Story #143A - The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet (1986)

Sarah -
I'm not going to lie, Old Boy, I've always been a big fan of The Trial of a Time Lord. The story has its ups and downs, but it's always been my favorite part of the Sixth Doctor's era. I know I've seen the four stories that make up Season 23's The Trial of a Timelord more than anything in Season 22. If I remember correctly, you're a fan, as well.


Harry -
Oh hell yes!

I keep a list of reasons why The Trial of a Time Lord is Extremely Excellent in my wallet for moments like this. Should I share the list here?


Sarah -
I love it! This is exactly why we are best pals. Bring it on!


Harry -
*ahem* Here follows my list of reasons why The Trial of a Time Lord is Extremely Excellent:

- Dominic Glynn's revised, minimalist theme music is intimately celestial
- Colin becomes increasingly psychotic as the story goes on
- Also, Colin's hair becomes increasingly psychotic as the story goes on (compare its length in each story)
- Speaking of which, Peri's new Kate Bush hairstyle is gorgeous
- The Valeyard is a grim creep, but I can't look away from his intensity
- The Doctor's repeated putdowns ("Barnyard, Scrapyard, etc") are hilarious
- I love gratuitously gigantic robots, like the one that controls the Mysterious Planet
- "Mindwarp" lands the TARDIS team in the middle of the "Ashes to Ashes" video
- Peri's demise is truly horrific
- Sagacity!
- Mel sets a new standard for glass-shattering screams, might as well be remembered for something eh?
- Tom Chadbon, BRIAN BLESSED!, Honor Blackman, Geoffrey Hughes
- Every cliffhanger is an extreme close up of Colin about to go mad again
- Vervoids are creepy as hell
- The "genocide!" cliffhanger is one of my all time favourites
- The Master's sudden appearance on the big screen is classic
- In the end, it was all a bit rubbish, but that's the beauty of Doctor Who: it isn't so much about the final resolution, but the journey there.


Sarah -
These are all excellent reasons, although perhaps a bit spoilery. Still, after 30 years, I don't think anyone can complain. 

Liz from the Verity Podcast has suggested that everyone would have loved The Trial of a Time Lord if Colin Baker had just gotten a proper haircut, but I kind of love the madness. It feels like the Doctor has no shits left to give every time he shakes those curls about.

I completely agree about the journey being more important than the destination. It will be interesting to see how we feel at the end of this season.


Harry -
Is it possible to love something even more than the love you had for it before?


Sarah -
We can hope.

During Doctor Who's eighteen-month hiatus, Eric Saward developed an idea for a full-season arc, where the Doctor would be on trial for his habit of interfering in other planets. The trial is an appropriate metaphor for the position in which the series found itself in 1986.

Before we begin our lovefest, I'm going to tell you how much I hate, loathe, and abominate the Season 23 opening theme. It sounds tinny and cheap and fills me with rage every time I hear it. Fortunately, it's followed by The Trial of a Time Lord, so my mood is soothed relatively quickly.


Harry -
My love for Dominic Glynn's theme puts me among a minority of fans, but I'm OK with that.


Sarah -
One of the best things about being a Whovian is that you can hold the craziest of opinions and it's all good. I suspect Trekkers have fought to the death over lesser disagreements.


Harry -
Saward's inquiry/trial arc is established after we watch the first, sweeping shot of the TARDIS being beamed aboard a space station.


Sarah -
OMG, can we discuss the majesty of the opening shot? The model work on the space station is freaking amazing. I had to watch it twice to fully appreciate its beauty. Apparently, it took at week to film the opening shot, which cost £8,000 -- making it the most expensive sequence to date. Makes me feel like I should watch it a few more times, to help amortize the cost.


Harry -
It has to be the most professional looking special effect in classic Who history.


Sarah -
It really is incredible. The shot ends with the TARDIS entering the station. The Doctor finds himself in a courtroom full of Time Lords, where we meet some memorable characters. 

