Day 312: The Sea Devils Episode 1

The Sea Devils is an episode of Doctor Who that I know very little about. Up until today, my knowledge of the episode was limited to a vague idea of what the monster looks like, simply from having, at some point, seen a picture or two in a book or online. So, with that in mind, I have very little to say in regards to themes portrayed in the episode, and shall perhaps leave that to my brother when he returns tomorrow. So, now that we have gotten that out of the way, perhaps we should have a look at the costuming of our protagonists.

In this episode, companion Jo Grant wears a wonderful white suit. The outfit appears well made, and practical, a nice change from the less than practical attire of last episode. This outfit adds a sense of importance to the character with the professional looking design. The predominantly white design also works to set Jo apart from the other characters who are dressed predominantly in darker colours.

 The Doctor can be seen in an outfit that is possibly the source of much inspiration for our current Doctor’s (Peter Capaldi) costume. The costume is classy as always, and truly something to be admired.

Day 311: The Curse of Peladon Episode 4

As my brother discussed briefly in the post on episode one, a central theme of The Curse of Peladon is that of fear. Throughout the episode a climate of fear is created in order to force compliance upon others. The main villains of the story use various tactics to enforce the concept that Peladon joining the galactic federation would be of great consequence. The climate of fear created makes for an outstanding and ever relevant plot, adding extra depth and enduring value to an amazing value. It encourages the audience to think on their own society, and whether or not the decisions being made are what is best, or what is encouraged by fear, one does not need to look very hard in our current society to note some similarities. 

Day 310: The Curse of Peladon Episode 3

After getting my rant out of the way yesterday, I feel that I am now able to discuss some other important features that are actually more relevant to this episode.

Costuming in any production is something I personally feel the need to discuss, but I feel that it is particularly important to bring up the costuming decisions and designs in this 1972 episode of Doctor Who. Naturally the first piece of costuming that springs to mind is one that must be seen to be believed, Alpha Centauri. And at that mention we shall leave it as there may be children present, but I will say that it does win the award for most outstanding use of a shower curtain in an attempt to hide any unprofessional parts of the costume.

A common feature of Doctor Who is the usually quite stunning costuming sported by the companions, and Jo Grant is no exception to this. In this episode we see Jo in a shiny two piece outfit, adorned with floral patterns. It is so very 1970s. But not, however as 1970s as the costuming of our King Peladon. Peladon is dressed in an interesting outfit of deep purples and royal blue, signifying his high standing in this society. Similarly we see his advisors dressed in a similar get up, although a little more conservative than Peladons mini-skirt. Perhaps on Peladon the shortness of ones skirt denotes importance? Or perhaps the costume designers of this show were faced with a small budget and expensive fabrics, leading them to make cuts wherever possible?

Similarly, the costuming of the guards of the citadel also leaves very little to the imagination. So much so that one wonders how practical this ‘armour’ must be should conflict arise. I imagine as practical as that of the kind granted so often to female superheroes and video game characters, that is to say, not very. But let us not get off topic here, I had my little rant yesterday.

Although I could find at least one thousand more words to say on the costuming of this episode, going into intricate detail on the makings of the costumes, and rambling on about what kinds of fabrics I think they used, I feel that I must draw this entry to a close. This is simply to spare you from boredom as you read through an overly long and drawn out entry discussing the intricacies of the making of the Doctors jacket, which is, may I say in one final comment, rather fabulous.

Day 309: The Curse of Peladon Episode 2

Because I am the kind of person who has to make everything about feminism I intend to spend the entirety of this entry going on something of a feminist rant in relation to one of my favourite episodes, The Curse of Peladon. Although, it should be noted that in future entries I do fully intend on discussing themes more relevant to the episode.

Something that has so far stood out to myself in this episode is in fact the lack of female characters. Yes, we are presented with various characters such as Alpha Centuri who are not necessarily male or female, but I did notice the constant use of masculine pronouns in reference to them. So we are essentially presented with but one female character, the Doctor’s faithful companion, Jo Grant. Jo’s ‘power’ often falls far short of that of her male counterparts. Adding to this, there are many instances of some degree of anti-women behavior. For example, in the first episode we are presented with the line, “Only men of rank and females of royal blood…” in reference to who is allowed entrance to the chamber. So obviously women are incapable of achieving any kind of rank in this society, unless of course they are born into the role itself. Or if they happen to be of ‘common’ birth, they are in romantic relations with a male member of the royal family. There is also the matter of the treatment of Jo by the King of Peladon. He thanks her for bringing ‘beauty’ to the conference, as if she had nothing else to bring. His conversations with her constantly revolve around her beauty, so much so that it appears as though she has no other value to him.

