Welcome to the Eighties!
Everything is different. New producer, new script editor, new look opening titles, new bouncy bouncy disco theme, wow!
It's the same Doctor and crew to start Season 18, but as "The Leisure Hive" opens with an extremely long sweeping shot over Brighton Beach, there's a sense that we're seeing the beginning of the end of an era.
Sarah -
The Leisure Hive is definitely a transition story. It’s the first story produced by the legendary John Nathan-Turner (JN-T), who served as production unit manager for the previous two seasons of Doctor Who.
Having spent two years on the series, he had plenty of time to contemplate the changes he wanted to make.
Harry -
In his 1994 interview on one of the DVD featurettes, he makes it clear that he wanted to make firm, immediate changes to many aspects of the show, from the look and feel, to the tone of the stories, and the direction of the cast.
Sarah -
The first change, as you’ve mentioned, is the new theme and title sequence. Delia Derbyshire’s original arrangement was tossed in favor of a more contemporary arrangement by Peter Howell. It being the 80s, this means synthesizers galore. What do you think of the changes?
Harry -
From the opening modified sting, to the pounding synth beat, this version of the theme perfectly captures the new wave 80s. New decade, new approach, why not? It's now a very fondly remembered theme that of course harkens back to our younger viewing days. I like it!
Sarah -
As previously noted, this is the first story of the post-Dudley Simpson era. Incidental music duties were turned over to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Harry -
I like this even more. Peter Howell's incidental music immediately adds a more "science fictiony" sound to the story, and it fits well since the titular leisure hive is far away on the planet Argolis. All those ethereal synth notes reminded me of the soundtrack that Vangelis composed for Blade Runner about the same time.
Sarah -
We’ve got a new look for the Doctor! The iconic scarf has been traded for a burgundy look, which I quite like. "The Leisure Hive" is also the first appearance of the question marks on the Doctor’s shirt collar, which will continue to plague us throughout the JN-T era.
Harry -
The burgundy look has always been a visual signal that we are watching one of Tom Baker's final stories (we are down to the final seven!). We catch our first glimpse of the new ensemble as Tom snoozes in a beach chair, practically buried under all that burgundy fabric. It's almost as though JN-T tried to physically restrain Tom with a more serious look. JN-T in the DVD interview made it clear that part of his new approach to making Doctor Who would be to get rid of the hamming and arsing around that became too prevalent during the silly 70s.
Sarah -
Tom Baker’s performance has clearly been toned way down. The days of “Tom being Tom” are over and we’re faced with a more somber Doctor. We also see the downplaying of what JN-T considered “magical” elements of the series, such as the sonic screwdriver and K-9.
Harry -
If JN-T thought that the sonic screwdriver had been overused in Tom's era, I wonder what he would have to say today!
Sarah -
We’ve both been critical of the over-reliance on the sonic screwdriver in the current series, where it’s used to solve every problem, outside of this blog. With that perspective, I wasn’t as sensitive to its use in the Fourth Doctor era, but I guess it was used more than usual in season 17.
John Leeson returns as the voice of K-9, but his days on the series are numbered. We don’t see him again after the opening scene at Brighton.
Harry -
We noticed in the previous season that K-9 was starting to get left behind or was breaking down more and more, by the designs of the writers and the producers who went along with that approach. I'm very glad that John Leeson returned to the role for one more go starting with "The Leisure Hive," and K-9 sounds like K-9 again. Leeson was realistic about it though. In his DVD interview, he notes darkly that the producers kept coming up with new ways to try and kill K-9 during Season 18.
Sarah -
It’s also the beginning of the end for Romanadvoratrelundar. Apparently, JN-T wasn’t keen on having a companion who was an equal of the Doctor, but there will be plenty of time to discuss that a few stories from now.
Harry -
I've noticed that we've almost never talked about the Doctor-Romana relationship since the beginning of last season. Tom and Lalla worked together so well, and the chemistry of the Doctor and Romana was spot on. They were equal partners, and sure there was the odd bit of friction but nothing overly dramatic. Their partnership was such that they weren't in the same room together, each one could comfortably go about saving the universe, confident that they knew what the other one would be doing or saying at that moment. What I'm trying to say is, I love this TARDIS team! It's too bad JN-T didn't like it as much, but his point is valid. When you have three equally brainy characters, there's a risk of too much uniformity/blandness setting in.
Sarah -
They really are a great team -- more successful on-screen than they were off-screen, of course. The chemistry is perfect and they're entirely equal partners, which is a huge change from most of the series' history.
