Story #27 - The War Machines (1966)

Harry -
Well, here's something completely different: an adventure that takes place in contemporary London! Although I wonder, because of the real-time that has elapsed between broadcast and present day, would "The War Machines" now qualify as a kind of historical? I wonder... I wonder...

Still, welcome to Earth!


Sarah -
It seems almost revolutionary for this point in Doctor Who, doesn't it? We know we’re going to spend a lot of time on Mother Earth from here on out, but for now it feels so fresh.

We need to give a shout out to the timely title graphics. How cool are they?


Harry -
A refreshing change. I always loved that "computer" font.


Sarah -
And then we get a gorgeous opening shot. The War Machines had my attention from the get go!


Harry -
Great establishing shot.


Sarah -
In the opening scene, it seems that they’ve come to Earth on purpose…or perhaps it’s just another happy accident. The Doctor’s manic response to the Post Office Tower sets our adventure in motion. I had a good laugh when Dodo asked “Daleks? Who are they?” For better or worse, Dodo, you’ll never have the chance to find out.


Harry -
The movement of time kept coming to mind as I watched this story. There are so many cuts from one scene to the next where a sizeable chunk of time seems to have passed. It was more jarring than usual, and it makes us miss out on moments that go unseen. How, for instance, was the Doctor able to just waltz into the Post Office Tower and be welcomed by all? Perhaps he flashed the Psychic Paper?


Sarah -
I was wondering that myself. They seem to have just wandered in.

Despite any problems I may have had with the continuity, I really enjoyed this story. It was so much of fun to watch.


Harry -
Absolutely. This is one of my favourites. It's a "diabolical supercomputer" story that was all the rage at the time, and I love the scenes in The Inferno club.


Sarah -
The Inferno Club! The Hottest Nightspot in Town! *Cue the swinging music!*


Harry -
We meet three fun new characters here: Polly the swinging 60s girl, Ben the moody sailor, and Kitty the bargirl whose Winehouse hairdo distracts from the fact that she doesn't seem to serve up one drop of alcohol the entire time. The crowd doesn't seem to mind. They look a pretty straight-laced set in their jackets and ties.


Sarah -
I guess that counted as swinging around the BBC at the time…

Could Polly be any cuter? Dodo should have seen it coming. I love that Ben is introduced with, “He’s not great advertisement for the most with it place in town, is he?” He and Polly have immediate chemistry.


Harry -
Am I going to keep bringing up the weirdness of time in this story?  Apparently.  How about that news conference hosted by Sir Charles, the one where he announces that all major computer systems will be transferred over to the control of WOTAN. Strange to be making such a monumental announcement in the middle of the night. The Doctor barely has time to pull some quizzical faces before he goes clubbing with the youngsters.


Sarah -
I kind of loved Sir Charles. He was perfect. The thing that confused me is that all the scientists pronounce WOTAN as “Votan.” What’s with that? Some wacky cold war thing? A running joke at the Royal Scientific Club?


Harry -
It might be one of those English things, like how they pronounce "St. John" to rhyme with "engine".


Sarah -
Actually, the whole WOTAN thing is a bit wacky. Why would any of the nations involved agree to have their computer systems linked up to some super computer? It wasn’t clear to me how WOTAN achieved conscious and got all the war machines placed. For a while I thought it was an alien lifeforce, but I guess WOTAN was just your run-of-the-mill evil supercomputer after all.

Still, it’s pretty amusing when the Doctor and Dodo are impressed by the computer’s ability to compute the square root of 17422 and define TARDIS. After all he’s seen, the Doctor is excited by square roots?


Harry -
The man loves his maths.


Sarah -
Don’t we all?

This bring us to the biggest controversy of this story: for the only time in the series, the Doctor is referred to as “Doctor Who” by WOTAN. So much for the alleged “supercomputer.”


Harry -
Rob and Toby opine on this and other oddities that the production crew inserted into the story. I think Toby's standard response to such things is "it didn't count." I'm fine with that!

Jumping all over the place here. It was great to see the Doctor back in his fur hat and cape too, which we haven't seen since "An Unearthly Child." It's his best look.


Sarah -
It’s a great look. I imagine him keeping it in a special cupboard marked “Earth.”


Harry -
Hah!

As for Dodo... the enthusiasm she generated in the previous story seems to have been all for naught. Here, she's got a headache, maybe hearing voices again, who knows? Rather than continuing to play detective, she's fallen under the mind control of WOTAN. Who will help the Doctor now?


Sarah -
I couldn’t help but think that the Doctor should have known that something was up with Dodo when she started acting so lucid.


Harry -
And "Hah!" again.


Sarah -
Poor Dodo doesn’t have the power to fight the voices in her head, as Polly does later in the story. We need our companions to be strong, not mad.

Having spent these many stories happily slagging Dodo, I felt kind of badly about how quickly she’s dismissed by the story. Dodo’s brain is taken over, she tries to lure the Doctor to WOTAN, gets hypnotized by the Doctor, is shipped off to the country – and it’s adios Dodo!


Harry -
Worst companion intro and worst companion exit to date. She was one strange duck.

But Ben and Polly fill the gap admirably. Ben takes on the role of "heavy lifter" when the Doctor dispatches him to investigate the goings-on at the warehouse. Meanwhile Polly literally steps into the role that Dodo has just abandoned. It was quite remarkable.


Sarah -
Wasn’t it? Companions usually get their little moment in the sun when leaving the Doctor. Dodo’s barely off-screen before Polly’s taken over the possessed-companion role.


