Day 373: The Monster of Peladon Part 4

Jon Pertwee is not getting any younger. This is quite apparent in this episode as the action scene towards the end features Terry Walsh, the stunt co-ordinator, wearing an unconvincing grey wig as he tries to fill in for the Doctor during various jumps and such. This serves as a sign to the end of the era. Pertwee has been defined by his stunts, and feats of derring-do. But this is no longer as achievable as it once was, and indicates that perhaps the best course of action would be a radical change of direction for the series...

Day 372: The Monster of Peladon Part 3

The Monster of Peladon is remembered generally for only seven words. "There's nothing only about being a girl". These words are said by Sarah Jane Smith to Queen Thalira, when the Queen is feeling depressed over the fact that any order that she would give would be dismissed due to her only being a girl. This is a striking message, as it allows for Doctor Who to connect with an issue which sadly still affects us today, being the vast inequality in the way in which we treat different genders, in particular the way in which women are treated. And through those seven words young girls can see Sarah Jane, the main audience identification figure, telling them that they need to fight inequality and make their voice heard. Because there is nothing only about being a girl.

Day 371: The Monster of Peladon Part 2

This serial has made a point of having the lower classes of Peladon revolt. It's due to a mistrust of the Galactic Federation, causing them to rise up and attack their superiors. This is a massive contrast to how things were in The Curse of Peladon. There, the focus was on the upper classes, as we saw the discussions made about the benefits and disadvantages of joining the Galactic Federation. Here, all elements of Peladon society get to take part in the discussions, and it becomes obvious that there are severe problems with the way in which the lower classes have been treated. By allowing us to see the hidden side of the planet, we can grow to have a better understanding of the conflict that is place within the story, and thus grow to appreciate the world building that has taken place on the planet Peladon.

Day 370: The Monster of Peladon Part 1

I love The Curse of Peladon. Obviously, others do as well as we have a sequel to the story here. Returning to Peladon is an interesting choice, although somewhat obvious. Having a return appearance to a planet is interesting as it allows for us to see the impact of the Doctor's actions, as well can see the evolution that has taken place for the planet and the way in which it operates. It's similar to the William Hartnell story The Ark, which took place on a spaceship in two time periods and got to witness the true consequences of the TARDIS crew's actions (in that case it was a full sclar rebellion that took place and caused humanity to be subjugated).

But once a return visit is decided, it is clear that the only candidate is Peladon. Other stories were either too self contained or lacked the memorable characters that were present in The Curse of Peladon to warrant being remembered by the viewing audience. So we get to revisit this lovely little planet once more, hoping that we'll get a story of the calibre of The Curse of Peladon.

Day 369: Death to the Daleks Part 4

I have to be honest and say that I wasn't expecting to like Death to the Daleks. I was acting on the perceived wisdom that it was actually quite a poor story, and so it was with some regret that I sat down to watch it. What followed wasn't spectacular. The plot was less than stellar, the acting left much to be desired and the editing was sometimes remarkably poor, with the cliffhanger ending to Part 3 being a shot of the floor.

But all of that said, I rather enjoyed this story. This is mainly due to the direction from Michael E Briant, who is quickly becoming one of my favourite directors for the series. He is unafraid to use different techniques when using the camera, as he innovatively allows us to see through the Daleks' eyestalk, which grants the viewer an insight into the way in which the Dalek operates, as well as letting the camera become one of the characters in the story instead of just the omnipresent viewer. Also interesting is his use of darkness and shadows, which allows for the Daleks to remain hidden in the shadows, adding to the menace that the demonic pepperpots have. It all makes for some very engaging viewing, and has shown me that whilst a good script can elevate a story above poor direction, the inverse is true and a poor script can be elevated by some excellent direction.

Day 368: Death to the Daleks Part 3

When I was young and flicking through Doctor Who: The Television Companion, I would look through each story and see things like producers, directors, writers and guest stars. There was always a pang of disappointment as I'd look through the cast list and see a wealth of unfamiliar names, because there was always the hope that I would recognise someone who had been in something else. Then, one day, I encountered a name that I recognised. Indeed, I was actively surprised to discover that they had contributed to Doctor Who, because I knew them for something quite different. That person's name was Carey Blyton, the composer of Doctor Who and the Silurians, Death to the Daleks and the forthcoming Revenge of the Cybermen.

Blyton's scores are more experimental than other composers for the series. He has a tendency to go out of his way to use more unconventional instruments, which lend an otherworldly sound to proceedings. They do run the risk of being distracting to the viewer, indeed when watching the story I am often more interested in the soundscape than the plot or performances. There are also instances where the score is occasionally at odds with the action, choosing to represent the Daleks not with harsh music but with a clarinet based score, which doesn't do much to inspire fear in the hearts of humankind. But at the end of the day, it's still an interesting score and one which I would highly recommend.