The Valeyard leads the prosecution and faces the Doctor's contempt. The Inquisitor serves as judge, keeping the proceedings in line. She's got her hands full with the Doctor and Valeyard facing off.


Harry -
Before the prosecution may begin, the Inquisitor asks the question that is on all our minds: hasn't the Doctor already been accused and prosecuted for meddling? I didn't like how the Valeyard just shrugged it off and said "Nah, we were too lenient last time, let's do it again." He moves straight into his presentation, starting with an adventure from the Doctor's recent past.


Sarah -
I guess there's no concept of double jeopardy on Gallifrey. To help us keep the timeline straight, a costume change is introduced. The Doctor wears his turquoise cravat in the flashback sequences and a red cravat in the courtroom. 

Peri is allowed to be fully clothed again, apparently after concerns over her Season 22 bodysuit-and-shorts wardrobe. 

Speaking of the Doctor and Peri, they seemed to have mellowed towards each other in these intervening months. Baker and Bryant are lovely. They're still given bickering dialogue, but they deliver it like two old friends who love to tease each other. I wish they had gotten to this point sooner.


Harry -
Leave it to Bob Holmes to set things right again. The cheery stroll through the woods was a nice bridge to the story proper.


Sarah -
Good old reliable Bob Holmes in his final full Doctor Who story.


Harry -
But what a bizarre opening adventure. Has there ever been a goofier collection of post-apocalyptic survivors?


Sarah -
The first characters we meet are a classic Bob Holmes double act -- Sabalom Glitz and his sidekick Dibber. I love these two even if they are mercenaries whose first action is to try to kill the Doctor and Peri as they emerge from the TARDIS.


Harry -
Dibber and Glitz observe as our friends find an entrance way to the underground. The Doctor marches straight in, but Peri chooses to stay on the surface. The mercenaries are after something down there, but it's guarded by an L-3 robot. In order to disable the robot, they will have to knock out its power source: a large antenna that acts as a light converter and provides the robot with blacklight energy. It also provides the locals with a totemic object of worship.


Sarah -
Peri is understandably wigged out when they discover the Marble Arch sign in the underground. Something about this planet feels all too familiar.


Harry -
If it's Earth, it's in the wrong position in space and time. 

Dibber and Glitz decide to go and ask nicely if they can dismantle the light converter. At the village, we meet the Pythonesque locals led by Katryca, tribeswoman and leader of the free. Played by Joan Sims, she just screams "JN-T stunt casting!" Is this another Beryl Reid, some treasured light entertainer from the past? Sure enough, a quick Google search reveals that Sims was a star of the "Carry On..." series of comedy films. So she would have been very familiar to viewers as a comic actor. She plays Katryca dead seriously here, but there's still a comic feel to the performance.


Sarah -
Unlike Beryl Reid, Sims understands why she's there and acts the heck out of Katryca. I love her reaction to Glitz's attempts to charm her -- she's heard it all before and it having none of it.


Harry -
Katryca rejects the request and has Dibber and Glitz imprisoned. She is a fierce defender of her folk beliefs, but won't betray them in order to stop the L-3 robot, known coloquially as the Immortal. For the tribe of the free, the answer can only be brute force and weaponry.


Sarah -
Nobody likes change, especially when religion is involved. 

The Doctor, meanwhile, has stumbled into an underground complex and finds himself the focus of a stoning after he picks up a bottle of water. Ravolox is never going to make the list of Top Ten Friendliest Planets in the Universe, is it?


Harry -
The Doctor survives the gentlest stoning ever, at the hands of some gentle underground dwellers. These are people who believe that the world above their city is consumed by flames. That is why they entrust their existence to the Immortal, and haul the Doctor before it when commanded to.


Sarah -
They're all quite matter-of-fact about the their situation.


Harry -
Two of these people are played by Tom (Duggan!) Chadbon and Adam Blackwood. I liked Blackwood's character -- the reader of the books. He's basically the chief librarian of this society, overseeing all three volumes of ancient knowledge.


