Story #97 - The Invasion of Time (1978)

Harry -
After the awfulness of "Underworld", I was quite looking forward to "The Invasion of Time." There's so much on the surface to recommend it: it's a season-ending 6-parter, it's set on Gallifrey, it features a double alien threat, and there's also a double companion farewell. We also get to see much more of the inner TARDIS. So much win!

And yet when I watched it all in one go, it wasn't all that satisfying. Maybe I should have watched it in smaller portions?


Sarah -
I hear what you're saying, but I have a very different reaction to the story. Yes, it has its weaknesses. The story was written at the 11th hour and designed to be as inexpensive as possible, but I can't help loving the story. It's so much fun to watch -- as long as you don't think about the actual story too much.


Harry -
The most interesting thing here might be that we've finally found a story we don't completely agree on.


Sarah -
It had to happen eventually, I guess.


Harry -
I think this is one where the memories of it are better than the story itself. The opening scenes were intriguing, as we see the Doctor plotting an invasion of Gallifrey with some unseen cohorts. These are echoes of his erratic behavior in the opening of "The Deadly Assassin," but we know the Doctor too well to believe he'd get in league with anyone against his own people, doddering old fools they may be. And gosh there's a lot of doddering here.


Sarah -
We do agree on the doddering. The portrayal of the Time Lords in stories like "The Deadly Assassin" and "The Invasion of Time" is my preferred way to see them. In earlier stories, they're portrayed as god-like beings. Seeing the petty politicking of Gallifrey makes it easy to understand why the Doctor would choose to get the hell out of there.

Perhaps the story's greatest plot weakness is that we don't know why the Doctor is helping the Vardans in the first place. We don't know who they are, and neither does he. There's no indicating how or why they contacted him, we just sally forth into the story. I mostly chose to ignore the questions and enjoy the ride.

Fun fact: Mr. Smith has threatened for years to cover himself in plastic wrap and cosplay a Vardan at Chicago TARDIS. I should double-dog dare him to do it this year.


Harry -
That costume would be easy to make, and imagine how many people would ask him who he was!

When I started watching the story, it felt like we'd skipped an episode and walked into the middle of something already well underway. For a six-parter, the whole thing felt stitched together from odds and ends. There was the Doctor-betrays-Gallifrey angle, the Doctor-becomes-president angle, the Vardan invasion (which wasn't much of an invasion, as they got zapped away the moment they let their guard down) and finally the Sontaran runaround two-parter.


Sarah -
Yes, but: the TARDIS swimming pool, endless corridors, Storeroom 23A, Ancillary Power Station disguised as an art gallery!

Oh dear, I think I'm starting to talk myself down from my enthusiasm...


Harry -
Never curb your enthusiasm!

The TARDIS swimming pool was great, as was the art gallery. I wasn't as enthused by the corridors and staircases -- they seemed too grungy compared to the pristine white console room.


Sarah -
You're not the only one. There are plenty of disparaging comments about the Doctor's upkeep of the TARDIS from the visiting Time Lords.


Harry -
The show-runners also had to prepare a suitable exit angle for Leela. Now, I'm intrigued by a man in red tights as much as anyone, but was there enough in this story to make Leela's bonding with Andred believeable? I say nay!


Sarah -
It's one of the worst companion exits in the history of the series. Still, those were some tight tights.


Harry -
I wonder how much lead time "David Agnew" (hah!) got before he had to write Leela's departure. I know Louise had been clear about wanting to leave the show. Do you remember that video she played at our first Chicago TARDIS? It was a compilation of every time the Doctor had shushed Leela. And it went on and on! Who wouldn't have grown tired of that gig?


Sarah -
I do remember that. It was hysterical. Apparently, there was hope among the production team that Louise Jameson would stay on for another season, so they kept the ending open in case she changed her mind. She and Andred did manage to work in a few moments that at least hint at attraction, but they certainly don't lead the audience to expect her to stay with him.


Harry -
It would have been way more amazing had Leela chosen to stay and bond with Rodan. Their relationship was truly a case of opposites attract. I did like how Rodan evolved from being all haughty in her sheltered life inside the Citadel, to being shattered by the world outside, to donning animal skins and joining the Vikings as they stormed the Citadel.


Sarah -
I really like Rodan. She's more flexible in her thinking than the rest of the Time Lords. She should be the next president!


Harry -
Funny enough, we are about to meet another Gallifreyan character who does just that!


Sarah -
I did find myself wondering if Rodan was the inspiration for Romana. I believe she's the first Time Lady we've met, so why not introduce another?


Harry -
Back to the story, I can't think of those "outsiders" as anything but Vikings. There was a strong vibe of recycled costumes going on there.