But Carey Blyton had another contribution to the world that I was aware of. The popular Australian television series Bananas in Pyjamas was based on a nonsense song, written by Carey Blyton. As a child reading the credits at the end I would see his name pop up, recognising that this guy wrote this remarkably catchy theme tune. Discovering the connection between Bananas in Pyjamas and Doctor Who, therefore, was a mindblowing experience, as I learnt that there was more to the credits of TV programmes than just a list of names at the end.

Day 367: Death to the Daleks Part 2

This story also features, somewhat surprisingly, Daleks. Indeed, they have lost their guns due to an issue removing their power, forcing them to forgo their energy weapons and find some other way of surviving through an uneasy alliance with the humans who are also trapped on the planet. This is a fantastic idea, as it takes away the extermination from the Daleks and forces them to be more cunning (although thanks to being written by Terry Nation, cunning here means loudly stating your plan to the rest of the Daleks).

However, almost immediately, the Daleks find a work-around, using traditional projectile weapons instead of the energy beam, thus removing all of the tension that was set up in the first few minutes of the episode. But here, we have another piece of interest for the Daleks. They now have power but cannot use it without revealing themselves. It forces them to be stealthy, and to hide their true nature until they are ready for a full attack.

A full attack that comes later in the episode, thus squandering this plot development as well. Nation apparently had strong ideas about what the Daleks were and weren't, and that he was the only writer who really 'got' the Daleks. But to be honest, he really doesn't and it's a brutal shame to see all of these fascinating opportunities for the Daleks ruined through some incredibly poor writing.

Day 366: Death to the Daleks Part 1

And so, on the 51st anniversary of Doctor Who, we come to Death to the Daleks. It's nice to see how far we've come in certain aspects. Michael E Briant is able to use the camera in ways that we wouldn't normally have seen back in the 1960's, using it as a moving element throughout the story, in particular on location, which adds a dynamic feeling to the proceedings. We also have trust in the Doctor and his actions, we know that each action that he makes in the story is one that is the right thing to do. And yet, there are some things that haven't changed, one of these being the writing. This story is written by Terry Nation, writer of the second Doctor Who serial and many others after that point. Unlike Malcolm Hulke or Robert Holmes, Nation is more of an adventure serial writer, and so we don't get much opportunity for morally grey villains or comments on foreign policy and warmongering. Instead, we are left with a simple adventure story featuring Daleks, which sadly involves Sarah Jane being tied up and needing rescuing. This last point is especially annoying as the past two stories have featured Sarah Jane in a more active role, instigating revolutions and capturing the Doctor from the hands of Irongron. Here, she puts her hand on a light and is tied up and sentenced to death. It just goes to show that whilst there are some things that we have improved on on our trip through the series, there still remains some areas for improvement. Put another way, We've Got Work To Do!

Day 365.25: Frontier In Space Omnibus

Well, this is nice. Today marks a year since I began this fun little voyage to watch every episode of Doctor Who in order. So far, it's been a fun ride as I get to relax and watch some occasionally brilliant television each night. So, to celebrate, I thought that I'd look back at what has been my favourite blog entry, which coincided with one of my favourite episodes. So here's my entry on Frontier In Space, collected in a special omnibus edition. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

One day, I was watching television. I was nine years old at the time, and easily impressionable. My TV diet consisted almost entirely of the ABC, the Australian public broadcaster. Every day I would wake up to their morning cartoons, and in the afternoons I would return home and watch their afternoon programming, confident in the knowledge that everything went to some sort of order. If a new show were to be broadcast I would see the trailers for it, get from these trailers a feeling of what the show was and whether I would like it, and then decide on whether it would be worth checking out.

Then, one day, there was a trailer that didn't describe the series that was going to be on. All it said was that "It is returning" as weird patterns filled the screen and a wheezing groaning sound came forth from the TV set. I asked my parents about it, they'd seen it too and were talking about what it really was. They said that Doctor Who was coming back. Not new episodes though, the old ones from before I was born. They explained what the show was and took me downstairs. There, I was shown their Doctor Who collection. Books that I had run past rushing through the house were actually novelisations  of these stories. A cassette tape that hadn't been played since a revolutionary time travelling nativity production a couple of years prior was actually the theme to this strange programme. And the video cupboard that only held Mum and Dad's videos was opened, revealing a handful of VHS copies of Doctor Who episodes for me to discover. That weekend, I sat down with my family and watched one of them. That episode was Frontier In Space, and it would be the gateway for me to a whole new world of discovery.

