I love the title of this story. It creates an immediate sense of urgency, a sense that we are counting down to disaster. Before we've even got past the opening theme, an air of anxiety has been created.
There's a different feel to the Davison era, right from the start. As the story begins, we don't get that initial relaxed, collegial scene that is common in early classic Who. In the Troughton era, the Doctor and his friends would land somewhere and set off on a fun adventure before the story proper got under way. In the Pertwee era, the Doctor and Jo would be found tinkering around the lab at UNIT. In the Tom Baker era, especially the latter seasons, the Doctor and his companion would be hanging out in the console room, often working on repairs to K-9.
Sarah -
To be fair, none of the previous Doctors had to deal with a pissed-off Australian air stewardess who just wanted to go home.
Harry -
I forgot how urgently Tegan wanted to get back to Heathrow. You'd think the Doctor would have better reassured her about time travel.
Sarah -
Can I kvetch a bit here, Old Boy? Discussing the opening TARDIS scene reminded me of what has always irritated me most about this era of the show. Having populated the TARDIS with three companions, each of whom have very distinctive personalities, the writers feel free to just make them say and do random things that are completely out of character. Example #1: Having Adric spout off about the uselessness of women, only to reassure Nyssa that his rant doesn't apply to her because she's a girl. Having begun his time in the TARDIS at Romana's side, it's stupidly inconsistent to have Adric spouting these opinions. It's a lazy device to create tension among the companions.
Harry -
Adric's chauvinistic outburst was lame and one of many examples that will pop up in 80s Who. It's cringeworthy to see now, and I've always wondered why that crap reared its head during the JN-T era.
Sarah -
Some might say it's because little things like character and story weren't high on the list of JN-T's priorities. I may or may not be one of those people. I promise I'll do my best to keep my outbursts over this era's writing to a minimum, but I'm afraid there are going to be so many opportunities in the coming seasons. I'll just be over here shaking my fist and shouting, "Uncles Barry and Terry would never let this sort of thing happen!" Feel free to ignore me and carry on.
Harry -
After everyone cools it, the TARDIS lands in a deserted room filled with scientific equipment. A room that is being monitored. There's a mystery to investigate and the Doctor leads the way. Helmets on, everybody stay together -- we are jumping right into the thick of things.
Sarah -
It must be Doctor Who, after all. And, if we had any doubts, Adric and Nyssa stay behind in the lab while the Doctor and Tegan head off to find the being in charge. And find him they do! What do you make of our latest aliens, Harry?
Harry -
The Urbankans! How urbane!
Well, from first impressions they are a bunch of cold lizards. But they possess powerful knowledge of space flight, computer technology, bio-mechanics, and fashion design (with some help from Tegan).
The Monarch is their leader, and it soon becomes apparent that he is a deluded despot. Flanked by his ministers of Enlightenment and Persuasion, he presents an artifice of courtesy that everyone quickly sees through. There was an oppressive atmosphere throughout this story. Everyone -- from the kidnapped humans, to the Doctor & Co., to the ministers by his side -- they all endured his oppressive nature. He did, after all, seem to believe he was a god, which is never a good sign.
Sarah -
My favorite part of the Doctor and Tegan meeting with the Urbankans is when they ask Tegan about current Earth fashions. She explains that it's hard to describe and sits down to work on a detailed sketch of a couple of Sloan Rangers. Duly impressed Enlightenment and Persuasion transform themselves to look exactly like the sketch -- you can almost hear The Human League playing in the background as they descent the stairs!
Harry -
How amazing is Tegan in this story? She not only impresses with her drawing skills, she also demonstrates her grasp of the Australian Aborigine's language, and I'm sure she didn't half mind swatting Adric to the floor later in the story.
Sarah -
Tegan is brilliant. She's remained firmly in my list of Top 10 Companions since the day I first laid eyes on her in 1983. Meeting Janet Fielding at Chicago TARDIS was positively mind-blowing. My inner teenage fan girl was beside herself. And, of course, Janet was absolutely lovely, especially to my daughter who was just 10 at the time and VERY impressed to be meeting her in person.
Harry -
But I'm jumping all over the place now.
Sarah -
And I'm hopping right behind you!
Harry -
Back to the Urbankans. We don't know the reality of their existence yet, but Persuasion and Enlightenment behave in a weirdly stilted manner, humourlessly formal. The Monarch alternates between menacing bully and cordial tyrant.
Sarah -
The very model of the benevolent dictator. He's really quite convinced of his benevolence, isn't he?
Harry -
The Monarch is his own biggest fan!