I am now truly starting to ramble on in this completely unstructured rant. I apologise for the lack of content relevant to the episode itself, but, I truly must make everything about feminism. 



Image credit goes to http://floccinaucinihilipilificationa.tumblr.com/

Day 308: The Curse of Peladon Episode 1

There are some serials which I watch and I realise that I've got nothing that I really want to say about them. There are others that I look forward to, because they have so much within them that I can talk about the merits of these serials for weeks on end. The Curse of Peladon is one of these serials. In ordinary circumstances, I'd stretch these ideas out across the serial, to ration my sanity and prevent myself from running out of things to talk about. But these aren't ordinary circumstances. I'm going away for the weekend and thus will only be covering the first episode of The Curse of Peladon. So shall begin this rambling entry about everything that I love about The Curse of Peladon.

Let's begin with the incredibly obvious point: Alpha Centauri. A hermaphrodite hexapod, it has been created as a new and unique alien monster. Unlike others that have appeared in the series which have borne some resemblance to humans, this one is completely unlike humans at all. It's using the ability to make itself alien and weird to make itself utterly memorable. And not only that, but it is also absolutely hilarious. A high pitched and trembling voice spews forth from its head, as it panics about every possible thing imaginable. There's also a fantastic and hilarious scene later on in the serial where Jo and some Ice Warriors intimidate it into following their orders. It's funny because we see this character in some degree of terror, but also because this terror is being subjected by Jo Grant, the lovable assistant of the Doctor who couldn't hurt a fly. And to top it all off, it looks incredibly rude.

We've also got the plot, which is fantastic as well. It concerns fears about joining politically with a galactic federation, something which could either increase Peladons's standing in the galaxy, or destroy everything that Peladon holds dear. There's a reason for this story as well, as the UK was, at the time, in great debate about whether they wanted to become part of the EEC, or the European Economic Community. It's a decision which holds great fear for those that wish to uphold the status quo, and much is done by that end to prevent this from happening. This is done by creating a climate of fear, one which will force people to remain afraid of the new developments, instead of being excited for the prospects that they will have in the future. It's a political tactic that has been used throughout history, and one which is clearly demonstrating to the audience of the ways in which politics works, introducing young minds to this premise as well as showing older viewers that Doctor Who is smarter than you would think.

And above all of that, this story is one of the first stories that I saw. I don't remember too much about it on first viewing, aside from one brief moment. I remember talking excitedly with my mother about one of the plot developments in the story, namely that the Ice Warriors were not actually the villains, despite the fact that I had read through various sources that the Ice Warriors were some of the Doctor's worst enemies. When I look back on this memory, I am struck by how well I engaged with the mythos of the programme, as I absorbed all of the information to do with this strange series that my parents used to watch, showing that this was clearly going to be something that I would stick with for quite some time.

And as this entry comes to a close, I should mention that I haven't even gotten started on everything that I love about The Curse of Peladon. I'm legitimately disappointed that I'm going to be missing the remainder of this serial, but I've now got to go and do some business with my friends as We've Got Work To Do!

Introducing Elizabeth

As I hinted at before in today's entry, I'm going on a break for the weekend as I've been invited to attend the Asia Pacific SINE as part of Robogals Newcastle. It's a conference to look at the work done across the Asia Pacific Region to improve the amount of women in STEM areas, and I'm going to be there to talk with people from around the Asia Pacific Region about ways in which we all do our work to make things better. And as I figured that I wanted my mind to be focussed on discussing work, rather than Ice Warriors and Venusian Lullabies, I've arranged for someone to take over the blog for the weekend: Elizabeth Bowyer. I'll let them introduce themselves:

1. Who are you and what do you do?

Thomas' sister, and student

2. When did you first become aware of Doctor Who?

I don't even remember

3. First episode?

The Curse of Peladon

4. Favourite Doctor?

Third Doctor

5. Favourite companion?

Sarah Jane Smith

6. Favourite writer?

Terrance Dicks

7. Favourite episode?

The War Games or The Curse of Peladon

8. What else do you do with your time when you aren't wasting your life in front of TV/computer screens?

I read books, sew, and talk to my cat.

So I'm off, and I'll see you all when I get back to talk about The Sea Devils!

Day 307: Day of the Daleks Episode 4

The plot of this episode is wonderful, because it actually uses the time travel elements which Doctor Who has as its premise. The idea is that a group of guerrillas in the future attempt to prevent a terrorist attack made in the twentieth century by travelling back in time to kill the supposed terrorist before they can make this attack. What they fail to realise though is that by attempting to do this, they are in fact creating this terrorist attack themselves. This is fantastic because it's actually attempting to do something different. Other episodes of the series have just been generic alien invasions, but Marks is keen to differentiate himself from what has come before, and actually take a spin on the premise of the series to produce something new.

