Story #134: Planet of Fire (1984)

Sarah -
I've had a bit of an uncomfortable realization while watching "Planet of Fire". Remember how annoyed we were when all the Rose fangirls and fanboys hated all over Martha the moment she was introduced in Series Three?


Harry -
Do I!


Sarah -
I have to confess that was me when the Perpugilliam Brown era began. My heart was firmly set against her from the beginning -- mostly just because she wasn't Tegan. Not that the horrible American accent helped.


Harry -
The moment something new and different appears onscreen, it's one of the grandest traditions for a swath of Doctor Who fandom to shout at the top of one's lungs: "I DON'T LIKE IT! CHANGE IT BACK!"


Sarah -
I'm usually the kind of fan who accepts changes as inevitable -- it's just part of watching Doctor Who and complaining is useless. That said, Peri really rubbed me the wrong way for most of her run.


Harry -
Peri had a tough act to follow, but props to Nicola Bryant for giving it her all.


Sarah -
Having not been a fan of Peri pretty much since "Planet of Fire" first aired on WTTW on 30 December 1984, I have to admit I wasn't super excited about revisiting her stories. I was prepared to have all my anti-Peri bias confirmed, but that didn't happen. She really wasn't all that bad. I even found myself sympathizing with her. The accent, of course, is still rubbish.


Harry -
The story of Nicola's casting, and her accent, and how it all came together in the character of Peri have been told and retold countless times. While rewatching "Planet of Fire" for the first time in years, what I found myself listening for were the audible tics in Peri's speech that give away Nicola's true nationality. Once in a while, we hear a drawn out English vowel sound where a sharper American one was required (like when she says "all"). It's a little amusement to enjoy on the side while taking in the story.


Sarah -
I remember getting into a strong disagreement with my friend Marc when Peri made her debut. He insisted Nicola Bryant was American so I spent the next episode making a list of all the things she said that were just wrong. To be fair, even Bryant was bothered by some of the dialogue they gave her and fought to make changes.


Harry -
I have to admit, this time around I found myself taken in by the story despite being totally prepared to hate it. Multiple branches coming together on the planet Sarn, multiple outcomes for the many characters, and multiple revelations along the way. Were all your memories of the story reconfirmed, or were you pleasantly surprised this time around, Sarah?


Sarah -
I was quite pleasantly surprised. I didn't remember too many details going in. Lanzarote, the egregious bikini shots, and Turlough dropping his drawers to save drowning Peri were about all I remembered about this story.


Harry -
So much skin in this one! In Lanzarote anyway. After a mysterious object is hauled aboard a vessel by hunky Professor Howard Foster, his stepdaughter Peri announces that she's leaving the island to travel to Morocco with a couple of British lads. They argue about it and Howard eventually strands Peri aboard the vessel, causing her to miss her flight.


Sarah -
Howard is such a dick! He lures Peri out to the boat by pretending he's going to give her money for Morocco and then traps her there. Things get even creepier later in the story when she's in the TARDIS having nightmares about Howard mistreating her. There is one seriously disturbing backstory there.


Harry -
There is one disturbing Boston accent there too.


Sarah -
Is that what it's meant to be? There were moments when I thought he might be Australian.


Harry -
The TARDIS databanks are inconclusive.

Meanwhile, the TARDIS has honed in on a signal and landed nearby. The Doctor ditches his long coat and sweater and has a look around while Turlough and Kamelion remain aboard.


Sarah -
I imagine a bit of rummaging through the TARDIS wardrobe in search of the jaunty little waistcoat he wears for the rest of the story.


Harry -
He finally got to change his look, however slightly.

Remember Kamelion? I sure as hell didn't. He's not only been missing since "The King's Demons," but he hasn't been mentioned in all this time. When the shape shifting android has a sudden screaming seizure in another room of the TARDIS, even the Doctor seems startled to remember him.


Sarah -
What was Kamelion doing in the weeks (months?) since the TARDIS visited medieval England? Lost in the TARDIS? Trapped in a cabinet somewhere? Meditating in the cloisters?


Harry -
This is one of my beefs with the JN-T era. We'd see characters introduced by one writer, then sidelined or ignored altogether by subsequent writers who didn't fancy writing them into their stories. Throughout the three-companion Davison era, we've often seen one or two of them sent away to wait inside the TARDIS because there wasn't anything for them to do. In Kamelion's case he was banished right out of the console room and out of our consciousness. What's the point of introducing characters if you won't do anything with them? This lack of consistency (or maybe it's a lack of discipline on the part of JN-T and Eric Saward) is another strike against the era.