Sarah -
I love that "dropping out" of Time Lord culture involves becoming shaggy warriors!

Can we at least agree that Milton Johns' performance as the obsequious Castellan Kelner is a delight? Such a toady collaborator -- Johns milks it for all it's worth!


Harry -
Oh, Milton Johns! That Castellan was so oily I wanted to wash my hands after each of his scenes. Epic toadying.


Sarah -
He had me giggling through the entire story.


Harry -
Equally reptilian was John Arnatt as Borusa. What a cold lizard he was, although his "running through corridors" moment with the Doctor was hilarious.


Sarah -
He was perfect. The caliber of the actors in this story often put me in the mind of Shakespearean drama -- minus the brilliant writing, of course.


Harry -
Something I have noticed cropping up -- especially in this story -- is Tom looking and acting directly into the camera. These moments create a kind of hammy self-reverence that I'm not wild about, because they make it seem like it's "The Tom Baker Show" and not Doctor Who.


Sarah -
Tom was very TOM in this story, wasn't he? The first one is amusing, but it gets tedious very quickly.


Harry -
Okay that's enough grumbling from me. Let's talk about the Sontarans!

...oh dear.


Sarah -
So disappointing. Could the costume department not manage to design a helmet that allowed the actor to look out both eye slots at the same time? At first it was awkward. Eventually, it became so distracting I couldn't look at anything else!


Harry -
The one eye through the helmet was creepy. I don't know what happened here. Was it really that hard to reuse or replicate the look of the original Sontarans? They are a race of clones after all. Stor, with his two black eyes, bad teeth and cockney lisp, was a pale imitation of Linx and Styre.

Let's not spend this entire review whingeing, Sarah. Surely there's some good in "The Invasion of Time." The title is cool. There's that. It's always fun to get a glimpse at Gallifrey, because it reinforces why the Doctor left it and never wanted to return. The show-runners obviously wanted to throw everything into this season finale. On paper it probably sounded great. For a six-parter it's one of the fastest-moving ones, even if the final product left me feeling a bit meh.


Sarah -
Considering some of the six-parters we've endured, there's a lot to be said for "The Invasion of Time". It really never drags.

Sadly, it's time to say goodbye to another companion. What do you make of the Leela Era?


Harry -
For the longest time I believed that Jo Grant spent her entire time with the Doctor as just a one-dimensional stock companion. As we saw earlier in our marathon, that was not the case. Instead, the one-dimensional stock companion mantle may fall upon Leela. She didn't really show much character development from her introduction in "The Face of Evil" to her departure here. It may have been a term of endearment, but the Doctor never rose above calling her "Savage" in most stories -- and that seemed to cement her status. She did a lot of heavy lifting and showed a lot of personal strength, but I wish we could have gone deeper into the character. In the end, she runs off unexpectedly with a man in red tights. Did I mention I was quite fond of those tights?


Sarah -
I can only agree that Andred knew how to rock those tights!

I disagree about Leela's character development, but only a bit. I would say that there was some growth in her character, but I suspect the bad feelings between Louise and Tom kept them from developing the rapport that he had with Elisabeth Sladen. I often found myself admiring Louise Jameson's performance when it was clear that she was doing all she could with subpar material. The writers often seemed unsure how to handle her character, but Jameson made the best of it and never allowed Leela to be anything other than a strong savage warrior.


Harry -
The fierce loyalty she had for the Doctor is what I will remember most about Leela.


Sarah -
She never lost faith in him -- even when he had her thrown out of the citadel!


Harry -
Best Line:
Vardan - "We have suspected the Doctor since we first made contact. We shall deal with him soon."
Doctor [elsewhere] - "Well at least they don't suspect me."

Favourite Moment: Castellan Kelner bowing and scraping before the Vardans.

Lasting Image: Stor's loony face.

6/10


Sarah -
Best Line:
Borusa : "You have access to the greatest source of knowledge in the universe."
The Doctor : "Well, I do talk to myself sometimes."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor's induction as President

Lasting Image: The Doctor, wearing the Sash of Rassilon, holding the Rod of Rassilon, and sitting on the Sofa of Rassilon! Wait, I think that last one was just my imagination...

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #98 - The Ribos Operation...

Story #96 - Underworld (1978)

Harry -
Um... did we just accidentally watch a fan film? That couldn't have been proper Doctor Who, surely?


Sarah -
I have no idea what that was, Old Boy. Now I understand how I've never seen this story before -- it has to be the nadir of the Tom Baker era.


Harry -
It's certainly a low point. [*laff track*]

One of the story's first images -- Leela standing at the TARDIS console looking utterly bored -- should serve as a warning to anyone venturing into this one.


Sarah -
She looked a little too bored, in fact. "The TARDIS -- so simple, a savage can fly it!"