That's not to say that we're free of flaws though. The Daleks come back in time to ensure that history will remain on course (by allowing history to be changed). This is a good idea on paper, however execution leaves a lot to be desired. The production team has three Daleks. It's not exactly an invasion force, and it begins to stretch credibility when we see the same three Daleks paraded in front of the camera in an attempt to be menacing. Never mind the fact that the Daleks don't really work on location here, as we can see them wobble about as they try to remain stable on the ground. It's a shame as the idea has great potential, it's just been squandered in the execution.

Day 306: Day of the Daleks Episode 3

As hinted at by the title of this story, this story features the return of the Daleks. There is one very obvious reason for this: a hook is needed in order to bring the audience in for the new series. There is one very obvious result of this: a villain that doesn't quite work. The entire story of Day of the Daleks is actually rather good. It has an engaging hook and some very interesting characters. But it also has the Daleks, who have been obviously shoehorned into the story to try and get some more viewers. This is to the detriment to the story as it means that we now have a handful of completely useless scenes in every episode featuring the Daleks, when it is plainly obvious that scenes with any other character would be more engaging.

But this is all bearable because for every bit of pointlessness in each episode, we get some remarkably good scenes. And that will make the Day of the Daleks something to look forward to as we approach the conclusion to this story.

Day 305: Day of the Daleks Episode 2

One of the things that happens in this episode is the Doctor picking up a gun and shooting one of the alien Ogrons in cold blood as he saunters up to the Doctor. It should be noted that the Doctor shot first, and that this is certainly a moment where the Doctor killed someone with a gun.

This is wrong. It doesn't matter that it fits into the tone of how other programmes of the ilk would handle similar situations, or that the Ogrons are clearly working for the bad guys. It still is remarkably out of character for the Doctor. The Doctor is a character who will ask questions instead of shooting. Who will use aikido as a martial art because there are no offensive moves within it, only defensive moves. Who will act for peace in a universe of war. This action by shooting an Ogron is so aggressively out of character for the Doctor that it leaves a disgusting taste in the mouth for blatant disregard for how the series works, and takes away much of what makes Doctor Who a unique and fun property. I'm not saying that it's one of the worst decisions ever made in the series (that will be discussed when we get to around August 2015), but it certainly remains an uncomfortable part of Doctor Who history.

Day 304: Day of the Daleks Episode 1

Day of the Daleks. The name seems to imply that this episode will see the return of the Daleks. This return has been well overdue, as they have been absent from our screens for over 100 episodes. However, they are synonymous with the mythos that is Doctor Who, thus they will have to return to wreak havoc on our television screens once more. However, there is one slight problem. The production team has changed several times since the Daleks were last on our screens. This isn't a blight on the production team being in flux, more a blight on the time between appearances for these evil metal creatures. Because everyone's forgotten how the Daleks work. The Dalek's voices are slightly 'off', for instance. The way in which they're directed is 'off' as well. The cliffhanger with Dalek stories is traditionally a character encountering the Daleks and being reduced to some form of shock at the revelation of the Daleks. This time, the cliffhanger is a bunch of Daleks saying that they're going to Exterminate the person in the twentieth century who's screwing up their plans. It's not exactly nail biting stuff.

But the important thing is that the Daleks have returned and it doesn't matter that they're slightly 'off' as they still have an amazing ability to draw kids in and show them the exciting world of Doctor Who.

Day 303: The Dæmons Episode 5

There are a couple of moments within this one episode that have transcended everything around it to become part of the Doctor Who mythos entirely, and it would be foolish of me to ignore them, so we'll cover a fair bit today as we look at the concluding part of The Dæmons.

Firstly, we should take a look at the destruction of the church which has been used to summon Azal. It's a fantastic explosion as we see the church get demolished, but most importantly of all, it's realistic. The audience complained to the production team at the time stating that they were very annoyed that a church was destroyed for the benefit of a television program, ignoring the fact that it was in fact a model shot. Credit must be given to the model makers behind the scenes, who are able to create these landscapes in a fairly simple manner, with a remarkably strong effect. It shows that sometimes we don't need computers to create effects, and that simple practicality will sometimes do.