Sarah -
That list is getting fairly long.


Harry -
Back on the vessel, Peri packs her remaining money, passport, and the mysterious object with the intention of swimming to shore and selling it. Halfway there, she tires and starts going under. Turlough spots her on the TARDIS scanner, strips down and dives in to rescue her. After carrying her back to the TARDIS, he notices the object she had with her -- it's clearly something he recognizes.


Sarah -
Oh, look! The symbol on the mysterious item is also imprinted on Turlough's arm. A mystery! Could it be Turlough is finally going to have something to do in a story beside trying to kill the Doctor or save his own skin? To be fair, he did go out of his way to save Peri, which I guess counts as character growth in the Saward era.

While asleep in the TARDIS, Peri begins to have her aforementioned creepy dream about Howard when Kamelion picks up on her thoughts and transforms himself into Howard. Things are rapidly become more uncomfortable.


Harry -
The Peri-Howard relationship is (thankfully) left unexplored. For now, Peri has Kamelion-Howard to deal with while the Doctor and Turlough go outside to explore the new location where the TARDIS has landed. Or rather, she has Kamelion-Master to deal with. He's baaaack!


Sarah -
Like a bad penny!


Harry -
Meanwhile, things are heating up on the planet Sarn!


Sarah -
Quite literally. The local volcano is about to blow!


Harry -
On this desert planet, the people are split between the adherents of the monotheistic deity Logar -- a kind of fire god -- and the non-believers, who find themselves pitched alive into a fire if they cross Timanov, the local elder tyrant.


Sarah -
Who seems to be singularly obsessed with burning the non-believers.


Harry -
Timanov is played by Peter Wyngarde, who gives it his Royal Shakespeare Company best, infusing the character with quiet menace and the occasional flash of temper towards Malkon. The youth, who bears an arm branding identical to that of Turlough, is hailed as the chosen one even though he is really just a puppet for Timanov.


Sarah -
Wyngarde's performance is masterful -- it's hard to watch anyone else when he's on screen.


Harry -
He's clearly the Guest Star of this one. As for Timanov, I suspect he might not have as much sway over the locals as he believes. Others take the piss out of him throughout the story and he barely bats an eye, like when the Master calls him a gullible idiot, or when he speaks of his encounter with Logar:

DOCTOR: Timanov, have you actually ever seen Logar?
TIMANOV: Yes, once, when I was a boy.
DOCTOR: Where?
TIMANOV: It was the summit of the fire mountain. The fire god spoke to me, encouraged me to inhale the gases. I felt intoxicated, invigorated. I felt reborn.
AMYAND: You were drunk.


Sarah -
I have to admit that exchange made me laugh out loud.


Harry -
This tiny settlement is the place where all of the story's threads come together, for various reasons, and with a few surprise revelations.


Sarah -
It seems young Malkon may be Turlough's brother, their father's ship having crashed on Sarn when Malkon was just a wee lad.

Can you think of any other companion whose entire backstory is revealed in their final appearance? In a series that excels in neglecting companions, Turlough has to be high on the list of the most neglected.


Harry -
Another classic quote from this era:

DOCTOR: Why have you never mentioned your home planet before?
TURLOUGH: No particular reason.

Good grief! Either no writer over the past two seasons was arsed enough to give Turlough a backstory, or JN-T and Saward weren't arsed enough to assign it to someone. We'll see another example of "You're leaving? Here's all the detail we've been meaning to fill in," in the next story.


Sarah -
I imagine Barry Letts sitting in front of the television, just shaking his head at the lack of care being given to the series at this point. There was none of that in the Third Doctor era!


Harry -
Wasn't Barry supposed to be a guiding hand at the start of the JN-T era? Maybe he had already stepped away from it by this point. I don't want to give too strong an impression that I didn't like this story. I did enjoy watching everything come together on Sarn.


Sarah -
I don't think our problems with the story are due to Peter Grimwade's script. It's a good, well-paced story. (She said, casting her eyes in a Sawardly direction...)


Harry -
Despite Timanov's tyranny, the locals experience a crisis of faith when Logar is exposed as a myth. The Master arrives, meaning to harness the restorative powers of the numismaton gas inside the volcano to recover from an accident he suffered during a tissue compression experiment. Turlough soon realizes that some of the locals are survivors of his father's crashed ship and they are Trionians like himself. The Doctor of course sees the big picture: this volcano is going to blow. Amid all that, we still have time for the Master-influenced Kamelion to stalk Peri across the sweeping landscapes of Sarn.


