If you don't mind, Harry, I'd like to take a moment to pay tribute to Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, who has been dispatched with not an ounce of ceremony. Honestly, Dodo had a better send off than poor Liz.
Harry -
Ugh, what a horrible send off, or rather lack of. Writing Liz out out of the show through a couple of lines of dialogue completed the end of her unfortunate character arc. She began season seven as a Cambridge-schooled woman of science with a healthy dose of skepticism and independent thinking. Four stories later, she'd been rendered into an errand girl, running messages between the Doctor and the Brigadier as her skirts got shorter and shorter. I'm sure Caroline Johns was glad to see the back of that job.
Sarah -
I really started worrying about her skirts!
As we know, the producers decided Liz was far too intelligent and, in the words of the Brig: "What you need, Doctor, as Miss Shaw herself so often remarked, is someone to pass you your test tubes and to tell you how brilliant you are. Miss Grant will fulfill that function admirably."
That quote pretty much sets up the premise of Doctor Who for most of the rest of its run, doesn't it?
Harry -
Enter Katy Manning, wide-eyed and clutching a message from the Brig to the Doctor. I've never been wild about Jo. I think of her as one of the few companion characters without any sort of character arc. She was announced as the Doctor's new assistant, she assisted him, then she left. Hopefully this rewatch of the Jo Grant era will provide us some new insights, or a better appreciation for her character.
Sarah -
This is really the beginning of the Doctor as the all-knowing Time Lord with a human companion along to ask the right questions. It's not that past companions didn't fulfill this role, but their relationships with the Doctor were different.
More than once, the First Doctor, had little grasp on what was going on and his companions were left to figure things out for themselves. The Second Doctor was always quite chummy with his companions -- he and Jamie were just a couple of blokes out on a lark.
As season 8 begins, the Third Doctor is clearly in charge and Jo is there to assist him.
Harry -
Unfortunately Jon Pertwee opens season eight in the same crabby mood where he left off. And the way he talks down to the people around him (which seems to be too often!) makes him slightly less likeable than I'd like the Doctor to be.
Sarah -
Watching the stories in order is really changing my perceptions. More than once I found myself thinking the Doctor was acting like a complete jerk. He managed to soften a bit towards Jo, but I felt so badly for her when she met him the first time. Rude Time Lord!
Harry -
Strangely, it came as a perverse sort of relief when a new adversary appeared to take on the Doctor, maybe put him in his place even!
Sarah -
At last, someone to out Time Lord the Time Lord! I couldn't stop myself from giggling with glee when the Master first appeared. How I've been anticipating this moment!
Harry -
How can you not love Roger Delgado as the Master? Suavely imperious, quietly menacing, utterly watchable. As he starts executing his evil scheme - and executing people - the show corrects itself. The Earth is under siege again, and the Doctor resumes the hero role.
Sarah -
Viewers can only be grateful to the Master for forcing the Doctor to get over himself and focus on the problem at hand.
Harry -
That scene where a bowler-hatted Time Lord appeared and warned the Doctor was brief, but offered a fascinating concept. Imagine if Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks made this a regular feature in the show - having an oddly costumed Time Lord pop up at the start of each story to warn the Doctor of imminent danger.
Hmm... maybe not.
Sarah -
Another reason to be grateful.
Harry -
But look who did pop up again: Michael Wisher, as wishy washy as ever!
Sarah -
The hardest-working man in the Whoniverse! (Check out this smashing graphic!)
Harry -
Hard to believe such a gentle soul could harbour the ultimate megalomaniac. A performance to look forward to!
Sarah -
Speaking of hard-working -- the Autons are back, yet somehow they're not quite as threatening this time. Is it the comical heads? The daffodils?
Harry -
The sudden ability to speak? The "haven't we seen this before" invasion plan?
Sarah -
The more I think about it, the less this invasion plan seems to make sense.
Harry -
Was it much of a plan at all? This is where we encounter some more of what began in the Troughton era: taking monsters that got a great reception the first time around and bringing them back without really thinking up something new for them to do. Here, it's the return of the Autons and the Nestene Consciousness, taking a second crack at trying to conquer the Earth. They have a nefarious accomplice in the Master, but it all gets muddled. How did the Master fall in with this lot? What will he get out of this? And was his own scheme really so flimsy that the Doctor could point out a glaring flaw in it so easily? Weird.
Sarah -
Not quite the cunning plan one would hope, is it?
Harry -
I rather liked the part of the story where the Master left traps for the Doctor to fall into repeatedly. Hah! Who's all arrogant now?
Sarah -
Hoisted by his own petard! (I think I've been waiting two years to find a place to say that.)
Harry -
Nice!
Oh, getting back to the daffodils. Bit daft, that. Although I did like the Autons with the boaters, yellow blazers and giant carnival heads.
Sarah -
The carnival heads were creepy. I'm glad I didn't see this one as a child -- they would have given me nightmares.
Harry -
Apart from Delgado's searing performance, they might be the other highlight of this story for me. Which isn't saying much, sadly.
Sarah -
There were some rather good lines, but they didn't add up to much.
Before we sign off, Harry, a quick shout-out for Captain Mike Yates -- who joins Jo and the Master by making his first appearance in this story. Interesting to learn from the featurette on the DVD that Ian Marter almost got the job. Good thing his schedule didn't allow it or we might be Sarah and some-other-bloke right now.
Harry -
Things have a way of working out for the best. Each story brings us closer to the Elisabeth Sladen / Ian Marter era!
Sarah -
Don't get ahead of yourself, Old Boy!
Harry -
Last season, the UNIT team was still taking shape. Now, we have the Brigadier, Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton, the occasionally arrogant but still dashing Scientific Advisor and his enthusiastic new Assistant all together. The UNIT family is ready to take on all comers. Bring it on!
To me, the real importance of "Terror of the Autons" is that it sets the template that Doctor Who will follow all through this season and into the next two. As a stand-alone story, it left me wanting. But I can't wait to see what that old rascal the Master will get up to next, and I'm eager to see more of the Jo Grant era as we move on to the next story. Shall we?
Sarah -
I can only agree. There are isolated moments of brilliance, but they don't add up to much in the end. Onward to "The Mind of Evil"!
Harry -
Best Line:
Jo - "Doctor, stop being childish."
Doctor - "What's wrong with being childish? I like being childish."
Favourite Moment: Captain Yates slams an Auton with his car, the Auton rolls down a long hill, lands at the bottom... and gets right back up.
Lasting Image: the yellow blazered Autons with the giant carnival masks.
6/10
Sarah -
Best Line: "I have so few worthy opponents. When they're gone I always miss them."
Favorite Moment: The Master's first appearance.
Lasting Image: The killer plastic chair!
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #56 - The Mind of Evil...
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