So, how about them Greeks 'n' Trojans?
Sarah -
Yes, how about them. I spent too much time trying to remember the details of the Odyssey, which I last read about twenty-five years ago. Turns out it didn't really matter, did it?
Harry -
You got further than me on that count. I couldn't be arsed trying to sort out who was whose brother, who was whose daughter etc. The viewing experience was weakened by a lack of footage, but based on the stills and audio, this story had the feel of a cheap costume drama. There were some stretches were nothing was said, so the subtitles were helpful, despite the occasional redundancy ("Thunder roars!").
Sarah -
Watching it in a recon is definitely daunting. Following the story was a real challenge.
Harry -
Enough crabby talk. It was nice to see some familiar faces in this one. And what do you know, the Doctor's gone and made a Zeus of himself!
Sarah -
He had no problem going with the flow on that, did he?
This story is known as a comedy, but I didn’t really find it all that funny. Paris’ slightly Woosteresque performance was a bit of campy fun, but the story was not as charming as it seemed to think.
Harry -
The first episode was certainly played straight. I wasn't sure what to make of Paris. His performance seemed out of place, compared to the other actors.
Sarah -
It was a wacky performance.
Harry -
One interesting thing in this story was that the Doctor and his companions gave up their real identities as early as the second episode. However the reactions from the other characters seemed mostly bemused or sceptical, as if they couldn't really grasp what they were being told.
Sarah -
Interesting observation. So often in the Doctor’s travels, the people he meets will just take him at face value and do what he wants. That didn’t work too well here, did it?
Harry -
Speaking of sceptical, Cassandra was one big oily heap of scepticism. She's probably my favourite character in all of this. Her loathing for sweet little Vicki was very palpable!
Sarah -
Poor Vicki. I wouldn’t want Cassandra as my enemy; talk about a drama queen. My favorite thing about her scenes was how you could practically hear the other characters rolling their eyes at her – “Oh, there goes Cassandra again. Pay her no nevermind.”
Harry -
History? Comedy? Historical-Comical? Comical-Historical? However I look at The Myth Makers, it just doesn't seem to amount to very much. Am I missing the point of it? Maybe my lack of classical education is to blame.
Sarah -
I probably got enough classical education for both of us, and I didn’t fare much better. I kept wanting it to make up its mind about what it was. It started off fairly strong, but the last episode didn’t leave me feeling satisfied by the storytelling.
Perhaps it would be different if we had the original footage to watch, but this story could not overcome its reconstruction.
Harry -
Yes, this is definitely a case of the viewing being hampered by a weak reconstruction, although it's the best we had to work with.
Now, what about Vicki's departure? That came out of nowhere! I was stunned! It was so jarring and inexplicably out of character, wasn't it?
Even the Doctor didn't seem all that torn up.
A bizarro ending to a bizarro story, I felt.
Sarah -
That whole romance came out of nowhere, not that it stopped Steven from noticing that Vicki and Troilus were smitten at first sight. Still, it’s a huge of a leap of faith for Vicki to stay behind – as huge as Susan’s. Oh, young love, what a convenient device you are to dispose of companions.
Not seeing the Doctor and Vicki part was the worst of it. Their bond was so strong.
Meanwhile, we have Katarina aboard the TARDIS now, and an injured Steven. And it’s off to the Daleks. At the very least, The Myth Makers reminds us that war is no fun at all.
Lasting image: It’s so hard to pick a lasting image in this recon, because there’s so little to work with. I liked the model Trojan horse on the hill because it was so obvious.
Favorite moment: Menelaus admitting that he’s happy to be rid of Helen at last. This scene definitely made me laugh.
Best line: "All right, then, get back to your temple before you give us all galloping religious mania!" No respect for Cassandra!
6/10
Harry -
Lasting image: I'll go with the horse.
Favourite moment: That rather silly exchange between Paris and Steven:
"Now, die, Greek -- and tell them in Hades that Paris sent you thither!"
"I yield."
[beat]
"Beg your pardon?"
"I yield. I'm your prisoner."
"I say, this sort of thing is just not done. I mean surely you'd rather die than be taken prisoner..."
"Well yes, but only in a general sort of way you see..."
Proto-Python history at its finest.
Best line: "HOWWWW DAAAAARRRRE YOUUUUU!" Cassandra utterly devours the scenery with one line. All future "How dare yous!" must be judged against this one.
Still, meh.
5/10
Our marathon continues with Story #21 - The Daleks' Master Plan...