Sarah -
I love when Balazar names the sacred texts -- Moby Dick by Herman Melville, The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, and U.K. Habitats of the Canadian Goose by H.M. Stationery Office -- and the Doctor does his best to look suitably impressed. 

It's great when favorite actors return to Doctor Who, but I was hoping for a bit more smashing into things from Chadbon. Still, his Merdeen turns out to be a bit of a hero. He's been sending people to the surface for years to help them escape life in the underground.


Harry -
Like Sims, Chadbon resists all temptation to camp it up and plays Merdeen with total seriousness. The same could be said for the entire cast. Everyone is so, so serious in this one.

When Drathro the L-3 robot finally meets the Doctor, it realizes that he is an intelligent organic creature, and tasks him with repairing its faulty blacklight energy system.


Sarah -
We get another classic Bob Holmes double act in Humker and Tandrell, Drathro's human assistants. As annoying as it would be to work with these two, they definitely lighten the mood.


Harry -
Okay, they definitely played it for some laughs as campy rivals. Meanwhile, Peri is hauled before Katryca, who determines she will make a fine wife to many husbands. Peri is not impressed, but she's thrown in the same cell as the mercenaries. They quickly plot an escape, just as the Doctor does.


Sarah -
Peri cannot catch a break. After a season of being lusted after by every random baddie, she's now being offered to a pack of shaggy locals.


Harry -
After blowing up the light converter, Glitz, Dibber and Peri meet up with the Doctor and Balazar at the entrance to the underground -- only to find themselves caught between the angry villagers and one of the Immortal's robot drones. And cue the cliffhanger closeup!


Sarah -
"I don't know. I really think this could be the end..." Oh, Colin!

But wait, it's not the end! Huzzah! The tribesfolk shoot the robot with Dibber's gun and haul everyone back to the village. The Doctor tries to work his charms on Katryca, but we all know how that's going to end. Back in the prison cell, Glitz confirms that the planet is Earth. Before the Doctor can find out why it's been moved, the service robot breaks into the cell and captures the Doctor.

Katryca and the tribe, thinking the Immortal is dead, set off to the underground to reap the spoils of victory. Peri rescues the Doctor from the robot and they head to the underground to stop the tribe. Back in the underground, they encounter Merdeen who shouts "You!" while looking at the Doctor and shoots his crossbow. Could this be the end? Nah, Merdeen was just taking out another guard who had figured out what Merdeen was up to. 

Meanwhile, at Drathro's castle, Katryca is quickly electrocuted and the rest of the tribe are dismissed.


Harry -
A shocking demise for Katryca and Broken Tooth, fried until their skin begins to blacken. There's a lot more Saward than Holmes to moments like this.

One interesting theme that Holmes developed was having the Doctor caught between villagers who cling to their folk lore, and an advanced robot that clings to its pre-programmed logic. Neither side would budge from their positions, leaving the Doctor to negotiate a careful path out of there.


Sarah -
The Doctor returns to the castle and tells Drathro he's going to repair the black light system, but soon realizes it's beyond repair and is going to explode. Drathro is initially prepared to let the explosion happen, until Glitz offers to take the robot away in his ship, claiming to have black light there.


Harry -
I love how the Doctor and Dratho practically get into a shouting match, and then Glitz comes along and charms the robot right out of its castle.


Sarah -
It's almost kind of sad to see Drathro packing up his things to head off with Glitz and Dibber, excited for his new life in the Andromeda Galaxy. He's the only character in the story who doesn't immediately see through Glitz's manipulative charm. Drathro's hope is short-lived, of course, as the system has already started to self destruct. The Doctor manages to contain the explosion to the castle, but Drathro doesn't survive. 

Merdeen and Balazar lead the underworlders to the surface and a new life with the Tribe of the Free.


Harry -
Huzzah!