We must also have a look at the very concluding moments of this story, as the Master gets captured once and for all and the Doctor and Jo engage in the May Pole Dance, finally having fun and getting a breath of fresh air after the high stakes adventuring that they've had for the past series. It's a lovely moment, and a knock-on effect from having Letts and co. deciding to make Doctor Who more of a family TV series on screen, thus making the relations between the characters more noticable. It means that we're also able to feel a sense of belonging to this 'UNIT family' and join in their celebration as all is well in their lives.

And there's one thing that I certainly have to mention about this episode. There's a gargoyle who has been brought to life by the Master called Bok. He's soon discovered to be indestructible, but not before the Brigadier has a go at fighting him. He calls over a UNIT squaddie and proclaims unflappably: "Chap with wings there, five rounds rapid". It's a famous moment because of how wonderful it is. It's taking fighting alien menaces in your stride and treating them as just another moment in your life, in much the way someone might regard catching a train or having a piece of toast. It's also a moment that sums up the military answer to problems: shooting it. And whilst we may have problems with this fact, it still remains part of the Brigadier's character and we like him for this fact. He's part of the family, and we can't really imagine the series without him. It says something that out of all the characters within Doctor Who, he is the only one who is frequently brought back to the series as the character who brings with him the strongest sense of familiarity. The strongest sense of family to the show.

Day 302: The Dæmons Episode 4

The Master appears once again in this story, so let's have a look at how the character works within this story. He's decided that he's going to summon one of the titular Dæmons, Azal, in order to gain supreme power as these Dæmons are essentially Gods, occuring throughout human myth as creatures of power throughout history as horned beasts, akin to Satan. This is in line with much of what the Master has done throughout the series so far: enter into a story and use another creature's powers to hopefully take over the universe. It works because it means that we don't get tired of this one character and their nefarious schemes as we areninstead able to associate all of his episodes with other villains. However, it also means that the character comes across as a little bit weaker, unable to put their own plans into fruition without outside help.

That said, the character's still nice to have around and they help to make the story a little bit more bearable such that we aren't just stuck with a story focussed on Satanism and Morris Dancing.

Day 301: The Dæmons Episode 3

Let's talk about the writers for this serial. Credited to Guy Leopold, it is actually the work of a collaboration between Robert Sloman and Barry Letts, Letts being the current producer of the series. The key thing to note then, is not so much how well the story is written (although it is certainly an admirable piece) but how well the regular characters are written. Letts has been working closely with each member of the regular cast for several months now and is thus able to write for the characters as played by the actors, instead of writing for just the characters and leaving the actors to put their own interpretation on the role that they have been given. It's wonderful to see this as it means that the actors are far more likely to be comfortable with the script at hand and they get a better experience out of making it, something which clearly comes across on screen.

Also, this shows once again the way in which Letts produces Doctor Who. As mentioned in Inferno and Terror of the Autons, Letts is not afraid to jump in and direct stories when needed. It's also now apparent that he's not afraid to write stories when needed as well, showing that this man is quite clearly a hands-on producer. This can be easily contrasted with, say, the Peter Bryant era, where there was very little influence that I could see that he had had on the programme itself. Letts is not afraid to allow his influence to be visible and so the programme will now forever have the stamp of Letts across it.

Day 300: The Dæmons Episode 2

The Dæmons is a story that I should have been more familiar with as a child. We had a copy of it on VHS and I could have theoretically watched it when I was a kid. However, I was encouraged not to as a child, as my mother had watched it recently and found it terrifying, so she assumed that it would be altogether worse for a 9 year old boy who has just been severely traumatised by Inferno. So I never really watched the Dæmons until I was 16. Which is a shame, as it lost something for me because of this. I had had The Dæmons built up as a terrifying piece of television, something that would chill me to the bone. But it isn't really. It's got undertones of darkness and a few moments that are mildly chilling but aside from that, it's just another Doctor Who story.

But when I was looking at the day on which this episode would fall for me, I thought that I might save this anecdote for Day 300. Because although the anecdote is somewhat depressing as a young man realises that the myths of his childhood aren't all that they're cracked up to be, it still has the fact of the mythic quantity that this story had held in my heart for so many years. That one story can be so terrifying and so important to put an impact on my life without me having even seen it. In some ways, I'm disappointed that I never saw the Dæmons as a child, as it meant that I never got to have that experience of terror for myself.

And yet, I'm also pleased as it means that the myth of The Dæmons was able to be built up around my mind and help make Doctor Who a series to remember, however many years after I first saw it. Which leads up to the fact that I have spent almost 300 days straight watching one Doctor Who episode a day (except for that one time when Mitch took over for me (thanks Mitch, by the way)) and each new moment adds more to my personal mythos around Doctor Who. Sometimes it can make me realise how misplaced my expectations were, other times it reveals the wonders and beauties of this wonderful television programme. And as I look at the 500-odd days left of discovery for me left, I realise that We've Got Work To Do!