Harry -
As the episodes rolled by in a ceaseless repetition of cavern chases and awkward closeups, I became astonished that the BBC allowed this to air. The production is shoddy beyond belief. Some effort was made to make the flight deck of the spaceship R1C somewhat different. Those cushy lounge chairs seemed out of place, and yet totally suitable for a 70s Sci Fi set. We meet another unremarkable space crew clad in ridiculous foil uniforms. Had I not written down their names I'd have forgotten them already.


Sarah -
You wrote them down? Overachiever!


Harry -
Once our friends arrive in the TARDIS (heard but not seen), things get a bit interesting. There's the usual suspicion and drawing of weapons, but at least the Doctor and Leela aren't accused of murder right off the bat.


Sarah -
That's a change of pace -- and perhaps the only surprise in the entire story. From there we head into a fairly literal retelling of Jason and the Golden Fleece, which somehow manages to make the story even less interesting than I remember from high school.


Harry -
Some of the concepts in "Underworld" were brilliant, like the Miniens who have regenerated a thousand times, the pacifist beam used to subdue hostile people, and the lost ship P7E which was the core of a still-forming planet on the edge of the cosmos.


Sarah -
The regeneration was particularly interesting, given the Minyan connection to the Time Lords. The Minyans recognize the TARDIS as the technology of "the gods" and we learn that helping the Minyans evolve faster and the the disastrous results lead to the Time Lords adopting a policy of non-interference. This may be the most interesting part of the entire story.


Harry -
It's got the makings of a fascinating story, but all we see for most of it is a bunch of unenthusiastic people running around in front of a blue screen, wearing awfully cheap costumes. We first saw the use of primitive blue screen technology during the Pertwee era. It was obvious onscreen, looked awkward more often than not, but at least they used it sparingly. Here, the entire underworld is blue screen. It looks okay for a few seconds, but it just wasn't capable of supporting prolonged visuals. The technology wasn't good enough yet.


Sarah -
The color separate overlay is an obvious cost-saving measure that cheapens the entire look of the story. Apparently, the budget was so tight that canceling the entire story and allocating its entire budget to "The Invasion of Time" was considered.


Harry -
The Trogs looked like unused extras from the live-action Flintstones movie. And what the hell were all the hooded security guards wearing? It looked like creepy mediaeval fetish costumes. Tom and Louise looked like they hated every minute of this one.


Sarah -
There's a great piece of footage in the bonus features where Tom's prattling on to one of the guest actors about how he was really born at the wrong time and should have been born during the Victoria Era...blah...blah...blah... Louise looks so epically bored that she's spending her time watching the tech who's just outside the shot with great absorption. I understand exactly how she feels.


Harry -
There was that one moment when Leela dragged Idas from the caverns into the body of the ship, and I wondered if they cast a particularly skinny actor so that Louise could haul him around easily. Wondering about casting decisions - that's how uninterested I was in the story itself.

The production was a letdown, the camera work was jarring, the acting was wooden, the overuse of repeat footage was terrible. The reprise at the start of part three clocked in at over two minutes. General awfulness throughout. Would you say this Doctor Who's Plan 9 From Outer Space?


Sarah -
This has to be our most disappointing viewing since "The Space Pirates" -- and that at least had the excuse of being a recon!


Harry -
In the end, our friends outwitted possibly the most dimwitted antagonists in all of Doctor Who, and they returned to the TARDIS. Calling Jackson "Jason" as they departed was sort of like breaking the fourth wall and pointing out to the viewers precisely which mythical retelling we'd all been through. By that point, I just wanted this hot mess to be over with. 

The final disappointment was that we never got to see the painting that the Doctor was working on.

Best Line:
DOCTOR: "Have you ever heard of the Flying Dutchman?"
LEELA: "No."
DOCTOR: "Pity, I've often wanted to know who he was."

Favourite Moment: the Doctor bursts into the console room wearing a painter's smock and hat.

Lasting Image: the cushy lounge chairs on the R1C's flight deck

2/10


Sarah -
Best Line: Re: the bombs
Jackson: What are we going to do
Doctor: I think I’d better get rid of them, don’t you?

Favorite Moment: The Doctor getting caught up in the moment, chanting, “The quest is the quest” along with the crew.

Lasting Image: The Doctor in his painting gear.

2/10

Our marathon continues with Story #97 - The Invasion of Time...

Story #95 - The Sun Makers (1977)

Sarah -
"Let me tell you how it will be; there's one for you nineteen for me..." Fourteen years in, and the taxman has caught up with the Doctor.

Before starting this story, we were both wondering if we'd seen it before. After watching it, I'm fairly certain I hadn't, which made the viewing even more delightful. What a fun, clever story!


