The Ark

Story Title: The Ark
Episode Count: 4 Series: 3 Story No: 6
Doctor: 1st Companions: Steven & Dodo
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 21st June 2009

The first fully moving story since The Time Meddler, on several previous viewings I gave up with The Ark during episode 2 & didn’t have high expectations for this story at all. That being said I rather enjoyed this one a lot.

Dodo’s accent seems to have mysteriously changed here, the “northern” accent still appears on the odd word but now she seems a lot more posher. The character herself doesn’t really irritate me but I can understand why some wouldn’t like her, she seems to be very pushy & nosey in this story but then again I suppose they wanted to avoid having another Vicki in the story. Speaking of which Vicki’s costume from The Crusades makes a second appearance here (if it’s not the same costume, it’s very similar). She does however turn out to be more permanent than the last two female companions & thankfully does stick round for a little while.

The Story itself works very well & it’s sort of split into two stories, the first two episodes centre round the humans leaving a worn out Earth (of which there is a nice model shot of it’s disintegration near the end of Episode 2) and that Dodo’s “common cold” causes the death of several of the guardians & the Monoids. What probably wasn’t expected was that they return back to The Ark at the end of Episode 2 & everything has changed, with The Monoids gaining a voice & having taken over The Ark from the humans.

Acting again is on form, although one or two of the Guardians seem a bit off. We see the first appearance of Michael Sheard (who would go on to pop up quite a few times between this story & Remembrance) although his part is rather small in this story. The Monoids themselves are a rather interesting creation, the eye itself is obviously there then chin is, but the animated eye gives it a nice little touch. The design is rather obviously from the 60’s, especially with their hair cuts. The race start of without any speech & seem like willing. The Refusians are a rather interesting touch, being beings that have evolved beyond a physical, visible form & add something to the story.

The sets are rather fitting as well, I particularly like the giant Monoid statue which actually looks like a statue. The sets on Refusis are rather nice, if a little limited to only a few bits, however the model work, including the disintegration of Earth & the Monoid Statue leaving The Ark, are great. It was also nice to hear the return of the wonderful, if short, moody piece of music from DMP Episode 12 as it really adds a sense of dread at the start of Episode 3

All in all a rather nice surprise for me, as I say on several occasions I’ve never made it past Episode 2 but I’m glad that this time round I did as it’s a great little story & it goes along at a great pace.

Overall Rating: 4.25/5 – Great little story which never drags, The Monoids are a wonderful 60’s creation & the acting from virtually all is spot on.

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The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew’s Eve

Story Title: The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew’s Eve
Episode Count: 4 Series: 3 Story No: 5
Doctor: 1st Companions: Steven & Dodo (although she’s not officially a companion here)
Date(s) Watched: Tuesday 16th June 2009 (Episode 1), Sunday 21st June 2009 (Episode 2-4)

A bit of a strange story seeing as not 1 second of footage remains (known) in the world & considering what LC had to work with, the recon is absolutely marvellous. As for the story itself, it’s ok but at times it just didn’t “feel” like Who to me (this is the first & probably only historical that I feel this way about).

That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with it, acting is yet again spot on (as it with 99% of Hartnell’s stories) sets, spot on, musical cues, spot on. It’s just that, for me, the story doesn’t hold my interest that much at all. Maybe the subject didn’t hold me too well, I don’t know, but what I do know is that the two episodes where Hartnell was The Doctor (Episodes 1 & 4) where more enjoyable than the episodes where he’s the Abbot. That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with his performance as the Abbot (it’s rather good IMO) just that I suppose with a companion down in this story it feels a little “empty” at times.

However Steven does do well in those two episodes & manages to carry the story through those two episodes but, because of a lack of The Doctor, when Steven wasn’t on screen my interest started to wane.

The last episode though I really enjoyed as it all seemed to get into gear. First off The Doctor turns up, and then they make a dash for the Tardis as it all starts to kick off round them. Here we get some brilliant dialogue between First & Steven, with them arguing over the morality of “leaving people to their deaths” & that “history shouldn’t be interfered with”. Steven then storms off only for Dodo (with a rather t’broad North West English accent for the end of the episode) to run inside the Tardis & then for Steven to bluster back in & decide to stay put when he realises that Dodo could possibly be a descendant of Anne Chaplet.

The final episode & the excellent reconstruction by LC helped bump up the score a bit, I’ll be honest that at one point near the end of Episode 3 it was hovering around 3/5.

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Brilliant recon, well acted & Episode 4 helps lift the story a quite bit, which at times does feel a bit “empty” for me.

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The Daleks' Master Plan

Be prepared, this review is bloody long, not for those who don't like reading long reviews

Story Title: The Daleks’ Master Plan
Episode Count: 12 Series: 3 Story No: 4
Doctor: 1st Companions: Steven, Katarina & Sara
Date(s) Watched: Tuesday 9th June 2009 (Episodes 1-4), Thursday 11th June 2009 (Episodes 5-10) & Sunday 14th June 2009 (Episodes 11 & 12)

Here it is, the big one, the longest Who story of all (Trial is four stories, deal with it ) and I have to say that this has got to be one of the greatest stories of all time & even at 12 episodes it doesn’t flag one bit.

Throughout this story there are superb performances, in particular by Hartnell, Purves, Hill, Marsh, Courtney & especially Stoney as the wonderfully nasty & completely insane Mavic Chen. The aliens in this story are wonderful wacky in design & their “style” has never really been seen again in Who. The Daleks here are, in particular, very vicious & callous throughout, betraying not only Chen but the whole of the Galactic Council. Mavic Chen himself double crosses absolutely everyone be it fellow members of the council, Sara, Steven & The Doctor and even the Daleks themselves. To me Stoney steals the show with his wonderfully camp, insane portrayal of Chen who never slips up once & is convincing throughout the story.

Nicolas Courtney as Bret Vyron is excellent throughout his episodes as well, it’s just a shame he didn’t last in the story a bit longer as Courtney plays the role of Vyron brilliantly & convincingly. We also see some strains, throughout this story, with The Doctor & Steven’s relationship with them arguing quite a bit throughout the episodes as they clash on what’s best to do once they find out the Daleks are involved. It seems that Vicki kept the pair of them calm when together but now she’s gone they seem to be at each others throats at times. This however adds to the story as they are both in a very desperate situation & have a very short time to save the universe from the Daleks.

The sets themselves are brilliantly realised be it the jungle sets, the Egyptian pyramid sets or the, ahem, film sets in Episode 7. The music is spot on throughout and in Episode 12 is suitably dark & rather creepy. The direction is spot on, as is the music which fits in with each episode that is transmitted.

There’s several episodes I’d like to give particular mention to, those being Episode 7, which is perhaps the maddest episode of them all (even more so than The Chase, Episode 4), and although some hate it, I rather like it as although it slightly jars with the story it does give some light relief in an overall dark & moody story. Episode 8 also has some of these moments (with the Cricket game scene) but overall it’s more straight laced.

