Story #110 - Meglos (1980)

Harry -
Hmmm, didn't we bid adieu to the silly seventies at the start of Season 18? "The Leisure Hive" was serious to the point of being sombre -- nobody so much as cracked a smile through the whole thing. Now we move on to "Meglos" to find... a dodecahedron-worshipping cult, a band of imbecilic hirsutes, and a megalomaniacal cactus. It's all gone Douglas Adamsy again.


Sarah -
I was just thinking the same thing. You know, this is one of those stories that I vividly remember watching for the first time. In my memory, the dodecahedron was larger --but isn't that always the case?

Speaking of the dodecahedron, who should be the leader of its cult but our beloved Jacqueline Hill! How wonderful to see her again, lo these many years on.


Harry -
Our Barbara! Only, she wasn't Barbara here. In a twist of casting, Hill ended up playing a role quite similar to Tlotoxl in "The Aztecs". How's that for having one's career come full circle? With this appearance, Hill became part of a very small group of actors to play both a companion and another character in the Whoniverse.


Sarah -
Did you watch the lovely tribute to Jacqueline Hill in the DVD extras?


Harry -
Alas, I was stuck watching it by other means. How was it?


Sarah -
It was sweet to hear so many friends and colleagues praise her -- including her Canadian husband, director Alvin Rakoff. She had taken time off after leaving Doctor Who to raise her children and found it challenging to get work in the 70s. It makes me happy that Doctor Who found a place once again for one of my favorite companions.


Harry -
Hill -- or rather Lexa -- leads the Deons, a cult that believes the dodecahedron is a gift from Ti, the local unseen omnipresent god being on the planet Tigella. Her cult shares an underground city with the Savants, who believe in science and technology. Both groups share a problem in that the dodecahedron - power source for their planet - is acting up and neither side can figure out why. Well, both sides have their own explanations but neither will hear the other one out. So Zastor, the planet's elder, decides to call the Doctor to Tigella to mediate the dispute.

Unfortunately, the Doctor and Romana are occupied with fixing K-9 again. Again! Can you believe it?


Sarah -
If we didn't know better, we might think someone was out to get him -- or at lease remove him from the series.


Harry -
Now that we are watching the show in order, this constant shabby treatment of K-9 is starting to piss me off. If they wanted to do away with him, they should have just done it, not carry on this endless cycle of breakdowns and TARDIS repair scenes.


Sarah -
Right? K-9 deserved better. It's insulting to have him constantly breaking down and left behind. I'm shaking my fist in irritation, which is quite impeding my ability to type.


Harry -
Part One was the longest buildup to start a story that we've ever seen. It's more like a prologue to a three parter. The Doctor and Romana are in the console room with K-9 the entire time. Meanwhile down on Tigella we see a number of scenes showing the Deons in dispute with the Savants, as they wait for the Doctor's eventual arrival. The best part was the introduction of Meglos and his band of hirsute mercenaries, the Gaztaks. I'm not entirely sure how a cactus became the last sentient being on the planet Zolfa-Thura, but its transference into the kidnapped Earthling's body was freaky cool. Shortly after that, Meglos was able to shape-shift into the Doctor's form, and headed down to Tigella in his place. At that point, the story finally got under way.


Sarah -
The story never explained why he need a kidnapped Earthling. Was that supposed to make us care more as viewers?

Naming a character Meglos is quite handy and should be done more often in reality. I mean, wouldn't it be helpful if you could meet someone named Meglos and immediately know that he's a megalomaniac? You'd save so much time and energy by just avoiding him from the beginning.


Harry -
Trapping the TARDIS in a time loop, Meglos gets to Tigella first, is welcomed by the locals and gains admittance into the Dodecahedron room alone. There, it compresses the energy source to fit in the palm of a hand, and starts sneaking its way back out of the underground city...

...just in time for the real Doctor and friends to arrive and face the now-irate locals. Woops!


Sarah -
Which brings us to my favorite line: when the Doctor introduces himself to Lexa, who responds with, "I know who you are." I know she's already met the Meglos-Doctor, but in my fanninsh little mind it was Barbara recognizing HER Doctor.


Harry -
That moment was very "meta" before meta was a thing.


