Harry -
Here we are, the halfway point of the Hartnell era. Before we get into the thick of things, can we acknowledge the lovely DVD extras that came with "The Space Museum"? Special guest analysis by Rob Shearman no less!
Sarah -
And Rob spent much of his time working to convince us that "The Space Museum" was worth watching!
Harry -
Rob's apologistic extra was a surprise. I had never viewed this story before and was not aware that it is (supposedly) unloved among fandom, but I loved it!
It's weird, it's wacky, and it is an utter send-up of Doctor Who to that point. It's like the story that Douglas Adams never wrote, until he wrote "The Pirate Planet".
The first episode is mysterious and fascinating. The opening scene in the TARDIS is almost a hallucination harkening back to "The Edge of Destruction." Our Travellers' find themselves in a new set of clothes without explanation, a shattered glass comes back together again, and the Doctor seems nonplussed by it all.
Sarah -
It must be commented upon that the first topic of discussion among our heroes was, once again, clothing!
Harry -
Things get a bit wibbly-wobbley timey-wimey when they enter the titular museum to find... themselves!
The foundation of this episode is hardly original. It's really the same old sequence of arrival - exploration - shock discovery, but maybe the sparseness of it all made it so rivetting. Were you not fascinated to know what the heck was going on here?
Sarah -
I definitely am a fan of wibbly-wobbley timey-wimey stuff and found myself thinking what a bang-up job Steven Moffat would do with this story – were he, say, older than four at the time.
I enjoyed the fact that our heroes couldn’t be quite sure if they were getting themselves into or out of the museum with their actions.
Harry -
I loved that the Museum was conceived as a triumphal display of conquests, brought together by a race of vanquishing warriors. And yet the museum itself is staffed by a bunch of pasty, pudgy bureaucrats who seem utterly bored with their situation. The place reeks of stagnation, in its empty corridors and dusty displays.
Sarah -
Could they have been any more tedious. You could even tell how much they bored each other.
Harry -
Perhaps by the sheer might of their pompadours, they are able to suppress a nascent rebellion by a gaggle of reedy English Lit students. A rebellion much talked about, but little acted upon. Hell, the kids manage to capture the Doctor for all of six seconds before he whups their arses and escapes by hiding in the Dalek casing. Sad, really.
Only when the Doctor is captured by the Moroks does his situation become grave. I absolutely loved his seated confrontation with the head Morok (again, they are so pasty and pudgy that their confrontations require seating).
When the Doctor is condemned to be taken to the preparation room, we get a huge sting of spacey-psychedelic sound. Love, love, loved it.
Sarah -
If you want a revolution, you need to call in the big guns – VICKI!!!!!
Harry -
Of course, the girl in the pristine "Alice" dress would be the one who whips up a rebellion!
Sarah -
Of course! Her smile of delight when she got into the armory was the highlight of the entire story for me. Imagine, simply telling the truth gets you what you’re after. What a concept.
Harry -
I can't decide if this story is subversive or just plain silly, but I love it all the same because of moments like that.
Sarah -
The Xerons were so boring, I imagine Vicki leading the revolution just to break up the tedium. Are they capable of anything besides putting their hands on their hips?
I like the fun fact that Jeremy Bulloch, who played Tor, went on to play Boba Fett in the Star Wars films. I seem to recall he made good use of his hands-on-hips move in that role, too. One can always spot a true artist at work.
Harry -
I did not know that!
Another thing I liked about the design here, was that everything was so delightfully analogue. They even had to pull the doors open.
Nor could they gas anyone properly. It felt like Barbara and Dako spent most of episodes three and four being gassed. Weakest gas ever!
Overall, I liked this story more than fandom seems to want me to. It was wacky, self-aware, and downright silly whilst maintaining a façade of total seriousness. It just had to be a parody, hadn't it?
Sarah -
I didn't enjoy it as much as you, but it had some nice moments.
Lasting image: The Doctor in the Dalek – does any other image come close?
Favorite moment: Vicki smiling in triumph when she gets the guns.
Best line: “They’re gone.” “Yes, My Dear, but we’ve arrived!”
Rating: 6/10
Harry -
Lasting image: the Moroks and their pompadours.
Favourite moment: the episode one cliffhanger, especially because of the spacey-psychedelic sting. (And to go a bit "Toby" for a moment, I'm frustrated that this piece was not included on the CD: Doctor Who at the Radiophonic Workshop, Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1969. Nor were there any music credits given other than to Ron Grainer for the main theme. Bah!)
Best line: I agree with your selection. Wonderfully timey-wimey.
Rating: 8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #16 - The Chase...
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