Episode 12 however is exceptionally brilliant (and if we’re ever only allowed to recover one more episode from this particular story I hope this is the one that turns up). The music is very moody & chilling indeed, the Doctor is greatly fearless when starting up the time destructor & holding the Daleks to ransom and the destruction of Kemble, Sara & The Daleks themselves is very chilling indeed and something which I think both the classic and modern series have never been able to manage to achieve since.

The most interesting thing out of all this is how the two female companions are introduced & wrote out rather quickly. Katarina was only introduced in Episode 4 of The Myth Makers & by Episode 4 of DMP she’s killed off. I feel this is a big shame and a sort of wasted opportunity as we have a companion from a time period who doesn’t “get” modern life. Throughout her short stay she seems to think she’s on a journey to heaven & that the Doctor is some sort of God. I feel that if she had been retained past this story she would have added an interesting angle to the stories, which sadly never happened. However I can see why the producer decided not to go with her as it would have been a bit difficult to keep writing dialogue for the character. Her death though is rather shocking & haunting in some ways especially as LC animated her floating body in space, which sends a slight chill down ones spine.

With Sara Kingdom, again she is another character who would have been great past this story & would have worked brilliantly as a strong female lead, in a similar vein to Ian & Steven as she doesn’t really screech at all & gets stuck into the action. Her demise is even more shocking & haunting that Katarina’s as she rapidly ages before our eyes to an unrecognisable old woman before turning into a skeleton & then her skeleton crumbling into dust (which was redone brilliantly by the LC team).

With this story as well, if this had been Hartnell’s final adventure instead of The Tenth Planet it would have been the greatest regeneration story of all of the Doctors & I feel this was the story that started the deterioration of the First Doctor’s health which then seem to continue in several of the episodes afterwards when his life was put in danger (the forced invisibility of The Doctor in The Celestial Toymaker I feel also causes the First Doctors health to deteriorate). This story also moves Hartnell up as my sixth favourite Doctor to my fifth favourite Doctor.

Overall Rating: 5/5 – Epic, superb & perhaps the greatest Hartnell story of them all, with superb performances, writing & directing throughout, just a shame that only three episodes survive although LC have done a superb job.

Hope that didn't bore you too much

The Myth Makers

Story Title: The Myth Makers
Episode Count: 4 Series: 3 Story No: 3
Doctor: 1st Companions: Vicki, Steven & Katarina
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 6th June 2009 (Episodes 1 & 2) & Sunday 7th June 2009 (Episodes 3 & 4)

Another completely missing story but in this case it’s a great story that doesn’t get dull at all throughout. What’s also great with this story is that Loose Canon seem to have done so much work on it that you almost feel as if you’re watching the actual live action episodes themselves at times. It was also nice to see the odd surviving clip & re-usage of clips from other episodes in there as well to add to the recon.

There is not really a weak point in this story at all, acting all on form, music fitting (if sounding a little warped, quality wise, at times) & the sets seem as authentic as usual.

This story sees the departure of Vicki, who had been on the series since The Rescue, and unfortunately split up the nice (if short) relationship she had with Steven. It also split up the great relationship Vicki had with the Doctor, of which I always thought the pair of them worked better as Grandfather & Granddaughter than The Doctor & Susan. Katarina gets introduced in Episode 3 & is an interesting take on a companion, she’s from a time which doesn’t understand the “modern” world at all & so is confused by it all. Sadly they never kept her beyond the first few episodes of The Daleks’ Master Plan (more on that when I get to it).

As for the others, I particularly like the comedic characters (Paris & Menelaus) intermingling with the more serious characters. Cassandra I thought was well played by Frances White, although I found her character rather nasty & at times annoying whilst watching (not the actress fault at all, but it was how the part was wrote).

The story finishes on a rather humble note, with Vicki’s fitting departure (with her being left behind with Troilus) and the Doctor, rather oddly having a brief doubt as to whether or not he should have left her there. Steven is also badly injured although is soon on the mend come the next episode.

Overall Rating: 4.25/5 – A great story & a great recon make this an excellent story, it’s just a shame that virtually none of it remains in existence.

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Mission To The Unknown

Story Title: Mission To The Unknown
Episode Count: 1 Series: 3 Story No: 2
Doctor: N/A Companions: N/A
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 6th June 2009

Rather strange & unique story this one as none of the cast actually star in this one. In this case it’s several humans, a collection of rather odd looking aliens & The Daleks themselves. All in all this lends itself as a teaser as to what’s to come. There’s not much else to say plot wise although it does make you wonder whether or not the story will continue next week, obviously a bit of a shock for viewers back then when The Myth Makers aired the following week.

The recon is superb however and Loose Canon have made a superb job at capturing this story, with use of stock footage & plenty of composite pictures that make up for the lack of Telesnaps.

Otherwise this episode serves it’s purpose, as a teaser to an upcoming epic story.

Overall Rating: 3.75/5 – A nice little one off which serves as a preview for what’s to come but that’s all it’s purpose seems to serve.

Galaxy 4

Story Title: Galaxy 4
Episode Count: 4 Series: 3 Story No: 1
Doctor: 1st Companions: Vicki & Steven
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 6th June 2009

A story often commented on as being dull, I went into this one with an open mind. To be fair I did find this one rather a struggle throughout. The story has some nice bits in it, including the rather cute Chumblies and the set for the Rills base looks good as well, but unfortunately this story just resolves around a lot of talking and no action, which can be fine for as story but sod all happens in it.

Although Loose Canon have done a superb job with the recon, especially considering there were next to no telesnaps existing for this story at all, the only problem with it I found was that the sound is awfully muffled in episodes 2 & 3. The story unfortunately just basically resolves round the rather nasty Drahvins, who have no intent on trying to come to a truce with the Rills. Rather oddly the Doctor allows for the Drahvins to be left on the planet & left, more-or-less, to their death.

The music is rather nice, even if the same piece of music used for each episode. The Rills also look quite gruesome as well, although they do turn out to be the good guys in the end.

However I don’t have much else to say about the story, I really did want to like it but found the majority of it instantly forgettable. The last episode is best part & the action does pick up in the end but for the majority of it nothing happens, plus the ending is a nice teaser for what’s to come.

Overall Rating: 2.25/5 – A few nice moments but otherwise a dull slog that doesn’t pick up until the final episode, a shame really as I think had the story had existed it would have been better.