Sarah -
Can you tell my interest was waning a bit around this point? Still, I have to say that Tom Baker delivers a wonderful performance as Meglos. You always knew which was the Doctor and which was Meglos -- even without the cactus face. Baker managed a menacing gleam in his eye whenever he was Meglos. It was brilliant!


Harry -
Meglos-Doctor had that silent, staring, Rasputiny kind of menace that lent itself perfectly to the role. I wonder how Tom felt, having spent half of the previous production weighted down by mounds of burgundy and "old man" makeup, to be done up with cactus thorns all over his face and hands this time. Was JN-T trying his patience deliberately?

As for Romana and K-9, they got shafted by the new writing team of John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch. We've already noted K-9's umpteenth breakdown. Once everyone got to Tigella, the first thing that happened was K-9's batteries ran down and he removed himself from the action. I mean honestly. And Romana, well, her choice of a 17th century cavalier's costume was odd. Blame the costume department for that one, but the writers stuck her in the familiar runaround of being accosted by a band of threat-making hirsutes, forcing her to be dragged around for a while before talking her way to freedom. We've seen it before. Neither of the Doctor's companions got very good treatment in this story.


Sarah -
"How to unload a Time Lord, Time Lady and mechanical dog in just one season" by John Nathan-Turner. I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories, but it's hard not to see a pattern here. That said, Lalla Ward more than rises to the challenge of putting hirsutes in their place. Speaking of the pirates, Frederick Treves performance as Brotodac (an anagram of "bad actor" -- did Flanagan and McCulloch find themselves clever, or what?) is quite lovely. He's a simple man as space pirates go and really wants nothing more than the Doctor's coat. And who can blame him, it's quite a nice coat.


Harry -
He got to enjoy the coat, however briefly.

One positive to this story was the set design. By using several smaller sets they made it look like the underground city was a vast complex. The one time use of Scene-Sync technology made the scenes on the surface of Zolfa-Thura look more genuine than the usual CSO efforts of the seventies. I wonder why it was a one time thing, never used again.


Sarah -
I'm sure it's to do with budgets, or lack thereof.


Harry -
Probably lack thereof.


Sarah -
Overall, Meglos is a story with great ideas, but shoddy execution. While I want to savor every moment of our Doctor's final season, I was just bored with this story.


Harry -
Jacqueline Hill's appearance was a highlight, but her sudden, clumsy death was a lowlight. It felt like an editorial throw-in for drama's sake, but it added nothing to the story other than forcing the other characters to step awkwardly around Lexa's body. Yuck.

Well, at least the "Earthling" will be headed home safe and sound. After the Doctor and Romana drop him off, you know where we are headed next, right?


Sarah -
I'm so excited! Next Stop -- E-Space!


Harry -
Best Line: "I am Meglos!" (I liked the megalohaha delivery of that line.)

Favourite Moment: The Doctor watches his Meglos-doppelganger get punched in the stomach, then he gets punched in the stomach.

Lasting Image: The Scene-Sync'd group scene on the surface of Zolfa-Thura.

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line: "I know who you are!"

Favorite Moment: The time loop in the TARDIS

Lasting Image: Cactus-Doctor

6/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #111: Full Circle...

Story #109 - The Leisure Hive (1980)

Harry -
Welcome to the Eighties!

Everything is different. New producer, new script editor, new look opening titles, new bouncy bouncy disco theme, wow!

It's the same Doctor and crew to start Season 18, but as "The Leisure Hive" opens with an extremely long sweeping shot over Brighton Beach, there's a sense that we're seeing the beginning of the end of an era.


Sarah -
The Leisure Hive is definitely a transition story. It’s the first story produced by the legendary John Nathan-Turner (JN-T), who served as production unit manager for the previous two seasons of Doctor Who.

Having spent two years on the series, he had plenty of time to contemplate the changes he wanted to make.


Harry -
In his 1994 interview on one of the DVD featurettes, he makes it clear that he wanted to make firm, immediate changes to many aspects of the show, from the look and feel, to the tone of the stories, and the direction of the cast.