Harry -
I am 100% certain that I had never seen "The Sun Makers" before, nor the next story to follow, so this is a unique treat during our marathon.

Bob Holmes stories are the best. Cracking dialogue!


Sarah -
Absolutely!


Harry -
I get the sense he's channeling his inner Mac Hulke here.


Sarah -
Spot on, Old Boy!


Harry -
The scene is set when we first see Citizen Cordo in a drab, high-walled corridor, awaiting to pay his father's death taxes. He's made to look so insignificant, like a mouse in a maze.


Sarah -
Poor Cordo. The set design does all it can to overwhelm him -- I can't imagine anyone watching this without wanting to give him a hug. Shortly after meeting Cordo, we meet Gatherer Hade, obsequiously performed by Richard Leech with all the verisimilitude of a ingratiating sycophant. So much so that his performance seems to have inspired my vocabulary to soar to unctuous heights!


Harry -
Glory be to the Company!


Sarah -
Glory be!


Harry -
Gatherer Hade is a hilarious panto villain in a hilarious panto story. I had to view it that way - there was no other way to take his bathrobe and turban seriously.


Sarah -
Despite his pomposity, I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him in the end.


Harry -
A shocking demise. They tried to make it comedic, but still, quote shocking. Bob Holmes has done his Hulkeian best in delivering a biting anti-capitalist satire set in a mercantile madhouse on the planet Pluto. The cheap yet creative sets, the lack of special effects, and the all-humanoid cast (barring K-9) reminded me of a Hartnell or Troughton adventure.


Sarah -
I can easily picture Patrick Troughton dashing around the planet Pluto!


Harry -
We've seen Doctor Who as a psychedelic fantasy show earlier this season, now we see it as a vehicle for social fables. How else would this story have gotten the green light had they not included some zany caricatures and funny sets to entertain the kids? I loved the walls with the giant dials on them.


Sarah -
The sets were epic -- and K-9 gets to join in on a proper adventure.


Harry -
Good to see K-9 tearing up and down some corridors at last. Although he wasn't quick enough to stop the Doctor getting gassed at the Plutonian ATM. Another very simple set yet a memorable one. The giant bank card was amusing too.


Sarah -
Holmes had no idea how truly futuristic he was in that scene. It was a particularly harrowing cliffhanger as the Doctor succumbs to the gas.


Harry -
While the Doctor is hauled off to the correction centre and Leela tries to rally the skeptical conspirators beneath the city, Gatherer Hade meets with the Collector. Hard to believe the Gatherer could be trumped for silliness, but the Collector was even sillier. With his mock-Nosferatu appearance and funny voice, Henry Woolf creates a truly unique character.


Sarah -
I'm pretty sure the only way you can go with these character is over the top -- WAY over the top.


Harry -
I was amazed to discover that neither Woolf nor Leech appeared in any other Doctor Who adventure. Their performances here were brilliant. (As an aside, I was delighted to learn that Woolf moved to Canada and has lived here for decades and is still going strong!)


Sarah -
Hm, I sense a special guest for the next Canadian WhoCon. Get to work on it, Harry!


Harry -
It was too bad that the conspirators didn't have a charismatic character among them. They were a bit generic, that is, until Cordo completed his transformation from a meek everyman into a gun-wielding revolutionary.


Sarah -
They were a bit predictable, weren't they? Still, "The Sun Makers" is a nice change of pace from the heavy tone of the series in recent stories.


Harry -
Do you wonder if this story -- heavy on the allegory, light on the aliens -- was produced as a one-off, or if they were seeing if the show could move in another direction. Could Doctor Who have used more of these types of story? Granted, we did get some silly alien action at the end as the Collector (who turned out to be a Usurian, ha!) transformed into green goo and got flushed down his own chair. The rest of the story was free of the proverbial bug-eyed monsters. It was a nice change.


Sarah -
It was nice to have some (mostly) human drama.


Harry -
At the end, I found myself wishing for more stories like this one, rather than craving a return to the more familiar monsters and maniacs. What do you think, old girl?


Sarah -
I guess we're seeing the road not taken -- for a while, at least.


Harry -
Oh gosh, I almost forgot to point out that Tom Baker had his own brainy specs! I'm talking about that weird pince-nez with the black lenses. Pretty sure he never wore those again. Another unique point to this unique adventure.


Sarah -
Always a good luck, with the pince-nez!

Best Line: "We have tried war on occasion – but the use of purely economic power is far more effective."

Favorite Moment: The Gatherer's flattery

Lasting Image: The Doctor in his straightjacket

7/10


Harry -
Best Line:
[as the Doctor tries to open a safe]
Leela: "What are you doing?"
Doctor: "I don't know. It always looks so easy."