Sarah -
Meanwhile, back in the courtroom, the Doctor declares himself savior of the universe and prepares to mount his defense. The Valeyard promises that there is more evidence to come and in the end the Doctor's life will be forfeit. Cue the cliffhanger!


Harry -
Man, that Valeyard is a creep. He's definitely up to something.

Overall, "The Mysterious Planet" was a fast-paced romp to open the season. The return to the four-part, 24-minute format kept the plot bouncing along. The Doctor and Peri juggled their way out of a jam between competing factions and emerged unscathed. One common complaint that I share with fandom is that there were too many cutaways back to the courtroom, breaking up the momentum of the adventure. This would have been a fun story on its own, without the trial components. We'll see if this becomes an ongoing trend.

And now... ARE YOU READY FOR MINDWARP, SARAH?


Sarah -
I've been ready since we started this marathon!


Harry -
Best Line: 
Upon meeting Peri: "Sabalom Glitz, my dear, and this youth with the vacuous expression and single track mind is Dibber."

Favourite Moment: Balazar gets slimed by the food processing unit.

Lasting Image: the gratuitously gigantic robot!

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line: "Five rounds rapid should do the trick."
Brig callbacks always warm my heart.

Favorite Moment: Glitz sweet talking Drathro.

Lasting Image: Glitz and Dibber, ready for action.

7/10

 




Our marathon continues with Story #143B - The Trial of a Time Lord: Mindwarp...

Sofa of Rassilon EXTRA - Doctor in Distress (1985)

Sarah -
I've been looking forward to discussing "Doctor in Distress" for YEARS!


Harry -
First time in the history of the English language that that sentence has been written?


Sarah -
If only there was a behind-the-scenes-making-of video!


Harry -
Not sure if I can watch the music video a third time without rupturing something from laughter.


Sarah -
I've watched it three times and have noticed something new each time.


Harry -
It was a troubled time, back in 1985. Doctor Who was in crisis. Ratings were falling, the quality of the show was questionable at times, and BBC overseers just wanted it to go away. Early in the year, it was announced that the show was being put on hiatus. There would be no more Doctor Who for 18 months. Fans panicked, thinking this might be the end. Eighties superfan Ian Levine took it upon himself to help save the show. In the spirit of the times, the only possible answer could be... a supergroup charity single.

And so "Doctor in Distress" was born.


Sarah -
It was just a few months after Band Aid, so I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

In retrospect, Levine has declared "Doctor in Distress" "...an absolute balls-up fiasco. It was pathetic and bad and stupid." I can't disagree with him, but I'm still really glad it exists. "Doctor in Distress" doesn't reach the heights of "it's so bad, it's good," but it is so brilliantly bad that it makes me happy to be a Doctor Who fan.


Harry -
Performing under the awkward moniker "Who Cares?", the assembled supergroup was, well, a list of people:

Colin Baker
Nicola Bryant
Nicholas Courtney
Anthony Ainley
Earlene Bentley
Faith Brown (comedienne)
Miquel Brown
Warren Cann from Ultravox
Hazell Dean
Floid Pearce from Hot Gossip
Bobby G from Bucks Fizz
Jona Lewie
Phyllis Nelson
Richie Pitts from the cast of the stage musical Starlight Express
John Rocca from Freeez
Sally Thomsett (actress)
David Van Day from Dollar
Members of Matt Bianco (Basia Trzetrzelewska and Danny White)
Members of The Moody Blues (Justin Hayward and John Lodge)
Members of Tight Fit (Steven Grant and Julie Harris)
Members of Time UK (Rick Buckler, Ronnie Ball, Fletcher Christian, Jimmy Richards, Ray Simone and Nick Smith)

I love the fact that Jona Lewie was there. I still have his albums! Pretty sure you can spot him at the end of the video.

The music was composed by Hans Zimmer, who went on to mega success composing for Hollywood blockbusters. Here though, it sounds like he was trying out a new synthesizer for the first time.


Sarah -
I imagine this track didn't feature prominently on Zimmer's CV!

