I return to my post with renewed zeal after the Web Planet debacle!
It’s non-canonical but can we discuss the Ian Chesterton introduction to the reconstruction? “He was old when I was young.” Delightful. Delightful.
Harry -
That's quite the manner house the school teacher has acquired, complete with suit of armour. I loved it!
Sarah -
Ah, the middle ages. What a time to be alive!
Harry -
However briefly!
Sarah -
Given my fondness for the Angevins, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.
Harry -
Given the weird sludge of the previous story, I have too.
Sarah -
Richard himself, beloved third son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the queen for whom my daughter is named, and Henry II, my personal favorite monarch. I’ll try not to judge the playing fast and loose with the actual facts too harshly, but I will say that Richard is ALL WRONG. Was that too harsh?
Harry -
I will bow to your expertise on the matter. I'm too preoccupied with gawking at the actors in blackface.
Sarah -
Oh, meanwhile, look, the TARDIS has arrived. (And, I must note, Vicki looks positively delighted to be … wherever this is. And, look, Barbara’s got an fancy new ‘do!) Our chums immediately find themselves in the thick of things. Ian is set upon and gets himself into a sword fight -- and Barbara is spirited away! So, what else is new?
Harry -
Here's where the story derailed for me, which is to say, almost immediately. I wonder if this is where the stereotypical Doctor Who plot of "Arrival - Separation - Quest - Reunion" became entrenched. Still, the opening battle scene was pretty wild.
Sarah -
Barbara’s missing, but proper wardrobe is the first order of business! Barbara’s clothes are already causing a scene around Jaffa. And, of course, It doesn’t take the Doctor long to start pilfering a new wardrobe for himself and Vicki.
Harry -
I think the Doctor-Vicki tandem is underrated. They have a whale of a time together, no matter what the circumstances.
Sarah -
I’ve been thinking about that, too. They always seem delighted with each other’s company, which, I guess, carries them through the life-threatening situations. The moment when Vicki confessed that she was worried about being left behind by the Doctor was touching and made me realize that, unlike Barbara and Ian, she has no one to go back home to.
Joanna is a good choice for Barbara to impersonate. Joanna had spunk! And spunk is just what Babs will need to get out of this scrape. Arrived in a box, indeed. She’s clearly not helping herself by recounting their adventures. And, still, there are more clothing comments.
Speaking of clothing, nice Robin Hood look on Vicki.
Harry -
Or is that "Bob?"
Sarah -
I doubt anything we write on this blog is going to make me laugh as hard as the “Bob” reference!
And, now that we’ve brought up Blackadder, I have to observe that it did a better job with history than this story. I doubt Richard was the temper-throwing type. His brothers were the experts in that behavior. Nor do I imagine him having a hissy fit over the death of a friend.
Harry -
The "court" scenes were delivered in a very Shakespearean manner, which was both good and bad. Good in that the actors could really crank it up, but bad in that these scenes felt very stilted and unnatural, like a bad school play.
Sarah -
I must say, I’ve grown quite fond of reconstructions.... Ooooooo! Look! Jean Marsh as Joanna! All these years and I never knew she had been on Doctor Who. My Dearest Rose! Oh, the times we had at 165 Eaton Place…
Harry -
The best is yet to come...
Sarah -
Sorry? What?
Harry -
Spoilers! Anyway, back to the school play...
Sarah -
Oh yes, Coeur de Leon. Back to that…Ian has been styled Sir Ian. Pretty fancy for a Chemistry teacher.
Harry -
Safe to say he's the coolest Chemistry teacher ever!
Sarah -
And, Barbara is missing again. The things she endures. Honestly, has any other companion ever been so troubled by the men she encounter while traveling with the Doctor?
Harry -
Okay, here's where I will deliver my Angry Rant. It's not that Barbara suffers the indignity of another round of capture-escape-recapture, it's that the whole story feels like a mad, careening rush.
We barely get to meet some of these characters before they disappear from the story. And characters who play a huge role are absent from the start, so we only meet them briefly. This story is screaming out to be a six parter. How did we get stuck with six drawn-out episodes of "The Web Planet" while "The Crusade" is a harshly truncated epic that never was?
I badly wanted to see more of characters like sombre Saladin, or the gleefully maniacal Ibrahim. Maybe there were just too many characters and not enough screen time to go around?
Sarah -
Say it, Brother! I so wanted to love this historical, but it just never happened.
Lasting image: Ian in bondage, but I think it was the threat of ants that cemented the image for me. I really, really hate ants – and here they are again! Three times in one season is more than enough for me, thank you very much.
Favorite moment: Joanna telling Richard off.
Best line: “I am no sack of flour to be given in exchange.” Nice performance by Jean Marsh. Joanna would have made an excellent companion.
Rating: 5/10
Harry -
Alas, so much potential went unfulfilled here. I wanted so much more from this.
Lasting image: Maureen O'Brien as Young Bob.
Favourite moment: Joanna's explosive confrontation with Richard!
Best line: Joanna ponders the mysterious Doctor: "There's something new in you, yet something older than the sky itself."
Rating: 4/10
Our marathon continues with Story #15 - The Space Museum...
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