Overall rankings, so far

Seeing as I have watched the first two seasons now I though I'd post my overall rankings for the first 17 stories:

Overall rankings:

The Time Meddler 4.75
The Dalek Invasion Of Earth 4.5
The Chase 4.5
The Reign of Terror 4
The Aztecs 4
The Keys Of Marinus 4
The Rescue 4
The Romans 4
The Crusade 4
Planet Of Giants 4
The Edge Of Destruction 4
The Daleks 3.5
The Space Museum 3.5
An Unearthly Child 3.25
Marco Polo 2.5
The Web Planet 1.5
The Sensorites 1

Thoughts On Season 2

Season 2, what a marked improvement over the previous season. The stories are more fats paced, the First Doctor has mellowed a bit & Susan has gone (hurray!).

There's only one real turkey in this Season, The Web Planet, which is a nice idea but is so thinly spread over six episodes that you get bored by the third one. The story itself would have worked a lot better as a three parter IMO.

The rest however are great with only The Space Museum being the other dent in an otherwise flawless season (although TSM got 3.5/5 so it's not as bad as the Web Planet by quite a way).

Sadly in this season we see the departure of Ian & Barbara but they get a nice send off, with Hartnell showing his sadness greatly in the last few minutes of Part 6 of The Chase.

Steven however makes an excellent replacement & bonds well with Vicki, however as I said in my review for The Time Meddler, it's a shame their other stories together are missing.

All in all this is a superb season & virtually complete, save for the two missing episode of The Crusade.

Overall ratings for Season 2:

Planet Of Giants 4
The Dalek Invasion Of Earth 4.5
The Rescue 4
The Romans 4
The Web Planet 1.5
The Crusade 4
The Space Museum 3.5
The Chase 4.5
The Time Meddler 4.75
Total 34.75/45

The Time Meddler

Story Title: The Time Meddler
Episode Count: 4 Series: 1 Story No: 9
Doctor: 1st Companions: Vicki & Steven
Date(s) Watched: Monday 1st June 2009

So we get to the final story of a rather long season. The Time Meddler sees the series go out with a bang. Steve instantly fits into the show with ease & considering he’s replacing two companions, of which both Ian & Barbara were excellent, he has a tough job. However Peter Purves manages to pull this off very well indeed.

The story itself is virtually flawless, with an excellent cast, including the late Peter Butterworth as The Monk, who plays the part as the lovable roguish Time Lord with great aplomb. It’s such a shame that after this story his only other appearance is not only partially existing (Daleks Master Plan) but also seems to be tacked on to that story as comic relief. However thankfully the character has a wonderful balance of sneakiness & humour in this story.

The villages are well played as well, especially Alethea Charlton as Edith who bonds with the Doctor and is also in the implied rape scene in episode 2, which is a rather dark implication for a show like Doctor Who, which at the time was aimed more at kids than families it seems.

Steven & Vicki themselves bounce of each other very well & it’s a shame that this is the only adventure with them to together to survive. The Doctor & Vicki also have a nice opening scene, which again illustrates a more realistic Grandfather/Granddaughter relationship between the two than The Doctor & Susan had. The Doctor & The Monk have the greatest scenes together though, with some excellent interaction between Butterworth & Hartnell.

Everything else is spot on, the music including the slightly haunting “Monk Choir”, the sets especially the Monastery which looks like an actually monastery and not a set & the “clouds” move in a realistic way even though I imagine their just been pulled along on a basic pulley system.

A superb end to a great season, a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Overall Rating: 4.75/5 – Hugely enjoyable, great all round story & a fantastic end to Season 2

The Chase

Warning - Bit of a long one this one:

Story Title: The Chase
Episode Count: 6 Series: 2 Story No: 8
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Vicki & Steven (although he’s not part of the team here)
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 30th May 2009

First off I must point out that this is one of my favourite Dalek stories (My favourite being Daleks’ Master Plan) if only for the sheer fact that it’s so different to any of their other stories before or since.

What I love about this story is how random and mad the two middle episodes are, especially episode 4. It first off starts as a conventional story, with the team watching some “historical moments” on the Time-Space Visualiser (which I do wonder, how did the Doctor get a machine that big through those tiny external doors) and then The Doctor & Barbara discover, by accident, that the Daleks are after them.

Once they have left Aridius all hell seems to break loose, first off they end up on top of the Empire State Building where Peter Purves (with a rather good Alabama accent) as Morgan Dill, becomes rather baffled by the appearance of both ships & both teams. I like his lack of fear & his mocking of the Dalek when he turns up & also like the bit where he cracks up at the end of the scene in a rather comedic way. The only bit I don’t like about this part is the big fat white bloke who (rather viciously) barges past the slender black woman (which, comes across a bit prejudice but it may not have been meant that way, just seems rather implied).

After we’ve left New York we end up on the Mary Celeste & yet more humour with Vicki whacking Ian over the head & the whole crew getting spooked by the appearance of The Daleks and literally jump ship. I also found the bit where the Dalek “commits suicide” and chases after one of the ships crew off the ship funny as well, the implied abandonment of the Mary Celeste being cause by The Daleks I found funny also.

Finally we get to the Haunted House, which lasts for the majority of the Fourth Episode, and perhaps the maddest episode in the shows entire history. Here we also get the most obvious balls ups, first off the dubbing of the Count Dracula’s voice is so out of synch it’s laughable (in a good way). Secondly Vicki’s line can be heard twice, once as Frankenstein lays back down & then when it should have at the start of the next scene (obviously nearly 10pm when they shot that little bit then) and once Vicki has uttered her line (for the second time) Barbara comments “...for whom the bell tolls” even though there is no bell sound at all, implying that a bell sound effect should be there.

Once we get past the two madcap episodes we end up Mechanus, with it’s dangerous vegetation and Mechanoid run city up high, where the story becomes more serious again & leads to a great final battle between the Daleks & Mechanoids and eventually destruction of the city. We also get introduced to Ian & Barbara’s replacement, Steven although we don’t discover he’s their replacement until the next story.

Rather oddly there is one unintentionally humorous bit in Episode 5 & that is the Robot double of The Doctor which is an “exact replica” of The Doctor himself, yet half the time you can quite clearly see that the double isn’t an exact double at all. What makes it even more strange is that in some of the close ups & in scenes where the two Doctors wouldn’t be on screen together you see that it is not Hartnell at all.

It’s all rather confusing as to why the filmed it that way but considering that quite a few bits of the production are oddly executed (Doctor Double, Barbara literally throwing herself into danger in Episodes 2 & 4, Vicki’s double line, missing sound effects, poor dubbing, the number illiterate Dalek, etc.) you can, more or less forgive it’s flaws.

The best way to approach this story is to think of it as a humorous run-around with the Daleks & just see past the flaws in the production, because once you do, you’ll find it a highly enjoyable story

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 – Mad, silly & flawed production wise, but it’s a lot of fun & it’s nice to see the Daleks as ruthless bumbling killers than just ruthless killers for a change.

