Sarah -
I have to admit, Dear Harry, that I've been looking forward to the Sylvester McCoy era since we started our marathon five and a half years ago. My memories were rosy -- the Doctor and Ace running through corridors and having mad adventures, Ace beating on a Dalek, Arthurian legends, and costumes that didn't hurt my eyes. Maybe it was the time. I was in college in the late 80s and watched many of these episodes around the time I met the future Mr. Smith. Perhaps my memories were colored by being young and in love.
Harry -
I missed the McCoy era during its initial run and only started getting caught up with it in the 90s and 00s. Watching it again all in order has been a treat.
Sarah -
Mr. Smith is still indulgent of my Whovianism, allowing me to raise the children in the one true faith fandom. I thought it would be fun to rewatch some the Seventh Doctor stories together, but have found myself apologizing repeatedly. (Before watching "Revelation of the Daleks", I promised, "No, really, this one is GOOD!") I'm so happy I made the decision to watch "Ghost Light" on my own.
The end of the story found me numb, wondering what the what I had just watched, so I turned to the internet to try to make sense of this mess. Apparently, to truly understand and appreciate the perfection of "Ghost Light", I need to watch it multiple times. That's not going to happen, so I'm left asking, "What the what was that?"
Harry -
You know how Whovians like to draw up lists of stories that they would show to new or potential fans? This would be the among the last ones I would put on that list. Once you read enough reviews and analyses of "Ghost Light", it does start to come together, but the fact that you have to read a lot of reviews and analyses to figure out what the hell is going on is pretty damning. The story itself is reasonably simple, but told in such a disjointed manner with all sorts of bizarre asides, it leaves you cold.
Sarah -
I would never let a newbie near "Ghost Light"! I imagine "Ghost Light" would be more successful if it had one more episode. In the accompanying documentary, Andrew Cartmel discusses the brutal editing that happened prior to production and during filming. If only we could cut one of the horribly padded episodes of "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" and give it to "Ghost Light".
Harry -
Rather than torturing ourselves over the story, maybe we could focus on specific details. Like the sets! This was the final story of the classic Who era to be entirely shot in-studio, and the BBC historical department pulled off another corker. Gabriel Chase is a delightfully creepy Victorian manor filled with stuffed animals, gliding servants, ticking clocks and furnishings that look so old and heavy you can practically smell the mustiness of the place.
Sarah -
The sets are incredible, as are the costumes. If the BBC can't turn out a proper historical drama, they should just turn the lights out. I particularly liked Ace's understated Victorian dress. If you had to put Ace in period clothing, that was the way to do it.
Harry -
Ace and Gwendolyn in their gender-bending tuxedos was a nice bit of subversion. I think at least three of the male characters reacted to Ace's appearance.
There were many reminders throughout the story of how socially closed-minded the Victorian era was. Grown men gasping at Ace's collarbones. The "church" character smugly dismissing the theory of evolution as "Darwinian claptrap." Worst of all was Inspector Mackenzie's appalling racism when faced with Nimrod. "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is always disdained for its depictions of racism in 19th century Britain, but Mackenzie's rant against a vaguely defined foreigner was shocking. It was delivered with just the right pitch, and it's sad to think that the same things are still being said across the pond. In terms of immersing us in the mindset of the era, they did a great job.
Sarah -
It's also an amazing cast of wonderfully talented actors.
Harry -
Where to begin? Each of the characters at Gabriel Chase are stock stereotypes of the era, but the actors bring them to life. Michael Cochrane as Redvers Fenn-Cooper, the big game hunter. Sylvia Sims as the head housekeeper who turns out to be Lady Pritchard. Ian Hogg as the disturbed and disturbing lord of the house. Carl Forgione as an utterly believeable neanderthal man. John Nettleton as the loathsome Reverend Matthews. Everyone brings their all to it, playing their roles with the confusion wrought by all the weirdness and illusion going on around them. Then John Hallam appears as Light... and blows the doors off the place (literally).
Sarah -
The performances are definitely what makes "Ghost Light" watchable. They look like they're having a blast!
Harry -
I remember the first time I watched "Ghost Light", sinking ever-deeper in bafflement, and then Light appeared. Glowing and high voiced, Ace thinks he's an angel. But it turns out he's an alien entity that had spent centuries cataloguing life on Earth before going into hibernation. The form he took was adapted to the planet. Over time I've gotten used to Hallam's performance, but on first viewing it was so "out there".
Sarah -
It's definitely over the top, but somehow it works in context.
Harry -
If this was a story by Douglas Adams, Light would have burst forward as a comedic bureaucrat and the whole thing would have been revealed as a cosmic farce. But Light is no joke. At first he's confused (join the club), then stunned by what has happened on the planet during his hibernation. Finally, denial turns to rage and he wants to destroy the whole damn place for daring to evolve and ruin his catalogue. It is kind of farcical.
Sarah -
As a librarian, I understand his desire to have an accurate catalogue, but I've never been tempted to destroy a project when it didn't work out...
Harry -
Another thing that baffled me was when Reverend Matthews picked up a banana and suddenly experienced reverse evolution, and ended up displayed like an animal in a glass case. Of all the "WTF?" moments in this story, it was the ultimate "WTF?". Who controlled that, Josiah? Was he able to use some of Light's power?
Sarah -
I stopped asking questions by that point.
Harry -
The only thing I enjoy about this story is watching the Doctor and Ace manoeuvre their way around a pastiche of Victorian stereotypes and horrors.
Sarah -
I love Ace's WTF response to Victorian mores. Showing up in menswear is a brilliant transgression.
Harry -
As Light fumes and prepares to destroy the planet, Josiah casually announces over dinner that he'd like to assassinate Queen Victoria. Alright then.
Sarah -
Sure. Why not?
Harry -
Ultimately the whole thing becomes too clever for its own good. The Doctor himself admits that "Even I can't play this many games at once." No kidding!
Sarah -
Everyone has their breaking point -- even the Doctor.
Harry -
All it takes to stop Light is for the Doctor to overwhelm him with the facts of evolution, and he disperses in fading rage. A hundred years later, Ace will burn the house down.
It all makes perfect sense after the 50th viewing or so.
Sarah -
We should mention that, while "Ghost Light" wasn't the final story to be broadcast, it was the final story to be filmed. What an odd note for the actors to go out on. No one knew it would be the last.
Harry -
I don't want to leave this review on a total negative, so I will mention that Marc Platt remains active and has gone on two write some great stories for Big Finish. I wonder if he'll ever get to write another story for TV?
Sarah -
I hope he gets another chance. So, instead of watching Ghost Light 49 more times, how about we move on to The Curse of Fenric?
Harry -
Yes, let's.
Sarah -
Best Line: "Cut the homespun twaddle!"
Favorite Moment: Control leaping out the window. It was the perfect bizarre moment for this story.
Lasting Image: The maids emerging from the cupboard
4/10
Harry -
Best Line: "Scratch the Victorian veneer and something nasty will come crawling out."
Favourite Moment: Nimrod shares his memories of encountering Light in the prehistoric era, and how his wild world is now lost "in a desert of smoke and straight lines".
Lasting Image: Ace and Gwendolyn in tuxedos.
5/10
Our marathon continues with Story #154: The Curse of Fenric...
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