Story #83 - The Android Invasion (1975)

Harry -
At the end of part one of "The Android Invasion", I had to go back to check if Terry Nation had also written "Invasion of the Dinosaurs." It was Malcolm Hulke who wrote the earlier story, but the similarities were striking.

Both stories share an opening premise: the Doctor and Sarah arrive somewhere in England and find every street and building totally abandoned. They encounter a handful of strangely acting characters, and for the most part are totally baffled by what's going on.

Nation raised the bar, adding a mysterious UNIT soldier who can cheat death, some creepy haz-matted creatures who look like a cross between the Autons and the Ambassadors of Death, and some trucked-in village folk who act like zombies. This was certainly one of the weirdest opening episodes we've seen for some time.


Sarah -
I have to admit that, going into this story, I wasn't sure that I remembered much about it. As soon as I saw the empty Devesham village square, it all came back to me. I find Invasion of the Body Snatchers/pod people-type stories to be SO creepy.


Harry -
There's your Hinchcliffe Horror Homage.


Sarah -
Can't have a Season Thirteen story without one! This story has freaked me out every time I've watched it. It's probably the weakest story of this season, but I still find it terribly disturbing.


Harry -
No kidding. One by one we see Crayford, Benton, Harry and Sarah Jane - or at least their android copies - turn on the Doctor. Sarah's face falling off to reveal an android beneath is one of the all-time creep-me-out cliffhangers.


Sarah -
There's really no competition for the lasting image in this story for me. I have to commend the actors for really making us believe they are androids. There's just the most subtle shift in their faces that completely sells it.


Harry -
At the opposite end of the acting spectrum, I loved watching Who regular Milton Johns as the gleefully brainwashed Crayford. He recited the Kralls' invasion plan with the unbridled enthusiasm of someone with no grasp on reality. He couldn't even bother to check if his left eye was really damaged.

Speaking of being creeped out, there is something inherently creepy about village pubs. Not just in Doctor Who. There's a story by horror writer Peter Straub where an American writer enters a village pub for a meal and the whole experience turns into a nightmare of alienation. There's also a scene in The Wicker Man where Edward Woodward's character is made to feel extremely unwelcome by the local folk at the local pub. Maybe that's it - being a stranger in a place where people gather - that causes so much anxiety. Even our gregarious Doctor gets the cold shoulder (and colder gaze) at the Fleur de Lis.


Sarah -
I was going to protest your characterization of the village pub, until I remembered the creepy pubs in The World's End. I think you're on to something there and may have just ruined village pubs for me from here on out.


Harry -
A nice counterpoint to all these cold and, er, mechanical characters are the squabbling Kralls. At first they don't look like much, in their drab robes and with their ugly, frowny faces. But the Kralls like to shout, especially at each other! Styggron and Chedaki really steal the show and their back and forth was amusingly watchable.


Sarah -
I'm not sure "Old Married Couple" was the effect that the production team was going for, but the Kralls were definitely amusing -- if not terribly intimidating. Those rhinoesque masks weren't quite what you'd picture for such a technologically advanced species.

Wait now! How have we gotten this far without welcoming Uncle Barry back to Doctor Who? His steady hand at the helm is undoubtedly what makes "The Android Invasion" work as well as it does.

While I'm feeling a bit warm and nostalgic, I'll also mention that this is the final story for Benton and Harry. I've made no secret of my love of Benton and will certainly miss our steady hero as this marathon progresses. It was nice to see them one more time.


Harry -
I don't know if they knew this was their swansong, but watching it so many years later, I wonder why they weren't given a proper goodbye and sendoff - this was the second opportunity to do so this season.


Sarah -
We've certainly been leading up to a separation from UNIT, but I guess it made at the time to keep the door open to further adventures. Colonel Faraday, meanwhile, was an obvious fill-in for the likely unavailable Nick Courtney, but he makes an excellent android -- and I was relieved that the Brig was spared that indignity!


Harry -
It was a bit ironic that in a story about dopplegangers, Nick Courtney the actor was replaced by someone else.


Sarah -
Ha! It is!

In the end, I can't help but think that in any other season, this would be a solid episode. But, surrounded by so many significantly stronger stories, it can't help but seem a bit diminished.


Harry -
I'd forgotten most of this story, and there were a few other things that stood out on watching it again. I don't know if it was because of Barry Letts or not (it wasn't really his thing), but we viewers got a quickie science lesson when the Doctor reminded Sarah that water is an excellent conductor. It was almost whimsical, that moment. Lo and behold, she quickly rigged up a trap that destroyed one of the androids, using water and electricity to blow it up.