The Space Museum

Story Title: The Space Museum
Episode Count: 4 Series: 2 Story No: 7
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Vicki
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 24th May 2009

A rather strange story this one, I didn’t hate it but didn’t think it was that great either. The first episode is rather good & rather spooky as well, with the power cutting out in the Tardis, the sudden change of clothes, the lack of footprints, being invisible to the others and finally the team seeing themselves in suspended animation. However after the first episode & by the third episode you kind of wonder what’s the point to it all?

There’s nothing wrong with the following three episodes but there’s several queries that remain unanswered (for me at least, I probably wasn’t paying close attention) like as to why the Moroks are so hostile to aliens & why do they want to entomb The Doctor and the team and why did the Xerons allow the Moroks to take over Xeros in the first place.

However it’s pleasant enough to like if your not looking for a complex, dramatic story plus the final moment of the story gets you wrongly prepared (in some ways) as to what’s to come.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 – Not bad but a story that, if missing, wouldn’t really be missed but the first episode and final few moments add something to the story but other than that there’s not really much point to it.

The Crusade

Story Title: The Crusade
Episode Count: 4 Series: 2 Story No: 6
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Vicki
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 24th May 2009

So after a 4¾ month hiatus, I’m back on the marathon The first story whilst back on it & it’s a good one.

After the rather lacklustre Web Planet comes The Crusade, the only story of Season 2 which is incomplete, remarkably. It’s a shame really as the story is rather good. Unlike the last Historical, this one is played almost straight (minus the market stall scene) and again performances are great all round.

The story starts off in full action (with Barbara getting herself captured & The Doctor & Ian fighting the baddies) and doesn’t really let up throughout. Both Julian Glover & Jean Marsh excel in this & play the parts wonderfully & convincingly. The team are all on form as well, however how anyone can mistake Vicki for a boy is beyond me

The music was fitting & atmospheric and the sound in the castle was mixed well as well, making it sound like they were inside a real castle. The sets were all convincing as well, although sometimes the wood looked a bit artificial.

One oddity I noticed in this is that the Tardis’ landing sound effect is not the usual one for some strange reason yet when the Tardis leaves the standard whooshing sound is back.

Either way it’s a great story & it’s a shame that Episode 2 & 4 are missing as one or two bits of it are a bit difficult to follow at times

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Great performances, sets & music throughout just a shame half of it is missing (hopefully it’ll get an animated recon one day)

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The Web Planet

Story Title: The Web Planet
Episode Count: 6 Series: 2 Story No: 5
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Vicki
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 4th January 2009 (at a rough estimate)

This story was the first to “derail” me from the marathon and to be honest I must of dislike this one so much that I didn’t even note the date I last watched it (For Episode 6 my notes were “Nothing Worth Reporting” and that’s it lol.) I think it was on the same day as The Romans, or thereabouts but I can’t honestly remember.

Anyway onto the story, and, it’s not very good is it. After a promising opening episode the rest of it just becomes a dull run-around. There’s some nice moments in it (such as the cliff-hanger of Episode 1, where the Doctor’s Tardis has disappeared & he looks genuinely upset & lost once he’s realised it’s gone & utters “My Tardis” in a rather sad way) and visually it looks great (The Zarbi & the actual background itself for example) but nothing much really happens here at all. The space jacket things are a rather strange oddity & never appear again in the story.

In fact there’s not much I can say about it at all apart from it would have been a lot better if it had been only three episodes long

Overall Rating: 1.5/5 – Episode 1 is OK & visually it looks great but it’s just too long, too dull and should have been three episodes shorter.

The Romans

Story Title: The Romans
Episode Count: 4 Series: 2 Story No: 4
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Vicki
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 4th January 2009

A strange one this one, I found it highly enjoyable considering it meandered between a comedy & drama throughout. Again the sets, music & actors were all on form throughout this one. Hartnell still has his more “jovial” side on in this story & Vicki is fitting in rather nicely with the team.

What’s rather interesting with this one is how the two teams (Doctor & Vicki and Ian & Barbara) have completely different experiences & adventures in the story from the point of view that The Doctor & Vicki’s story is the more humorous story with Nero being played as a rather camp, randy, buffoon who becomes rather childish if things don’t go his way. One thing I do like about the way Nero was played was that he breaks the fourth wall on more than one occasion (for example when his servant gets accidently poisoned)

Ian & Barbara had a far more dramatic journey, being kidnapped, split up as they were sold on as slaves and nearly got killed in the end. Not only that there was an “implied” attempted rape by Nero on Barbara, which somewhat jars with his rather camp portrail in this story.

However I found the story highly enjoyable & wouldn’t have any problems watching it again.

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Mad, odd mix of comedy & drama throughout the story, but nether the less, it’s still highly enjoyable.

The Rescue

Story Title: The Rescue
Episode Count: 2 Series: 2 Story No: 3
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Vicki
Date(s) Watched: Thursday 1st January 2009

So Susan has gone & we get our first new cast member & fourth companion in the shape of Vicki, and although it’s clear that Maureen O’Brien is a couple of years older than the part she is playing, she plays the part well & I instantly prefer her to Susan. Her costume didn’t leave much to the imagination however especially in one little scene in Episode 1, which considering the supposed age in the sotry was probably a wrong choice!

The story itself is short & sweet and I rather enjoyed it. Much like Edge Of Destruction in Season 1 there is only a small cast list but then again that works in the stories favour. There is a nice opening Tardis moment with Team Tardis acting like normal & Hartnell’s Doctor suddenly calling out Susan and realising that she won’t be around anymore. Bennett is a wonderfully shifty character who more or less bullies Vicki & has been manipulating her into being scared of doing anything.

Koquillion was a nice touch to the story & although it is obvious that it is a costume it’s explained as to why later on in the story, Sandy was however rather clearly a man in a suit unfortunately. The sets again were good especially the cave scenes, as were the model shots. There wasn’t much music but what there was matched the story well.

My favourite moment though was The Doctor talking to Vicki, reassuring her that Barbara was a nice person. I thought it was a nice moment & showed that The Doctor cared for her as he would Susan. I also liked the scenes at the end where The Doctor, Ian & Barbara welcome Vicki into the Tardis

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Not a classic by any means but a nice enough story. Vicki introduction is well handled & she proves to be a more likable companion compared to Susan

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The Dalek Invasion Of Earth

Story Title: The Dalek Invasion Of Earth
Episode Count: 6 Series: 2 Story No: 2
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Thursday 1st January 2009

Ah, now here’s a great story. My memories of watching this first time round was that it was too long & a bit dull, however on second viewing my opinion of this one flip-flopped completely, I think it’s one of the greats now & the best story so far.

The set & location work are superb, especially he use of the disused (and now completely demolished and built over) White City Central Line station was a great piece of thinking, especially as all the crew needed to do was turn up & shoot with virtually no set dressing required. The location of Kew Bridge was perfect & the scenes of Barbara, Jenny & Dortmun running through the desolate streets of London, along with the Daleks parading round them were excellently shot.