Sarah -
Poor Peri. Imagine, you're on an island holiday one moment and the next thing you know you're being chased across an alien planet by and intergalactic sociopath! I have to admit she did a good job of holding her ground through it all.

While watching the Master-Peri chase, I was thinking about how fluidly Ainley moves in his performance. He may be over the top in many aspects, but he moves almost as if he's dancing. His run across the landscape was wonderfully graceful. You know, for a homicidal lunatic. I had the same thought when he skipped across the chessboard in The Five Doctors.


Harry -
Ainley's nimble athleticism came from years of playing rugby and cricket.


Sarah -
Ah yes, that would do it. He moves like a cat.

Turlough contacts the home planet to send a rescue ship to Sarn, despite fearing that he'll be sent back into exile. But wait, there's been a chance in the regime and all sentences have been rescinded! Hooray!


Harry -
The revelations come fast and furious in part four. Some of the locals are from Trion, others are genuinely local. Ultimately, the religion of Logar is rejected in favour of a departure on the rescue ship. Beaten but unbowed, Timanov's final act on camera is to turn toward the flames, seemingly to commit a final act of zealotry upon himself.


Sarah -
It was crazy, but at least true to his character.


Harry -
After an amusing cat and mouse chase with Peri in his TARDIS, the Master is restored to full size by the numismaton gas, but is comsumed by the flames despite his pleadings to the Doctor. Having just watched the Master get burned alive, the Doctor then grants Kamelion's wish and destroys it with the Tissue Compression Eliminator. Apparently it works just as well on non-biological matter, as the Master demonstrated with the fire suits earlier.


Sarah -
Ah, Kamelion, we hardly knew ye. No, seriously, we didn't know you at all.


Harry -
What a waste.


Sarah -
I kind of loved the Small Master in a Box. Pity about the burning and all -- do you think he'll be back?


Harry -
Well, if so then I'm sure we'll get a convincing explanation of how he survived the fires of Sarn.

And just when we find out who Vislor Turlough is, he splits. The Doctor never really warmed to him and rightfully so. I didn't either. Sadly, this will be the last male companion we will see for some time.


Sarah -
When we watched "Mawdryn Undead", I mentioned that Turlough is a companion that I often just forget about. After revisiting the character, it's easy to understand why -- he's rarely given anything to out outside of trying to kill the Doctor or save himself. I quite like Mark Strickson, but Turlough definitely goes down on the list of neglected Doctor Who companions. I imagine he and Dodo will hit it off at the next neglected companions reunion.


Harry -
With Tegan, Turlough and Kamelion all gone, the only person left to accompany the Doctor is Peri. She assures him she doesn't have to be back at school for a while, and he agrees to let her come travelling with him (which makes no sense since he's a TIME TRAVELLER and all, but I'm done with the nitpicking for now).


Sarah -
Right? What was that? Who care how long her school vacation is -- YOU'VE GOT A TIME MACHINE! Sheesh.

Overall, "Planet of Fire" is a decent story, which I enjoyed watching.


Harry -
I liked the story, but the viewing of it was a bit dull. Despite the exotic landscapes, desert-settings are always drab.


Sarah -
Best Line:
"I am the Master!"
"I'm Perpugilliam Brown, and I can shout just as loud as you can!"

Favorite Moment: Peri standing up to the Master.

Lasting Image: Small Master in a Box.

6/10


Harry -
Best Line:
"Have I seen everything today. A transgalactic payphone, a stepfather who turns into a robot, and a robot who turns into a gangster."

Favourite Moment: Whenever someone took the piss out of Timanov.

Lasting Image: The Kamelion-Master bounding after Peri.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #135: The Caves of Androzani...

Story #133: Resurrection of the Daleks (1984)

Sarah -
Brutal.


Harry -
Grim.

That about sums up the Eric Saward era, and we haven't even gotten past the opening massacre in the alley.


Sarah -
What a fantastic opening.


Harry -
It's a very atmospheric start. A slow tracking shot through a grey, rainy setting -- something different for the Davison era. I've gotten so used to console room pandemonium at the start of every story. This felt cinematic.


Sarah -
The opening feels like a Third Doctor UNIT story.


Harry -
Good call.


Sarah -
An older man standing in an industrial district watches as a group of jumpsuit-wearing people burst of a warehouse, only to be gunned down by policemen. For an extra shot of pathos, they shoot and kill the old man before beaming up a police officer and the corpses. But we soon discover that two of the fleeing prisoners have evaded capture…


Harry -
The escapees search the warehouse looking for the time corridor that brought them there, but Galloway is gunned down and Stien is left to cower in fear.


