Base -- or, rather, lighthouse -- under siege!
Harry -
It's a refreshing change.
Sarah -
For old-school (or just old) Chicago Doctor Who fans, "Horror of Fang Rock" will always be tied to memories of the night Max Headroom broke into the WTTW broadcast with this:
Keep in mind that Doctor Who was shown in omnibus format from 11:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Sunday night. When I woke up the morning after the broadcast, I seriously thought I had hallucinated the whole thing!
Harry -
After all this time, no one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for that, have they?
Sarah -
No one has and I love that it's still a mystery!
I have to say, there are some things that One learns to appreciate over time when One is a Doctor Who fan. At the top of my list is that I don't have an unfortunate habit of showing up places when someone has just been killed or gone missing. I don't believe I could handle the pressure of constantly being under suspicion...
Harry -
What a brilliant first episode we got in this one. All dark atmosphere and murky noises -- I mean of course Reuben the ole lighthouse keeper, with his perpetual groaning about electricity. Not the same as oil, nay. T'ain't natural!
Sarah -
I love Reuben!
Harry -
He has a cuddly irascibility about him. My favourite character for sure.
It was nice to see Season 15 start with a continuation of the sci fi historicals, the TARDIS this time landing on a rock smack dab in the Edwardian era. And yes, just in time for poor Ben to become a terribly desecrated corpse within and without the lighthouse on Fang Rock. Leela puts it best early on: "You said I would like Brighton. Well I do not."
Perhaps the most unsettling thing early on was seeing the Doctor wearing a bowler hat. For some reason, people wearing bowler hats make me anxious.
Sarah -
I know what you mean. There's something terribly unsettling about a bowler hat.
It's season fifteen and we've got a new show runner in Graham Williams, but this story continues the tone set in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". The opening scenes are all atmosphere. I love the lighthouse setting and the introduction of the crew is perfect. "Horror of Fang Rock" maintains the traditions of season fourteen in its high body count. Is there any other story where everyone dies? Every single person we meet in this story is dead by the end. It's so disturbing.
Harry -
Terrance Dicks spreads the slaughter across all classes, sparing neither the humblest seamen nor the poshest toffs, with the Doctor and Leela caught in between.
It was interesting how Uncle Terry arranged this story in comparison to "The Time Warrior." There, he introduced the Sontaran character immediately and kept him front and centre. Here, the alien character mostly lurks in the shadows until emerging in the final episode. The Doctor spends almost the entire story puzzling over who or what the alien menace might be. With the small cast and claustrophobic setting, it allowed for some nice character development.
Sarah -
I love that Dicks introduces us to the Rutans, who were last (and first) heard of in "The TIme Warrior". There's a nice full-circle sense of closure to the story.
Harry -
I have a soft spot for young Vince. He was so heartbroken when Ben died. I also liked his reaction when Leela started removing her Brighton getup and asked for some men's clothes. "I'm no lady!" Haha!
Sarah -
Vince's death is the hardest to bear. He's just so sweet. His scenes with Leela make him particularly endearing.
Harry -
As for the Edwardian Gits as I like to think of them, is there any group of people whose deaths came more as a relief? I know that's terrible to say, but wow did I hate that bunch!
It's fun to imagine Uncle Terry dreaming these characters up. "Let's see, I'll have this arrogant young Lord who bosses everyone around until everyone is pleased to see him die. I'll throw in this shrieking woman who keeps going into hysterics until Leela smacks her in the chops. Then I'll have this slippery old snake of a colonel who'd rather let everyone die than see his reputation sullied. Good. Now I shall kill them all horribly."
Sarah -
They are particularly awful. Palmerdale is clearly hideous from the beginning, but I like what Uncle Terry does with Skinsale. Turning him into the Doctor's ally in the final episode builds some sympathy for him and then BAM! -- he's taken down by his own greed as he attempts to collect the diamonds they've lifted from Palmerdale's corpse. Brilliant writing!
Adelaide has little to recommend her and Leela acts for all of us when she smacks her and tells her to shut up!
Harry -
I was particularly struck by how Tom Baker underplayed this story. Sure, there were the odd moments where he lashed out or smiled in the face of impending doom, but for the most part he was subdued, puzzling over the mystery at the lighthouse. Meanwhile, Leela stabbed about a dozen invisible enemies with that knife she picked up. At this point in their partnership, Leela seems happy to be along for the ride. She trusts the Doctor implicitly and very little seems to phase her, apart from giant cuddly rats.
Sarah -
She's definitely all in. It's a testament to Louise Jameson's acting that she makes Leela so strong and endearing. She was ready to leave the series after Season 14, mostly because of the horrible way she was treated by Tom Baker.
Harry -
Remember that video she played at Chicago TARDIS one year? It was a compilation of every time the Doctor had shushed Leela onscreen, and it was a very long compilation. Who wouldn't have gotten tired of that?
Sarah -
I'm glad she stayed on and they eventually became friends. Leela is one of those companions who has been kind of in the middle for me -- didn't love her, didn't hate her. Like Jo Grant, this marathon has made me better appreciate her character development and certainly bumped her up on my list of companions who are awesome!
Harry -
As with the previous story, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", the production team knocked it out of the park with the set designs and costumes. If the Doctor had been marooned in the Victorian or Edwardian era for a time, I would not have minded more stories like these past two.
Sarah -
Both stories are just about as perfect as Doctor Who can be!
Harry -
Well, season fifteen is off to a cracking start. Let's see who we might meet next...
Sarah -
Best Line:
Vince: "You found the trouble, then?"
Doctor: "Yes, I always find trouble."
Favorite Moment: Leela slapping Adelaide
Lasting Image: The green, glowing Rueben
9/10
Harry -
Best Line:
Doctor: "Ahh! You want to get to London!"
Palmerdale: "Yes!!"
Doctor: "You've no chance in this fog."
Favourite Moment: Reuben grousing about electricity and the positive properties of oil.
Lasting image: the arrival of the Edwardian Gits
8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #93 - The Invisible Enemy...
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