Sarah -
There is nothing Sarah cannot do!


Harry -
And I don't want it to seem like I paused the story several times and stared madly at the screen, but was Sarah wearing some kind of proto-Crocs? Her footwear looked very Croc-like. Maybe they aren't such a new craze.


Sarah -
This is why we're such good friends! I did the exact same thing. What the heck was she wearing?


Harry -
Mad props to Sarah again in this story. She saved the Doctor's life multiple times. He's getting to be very reliant on her timely interventions.


Sarah -
I'm afraid it's starting to wear on her a bit. She has been asking to go home after nearly every adventure.


Harry -
She was ready to take a cab home after this one!

As noted above, "The Android Invasion" is a Terry Nation story, and it had that familiar Nationesque episodic structure about it. Parts one and two were mostly in the phony Devesham village setting; we then moved to the Krall base for part three, and back to Earth for part four. It's all very orderly. The absence of the Brig was very notable, and again the lack of a proper UNIT sendoff ended this one on a weak note. I agree, this was a decent story and rolled along nicely, but it's probably the weakest one among the other classics this season.


Sarah -
Ready to move along to yet another highlight of the season?


Harry -
Let's see how well the Doctor really is at piloting the TARDIS. He seemed quite confident at the end here.


Sarah -
Best Line: "Is that finger loaded?"

Favorite Moment: Sarah chiding the Doctor for standing around while he's tied to the monument (and bomb) in the middle of the village.

Lasting Imagine: Android Sarah, after her face has fallen off.

6/10


Harry -
Best Line: "Let's try the pub."

Favourite Moment: Crayford's gleefully brainwashed recitation of the Kralls' invasion plan.

Lasting Image: definitely Android Sarah.  Beyond creepy!

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #84: The Brain of Morbius...

Story #82 - Pyramids of Mars (1975)

Harry -
It should not surprise anyone that the Tom Baker era is considered by many to be the high point of classic Who. Every story so far has been outstanding. And now we get to "Pyramids of Mars." Classic among classics, wouldn't you say Old Girl?


Sarah -
I would most definitely say that, Old Boy! This era of Doctor Who is my absolute favorite and I've been looking forward to it since we started our little marathon.


Harry -
From beginning to end, there's a great atmosphere of creeping dread that permeates this story. The opening scene in Egypt gives us one of those familiar scares when someone enters the pharoah's tomb, before we switch scenes to the gloomy old priory. That gothic organ music helped create an old horror movie feel. (To get the obvious out of the way, Hinchcliffe Horror Homage tracker: The Mummy.)


Sarah -
I love the setting of the priory. Fun fact -- the house was owned by Mick Jagger at the time of filming.


Harry -
Well spotted, Toby!


Sarah -
Is it too nerdy that I always take that as the greatest compliment?


Harry -
You're filling in admirably while we await our friends' next volume.


Sarah -
I aim to please!


Harry -
The characters at the priory all looked like they stepped out of an Edward Gorey drawing. We have such quintessentially Edwardian figures as Dr. Worlock, Ibrahim Namin, Laurence Scarman, and the positively Nosferatu-like Marcus Scarman. His ghoulish face and manner was enough to get me edging towards the back of the sofa.


Sarah -
Bernard Archard was positively brilliant as Scarman. I remember watching this story for the first time back in the 80's. It was late at night and everything about the story was positively and perfectly creepy. I still get that feeling when I watch it today.

I adore the opening scene in the TARDIS. I was a little choked up when the Doctor comments on the dress Sarah found in the wardrobe, “Victoria wore it. She traveled with me for a time.” (Sweet Victoria -- I wonder how things worked out for her in 1968.) While the Doctor is feeling serious and reflective -- "I’m not a human being. I walk in eternity." -- Sarah is in a playful mood, pulling faces at him. It's a delightful scene and the first of many in this story that showcase the chemistry between Baker and Sladen.


Harry -
Sarah looked lovely in that dress. You'd think she'd break out in a rendition of "Wuthering Heights," being from 1980 and all... [dodges shoe.]  And despite all the romping through the woods and crawling around the ground, she kept it pristine throughout the adventure.


Sarah -
She's an amazing woman!


Harry -
The first episode builds up nicely to the final image of Namin's death. To this point, Sutekh has remained unseen, only spoken of in reverential tones by Namin. When the black-clad figure appears through the time corridor, we think it must be him, but it's only Sutekh's messenger, bringing his "gift of death to all humanity." I've been puzzling over how the production crew managed the amazing smoke effects in this scene. I don't think we've seen anything like it in another Who story.