Sarah -
The first change, as you’ve mentioned, is the new theme and title sequence. Delia Derbyshire’s original arrangement was tossed in favor of a more contemporary arrangement by Peter Howell. It being the 80s, this means synthesizers galore. What do you think of the changes?


Harry -
From the opening modified sting, to the pounding synth beat, this version of the theme perfectly captures the new wave 80s. New decade, new approach, why not? It's now a very fondly remembered theme that of course harkens back to our younger viewing days. I like it!


Sarah -
As previously noted, this is the first story of the post-Dudley Simpson era. Incidental music duties were turned over to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.


Harry -
I like this even more. Peter Howell's incidental music immediately adds a more "science fictiony" sound to the story, and it fits well since the titular leisure hive is far away on the planet Argolis. All those ethereal synth notes reminded me of the soundtrack that Vangelis composed for Blade Runner about the same time.


Sarah -
We’ve got a new look for the Doctor! The iconic scarf has been traded for a burgundy look, which I quite like. "The Leisure Hive" is also the first appearance of the question marks on the Doctor’s shirt collar, which will continue to plague us throughout the JN-T era.


Harry -
The burgundy look has always been a visual signal that we are watching one of Tom Baker's final stories (we are down to the final seven!). We catch our first glimpse of the new ensemble as Tom snoozes in a beach chair, practically buried under all that burgundy fabric. It's almost as though JN-T tried to physically restrain Tom with a more serious look. JN-T in the DVD interview made it clear that part of his new approach to making Doctor Who would be to get rid of the hamming and arsing around that became too prevalent during the silly 70s.


Sarah -
Tom Baker’s performance has clearly been toned way down. The days of “Tom being Tom” are over and we’re faced with a more somber Doctor. We also see the downplaying of what JN-T considered “magical” elements of the series, such as the sonic screwdriver and K-9.


Harry -
If JN-T thought that the sonic screwdriver had been overused in Tom's era, I wonder what he would have to say today!


Sarah -
We’ve both been critical of the over-reliance on the sonic screwdriver in the current series, where it’s used to solve every problem, outside of this blog. With that perspective, I wasn’t as sensitive to its use in the Fourth Doctor era, but I guess it was used more than usual in season 17.

John Leeson returns as the voice of K-9, but his days on the series are numbered. We don’t see him again after the opening scene at Brighton.


Harry -
We noticed in the previous season that K-9 was starting to get left behind or was breaking down more and more, by the designs of the writers and the producers who went along with that approach. I'm very glad that John Leeson returned to the role for one more go starting with "The Leisure Hive," and K-9 sounds like K-9 again. Leeson was realistic about it though. In his DVD interview, he notes darkly that the producers kept coming up with new ways to try and kill K-9 during Season 18.


Sarah -
It’s also the beginning of the end for Romanadvoratrelundar. Apparently, JN-T wasn’t keen on having a companion who was an equal of the Doctor, but there will be plenty of time to discuss that a few stories from now.


Harry -
I've noticed that we've almost never talked about the Doctor-Romana relationship since the beginning of last season. Tom and Lalla worked together so well, and the chemistry of the Doctor and Romana was spot on. They were equal partners, and sure there was the odd bit of friction but nothing overly dramatic. Their partnership was such that they weren't in the same room together, each one could comfortably go about saving the universe, confident that they knew what the other one would be doing or saying at that moment. What I'm trying to say is, I love this TARDIS team! It's too bad JN-T didn't like it as much, but his point is valid. When you have three equally brainy characters, there's a risk of too much uniformity/blandness setting in.


Sarah -
They really are a great team -- more successful on-screen than they were off-screen, of course. The chemistry is perfect and they're entirely equal partners, which is a huge change from most of the series' history.

"The Leisure Hive" also marks the return to the series of our dear friend Barry Letts, as Executive Producer.


Harry -
Everyone on the DVD featurette had nothing but positive things to say about Uncle Barry. He is and will remain a legend of the show.


Sarah -
I love that they brought in the elder statesman to steady the ship.


Harry -
Now, as for the first story of Season 18, writer David Fisher and script editor Christopher H. Bidmead waste no time in immersing us in a far out space adventure with new aliens and hard science.