Frontier in Space is, on first glances, not the best story to introduce a kid to Doctor Who with. There's none of the fast paced action that hooks younger viewers nowadays, instead it is an altogether slower and more thoughtful affair. There is action, but there's also political intrigue and discussions on prejudice and fear. Ideally, I would talk about how this didn't matter to my nine year old self. That he was still intrigued by this piece of television that looked at the way in which we treat each other. But to tell the truth, I can't remember. I remember that I watched and liked the story, but it wasn't one that I revisited too often so I don't know how much of an impact it made on me.

But hiding in the back of my memory is something. A giant rabbit, a pink elephant, and a purple horse with yellow spots. The Doctor mentions them in an anecdote to Jo about how you shouldn't be afraid of people interrogating you with truth telling machines as long as you tell the truth, even if they don't believe you the first time*. I love this moment, it's a charming moment from the Doctor and endears him to the audience. I can't recall whether he endeared himself to me at nine years old though. But the memory stuck with me for eleven years as I grew older, and began to forget occasional memories from my childhood. The fact that that stuck says something to me about how maybe this magical little moment let me see the inner beauty of the series.

That said, there was still plenty of things that I forgot about until I was able to watch this story again as a young adult such as a certain sub-plot that made a strong impact on me. Essentially, the Doctor is sent to a Lunar penal colony to spend the rest of his days, as he is accused of being a spy for the alien Draconians and the evidence seems to back this claim up. Whilst on the colony, he meets like-minded people who have been placed on the colony for political crimes. These crimes are crimes of peace, attempting to prevent war from occurring. It's a revolutionary moment because it inspires in the audience a sense of realisation as to how society truly treats those that search for peace, and hopefully encourages them to join in the fight against war.

As I say, I was around 17 or 18 when I re-watched this story. I'd seen it a couple of times before, most recently about a year or two prior, although that was mainly spent realising that this story was actually quite good, and not noticing the subtleties present in Malcolm Hulke's writing. Watching it as a young adult made me fully realise how political Doctor Who could be, showing themes that reveal and reflect the time in which they were written. It helped to show me how awesome Doctor Who could be, and reinvigorated a love for the programme in my mind.

Also appearing in this story alongside lunar penal colonies is the Doctor's foe: The Master, as played by Roger Delgado, sadly for the final time before his unfortunate death. Delgado brings a suave charm to the Master with an ability to walk into a scene and instantly make himself the most attractive character. By this, I mean that the audience is drawn to him and his character. We may not necessarily agree with him or his ideals and yet there is the attraction there that makes us want to watch him. Add to this a wonderful chemistry that he has with Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo, the Doctor's companion, and we get a character that is truly memorable and it's fairly safe to say that we will miss him greatly.

Not that I was aware of who the Master was at the time of first viewing, of course. Instead, this character was someone else in the story, someone who I had no prior connection to and as far as I was aware, neither did the Doctor. But through the way in which the story dealt with him, and the way in which Manning, Pertwee and Delgado played off of each other. There was the indication that there was a greater mythology behind all of this, which I would grow to explore as the serial progressed.

The Draconians are a race who appear in this story, and sadly this story alone. They are probably my outright favourite alien race to appear in Doctor Who for so many reasons. For a start, their design is spectacular, being recognisably alien and at the same time able to show the facial expressions of the actors behind them, meaning that they can fully emote and express opinions instead of lumber about the place and shout. Although, they are created by Malcolm Hulke, aren't they, and so we don't really expect them to be lumbering alien menaces, instead we know that they are going to be treated as equally as the humans in the narrative, full of Hulke's shades of grey that he puts into the stories to introduce a sense of morality to the audience watching it. We can see this through their society, built up in a few brief scenes and yet it tells so much about them and what they think. We can see the high respect that they have for the ruling class, as well as their respect for tradition. But we also see that they are willing to listen, and to learn from the actions of the past. It is for these reasons and so much more that I love the Draconians, and every series that I sadly discover that they aren't returning is a tiny bit of disappointment that I have when I look at the excitement that lays ahead for what is to come.

I don't remember much about the Draconians on first viewing. Instead, I was focussed on how weird everything had suddenly become. The VHS copy that we had of this story had decided to forgo the usual theme tune for Episode 5 and instead use the 'Delaware' version of the theme, only heard in a few foreign markets due to a mistake made when creating the overseas print for the story. It was so weird and different to what I was expecting to happen that I was curious to find out more. To find out why this had occurred and what was behind it. This led me to have a hunt through the shelves of Doctor Who books downstairs to discover Doctor Who The Television Companion, a book that went through the history of every episode of Doctor Who up to The TV Movie. I would devour this book for information, to discover more about this strange series that I had been introduced to. And I still do to this day, as can be seen by the incredibly well read copy that sits beside the computer, for when I can't be bothered to use Google to look up something.