Sarah -
The effects are particularly impressive when you consider that so many of them were done live!

The "gift of death" line always chills me. That's a gift I'd rather not accept.


Harry -
Another thing we haven't seen in a Who story - at least a Tom Baker one - is the great concern, almost fear, that the Doctor shows towards his foe. As he explains the history of the Osirans and the imprisonment of Sutekh by Horus and the other gods, he concedes that Sutekh's escape could mean the destruction of all life in the universe. He even shows Sarah and Laurence the consequences to Earth of their inaction. Powerful, scary stuff.


Sarah -
Sutekh is not to be taken lightly, that's for sure. We learn that not even the Time Lords would be able to stop Sutekh if he were freed. The glimpse of 1980 is more than sobering, dashing Sarah’s plans of running away in the TARDIS.


Harry -
Sarah mentioned she was from 1980. Is that the moment that set off the debate among fandom as to when the UNIT stories took place (70s vs 80s)? I keep a very wide berth from all those debates, canonicity arguments and all that.


Sarah -
Good move. There's nothing to be gained from engaging in those debates.

I found Laurence to be a particularly sympathetic and tragic character. His love of his brother and attempts to connect with the possessed Marcus are absolutely heartbreaking. To have him die at Marcus' hand is almost too much to watch.


Harry -
Laurence is one of the saddest characters in all of Who. He gets scorned, bullied and bossed about by everyone. And his demise was tragic. Michael Sheard is another recurring guest actor about whom I have nothing but positives to say.

"Pyramids of Mars" is another story with a cracking cast of guest actors. There are the aforementioned Archard and Sheard, Peter Copley as Worlock, Peter Mayock as Namin, Michael Bilton as Collins and George Tovey did a memorable turn as the unfortunate rabbit poacher.

The chemistry between Tom and Elisabeth was sparkling too. So many great zingers from Sarah tried the Doctor's patience, I couldn't help but snicker at several moments. When the Doctor wrapped himself up as one of the service robots:

"How do I look?"

"Must have been a nasty accident."


Sarah -
There are so many great Doctor and Sarah moments in this story. Lis is sparking throughout.


Harry -
Above all the others, however, towers Gabriel Woolf as Sutekh. WOW! What a performance, all vocal and all powerful. We've watched this Doctor swagger and bully his way through some tough patches, but how shocking was it to see Tom Baker reduced to a mere insect before Sutekh, writhing on the ground in agony. This is the first time the Doctor has shown real terror since Patrick Troughton. Although to be fair, Troughton played the Doctor in an almost constant state of semi-terror.


Sarah -
Well, there is that. Honestly, I was almost in a state of semi-terror at Sutekh. There's no question of his perfect baddie status.


Harry -
Back to Woolf and his voice. The fact that he never rose or fell above a certain tone is what makes the performance. I get chills thinking about how he tortured the Doctor. It's surprising that this villain never makes a return. I'd have gladly sacrified one or two (or three) Dalek stories for a Sutekh comeback.


Sarah -
Oh, imagine Peter Capaldi taking him on! That would be epic.


Harry -
Oh indeed! Let's start a Twitter petition. #SutekhForSeasonEight


Sarah -
Do it, Moff!


Harry -
One of the great unanswered questions coming out of this story, and surely we've all wondered, is: what's the deal with Sarah Jane's expert marksmanship?! She picked off that box of explosives with one shot from, what, a hundred feet away? Her skill set is amazing.


Sarah -
There’s nothing Our Sarah can’t do, Old Boy!


Harry -
After the effects of Sarah's successful shot got blocked, the Doctor broke Sutekh's concentration long enough to destroy the rocket that Scarman and the robots were assembling. Sutekh then sees the TARDIS as a means of achieving freedom, and the chase through the pyramid of Mars is on. It may have gone on one puzzle too many, but the Eye of Horus was destroyed and Sutekh freed. Oh no! Only a last gasp throw from the Doctor prevented him from arriving through the time tunnel on Earth. Caught in a temporal trap, Sutekh is trapped for eternity. That was a little too close for comfort, wouldn't you say?


Sarah -
Wasn’t "Caught in a Temporal Trap" a hit for Sinatra back in the day?


Harry -
Hah! Pretty sure I saw it in a Sinatra rarities collection.

I was about to say the story ended happily, but not really. Everyone who started at or visited the priory was killed. The priory itself burned to the ground. Sutekh is disposed of, but not destroyed. Really, they should have found a way to bring him back.