Sarah -
I was confused about why they were trying to find the time corridor, assuming that they had used it to escape. Why do they want to get back to it?


Harry -
Maybe they eluded their captors inside the warehouse and thought the time corridor might take them back to safety.

Meanwhile, the lead policeman -- Lytton -- has beamed up to a space ship, a battle cruiser with a very Star Warsy looking bridge and crew. In their sights is another ship, one they intend to seize and board. This second ship is a run down hunk of junk manned by a somewhat demoralized crew. It turns out that this is a prison ship, carrying a single prisoner whose re-acquisition is the goal of Lytton's battle cruiser.


Sarah -
I like that the story takes its time. So much happens before we even see the TARDIS crew.


Harry -
Before we find out who Lytton is after (although it's a pretty easy guess), we get our weekly dose of console room pandemonium.


Sarah -
Console room pandemonium is its own specialized acting skill!


Harry -
This picks up from the ending of "Frontios", where the TARDIS suddenly lurched out of control. It has run up against the same time corridor and the Doctor manages to pilot the old girl to a safe landing beside the Thames, London, 1984. While having a look around, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough encounter Stien, who begs for food and help.


Sarah -
Seriously, could they not have offered him something from the TARDIS kitchen to shut up the whinging? Of course, the Doctor is more intent on finding the time corridor that brought them there. We meet some UNITish soldiers on our way to the big revel -- or what would be the big reveal if the story wasn't called "Resurrection of the Daleks".


Harry -
The UNITish soldiers add to the Pertwee-era feel.


Sarah -
Definitely!


Harry -
The Colonel even had to use a payphone to ring HQ. How absurdly quaint!


Sarah -
I know, right? If he were a proper UNIT soldier, he’d have a field phone.

It's been five years since a Dalek story and I have to admit that I haven't really missed them. Still, the Cybermen had their triumphant return in "Earthshock", so why not give the Daleks their day in the sun -- or the warehouse, as it may be.


Harry -
One of the DVD features is JN-T's last recorded interview, where he admits that he started bringing the Daleks back repeatedly because of their "bums on seats" drawing power. Even so, they only appear three times in the 80s -- compare that with the annual Dalek story we viewers have been treated/subjected to in each season of the new series. It's definite overkill nowadays.


Sarah -
A little Dalek can go a long way. They're iconic, but not terribly interesting. Davros and the human collaborators are what make this story more compelling.


Harry -
"Resurrection of the Daleks" is remembered for the relentless killings that occur throughout the story. So many people are killed senselessly, like the old man in the opening scene, or the man with the metal detector down along the riverside. There was no need for that!


Sarah -
In a slaughter-filled story, that moment had to be the most heartbreaking.


Harry -
The bulk of the slaughter is done by the Daleks, once the battle cruiser docks and they smash their way aboard. Each death hammers home the fact that the Daleks are terrible creatures. A particularly unsettling moment was hearing the screams of terror from the prison ship crew when they were cornered by some Daleks. The believeability of the terror, and the realism of the production (the poison gas!) make this an important Dalek story, though certainly not a fun one to watch. Does that defeat the purpose of Doctor Who? I don't know.


Sarah -
It's not fun, but it's definitely watchable. Even having seen it before I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat over what would happen next.


Harry -
As the Daleks lay waste to the crew, the few who remain scramble to destroy the prisoner: Davros.


Sarah -
Even though we know none of them will survive, I really liked the way the prison ship crew was handled. In a few concise scenes, Saward presents fairly well-developed characters. We're introduced to the prison ship via a conversation between Lt. Mercer and Dr. Styles -- he's the idealistic newbie who is horrified by the conditions on the the ship and she's the cynical veteran, biding her time so she can get a transfer out. Their initial conversation and the scene on the bridge when the attack comes shows us all we need to know to understand the situation. Well done, Saward!


Harry -
Back at the warehouse, Turlough is the first to discover the time corridor, which transports him aboard the battle cruiser.


Sarah -
Turlough would manage to stumble into the time corridor, wouldn't he? Once again, he bumbles his way through a story with a late opportunity to rise above his own self interest.


Harry -
A Dalek is dispatched in the other direction with orders to capture the Doctor. In the ensuing mayhem, the Doctor and some of the UNITish personnel team up for some rare hand-to-plunger combat and destroy the Dalek.


Sarah -
Tegan is hit in the head during the skirmish and spends much of the rest of the first episode lying on a mattress on the floor.