Favourite Moment: I'm with you on Gatherer Hade's loquacious pomposity.

Lasting Image: The Collector leering in his chair.

8/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #96 - Underworld...

Story #94 - Image of the Fendahl (1977)

Harry -
Wow! This one's chock full o' horror. There's gothic horror, folk horror, even some Lovecraftian horror. Whichever way you classify it, "Image of the Fendahl" is a grand return to Hinchcliffe-style horror - it's practically an homage to Hinchcliffe homages!


Sarah -
A homage to the homages -- well-observed, Harry!

We certainly start with a spot of drama -- a team of scientists, getting up to something that doesn't seem quite right. To be fair, any team of scientists in Doctor Who will very likely be getting up to something that doesn't seem quite right, but things are just a bit more menacing in Image of the Fendahl.


Harry -
Right from the opening shots, we know we're in for a good one. We see the mysterious skull up close, we see the team of scientists at work inside a gothic-looking priory, and there's that overlapped image of the skull and Thea Ransome's face. You can tell director George Spenton-Foster couldn't get enough of that one.


Sarah -
I understand why! It's wonderfully creepy.


Harry -
That grinding organ sound that was used whenever the skull became active was wonderfully atmospheric.

Then there's the cutaway to the hiker murdered in the woods. Great night filming, and a great kickoff to the story. When we finally get to the TARDIS, it felt like we'd already gotten through half of part one.


Sarah -
We're tossed straight into the deep end with this story. The scene in the woods was terrifying. I realized I was holding my breath when he started running.


Harry -
I wonder if Chris Boucher found out that K-9 had joined the TARDIS team well after he'd penned this story. Our new friend is immediately dispatched, in dire need of repairs for corrosion.


Sarah -
I read somewhere that the story was finished before they knew about K-9, hence the repairs.


Harry -
The TARDIS detects a time displacement and it's back to Earth for the Doctor and Leela.


Sarah -
And the chance to, once again, insult Leela's ancestors. Silly humans.


Harry -
By the end of part one, many threads have been introduced. The team of scientists is clearly in two factions: there are Fendelman and Stael, who know more than they are letting on to Thea and Adam. The suspicion is ramped up when Fendelman calls in for a security team to guard the priory.

Meanwhile the villagers are acting like old school villagers, talking about The Old Ways like something out of the folk horror movies of the time. And of course the Doctor and Leela get into a spot of bother trying to sort it out. As the Doctor stands around in the fog-enveloped woods, Leela enters a cottage and shots are fired!


Sarah -
Now THAT'S a cliffhanger.

The cottage belongs to none other than Martha Tyler, brilliantly portrayed by Daphne Heard. Martha is one of my favorite guest actors ever -- she steals every scene. Rock Salt! The Old Ways! What's not to love?


Harry -
Mother Tyler! She's great, and the camera made such great use of her face. Her intensity was off the charts.

I can't go on without pointing out that Thea Ransome is portrayed by Wanda Ventham, who is Benedict Cumberbatch's mum! He definitely has her electric blue eyes.

But my favourite actor of all in this movie is the unnamed tawny owl in the Tyler cottage. I love that owl! When Leela burst into the cottage and loudly threatened Ted Ross, the owl remained on its perch, observing silently. Totally cool. Best guest actor ever?


Sarah -
Best winged guest actor ever, perhaps?

Back to Thea, she starts out as perhaps the most interesting of the scientists, only to find herself transformed into the Fendahl core. I'm not really sure what is with her transformation look, but it's all kids of fabulous! She rocks that head-to-toe golden Medusa look. Fortunately, the megalomaniac scientist Stael has already assembled a team of minions, who are ready to fulfill their destiny when Thea's transformation occurs.


Harry -
Stael amounted to less than the usual cult leader. He kept his white lab coat on the entire time while his minions at least put on some hooded cult robes. When everything went horribly wrong, he shot himself, which was both a timid end and also somewhat shocking to see on Doctor Who.


Sarah -
Even more shocking, the original script apparently had him putting the gun in his mouth on-screen! Stael is just another boring megalomaniac. Are there any interesting megalomaniacs?


Harry -
Thea's transformation was wild, as were the evolutionary theories hinted at by the Doctor.

The Fendahl as presented is incredibly dark. As the Doctor put it, the Fendahl "eats life" and is "death" itself. There's so much darkness to this story, and yet it doesn't seem particularly notorious among fans. Maybe because the physical manifestations of the evil are either glam gold Medusa, who never speaks, or the giant reptile things that hiss menacingly, but are easily dispatched with rock salt like snails in the garden. The monster's demise even plays out in reverse, the action growing quieter until the final controlled implosion ends the threat. There's no payoff, no memorable big bang. It's very unique for Doctor Who.