The Book that formed much of my childhood,
As New

The Book that formed much of my childhood,
As Old

As the conclusion of this story is reached a few things begin to become clear. Firstly, the major theme behind this story shows itself, being one of fear. Fear is a theme that we have seen throughout the Jon Pertwee era, whether through the Keller Machine using fear as a weapon in The Mind of Evil or the fear of the mutants in The Mutants drawing the worst out of people, several stories have built on the idea of fear being used as a dangerous thing. Frontier In Space continues that trend by showing the two alien races: Humans and Draconians, at war with each other because they both fear the other. The Master capitalises on this by using a machine to imitate their greatest fear and using this to convince each side that the other is attacking them, thus strengthening the fear that each side has over the other, with the intention of leading to all out war.

Of course, this fails because both sides are able to see reason. Both decide to overcome their fears and to engage in conversation with the other, as they learn from their mistakes and try to be better as a result of this. The outgoing message of Frontier in Space one of peace. That whilst fear might instigate hostility and could cause war, it could all be based on misunderstandings, and that we must truly understand the situation at hand before engaging in any rash decisions such as all out war.

Not that my nine year old self paid attention to any of that. Instead, I was far more concerned with the fact that the story suddenly goes off in a new direction at the end. The Master stands at the top of an alien mountain and proclaims to the Doctor that he has some old friends that would like to see him again. Three Daleks suddenly appear out of nowhere and begin to attack them. When I was a kid, I sort of knew what the Daleks were. And by sort of, I mean that my parents had mentioned them in passing when they were telling me about this strange television series. But this took me completely left of field, as these evil metal creatures came forth and began to attack. Instantly, they became the coolest things that I had ever seen before in my life, and laying the kindling for my obsession with Doctor Who.

And this, I should add, really was a surprise. I am possibly the only person to see the VHS cover for Frontier in Space, observe the Dalek, and then be surprised when they turned up at the end, mainly because I assumed that they were just on there for no reason whatsoever aside from they looked kind of cool. There was one more surprise though waiting for me. The conclusion of Frontier In Space features the Master cornering the Doctor, before shooting him and escaping off into the distance. The Doctor gets up, and with the help of Jo goes into the TARDIS and activates the TARDIS's telepathic circuits to send a message to the Time Lords. And then the story ends. I waited to see what would happen next. I waited for a good five minutes until the VHS finished, and then I admitted that it was quite probable that this story would end on a cliffhanger. I didn't know why though. I didn't know how it would be resolved. I needed to get some form of closure to how it would all end. So I looked up what would happen next, resolving that I would watch the conclusion to Frontier In Space as soon as I possibly could. It was a wait that would last another nine years...

But that's another story (and a remarkably poor one at that). Instead, we can look at what Frontier In Space had to entice a new viewer to the show. It had exciting battles, weird alien monsters, messages of peace rather than war, characters who are instantly likeable, shocking twists, the Delaware theme and moments of charm scattered throughout. It sparked a lifelong obsession of Doctor Who in me, something which has changed my life completely. I've met so many friends and had so many opportunities thanks to this amazing programme. And I look forward to the future, where I'm sure that I'll meet more friends and get far more experiences thanks to this programme. And so as this episode comes to an end, I'm sure that there will be many others like it, but I've got to get back to working as We've Got Work To Do!

*(I could lie and say that this one moment inspired me to tell the truth always for the rest of my life. However, the truth is that a traumatising moment with Christian vegetables left me petrified of lying. This is a legitimate problem that I have in my life.)

Day 365: Invasion of the Dinosaurs Part 6

So we reach the climax of this story. Now, the story has fully mutated. It is no longer the Doctor investigating a dinosaur invasion of the Earth, it is a story about the Doctor, Sarah Jane, the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton fighting against a group of extremists. It's relatively tense stuff and works well, although there is still the niggling problem at the heart of this story. It's a story that functions on twists. Having known all of these twists in advance, it lessens the impact and makes for a far more average story on the whole. It's still fun, but I have just a strong sense of regret about being spoiled of what happens.

And yet, there was one moment in this story that surprised me. I won't say what it was, only that I legitimately found it a highlight of my Doctor Who viewing experience. Seeing that moment reminded me that as I continue along this journey of watching Doctor Who, there can still be surprises where I least expect them. And these little moments make the entire journey worthwhile.

