Harry -
Well, my string of warm and fuzzy feelings about this era was bound to end sometime. And it has.
Sarah -
You held out far longer than I did.
There are a lot of things I'll tolerate in Doctor Who -- wonky sets, bad performances, interesting stories let down by their production, not very good stories elevated by production and/or acting -- but I cannot abide Doctor Who being boring. I was so unengaged by this story that I couldn't even become angry about its contemptuous depiction of its own fans. I just wanted it to be over.
Harry -
By the end, I found the Gods of Ragnarok to be the most sympathetic characters. They were sitting there bored to the point of rage and I felt for them!
Sarah -
I have never related so strongly to any baddie before this. I was ready to turn everyone to ash by the end of it.
Harry -
I don't know if the story was supposed to be an allegory of Doctor Who (ie. the TV programme) struggling to avoid the wrath of almighty forces (ie. the heads of BBC) by proving its value to them, but that's what I got out of it.
Sarah -
The allegory wasn't particularly subtle.
Harry -
Depicting the gods as cruel, impatient and without a shred of humanity must have gone over like a lead balloon in the BBC Controller's office, but that's fine. Depicting fanhood the way it did was not fine. JN-T may have been okay with biting the hand that feeds, but it was not okay to slap the show's supporters in the face. We can all relate to the Whizz Kid's boundless enthusiasm for the Psychic Circus. I think we've all been there. For the show to characterize that enthusiasm in the cringey way they did was awful.
Sarah -
Poor Whizz Kid, doomed for being a Barker. Not cool, JN-T. Not cool.
Harry -
But before we get to any of that, let's spend an entire episode watching everyone travel to the scene of the action. That's always a promising start...
Sarah -
OHFORCRYINGOUTLOUD! The first episode had to be the most useless in Doctor Who history, with the lamest cliffhanger I can remember -- the Doctor asking Ace if they're going into the circus. We've just spent the whole episode getting you to the damn circus, but keep us on pins and needles about whether or not you're actually going in. What a shock when they enter the tent at the beginning of episode two. Who saw that coming?
I may have been too bored to be angry while watching, but it's apparently caught up with me now!
Harry -
I made a point in my notes that the "Are we going in or aren't we?" back and forth eventually got excruciating. Before that, the encounter with the fruit stand lady was mildly amusing... until they actually ate some of her food offerings. People should never eat food on camera. It never looks pleasant.
Sarah -
That was VILE. Surely, there should have been some other way to kill screen time.
Harry -
They enter the circus! The pace suddenly picks up as the Doctor is picked out of a sparse crowd and invited to perform. Naturally he's delighted and makes his way forward. Ever-skeptical, creeped out by the clowns, and sensing that this story is going nowhere, Ace bolts.
Sarah -
Once again, Ace becomes the only reason to watch a story. What would we do without Sophie?
Harry -
The Doctor ends up stuck in a cage with a cluster of other people who were lured to the Psychic Circus by its mass-mailed promos. There's the grunting Nord, vandal of the roads.
Sarah -
The lamest vandal in history!
Harry -
There's Captain Cook, a pompous windbag. There's also Mags, the Captain's companion and a native of the planet Vulpana. Nord is called forward as the next contestant in the circus's talent contest. He steps into the centre ring and delivers a strongman performance, winning a series of "9" scores from the judges. Then he's asked to make a joke. Unable to think of anything, the judges turn on him with a score of zeroes, after which he is immediately killed. You never know what you'll see next at the Psychic Circus!
Sarah -
The rapping ringmaster seems a bit forward-thinking for 1988. Not that he managed to be any less irritating than any other part of the story.
Harry -
At first I was impressed by the Ringmaster's American accent. Then I discovered he was played by Chicago's very own Ricco Ross. He's still active on TV in the States. Do you recognize him from anything else?
Sarah -
I didn't recognize him, but looks like he's been in tons of stuff.
Harry -
As the story drags on, the Doctor cottons on to Ace's suspicions and realizes that something sinister is going on.
Sarah -
I was really bothered by the way he kept dismissing Ace's concerns. Listening to Ace usually turns out to be the right choice.
Harry -
The people running the circus and luring people to their deaths were not always this way. It used to be a friendly hippy circus with high ideals until something -- or someone -- threw a shadow over it. The performers know but they won't say. And so it drags on, with the Doctor and Ace facing danger and eluding capture in various scenes. Seriously, this one would have been better as a three parter, there was so much padding here.
Sarah -
Oh, how I kept wishing for a three-parter!
Harry -
Finally, the Doctor works his way into an arena built of ancient stones. There sit the Gods of Ragnarok, eternally bored and demanding entertainment. I have always disliked their appearance, their demands, everything about them. It's the Celestial Toymaker all over again, only this time there's three of them. Oh the irony in that this story pivots around characters who are bored.
Sarah -
We feel their pain!
Harry -
As Ace, Mags and Kingpin track down a Powerful Medallion which holds the secret of the Gods' power, Sylvester gets to do some magic tricks. He genuinely seemed to enjoy himself during that bit.
Sarah -
I suspect he may have been the only one. It all felt a bit smug to me.
Harry -
Anyway, medallion arrives, they toss it to the Doctor, he deflects the lightning bolts of death, and brings the whole damn thing crashing down around the Gods.
Sarah -
Um, hooray. I guess...
Harry -
The Doctor strolls out of the circus tent seconds before a final tremendous explosion. That's my favourite moment of the whole thing. Too bad it took way too long to get to that point. Again, this would have been better as a three parter, but there's not point going on about it. This circus is over and not a moment too soon. Let's move on!
Sarah -
It's really the only memorable moment from the story. I'm so ready to move on!
Harry -
Best Line: "Anybody remotely interesting is mad, some way or another."
Favourite Moment: the Doctor strolls out of the circus tent just before the explosion.
Lasting Image: Ian Reddington as the demented Chief Clown.
5/10
Sarah -
Best Line: "You're just an aging hippy, Professor."
Favorite Moment: Ace wearing the Fourth Doctor's scarf. My favorite moment has absolutely nothing to do with the story. How sad is that?
Lasting Image: The Doctor walking from the explosion.
4/10
Our marathon continues with Story #152: Battlefield...
No comments:
Post a Comment