Harry -
And now, a moment of tribute for the most well-known vagrant in London, whose death and photo made the papers within hours. Again, this is that weirdness of time that keeps bugging me about this story.


Sarah -
It was insane, but I loved it. What a performance by Roy Godfrey! Shear genius! Perhaps the tramp was a black sheep of the Royal Family who fled Buckingham Palace to live a life of freedom on the open road. That would explain the cab ride to his squat and not having the right change for the driver.


Harry -
At the warehouse, Ben discovers the war machines being assembled. This is probably the one big let-down of the story. The term "war machines" evokes something powerful and menacing, but these clunkers are just ridiculous -- like slower, dumber, clumsier Daleks in a way. Plungers already used up? Let's give 'em a comedy mallet! Yeesh.


Sarah -
The actual war machines are undoubtedly the most disappointing aspect of The War Machines. Even the knowledge that they can break tables and smash through stacks of crates is not enough to kindle our dread. Once again, WOTAN demonstrates that its supercomputer status is unfounded.


Harry -
To give credit to the production crew, you can see how they tried to make the war machines look threatening. They used lots of low angles, extreme closeups, and repeatedly showed the machines destroying those walls of crates with contempt.

But still... It's no surprise the Doctor so coolly stood one down at the end of Part Three.


Sarah -
This is the single best moment of the story and perhaps the best image of the entire series thus far. He didn’t even have to give the “I’m the Doctor and you don’t mess with me” speech. Brilliance!


Harry -
I loved that moment. Everyone flees in panic, but the Doctor not only stands his ground, but takes one step, then another towards the approaching machine. No dialogue either. It was an act of Total Badassery.

It did render Part Four a bit of an afterthought. Since the Doctor had already figured the machines out, it was just a matter of assembling the Most Obvious Trap Ever and snaring one. Again, not the most clever things, these war machines.


Sarah -
But it gives Ben a chance to shine. Ian and Steven would be proud.


Harry -
True.  He's picked up right where they left off.

And for the second story in a row, we get a lively smashup scene at the end, when the machines are turned on WOTAN. The way the Doctor vanished from the Post Office Tower without a proper goodbye is also something we'll be seeing more of.

In the final scene, we see the budding friendship of Ben and Polly continuing, as they scamper over to meet the Doctor outside the TARDIS. It's a bit obvious what happens next, but I'm so glad to be rid of Dodo that I don't mind. Welcome aboard to the cute couple!


Sarah -
I was wondering what Ben picked up while taking the Doctor’s cape for him. The TARDIS key, of course! Let the adventure begin!

There are so many reasons this story shouldn’t work, but I agree with Toby that everything’s important except when it doesn’t count. I loved "The War Machines." With good reason, it feels like a Troughton-era story and it’s just so much fun. We had a whole stretch of stories that just felt joyless and "The War Machines" brings the fun back to Doctor Who!


Harry -
I agree. Even though I've been a bit too nit-picky above, this remains one of my favourite Hartnell stories. It's all a bit odd, but it all comes together and works, flaws be damned!


Sarah -
Lasting image: The Doctor’s Standoff.

Favorite moment: The Inferno Club, followed closely by seeing WOTAN’s billing in the credits of the first episode.

Best line: From Sir Charles – “Well, we’ve tried the Army. What else is there?”
I’m not quite sure why this made me laugh so hard, but it did.

9/10


Harry -
Lasting image: Oh those rumbling, lumbering war machines.

Favourite moment: The Doctor takes a couple of silent steps towards the approaching war machine.

Best line: "I think she'll sleep for 48 hours." I burst out laughing when the Doctor said this after hypnotizing Dodo.

9/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #28 - The Smugglers...

Story #26 - The Savages (1966)

Harry -
This is a First Doctor story that I had never seen before, and knew nothing about. It was a treat to watch "classic" Who totally cold.


Sarah -
I was a little anxious going in, fearing another Unearthly Child-type caveman story.


Harry -
And what a story! A far-future-totalitarian-morality-play-smash-em-up-heroic-adventure. With light guns!


Sarah -
All my fears were unfounded!


Harry -
The first few minutes of the Doctor and his companions roaming around a new planet reminded me of The Planet of the Apes. It was building up to a slow reveal, one that was hinted at by the story title. There was even a spear attack, but Our Travellers were instead approached and welcomed by the "civilized" locals.


Sarah -
And a welcoming bunch they were. Our travelers so often encounter hostility when they arrive on a new planet. What a change of pace to be welcomed with open arms!


Harry -
Strangely, the locals seem to have been expecting the Doctor, aka "The Traveller From Beyond Time." Everything seems so perfect in their city, almost sterile, and no one seems to question it, other than the Doctor and friends. They wonder aloud how this advanced civilization got to be so advanced. An ominous, almost sinister atmosphere is established from the get go. How could it not be, when the leader, Jano, pontificates about "the perfection of our race." Uh-oh...


Sarah -
Time to start worrying! The Doctor, of course, starts to wonder how they do it, while Steven and Dodo do a bit of touring.


Harry -
After the previous disappointment, I was glad to see Steven and Dodo both get an energetic story with lots for them to do. This time, it was Dodo who was the voice of reason and whose explorations uncovered the scientific vampirism that the Elders were perpetuating on the Savages. (Jano again: "Life preys on other forms of life, as you know, Doctor.")  Uh-oh...

Props to Detective Dodo! And as for Steven, after his initial dismissal of Dodo as "imagining things", he ramped it up and we got a great Angry Steven the rest of the way. Angry, decisive, sympathetic, and a bold man of action. Wow!


