Day 131: The Tenth Planet Episode 1

The major downside to doing this in the written format is that I am unable to effectively comment on the visual techniques that are used in each episode, as it's easier to show rather than to tell. And, indeed, I would have probably ended up talking about the writing of this story had the director of this, Derek Martinus, not sadly passed away very recently, bringing to mind how good a director he was. Instead of just restricting himself to your basic camera movements, he chooses instead to use tricks with editing and focus to create a greater air of suspense. Dialogue between two locations will go seamlessly from one to the other, often mid-sentence, allowing for it to gain continuity between scenes, for instance, showing us that what is happening in one scene directly impacts others, and making us more interested in the outcome as a whole. Also, the appearance of this serial's monster is interesting, keeping them in the Antarctic wasteland, in the distance. Snow and ice prevent us from getting a good look at them, and we often have harsh cuts away from them as they perform actions, thus keeping them mysterious. It also means that when we get a good look at their faces, we already have a degree of horror associated with them, which is accentuated by their emotionless masks. These new creatures are unsettling, and mysterious, helped in part through Derek Martinus's wonderful direction.