#SutekhForSeasonEight


Sarah -
Best Line:
Laurence – “I see.”
Doctor – “I’m sure you don’t, but it’s nice of you to try.”

Favorite Moment: The Doctor and Sarah turning in the doorway in unison to avoid the mummies. The timing is perfect and reminiscent of the Doctor and Jamie.

Lasting Image: The face of the possessed Marcus Scarman.

10/10


Harry -
Best Line:
Doctor - "Where did you get that dress?"
Sarah - "I just told you. I found it back there in the wardrobe. Why, don't you like it?"
Doctor - "Yes. Yes, I always did. Victoria wore it. She travelled with me for a time."
Sarah - "Well, as long as Albert didn't wear it."

Favourite Moment: Sutekh's messenger arrives at the priory with steaming footsteps.

Lasting Image: Sutekh seated.

9/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #83 - The Android Invasion...

Story #81 - Planet of Evil (1975)

Harry -
Hmm... I don't think this planet is all that evil, Sarah. Maybe it's just terribly misunderstood, don't you think?


Sarah -
Planet of the Absolutely Amazing Set is more like it!


Harry -
Absolutely! I always forget what a little gem this story is, especially for the set designs.


Sarah -
For all the time we spend cringing at and apologizing for the sets and special effects in Doctor Who, we need to celebrate when things go right. The Zeta Minor set is utterly amazing. I watched the DVD featurette on the production and learned that Roger Murray-Leach only had £3,000 for the entire production and managed to create one of the most detailed sets in the series' history.


Harry -
The Zeta Minor jungle is dank and eerie, and the camera crew did an amazing job making it look like a vast, sprawling place. The switch between video and film made it seem even more vast.

I liked the flying camera effect of the ocular tracker. There really was a lot of sharp camera work in this story.


Sarah -
Another positive aspect of the set is that it distracted from the spaceman-at-the-disco uniforms worn by the Morestran military!


Harry -
True, those blue jumpsuits with the poofy white trim were godawful. Good thing the Morestran ship sets were good too - clean and minimalist and seemingly maze-like, they were the perfect counter to the riotous sprawl of the jungle outside.


Sarah -
I love the control room set, with the multiple levels. And don't forget our few glimpses of the redesigned TARDIS console room!


Harry -
I had to think back to remember when was the last time we'd seen the console room. It was like seeing an old friend again, a friend with some flash new clothes.

There were several neat little moments at the start of part one that I had to jot down. First, the story takes place in the year 37,166. I love far future stories that are set in unfathomably distant times. This one got awfully close to the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Did you happen to notice the young crew member who was with Sorenson at the pit, then got attacked by the anti-matter creature back at base? He looked like a young Robert Shearman. Or am I imagining things in our friends' absence?


Sarah -
The resemblance didn't occur to me at the time, but I can see what you mean. I'm sure Rob would have something delightfully self-deprecating to say about that.

"Planet of Evil" is one of those stories that can be easy to overlook, but gets better with every viewing.


Harry -
I think the absence of a "classic" monster makes it less memorable, and it's surrounded by many other great stories which does it no favours. I'm always surprised by how good it is.


Sarah -
It deserves a better reputation!


Harry -
(Hinchcliffe Horror Homage tracker: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.)

Had no idea how ubiquitous Michael Wisher was in 70s Who. He must have appeared in a record number of stories.


Sarah -
Alas, this is his final story.


Harry -
His long and varied run on the show from 1970 to 1975 might be the single best run of any guest actor in the show's history. Looking forward to hearing what our friends Rob & Toby have to say about him.

The supporting cast is pretty good here too -- they certainly outperformed their costumes.


Sarah -
That wouldn't be much of a challenge...


Harry -
Hah!


Sarah -
...but I agree that they are all excellent.


Harry -
The Doctor looked good too. He seems to have found a big rust-coloured cravat, which stood out in the absence of his scarf for most of the story.

And I wonder if we're seeing another theme being developed in this season: energy, both finite and alternative.


Sarah -
The quest for an infinite source of energy seems to plague all planets, doesn't it?


Harry -
Things also got a bit psychedelic again, with the Doctor plunging through the vortex. It was very Pink Floyd. And just like that, he climbed back out again, having reached an understanding with the planet or its voice - we didn't see that part.


Sarah -
Well, it's all very mysterious, you see -- and far past the limits of the budget, what with the jungle and all. Fortunately, Sarah's there to let us know that he gave his word as a Time Lord.


Harry -
Meanwhile, the bodies are starting to pile up aboard the Morestran ship. The plot of this story was pretty light - base under siege and then spaceship under siege - but the focus was clearly on getting as many frights as possible. It was impressive the way they kept introducing more crew members into the story, essentially for the purpose of killing them off.