Sarah -
I was all, "You Go Girl," to Dodo and was happy that Steven finally got the chance to be the Man of Action we haven't seen since Ian left the TARDIS -- and then I started to wonder what the heck was going on here! A bit of research and I soon learned that this story was the first for the new production team of Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davis. I can only think that this explains the shift in what Dodo and Steven get to do. Imagine how much more interesting this season would have been if they'd been written this way all along.

I'll have more to say on these changes later, but back to the story...


Harry -
On the surface, the story is simple: one bunch of humans exploiting another bunch of humans. The historical allusions ("savages" herded onto "reserves") are obvious, and the levels of interpretation as many as one wants to read into them. Thankfully, the Doctor will have none of it! I loved his confrontation with Jano, where he declares he will oppose their regime, as he opposes the Daleks and other threats to common humanity. This might have been the first ever "I'm the Doctor and this is what I stand for" speech,  which has been reiterated by every Doctor since.


Sarah -
What a change from the Doctor we met three years before! He started off being self-serving and a bit unpleasant and has become the character that will last ten (and hopefully many more) regenerations. It's the moment that makes the viewer want to stand up and cheer and cast our lot with this cranky Time Lord!


Harry -
But what is this? The Doctor is attacked and is about to suffer the transference procedure with no one to help him. Horror!


Sarah -
I really liked this scene. It begins with Senta happily showing his lab to the Doctor, so proud of what he can do, and then realizing that he's being asked to do a transference on the Doctor. Norman Henry does an excellent job as the disengaged scientist who doesn't understand the repercussions of his work.


Harry -
Senta was almost too oblivious to what he was doing, but that always seems to be the way with these far future scientists.


Sarah -
Doesn't it just?


Harry -
His little subplot was one of many that made this story rich. There were the intertwined fates of Nanina and Exorse, there was the laughably short-lived military coup attempt by Edal, and of course the very compelling relationship between Jano and his newer self!


Sarah -
Ah, yes, Jano. The whole second-half of the story hinges on his realization of how wrong his entire society is. What did you think of his Doctor imitation?


Harry -
I found it a bit creepy at first to hear the Doctor's persona emerge fom Jano's mouth. Is our Billy little more than a high-pitched fusspot who goes "Hmm!" a lot?   Hopefully not.  It was good that Jano also absorbed some of the Doctor's conscience too, and once that happened, it really set the cat amongst the oblivious scientists.


Sarah -
It was a little broad, wasn't it? Toby and Rob speculate whether or not the new production team was trying out other actors to see if they could replace Hartnell. What do you think of this theory?


Harry -
It's certainly an avenue that the producers would have explored. What to do? They had a hit show on their hands, but a lead actor whose best days were behind him. We won't even hear the word "regeneration" for another couple of Doctors.  They were really flying without a map here.

Imagine if they did run with the idea presented here, and it turned out that the First Doctor's essence could be transferred to a new body. We'd have had ten other actors grasping their lapels and going "Hmm!" at a high pitch these past 48 years?


Sarah -
I doubt it would have lasted past 1967!


Harry -
No kidding.  And another tragedy of the lost Doctor Who episodes: we are denied seeing the epic laboratory smashup. Terribly unfair!


Sarah -
This is the scene I most want to see recovered! It sounded brilliant!


Harry -
Almost gleefully so. A smashing end to a neat little story. Hartnell was back on form, and the companions had a great outing. So glad to see Steven go out on a high note: rallying the oppressed, challenging the established order, and living up to the potential that often seemed wasted. I'm sure the people of Far Future Planet Without a Name were fortunate to invite him to lead the rebuilding of their society.


Sarah -
His reaction was so sweet. Wondering if he was up to it and if his friends thought he could do it. I'll miss Steven a little bit.


Harry -
Me too!

I even have to credit Dodo on having her best story here. What a surprising little tale! Sadly, this was the last remaining Hartnell story that I had never seen. I'm just glad it turned out to be a good one.


Sarah -
I knew nothing of the story. It was really an unexpected pleasure.


Harry -
Ready to wrap?


Sarah -
Absolutely!

Lasting image: Steven's reaction to being asked to stay.

Favorite moment: The Doctor's "I am the Doctor and this is what I stand for" speech.

Best line: "Oppose you! Indeed I am going to oppose you - just as in the same way that I oppose the Daleks, or any other menace to common humanity!"

Lumped in with the Daleks. SNAP!

7/10


Harry -
Lasting image: Dodo exploring the city alone.

Favourite moment: Definitely the Doctor's confrontation with Jano.

Best line: "Come on, soldier boy!  What are you frightened of?  You've got the gun."  Angry Steven goading Exorse in the tunnels.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #27 - The War Machines...

Story #25 - The Gunfighters (1966)

Sarah -
It’s the Wild West, and – hooray! – Steven always wanted to be a cowboy. A quick costume change and Dead Eye Steve and Dizzy Dodo get to "dress up like Tom Mix."


Harry -
Oh dear, that shirt... What was Steven thinking? He looks like a fugitive from a Wild West Revue. He and Dodo are ready for a real Western romp, I guess.


Sarah -
It would be a Western romp … if only the Doctor didn’t have a toothache, and Doc Holliday weren’t coming to town – and if that bloody woman would just stop singing!

But wait, Doc Holliday is coming to town to set up a dentist shop. What luck for the Doctor! But wait, four blokes are lying in wait for Holliday at the Last Chance Saloon. Bad luck for Holliday!

