"Mawdryn Undead" is another story that I have not watched since sometime in the 80s. Other than knowing that it introduced Turlough, I had no strong memories to remind me what was coming. What a great story!
Harry -
This is more like it. This is the Peter Davison era as I remember it.
Sarah -
The Brigadier returns in one of the most timey-wimey stories in Doctor Who history. The Brig!
Harry -
Two Brigs!
Sarah -
What could be better? The story begins in a boys' school, as young Turlough convinces the unfortunately nicknamed Hippo that they should take a quick spin in the 1929 Humber 16/50 open tourer, Imperial model parked in front of the school. To the surprise of no viewer ever, the joyride ends badly and the car is smashed. While unconscious, Turlough is visited by the Black Guardian, who offers him a deal. He will get Turlough, an alien who has been stranded on Earth disguised as an English school boy, off the planet in exchange for Turlough killing the Doctor.
Harry -
It's a leap of faith for the viewer to simply accept that Turlough is an alien. He doesn't look like an alien (no ginger jokes here). He doesn't act like an alien. There's a mention from the headmaster that his parents are dead and a solicitor in London handles his estate, but that's the only slightly irregular detail about him.
The Black Guardian, on the other hand, is campy as all get out. That sneer, that voice, that 80s video game background whenever he appears to Turlough. I love it. Best of all, the bird on his head. I love the bird! Now if that's not a sign of an unearthly presence, I don't know what is. I suppose it could be another indirect sign that Turlough was an alien that he so gullibly accepted to become the Black Guardian's minion.
Sarah -
The bird headgear is brilliant! I've worked a whole new cosplay for you, Harry!
The car turns out to be the property of none other than Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, formerly of UNIT and currently maths teacher at Brendon Public School. I didn’t remember that the Brig was in this story and shouted with delight at his first appearance!
Harry -
Love the Brig's return appearances. It's a staple of 80s Who. And here, Brig '83 is dressed once again like the Most English-Looking Man in England. The hat, the vest, the checked jacket with elbow patches. The only thing he's missing is a fancy walking stick or a pipe.
Sarah -
We join the TARDIS crew with a poorly conceived attempt to establish continuity between the stories. Tegan wanders into the console room to be reassured that the Mara is actually dead and will not try to possess her again. Nyssa arrives in a fetching costume, which is clearly an attempt at apology for what she was made to wear in Snakedance. Tegan hassles the Doctor for not being able to control the TARDIS as they’re caught up in a warp ellipse and forced to materialize on an abandoned luxury liner.
Harry -
Deserted? Abandoned? Something is up with this ship. Our friends wander the art deco rooms and corridors before the Doctor finds a computer panel that reveals the ship has been in orbit for 3,000 years.
Sarah -
How wonderful are the spaceship sets?
Harry -
They really did a much better job with the sets and costuming in this story compared to "Snakedance". The production crew made the ship seem vast, and my favourite room was the one with the row of portraits on the walls. I kept waiting for one of the portraits to speak, and was freaked out when the Black Guardian appeared out of one of the faces. But that was later on...
Sarah -
I had the same expectation and was so disappointed -- until the Black Guardian appeared.
Harry -
Turlough suddenly appears in the transmat pod, and the Doctor determines that it is the cause of a disruption that trapped the TARDIS in the same coordinates as the liner. So, he and Turlough pop back to Earth while Tegan and Nyssa remain with the TARDIS. Things do not go as easily as hoped. The Doctor finds himself stranded on Earth with the homicidal schoolboy, while the TARDIS abruptly lurches to 1977. Oh, it's getting a bit timey-wimey.
After a quick look around, Tegan and Nyssa return to find -- to their horror -- the badly burned body of what they presume to be the Doctor, writhing in agony on the TARDIS floor. Tegan rushes out for help, finding assistance in the form of Brig '77, looking younger and more regimental than the older version we have already met.
Sarah -
I love this SO MUCH! What a brilliant idea to have the TARDIS crew meet the Doctor in two different time streams. It's as if the entire series has been leading us to this story.
Apparently, the original plan was to have William Russell return to the series, but it didn't work out, so they asked Nicholas Courtney. I'm so glad it was the Brig, as much as I'd love to see Ian return.
Harry -
You also get the sense that with so much of the script given to two Brigadiers, it left Nyssa and Tegan with little to do.
Sarah -
So, what else is new? Leaving the companions with nothing to do is a hallmark of this era. I like that Tegan is becoming the Tegan we know and love -- resourceful, clever, and not willing to be bossed around by the Brigadier!
