Harry -
Wow. Just wow.
If there's anything that substantiates the Colin Baker era as the nadir of televised Doctor Who, it is this horrendous thing.
Sarah -
Poor Colin - and Poor Janet! OMG, that hair!
Harry -
Poor Janet indeed. That for her final televised appearance on Doctor Who, Tegan was inexplicably beamed aboard the TARDIS, wearing her air hostess uniform again (and OMG that hair!), and made to endure a bout of bickering with the Sixth Doctor during a Davison-era scene of console room pandemonium. The casual sexism that Eric Saward wrote into the script must have boiled her blood too.
Sarah -
There's something sweet about planning this skit in response to young Gareth Jenkins' letter. He's quite adorable in the Sixth Doctor coat his Nan made for him.
Harry -
The premise of the episode is charming. Not only did Gareth get to meet the Doctor, but they got to have an adventure on telly too -- it's every kid's dream come true! He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the experience, but what 8-year-old wouldn't be given pause after being barked at by Colin Baker?
Sarah -
Unfortunately, it was part of creepy pedophile Jimmy Savile's show. Still, Gareth has his own TARDIS wikia page, so there's something.
Harry -
Something to which we all aspire.
Still, "A Fix with Sontarans." It's awful, awful, awful. The way Saville saunters onto the set, kisses Janet's hand and schmarms through the congratulations at the end. Knowing now what was going on, it's unpleasant to watch. Anyway, we agreed that as our marathon continues, we'll make the occasional stop to watch and review the many special episodes of Doctor Who that were produced over the years. I'm pretty confident this will be the worst, so it's good to get it out of the way.
Sarah -
Also from TARDIS.wikia:
- Colin Baker is seen to visibly wince when Jimmy Savile kisses Janet Fielding's hand.
- Colin Baker later told The Daily Mail that he found Savile "creepy and patronising", with "none of the professional respect that one would expect to be shared when two programmes combine for a special purpose". "I recall clearly the disappointment I felt for the young boy [Gareth] for whom I suspect the whole experience was daunting and overwhelming."
Harry -
When Saville's face appeared on the TARDIS scanner, Janet and Colin exclaimed -- very appropriately: "It's monstrous! It's revolting!"
Saward's story itself was simple, but the production did underscore something for me that I mentioned in our review of "The Two Doctors". These Sontarans are giants! The amusingly-named Group Marshall Nathan towers over the Doctor. Not for long, though. In murderous Saward style, the two Sontarans are hit with poison gas and they melt into pools of green and brown goo. Fun!
Sarah -
Good grief, but that was disgusting!
Harry -
I'm laughing as I write this because the whole thing is so awful. Did you have any positive takeaways from this one, Sarah?
Sarah -
I thought it was very game of Colin and Janet to do it in the first place. It's was a sweet thing to do for a little kid, which I appreciate.
And that's all I've got!
Harry -
Here's to you, Gareth Jenkins, participant in one of childhood Doctor Who fandom's most awkward experiences.
Our marathon resumes with Story #141: Timelash...
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