Day 364: Invasion of the Dinosaurs Part 5

The plan has finally been revealed! It turns out that the bad giys are going to send a few chosen people back in time to repopulate the Earth and so that we can learn from our mistakes to create a better society. The obvious message that Hulke is trying to make here is one of political extremism, where extremists will go to such strong measures to get the ends that they want, in this case pretty much wiping out most of the human race to start over. We're obviously meant to be sided against them, we can see that this is a horrible move which we as humanity should obviously be against.

And yet I'm siding with the bad guys here. Hulke writes issues of grey morality, inviting viewers to consider both sides of the argument before making the final decision. And in this case, I personally have to side with the idea of rebooting the Earth and starting over. Every day I wake up and look at how the world is going terribly. Climate change and pollution are rampant in our modern world. There are also ideologies that exist that promote hate. That promote fossil fuels over climate action. And we as a society choose these people over people who are arguably going to make our planet better. And it's little wonder that some days I wish that we could go back to the time of the dinosaurs and start over, this time with clever people in charge. After all, we're already surrounded by war-mongering T-Rexes and stegosauruses with walnut sized brains in the modern day.

Day 363: Invasion of the Dinosaurs Part 4

Another twist occurred at the end of the last episode as it was revealed that Sarah Jane had been put on a spaceship and had been on this ship for three months. As an audience, of course, we are pre-disposed not to trust this on the grounds that the episode continues to cut back to Pertwee and UNIT investigating the dinosaurs in the current time period instead of three months hence. Thus, Hulke uninetnionally reveals the truth behind the plot element thathe is currently using. But the motive remains hidden, we are still unaware of how each plot element works together. On the one hand we have dinosaurs roaming the streets of London as part of a massive conspiracy with people involved from science, the military, the government and UNIT. Aside from this, we also have a spaceship filled with prime human specimens who are being reminded of how polluted the Earth is and why they have left to find a new colony somewhere different. Hopefully we shall soon discover how these plot strands fit together, but it's obvious that this is going to make for some more overtly political themes than we're used to in Doctor Who.

Day 362: Invasion of the Dinosaurs Part 3

The villain's plan is still yet to fully reveal itself, so I'll withhold discussion on that for the moment and instead bring up a very important point about Invasion of the Dinosaurs. DINOSAURS! As a young boy I loved dinosaurs. Their majesty and exciting features, coupled with the documentary series Walking With Dinosaurs sparked a youthful obsession with these terrible lizards. Naturally, when looking through Doctor Who: The Television Companion, I found the story with dinosaurs in it and got excited for it, wanting to see what would be presented to me.

The sad thing is that the dinosaurs as presented are not as CGI like the Dinosaurs that I walked with that sparke my interest in the topic, instead they are models. And somewhat poor models as well, which obviously gel poorly with the humans occupying the scenes with them. This makes for a depressing moment, as I can reflect on how I should never get my hopes up for special effects, as they'll always be less than special.

But the effects don't matter. When I was a kid and watching Walking with Dinosaurs, I wasn't thinking of the impressive effects, I was thinking of the dinosaurs that were in front of me. And the fact still remains that dinosaurs are in Doctor Who and that this is remarkably cool and exciting. We get to see the majesty of the Stegosaurus, the horror of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the beauty of the Brontosaurus. The fact that they're less than convincing doesn't matter as we can still appreciate the meaning behind it and get excited to see Dinosaurs.

Day 361: Invasion of the Dinosaurs Part 2

Captain Mike Yates is a character that we've not really discussed that much on the blog. He's one of the UNIT regulars, a reliable sort who is frequently seen either in an action set-piece or hanging out with Jo Grant. Watching this episode, however, makes you realise that something is different. He's asking more questions than he usually does and you can sense that he's not asking these questions out of curiosities sake, there's an ulterior motive at work. The ulterior motive is suddenly revealed as him actually working for a group of people bringing dinosaurs to modern day London. It's a shocking moment as we see the once reliable character who we could trust instead move to the side of the enemy. Over the course of the serial, we'll discover why this is the case, but it shows bravery that we can put the regular cast out of their comfort zone and into new and different scenarios.

Day 360: Invasion Part 1

You have to feel sorry for this story. The production team goes to all the trouble of trying to keep the fact that it's actually called Invasion of the Dinosaurs secret, and then it's all ruined due to a number of factors. One such factor is that halfway through, we get to see a dinosaur attack. This would be expected in stories featuring dinosaurs, that dinosaurs should appear throughout, and yet it's painfully obvious that it was at some point intended that the revelation of the dinosaur would be a cliffhanger reveal, to shock the audience into tuning in the following week to see the Doctor fight dinosaurs. Instead, it just comes across as a weak cliffhanger.