The cast are all on form here (even Susan) & in all honesty I couldn’t find a single fault with the story at all and thought it was an improvement over the rather slow & padded “The Daleks”. The music in this was fitting; the pace wasn’t too quick but was at the right speed to stop the story from becoming dull. The support cast complimented the main cast greatly as well with Dortmun ever vigilant in defeating the Daleks & Jenny being a person who had completely lost all sense of hope due to the torment of The Daleks.

The Daleks at this point are still menacing in this story & come across wonderfully evil. Even the two treacherous women in episode 5 play the part well. I also liked Slyther, with its unsettling call, even if it was a non descript blob.

Finally onto Susan, I’ll be honest that she wasn’t my favourite companion, in fact I found her tedious at times, although found some of the fan conceptions had exaggerated certain things somewhat, such as that she twisted her ankle all the time, yet this was only the second time (probably the first) that she had done so. However I still found the character a disappointment, the fact that she wines too much at the smallest little thing, plus the character never really develops past it’s basic foundations, something of which I don’t blame Carole Ann Ford for, it’s how the part was wrote and obviously one of the reasons why she left.

I have to say though that I found her ending quite sad & Hartnell’s speech quite moving, couple with the music it was rather fitting & was a great ending to a great story.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 – Best story so far, and a great Dalek story, very much like a film production, top notch stuff

Planet Of Giants

Story Title: Planet Of Giants
Episode Count: 3 Series: 2 Story No: 1
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Thursday 1st January 2009

An oddity of a story this one, originally a four parter then cut down to a three parter, and to be honest that’s not a bad thing. That’s not me saying the story is bad, I think it’s great, but a fourth episode would have spoilt it somewhat.

Again Team Tardis is on form, although Susan does grizzle a bit sometimes (what a surprise), Barbara is on form, especially during her illness & Ian is a man of action throughout. The Doctor however is on form yet again, acting the detective trying to solve what’s going on & why they are as microscopic as they are.

The giant set pieces are great & although the close ups of the dead minister are obviously photos it works for the story in the sense that the character has just died. I also liked the music, even if it wasn’t that outstanding.

The only thing wrong with the story was that the normal sized human beings were played a bit “flat”, they seemed rather emotionless, plus I didn’t quiet get the pesticide/famine bit, although this could be me missing the point that Smithers doesn’t realise, at that point, that his formula is wiping out everything.

Also that blooper with the cliff-hanger of part 2 & resolution of part 3 was a rather large ****-up although I suppose back before the days of VHS & DVD not many people would have recognised it.

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Nice little story, played well by Team Tardis although support cast are a little flat, however the great enlarged sets more than make up for that

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Thoughts On Season 1

So after watching season 1 I have to say I have mixed feelings about it. There's no doubt that there are some great stories in there (The Edge Of Destruction, Keys Of Marinus, The Aztecs & Reign Of Terror), however this is counterbalanced by a real turkey (The Sensorites) and a story which is very popular amongst Who fans, but to me is rather dull (Marco Polo). The remaining stories are average although have some great moments in them.

As for Team Tardis themselves, the 1st Doctor is wonderful throughout although is on the more grumpier side during this Season, which softens oddly enough when Susan leaves the Tardis, Ian & Barbara are a great set of companions, brilliantly engaging with each other & and absolute delight to watch in each of their stories. However Susan for me hits a dud note, I don't blame this on Carole Ann Ford herself but more to do with how the part was written for her. Unfortunately Susan, for me, drags some of the stories down considerably at times which may explain why I dislike several of the first season stories.

Nethertheless I shall continue on with the marathon.

Overall ratings for Season 1:

An Unearthly Child 3.25
The Daleks 3.5
The Edge Of Destruction 4
Marco Polo 2.5
The Keys Of Marinus 4
The Aztecs 4
The Sensorites 1
The Reign of Terror 4
Total 26.25/40

Onto Season 2

The Reign Of Terror

Story Title: The Reign Of Terror
Episode Count: 6 Series: 1 Story No: 8
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Tuesday 30th December 2008

Last story watched in 2008, and what a cracker it was. The BBC certainly knows how to make a costume drama & this one not only looked accurate but had the right music for the mood of the story. The pace of this story was just perfect, it seemed more like a four parter rather than a six parter, and perhaps my favourite of the season.

All of the cast are on form, Hartnell in particular during the road digging scene & when he parades around the prison as an important French authoritive (sp) figure. Ian & Barbara are on form as usual and Susan wasn’t as annoying as usual. My favourite main support cast member though was the Jailer who had an accent that clearly wasn’t French but suited the portrail well.
This was perhaps the most “violent” of the season so far but in the sense of what was implied more than anything else, especially in Episode 6 when Robespierre shoots himself in the jaw.
All in all an enjoyable end to a mixed season, and a story that has finally pulled me back into the marathon.

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Nice pace, full of action with not a part, set or piece of music out of place, a great end to a mixed season.

The Sensorites

Story Title: The Sensorites
Episode Count: 6 Series: 1 Story No: 7
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Monday 29th December 2008 (Episodes 1-4) & Tuesday 30th December 2008 (Episodes 5 & 6)

So after the rather good Keys Of Marinus & great Aztecs I was hoping that the series was on a role. Sadly with the Sensorites this wasn’t the case. Oh hum, what can I say that is positive about this story? Well, Hartnell is absolutely superb throughout the entire story, playing the role with aplomb, Ian is also great as well, especially in the “ill scenes” where William Russell plays an ill Ian convincingly. However Barbara is sadly missing for a large chunk of this story which kind of takes something away from the story sadly.

As for the Sensorites themselves, erm, well they looked like a really poor, early concept of the Ood, in fact the costumes looked like something a child would have come up with after watching Planet Of The Ood. I’m really struggling with this story; it was slow, dull and tedious & never really went anywhere. I found the City Administrators & his “sidekick” (seeing as a name wasn’t given to him I’ve decided to call him sidekick) were more comedic than threatening. I also found the City Administrators dislike of the humans somewhat OTT at times.

Even by episode 6 I found the City Administrators further attempts to destroy the humans more like an example of episode padding rather than actually being part of the plot, along with the appearance of the humans in the aqueduct (they may have been in the plot somewhere but the story was so dull that I had forgot if they had been mentioned in the story earlier on)

Overall Rating: 1/5 – The first real turkey, only Hartnell saves it from being less than 1/5, just pointless.

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The Aztecs

Story Title: The Aztecs
Episode Count: 4 Series: 1 Story No: 6
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Monday 29th December 2008

After the slog fest that was Marco Polo I really wasn’t holding out much hope for this one. However I was pleasantly surprised. The main cast were all on top form, even Susan although to be fair she wasn’t in it much. The sets looked authentic (even though the spread of the city was sadly only a print) and the music was rather fitting. Autloc, Tlotoxl & Cameca were played well by their respective actors and even the support cast weren’t too bad either.

