed when Marco called him "difficult and bad tempered." Yep, that’s Our Doctor!
Harry -
The caravan makes camp and Ian and Marco engage in a game of chess, an obvious metaphor for the head-games that are being played out among many sides in this story. Marco is constantly the focal point for antagonism, whether it is between himself and Tegana, Ian, the Doctor, or even Ping-Cho, whom he is delivering to an arranged marriage.
Sarah -
The chess scene is so well-played by Marco, Ian and Tegana. Tegana is already starting to play the others off against one another. He’s so smooth – I wish I could see Derren Nesbitt in motion.Tegana – "Can you save your king?"
Marco – "I think so, Tegana."
Chilling.
Harry -
The highlight of this episode is the sandstorm. I'm sure it sounded better than it looked on film, but Susan and Ping-Cho's terror is quite gripping.
I like the fact that journals have made something of a return to the new Doctor Who. John Smith kept his Journal of Impossible Things, and River Song has her spoiler-packed blue diary.
The journal-map feature of "Marco Polo" is also a way of cutting through a lot of travel time and meshing the key scenes together. This story seems to take place over the course of many weeks if not months.
Sarah -
This story finally gives Susan a chance to do more than scream or yell, "Oh, Grandfather!" Her developing friendship with Ping-Cho is a sweet depiction of two homesick teenage girls. How perfect that they get to play Nancy Drew and set off after Tegana. Nancy Drew, of course, would have been considerably more quiet than the two of them. Could they have possibly made more noise?
Speaking of noise, the sound design of the storm is positively brilliant – and the lack any moving images may have made it more terrifying.
One thing I really liked about this part of the story is how it all hinges on the primal need for water. Our travelers have been threatened by so many things, but their biggest threat now is the simple lack of water…and, of course, Tegana.
Harry -
In two episodes, this story has packed more punch than many other stories in the history of the show. I agree with Rob Shearman's suggestion that Sydney Newman could have built an entire series around the journey of Marco Polo's caravan.
Onward!
Sarah -
Hooray for condensation! Having been allowed back into the TARDIS after a fainting spell (and another "Oh, Grandfather!" from Susan), The Doctor is able to capture the moisture forming inside the TARDIS after a cold night. The explanation is worked in so seamlessly that it would be easy for the children watching not to realize that they were learning science.
A favorite moment was The Doctor complaining about the "rushing about" everyone is doing at the oasis, when he wants to get to work on the TARDIS.
Harry -
The teachable moments in early Doctor Who were part of the brief that Sydney Newman set down, which was a very Canadian thing to do. Everything we produce up here has to have some educational value, no matter how notional it may seen. Hockey games? What better way to learn about Scandinavia. Canadian made sitcoms? Let us immerse ourselves in our nation's rich cultural diversity. Every other show on Canadian TV? Let us immerse ourselves in America's rich cultural diversity.
It's too bad the show moved away from this. Imagine David Tennant's scene with Donna at the Shadow Proclamation..."Donna, come on, think: Earth, there must have been some sort of warning. Was there anything happening back in your day, like... electrical storms, freak weather, patterns in the... sky?"
"Well, how should I know? Um, no. I don't-- I don't think so. No."
"Oh, OK, nevermind."
"Although, there were the bees disappearing."
"The bees disappearing. The BEES disappearing. Sayyyy... Donna, did you know that because of its unique composition and chemical properties, honey is suitable for long term storage and is easily assimilated even after long preservation?"
"Wha?"
"Honey, and objects immersed in honey, have been preserved for decades and even centuries."
"That's... great."
"Now where were we? Oh yeah, the BEES disappearing..."
Sarah -
I would love to see Catherine Tate’s reaction to that!
Meanwhile, back in Cathay, our clever Barbara reads the signs at the Oasis and realizes there were probably no bandits. Her suspicion of Tegana grows, leading her to follow him to the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, where she finds herself trapped again. First the Daleks, now this!