Sarah -
My favorite crew member was De Haan. Graham Weston milked the grumbling, put-upon character for all it was worth. I felt quite sad when he was done in.


Harry -
After he perpetrated so many deaths, did you find it odd that Sorenson ended up restored to full health?


Sarah -
Apparently, he was supposed to die in the vortex, but Hinchcliffe was concerned that it was too graphic for the kiddies and changed the ending. After all that death, I don't imagine the tots would have been any less terrorized!


Harry -
Well, having sorted out all that business and put Sorenson on a different research track, the TARDIS goes spinning off. I wonder if the Doctor and Sarah make it back to England next.


Sarah -
Best Line: "You and I are scientists, Professor. We buy our privilege to experiment at the cost of total responsibility."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor plunging into the vortex

Lasting Image: That glorious jungle set!

8/10


Harry -
I'll have to agree with your choice of Best Line. The Doctor's conversations with Sorenson were moments of calm sobriety in a scary monster chase story.

Favourite Moment: Sorenson's transformation scenes.

Lasting Image: Sorenson becomes Anti-Man.

7/10 

 


Our marathon continues with Story #82: Pyramids of Mars...

Story #80 - Terror of the Zygons (1975)

Sarah -
The thing that struck me the most about "Terror of the Zygons" is how much the series has changed in just one season of the Fourth Doctor. The return to UNIT really highlights these changes. The mood is darker, continuing the gothic horror theme of the era, but there’s also a change in the way UNIT is presented. In his last few appearances, the Brig teetered on the edge of buffoonery, but he’s treated more seriously in this story. Times are grim, but faithful UNIT is standing by!


Harry -
There's a warm feeling of familiarity as this story gets going and we find ourselves back in a Pertwee-era Earthbound adventure with UNIT. It does make sense, though, since all of the stories in the previous season were presented as one continuous story. So when the Doctor, Sarah and Harry return to present-day Earth for the first time, there's UNIT waiting for them.


Sarah -
UNIT is always there, waiting for him! Good Ole UNIT!


Harry -
It was good to see a serious UNIT again, sans buffonery. But we are in Scotland after all, so everyone camps it up Scottish style, with a flurry of tartan and kilts and rrrrolling of the "R's". Then we get down to business.


Sarah -
The tam o'shanter on the Doctor, while Harry and Sarah wore his scarf and hat, was hysterical. Nice way to set the scene.


Harry -
A group of oil rigs in the North Sea have been destroyed and UNIT is on the case. The Brigadier is determined to protect the vital means of oil production, much to the Doctor's disdain. There was a definite sense early on that the Doctor has gotten tired on being on-call for UNIT all the time.


Sarah -
The Doctor is not at all pleased to be called back, snapping at the Brig, "When I left that psionic beam with you, Brigadier, I said that it was only to be used in an emergency!"

The Brig asserts that it is an emergency, to which the Doctor responds, "Oil? An emergency? Ha! It's about time the people who run this planet of yours realised that to be dependent on a mineral slime just doesn't make sense."

He has got a point, you know. Still the Zygons are utterly fabulous. Pity the Beeb wouldn't spring for some more costumes. I'm pretty sure we never see more than two Zygons in any shot.

I love the texture and creepy sucker-like things on the Zygons. Their organic technology is reminiscent of the Axons, but somehow the Zygons make it darker and less psychedelic. The other side of the 70s is showing here!


Harry -
The Zygon design is amazing. A testiment to its greatness is that when they were brought back in 2013, the contemporary Zygon design was virtually identical. Remember the uproar over the new Silurians?


Sarah -
I remember all too well. There's really no way to improve on the Zygons.


Harry -
The organic console aboard the Zygon ship, and the way they have to squeeze and manipulate the controls - there's something wonderfully gross about it all.


Sarah -
It's brilliantly disgusting!


Harry -
I have to give a shout out to Mr. Huckle of Hibernian Oil - is Huckle the first Canadian character in Doctor Who? His accent and demeanour both suggest there's a hoser in our midst. And this exchange totally set off my Canuck-dar:

HUCKLE: Yeah, well, if there's anything I can do?
DOCTOR: No, thank you, Mister Huckle. This could be very valuable. You've done enough, thank you.
HUCKLE: Okay. Well, watch yourself, Doctor, eh? You too, Miss Smith.

You go, Huckle!


Sarah -
Ha! I was wondering if he was meant to be Canadian, until the "eh?" confirmed it for me.