The plot of this romp is thickening – and still that woman sings.


Harry -
Ah, the never-ending "Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon". I have read many fan criticisms ripping on the singing in this story and was expecting the worst. Actually, I didn't mind it. Mercifully, they made a kind of Greek Chorus of the singer. A blindingly obvious Greek Chorus, mind, but in a weird way it worked. And it only could have worked in a comedy story like this.


Sarah -
I imagine they were trying to go for the “High Noon” effect, but it ended up feeling a little more “Cat Ballou” to me. Honestly, I didn’t mind it all that much. Plus, she filled in all the plot details in case the viewer happened to be a complete blooming idiot.

I'm going to dash ahead to discuss my favorite part of the entire story. Just before departing, Dodo stops everyone to ask if they can hear the singing. The Doctor admonishes her for falling for every Western cliche and they head back to the TARDIS. I nearly fell off my sofa laughing -- THE SINGING WAS ALL IN DODO'S HEAD AFTER ALL! SHE REALLY IS INSANE!


Harry -
Mad as a bag of frogs. La la la, can you hear the voices??


Sarah -
Meanwhile, things get even thicker, as they are want to do when a character named Doc and a character named Doctor find themselves in the same town.


Harry -
Didn't we just have a mistaken identity caper the last time the TARDIS landed on Earth? Here we go again.


Sarah -
Who doesn’t love a good mistaken identity caper? What a mess the TARDIS crew has gotten themselves into!


Harry -
You gawt that right, pardner. The Clanton Gang present a very real danger to Steven and Dodo while they lie in wait for the Doctor at the saloon. It made for a good first cliffhanger. However Wyatt Earp is soon on the scene to rescue the Doctor by arresting him and hauling him off. Tell me that didn't have "Hartnell Holiday" all over it!

The vacation plans must have fallen through, because the Doctor and friends are present throughout the story. I say "present" because Steven and Dodo seem to be complete bystanders for much of the story. The real drama is played out by all of the historical characters, as these four episodes slowly build up to the big finish at the O.K. Corral.


Sarah -
Poor Steven and Dodo just got shifted around from scene to scene, didn’t they? I had high hopes for them in the beginning. It even looked like Steven was going to get to do something heroic. You know, something Ian might do. Instead, he nearly gets himself lynched.


Harry -
Yes, the groundwork was set for Steven and Dodo to really get involved here, they donned their period dress with great enthusiasm. Maybe they were too naive? You could look at their subsequent rough ride as evidence that travelling with the Doctor and his magical box will always be harsher than what you fancy it might be like.


Sarah -
I do want to put in a kind word for Peter Purves. Whatever you may say about the inconsistencies in the writing of Steven’s character, Purves is always game. Need him to be angry? He’s on it. Some broad comedy? He’s your man!


Harry -
He can even carry a tune!


Sarah -
Also, he’s kind of cute in this story. If only the writers had given him more.

I’ll even admit that Jackie Lane gets off one good scene when she turns the gun on Doc Holliday, demanding he take her back to the Doctor. The moment when she hands him the gun and asks for a glass of water is brilliant – and clearly the actions of a mad woman!


Harry -
Yes, that was a bit of fun.

But the historicals used to not be this way, all lurching along in the other characters' wake. Think back to "Marco Polo" or "The Aztecs." Barbara, Ian and Susan were so much more involved in the plot, sometimes even driving it. And the historical characters were much more than just "characters" as they are here. I'm thinking of Marco Polo's journal entries, or Tlotoxl's into-the-camera asides -- moments that gave us entry into their personal thoughts. Here, unfortunately, we just have a bunch of Wild West figures playing out Wild West stereotypes, dragging our time travellers along with them. Alas.


Sarah -
Still, there is a sense of fun, at least at the beginning, which has been missing for a while. Hartnell gets to show his comedic chops and his timing is perfect. Actually, the more I think about Hartnell’s performance, the more I like this story. It’s refreshing to see him being the Doctor we love, after being sidelined in so many stories. We get to see what he can do when he’s actually given something to DO. His complaint about people giving him guns is priceless!


Harry -
Hartnell did shine when the story drifted into high comedy.


Sarah -
I also really enjoyed the supporting characters, even if most of the accents were more than a little inconsistent. It’s a short hop from the Arizona Territory to the Perpugilliam Brown School of American Accents, it seems. Still, it’s easy to pick on accents, so I’ll move along and focus on what did work.

John Alderson and Anthony Jacobs were perfect as Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Sheena Marshe does a good turn on the saloon-girl-with-a-heart-of gold trope. Laurence Payne was wonderfully menacing as Johnny Ringo – his appearance changed the tone of the entire story. They all carry the roles off so well; it’s been a while since we’ve seen such strong character performances. The Clantons…well, they’re just hideous – but let us move along from them.


Harry -
If only they had done some more with these characters, rather than just have them go through the motions of history, if that makes any sense. What with all that singing, I guess there wasn't much time for character development.

Felt bad for Charlie the bartender, though.


Sarah -
Poor Charlie. That scene was harsh.

After the relative romp of the beginning of the story, things turn dark when the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral finally takes place. It’s all rather gruesome, and our heroes don’t really have much to do – other than batty Dodo running into the middle of things.


Harry -
Longest gunfight ever? I'm tempted to go back and count how many rounds were fired; it sounded like there were a couple dozen extra shooters blasting away during the whole thing. Well, we did get a big shoot-em-up at the end, can't complain about that. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, so for me that's usually the big attraction.