But there's more to it than just that, because any person who wants to watch this story will immediately be denied the pleasure of having the shock dinosaur reveal. This is because the dinosaurs are emblazoned on the front cover of the DVD. As is the phrase: Invasion of the Dinosaurs. And even a cursory glance at the internet will reveal other spoilers that are to come with the story. It's a sad reflection on the fact that we can't enjoy these stories any more in the ways that they were on first broadcast. We already know what is to come ahead of us and so we aren't allowed to be surprised any more. Some days I wish for amnesia, so that I can forget about what will happen and allow the story to be told to me, but this is just a pipe dream, and we must always continue on, as We've Got Work To Do.

Day 359: The Time Warrior Part 4

Now the time has come to talk of the real highlight of The Time Warrior: Professor Rubeish. For the uninitiated, Professor Rubeish is a scientist who gets captured by Linx and hypnotised to work for him. Unfortunately, the hypnotism fails due to Rubeish being incredibly blind as a bat without his glasses, and so Rubeish is just left wandering about the place. What makes him so brilliant is the way in which he is characterised, as he takes everything in his stride not realising the full predicament that he is in. He's not terribly bright in this regard, although this does make him surprisingly reliable as he wanders about doing what is right without fully comprehending it. He's just an incredibly fun character, and is the heart of what Doctor Who is: having fun through time and space. You wouldn't necessarily expect too much darkness in the series, instead you are just allowed to have fun with Professor Rubeish.

Day 358: The Time Warrior Part 3

This story features a duo of villains, Irongron the Medieval baron and Linx the Sontaran. Both represent different ways of performing war. Irongron is the type who attacks without thought or reason, aiming to take over as much as possible through brute force. Linx, on the other hand, prefers a slightly more thoughtful and planned approach, choosing to use his technological advantage to choose the most strategic approach to receive his end goal. Linx looks down on Irongron as Irongron is a fool, while Irongron looks down on Linx as Linx is seen as weak in Irongron's eyes. The key point though, is that they are both, in essence, the same person, Linx being the natural evolution of Irongron. Both are warlike, choosing for violent ends to conflicts, both surround themselves with weaker people to remind themselves of their superior nature and both seek annihilation through conquest, it just so happens that Linx is more advanced than Irongron even though they are at heart, identical.

Day 357: The Time Warrior Part 2

This story marks a return for historical adventures for Doctor Who, as we go back in time to the Middle Ages and fight knights in castles and such. The historical was abandoned as a premise because they were found to be unpopular with viewers (a shame, as they were actually rather good) but the production team has come up with a way of making them more interesting: introducing science fiction elements to the story. It's something that we've seen before, most notably in The Time Meddler, however this time the science fiction is slightly more overt as an alien walks the walls of the castle, kidnapping scientists to fix his spaceship. All in all, it's interesting as we get a new dimension in storytelling. Stories that have previously been confined to the basic ideas (modern day invasion, futuristic alien planet, historical drama/comedy) can now intermingle, to produce new concepts for us to witness. We'll certainly be seeing more of the pseudo-historical in the future as it is refined more as a genre and new ways in which it can develop are shown to us.

Day 356: The Time Warrior Part 1

As we start series 11 of this series, it is clear that there is an awful lot to talk about with regards to the opening serial: The Time Warrior. First and foremost is the updated title sequence, which indicates a change in direction for the programme. This change is direction, however, is nothing to do with the production staff changing over, instead it is due to the introduction of a new assistant: Sarah Jane Smith. It makes sense, of course. The audience identification figure has changed, and thus the way in which the programme works changes as well. This continues into the new series as well, think of how much of a change occurred between the Doctor travelling with Amy and Rory to the Doctor travelling with Clara for instance.

But let's take a look at Sarah Jane for a moment. It's a little early to talk too much about her character as of this moment, however one thing is incredibly clear, being that her relationship with the Doctor is instantly different what has come before. It's spikier, with a bit more antagonism between the two. She's not willing to fall into the traditional assistant role, and he's not willing to have her around. It's a relationship that contrasts itself well with Jo Grant, where he got to be more of a father figure to her, looking after her as they travelled the cosmos. Now, the relationship is different and has the potential to go in different directions that we can't predict as of yet. We'll discover what will happen as the series continues though, and comment more on how Sarah Jane develops.