The plot bumbled along at a nice pace and the story never got dull, there was some nice scenes between The Doctor & Barbara, especially concerning the morality of human sacrifice at the beginning of Episode 2. One moment I liked in particular was when Cameca though the Doctor had proposed to her via the cocoa beans, Hartnell’s expression was great a played convincingly. I also liked the fight between Ian & Ixta at the end.

In fact there wasn’t really anything negative about the story, just a shame we didn’t have more parts of the city (of which could be seen in the background) filmed in, then again there was the budget to think of..

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Nice historical and the right length, Susan isn’t that irritating in this one but then again she’s not in it much

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The Keys Of Marinus

Story Title: The Keys Of Marinus
Episode Count: 6 Series: 1 Story No: 5
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara & Susan
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 7th December 2008 (Episodes 1 & 2), Saturday 27th December 2008 (Episodes 3-6)

Ah, now this is much better, I thought this story was great, a nice contrast to the last story & always on the move. From the opening landing shot in episode 1 to the closing take off shot in episode 6 I rather enjoyed this one. I liked that Ian kept on his Marco Polo costume throughout this story which showed a nice continuation between the two adventures.

First off the good points, I liked all of the sets, all worked quite well, even the more plainer court room scenes, but then again a court room isn’t meant to be grand is it? The cast again were superb with Sabetha coming across well as well as a potential Tardis team member (which doesn’t happen unfortunately) and Vasor who is played rather convincingly an menacingly by Francis De Wolff. The music wasn’t intrusive at all and suited the story well.

I also liked how the story was structured into two halves (roughly) with the first been Team Tardis, along with Altos & Sabetha searching for the keys & then the last half centring on Ian been accused of killing a guard & stealing the last key without permission. I didn’t find the story dull at all and the only reason for the gap in viewing the story between episodes 2 & 3 was because I was unfortunately pre-occupied with other things in the run up to Christmas. The Doctors absence in Episodes 3 & 4 is noticeable but the rest of the cast carry the story well. However when The Doctor shows up again Hartnell shows how great he is in the court room scene, and there is a nice moment of him showing genuine sadness & fondness (if that’s the right word) for Ian when he thinks that he is to be executed. I also liked the Voord’s masks, they look well made, especially for the time.

There are a couple of weak points although only one of them was a major irritant. That was Susan, yes again the character just screamed & cried throughout the story & became very irritating rather quickly. I’m glad she wasn’t there for the “Scream Jungle” scenes. To be fair I don’t blame this on Carole Ann Ford, she was asked to play the part in that way & I can see why she decided to leave. The only other complaint was the court scene was at one stage in danger of dragging on slightly (compared to the first four episodes) but was just the right length to stop that from happening.

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Nice little adventure, well played by all, with sadly Susan letting it down a bit by the constant wining, however the story is strong enough to not let that damage it too much.

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Marco Polo

For those of you finding the first three stories rather a long read, you'll be pleased to know that from this review on most of them are much shorter and to the point

Story Title: Marco Polo
Episode Count: 7 Series: 1 Story No: 4
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Susan
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 30th November 2008 (Episodes 1 & 2), Saturday 6th December 2008 (Episodes 3 & 4), Sunday 7th December (Episodes 5-7)

Ah, Marco Polo, a story often talked about as one of the greats and that it’s criminal that it’s missing. IMO however, I wasn’t too fussed. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get into this one at all & it took me quite a while to watch all seven episodes. However I think this may be more to do with that the story was a full on recon with no motion at all. Don’t get me wrong I think Loose Canon did a superb job & I have enjoyed all of their other efforts, but this story is one that unfortunately, for me, relies on some sort of live action.

First off I will list the positives, all of the cast were superb throughout, I could not fault one of them, especially Derren Nesbit as Tegana & of course Mark Eden as Polo himself. Susan also isn’t that annoying in this, which is a bonus. The sets (from the stills) look very impressive indeed as did the costumes. The colour itself added a nice touch to the story also, making the sets & costumes stand out well. The music is also well played throughout the story & fits in with the locations perfectly.

However the story itself, well, could have been 2-3 episodes shorter, sorry, I know that that is sacrilege round these parts but I didn’t half find this story a lot of bother, Team Tardis try to get into the Tardis, Tegana catches them, Marco tells them off, they then end up back in his enclosure & then they try to escape again, which got boring to me by episode 4. At times the story does pick up with the odd fight scene or the part where Susan & Ping Cho go missing in the sandstorm but all in all it was just too long, which is a shame because judging by the tele snaps the sets looked superb. The last episode is the best part however where the story raps up nicely and we get a nice little reaction & speech from Marco Polo as the Tardis departs, just a shame they didn’t get to it sooner.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 – Nice sets, costumes & acting, however it plods along too slowly, the last episode makes up for the slowness of it but unfortunately it doesn’t pull up the rating enough I’m afraid.

The Edge Of Destruction

Story Title: The Edge Of Destruction
Episode Count: 2 Series: 1 Story No: 3
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Susan
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 29th November 2008

So onto the shortest story of the series & one that I think is rather underrated. Episode 1 sees Team Tardis wake up after the mini explosion (if you’d call it that) in the Tardis as seen at the end of The Daleks. All play their confused states rather well (even Susan, most of the time) with Barbara being the sanest of the lot, with Susan being absolutely hysterical (there’s a surprise) and Ian in an trance like state. Ian reveals that the Doctor, at this point, only has one heart. The Food Dispenser appears again, this time dispensing packets of water in a Capri-Sun style package. Susan collapses in the console room in a hysterical state and then turns a bit psychotic by threatening to stab Ian with a pair of scissors, however although this is supposed to be effective I found it to become very irritating (I’m trying my hardest but still find her irritating).

Hartnell sports a rather groovy looking bandana throughout the majority of this story, of which we learn the colour stripes fade as the injury heals. A piece of familiar music appears in this episode, which I think I had heard before in The War Machines (although it could possibly be The Tenth Planet, can’t fully remember now) We also get a reference to a planet that The Doctor & Susan visited before a An Unearthly Child, called Quinnis, although they never do visit it in a future story. Susan by this point is fully “possessed” (for want of a better word) & at first her change of costume I though was reflecting this, although Barbara ends up in the same costume (which turns out to be a nightie) a bit later on. Barbara has a great little rant at the Doctor once he accuses Ian & her of causing sabotage in the ship.

One part I didn’t get first off was when Barbara screams hysterically at the clock in the Tardis, it’s only on a retake that I noticed it’s because the clock face is broken that she is scared witless. At the end of episode 1 we see Hartnell acting rather mischievously which leads into the nice little cliff-hanger of a possible intruder in The Tardis.