Harry -
My admiration for Barbara grows with each episode we've been watching. We are only on the fourth story of Doctor Who, but she has been put through hell! How many times has her life been imperiled already, but she bounces back each time. She is a rock.
It is also interesting how much the Doctor's lack of dominant screen time doesn't hinder this story. This is truly Marco's tale.
Sarah -
Barbara may just be my new favorite companion!
It is impressive that the story carries on so well without The Doctor. Of course, things heat up when he's on screen. Calling Marco a "poor, pathetic, stupid savage" was definitely a high point!
The tension between everyone at this point in the story is so intense that Ian starts breaking plates. When chem. teachers start smashing crockery, you know things are spiraling out of control! Poor Ian, when he’s ready to play the hero, the guard turns out to already be dead. Still, he does get to use the bamboo trick, which is right clever.
Harry -
I have neglected to say much about Ping-Cho. It's too bad that in a story like this, with a web of tension criss-crossing between so many characters, her straightforward plight seemed an afterthought. Maybe that's why the resolution of her story -- though a happy ending -- seemed a bit of a happy coincidence.
Sarah -
I really liked the whole sequence of Ping-Cho stealing the key and her rationalization that it was OK because she wasn't "telling" Susan where it was. Her homesickness is so great that she has to help Susan, who is, of course, tripped up by her promise to say goodbye to Ping-Cho before leaving. And so, the TARDIS crew is foiled yet again in their attempts to escape.
And then it's Ping-Cho's turn to escape. It seems no one in this story is where they actually want to be. Still, the return to the way station means that we get to see Wang-lo again, which brings me no small amount of joy.
The upside of all the failed escape plans is that we get to meet the Mighty Kublai Khan! How wonderful is it when he and The Doctor commiserate about age and their many complaints? Hartnell's charm in these scenes is endearing.
Harry -
The Doctor really did act like a cantankerous brat for most of this story, flashes of his old arrogance returning. Who would have thought it would have been the "mighty" Kublai Khan that he bonded with? He totally mellowed out after that.
Speaking of Khan, this brings us to the new batch of characters we meet in the second half of "Marco Polo." Unfortunately they are a bit camp, but not too over the top: the big gay landlord Wang-Lo (oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!), the one-eyed bandit Kuiju (was his monkey also evil?), and Khan himself -- not the menacing war chief that Marco made us out to imagine, but a doddering old man with some kind of Slavic accent. What the hell?
Knowing some of the über-campy characters that still await us on this marathon, these three are quite tame and forgiveable.
Sarah -
Back at the summer palace, Marco Polo and Tegana have a sword fight, Tegana kills himself, Marco returns the TARDIS key to its proper owners, and as a bonus Ping-Cho's fiancee is dead. Hooray -- and we're off to the next adventure!
I LOVED this story. With The Doctor sulking, resting, and such, each of the companions was given a lot to do. Marco was distant yet compelling, Tegana sinister, and Ping-Cho sweet as can be. I can only wonder if we would like it more or less with video.
Lasting image – The TARDIS strapped on the wagon for transport.
Favorite moment – This is tough, given all the excellent moments, but I think I'll go with The Doctor laughing after losing the TARDIS at backgammon.
Best line – "'I couldn't place it in the hanging-garden, now could I?' What does he think it is? A potting shed, or something?" – The Doctor mocking Wang-Lo. I laughed out loud.
Rating: 9/10
Harry -
I want to go and light some bamboo on fire. Probably not the reaction that Sydney Newman envisioned?
Then again, Tegana committing ritual suicide seems a bit much for a kids' programme!
Well, pyromania and impalements aside, this was a fantastic story. I loved our week spent in Cathay!
Lasting image - the white line making its way across the map.
Favourite moment - Kublai Khan appears.
Best line - from Marco's journal: "...the old Doctor continually shows his disapproval of my action by being both difficult and bad-tempered. For three days now, during which time we have covered no more than 30 miles, I have had to endure his insults."
Rating: 9/10
Our marathon continues with Story #5 - The Keys of Marinus...
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