Day 268: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 4

Have I praised Michael Ferguson here before? It's because he clearly stands out as an excellent director here (although all across Jon Pertwee's first series are excellent, and we'll certainly mention direction for the next serial). But let's talk about why he's an excellent director. Aside from the obvious thongs, like getting strong performances and choosing camera position to fully utilise everything in shot, he's also masterful at editing. Take, for instance, a scene wherein a man has been given a bomb to explode the Doctor with. The scene is edited in such a way to emphasise the stress on his end, frequently cutting back to him above the Doctor, who remains calm, unaware of what is due to happen. The bomb unexpectedly explodes, and Ferguson decides to cut away two seconds after the explosion. We get an explosion, a scream and then another scene. This sudden moment allows for a far more effective piece and a genuine feeling of surprise on the viewer's part. It also means that we are spared the annoyance of having a man screaming for too long, as this is something that could appear a bit hammy and take the viewer out of the mostly realistic serial so far. All in all, it's a well directed story and Ferguson is certainly a director to admire across the series.