Harry -
It's a final rough outing for Janet Fielding. She's experienced so many bumps and bruises this season, and she still plows on valiantly. She was probably relieved to say goodbye... until they made her run away in those heels one last time.


Sarah -
I suspect Janet never imagined so much of her acting career would involve running around in heels and a short skirt!


Harry -
Before that, Lytton briefs the reawakened Davros on the failure of the Daleks, who lost their war against the Movellans when the latter developed a virus that only the Daleks were susceptible to. Davros is enraged by their failure, but pleased that they have returned to him, "like an errant child" needing his help. Cue Terry Molloy's first great megalo-rant, and it was a good one!


Sarah -
Can't have Davros without the inevitable rant.


Harry -
A second, larger Dalek force is sent through the time corridor. After more mayhem, the TARDIS lands aboard the Dalek battle cruiser. Stien then reveals himself to be a Dalek agent -- a duplicate in fact, something that the Daleks want to create from the Doctor as well. It seems they had a pre-existing plan ready for just this moment. A duplicate Doctor would be sent back to Gallifrey to assassinate the High Command and render the Time Lords vulnerable to invasion.


Sarah -
The first attempted volley in the coming Time War, perhaps? The Daleks are really playing the long game: 1) create duplicates of useful humans to do their bidding, 2) find Davros, 3) find the Doctor and trap him in the time corridor, 4) manipulate Davros into developing an antidote to the Movellans' virus, 5) create duplicates of the Doctor and his companions and send them to Gallifrey to do the Daleks’ bidding. What could possibly go wrong?


Harry -
It's an impressive stratagem. There's a wrench in the works, however. Davros is utterly paranoid. Fearful that the Daleks may turn on him (and his fear would be borne out later) he spends most of the story assembling a protective force of servitors, starting with some zombified aides and engineers. Eventually he takes control of some Daleks, triggering the civil war that they will wage for the remainder of the classic series.


Sarah -
Of course Davros immediately starts plotting against the Daleks, assembling his own team of Daleks and humans under his control.


Harry -
It's the first spark of the Dalek civil war, but it also sets the template for Davros moving forward: always paranoid, always plotting, always playing the innocent -- although you'd think people would stop themselves for a moment and realize, "Wait, this is freaking DAVROS! Why am I helping him??"


Sarah -
Whenever we see a Davros story, I always find myself thinking of Big Finish’s brilliant “I, Davros” series. I love having that backstory in my head cannon.


Harry -
I loved Terry Molloy in "I, Davros" -- one of the best things Big Finish has ever done.

The Doctor even has a wobble with Davros, despite holding him at gunpoint. He was intent on killing his enemy once and for all, but blew his chance and Davros sealed himself off in the laboratory. Oh Doctor, you can never do it, and we love you for it!


Sarah -
Ah, the inevitable Doctor-Davros showdown. We know the Doctor won’t kill Davros but it’s always satisfying to see him point a gun at Davros.


Harry -
What are we up to by this point? Thirty, maybe 40 characters dead already? The story is a nonstop killing spree. I was really heartbroken when Professor Laird -- a kind of "UNITish scientific advisor" character -- was gunned down. Senseless.


Sarah -
Professor Laird was wonderful – kind and protective toward Tegan, but more than willing to drug the Dalek clones into a long sleep.

While Turlough eventually stumbles into an alliance with the prison ship crew, they never have any interaction with the Doctor. We haven’t had many stories where an entire plotline develops without any interaction from the Doctor – it’s an early Doctor-light motif!


Harry -
Interesting point.


Sarah -
After a strong introduction of the prison ship crew, Saward gives them a worthy sendoff. Yes, they all die, but they go down swinging:

Mercer: Look, as far as we know, there are only four of us still alive. We can't fight the Daleks alone.
Styles: Only minutes ago you were prepared to fight till the bitter end.
Mercer: And look where it got me. A dead crew.
Styles: Then don't let it be for nothing.
Mercer: What can we do?
Styles: Have you forgotten? This station has a self-destruct system.

How great is Rula Lenska in this story? My only other memory of her is the series of Alberto VO5 ads she did in the late 70s:

Styles sets about activating the self-destruct system, delivering one of my favorite lines of the story: “We're nearly there. Why am I so excited? It'll be the last thing I ever do.”

So quietly heartbreaking.


Harry -
More so because she failed at the attempt.


Sarah -
And it was the last thing she would ever do.


Harry -
Eventually, all sides lose control of the situation. The Daleks order the destruction of the prison ship. Agent Stien, who famously can no longer stand the confusion in his brain, works his way to the self-destruct chamber intent on ending things himself.


