Story #73 - The Monster of Peladon (1974)

Sarah -
Here’s a change of pace – the Doctor MEANT to land on Peladon. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite manage to land in the Citadel as he planned. To quote Sarah, “It’s not your precious citadel at all. It’s another rotten gloomy old tunnel.”

A tunnel that happens to be the center of political intrigue!


Harry -
Metebelis III... Peladon... at least the Doctor has figured out how to land on the right planet. Baby steps.


Sarah -
You can't rush these things.

As you’ll recall from our last visit to Peladon, the planet had joined the Galactic Federation. It’s now 50 years on and things are heating up on Peladon once again. Queen Thalira, the young daughter of King Peladon, of blessed memory, now sits on the throne. Meanwhile, the Federation is at war with Galaxy Five and needs Peladon’s trisilicate to end the war.


Harry -
In many ways it's as if the Doctor never left. We have a tentative monarch being bullied by their chancellor, we have the local populace being menaced by the curse of Aggedor, and we have a colourful cast of aliens getting caught up in the affairs of the planet.

Sabotage? Paranoia? Just in time for the Doctor and Sarah Jane to step right into it.


Sarah -
Timing really is everything -- especially in television.


Harry -
I kind of wish this one had been written by Malcolm Hulke. Imagine how much fun he'd have had with the anxiety of Peladon joining the Federation (European Union?) and a bona fide miners' strike. This story is almost telegraphing real events that would unfold in England in the next decade.

Instead of searing political commentary, we instead get a bit of a goodies vs baddies runaround that feels very similar to "The Curse of Peladon."


Sarah -
Mac would have certainly kicked up the political allegory of the story. Still, the miner's situation certainly has a ripped-from-the-headlines feeling.


Harry -
There are some visual differences that make this story stand out from its predecessor. Not the least of which are the badger headed miners. That's an unforgettable look to be sure.


Sarah -
I think I'm going to use that as an insult: "You badger head!" has a certain ring to it.


Harry -
Did you spot Roy Evans among the badger heads?


Sarah -
Of course! I nearly shouted, “It’s Bert!” I love our regular guest actors.


Harry -
If there is a subtext to the story, it's certainly sexism. Every female character gets tutted at, or spoken down to, or rudely dismissed. At times, the Doctor is guilty of it too. Sarah will have none of it - she stands up for herself and encourages Queen Thalira to be a more assertive monarch. It was nice to see Alpha Centuri come around to the concept of equality, even if the men of Peladon had a harder time with it.


Sarah -
The Doctor leaves Sarah with Queen Thalira specifically so she can have a word with the Queen about how “There’s nothing ‘only’ about being a girl.” It’s a great scene as the Queen considers for the first time that she can actually assert her authority.

I had the realization in this story that one of the things that makes Sarah Jane one of the strongest companions of the entire series is that she’s not overly impressed by the Doctor. They’ve only been together a while, but she’s not afraid to tease, question, or even criticize him. He’s not a fatherly or grandfatherly figure for her. He’s a colleague more than anything. A senior colleague, perhaps, but still a colleague. When the Doctor is captured, she doesn’t panic, she simply completes his mission for him. Sarah Jane Smith knows how to get things done!


Harry -
Liz Shaw may have been too unimpressed, and Jo Grant might have been too much in awe. Barry and Terry got it just right with Sarah Jane.

At the end of part three, the Ice Warriors storm onto the scene and promptly declare martial law. Azaxyr is perfectly lizard-like in the role of dictator. It was nice to see the Ice Warriors turn heel again - their sort-of-friendly appearance in "The Curse of Peladon" didn't feel true to the Ice Warrior character.


Sarah -
I love that they’re back and badder than ever!


Harry -
Perhaps an unintended consequence of martial law was to unite the squabbling Peladonians against a common menace. Threats of summary executions always have that effect.


Sarah -
The Peladonians putting aside the differences to unite against the Ice Warriors is one of my favorite things in this story. It finally gives Thalira the chance to lead her people.


Harry -
Sure enough, we discover that the Ice Warriors are in cahoots with mild-mannered, keep-to-the-background Eckersley. They are all traitors in league with Galaxy 5.


Sarah -
Donald Gee’s performance as Eckersley was perfect. He underplayed every scene until his inevitable exposure.


Harry -
Unfortunately, there were still two more episodes to slog through and I must confess Sarah, my attention waned. If "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" is one of the best Pertwee six-parters, "The Monster of Peladon" might be one of the worst. It's overlong and it felt like they ran out of story after four parts.