Harry -
I wonder if this story was written during the Pertwee era then plucked off a shelf by Hinchcliffe. We haven't seen Tom Baker do this much running and tumbling and fighting - everything seems to have been set up with the Third Doctor in mind. Once again, the male companion is relegated to a minor role. However, Ian Marter gave a chilling performance as Zygon Harry, especially that scene where Sarah chased him to the barn.


Sarah -
Marter was absolutely brilliant in that episode. The moment when he hides in the hayloft, peering around the hay bale with one eye was terrifying. I loved the moment when Sarah found the real Harry later in the story. She was wary of him, but knew he was her Harry when he called her Old Girl. I wanted to hug them both!


Harry -
I can't decide if the Zygon chameleon technology is brilliant or wonky. The fact that the templates needed to be trotted out every few hours lest they become corrupted was either brilliant realism that reflected the fragility of the system, or just the kind of plot hole that you could drive a UNIT Jeep through.


Sarah -
Plot hole? Surely you jest?


Harry -
All the Zygon humans were creepy - did this render them ineffective to sharp-eyed observers? Sarah noticed right away that Harry was cold and distant, and not his usual affable self. Can we assume the same of Zygon Forgill, Zygon Caber, and Zygon Nurse Helga?


Sarah -
Perhaps the Zygons were careful about selecting particularly unpleasant humans for their task. I did enjoy Sarah sticking her tongue out as the Zygon Caber left the library. A fruitless gesture, but an endearing moment.


Harry -
What were these people really like? Maybe the real Forgill is a wry, humourous sort -- quick with a quip, as we saw at the end. And maybe beneath that burly, shaggy exterior, Caber loves nothing more than to cuddle puppies and bunny rabbits. And maybe the real Nurse Helga likes a song and a brandy in the evening. We'll never know... but there's probably a fan fiction for that.


Sarah -
Now you're frightening me.

Speaking of frightening, we've not yet discussed Nessie! At last, the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster is solved!


Harry -
Does the Skarasen qualify as a prehistoric monster?!

(Hinchcliffe Horror Homage Tracker: Godzilla.)


Sarah -
She's got prehistoric props, so I say yes!


Harry -
The Doctor Who show-runners of the mid-70s were suddenly fascinated by gigantic monsters. There was T-Rex and pals in "Invasion of the Dinosaurs", Professor Kettlewell's giant robot last season, and now the Skarasen. Admirable efforts, all of them, but the awkwardness of the effects kept pulling me out of the stories. Most annoying was when we had to watch the actors watching the Skarasen in the Thames, relying on their dialogue to learn what was happening.

Still, Nessie seemed kind of cute.


Sarah -
No one understands her good points.


Harry -
And so, once the Zygons had been routed and Nessie returned to the deeps of Loch Ness, there's the closing scene back in Scotland. Were viewers supposed to know at the time that this was Harry's farewell as a regular companion? It's implied that he preferred to travel overland back to UNIT HQ, rather than in the TARDIS. We'll see how that worked out for the Doctor and Sarah shortly.


Sarah -
It's hard not to imagine the kiddos waiting for him to be back next week. Imagine their disappointment.


Harry -
As it turned out, that was it for Harry Sullivan. He started off as someone who would do the heavy lifting, and was unceremoniously written out of the show just a handful of stories later. We've seen this kind of off-screen, after-the-fact companion departure happen before with Liz Shaw and Dodo Chaplet. But never mind Dodo - she's insane, let her be.


Sarah -
Leaving Dodo be, both Liz's and Harry's departures annoy me. They were both excellent companions and deserved a good send off. Harry was smashing. I can imagine him as the perfect companion for the First Doctor.


Harry -
Farewell Harry! You were never an imbecile!


Sarah -
Cheerio, Old Boy!


Harry -
Well, I'm ready to put a wrap on this one. At the same time, "Terror of the Zygons" puts a wrap on the UNIT era of Doctor Who. Yes, we'll run into the Brigadier and Co. again from time to time, but UNIT won't figure this much in the Doctor's adventures again until the new series.


Sarah -
I'll miss the Brig, and, of course, my dear Benton.


Harry -
Nor shall we see the Zygons again until the new series. Broton had told the Doctor that his people's refugee fleet would take centuries to arrive at Earth. Turns out, it won't take that long until the Zygons square off against the Doctor and UNIT again. The more things change...


Sarah -
I was so glad that the Zygons came back for the 50th. They are excellent!


Harry -
Best line: The Doctor mocks Broton: "You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out onto the balcony sometime and wave a tentacle."