Sarah -
A great performance by Rodney Bewes as Stien!


Harry -
Davros releases the Movellan gas and destroys the Daleks who are with him. Over at the warehouse, a final deadly firefight ends with the Doctor unleashing the same gas to wipe out the Dalek invaders. It's annihilation on all sides.


Sarah -
The Movellans’ final revenge!


Harry -
It's odd that we've never seen nor heard from them again after all this time.


Sarah -
I’m trying to imagine how their superfreaky look might be updated for the 21st century…


Harry -
Anyway, not many survive the carnage. Stien succeeds in blowing up the prison ship. It's uncertain whether Davros escaped, but we all know the answer to that. Stranded on Earth, Lytton and his silent policemen stroll away from the scene. Having escaped death by the slimmest of margins, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough prepare to depart. Only, Tegan decides that she's had enough...


Sarah -
And who wouldn’t after all that? The longest-serving companion of the Davison Era has finally had enough.

Watching Doctor Who as a teenager in the 80s, Tegan was my first favorite companion. I absolutely adored her and was heartbroken when she left the series.


Harry -
What's sad about Tegan's farewell is that life with the Doctor -- which should be a thrilling thing -- is what ultimately drives her away from him.  Nyssa stayed behind on Terminus because she felt she could help people there. Romana wanted to forge her own path in E-Space. Leela stayed on Gallifrey for the love of a man in tight red trousers (and we can all understand that). Sarah Jane was dropped off, thinking that she'd get picked right back up again. Jo linked up with a younger man with big visions of his own. Liz Shaw's departure might be the only comparable one. However, Tegan seems to be the only companion who ended up so traumatized that she couldn't go on, and that's so sad considering how strong she was.

A sad note to end a grim story. Like I said above, this is an important story because it hammers home the evil, destructive force that is the Daleks. I with they'd get a kind of reboot like that in the new series, where their familiarity -- and their string of defeats at the Doctor's hand -- lessens their impact with each appearance.


Sarah -
I know Janet Fielding is often disparaging towards the character and the way Tegan was treated on the series. Rewatching her era, I can understand how she feels. With thirty years perspective, I’m more irritated by the lack of strong stories for Tegan and how often she’s given little to do but complain. That said, Janet’s performance made me love Tegan and she’s still one of my favorite companions today. I’m still impressed that I managed to speak in full sentences when we met her at Chicago TARDIS. Janet, you are the best!


Harry -
She was lovely in person, and amazing as Tegan.  One of the best companions ever!

Best Line:
STIEN: Impulsive, aren't they?
LYTTON: They'll kill anybody, even if they need them.
STIEN: How long before it's your turn?

Favourite Moment: Stien hurls himself onto the self-destruct activator.

Lasting Image: Davros in his laboratory, facing off with the Doctor.

8/10


Sarah -
Best Line: "It's stopped being fun, Doctor."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor’s faceoff with Davros.

Lasting Image: The last shot of Tegan after the TARDIS dematerializes.

8/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #134: Planet of Fire...

Story #132: Frontios (1984)

Harry -
"Frontios" is one of those stories that I watched once -- ages ago -- and pretty much the only thing I remembered was that there were giant ant-slug creatures in it.

When it came time to watch it again, I warmed up the VCR and slid the tape in. As the opening credits rolled, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that "Frontios" was "A Christopher H. Bidmead Joint" and got ready for some hard, factual science!


Sarah -
"Frontios" is just about as Bidmead-y as a Christopher Hamilton Bidmead story can get. Science!


Harry -
Yes, Science!  But to me the story played out like a Pertwee era six-parter: a slow, lumbering thing about some hard-done-by human colonists on some blighted rock in space, terrorized by some hokey looking monsters.

I was left confused by it all.


Sarah -
I definitely have not watched this story since the 80s and received fan wisdom is not kind to "Frontios", so I was anxious going in. My expectations were so low that I ended up mostly liking it. "Frontios" has its problems, but for me it’s a decent story with far more strengths than weaknesses.

I know there are plenty of critics of Bidmead’s writing, but this is a fairly well-constructed story. We think we’re on a planet under siege from above, as meteors are hurtled at the humans, only to discover that the threat is coming from below. I love that!