Day 355: The Green Death Episode 6

The end of an era is nigh. Jo Grant, companion since the first time that we met the Master, is leaving. She hasn't been mortally injured, nor has she been forced to forget all of her memories by the Time Lords. Instead, she has fallen in love. In love with Professor Jones, a man with enthusiasm and knowledge, a man with courage and care. A man who is a younger version of the Doctor, essentially. And so they go off together, ready to start their new happy life. But, in one of the most bitter-sweet moments for the series, the camera decides not to focus on their happiness. Whilst everyone is dancing and singing and celebrating the happy couple, we instead look at the Doctor. He's heartbroken because he's lost a friend, someone with whom he has shared adventures from invasions of plastic people to an invasion from the Devil. From Peladon to Solos. The person with whom he helped to prevent a war between Earth and Draconia. She's gone now, gone to find someone else. And so he walks away, silently into the sunset, leaving them to their fun. He's got work to do, I suppose. But it'll be different without Jo Grant around.

Day 354: The Green Death Episode 5

The villain in this story has been hidden, a voice coming from up high giving directives to its subo-ordinates. We can easily assume that this is some alien menace, perhaps the Master, and that their aim is to conquer the Earth. However, the cliffhanger to the previous episode reveals that it is instead a computer. Not just any computer though, a computer that has become self aware. It's a common trope when dealing with megalomaniacal computers that they lack any sort of humanity, and that humans will always win in the end with our creativity and inefficiency. This computer, BOSS, has realised this and thus decided to have itself programmed to be more like humans, more inefficient to become more efficient at what it does. We are thus confronted with an enemy that is impossible to beat. Life has been built up as something which, to paraphrase Jeff Goldblum, will "find a way", always surviving when the chips are down. So what happens when we create life and it turns against us?

Day 353: The Green Death Episode 4

This episode is embedded in the public consciousness as 'the one with the giant maggots'. It's easy to see why this has happened: giant maggots are a memorable image and one that sticks in the mind of the audience as maggots are fairly commonplace. Thus, by making the ordinary extraordinary through simply increasing the size, we can play off common fears and make the audience more attracted to the programme itself. It's also worth noting that most audiences will remember things this way, choosing not to remember the minutae, instead the general themes and images of the story. Thus, by finding a hook such as giant maggots, the makers of the series have been able to ensure that Doctor Who remains memorable not just for Daleks or for police boxes, but also for weird ideas and cool ideas for monsters, making the series one that will last for a remarkably long time in the memories of the viewer.

Day 352: The Green Death Episode 3

We see in this episode something that I wanted in Planet of the Daleks: grief. A quiet moment takes place halfway through this episode where Jo and Professor Jones mourn the death of one of the miners who looked after Jo in the first half of the episode. It's nice because we're allowed tok feel for the characters. The miner wasn't in the largest of roles, but he was still important and once in a while it's important to remind ourselves of the impact that deaths can have in the series. It certainly takes its toll on Jo, who needs to find a shoulder to cry on. That shoulder doesn't belong to the Doctor, what would be expected in such scenarios, instead it is that of Professor Jones. These two clearly have a strong connection, one which is more romantic than we've seen before in the series. Things are looking different for this serial, and we'll see how much different things become as The Green Death continues.

Day 351: The Green Death Episode 2

This story marks another step for Doctor Who into the political environment. This time, we focus on environmentalism, a subject that is still relevant today. The key point is about pollution, that companies come into the world and ravage the land, causing much devastation and destroying the ecosystem, including the lives of the people around the area. This could be similar to other stories that we've covered previously, such as Colony in Space or The Mutants. However, what makes this different is that it is firmly set in the modern day. This makes the issues more relevant, drawing our attention to the horrors that take place every day of our lives as we realise what these corporations do to us. These issues also deserve to be relevant, as they are destroying the planet and causing wide-spread destruction to our ecosystem, to the point where it may not end up being viable for us to continue living. So props to Robert Sloman and Barry Letts for making the decision to show the world these effects (even if it isn't as effective as you could have hoped) because it might just help open people's eyes to the horrors that lie in front of us every single day.

Day 350: The Green Death Episode 1

The Doctor finally gets to visit Metebelis 3 in this episode. Metebelis 3 has been a bit of a running joke throughout the Pertwee era, as the Doctor has been attempting to reach this destination for quite some time. However, things are not as we've been promised. Metebelis 3, although it has a beautiful landscape, also has a vast array of deadly obstacles and comes across as one of the more frightening planets in the cosmos. The joke, of course, is that the Doctor considers this place a holiday destination despite the fact that it's one of the least relaxing places in the universe.

But there's a hidden meaning to this. As the Doctor encounters these dangers, Jo, his assistant, is busy with her own agenda, attempting to save Earth through environmentalism. But this means that we get to witness an adventure of the Doctor's without a companion. It's suddenly more dangerous, and we as an audience aren't able to relate as much to the events occurring to the Doctor. But this is all foreshadowing for the events that are going to happen over the course of this story...