Sarah -
While it was over-long and would have been stronger as a four-parter, I really enjoyed “The Monster of Peladon.” Also, we get to see the sonic screwdriver used as, well, a screwdriver. That’s always a highlight.

And, in another first, the Doctor is actually bested in a fight by Ettis. That certainly turned the tables – even if things didn’t work out for Ettis in the long run.


Harry -
One thing I did like about "The Monster of Peladon" was some of the cliffhangers. Part one actually ended with a double cliffhanger: first, the miners blew up a cave opening after the Doctor and the Queen's Champion had entered. It turned out they both survived, only for Aggedor to appear. Nice double whammy. I also liked the end of part four, in which the sonic lance blew up in very close proximity to the Doctor. Terrific puff of smoke and bang by the props department.


Sarah -
It may not be the strongest story of the season, but I still quite like “The Monster of Peladon.” Sadly, it’s the penultimate story of the Pertwee era. Are we ready for our next regeneration, Old Boy?


Harry -
Right before the end, this one almost felt like a regeneration story. The Doctor appeared to be killed by the refinery's psychedelic defence system. Turned out he'd only shut himself off for a time. It worked, but it's not a trick he can pull too often, as he will soon find out...


Sarah -
Best Line: “My Dear Sarah, there’s nothing I’d like more than a quiet life.”

Favorite Moment: Gebek being appointed the new Chancellor at the end of the story. “There’s nothing ‘only’ about being a miner.”

Lasting Image: The Ice Warriors entrance. We won’t see them again for 39 years!

7/10


Harry -
Best Line: "Don't sound so aggrieved. Anybody'd think you preferred me dead."

Favourite Moment: Alpha Centauri regrets that its appearance disturbs Sarah, but she gently reassures it that she's okay.

Lasting Image: the badger heads.

5/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #74 - Planet of the Spiders...

Story #61 - The Curse of Peladon (1972)

Harry -
It's a funny thing, "The Curse of Peladon." When I'm in the mood to watch some Pertwee, this is never a story that I reach for, even though having just watched it again I enjoyed it so much.

Maybe the gloomy sets leave a dim memory of the proceedings at the galactic conference. Yes, another conference. However, the Doctor seems to have got the TARDIS working again and we find ourselves on the planet Peladon. It is, conveniently, ruled by the Peladons, but also by customs and beliefs that harken back to medieval times. And the locals do love their customs.


Sarah -
Doctor Who returns to one of its recurring themes of superstition versus reason. The planet Peladon is being considered for admission to the Galactic Federation and is being assessed by a committee of dignitaries from member planets. Not everyone on Peladon is eager to join the Federation. The two advisors of the soon-to-be-crowned King Peladon disagree on the application – Chancellor Torbis is an advocate of joining the Federation, while High Priest Hepesh opposes the move, citing the disapproval of their god Aggedor.

As luck (or, perhaps the Time Lords) would have it, the Doctor and Jo find themselves diverted to Peladon while out for a spin in the TARDIS. Jo’s anxious to get back to UNIT headquarters for her night on the town with Mike Yates, and most definitely has not dressed for the mountain climbing they find themselves doing.


Harry -
One moment, Yates is taking Benton's food, now he's taking Jo on a date. Rank continues to have its privileges.


Sarah -
As a military organization, One would think UNIT had policies against this sort of fraternizing.


Harry -
It was a more innocent time, perhaps.

Jo mountaineering in heels was commendable, and it was she who found the entrance to the tunnels beneath the city (is the city called Peladon too?).


Sarah -
I’m pretty sure everyone and everything on the planet is called Peladon.


Harry -
Keeps things simple.  I liked how the Doctor and Jo immediately insinuated themselves into the conference proceedings, the Doctor claiming to be the Earth delegate, accompanied by Princess Josephine of TARDIS. The kid in me loved the wild assemblage of alien delegates too. Best assortment of characters since "The Daleks Master Plan."

But could the locals not have sprung for some more overhead lighting? It was terribly dim everywhere.


Sarah -
It did enhance the mood, giving everything a creepy, almost gothic look.

The Doctor didn’t miss a beat, did he? Good thing the Earth delegate was running late.

I loved the aliens! The moment when the Doctor and Jo make there way out of the tunnels and into the citadel, only to happen upon two Ice Warriors is wonderful.


Harry -
That was a wicked shock!