Day 299: The Dæmons Episode 1

In this episode, Doctor Who fights Satanism. It's an interesting premise, and one which is able to firmly exist because of a few things. Number one is the fact that horror movies are a fairly well known genre in this time, so by having Doctor Who do a version of a horror movie of this ilk, then it's going to be something that the audience will actively recognise.

But there's clearly the temptation to just have an ordinary horror story and put the Doctor in it, and just leave it at that. Instead, the writers have quite clearly decided that the story should instead be about what would happen if a horror film ocurred within the Doctor Who universe, and how the rules of the Doctor Who universe would apply to the horror film. So this means that suddenly the villain isn't Satan but instead aliens, and that the reason for dark and mysterious happenings isn't magic but science instead. This means that the story's going to be somewhat interesting as we get a spin on the familiar horror tropes, but within the confines of the show that we all love and adore.

Day 298: Colony in Space Episode 6

Hulke plays an interesting trick here. The colonists are being forced onto a derelict spaceship which is certain to explode the moment it leaves the ground. Which then happens, meaning that we see a spaceship exploding and we are shocked to realise that all of the colonists have died (save for one whom was previously seen engaging in a fight with an IMC member of staff). Hulke then wisely decides to move on from this and treat it as a fact, meaning that the audience is left in a severe amount of doubt as to whether the colonists did survive or not. Hulke knows that by placing the explosion at the start of the episode, he then has maximum time to eke out the audience's belief that they all perished. By doing this, it makes the fact that they all inevitably survived more of a welcome sigh of relief as the audience realises that they were safe all along. But it's more than that, because this is such a common trope that it's expected the moment when the spaceship explodes, meaning that when it's revealed that the colonists survived, there's not only a sigh of relief that they survived, there's also a sigh of relief that the audience was right in their original supposition all along.

So by manipulating the audience in such a way, Hulke is able to create a somewhat memorable story. And whilst it's clearly not as strong as his previous efforts, it still shows that he is a capable writer. It's interesting that he's been placed directly after Bob Baker and Dave Martin in the transmission order, as it draws both of their strength to the fore. Baker and Martin are writers of ideas, whereas Hulke is a writer of character. The ideas in Axos are instantly memorable, however it is quite clear that the characters in Colony in Space are far more interesting. And we'll see tomorrow what new writing talents a certain Guy Leopold will bring to Doctor Who...

Day 297: Colony in Space Episode 5

There's a paradox at the heart of Colony in Space. Not the story, but the way in which it can be read as a viewer. Things happen in each episode. More than that, somewhat interesting things happen in each episode. We view trials, people being captured for illegitimate reasons, revolutions and people being put to death sentences for just living on a planet that happens to have minerals on it. We've also got ancient civilisations, the return of the Master and the Doctor being put on a mysterious mission by the Time Lords. And yet, none of this is interesting enough to talk about.

The start of this episode featued the colonists attempting to fight back against their oppressors. The end of this episode features them being put on trial for their actions (the second time that this has happened this serial) and being forced to leave (another thing that has been dealt with earlier in this serial). And over the course of this episode, the Doctor is forced to lead the master to an ancient city, however the Master reveals nothing of his master plan. There's something very clear here, and that's that this episode does not actually need to exist. Every plot development that takes place in this episode has been dealt with before. It makes the story seem ridiculously dull.

But the problem is that this story shouldn't be dull. The characters are somewhat interesting, the plot being slowly revealed to us is a strategy that worked in The War Games and to be perfectly honest, I would easily watch an entire story just focusing on the character of Caldwell. But through virtue of the story being overlong, one feels boredom when watching this otherwise fairly good story. Hopefully things will pick up as we reach the climax of Colony in Space.

Day 296: Colony in Space Episode 4

A favourite character of mine within this story is Caldwell. He's a member of the IMC, and acts as a contrast to the other two major characters that we know within the IMC, due to him being a reasonably nice fellow. The other charcters within the IMC are an unscrupulous lot, with little regard for human life when considering the bigger picture of them receiving the planet at the end of the day. Caldwell, on the other hand, is far more interesting. He's "just a miner" and doesn't need to be a soldier in the war against the colonists who take up the planet. Indeed, he actively seeks out the colonists and gives them the advice to run away while they still can. He's therefore morally opposed to the work that is being done, and actively tries to be a better person because of it. But it's not that active. He still works for the IMC because that's his job. He recognises that whilst what he works for is in some ways wrong, he still has to make a living. There are passing references as well to the fact that the Universe as it stands is constantly on the brink of destruction, and that they are in dire need of mineral resources. So Caldwell has reason for his actions and for his lack of actions. There is clearly one person to admire for this and this is Malcolm Hulke, the writer of the story. When we've mentioned Hulke before, we've made note of the fact that he writes complex characters and that this is a fantastic thing to see, as it gives more of a reason to keep coming back to this story, as the characters are realistic and therefore relatable to the audience.