Favourite moment: everyone reacting to the Brigadier's kilt.

Lasting image: the Zygons at the controls.

7/10


Sarah -
Best Line: The Doctor to the Duke of Forgill: "I'm not a party to any sort of nonsense, Your Grace."

Favorite Moment: Sarah finding the secret passage. I LOVE secret passages!

Lasting Image: Harry peering around the hay, watching Sarah from the loft.

7/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #81 - Planet of Evil...

Story #79 - Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)

Harry -
I'm going to gush a lot about this one and here is why: "Revenge of the Cybermen" is my first Doctor Who story!


Sarah -
Huzzah! How exciting to start with the Cybermen!


Harry -
I can even narrow it down to part two, which stands out vividly as the first episode I ever saw. If you look at part two on its own, you can see how it would blow the mind of a first-time, 5-year-old viewer.


Sarah -
I can't imagine what it would have been like for me to watch Doctor Who as a child. Because my local PBS station showed Doctor Who at 11:00 p.m. on Sundays, there was no way for me to see them before I was in high school.


Harry -
Part two jumps between several interesting settings: the murky underground caverns, where a couple of nice humans encounter some wild looking aliens with flowing white hair. Then there's the control room on a space station, where this wild eyed man with a funny scarf and a yo-yo is doing sciency stuff. Then there's a spaceship coming to invade, and it contains giant silver robots with scary robot voices. Nonstop excitement. By the end of this episode, my young eyes must have been wide as saucers.


Sarah -
And so your Whovian fate was sealed! My eight-month-old nephew was at my house while I watched "Revenge of the Cybermen" yesterday. While he's still a wee lad, I'm hoping it made an impression on him!


Harry -
Maybe some of it got caught deep in his psyche.  He'll thank you for it someday, assuming he didn't watch only part one. Because for all the exhuberance I feel for this story, it has a dreadful opening.


Sarah -
Well, there is that.


Harry -
If they still gave individual titles to episodes, part one could have been called "Let's Remove All Suspense From This Story Immediately."


Sarah -
Running that at the beginning of an episode might have a slight impact on ratings. Hard to say.


Harry -
Our friends finally return to Nerva, but it's thousands of years too early. A plague has wiped out most of the crew, but right away we meet Professor Kellman, the most obvious villain ever. A mysterious ship approaches Nerva, only it isn't so mysterious. If the title of the story didn't give it away, the appearance of the Cybermen before the cliffhanger certainly does. And for anyone who really missed the obvious, the Doctor himself declares that it's the Cybermen, having reached that conclusion by uttering the word "Voga" a couple of times. Then Sarah gets attacked by a Cybermat, because why not.

What a weak opening.


Sarah -
Cybermats aren't as cute as they used to be, are they?


Harry -
Cuteness factor zero.


Sarah -
My favorite thing about this story is how utterly bonkers Tom Baker is throughout. He's been madcap for the entire first series, but takes it all over the top in "Revenge of the Cybermen". He truly is a mad man -- who really needs to find his blue box!


Harry -
It really does feel like the Doctor is just making it up as he goes along in this one. When the console he was rigging blew up in his face... well at least now we know how he lost his eyebrows.


Sarah -
One thing I will say for this episode is how perfect the Nerva crew are. The three of them all look like they've been cooped up on the beacon for ages and it's clearly wearing on them. If anyone is working it in this episode it's the three of them -- even if they're quickly whittled down to two.


Harry -
After part one and its pageant of obvious plot set ups, part two suddenly screams into life. The Doctor ingeniously expells the toxin from Sarah by sending her and Harry down to Voga via transmat. That was brilliant.

From there, the story becomes a rollicking adventure. I've already gushed about it above, so let me take this moment to point out the convergence of several guest actors beneath those Vogan masks. Kevin Stoney as Tyrum, Michael Wisher as Magrik and David Collings as Vorus. All three have made multiple appearances on Doctor Who over the years, and they were great as the squabbling Vogans.


Sarah -
Kevin Stoney is my single all-time favorite Doctor Who guest actor -- the man who brought us both Mavic Chen and Tobias Vaughan! It's a pity that he's hidden behind a mask, but it's a small price to pay to have him in the story.

The Voga location filming is brilliant. Better than any quarry, Wookey Hole Caves has to be one of the best location sites ever. The settings lends a certain verisimilitude to all the Voga scenes.


Harry -
I'm glad that the show runners deliberately sought out locations that were "not quarries" when it would have been so easy to fall back on that standby throughout this season.

The Vogans were interesting in that they weren't the villains in the story, but Vorus' scheming almost led to everyone's undoing. I like when the Doctor encounters alien species and steps right into the middle of an internal conflict.