Sarah -
The Fendahl itself turns out to be among the most disappointing Doctor Who aliens in the series' history -- and that' really saying a lot.


Harry -
Yeah, I tried really hard to suspend my disbelief, but it's hard not to see the Fendahleen creatures as lumpen lumbering things with yarn streamers blowing out of their mouths.

Still, I do like this one a lot. The story is dark and interesting, the acting is great, the music and camera work are solid, and the way it unfolds is no cookie cutter. The only thing that would have made it better was if the tawny owl hopped onto the Doctor's shoulder and joined the TARDIS crew. Tom Baker once said that he would have loved it if his Doctor had a parrot. I think he might have settled for the owl.


Sarah -
He would have liked an owl better -- it wouldn't talk back.

Speaking of talking back, Leela's character continues to develop in this story. I enjoy Louise Jameson's performance more and more with each story. I'm a little sad that we only have three left.


Harry -
Leela is definitely doing the heavy lifting while Tom arses around making faces and downing jelly babies. I liked how pleased she was to have saved the Doctor's life.

After all that, our friends make a hasty departure and it's off to the next adventure after a stop at the nearest supernova. All in a day's work!

Shall we move on then? Don't forget to put rock salt in your pocket!


Sarah -
I shall never again leave the house without a handy supply of rock salt!

Best Line:
Leela: "He came armed and silent."
The Doctor: "You must have been sent by providence."
Ted Moss: "No, I was sent by the council to cut the verges."
Leela: "Your council should choose its warriors more carefully."

Favorite Moment: Every moment Mother Tyler is on screen.

Lasting Image: The Golden Thea, of course!

7/10


Harry -
Best Line:
"You know summat John? There's goin'a come a time when I'll be too old for this sorta thing."

Never, Mother Tyler, never!

Favourite Moment: the tawny owl plays it totally cool during the hubbub at the cottage.

Lasting Image: the glowing skull double image.

7/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #95 - The Sun Makers...

Story #93 - The Invisible Enemy (1977)

Harry -
It had been a long time since I'd last watched "The Invisible Enemy." My lasting impression was that this was an important story, but not a very good one.

I still feel the same way. It's a decent sci fi thriller with some good acting and camera work, but it's marred by horrendously bad special effects and set designs.

Most importantly though: K-9!


Sarah -
At the beginning I wasn't sure that I remembered the story, until we got to the foundation hospital. Then it hit me -- "OMG, it's the one where the Doctor and Leela get shrunk down and injected into the Doctor's brain and we meet K-9!"


Harry -
Yeah, I guess it's an homage to "Amazing Journey" or "Fantastic Voyage" or whatever that thing was called.


Sarah -
K-9! Let us contemplate for a moment the many ways K-9 could have gone wrong. On second thought, let's not -- K-9 is far too awesome to imagine any other way.


Harry -
From the moment we meet him, K-9 shows all the traits we came to know and love as youngsters. He's smart, upbeat, loyal and isn't afraid to zap an enemy. He's noisy as hell in this first story, though. I think there were some mobility or control issues with K-9 at first. But still, K-9!

Let's backup to the start of this story. Ho boy, these might be the worst couple of opening minutes in the show's history. It begins with a cheesy graphic of an asteroid field, into which floats a model spaceship. Inside the ship, a crew in very 70s spacesuits work a very 70s control console, and I mean very 70s in a bad way this time. Suddenly, the ship is attacked by lightning shooting out of a giant spider web floating in space. Awful, just awful. What a relief when we switch to the TARDIS and it's back to the original console room.


Sarah -
It's nice to be back in the proper console room, isn't it? The change of pace was nice, but there's no place like home.


Harry -
I think we'll see echoes of the secondary console room during Paul McGann's story, but that's for another time.


Sarah -
The first episode really isn't the most compelling. Was it just me, or did the cockpit of the space ship look suspiciously that the one from "Planet of Evil"?


Harry -
Very similar. It occurred to me just now that while the Beeb was really good at producing period sets and costumes, they were equally awful at producing futuristic space sets and costumes during the Tom Baker era. We'll have to keep an eye on this peculiarity.


Sarah -
Things pick up a bit in the second episode when we find ourselves at the Bi-Al Foundation.


Harry -
...which resembles a giant rotten orange floating in space...


Sarah -
Exactly!


Harry -
For a medical facility, its outer design did not exactly inspire confidence. Inside, we switch to extreme white clinical interiors with odd futuro-phonetic spellings on the walls ("ISOLAYSHUN WARD"; "EGSIT"). There are nurses in green plastic body suits and doctors in all-whites, everyone wearing odd headgear except Professor Marius, a quaint Germanic caricature. It's almost as if this story is a pre-Douglas Adams Douglas Adams satire.