Day 295: Colony in Space Episode 3

The plot of this episode concerns a group of characters who have formed a colony on a world, and a large mining corporation coming along and trying to take over the world. In a way, it's a familiar stroy, and one that is firmly rooted in real lfe. Conpanies do come along and take areas over, occasionally be force and with great public protest to their methods, some of which may be a little underhanded. In some cases, this may be simple things, like paying off politicians or dressing robots up as giant lizards to attack the colonists and thus drive them away with this aspect of fear, leaving the planet ripe for takeover. So there are some aspects of is that are a little exaggerated for dramatic effect. But this is nothing compared to the responses that are given by both sides. Bombs, machine guns, all out war and Venusian Aikido are all responses that are given by both sides in response to the other's actions. This is a remarkably fun thing out in by Hulke as it reveals the extent to which both sides will go to in this sort of thing, building up a realisation in the audience of the way in which both sides will react in a conflict and draw them to reach their own conclusions about the ways in which these things go in the real world (although it is fairly obvious which side Hulke is skewed towards, something we'll go into later)

Day 294: Colony in Space Episode 2

It's nice to go back to other worlds in Doctor Who again. It's been commented several times that the series had become a little dull, or at least the potential for the series to become dull, was strongly present due to the Doctor bring stuck on Earth, so by having the series venture back into space travel, it prevents the audience from getting bored. To take advantage of this, Hulke has chosen to make this as unlike a UNIT story as he possibly can. Aside from setting it on an alien world, he's created a world where it is obvious that the aliens and the humans are allies, robots are just about everywhere, and the enemy is not an invading alien force but instead an invading human force. It's changes like these that make Hulke an interesting writer as he's consciously aware of the world and the characters that he builds up around him. And we'll look more into that world over the course of the next couple of episodes.

Day 293: Colony in Space Episode 1

It has been almost 100 episodes since something very important happened. Something that is at the very heart of Doctor Who. Something that happened for the first time in the first episode, and continues to happen to this very day.

The Doctor is busy tinkering with some TARDIS circuits and Jo, his companion, remains skeptical of the work that he actually does in that TARDIS of hus. So he invites her inside so that she can get an idea of the sort of things that he does. And we get to experience Jo's reaction to the TARDIS. She goes through the old clichés, that it's bigger on the inside, as well as general shock and awe at the state of it.

But what's important is that it's been a while since we've had a companion experience this moment. It's a by-product of having Doctor Who be Earth-bound for the forseeable future, that we lose some of the mystical other worldly nature of Doctor Who. But that's about to change, as we embark on an adventure to a Colony in Space.

Day 292: The Claws of Axos Episode 4

I was sceptical of this story, to begin with. But then I realised something fantastic was happening in Episode 3. The Master had been held captive by Axos and needed to escape. He attempts to do so, but is captured by UNIT. he then helps UNIT in exchange for his freedom. It's weird seeing the Master work with his enemies, and yet there's an element of realisation of the stakes that we are up against, that even the Master acknowledges that the work that is being done is wrong and needs to be stopped. And not only that, but in Episode 4 we get the Doctor and the Master willingly working together to reach a common goal. The escape from Earth. Of course the Doctor needs to stop the Axons beforehand, because he's the good guy in the scenario, but it's still a moment filled with awe as we see these two enemies working together for a common goal.

There's also a very nice moment when the Doctor appears to abandon Earth forever, leaving them to all die horrifically. What makes this nice is the fact that it's never explicitly stated by the Doctor that he's actually bluffing and that he's going to save the day once again, instead we just see him leave with the Master. So the audience is left only with the trust of what they think the Doctor will do, and so the trust that has been built up over the past 292 episodes is put into full effect as we believe that the Doctor will do the right thing. And of course he does. Because he is the Doctor and he makes things better. He makes this show better, because otherwise it would be the misadventures of Bill Filer. He makes society better by drawing to attention real life issues that we need to solve. And he can make people's lives just that little bit happier, because of the simplest things...