Sarah -
I enjoyed this story much more than I expected. I don’t share your Western aversion, but The Gunfighters had never had the best reputation in fandom, so my expectations were low. It’s a solid story, with strong performances all around.


Harry -
I too kept expectations low, was expecting the worst, and was pleasantly surprised. The story never seemed to drag, had plenty of colourful moments, and finished with a bang.


Sarah -
Stories like this are what make me appreciate this little project of ours. Having seen so few of the first two Doctors’ stories, it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to watch them for the first time.


Harry -
Same here! The fact that we can now compare different eras within the First Doctor's era is wonderful. Let's wrap this one up and head to the next story!


Lasting image: Steven in his "buckaroo" costume.

Favourite moment: the scene in the saloon where the various members of the Clanton family are plotting to hire Johnny Ringo, while belting down shots of whiskey as fast as the frantic barkeep can pour them.

Best line: "And lastly, sir, your humble servant, Doctor, er, Caligari."
"Doctor who?"
"Yes, quite right."

It never gets old!

6/10


Sarah -
You're right -- it never gets old!

Lasting image: The Doctor entering the saloon in his cowboy hat. (Not the last time he’ll sport that look!)

Favorite moment: Dodo hearing voices.

Best line: “All these people are giving me guns, I do wish they wouldn’t”

With an honorable mention for: “Well I had to find some sort of suitable cover. After all, you can’t walk into the middle of a Western town and say you come from outer space. Gracious me, you’ll be arrested on a vagrancy charge.”

7/10

I imagine our epic re-watch will be a very different experience from the Third Doctor on, where I’ve seen every story multiple times. For now, I’m really enjoying the feeling of discovery.


Harry -
It's definitely been worth watching each episode in order. That's the perfect note to end on here, as today we celebrate our first anniversary on the sofa.

Happy Anniversary Deerie! I hope we have many more (at the pace we are moving, there promises to be many more!).


Sarah -
Happy Anniversary, Old Chum! I recently found myself calculating how long it would take us to get through the Tom Baker years and decided I'd better not plan that many years ahead!

Let's sign off with a hearty Happy New Year to our readers. We'll see you on the Sofa in 2012!


Harry -
Happy New Year!

It might be too ambitious to promise that we'll get through the Troughton era by the end of next year, so let's promise to get through the Hartnell era by the end of next year. I think that's doable!


Sarah -
I think we can manage that.

Our marathon continues with Story #26 - The Savages...

Story #24 - The Celestial Toymaker (1966)

Sarah -
Well, the writers have finally found an efficient way to deal with yet another of William Hartnell's holidays -- make him invisible and mute. Problem solved!

I know this story is a favorite of yours, Dear Harry, so I'm putting on my positive hat and looking forward to your comments.


The Celestial Toymaker -
Hello Sarah. I'm afraid Harry is indisposed at the moment. He too has been rendered mute and invisible, and I have placed him in one of my game rooms where he might while away some time playing Sudden Death Othello. I hope we can play some games together. You are ever so clever and I think you would make a worthy opponent.


Sarah -
Knock it off Harry. I know it's you. You're making an already tedious story even more tedious.

So tell me, what makes you love this story so much? Have you reassessed your feelings towards it following this viewing?


Harry -
I see my makeshift Toymaker costume did not fool you. [*throws blue housecoat aside.*]


Sarah -
Not that it wasn't a good look for you.


Harry -
Why thank you darling!

Yes, this has always been a favourite story of mine, mostly because of the Toymaker character as played my Michael Gough. I love his voice, all caramelly and resonant. He purrs his lines like a tiger toying with its prey (if tigers toy, that is).

Unfortunately, this story takes two direct hits that weaken the viewing experience. First off and most obviously, the first three episodes are missing, so we are forced to watch reconstructions that rely on very scant available images. Even then, and this is the second weakness, the Toymaker does very little else than menace the Doctor and his friends with his voice.


Sarah -
I have to agree with you on both points. Gough's performance is positively juicy and I would love to be able to see it. (Keep checking those closets and lower file drawers, Kiddos, we know it's out there somewhere!) The recons do not in any way enhance the story. This is such a visual story and it feels wrong to judge it on the recon, but that's all we've got.


Harry -
But I still love the notion of an omnipotent being, grown bored with its powers and seeking out bright minds to play games with. It's not the last time we'll see this in science fiction, or in Doctor Who for that matter.

This story is so visual that no reconstruction could do it justice. I'd love to have seen the clowns mucking around with Steven and Dodo during the game of Blind Man's Bluff. All we hear are a squeaky voice and a honking horn. But it's still enough to raise my ire at those two, er, clowns. I strongly sympathized with Steven's growing anger.


Sarah -
I started taking notes, but gave up because I had no idea what the heck was going on. I was even more irate than Steven.


Harry -
On the subject of Steven, his attitude to the goings-on in the Celestial Playroom was markedly different to that of Dodo. Steven was skeptical of everything around him, impatient to get moving and overtly hostile to the characters they played against -- wanting to win and get out of there, even if it meant a terrible end to their opponents.

Dodo meanwhile seemed caught up in the fun of it all, not seeming to grasp the menace of the Toymaker or his games. But Dodo is insane. Let her be.


Sarah -
The Steven-Dodo dynamic was my favorite part of the story. Steven's anger and impatience mirrored my own and wacky Dodo was just playing along. I was ready for him to have a dramatic breakdown -- slapping Dodo repeatedly and telling her to get a grip on herself. That would have livened up the story!


Harry -
There's a fanfic for that.