Harry -
It begins with scenes of human space colonists doing what they do best: bickering. The partial collapse of a mine is hastily covered up and the research centre above it hastily shut down. The entreaties of Range, the chief science officer, are quickly shot down by Brazen, the security chief. "Don't go waving your title at me," Brazen growls. He's the prototypical bullying type, always barking out orders but never the first one to enter a room. The colony figurehead patsy that he props up is Plantagenet, a (literally) weak-hearted figure who seems content to let Brazen stomp around with his guardsmen. It's sad to see that humanity has not advanced any further in its social structures as it reaches the far reaches of the universe.


Sarah -
Who needs character development when there's science -- SCIENCE! -- to be portrayed? Bidmead presents us with a series of archetypes, most of which are very familiar to Doctor Who viewers, to start the story.


Harry -
That's what I was getting at. It's all so un-Bidmead.


Sarah -
But...but...SCIENCE!


Harry -
Well, let's check in with the TARDIS, where the Doctor has allowed his ship to drift to these same far reaches. A sudden meteor shower and a mysterious gravitational pull force an emergency landing on the planet Frontios.


Sarah -
If it's not one thing, it's another. Before the chaos begins, the Doctor is doing a bit of redecorating, moving the coat rack out of the console room. Pay attention, kids, this will be important later.


Harry -
Ah yes, the Coat Rack of Death.

Before we get to that, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough jump right into the action, landing at precisely the same time as the meteor shower bombards the planet. They act quickly to come to the aid of an injured colonist. In the Pertwee era, an arrest would have been imminent, but this being the Davison era and this being a Bidmead story, there's some affable sciencey business to be had first.


Sarah -
While helping the injured, the Doctor complains about the primitive conditions, particularly the poor lighting. While the lighting is certainly not ideal for a medical facility, it's almost a relief to have a story that's not over-lit. The lower lighting creates an atmosphere that has been missing from Doctor Who for a while now.


Harry -
The low lighting is a result of the phosphor lamps that the colonists are forced to use, as they have no electricity. These lamps will come into play later on. For now, the Doctor believes he can rig up something more permanent for the colonists.


Sarah -
He sends Tegan and Turlough back to the TARDIS, but they can't get past the console room because the doors are jammed. The Doctor pays little attention to this news and responds to accusations from Plantagenet and Brazen by inviting them into the TARDIS. It must be the Davison era, if the locals are being invited to tromp aboard the TARDIS. Seriously, what is with that?


Harry -
Overly welcoming to the TARDIS -- we've seen that too often in recent times.


Sarah -
It's stupid how much this annoys me.


Harry -
Before anyone can get to the TARDIS, another bombardment occurs. Tegan, Turlough and Norna return from their mission to steal supplies to build a battery. The Doctor meets them at the TARDIS -- or rather, the place where the TARDIS had landed. It has vanished, and the Doctor declares that it has been destroyed. This cliffhanger stood out, as the TARDIS itself has not been in jeopardy in recent years. Now, apparently it is gone. Quite a shocking moment.


Sarah -
It's always disturbing when they lose the TARDIS.


Harry -
It's like having the lifeline cut.

Hauled before Brazen and Plantagenet, the Doctor is declared an enemy and sentenced to be executed. Turlough wields the Coat Rack of Death and they forge a brief escape. Brought together again, Plantagenet's weak heart gives out and he collapses. Using the stolen battery equipment, the Doctor rigs up a makeshift defibrilator. Okay, now THAT'S a very Bidmead moment.  Science!


Sarah -
The coat rack was hysterical. There were several points in the story when I started to worry that Mark Strickson was going to hurt himself with so much acting, but it was nice for Turlough to finally have something to do. While the Doctor tends to Plantagenet, he and Norna begin analyzing the meteorite fragments and end up discovering an access hatch to the underground tunnels.

The end of episode two is a whirlwind -- Plantagenet is pulled underground, the colonists are looting the ship, Turlough has snapped after encountering the giant woodlice that his people have dealt with before, Norna is immobilized by said woodlice, only to be joined by the Doctor. This is the moment when the story grabbed my interest.


Harry -
Aye, the heretofore lumbering story shifts up several gears here. The ground swallowing Plantagenet was a very disturbing image. Mark Strickson probably had his best outing here, getting to play Turlough having a breakdown. We finally also get the tiniest hint of a backstory for his character. Always too little too late it seems in this era.


Sarah -
Our first glimpse of the Tractators made me laugh out loud. Turlough and Norna pass by two polished rocks, which turn around to reveal themselves as giant woodlice. The Tractator costumes look really good, but were apparently a nightmare for the actors inside, who had to have air pumped in between takes. The costumes also made it really difficult to understand much of what they said. There were scenes where I couldn't make out half of what they were saying.


