Going into "The Creature from the Pit", I found myself trying to remember the story, to no avail. It all came back to me as soon as I saw the Lady Adrasta's headgear -- which made me realize how much time we've spent talking about hats during this marathon. It's hard to beat a good hat, isn't it?
Harry -
It's turbans a-go-go in this story. And whomever wears the grandest turban, leads them all.
Sarah -
The Doctor and Romana receive a distress call, which leads them to Chloris, a verdant world lacking metal resources. The planet's ruler, Lady Adrasta, rules with an iron fist and seems to enjoy hurling her perceived enemies into a deep pit, which contains -- believe it or not -- a creature.
Harry -
It's all very literal in the early going.
There's a giant shell in the jungle which seems to be the source of much study. The Doctor suspects it might be alive, and the source of the distress call (or more like a scream of pain).
The pit's functionality is quickly demonstrated to the Doctor and Romana. Ever-curious, the Doctor decides to leap in and learn for himself about this so-called creature.
Sarah -
The Doctor jumping into the pit is a wonderful moment. Adrasta assumes he's crashed to the bottom, while he's hanging on to the side teaching himself Tibetan. Not to be too much of a picky fan here, but doesn't the Doctor already speak Tibetan?
Harry -
That scene probably came from the funny bone of Douglas Adams.
Sarah -
I suspect you're correct there. In any case, the Doctor eventually makes his way to the bottom of the pit, where he encounters the delightful soothsayer, Organon. Organon was tossed into the pit by Adrasta for predicting that she would receive a visitor from beyond the stars. He's managed to survive in the pit for many years off of the scraps tossed down by Adrasta's guards. After a quick encounter with the creature, they begin exploring the caverns to find a way out.
Harry -
By that point, we were already halfway through this four-parter. I noted that this was a slow moving story, as in, not really all that much had happened by the midway point.
Sarah -
It is a bit on the draggy side.
Harry -
We see that Adrasta is a kind of metals oligarch, owner of the only mine still operating on Chloris. One assumes her riches buy her a legion of turbaned and hockey-masked guards with which to wield power. She also seems very consumed with the desire to have the creature in the pit killed. Seeing that hurling people down into the pit has had no effect, she tries to utilize Romana and K-9 against the creature.
Could we pause here to freak out over K-9?
Sarah -
Yes, let's. I almost went with K-9 as my lede, but was overwhelmed by the power of the turban.
Harry -
His voice! His voice is all wrong! I try to rationalize the sudden casting of David Brierly in the role as perhaps K-9's vocal cells being botched up by the Doctor during his latest repair job. But for me this is the best example of why characters in the Whoniverse should never be played by replacement actors. Every time K-9 spoke it pulled me out of the story and made me wonder where John Leeson was. It's too much of a distraction/freak out.
Am I overreacting? Did K-9's voice bug you?
Sarah -
You are not overreacting. I was disturbed every time K-9 spoke. First he's left behind for multiple adventures in a row, now this. What is the point of having a faithful robot dog if you're going to treat him like this?
Harry -
There would have been countless outraged online discussions about this were it happening today.
Sarah -
Ha! Can you even imagine?
Harry -
Also a distraction was the shaggy horde of bandits who kidnapped Romana. Taking a cue from her, "The Hirsutes" might be a good name for them collectively. Led by the avaricious Torvin, their sole purpose it seems is to steal metals from anyone, anywhere. Later in the story, they serve a surprise purpose, but everytime we cut to them, the story flagged a bit. Romana's attitude towards them kind of mirrored my own.
Sarah -
That was a bit of local color, no? Romana knew exactly how to play them, although I suspect anyone could have managed to thwart those dolts.
Ambling along, it turns out that the creature is actually an ambassador from the planet Tythonus, which has a lack of chlorophyll but an abundance of metal -- the exact opposite of Chloris. He arrived with the offer of a trade treaty for the Adrasta when she chucked him into the pit. Now that's awkward!
Harry -
The story picked up in the second half, as we learn of Erato and his plight in the pit these past 15 years. Erato is something like a gigantic brain protected by a cerebral membrane, and can communicate through the pentastar-shaped device that the Hirsutes deliver to the pit in a sudden trancelike state. Handy!
Sarah -
And it gives the Hirsutes a reason to be in the story!
Harry -
You mentioned Organon earlier, and Geoffrey Bayldon's performance was wonderful. The old soothsayer is a bit of a charlatan but hard to dislike, unlike the Hirsutes, for whom I had no time. An appreciative nod goes to Eileen Way, for her portrayal of Karela. Her body language and dubious glances whenever Adrasta started up with one of her tantrums said it all -- Karela was content to serve her tyrannical boss, but only because there was no better option for her on Chloris.
Sarah -
Speaking of Eileen Way, we last met her as Old Mother in "An Unearthly Child". I'm sure she never imagined she'd be back on the show thirteen years later!
Harry -
She probably gave her agent the same dirty looks.
The theme of the story is communications in its many different forms. Beyond the obvious example of verbal communications and body language, we see the Doctor give a couple of silent cues to Romana before taking action. Then there's the Doctor's first attempts at communicating directly with Erato, through gesture and touch. It was an interesting theme that carried through the story.
Sarah -
I say, Old Boy, your English degree is showing!
Harry -
This is why I went to university!
Sarah -
I liked the detail of Erato speaking with the voice of whomever touched his communicator. It led to Adrasta's downfall when she had to listen to an accounting of her abuses of Erato in her own voice.
Harry -
That Adrasta sure was a Chloris leach, man.
Sarah -
You're killing me over here, Harry.
Harry -
Glad she got her just desserts, smothered to death by the wolf weeds and Erato.
Sarah -
So, speaking of Erato, the monster was a bit um, well, you know...phallic in those early scenes. The featurette on the DVD was kind of hysterical as everyone tried to explain as delicately as possible the changes they had to make to the creature. But I digress.
Harry -
Oh my word.
Tom must have been roaring inwardly during his attempt at communicating with one of Erato's phallic bits.
Anyway, once Adrasta was dispatched with and Erato rescued from the pit, there was 10 minutes of story left, so why not concoct a giant star that threatened to destroy Chloris' entire solar system. Yoiks! Activate the tractor beam!
Okay...
Sarah -
That was not the most effective bit of padding, but the time was filled and the day saved, so we're off to our next adventure. Hurrah!
Best Line: 'Stands to reason.' Stupid expression. 'Stands to reason.' Why doesn't it 'lie down' to reason? Much easier to reason lying down.
Favorite Moment: The Doctor leaping into the pit
Lasting Image: The Doctor teaching himself Tibetan
6/10
Harry -
Best Line:
Doctor - "Did you hear what I said just now?"
Romana - "About this being a frightening experience but don't be alarmed?"
Doctor - "Yes. I didn't say that."
Romana - "You didn't?"
Doctor - "No. I was too busy being frightened and alarmed."
Favourite Moment: the Doctor crashes through the shell in the pit. (Lots of action for Tom in this story.)
Lasting Image: Adrasta's power turban.
7/10
Our marathon continues with Story #107 - Nightmare of Eden...
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