For the Doctor and Romana, it was supposed to be a holiday, but we know how holidays on Doctor Who turn out. Romana had suggested a visit to one of the leisure planets of the 23rd century. When they arrive at the leisure hive on Argolis, it initially looks like it might be a kind of holiday resort in space. People are playing zero-gravity squash, and for the intellectually curious, Pangol the Argolin puts on a demonstration of the fancy Tachyon technology the locals have been developing.


Sarah -
Alas, all is not well on Argolis. The financial situation has deteriorated as Argolis has fallen out of fashion (to be fair, it does look a bit down-market). Its leader, Morix, who is aging and on the verge of death, finds himself in the middle of a hostile takeover scheme, orchestrated by Earth businessmen Brock and Klout. They represent the Foamasi, sworn enemy of the Argolins. Their 20-minute war 40 years ago caused such devastation that the Argolins were left sterile and built the Leisure Hive, devoting themselves to peace and pleasure.

The Doctor and Romana, as luck will have it, end up on Argolis just as things fall apart. Morix dies and is quickly succeeded by slightly less-ancient Mena, an alien presence infiltrates the hive, and an innocent visitor is torn apart during a Tachyon Recreation Generator demonstration. What a surprise that the Doctor and Romana find themselves to be the prime suspects...


Harry -
They were fortunate to get in a few minutes as normal tourists before the accusations started to fly, as did the Doctor's body parts apparently. But it turned out to be a ruse - part of Hardin's faking of experiments with the Tachyon Recreation Generator, a device meant to duplicate and alter physical objects when properly functional. Mena, like all the Argolins, is hoping that the generator can be used to rejuvenate their rapidly deteriorating bodies (a legacy of the 20-minute war).

Pangol, however, views the generator as a military tool, one that will raise an army of clone Argolins for him to lead into war and glorious victory over the Foamasi.


Sarah -
Speaking of tools, Pangol definitely is one. It became tedious waiting for his inevitable downfall.


Harry -
It was probably the cutest downfall of any villain on Doctor Who.

There is not much more to the basic structure of the story. Most of the time, our friends are dragged from one room to another to have conversations that advance the plot. All the while, a mysterious lizard creature creeps around the hive, tampering with the generator and making an unseen nuisance of itself. I loved the scene where Romana made contact with the creature -- a Foamasi agent -- and brought it in to meet the Doctor, as if she were introducing two old friends to each other.


Sarah -
Someone should have made tea!


Harry -
Speaking of old... there it is! It's the first instance of a Doctor Who character being aged dramatically. In this case, it's the Doctor himself, fallen victim to the effects of the generator. This is a concept that will recur in the show for years to come, right up to the present day.


Sarah -
Sometimes more successfully than others.

I have to admit that I started losing interest in the story about halfway through. It was so plodding, and the recaps from the previous episodes seemed to go on forever.


Harry -
The long reprises were not done away with so far this season.


Sarah -
Now THERE'S an issue about which Mr. Smarty-Pants New Producer should have done something!


Harry -
Visually, there was a lot of stimulation in "The Leisure Hive". There was great camera work throughout, with lots of high and low angles giving us a perspective from all around the hive. There were new outfits for our friends, and new alien races to meet. The Argolins were quite dolled up with those bouffant hairdos. The chameleon-headed Foamasi were not quite lumbering cuties, but very close. Okay, they were.


Sarah -
As lumbering things go, they were totes adorbs!


Harry -
A quality start to this season. Sarah, you and I have seen so much of Season 18 so many times, but it's fun to re-watch it in order, as the show transitions into a new decade and into a new direction.

Best Line:
Brock: "His scarf killed Stimson."
Doctor: "Arrest the scarf, then."

Favourite Moment: Brock is unmasked, literally.

Lasting Image: the Doctor's burgundy ensemble

7/10


Sarah -
From here on, every story is going to feel bittersweet.

Best Line: I'm with you on this one!

Favorite Moment: Annoying Pangol getting his comeuppance!

Lasting Image: The aged Doctor

6/10

Our marathon continues with Story #110: Meglos...

New Year's Interlude: Shada (1980)

Sarah -
Cup of tea, Old Boy?


Harry -
A milk and six sugars if you're making one, ta lovey. And Happy New Year. The back of the sofa is littered with empties. We should do some tidying before getting back at it.