Episode 2 reveals however that this is a possessed Ian & The Doctor’s sudden switch on them is a bit out of character, with him accusing them of all sorts in a very convincing way. Susan switches from being possessed and being on Ian & Barbara’s side with a helping of hysterics along the way. The Doctor mentions that the Tardis can’t think, although by the time we get to The Third & later Doctors they talk as if the machine is alive. Susan again cranks the OTT hysterics up to 11 on the dial, I’ll be honest I don’t blame Carol Ann Ford for this, to be fair that’s how they wanted her to play the part. Hartnell again has some nice dialogue again especially the part where the console room grows very dim & The Doctor’s speech about the forming of the stars & solar systems. The story resolves itself in a suitable, if slightly convenient way. By this point I have grown to like all but Susan and my appreciation of the 1st Doctor, Ian & Barbara has grown. We also get our first name check in this story (Gilbert & Sullivan) and lead onto our next story, which is unfortunately where we come up against our first missing story, Marco Polo

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Short & sweet but full of great dialogue & acting, Susan unfortunately is rather irritating & convincing in equal measures but gets away with it more here due to the circumstance of the story. However there is another nice moments in it to make it enjoyable.

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The Daleks

Story Title: The Daleks
Episode Count: 7 Series: 1 Story No: 2
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Susan
Date(s) Watched: Wednesday 26th November 2008 (1-3) & Thursday 27th November 2008 (4-7)

So here we go, the first Dalek story & I have to say that it was… alright, a bit long winded but had some nice moments indeed. The opening shot of Episode 1 was rather effective with an odd embossed or partial negative effect. The petrified jungle set looks rather good and convincing at times, although later in the story you can tell how small it is. Hartnell is now more like his latter self, showing his versions qualities. The Lizard statue looks rather good although the robotic statue doesn’t really get expanded on, The Thals wouldn’t have made it & to what purpose would the Daleks have built it for? Ian, Barbara & The Doctor all have some nice banter in the first episode with the Doctor trying to manipulate (and succeeding) Ian & Barbara into going down to the city with him & Susan.

The model shot of the Dalek city looks great, especially for it’s time & the musical piece here is rather eerie & fitting. There is some nice dialogue between the main cast, although unfortunately Susan has one of her many hysterical screaming moments in this story, you can understand why Carole Ann Ford decided to leave the show the following year, I think it was a shame that she didn’t stay like she did in the first episode of An Unearthly Child.

There is some nice, wrongly predicted futuristic inventions & fashions in this story, and in the first episode we see the food dispenser, of which by the Doctor’s time food is flavoured sticks, something which they thought would take off in future (possibly) back in the 60’s but which hasn’t changed at all. Another thing is that the early version of the Tardis console room & adjoining rooms is that it actually feels like a ship, it’s huge & the various camera angles seen in the console room as opposed to the same fourth wall shots of the 70’s & 80’s are a nice touch, which although I understand probably were unpractical to do as the show went on, make the Tardis feel more like a ship that a set (if you get what I mean by that).

The City sets have a nice futuristic feel to them once they get down to it, although again are “of their time future predictions” which, obviously do now look of their time. We hear that famous “door opening” sound effect that was so often heard throughout the Hartnell/Troughton era & the ending to Episode 1 is wonderfully iconic.

By episode 2 we see more of the inside of the city, & the first boom shadow “invasion” on Ian’s face during the “ticking sound machine”. Talk of neutron bombs was quite current then as it has (sort of been) in today’s world. The Daleks reveal here is quite iconic in this story & quite powerful, with less “catchphrases” and the paralysation of Ian rather than instant death. Again there is great dialogue in the “jail cell” scenes, of which this story has great dialogue throughout it’s 7 episodes.

A little quirk hear that is never heard of again is the 21 leaver lock of the Tardis & that if Ian doesn’t get the right one then the lock will melt (odd seeing as it’s a yale key nowadays). Susan however wines a bit too much in the jungle scenes which is more off putting than an effective show of her fear.

By episode 3, the story starts to pick up, we met a Thal, of which the costume is clearly an example of the 60’s view of futuristic fashion (as we all know fashion hasn’t changed to anything like that at all) of which the women come of worst (not that I’m complaining about the display of female thighs ) The Thals are quite camp once we meet them, & all appear as stereotypical “perfection” beings (all blonde haired and perfectly formed). The interesting thing I’ve noticed by this point of the story is how much Genesis Of The Daleks re-writes the Daleks history, for a start Skaro is never seen like this again, The Thals are (supposedly) wiped out, both domes (IIRC) were destroyed in Genesis & the Daleks were originally called Dals as opposed to Kaleds (as we learn by Episode 4). We also learn tat these Daleks are more limited compared to latter ones & that they rely on static energy to get around.

Episode 4 sees the first (and only, IIRC) time one of the companions gets into a Dalek casing, and indication that The Daleks themselves aren’t of a regular form (we don’t actually see the being inside but it’s implied quite clearly by Ian & The Doctors reaction and them ushering Barbara & Susan outside whilst they remove the Dalek from within. Susan unfortunately becomes too hysterical, first off with the pretending panic when they bump into the other Daleks & the lift scene when she, Barbara & The Doctor are making their way up the lift. The dissolving door effect is rather good for it’s time although the lift effect is obviously just a case of them cutting and moving the picture about. There is some nice “suspense music” when the Thals enter the city buildings & the Daleks callously hiding ready for the kill. Temmous (the leader of The Thals) gives a nice speech before he gets killed by the Daleks, giving a nice, if horrible contrast between the two races. The remainder of the episode after this, although has some nice lines & interaction between the cast, pads out the story too much, which unfortunately carries over to that start of Episode 5.

Episode 5 sees the story pick up again, once the plan to infiltrate the Dalek city takes momentum, although by the end it does pad a bit too much again. Hartnell does have several fluffs during this story but there is one that I’m not sure if it is genuine or not, The Doctor calls Ian Chessermen instead of Chesterton of which Ian corrects him (was this scripted like this or a nice bit of “ad libbing” on William Russell’s part? One part that did make me laugh a bit (unintentionally) was the out of control Dalek & again I suppose this is because the lines that Dalek would spout out in that usual predicament. The army of Daleks are also, unfortunately, obviously cardboard cut outs, as they have left the “extra bits” on the bottom for extra support. We do get the best line in this story during this episode which is uttered by Alydon “To fight & live or to die without fighting” kind of sums up the Thals moral dilemma they face. The swap set again looks good (although again is unfortunately a bit too small. The shot of the pipeline is obviously added in afterwards unfortunately due to the way The Doctor and Thals stand & the way how it’s pieced into the image.