Everyone looks vaguely embarrassed to be there, don't you think?


Harry -
It's all summed up by Colin covering his face in the final shot of the video. However some of the performers looked like they are giving it their all as they belted out their one line. On the other hand, Nicholas Courtney and Anthony Ainley seem unaware of what they are supposed to be doing. Another tragic example of "when TV actors sing".


Sarah -
The moment when Anthony Ainley sings -- or whatever we're calling what he does -- "And a canine computer" may just be my favorite moment in the entire piece. I just want to watch it over and over.


Harry -
Ultimately, "Doctor in Distress" had absolutely zero impact on the BBC's decision, and the 18-month hiatus went ahead. The single was poorly received in all corners, and the BBC wouldn't even play it on radio because it didn't meet quality standards. It was a god-awful cock-up from start to finish. Poor Colin!


Sarah -
Poor, poor Colin. He deserved so much better. 

Fortunately, we don't have to wait 18 months for more Doctor Who. It's on to Trial of a Time Lord!


Harry -
Let's do it!

Story #142 - Revelation of the Daleks (1985)

Harry -
This story is one of those ones that I don't often think about, but it's always great on a rewatch.


Sarah -
So great that I may even suspend my criticism of Eric Saward for our discussion of "Revelation of the Daleks", which was the last Doctor Who story he wrote.


Harry -
Well, he went out on a high. Admittedly, I just watched the "making of" DVD featurette and everyone they interviewed was bubbling with enthusiasm, especially director Graeme Harper. He must have been fun to work with.


Sarah -
It seems that directing from the floor, rather than from a distant control room, can only improve the relationship between director and cast. It's always reassuring to see Graeme Harper's name in the credits -- in any era of Doctor Who. "Revelation of the Daleks" would be his last Doctor Who story until 2006's "Rise of the Cybermen" and he's just as competent 21 years later. 

Along with this being the last story written by Saward and last directed by Harper, it was nearly the last episode of Doctor Who ever. While "Revelation of the Daleks" is probably my favorite story of the Colin Baker era, it would have been heartbreaking to have ended here.


Harry -
The show was very much "in distress" behind the scenes, but you wouldn't know it from this production. Moody location shooting, lush studio sets, and a huge cast of great performers.


Sarah -
Season twenty-two has faced its challenges, but it goes out on a very high note.


Harry -
It looks and feels epic as we delve into the goings on at Tranquil Repose, a mausoleum on the planet Necros that specializes in preserving the bodies of the affluent and influential in suspended animation.

Inspired by Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One, Saward crafted a story that involved multiple pairings of characters. The first ones we meet are:

- Mr. Jobel, the head mortician and Tasambeker, a lovestruck enbalming assistant
- Takis and Lilt, two senior staffers at Tranquil Repose
- Natasha and Grigory, two bodysnatchers who sneak down to the catacombs in search of Professor Arthur Stengos, her father


Sarah -
So many double acts -- and more to come. I love the moment later in the story when Bostock (half of yet another double act) comments of Kara and Vogel, "They're like a double act."


Harry -
The Doctor and Peri barely figure in the first half of the story, which may not have been a bad thing as Saward suddenly decided that what their friendship needed was a round of fat jokes. Seriously, fat jokes? They put Nicola in a winter coat and suddenly she's fat? At least they got this sour note out of the way early so we could enjoy the rest of the story.


Sarah -
I have to admit that I found myself thinking that the coat was doing her no favors. I was irritated by the bickering at first, but realized that they were both giving it as good as they took it. Maybe the bickering is just the way they communicate. Peri's "Watch it, Porky" comment to the Doctor made me laugh so hard I had to pause the video.


Harry -
So bizarre.

The Doctor has been lured to Necros to find Stengos. First, he and Peri have a brief, fatal encounter with a mutant who tells them he was a failed experiment by the so-called Great Healer. After Peri clubs him to death (oh my!), she and the Doctor spend the rest of part one trying to find the entrance.