Harry -
The Tractators are right out of the 70s and maybe even the 60s. Huge waddling things with rubber faces and barely functional mouths. At times it looked like they might have had John Gillett voicing his dialogue separately from someone operating the mouth of the Gravis, the lead Tractator.


Sarah -
The fact that they are so absolutely classic Doctor Who is what made me laugh with delight.


Harry -
The "tractor beam" moments were kind of psychedelic, but Tegan quickly found a means of breaking the spell by smashing one of the phosphor lamps. Both of the Doctor's companions were well worked into this story and not just tacked on to the side.


Sarah -
I couldn't agree more. They all had something to do and rose to the occasion.


Harry -
As with Mark Strickson, Janet Fielding did a great job here -- not the least for all the running and climbing and awkward positioning she had to do on uneven surfaces while wearing high heels, not once wishing that she'd chosen better footwear. After the air hostess uniform, this is Tegan's most memorable outfit in my mind -- I think of it as her "Sheena Easton" look.

Turlough certainly looked like he could have used a change of clothes by the end of his ordeal.


Sarah -
That's my favorite Tegan look. I watched all of these episodes as a teenager in the 80s and I will tell you I wanted this outfit something fierce. Air hostess uniform and boob tube outfit aside, Tegan was a bit of a fashion icon for me at the time.


Harry -
Absolutely. She looks amazing!

The story flags somewhat during part three, as Range is hauled before an inquiry and subjected to questioning with Norna and Turlough present.


Sarah -
Who the heck was the woman running the inquiry?


Harry -
She came out of nowhere, showed some authority, then was never seen again. Shrug-a-lug.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Tegan wander around underground -- "running around like rabbits in a hole," as Tegan puts it. It does however, come to another fantastic cliffhanger, when the excavation machine comes rumbling along, bearing the ghoulish corpse of Plantgenet's father, the colony leader Captain Revere. Another disturbing image.


Sarah -
Totally disturbing. I was happy to be watching this during the day.


Harry -
Surrounded by Tractators and fresh out of phosphor lamps to smash, the Doctor pulls an Adric and sides with the villains. I had to chuckle at Bidmead's decision here.


Sarah -
The Doctor pretending Tegan was an android to protect her and the WTF look on Tegan's face were hysterical. "I got it cheap because the walk's not quite right. And then there's the accent, of course. But, when it's working well, it's very reliable. Keeping track of appointments, financial planning, word processing, that sort of thing."


Harry -
A hilarious kick that the story needed by this point. Tegan's face was priceless.

The Gravis totally falls for the Doctor's flattery and you can see the ending coming from a mile out. The Doctor has figured out the Tractators' modus operandi: they invade, infect and take control of entire planets, turning them into (ahem) "pirate planets" with which to cruise and plunder the universe. How brazen, Mr. Bidmead!


Sarah -
OMG, I hadn't made that connection. Douglas Adams should have called him out!


Harry -
Douglas Adams might have gotten around to it, eventually.

Meahwhile, Brazen, who ends up being a kind of goodie by the end, meets his doom by getting trapped inside the excavator machine, meeting the same ghoulish fate as Captain Revere. Everyone barely reacts. Savage!


Sarah -
Move along, colonists, there's nothing to see here...


Harry -
In keeping with his entire era, the Doctor naturally invites the Gravis into the TARDIS and bluffs him into using his powers to reassemble the ship.

ZAP! Right after that, the Gravis is rendered unconscious and our friends have won the day -- but not before a wonderful cutaway to Range and Norna chilling out and having a drink back at the research centre. It was so random, but I absolutely loved that quick scene.  A wonderful "Sofa of Rassilon" kind of moment.

Anyway, Gravis unconscious, dumped on an uninhabited planet, Tractators rendered harmless, and the Doctor has stopped the extinction of the human race, right under the noses of the Time Lords. Huzzah!

At first, I wasn't too wild about this one, but over the course of our review, I've come around to this thing called "Frontios". Well done Messrs Bidmead, Saward and JN-T!


Sarah -
It's a quite good story, isn't it?


Harry -
Yes!

Best Line:
Norna: "Nobody expects you to go back down there."
Turlough: "No, of course they don't. I'm Turlough."

Favourite Moment: the boozy cutaway to Range and Norna.

Lasting Image: the Tractators -- then, now, and probably years from now.

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line -- You stole mine! Nothing tops that moment.

Favorite Moment: The Tractators reveal.

Lasting Image: Turlough wielding the Coat Rack of Death!

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #133: Resurrection of the Daleks...