I thought Marius seemed familiar, and in keeping with the Beeb's recycling efforts, Frederick Jaeger was none other than Professor Sorenson from "Planet of Evil." My goodness, Beeb!


Sarah -
Marius is my favorite character in the story. He's just wacky enough to keep things interesting. I mean, the man invented a mechanical dog for company -- how can you not love that? I had that familiar feeling of knowing we'd seen him in another story, but had to look it up. One really comes to appreciate good acting when we see actors in such different roles. He was so gruff and creepy as Sorenson.


Harry -
One acting job that really stood out in this story was by Doctor Who stalwart Michael Sheard, as Lowe. Sheard really gave it his all. Despite the flakey eye makeup, he menaced our friends as good as anyone.


Sarah -
He was wonderful, as always!

How about the trippy trip inside the Doctor's brain? Those were some interesting sets!


Harry -
Oh the psychedelia. The Doctor and Leela tread inside his neural pathways bathed in hues of red, gold, green and pink. These are my favourite scenes of the story. This is where it veers from barely plausible science to total fantasy. Nice nod to The Prisoner in the form of those attacking white bubbles (were they blood cells?).


Sarah -
I had the same thought about The Prisoner. I'm pretty sure they were meant to be white blood cells. I love the Doctor's solution of send them to his liver!


Harry -
When the Doctor finally confronts the nucleus inside his brain, he - like the rest of us - has to endure a long and tedious rant. Boooring!


Sarah -
So many tedious rants to be had in space.


Harry -
Do you know how "The Invisible Enemy" could have been improved, Sarah?


Sarah -
I'm DYING to know, Old Boy!


Harry -
By keeping the enemy invisible!


Sarah -
Can't argue about that.


Harry -
Once the nucleus monster is brought to its full size, we are left to gawk at a giant, immobile prawn that the supporting cast have to drag around the sets, while it continues ranting. It's just ridiculous. By then I was willing to overlook another mass killing perpetrated by the Doctor, just so the damn thing would shut up. Of course, even the payoff was laughably bad, as the explosion on Titan was represented by a row of flames on the model set.


Sarah -
It's one of those moments that makes us all cringe.


Harry -
What a disappointment. I'm so done with this one.

At story's end, the only positive was that Marius survived and he let the Doctor and Leela keep K-9 -- who scooted happily into the TARDIS.

Shall we scoot happily to our next adventure, Sarah?


Sarah -
I'm already happily scooting! See if you can catch up.


Harry -
Best Line:
"I know this brain like the back of my hand."

Favourite Moment: the Doctor and Leela roam through the psychedelic sets.

Lasting Image: the Bi-Al Foundation floating in space.

5/10


Sarah -
Best Line:
Leela : "Why "disease"? I thought you liked humanity."

The Doctor : "Oh I do, I do. Some of my best friends are humans. When they get together in great numbers other lifeforms sometimes suffer."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor dashing past Leela and K-9 into the TARDIS and dematerializing, only to come back for them a moment later.

Lasting Image: The Doctor and Leela on the white brain bridge.

5/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #94: Image of the Fendahl...

Story #92 - Horror of Fang Rock (1977)

Sarah -
Base -- or, rather, lighthouse -- under siege!


Harry -
It's a refreshing change.


Sarah -
For old-school (or just old) Chicago Doctor Who fans, "Horror of Fang Rock" will always be tied to memories of the night Max Headroom broke into the WTTW broadcast with this:

Keep in mind that Doctor Who was shown in omnibus format from 11:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Sunday night. When I woke up the morning after the broadcast, I seriously thought I had hallucinated the whole thing!


Harry -
After all this time, no one has stepped forward to claim responsibility for that, have they?


Sarah -
No one has and I love that it's still a mystery!

I have to say, there are some things that One learns to appreciate over time when One is a Doctor Who fan. At the top of my list is that I don't have an unfortunate habit of showing up places when someone has just been killed or gone missing. I don't believe I could handle the pressure of constantly being under suspicion...


Harry -
What a brilliant first episode we got in this one. All dark atmosphere and murky noises -- I mean of course Reuben the ole lighthouse keeper, with his perpetual groaning about electricity. Not the same as oil, nay. T'ain't natural!


Sarah -
I love Reuben!


Harry -
He has a cuddly irascibility about him. My favourite character for sure.

It was nice to see Season 15 start with a continuation of the sci fi historicals, the TARDIS this time landing on a rock smack dab in the Edwardian era. And yes, just in time for poor Ben to become a terribly desecrated corpse within and without the lighthouse on Fang Rock. Leela puts it best early on: "You said I would like Brighton. Well I do not."