Sarah -
The Doctor was quite consoling of Peri in her grief. It's an especially touching moment for this TARDIS team.


Harry -
Inside, a brash, jibbering DJ spins tunes, conveys messages from loved ones, and wiles away the hours informing and entertaining the residents of Tranquil Repose. It's none other than Alexei Sayle, one of the faces of British comedy in the 80s. The DJ is one of the few non-double acts in the story, until he joins up with Peri later on to blast some Daleks.


Sarah -
Imagine, if you will, teenage Sarah, rabid Young Ones fan, watching this for the first time in 1986. I nearly lost my mind when Alexei Sayle showed up! To be honest, he was almost all I remembered about this story before this rewatch.


Harry -
Daleks! As the title of the story implies. They are lurking in the catacombs with Davros. Davros! He escaped the exploding space station in "Resurrection of the Daleks", and has spurred on the Dalek civil war by creating a flashy new model of Dalek: white and gold and unquestioningly loyal. He also appears to have lost his chair and the rest of his body below the neck. All we see of him is his head, as he pivots around inside a large self-contained apparatus. I loved his angry spinning!


Sarah -
Davros instantly makes any Dalek story more interesting. I love that the story picks up from "Resurrection of the Daleks", with the Supreme Dalek's forces searching for Davros, who has created his own Dalek army.


Harry -
Since escaping from the Fifth Doctor, Davros has been hard at work, experimenting on a new breed of Dalek, some kind of mutant Dalek-human hybrid monstrosity which seems weird since Daleks are so rigid about racial purity. Then again, it's Davros, and he explains himself to no one.


Sarah -
It's a reminder that Davros is, in fact, not a Dalek -- even after all these years!


Harry -
Not only is Davros up against his original creations, but another pair of double acts are manoeuvring against him. Hey look, it's Eleanor Bron, last seen admiring the TARDIS with John Cleese in a Parisian art gallery. Here, she plays Kara, a powerful businesswoman who has grown rich on the food products that Davros has produced for her.


Sarah -
I love Love LOVE Eleanor Bron's performance as Kara. Her scenes with Davros -- when they're both being obsequiously deceptive and know the other is doing the same thing -- are amazing. Bron and Molloy both hit exactly the right notes.


Harry -
She and her EA (who may be more than just an EA), Vogel, plot to overthrow Davros and control food production in the whole galaxy. They hire an old knight and his squire, Orcini and Bostock, to assassinate Davros. To complete the array of doublecrossings, Kara has also planted a bomb with Orcini, hoping he will blow up any lasting evidence of the deed, including himself.


Sarah -
William Gaunt's Orcini is the perfect anti-hero. A temporarily excommunicated Knight of the Grand Order of Oberon, he now works as a mercenary who donates his fees to charity to cleanse his soul. Inspired by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Orcini and Bostock round out our list of double acts.


Harry -
While all that has been going on, the Doctor and Peri finally found the entrance to Tranquil Repose -- only to discover a huge funerary monument bearing a carving of the Doctor. Shocked, the Doctor ponders the possibility that he has arrived after his own death. Luckily for him, a gust of wind topples the thing and it turns out to be a total ruse.


Sarah -
Beware the tumbling tower of styrofoam!


Harry -
But who would do such a thing? Before they can ask, Jobel slithers out of nowhere and tries to put his charms on Peri. What a scuzzball.


Sarah -
Clive Swift (aka Richard Bucket -- pronounced Bouquet, of course -- of Keeping up Appearances) is absolutely brilliant as Jobel. He's the king of his tiny domain of embalmers, so sure of himself and with an epic sense of entitlement. He's especially confident about his prowess with women and he tries repeatedly to put the movies on Peri -- who counters him every time.