Sarah -
To be accurate, he usually leaps more than steps. While there's often an obvious good and bad side in the internal conflict, things are murkier on Voga -- but we all know the Cybermen are the baddies.


Harry -
I also like when the Doctor and his friends have to deal with multiple enemies. In this one, we get the truly irritating Kellman, the suddenly emotive Cybermen and their charmless Cybermats, and the baton-wielding Vorus.


Sarah -
Kellman nailed the sci-fi villian look, didn't he? Gotta watch the guy in the turtleneck.


Harry -
Turtleneck = bad news.

Admitedly, this story is a bit wonky. The whole thing about gold being fatal to the Cybermen never made sense, nor did Kellman perpetrating mass murder on Nerva just to destroy the Cybermen. Then there was the suicide bomb plot that no one really believed (thought it did allow the Doctor to deliver poor Harry's eternal epithet). But on pure action and drama alone, this story is still great viewing.


Sarah -
There are loads of holes in the plot, but it's extremely watchable.

Poor Harry, he started out as Ian Chesterton and ended up as Bertie Wooster. Most wasteful use of a companion since Liz Shaw.

If I can register one more complaint -- the music was unbearable. Apparently, the producers thought they should take a break from Dudley Simpson, so Carey Blyton was brought in for one story. I can't help but think the story would have been stronger with Dudley's steady hand on the wheel.


Harry -
You're right about the music. For a moment, we could hear a bit of Pertwee-era electronica when the Cybermen were down in the caves, but then the score switched back to that hokey stuff that played throughout. Not a fan.


Sarah -
Speaking of Doctor Who stalwarts, Michael Briant's direction played up the action and helped us forget all those bits that didn't quite make sense.


Harry -
The atmospheric caverns made a great setting for all those shootouts and skidoo getaways (Go Sarah go!). As a one-time thing, this troop of over-the-top Cybermen were fascinating baddies. And I really loved the design of the Vogans and their internal strife.

The suspense and action of part four made it easy to forgive the weakness of part one. There's Sarah charging the Cybermen as they prepare to detonate their Cyberbombs on Nerva. "Detonation now" was a great moment of expectation. When that fails, the Cyberleader and Vorus move to bomb each other to oblivion, and the countdown to the thrilling finale is on.


Sarah -
Things did get a bit tense there in part four, but it all comes right in the end -- and the TARDIS finally arrives at Nerva! Huzzah!


Harry -
People are going to think I'm nuts when they see what I rate this story, but that final sequence was heartracing stuff. Who will bomb who first? Will it be mutually assured destruction? Will the TARDIS and her crew be lost forever?

When Tyrum shoots Vorus, Stevenson is forced to control the rocket. With the Doctor's help, he manoeuvres the rocket away from Nerva and crashes it into the Cybership. Awesome!

Then, seconds before Nerva crashes into Voga, the Doctor pilots it away and safely into open space. Awesome!

Everyone is reunited and the TARDIS arrives safe and sound. Awesome!


Sarah -
I've peeked ahead and have to admit that I'm surprised by your generous rating, but emotion is an important part of Doctor Who and I never mind sentimentality.


Harry -
I'll always be that wide-eyed 5-year-old when watching "Revenge of the Cybermen." 

Before anyone can take a breather, the Doctor picks up a tickertape message from the Brigadier, our friends are off once again, and one of the best seasons of Doctor Who comes to a close.


Sarah -
It's really just about a perfect season, isn't it? Having torn through in a couple weeks, it's almost hard to imagine having to watch it over months. I was getting impatient when I had to wait a day for the next episode.


Harry -
What a wild ride that was.  Forgive me Sarah, I need to stretch out and catch my breath!


Sarah -
Just don't step in any giant clams while you're stretching.


Harry -
Best Line:
"Why don't we just wait here?"
"I think my idea's better."
"What is your idea?"
"I don't know yet. That's the trouble with ideas, they only come a bit at a time."

Favourite Moment: the thrilling finale.

Lasting Image: Cybermen and Vogans battling in the caves.

Yes, the story is goofy, but it was well placed to follow the gloom of "Genesis of the Daleks." Riding a wave of old memories and warm feelings, I have to give this one...

9/10


Sarah -
Best Line: Sarah - "Well, we can't just sit here glittering, can we?"

Favorite Moment: I'll concur on the thrilling finale!

Lasting Image: The Doctor with his yo-yo and the Cyberman as the transmat lands him on Voga.

7/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #80 - Terror of the Zygons...