Day 291: The Claws of Axos Episode 3

Bill Filer. He's an American agent tasked with tracking down the Master. In principle, he represents a fantastic idea. It's exploiting the fact that the Master is becoming more well known and allows for his menace to grow exponentially. However, there is one small problem. American action heroes can come across as a little dull. Filer comes across as nothing too special, a carbon copy of every other American action hero that we've seen. He'll occasionally get into tussles, crack a few jokes here and there, and come across as a remarkably cool guy. (I should stress that this is all the character as written. In truth, the actor playing Filer is not really that cool and creates a highlight of the serial as we see just how poor some of the casting decisions can be). But the point of Filer is to represent the other side of action heroes, a foreign body in the UNIT family. We don't like him because he lacks the certain something that makes up the ragtag group of UNIT people, whether it's the eccentric Doctor who can often find himself arguing morally with the Brigadier, despite both fighting on the same side or Jo who isn't the best character in terms of strength but more than makes up for it in enthusiasm. In essence then, Filer represents the very sort of character that we don't normally want in Doctor Who, just because they're just too dull, with no real character behind some tussles and some wisecracks.

Day 290: The Claws of Axos Episode 2

Quick one today as I'm writing to a deadline and I've had to scrap my original plans for what I was going to talk about as unintentional hilarity two days in a row may be a little too much. So instead, I'm going to talk about Axonite. Axonite represents the solution to so many of the world's problems. It is an apparently limitless source of enrgy, and can grow or shrink anything in the world. I'm reminded, as I write this, of the novel Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants. Like Axos, it too concerned itself with such a device. And also like Axos, it was later used for far more nefarious purposes. However, there exists a difference in the motive of why it is used. In the Captain Underpants book, it is used for evil due to Professor Poopypants wanting revenge on all those who have made fun of his name, taking a simple revenge plot. In Axos however, the motive is a little more complex, as they wish to drain the Earth of its energy. In this way, it acts as a nice mirror to the hope in which they place in humanity, with offering them unlimited energy, hiding the fact that whilst energy is on the menu, it isn't necessarily aimed for humanity. So there's a hidden aspect to this plot, and we'll probably come to discuss it later. But tomorrow, I think I might as well have a good old laugh at how stupid this episode can come across sometimes..,

Day 289: The Claws of Axos Episode 1

Some days I sit down to write about a Doctor Who story with a vague idea of the themes that we'll be discussing. And some days, I'll find that similar themes that I thought would occur do occur, although there is still some room for surprises here and there. An example is, for instance, The Mind of Evil. I knew that there would be elements of fear and a prison setting, however I was not aware of the Master's plan nor the secret behind the Keller Machine. But the point is that sometimes these surprises can be lovely little things for me as I voyage across the entire history of Doctor Who, one episode at a time.

All of that, of course, was me getting around the fact that I laughed for a full minute at the image at the top of this blog post. There are so many things to find funny about it. For a start, it's labelled 'top secret'. This lets people know that it's a top secret file, which would be handy if any enemy agents or anything were to sneak into a room and look for a top secret file, as they would certainly have an idea of where to look. But it's not just that, as it's all in lower-case as well. This makes it feel like a relaxed top secret file. It's not that worried with being strict and terrifying, and makes you feel comfortable with the fact that you're reading information that could be dangerous to the public when released. This is backed up by the font, which could only be improved if it were in Comic Sans, allowing for the reader to think of this file as a fun, relaxed file, that wants to just chill. The colour as well is a pale blue, reflecting the calming nature of the file.

But it's more than all of that. It's the fact that I've just come off The Mind of Evil, a relatively straight story. to be thrust into a scene with this much relative silliness proved too much for me, and I couldn't take the juxtaposition any more. My only release was through laughter, and so I laughed for a minute at the supreme silliness of what I was seeing before me. And if there's one thing that I want to take away from doing this blog, it's this moment of pure unadulterated laughter.

Day 288: The Mind of Evil Episode 6

I'm going to spend this entry saying farewell to two minor players in the history of Doctor Who, who have nevertheless made an impression on the series.

One of these is the writer Don Houghton. He wrote the episodes Inferno and The Mind of Evil, and while these episodes aren't the most important in the history of Doctor Who, they are certainly remarkably good. They're able to feel like modern scientific thrillers through using odd science fiction ideas and expanding on them, to create new stories where they are explored and investigated. Take, for instance, The Mind of Evil which concerns a machine that can rewrite people's minds by removing their evil thoughts. But by doing so, it means that most of the characters in the story are left vulnerable to attack, and shows the frailty of the human endeavour to always be good, due to the evil thoughts that perpetuate our minds. Houghton uses this idea well, and it will be a shame not to see more of his writing in the future.