Sarah -
It’s been a long time since I last watched this story, which was likely the first time I ever saw the Ice Warriors. Having met then from the beginning, I forgot that they were allies in this story and shared the Doctor’s sense of concern upon seeing them. I loved the twist of finding out they were federation delegates.

And then we have the delegates from Alpha Centauri and Arcturus. Alpha Centauri, we soon learn, is a hermaphrodite hexapod – and a big scaredy pants. Arcturus is a head encased in a mobile life-support unit, and definitely wins the award for most tripped-out alien of the season.


Harry -
Against some fierce competition still to come.


Sarah -
One of my favorite things about this story is that the participants never know who is trustworthy and who is not. Everyone is under suspicion – especially the Doctor and Jo.


Harry -
It's great. Every episode bounds along from one scene to the next, and the delegates - being of the highest bureaucratic rank among their people, one assumes - love to do nothing more than spend the the whole time chatting away, keeping all of us apace as the story develops.


Sarah -
In the middle of this all is King Peladon, about to ascend to the throne and unsure of how to be a good ruler and decide what is best for his people. He trusts in High Priest Hepesh, who is completely playing him.


Harry -
Oh gosh, King Peladon was such a delicate thing, I wanted to bring him home and put him under glass.


Sarah -
I have to pause here a moment to say that David Troughton is perfect as Peladon. Last seen by us in an American Civil War era barn in "The War Games", it’s nice to have him back. (As we know, he won’t return to the series again until 2008.) He makes Peladon a sympathetic but naïve ruler, who finds himself falling for the lovely Princess Josephine of TARDIS.


Harry -
Their scenes alone together were very sweet, something we don't often see in Doctor Who.

Meanwhile, check out the Doctor: he's conning the delegates, battling the king's champion, and singing the mighty Aggedor to sleep with a Venusian lullaby. Another fantastic performance by Jon Pertwee. We really haven't given him enough credit for making his Doctor a great man of action. I think the fact that he's slipping the shackles of Earth has vastly improved his mood.


Sarah -
That it has. Pertwee is wonderful in this story – all charm and action. I’m happy to be off Earth again.


Harry -
I don't know if this story was meant to be a shorter three-parter, but it's as if the whole thing gets wrapped up right at the start of episode four. The nefarious Arcturus gets blown away by one of the Ice Warriors, and his plot with Hepesh is revealed to all. But there's still enough time for Hepesh to go old school, and lead a coup attempt with swords and shields.


Sarah -
Arcturus seemed shady from a beginning, but maybe I just can’t trust a being who needs green gel squeezed over his head all day long.


Harry -
By the time Hepesh launches his coup attempt, the Doctor is completely in control of the situation. He turns Aggedor against the man who abused him for so long, and Hepesh meets his demise. Hooray, I guess? It's hard to feel celebratory at the end of this story, because King Peladon has lost so much over the course of four episodes. His two trusted advisors are both dead, his planet's attempt to gain entry to the Galactic Federation is almost a shambles, and Princess Josephine shoots down his marriage proposal. Oh Peladon!


Sarah -
Poor Peladon – the king, the planet, the city … the guy who carts away the rubbish. If only we could go back again to see what happens to the planet a couple seasons down the road. Oh, well.


Harry -
Very subtle, there.


Sarah -
Thanks. I thought a bit of foreshadowing would be a nice touch.

The story ends on something of a high note with the coronation of King Peladon about to begin. The Doctor and Jo plan to stay, until the untimely arrival of the actual Earth Delegate to the conference. Time for another quick escape in the TARDIS!

Time to get back to Earth for some watery hijinks!

Best Line: Jo: "I don't understand you! One minute you're condemning the Doctor to death and the next you're proposing to me!" Ah, young love!

Favorite Moment: When the Doctor spots the Ice Warriors for the first time.

Lasting Image: Peladon’s royal ensemble. That’s quite a look!

7/10


Harry -
I would have called this one "The Thighs of Peladon."  Yes!

Best Line: an exchange between Arcturus and Ice Warrior Izlyr:

"The facts point to one thing: a unilateral blood alliance between Peladon and Earth."

"It is unusual to celebrate such an event with an execution."

Favourite Moment: I liked the sequence of moments at the end: Aggedor getting attached to the Doctor, Jo and Peladon's final moments together, the surprise arrival of the Earth delegate Amazonia, and everyone's shock when the TARDIS dematerializes.  Fantastic sequence!

Lasting image: Alpha Centauri and the other alien delegates.

7/10

 




Our marathon continues with Story #62 - The Sea Devils...