"The Leisure Hive" also marks the return to the series of our dear friend Barry Letts, as Executive Producer.
Harry -
Everyone on the DVD featurette had nothing but positive things to say about Uncle Barry. He is and will remain a legend of the show.
Sarah -
I love that they brought in the elder statesman to steady the ship.
Harry -
Now, as for the first story of Season 18, writer David Fisher and script editor Christopher H. Bidmead waste no time in immersing us in a far out space adventure with new aliens and hard science.
For the Doctor and Romana, it was supposed to be a holiday, but we know how holidays on Doctor Who turn out. Romana had suggested a visit to one of the leisure planets of the 23rd century. When they arrive at the leisure hive on Argolis, it initially looks like it might be a kind of holiday resort in space. People are playing zero-gravity squash, and for the intellectually curious, Pangol the Argolin puts on a demonstration of the fancy Tachyon technology the locals have been developing.
Sarah -
Alas, all is not well on Argolis. The financial situation has deteriorated as Argolis has fallen out of fashion (to be fair, it does look a bit down-market). Its leader, Morix, who is aging and on the verge of death, finds himself in the middle of a hostile takeover scheme, orchestrated by Earth businessmen Brock and Klout. They represent the Foamasi, sworn enemy of the Argolins. Their 20-minute war 40 years ago caused such devastation that the Argolins were left sterile and built the Leisure Hive, devoting themselves to peace and pleasure.
The Doctor and Romana, as luck will have it, end up on Argolis just as things fall apart. Morix dies and is quickly succeeded by slightly less-ancient Mena, an alien presence infiltrates the hive, and an innocent visitor is torn apart during a Tachyon Recreation Generator demonstration. What a surprise that the Doctor and Romana find themselves to be the prime suspects...
Harry -
They were fortunate to get in a few minutes as normal tourists before the accusations started to fly, as did the Doctor's body parts apparently. But it turned out to be a ruse - part of Hardin's faking of experiments with the Tachyon Recreation Generator, a device meant to duplicate and alter physical objects when properly functional. Mena, like all the Argolins, is hoping that the generator can be used to rejuvenate their rapidly deteriorating bodies (a legacy of the 20-minute war).
Pangol, however, views the generator as a military tool, one that will raise an army of clone Argolins for him to lead into war and glorious victory over the Foamasi.
Sarah -
Speaking of tools, Pangol definitely is one. It became tedious waiting for his inevitable downfall.
Harry -
It was probably the cutest downfall of any villain on Doctor Who.
There is not much more to the basic structure of the story. Most of the time, our friends are dragged from one room to another to have conversations that advance the plot. All the while, a mysterious lizard creature creeps around the hive, tampering with the generator and making an unseen nuisance of itself. I loved the scene where Romana made contact with the creature -- a Foamasi agent -- and brought it in to meet the Doctor, as if she were introducing two old friends to each other.
Sarah -
Someone should have made tea!
Harry -
Speaking of old... there it is! It's the first instance of a Doctor Who character being aged dramatically. In this case, it's the Doctor himself, fallen victim to the effects of the generator. This is a concept that will recur in the show for years to come, right up to the present day.
Sarah -
Sometimes more successfully than others.
I have to admit that I started losing interest in the story about halfway through. It was so plodding, and the recaps from the previous episodes seemed to go on forever.
Harry -
The long reprises were not done away with so far this season.
Sarah -
Now THERE'S an issue about which Mr. Smarty-Pants New Producer should have done something!
Harry -
Visually, there was a lot of stimulation in "The Leisure Hive". There was great camera work throughout, with lots of high and low angles giving us a perspective from all around the hive. There were new outfits for our friends, and new alien races to meet. The Argolins were quite dolled up with those bouffant hairdos. The chameleon-headed Foamasi were not quite lumbering cuties, but very close. Okay, they were.
Sarah -
As lumbering things go, they were totes adorbs!
Harry -
A quality start to this season. Sarah, you and I have seen so much of Season 18 so many times, but it's fun to re-watch it in order, as the show transitions into a new decade and into a new direction.
Best Line:
Brock: "His scarf killed Stimson."
Doctor: "Arrest the scarf, then."
Favourite Moment: Brock is unmasked, literally.
Lasting Image: the Doctor's burgundy ensemble
7/10
Sarah -
From here on, every story is going to feel bittersweet.
Best Line: I'm with you on this one!
Favorite Moment: Annoying Pangol getting his comeuppance!
Lasting Image: The aged Doctor
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #110: Meglos...
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