Also, we say farewell to Tim Combe, the director of The Mind of Evil and Doctor Who and the Silurians. Both stories are remarkably well directed, with a flair for interesting camera movements. Take the scene where the Keller Machine escapes in Mind, for instance. Instead of just having some special effects around it, he also decides to violently shake the camera from side to side, creating the illusion of great desturction occurring. However, he was removed from Doctor Who for going spectacularly over budget, which is a shame as it would certainly have been nice to see what pther things he could have done for the programme.

Day 287: The Mind of Evil Episode 5

There's another fantastic scene here. But this one's fantastic for different reasons. Whereas the last scene that I mentioned was fantastic due to the duality between the Doctor and the Master, this one is just fantastic because it features the Brigadier mounting an assault on a castle with a handful of UNIT troops. It's the sort of mindless action sequence that we wouldn't normally get in Doctor Who about 50 or so episodes ago, however now the show has changed enough such that we're able to have sequences in the series and not bat an eye-lid. And most importantly of all, it's remarkably fun. The Brigadier decides to inform the people who he's about to shoot at of this fact by shouting at them through a megaphone. They then shoot the megaphone out of his hand, at which point the Brigadier begins to fight the bad guys. As written, it comes across as cheap, however as shot, there's an element of believability and also an element of excitement associated with it, not to mention the fact that it's well directed by Tim Combe. And above all else, this action interlude helped liven up what would have otherwise been a remarkably dull Episode 5 of a story, so in that regard this evolution in how Doctor Who is made is certainly welcome.

Day 286: The Mind of Evil Episode 4

There's a fantastic scene at the start of this episode. Last week's cliffhanger was the Master putting the Doctor under the Keller Machine, with the Doctor under extreme pain because of this fact. The cliffhanger is resolved by the Master turning off the machine and walking over to the Doctor. He feels the Doctor's hearts and discovers that one of them has stopped beating. So the Master resuscitates him and then attempts to convince him both that he should help with the Master's nefarious scheme and also that the Doctor has the power to control the machine. This reveals the complex Doctor-Master relationship, as we see that both are not in complete opposition, instead they are two characters who are keen to convince the other of the virtues of their way of life. And at the end of the day, they both care for each other too much to let the other one truly suffer, instead just leaving them to be prisoners whilst they carry out their own plans. It's a fascinating dynamic, and shows the power of the new villain that we've got in the series.

Day 285: The Mind of Evil Episode 3

The villain in this story is The Master, making a return appearance. A running theme across much of our time with the Master is the issue of him recurring, an event which occurs regularly across the show.  But for now, it makes sense. The Master has been introduced as a force for evil on the Earth, and by having him be free at the end of Terror of the Autons, this could leave an uncomfortable hole in the fact that there is a force for evil loose on the Earth and the Doctor is doing nothing to stop this. By having the Master be the villain here, it reminds the audience of the fact that this person is serious and that he will be a constant pain in the Doctor's side. But I'll reserve judgment on whether his continued appearance is a good thing until after he's come back a few more times.

Day 284: The Mind of Evil Episode 2

The Mind of Evil concerns a machine known as the Keller Machine. It has the annoying side affect of forcing a person who is afflicted by it to live out their worst nightmare. This has caused a man to be drowned in a room with no water, and another to be attacked by rats with none present. But what's remarkably interesting is what happens to the Doctor when he is pitted against the Keller Machine. He sees flames. Flames of a world that he once visited that had a horrible disaster occur. A disaster that he was unable to prevent. It's not explicitly stated, but I interpret this as a reference to the previous adventure written by Houghton, Inferno. It makes sense, because it represents the Doctor's greatest fear. He was forced to watch that world burn despite the fact that he could have saved it. But the damage had already been done and now he was powerless to stop it. It's a nice touch of continuity, as we realise the fact that the show is not one of unconnected adventures and that there are knock-on effects for the Doctor as a course of the actions that he partakes in.

Day 283: The Mind of Evil Episode 1

So begins a new story: The Mind of Evil. It's instantly familiar, because it's written in the style of what we've previously seen for 'modern day' stories. A new scientific discovery has been made, but the Doctor and companion are unsure of what this actually is. In some ways, this isn't very engaging, due to the fact that we've seen several variations on this formula over the years, and it could be time for a change. And yet, it's somewhat comforting because the previous story, Terror of the Autons, marked a jump away from the style of storytelling that was used in Series 7, one that worked, in my opinion. So it's nice to see that the old ways aren't being abandoned, and that the production staff know how to use good methods when they come across them. And that's not forgetting the fact that the storytelling methods may have evolved, so we'll see how they have evolved as the story has developed.