Sarah -
I'm sure there is. *shudders at the thought*

I also kind of liked the game with Cyril. Peter Stephens' performance of the snotty little pischer is so delightfully over-the-top, that it's a joy to see him lose.


Harry -
Oh he was a vile bastard, wasn't he? Leaping unwittingly to his own demise was quite fitting.

You mentioned off the top about William Hartnell's absence in this story. Hartnell wasn't there, but the Doctor was (though not in body or voice). You think the producers were giving old Billy a hint?


Sarah -
One can only think.

So, staying positive, as we are want to do, I believe I learned more about the story from reading Rob and Toby's discussion than actually watching it. I didn't actually realize that the game characters were all played by the same three actors until I read Running Through Corridors. Or maybe I'm just slow on the uptake.


Harry -
Well, even though the actors played all three sets of characters with different voices, there was not much visual evidence to go by, and who would have really guessed that they were all the same people?

(Right here is where Messr Hadoke would slap me with a large haddock and tell me to read the bleedin' credits.)


Sarah -
Lasting image: The Toymaker's fab costume

Favorite moment: Cyril losing the game.

Best line: "I'm bored. I love to play games but there's no-one to play against. The beings who call here have no minds, and so they become my toys. But you will become my perpetual opponent. We shall play endless games together, your brain against mine."

5/10 (Although I'm open to re-evaluating my rating when the original footage is discovered in someone's gran's attic.)


Harry -
Keep double-checking your root cellars, people!

Well, I see my best efforts have failed to convince you. I still like the story because it is so "out there" as a Doctor Who adventure, even though "out there" wasn't all that "there." Oh no, I've gone cross-eyed!

Lasting image: the trilogic game.

Favourite moment: Any moment when the Toymaker was oozing menace.

Best line: "Go for move 1,023!"

7/10






Our marathon continues with Story #25 - The Gunfighters...

Story #23 - The Ark (1966)

Sarah -
First off, I’m positively giddy at the prospect of actual moving images in this story after so many reconstructions!


Harry -
Yup yup, valuable as they are to preserving the legacy, these reconstructions are wearing on me too. I want moving pictures, is that so wrong?


Sarah -
It's not wrong at all. I plan to party like it's 1999 when we finally get through our last recon. It was rather heartening to hear Rob Shearman comment at Chicago TARDIS about how chuffed he and Toby were when they got through the final recon.


Harry -
Chicago TARDIS was a blast!


Sarah -
It was a great time. It’s like a revival meeting for Whovians.

Now, back to my list...second, eyes in mouths are damn creepy. I may have trouble sleeping this evening with visions of Monoids dancing in my head.


Harry -
My manager would be alarmed to know how much time I spent today wondering how the actors got their eyeball to move around.


Sarah -
I'm so glad it wasn't just me. I was all distracted by the mechanics of it all. I also spent far too much time wondering how the Monoids ate all the food the humans prepared for them.


Harry -
That too.  For the eyes -- sorry, eye -- I concluded that the actors had a painted ping-pong ball in their mouths, with an opening cut into the back so that they could use their tongues to move the "eyeball" around. Although no one seemed to do it very well and the Monoids all came off boggle-eyed.


Sarah -
Third, I’m afraid your analysis of Dodo’s mental health is coloring my world. I felt a little sympathy for her when the Doctor harshed on her way of speaking, but can’t shake the impression that the girl is wackadoodle.


Harry -
Bonkers. She's already gotten into the TARDIS wardrobe and decided that it's time for Dodo's Mad Medieval Cosplay, la la la!


Sarah -
She was even chided for it by the Doctor. Later, when the Doctor says, “Don’t worry, Child, you’re quite safe with us,” you know things are going to go very wrong. Who knew it would be the common cold? Typhoid Dodo is on the scene.


Harry -
HAH!


Sarah -
Makes me just a little paranoid about my current sniffles. Perhaps I’ll just quarantine myself to the house for the duration to avoid spreading it about.

As the plague spreads, suspicion naturally falls on the new arrivals and a trial begins. I was hoping that Steven would finally get some good scenes as he confronts the Guardians, but he just passes out. Typical.


Harry -
I've been meaning to ask you your thoughts on Steven. Doesn't he seem terribly bland from one story to the next? Since he was introduced as a mildly overexcited fighter pilot, we haven't heard a peep about his backstory, nor have whatever skills he may possess have been worked into any story. He's settled into a kind of bemused tagalong who does the occasional bit of heavy lifting for the old man.

He is handsome though, don't you think?


Sarah -
He's terribly dishy, which somehow makes the lack of character development even more frustrating. I had high hopes for "The Massacre", which should have been his moment to shine, but was so disappointing in the end. I really want Steven to be fabulous, but am starting to reconcile myself to the fact that he's never going to get there.

So, the Doctor finds a cure, vaccinates the Guardian, delivers a reassuring speech, and heads off on the complimentary shuttle back to the TARDIS.


Harry -
I love the complimentary shuttle! It's a far cry from "An Unearthly Child," where the Doctor and his friends had to scamper back to the TARDIS all bedraggled and hair wild. These humans are clearly a civilized people, despite their curious antipathy towards trousers and leggings.


Sarah -
There's definitely a trend towards either under- or over-dressing on Doctor Who, isn't there?


Harry -
Definitely. And actually, these pantless people may not be entirely civilized, as we saw them almost go to pieces during the Dodo epidemic. Maybe there was a symbolic meaning to Dodo's medieval costume, as there was a mood of "BURN THE WITCH" being whipped up by Zentos, the deputy commander.