Perhaps the most unsettling thing early on was seeing the Doctor wearing a bowler hat. For some reason, people wearing bowler hats make me anxious.


Sarah -
I know what you mean. There's something terribly unsettling about a bowler hat.

It's season fifteen and we've got a new show runner in Graham Williams, but this story continues the tone set in "The Talons of Weng-Chiang". The opening scenes are all atmosphere. I love the lighthouse setting and the introduction of the crew is perfect. "Horror of Fang Rock" maintains the traditions of season fourteen in its high body count. Is there any other story where everyone dies? Every single person we meet in this story is dead by the end. It's so disturbing.


Harry -
Terrance Dicks spreads the slaughter across all classes, sparing neither the humblest seamen nor the poshest toffs, with the Doctor and Leela caught in between.

It was interesting how Uncle Terry arranged this story in comparison to "The Time Warrior." There, he introduced the Sontaran character immediately and kept him front and centre. Here, the alien character mostly lurks in the shadows until emerging in the final episode. The Doctor spends almost the entire story puzzling over who or what the alien menace might be. With the small cast and claustrophobic setting, it allowed for some nice character development.


Sarah -
I love that Dicks introduces us to the Rutans, who were last (and first) heard of in "The TIme Warrior". There's a nice full-circle sense of closure to the story.


Harry -
I have a soft spot for young Vince. He was so heartbroken when Ben died. I also liked his reaction when Leela started removing her Brighton getup and asked for some men's clothes. "I'm no lady!" Haha!


Sarah -
Vince's death is the hardest to bear. He's just so sweet. His scenes with Leela make him particularly endearing.


Harry -
As for the Edwardian Gits as I like to think of them, is there any group of people whose deaths came more as a relief? I know that's terrible to say, but wow did I hate that bunch!

It's fun to imagine Uncle Terry dreaming these characters up. "Let's see, I'll have this arrogant young Lord who bosses everyone around until everyone is pleased to see him die. I'll throw in this shrieking woman who keeps going into hysterics until Leela smacks her in the chops. Then I'll have this slippery old snake of a colonel who'd rather let everyone die than see his reputation sullied. Good. Now I shall kill them all horribly."


Sarah -
They are particularly awful. Palmerdale is clearly hideous from the beginning, but I like what Uncle Terry does with Skinsale. Turning him into the Doctor's ally in the final episode builds some sympathy for him and then BAM! -- he's taken down by his own greed as he attempts to collect the diamonds they've lifted from Palmerdale's corpse. Brilliant writing!

Adelaide has little to recommend her and Leela acts for all of us when she smacks her and tells her to shut up!


Harry -
I was particularly struck by how Tom Baker underplayed this story. Sure, there were the odd moments where he lashed out or smiled in the face of impending doom, but for the most part he was subdued, puzzling over the mystery at the lighthouse. Meanwhile, Leela stabbed about a dozen invisible enemies with that knife she picked up. At this point in their partnership, Leela seems happy to be along for the ride. She trusts the Doctor implicitly and very little seems to phase her, apart from giant cuddly rats.


Sarah -
She's definitely all in. It's a testament to Louise Jameson's acting that she makes Leela so strong and endearing. She was ready to leave the series after Season 14, mostly because of the horrible way she was treated by Tom Baker.


Harry -
Remember that video she played at Chicago TARDIS one year? It was a compilation of every time the Doctor had shushed Leela onscreen, and it was a very long compilation. Who wouldn't have gotten tired of that?


Sarah -
I'm glad she stayed on and they eventually became friends. Leela is one of those companions who has been kind of in the middle for me -- didn't love her, didn't hate her. Like Jo Grant, this marathon has made me better appreciate her character development and certainly bumped her up on my list of companions who are awesome!


Harry -
As with the previous story, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", the production team knocked it out of the park with the set designs and costumes. If the Doctor had been marooned in the Victorian or Edwardian era for a time, I would not have minded more stories like these past two.


Sarah -
Both stories are just about as perfect as Doctor Who can be!


Harry -
Well, season fifteen is off to a cracking start. Let's see who we might meet next...


Sarah -
Best Line:
Vince: "You found the trouble, then?"
Doctor: "Yes, I always find trouble."

Favorite Moment: Leela slapping Adelaide

Lasting Image: The green, glowing Rueben

9/10


Harry -
Best Line:
Doctor: "Ahh! You want to get to London!"
Palmerdale: "Yes!!"
Doctor: "You've no chance in this fog."
Favourite Moment: Reuben grousing about electricity and the positive properties of oil.

Lasting image: the arrival of the Edwardian Gits

8/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #93 - The Invisible Enemy...