So, I think this is the point where I have to call out Eric Saward on his treatment of the Doctor. I'm pretty sure the reason I'm swooning over the guest performers -- Terry Molloy's Davros, Eleanor Bron's Kara, William Gaunt's Orcini, and Clive Swift's Jobel -- is not only because they're talented actors, but because they're given all the best bits of the story. Saward is on record as not having been a fan of Colin Baker's Doctor and he's used this story to sideline the Doctor and make him little more than an observer for much of the story. 

I wouldn't call "Revelation of the Daleks" a Doctor-lite story as some have, but the Doctor is definitely not the hero of this story.


Harry -
It's really an ensemble story. Saward crammed so many characters into it that no one could hold the spotlight for too long.


Sarah -
I don't think it's that simple. We've had wonderful ensemble stories in the past without the Doctor being pushed to the sidelines. This story feels different, as much as I enjoy it.


Harry -
Once everyone finally gets inside -- the Doctor and Peri through the front, Orcini and Bostock through the back -- Davros and his Daleks seize events by the throat. Echoing a scene from "Timelash", the Doctor encourages Peri to go with Jobel to meet the DJ while he has a look around.


Sarah -
You mean the dee-JAY? If anyone was still under the impression that Nicola Bryant was American, her pronunciation of DJ should have put an end to that.


Harry -
There was even that peculiar moment when the DJ asked Peri if her accent was real. Perhaps another bit of snide writing by Saward?


Sarah -
Meanwhile, Jobel is all over Peri again -- and she smacks him down before making her escape:

Jobel: Those rose red ruby lips were made for kissing. 
Peri: But not by you. 
Jobel: I love a woman who plays hard to get. 
Peri: Then you'll love me to death.


Harry -
Almost immediately, the Doctor gets caught by Daleks and thrown downstairs with the bodysnatchers. Natasha had just experienced the horror of finding her father trapped inside a glass Dalek shell, being mutated into one of Davros' insane hybrids.


Sarah -
The Dalek-hybrid image was so disturbing.


Harry -
This is not the only manipulation Davros got up to. Having taken Tasambeker under his, er, disembodied wing, he starts filling her mind with his sick thoughts, offering her immortality as a Dalek. It was heartbreaking to watch as her heart got broken. First, Davros shows her closed circuit footage of Jobel plotting a rebellion with Takis and Lilt. Later, when she herself goes to Jobel to warn him, Jobel treats her with utter contempt, mocking her and calling her a little creep. Twisted by Davros and fuelled by heartbreak, Tasambeker spirals into a murderous rage and she stabs Jobel with a syringe of enbalming fluid. He collapses in a heap, his ego and vanity deflated and his silly toupé sliding off his head. The Daleks then immediately exterminate Tasambeker. It was a stunning sequence.


Sarah -
Apparently, JN-T made them tone down the syringe scene, but it's still disturbing. The toupé falling to the ground is an effective bit of pathos. 

Jenny Tomasin comes in for a lot of criticism for her portrayal of Tasambeker, but it worked for me. She's such a pathetic character who has been treated badly by everyone with whom she interacts. I have no problem believing that someone like her could be so deftly manipulated by Davros. [On a side note, Tomasin portrayed Ruby the kitchen maid on my beloved Upstairs Downstairs. When she and Clive Swift appear for the first time in the story, Mr. Smith excitedly said, "It's Richard Bucket and Ruby!"]


Harry -
I thought Tasambeker's unravelling was brilliantly portrayed. The anguish with which she yelled "I hate you!" at Jobel was powerful.


Sarah -
It was!


Harry -
And with that, the massacre begins.


Sarah -
Well, it is an Eric Saward story.


Harry -
After the pathetic demises of Jobel and Tasambeker, we cut to Orcini and Bostock creeping into Davros' lair. They attack and destroy the head of Davros, only to realize it was a decoy Davros (another double act!). I loved the low camera angle when the real megalomaniac emerged in his black outfit and familiar chair. He's never looked more menacing.


Sarah -
I love that moment! Clever Davros, outwitting everyone once again.