Sarah -
Happy New Year. I'll tidy up the bottles in a bit, but first let's have a biscuit and a chat about "Shada."


Harry -
Yes, this is the next item on our marathon. "Shada" is an odd thing -- only partially filmed, never broadcast, not an officially numbered Doctor Who story, but released in a variety of formats over the years. Off the top of my head:

- a VHS version featuring the original footage, with Tom Baker offering connecting dialogue whilst creeping around a Doctor Who exhibition

- a Big Finish audio version featuring Paul McGann's Doctor

- a novelization of Douglas Adams' original scripts by Gareth Roberts

- there is an animated version floating around online, and also a fan edit that ties the whole story together in less than an hour, using the original footage


Sarah -
I watched the first half of the Baker VHS version and the fan edit. Perhaps I'll get around to the novelization someday.

It was fun to finally see the filmed footage, besides the punting scene that was recycled for "The Five Doctors".


Harry -
I also watched the first episode of the VHS, and the fan edit. It was nice to see something other than the punting scene. All this time, the delightful Professor Chronotis was unknown to us. Denis Carey was lovely as the old Time Lord living out a kind of semi-retirement at Cambridge, surrounded by walls of books and barrels of tea. Very cosy.


Sarah -
How lovely was he?


Harry -
Very. 

Of course, it wouldn't be Doctor Who if a bunch of things didn't all happen at once. In this case, Chronotis receives a series of visits from student Chris Parsons, the Doctor and Romana, the villainous Skagra and Clare Keightley, another student. All the enters and exeunts revolve around a book that was in the professor's possession: The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey. It's rather important.


Sarah -
Terribly important. You'd think he might keep better track of it. Still, the centuries do slide by.

My favorite thing in the entire stash of footage is the ensemble Skagra dons to visit Professor Chronotis in Cambridge. I imagine his research on appropriate clothing for 1979 was focused on disco-fabulous drug lord cabaret dancers. Can go wrong with that look.


Harry -
Oh my word, it's Skagra Stardust and the Krargs from Mars!

Skagra's first ensemble was the highlight of the story. It's pure Bowie. The white spacesuit with silver cape, the high-heeled boots, the big floppy hat. Strolling around Cambridge like he doesn't care. It was hugely disappointing when he returned to his invisible ship to change into more mundane Earth attire.


Sarah -
That's about the point my interest started flagging.


Harry -
In his second, bland ensemble, Skagra confronts the Doctor, demanding the book and setting his scary sphere against our hero. The Doctor flees on bicycle. Was this the first and only bicycle chase in Doctor Who?


Sarah -
It's the first I recall. So high-speed and exciting! Well, exciting in a lost-footage, Cambridge-y sort of way.


Harry -
So many sharp corners!

The story gets a bit sliced and diced after that, as scenes start to go missing and the remaining footage gets stitched together by the fan editor(s). I'm not sure where Chris went, and suddenly Clare comes to Chronotis' assistance after he sort-of-died-but-returned-to-action. I'm not sure where Romana went, either.


Sarah -
Things happen, problem solved, la la la, let's have tea! It's all very Douglas Adamsish and lovely at the end.

I don't believe we can provide our usual wrap up to this story, but I'm fairly certain we can agree on our lasting image!


Harry -
Oh yes!

I don't know what those Krargs were, mind -- some kind of fire monsters at Skagra's command? Anyway, they seemed to bring some menace before our heroes prevailed and everyone headed back to Chronotis' place. I guess we have to leave it at that. Incomplete review for an incomplete story. Maybe we'll jointly read the novelization, or track down the McGann audio someday.

Best Line - Eh, I'm sure the Doctor and Romana exchanged witticisms at some point.

Favourite Moment - Skagra strolling around Cambridge in full space villain regalia.

Lasting Image - Oh yes!

Rating incomplete.


Sarah -
You know what this means -- we're about to move into Tom Baker's final season.


Harry -
They say things took a turn here...


Sarah -
Shall we meet up at The Leisure Hive?


Harry -
As soon as I've carried out these empties.

Our marathon resumes with Story #109 - The Leisure Hive...