Sarah -
And what a charming man he was. Still, they find themselves safely back in the TARDIS and all is well in the universe…or is it?


Harry -
It is for all of 10 seconds, before that quirky TARDIS lands them in the exact same spot, 700 years later. The camera pans up to reveal the now-completed human statue, and the statue is topped by a Monoid head!


Sarah -
The shot of the statue was my favorite single moment of the story.


Harry -
I liked that cliffhanger, and the ensuing two episodes were very fast moving. I also liked the repeated use of overhead shots, something that makes this story stand out from others.


Sarah -
I thought the overall design and feeling of the story was very classic Doctor Who. I could easily imagine this story being told in another Doctor’s era – perhaps the Fourth Doctor. He’d have a good time giving the Monoids what for.


Harry -
Just as I was panning Steven for never using his fighter pilot skills, he suddenly goes and analyses the spaceship's navigation charts. Well done flyboy!


Sarah -
It was a heartening moment.


Harry -
Er... that about wraps up the nice things I have to say. Even Rob and Toby broke character and started trashing this story. My favourite part of "The Ark" might actually be their review in Running Through Corridors. Hilarious stuff!


Sarah -
I just got around to reading it. I definitely laughed more than I have anywhere else in the book!


Harry -
Anyway, after starting off as benign, Ood-like servant creatures, the Monoids have been fitted with voiceboxes and armed with heat guns. Having been weakened by the Dodo epidemic, the human Guardians are now enslaved to the Monoids. But it's done so hokily. There's a short story by John Wyndham called "Dumb Martian," and it plays on this theme of servants-become-masters to chilling effect, but here it's so, so hokey.


Sarah -
It does kind of fall apart in the second half, doesn’t it, which is really too bad because the story has so much promise. I liked the fact that the Doctor had become a bit of a legend among the Guardian descendents. I also thought Venussa was a strong character with a nice performance by Eileen Helsby.


Harry -
Yes, she did a nice turn.


Sarah -
She might have made a good companion; she looked like she wouldn’t have minded traveling with Steven, if you know when I mean.


Harry -
Indeed! Now, my notes are littered with comments like "shoddy acting," "bad acting," and worst of all: "Hartnell BORED." I wonder if this story was the beginning of the end of William Hartnell's job as the Doctor. He looks terribly bored throughout the story, merely reciting his lines. Even his Hartnellian giggles seem forced.


Sarah -
The moment when the Monoid almost reveals his diabolical plan to Dodo before catching himself may be the single worst moment of acting in the entire history of the series. Not a race of super-spies, these Monoids.


Harry -
The Monoids are livelier, with all that flailing of hands, but they are so silly as monsters, and with the rest of the cast seemingly dampened by Hartnell's boredom, the story limps to the finish. There, we are made to believe that a Refusian -- an invisible creature that uses human-sized chairs to sit on -- can somehow lift a colossus statue and help pitch it out of the spaceship before the bomb contained within can explode. Yeesh.


Sarah -
But they certainly have a knack for interior design! Terribly kind of them to set up such swanky digs for their coming neighbors. I can only imagine the BBC accounting department was delighted by the notion of invisible aliens. Crap storytelling, but easy on the budget. Speaking of budget, how the heck did they afford an elephant? Did it just wander in from another set?


Harry -
Imagine the director whisper-shouting: "Keep rolling, keep rolling! Actors, go and stroke the elephant, we've not got enough time for another take!"

If you'll humour me as I go all "Toby" for a bit, it was nice to see Terence Bayler in this story. I recognized him as the actor who played MacDuff in Roman Polanski's wild and wooley 1971 film version of Macbeth. He also appeared in Jean Marsh's 1975 production of Upstairs, Downstairs.


Sarah -
Not to mention all his work with the Monty Python chaps. Alas, poor Yendom, betrayed so cruelly by the masters he trusted to save him. Doesn’t he know what happens to collaborators?


Harry -
Alas, poor Yendom.


Sarah -
Lasting image: The Monoid statue.

Favorite moment: The big reveal of the Monoid statue.

Best line: Doctor telling the monoid in the lab, “Yes, I know I’m a bit of a quack.”

6/10


Harry -
Lasting image: All those overhead shots will stick in my mind.

Favourite moment: Random elephant.

Best line: "Two, take them away to the security kitchen..." I was hoping that that sentence would end with "...and have them puréed."

5/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #24 - The Celestial Toymaker...

Story #22 - The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966)

Harry -
Well, we really burned through that one. After the previous 12-parter, this was a walk in the park.


Sarah -
It felt so quick after "The Daleks' Master Plan", didn't it?

Interesting choice to have the Doctor and Steven land in a historical situation that is less well known than those we've visited previously. We don't know where our loyalties are supposed to lie at any point in the story...and I still don't know.


Harry -
It felt very much like being pulled back into Season One, with a historical/educational type of story, this.


Sarah -
I was waiting for Barbara and Ian to show up and sort it all out.


Harry -
I know nothing about this particular episode of French history, but in a way it was refreshing to be able to choose sides for myself. Sort of. Soon enough, it's clear that this is a "religious intolerance" dilemma, and Steven soon finds himself in the middle of it. Sort of. I liked the overall atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion that was maintained throughout. Plots, treason, assassins, tasty stuff.


Sarah -
It’s unusual and refreshing for this era of Doctor Who to offer us a story with no clear protagonist. Other than Anne, we don’t really develop an emotional connection to any of the characters. Like us, Steven doesn’t know what’s going on, and has to find his way through the story without the benefit of the foresight that previous companions enjoyed in their historicals.


