I hope that you don't mind that I'm posting this from behind the Sofa, Harry Old Boy. I have a confession to make -- those robots have always terrified me!
Harry -
This is one of my most-watched Doctor Who stories ever - thanks to its early release on DVD. Despite knowing what's coming, it's hard not to be disturbed by some of the images when the re-programmed robots start rampaging. I can only imagine Mary Whitehouse's reaction to watching Pilot Toos scream at the camera in terror as a robot attacks her. On the other hand we never actually see anyone die, only a mounting pile of corpses and decommissioned robots. There's a blood-covered robot hand, and a robophobic crew member has a nervous breakdown, but the gore is minimal.
Sarah -
This story never fails to disturb me. The body count is staggering for Doctor Who and there's a certain antiseptic quality to the murders that makes them especially terrifying.
Harry -
Before any of that happens, the robots are introduced as quiet servitors aboard the sandminer. They aren't nearly as interesting as the elaborately dressed mining crew, who look like a cross between Cirque du Soleil and Boney M. And they like their downtime - playing chess, getting massages, or lounging luxuriously. It's quite the colourful group.
Sarah -
There is all kinds of 1977 Fabulous going on in that sandminer -- and I love it!
Harry -
Hah! While watching again, I noted that this is the most 70s looking Doctor Who story of the entire decade. The hair, the clothes, the sandminer model shots, the Art Deco revival sculptures alongside the tigerskin rugs, it's all very Fabulously 1977. The production crew did a whale of a job transplanting a classic Agatha Christie / Edwardian murder mystery into a visually arresting sci fi setting.
I wonder if the Doctor will ever meet the real Agatha Christie...
Sarah -
We can only hope...
As will happen, the Doctor and Leela show up just as the first murder is being committed. Such unfortunate timing, to always find oneself the focus of suspicion, but the Doctor accepts it with his usual good cheer and alacrity.
Harry -
It's amusing how the sandminer crew respond to the initial accusations: no one can agree. In fact, they go out of their way to disagree. Rather than questioning the Doctor and Leela, they'd rather question each other. Some make bold assertions, others cast doubts. There's so much going on under the surface, it's delicious.
Sarah -
They waste no time at all turning on each other. From their introduction, it's pretty clear that most of them loathe each other.
Harry -
Uvanov, the leader, eventually manages to have the Doctor and Leela placed in futuristic shackles. But before the Doctor and Leela can get a word in, there's another couple of bodies going cold. Woops! It's almost comedic, were it not played so seriously.
Having watched the story so many times, there's no surprise left, but I can appreciate how the relationships between the sandminer crew get teased out and developed, for example the Uvanov-Zilda connection. When she searches his room and discovers some documents, she suddenly bursts into very-poorly-acted tears, then takes to the comms system to accuse him of murder. Only later will we find out -- from Mr. secret company agent Poul -- that Uvanov was supposedly responsible for the death of Zilda's brother, but it was all hushed up.
Sarah -
It's hard to pick a favorite crew member, but I lean towards Uvanov. He's clearly risen through the ranks and lacks the upper-class finesse of the other crew members, but he's good at what he does and highly valued by the company. When we meet him, he's bombastic and tetchy, and over the course of the story, he's utterly broken down by the situation. The moment when he loses it and has to be carried to safety by the Doctor walks a fine line between amusing and heartbreaking. And, of course, we find out in the end that he actually tried to save Zilda's brother and has been haunted by the loss ever since. It's a stunning performance by Russell Hunter.
Harry -
Uvanov's backstory unfolded nicely. One of my favourite moments is when he slips into a broad accent and says "Oh I seee!" to the Doctor.
Mopey, pouty, poorly-acted Zilda I probably liked the least.
Poul is a puzzling character. He's a company agent posing as a crew member -- but wasn't it rather foolish for him to accept a placement in the middle of a claustrophobic/robophobic setting, knowing that he wasn't too keen on claustrophobic/robophobic settings?
Sarah -
It's certainly an unconventional appointment. Fun fact: referring to Robophobia as "Grimwade's syndrome" was an in-joke reference to production assistant Peter Grimwade who had bemoaned the fact that the stories on which he was assigned to work almost always involved robots.
Harry -
I'm almost certain that Grimwade also wrote a sci fi novel about robots. A few moments on Google confirms said novel was even called Robot. Write what you know!
And Poul was named in honour of sci fi writer Poul Anderson. I've read a couple of his books but nothing memorable. One may have been about vikings now that I think of it.
Anyway, we should spend a few moments discussing the titular characters. We've seen robots in all shapes and sizes in Doctor Who, but none as stylish as these. In keeping with the garish theme of the sandminer lounge, the robots are just gratuitously beautiful. One could get lost staring into those classical faces. Until they start slaughtering people, of course.
Sarah -
Their highly stylized faces are exactly what I find terrifying. Robots are less terrifying when they're more robot-y.
Harry -
They all have the same male human face, which definitely stands out. I found it most unsettling when they moved about silently. The more I think about it, the more I really like Poul's description of them as "walking dead."
Sarah -
Speaking of highly stylized, how about those sets? I love the seventies-fabulous art deco sets. They manage to look fabulous while looking lived in.
Harry -
The lounge was great and I'm glad they spent a lot of time in there at the start.
Sarah -
One gets the impression that the lounge is where they spent most of their time.
Harry -
The long distance side shots of the sandminer corridors were well done. The control room seemed a bit cramped with awkward angles. Overall though, the sets were good.
In the end, as with most ensemble murder mysteries, it's the character we see or know the least about who ends up being the villain. Dask is an important yet quiet member of the crew. He's there in most of the group scenes, but only to utter a word or two. Even when he uses his expertise to keep the sandminer from blowing up, he does so without raising any suspicions. But I have to say, I loved his hooded costume. Like so many of the designs and clothes in this story, it was needlessly over the top. And we barely saw it before he revealed his loony robotic face paint.
Sarah -
Every villain needs a good hood -- especially the crazy ones!
I know we've both seen this many times before, but it always seems so obvious to me who the baddie is. That said, I love his "robot brothers" looniness every time I see it. It's hard to imagine how he kept it together for so long.
Best Line: D84 : "Please do not throw hands at me."
Favorite Moment: The Doctor calling Dask out as a boring maniac who needs to explain his plan in great detail. Ain't that always the way.
Lasting Image: The Creepy Robots!
8/10
Harry -
Best Line:
"I heard a cry."
"It was me."
"I heard a cry."
"It was me."
"I heard a cry."
"It was ME!"
Favourite Moment: Poul's robophobia breakdown.
Lasting Image: Everyone lounging in the lounge.
8/10
Sarah -
"Everyone Lounging in the Lounge" is going to be the title of my first solo album.
Harry -
Jazz flute improvisations?
Sarah -
Exactly.
Our marathon continues with Story #91 - The Talons of Weng-Chiang...
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