Harry -
They return to the ship to find the "Doctor" recovering rapidly. It is in fact Mawdryn, an alien and one familiar with the Time Lords of Gallifrey. He uses his knowledge to bluff the ladies into thinking he is the Doctor suffering post-regeneration trauma. He was doing a good job of it, and it was all going so well until the production crew decided that what he really needed to complete his look was a plate of spaghetti on his head. Oh dear. At least the transformation is played dead seriously by David Collings, whom we last saw as the robophobic Poul in "The Robots of Death".
Sarah -
I liked how Tegan never really entirely bought Mawdryn's story that he was Doctor. Her skepticism was well-placed!
Harry -
Things get a bit too back and forth around the midpoint of the story, and it slows down. In fact, Brig '83 complains that he's "yomped up that wretched hill" to the obelisk three times in one day. That's a lot of yomping.
Sarah -
It could be worse -- he could be running through corridors. Yomping can be quite leisurely.
Harry -
Basically most of part three is a lot of explanation of Mawdryn and the plight of his fellow aliens, who sought immortality from the Gallifreyans. They acquired it, but have become desperate for mortality again.
Sarah -
Immortality always sounds like a good idea -- until you have it. It's hard to feel too sorry for them.
Harry -
Everyone finally converges at the spaceship, including both Brigadiers, whom the Doctor tries to keep apart. One must look out for that Blinovitch Limitation Effect.
Sarah -
Of course.
Harry -
There is a way the Doctor could help, but he would have to surrender his remaining regenerations to make it happen. At first he resists and tries to pull the TARDIS away from the spaceship, but with disastrous timey-wimey effects on Tegan and Nyssa, who almost-catastrophically become older and then younger in rapid succession, shifting back and forth in time to the Doctor's horror. He returns the TARDIS and agrees to help Mawdryn and company, accepting the huge consequences to himself in order to help his friends.
Sarah -
The mutant aliens are really a bunch of big jerks. "Oh, we've made a stupid decision and now you have to destroy yourself to help us or we're going to hurt your friends." Also, what was with their eyebrows being wrapped around their heads? That was seriously creepy.
Harry -
Creepier than the spaghetti. Then, at the pivotal moment - at just the right second - the two Brigs encounter one another, touch, and set off a massive discharge of energy.
Sarah -
As Tegan would say -- ZAP!
Harry -
Everything resolves itself immediately (with just a couple of minutes left in the story, whew!). The Mawdryns become mortal and embrace death. The Doctor's regenerations remain with him. Tegan and Nyssa shake off the timey-wimey infection. The Brigadiers are returned to their respective time streams. Turlough decides to stick around with the TARDIS crew, although no one seems thrilled by the fact. And we don't know what happened to his pact with the Black Guardian. One can only assume he remains out there in 80s video land, watching and waiting...
Sarah -
Tralalalala! All is well and off to the next adventure, with a new companion in tow. Wasn't it just last season that JNT decided the TARDIS was too crowded and a companion had to go?
Harry -
Mm-hmmmm...
Sarah -
I'm sure we'll have more to say about Turlough as the season continues, but I have to admit that I often forget about him when discussing companions. It will be interesting to see how we feel about Turlough by the end of his run, but for now I just don't find him that interesting.
Harry -
Overall, a creative story but also a fun runaround. Maybe too much running around, but still fun. And the Brigs!
Sarah -
"Mawdryn Undead" is a really ambitious story and it was a delight to watch it again. Nicholas Courtney's performance is spectacular. He has to create two distinct versions of the Brigadier and is absolutely brilliant. Still, I have to admit I'm disappointed to find out that my beloved Benton is now a used car salesman.
Harry -
But he's probably the most tenacious and respectful and loveable used car salesman in the land.
Best Line: "In thirty years of soldiering, I've never encountered such destructive power as I have seen displayed here and now by the British schoolboy."
Favourite Moment: Seeing Lethbridge-Stewart again was my favourite part of the story.
Lasting Image: the Black Guardian giving orders to Turlough.
7/10
Sarah -
Best Line: "I wonder... if I reverse the polarity of the neutron flow..."
Sometimes, it's the small things that delight!
Favorite Moment: The walk down memory lane we take when the Brig regains his memory and we see clips of his previous adventures with the Doctor.
Lasting Image: The Black Guardian and his fabulous headgear!
8/10
Our marathon continues with Story #126: Terminus...
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