I've said it already but the entire time spent on the Urbankans ship had an air of anxiety to it. Then we start meeting the kidnapped humans who move around between the recreational theatre and various computer labs and photosynthesis rooms. At first, we wonder how they could have been kept alive for centuries while the ship ferries back and forth between Earth and Urbanka. In one of Doctor Who's creepier cliffhanger moments, we learn from Bigon the Athenian that he is in fact an uploaded human consciousness inside an android shell. "This is me." AAAAAAA!!!
Sarah -
That was a bit of a shock, wasn't it? The moment when he peeled his face back is super-creepy.
Harry -
I remember being horrified the first time I saw that.
Sarah -
It made me think of the terrifying Sarah Jane android in "The Android Invasion" -- an image that still creeps me out.
Harry -
I had the same thought.
Sarah -
What did you think of the, "Hey androids, space travel is tedious, let's put on a show" scenes?
Harry -
The recreational was probably something that the Monarch commanded in a moment of boredom, and the androids never got a stop order.
Sarah -
Plus, it killed lots of time that might otherwise require, you know, actual writing.
Harry -
What stood out most for me in this story was the interaction between the characters, for both good and bad. Adric had himself a terrible outing here, starting with his uncharacteristic behavior in the TARDIS console room. Both Nyssa and the Doctor find reason to tell him to SHUT UP during the story, and Tegan wallops him unconscious. It almost feels like the beginning of the end for his time on the show.
Sarah -
Having made the decision to load the TARDIS up with younger companions, the no one ever seem to know what to do with all of them. Knocking Adric out kept him out of the way for a while, avoiding the need for, you know, actual writing.
Harry -
But there were intriguing moments too, like the interplay between the androids, who still held a semblance of humanity preserved in their silicon chips. Watching the silky smooth Persuasion and Enlightenment reduced to groveling lackeys before the Monarch was amusing too.
I almost forgot, everyone had fresh new haircuts in this story. When Peter Davison's first season began filming, the showrunners elected to start with this one, to allow the actors a chance to get to work together before filming his regeneration story. That's why the ladies have fresh, stylish dos, while the gents have short, trimmed hair.
Sarah -
One of my favorite things about this era of the show and this TARDIS crew is that their commentary tracks are wonderful! They're all having a great time and really enjoy rewatching the stories together. In this story, Janet Fielding keeps referring to the dead animal nailed to her head every time she appears on screen. It's hysterical. If you have the chance, I definitely suggest listening to any of their commentaries.
Harry -
I'll have to give this one a listen.
Sarah -
I promise you'll enjoy it!
Getting back to the story, it will come as a surprise to exactly no one that the Urbankans are on their way to colonize and take over the Earth. Despite Adric believing the Monarch's story, the Doctor knows he's up to no good and it's time to foil this plot!
Harry -
Was Adric bluffing again? Watching all the Adric stories in a row, he seems to be siding with the enemies/bluffing in every story. Wouldn't it be hilarious if in fact he was never bluffing, always fell under the sway of the villains, and hastily announced he had been "bluffing all along" when the Doctor eventually prevailed each time?
Sarah -
His character development pretty much turned into a crap shoot after the Fifth Doctor's regeneration.
Harry -
Well, all the toing and froing between the Monarch's throne room, the labs, and the recreational theatre finally leads us to probably the most memorable moment of the story. Tegan managed to flip the TARDIS outside of the Urbankan ship, and the Doctor had to go fetch it. While Adric battled the Monarch's ministers, the Doctor bowled his cricket ball for a perfect E=mc2 bounceback that propelled him to the TARDIS doors. Hurrah!
Sarah -
Hooray! Something interesting happening! I love knowing that Peter Davison was rolling around on a desk chair to film this sequence.
Harry -
By then, Persuasion and Enlightenment had been shut down, the androids had gone berzerk, and the Monarch was left to wander around grumbling about revenge until getting a taste of his own poisonous froggy secretions. Yuck.
Sarah -
Yeah, that was pretty gross.
Harry -
After bidding the androids good luck and safe travels, our friends return to the TARDIS having gotten no closer to Heathrow than when the story picked up.
And now Nyssa's collapsed just before the closing credits. What the frig?
Sarah -
Well, that'll get her out of the way for the next story and save some time on, you know, actual writing.
Harry -
Brave heart, Sarah!
Sarah -
Best Line: "Conformity is the only freedom."
Favorite Moment: When Persuasion confiscates the Sonic Screwdriver from Nyssa but tells her she can keep the pencil. That was a wonderfully random moment.
Lasting Image: The Doctor in Space!
5/10
Harry -
Best Line: Adric being told to shut up by various characters.
Favourite moment: the Doctor bowls the cricket ball in space.
Lasting Image: Bigon reveals his real nature.
6/10
Our marathon continues with Story #118 - Kinda...
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