In Episode 6 the gruesome death of Elyon is revealed with his body parts (?) swirling around in the infested swamp. Susan again screams hysterics at her Grandfather when he stands up, of which he just chuckles and goes “of course” (or something similar). We get some closer up shots of the model of the city in this episode which show how detailed the set was, shame that it probably doesn’t exist anymore . The cave set is well lit although parts of this go on for far too long, mainly the whole “jumping scene” which is perhaps the most padded out scene in the story, although it is well played by all five actors. Hartnell has a great moment of mischief in this episode when he is destroying the Daleks Static Electricity control box although again the control box itself looks very dated & the single cable powering the whole city reminded me of the jokey moment in School Reunion when all the computers were powered by one plug. The ending is great suspense moment with Ian clinging on for dear life with Antodus dangling off the other end of the rope.

Finally to episode 7 & by this point I’ve got a bit bored with the story, mainly because of the over long cave scenes in Episode 6, although the death of Antodus is rather effective. The Doctor again has some superb dialogue in this episode of which his best speech is near the end regarding travelling through the stars. We end up back inside the Dalek city & although the fake extended corridor is effective, Ian’s shadow gives away that it’s a fake. I found the fight scene at the end rather oddly choreographed, especially as the Thals and Team Tardis seem to be able to attack the Daleks much easier than in later stories. Another rather unintentional funny moment for me was the cry made by the last live Dalek, it just seemed rather camp, for a Dalek, to me. Just before The Doctors aforementioned speech about the stars we see & hear a rather odd cut in the episode on the whole “Rebuilt a new…” bit, anyone know why this was? The Doctor also mentions here that he was a pioneer of his own people at this point (although by The War Games he is seen more as a renegade Time Lord) another line about the Doctor possibly returning to Skaro in the future to visit the future Thals kind of shows how much the history of the planet had changed by the time we saw Genesis, of which the planet by then had become a virtually barren wasteland. Then again Terry Nation probably didn’t realise, at the time, how popular the Daleks were to become.


Overall Rating: 3.5/5 – Some nice moments throughout & some superb lines, however the story does have far too much padding during episodes 5 & 6 which kind of drags down the score, add to that Susan is bloody irritating in this one as well.

An Unearthly Child

Story Title: An Unearthly Child
Episode Count: 4 Series: 1 Story No: 1
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Susan
Date(s) Watched: Sunday 23rd November 2008 (all four episodes)

So hear we go, the start of a very long marathon, and a rather lukewarm story, I feel. Episode 1 however starts off brilliantly with the camera panning round following the Policeman on a cold foggy night & into the scrap yard, decorated well, and reminding me of a prototype scrap yard for Steptoe & Son. With the camera settling onto the Police Box & the overlapping music gives a wonderfully eerie feel. Ian & Barbara are instantly likeable & give a everyday feel for the viewer, which is a contrast as to what’s to come. Susan’s dancing, when first seen, is funny & I’m not sure if it’s a “dance of it’s time” or if she’s purposely been trippy & alienesc (sp). There does seem to be an odd cut in this scene straight after Susan’s line about “walking in the dark”, which I’m guess is a quick remount?

Susan is actually rather good, in the first episode as she has an eerie ore surrounding her in her scenes. The scenes back in the junkyard are actually quite fuzzy although it does add to the eeriness of the first episode. Hartnell instantly shines in this episode been cheeky & mysterious. Inside the Tardis we get a well played reaction by Russell & Hill and the actual Tardis interior looks huge but not empty, with homely objects adding to the set. As we approach the end of episode 1 we see a nice use of the test “howlaround” clips & a still image of some buildings in London (I’m guessing Chelsea Barracks?). The end is quite nice & eerie as well with the shot of the Tardis, in a wasteland & a shadow slowly approaching, unfortunately the small scale is given away as the shadow moves nearer the Tardis.

By episode 2, we finally get into our first adventure, far into the past when cavemen where one of the first human civilisations. The cave sets are rather good as are several of the actors, including Derek Newark as Za, Alethea Charlton as Hur (pun on her perhaps?) & Jeremy Young as Kal. We have the Doctor explaining the “features” of the Tardis & that certain things are faulty (the fact that the he never knows where he’s going to end up & that it hasn’t changed shape like it did before). Russell & Hill are again on form, as is Hartnell; I especially like the bit where he smokes a pipe, kind of fitting in with his “grumpy old man”, of the time image. Ford unfortunately (and I feel not her fault) changes here to a screaming teenage girl as opposed to the cooler, alienesc girl we saw in episode one. Oddly enough the Doctor is keen to introduce fire to the cave people, even though this is the case of interfering (unless it is implied that the reason man created fire was due to his presence).

By episode 3, I had started to stray a bit, the main plot seem to thin out a bit too quickly, unfortunately. It mainly circled around Za trying to prove he could make fire to stay leader of the tribe & Kal trying to get the Doctor to make fire so he could take over as leader. The forest/jungle scenes & sets looked good but at times jarred with the more baron landscape seen in the first episode. Another nice touch was The Doctor losing his breath, showing that although alien he was similar to us (if you get what I mean by that). The fake boars head looked too fake unfortunately so wasn’t that convincing. However by the end of the third episode it seems to be dragging a bit.

Episode 4 arrives, and unfortunately not much happens, they get captured again, the cavemen argue about fire & everything loops again. I do however like Hartnell’s crafty way of turning the tribe against Kal, especially the mischievous grin on his face. Problem is, that by this point, the dialogue of the cave people is a bit too polished, what I mean by that was that considering that this story was so many years B.C. it was rather odd to have them speaking in full sentences with correct punctuation, etc. No obviously back then they wouldn’t have spoken English in current form but dropping the odd “the” & “a” would have made them sound more primitive (to me at least). The cave of skulls set is rather well made however although when we see the filmic fight scene the cave interior seems to have doubled from the studio set. The naked flame is also rather odd to see was well, especially with all that wood & fur all over the place.

In conclusion, some nice shoots, especially the running scene in the final escape & some nice alternative angles in the Tardis (as opposed to the same fourth wall shot of latter years) and some nice atmospheric music set it up well. Unfortunately after the great episode one & good episode two, it all drags once we get to episode three, really you could have cut and spliced episodes 3 & 4 together IMO, but then surely others will disagree with me on that

Overall Rating: 3.25/5 – Not bad but runs out of plot halfway through episode 3.

Welcome To The Blog

Hello all,

Johnny 1989 here with my Doctor Who Nap Year Marathon Blog. I decided to set up this blog due to the sad announcement that the Doctor Who Forum (Previously known as the Outpost Gallifrey Forum) is to close on the 31st July 2009.

So until the Marathon can find a permanent home, I have decided to create this blog so that I have somewhere to add my reviews of the stories.

Anyway I shall add the first two series on here in one go & then other reviews will follow as soon as I write them.

Anyway hope you like reading my reviews, the first two series shall follow shortly

Regards

Johnny 1989