Harry -
It was very much a "Choose Your Own Adventure" for Steven. Meanwhile, the Doctor vanishes for a chunk of the story early on, first in search of the scientist Preslin, then for one more "Hartnell Holiday."

Maybe because of my historical ignorance, I found the story quite dry and hard to get into. Although some of the performances were great. I especially liked André Morell, who chewed his dialogue with great élan as the beruffed Marshall Tavannes. I wonder if he appeared in any other stories (wishing for Toby Hadoke's powers of total recall).


Sarah -
Watching the story in a reconstruction didn’t help. After a while, I couldn’t keep my Catholics and Protestants straight!


Harry -
Yes, this was a painful reconstruction. As for The Big Twist, ie. the Abbot being played by Hartnell, it had me rolling my eyes I must confess. The doppelganger has never been a favourite plot device of mine. Although the Abbot's murder was well played out and Steven's belief that the Doctor was dead was very believeable. We've seen the Doctor take on the identity of French characters in previous stories, so I genuinely puzzled if the Abbot had in fact been the Doctor or not.

I have to ask, was that ever really resolved? I'm still not certain!


Sarah -
It was – and he wasn’t!


Harry -
Thank you!


Sarah -
While I enjoyed Steven having the opportunity to take center stage, I started thinking he was a bit dense when he couldn’t let go of the idea that the Abbot was the Doctor. Even after finding the Abbot dead in the street, he was convinced the Doctor was dead and he had to find the TARDIS key to escape.

I kind of enjoyed Hartnell’s performance as the Abbot, if only because it reminded me that Hartnell was, in fact, acting when he played the Doctor. It can be easy to forget sometimes.

So, the TARDIS takes off, leaving the Huguenots to their fate. Steven rips into the Doctor for leaving Anne behind and the Doctor responds with a speech that illustrates an eternal conflict of the series:

“My dear Steven, sometimes history gives us a terrible shock and that is because we don’t quite fully understand. Why should we? After all, we’re all too small to realize its final pattern. Therefore, don’t try and judge it from where you stand. I was right to do what I did. Yes, that I firmly believe.”

Steven begs to differ and tells the Doctor to let him off at the next stop, which, conveniently, is twentieth century England.


Harry -
And it only took him two years of trying to get Barbara and Ian there...


Sarah -
The Doctor is alone in the TARDIS for the first time in the series, leading to my favorite moment in the story:

“Now. They’ve all gone. All gone. None of them could understand. Not even my little Susan or Vicki. And as for Barbara and Chetterton…Chesterton…they were all too impatient to get back to their own time and now Steven. Perhaps I should go home back to my own planet. But I can’t. I can’t.”

Poor Ian; the Doctor still can’t get his name right.


Harry -
Great speech, really, really great speech. The muffing of Ian's name was a quintessential First Doctor moment.


Sarah -
As we know, the Doctor doesn’t like being alone with himself. His sadness is overwhelming and I found it the most touching moment of "The Massacre".


Harry -
Because it came out of nowhere, the Doctor's soliloquoy was all the more profound. I had never seen this story before, but we know that Steven continues as a companion for several more stories, so this little moment was an unexpected delight. Definitely the highlight of the story.


Sarah -
But, this being Doctor Who, it doesn’t last long…


Harry -
Ah yes, now the lowlight. The sudden, jarring, utterly absurd appearance of Dorothea (Dodo) Chaplet. This scene is bonkers. One of the worst if not the worst companion introduction ever.


Sarah -
I'll go with worst.


Harry -
What the heck happened there? Dodo comes skipping up to the TARDIS looking for help for an injured child. She barges in and discovers the Doctor, who politely tries to shoo her away, and she ends up staying.

La la la, who cares about that injured child! La la la, you say this is a flying spaceship, what fun! La la la, never mind about my family and friends, I'm an orphan!

Completely bonkers.

I have a theory about Dodo. Would you like to hear it?


Sarah -
Would I? I'm all aflutter with anticipation!


Harry -
Here now, is my theory, which is mine, about Dodo Chaplet.

*ahem*

My theory is this: that Dodo Chaplet is insane. She herself may have been responsible for causing injury to the unseen child, if there was a child at all. Being insane, she then skipped merrily to the Police Box, perhaps to call for help, perhaps just to hide behind it. Perhaps those policemen that Steven saw were, in fact, looking for Dodo. Trying the door, she entered a wonderland that totally captivated her.

Dodo is insane. That is my theory. I shall have further evidence to present as our marathon continues. For now, I'm ready to wrap this one up. Too many flaws dragged this story down for me and I can't give it much of a rating.


Sarah -
Interesting theory, Harry Brackets-Mister-Brackets. I'm fairly sure that your theory will color my viewing of Dodo's episodes, none of which I've seen, from here on out.

Let's wrap it up, then -- so we can start planning for Chicago TARDIS!


Harry -
Chicago TARDIS!  See you in a few hours dearie!

Oh, and by the way, I looked up André Morell.  He never appeared in Doctor Who again, but his son did!  (Our Toby probably could have told us that.)


Sarah -
Lasting image: Steven finding the Abbot dead in the street.

Favorite moment: The Doctor alone in the TARDIS.

Best line: The Doctor’s lonely reflection.

7/10


Harry -
Lasting image: Marshall Tavannes and his ruff.

Favourite moment and Best line: I concur with your picks!

5/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #23 - The Ark...