Harry -
Davros' Daleks leap or rather roll into action as Orcini and Bostock are zapped. Over in the laboratory, the bodysnatchers are killed. Kara is brought before Davros, and she reveals her assassination-bomb plot before Orcini stabs her to death. Saward unchained! Cut to the DJ's studio, where he has rigged up a sonic blaster to take out a few Daleks before he too is killed.


Sarah -
Poor DJ. I really like Alexei Sayle's performance. His on-air stuff is really over the top, which I thought was appropriate. It when he drops the DJ character that he really shines. He's positively starstruck to meet an American and acts like a nervous fan boy. He even gets to be a hero by helping alert the President's approaching ship about the danger facing him on Necros. It's really sad when he dies.


Harry -
And you're right about the Doctor's lack of participation, Sarah. While the bloodbath is going on in all corners of Tranquil Repose, we find him wandering around downstairs by himself. Eventually, he arrives at Davros' lair, where his old enemy reveals all. He has been using the "residents" of the mausoleum not just for his hybrid experiments, but also to create the food product that Kara has been distributing across the galaxy. I was half expecting Colin to do his best Charlton Heston and start yelling "It's people! IT'S PEOPLE!"


Sarah -
That would have been the best thing ever!

I always enjoy a good Doctor-Davros face-off and I'm happy Colin Baker got one.


Harry -
I liked the silent interaction between the Doctor and Orcini. Just when it seems Davros and his white Daleks have everyone cornered, a troop of original Daleks arrives and they arrest him. I liked the simplicity of it all, Davros being rolled away as a prisoner, raging against it all the way. Quel dommage, Davros!


Sarah -
And the Doctor is left behind because the Daleks don't recognize his current incarnation!


Harry -
Holding fast to his honour and his code as a knight, Orcini chooses to destroy all remnants of Davros' lab with the bomb. He detonates it after giving the survivors a head start. Tranquil Repose caves in, but the Doctor offers a new line of work to Takis, Lilt and the others in the form of the protein-enhanced flowers he and Peri had picked earlier. So instead of everyone getting slaughtered wholesale, Saward was nice enough to let a few people start their lives anew.


Sarah -
I guess it counts as hopeful-ish ending.


Harry -
This was a great finish to a very uneven season. I said at the beginning that I don't often think about "Revelation of the Daleks", but it's always a treat to watch. The performances, the sets and the dark humour are all fantastic.


Sarah -
It feels like a bold statement to say "Revelation of the Daleks" is my favorite story of season twenty-two. "The Two Doctors" has emotion on its side, but Revelation still tops my list.


Harry -
Peri still wants a holiday, so the Doctor turns to the camera and announces that he'll take her to B-----. Seriously, if that was how the series ended, it would have been the cruelest thing ever.


Sarah -
I can't even think about that possibility without getting upset.


Harry -
Fortunately the show would return, but TV viewers would be forever left with that dangling "B". The first story of the planned next season was set in Blackpool, where the Doctor would have encountered The Celestial Toymaker. Oh, what could have been...

Best Line: 
Vogel: Be seated, gentlemen.
Orcini: We prefer to stand.
Kara: Of course. How foolish. As men of action, you must be like coiled springs - alert, ready to pounce.
Orcini: Nothing so romantic. I have an artificial leg with a faulty hydraulic valve. When seated the valve is inclined to jam.

Favourite Moment: when the real Davros reveals himself to Orcini and Bostock.

Lasting Image: So many to choose from! The Doctor and Peri in their mourning blues always sticks in my mind.

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line: 
Jobel: You know, if the statue actually had been made of stone, I doubt if it'd have killed you. 
Doctor: Really? 
Jobel: No, it would take a mountain to crush an ego like yours. 

In a story filled with zippy comebacks, this was my favorite

Favorite Moment: Kara and Davros out-flattering each other, while sharpening their knives!

Lasting Image: It really is hard to choose just one, but the DJ in his hippy garb was the image I most remembered going into this story. 

8/10

 

Our marathon will continue with: The Trial of a Timelord...