Day 349: Planet of the Daleks Episode 6

Two things about this episode make me quite cross. One is the way in which the plot has been wasted. The Episode 1 cliffhanger features an invisible Dalek. This is promising. We can now expect a story with invisible Daleks rampaging through the jungle, ready to attack when we least expect it. It is, however, never dealt with again. This is such a waste of what could have been a fantastic concept, and brings further to light how poorly this story has been written.

But that's not the episode's worst sin. The end of it has the Doctor telling Taron, the Thal leader, not to glamourise the events of this story and not to treat it as if it's some sort of exciting and thrilling game. However, the past story has been all about having fun and excitement with the Daleks. Yes, there's been death and destruction, however this is par for the course for a Doctor Who story, and in addition to this the deaths that occurred were never fully dwelt upon to make us feel anything and realise the consequences of the actions that have taken place, thus meaning that this ham-fisted attempt at a moral is too little, too late for this story.

Day 348: Planet of the Daleks Episode 5

This episode features a scene in a quarry. It's one of the great jokes about Classic Doctor Who, that it's all set in quarries with wobbly sets. Normally, I would reject these claims and say that there are plenty of Doctor Who stories that aren't set in quarries. However, this is the third episode this series that has a quarry doubling for an alien landscape (fourth if you count the next story, which is actually set in a quarry). And it's not as if the story was looking to set itself in a quarry either, it is instead set on a jungle planet. What we are left with then is Doctor Who living up to the clichés associated with it. I understand why, locations are tricky to find, this scene explicitly called for a Dalek to be sent into a pool of molten ice which could be tricky to recreate in a studio and also quarries can be cheap to film in, however the point still stands that we are beginning to notice some minor problems with Doctor Who as broadcast.

Day 347: Planet of the Daleks Episode 4

One of my problems with this serial is something that I've only noticed on this watch-through. Codal, my favourite of the Thals, is an interesting character. He has strong doubts about whether he should be on the expedition, and spends most of his time being mildly frightened, yet continuing on with the mission at hand. This is all wasted by Terry Nation, the writer. After the Doctor gives Codal a quick speech about courage, Codal becomes horribly generic, wandering around with the rest of the team. It's disappointing as Nation clearly decided to flesh out the other characters, introducing romantic sub-plots, concerns about the mission going ahead and explosions, but Codal is left by the wayside. An interesting character left to rot in their own story. It's not that this decision is bad, but it is incredibly disappointing and does not bode well for the rest of the serial.

Day 346: Planet of the Daleks Episode 3

The Doctor has allied himself with some soldiers who have arrived on the planet to fight the Daleks. These soldiers are Thals, making a return appearance after ten years away from our screens. This shows that Nation is keen to revisit the past, even if the past is too far away for the normal viewers. A child of nine years old watching the first Dalek serial would be 18 now. How much do you remember from 10 years ago? It's clear to me at this point that the only people who would know who the Thals were would be those who would go on to be obsessed with the minutiae of the series, and continue loving it for years and years hence.

But for those who weren't around when the first serial was broadcast, there's a helpful reminder of who the Thals are. Alongside this, Nation mentions that that first Dalek serial has now become a legend of the Thal people. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are now mythical creatures, who only exist in fairytales and the like. Doctor Who is playing with its own mythos here, and it's quite fun to see the result.

And as I wrote this entry, I suddenly realised something. When the repeat series of Doctor Who began on the ABC, I watched the first Dalek serial. I would have been 9 at the time, easily impressionable. By the time that I reached the age of 18 and watching Planet of the Daleks, I knew who the Thals were because I had spent all that time loving and discovering about the minutiae of one of my favourite programmes. In the first paragraph I asked a question. My answer is that nine years ago I was watching a weird TV series. There were these creatures called the Daleks (everyone knows who they are), but there are also these kindly aliens called the Thals. And, of course, the Thals would stay with me across those nine years until I saw their return in Planet of the Daleks.

Day 345: Planet of the Daleks Episode 2

There's a supremely beautiful moment in this episode concerning a conversation that the Doctor has with a fellow scientist after they have both been captured by the Daleks. The scientist, Codal, seems annoyed at himself. He isn't brave like the other members of the expedition. Instead, he spends his time in fear of everything that surrounds him, too afraid to do anything. But the Doctor points out that he does do things, and that this is courageous. Courage, the Doctor explains, is being frightened but doing the right thing anyway. This is what Doctor Who does. It frightens children, but it also teaches them that it's OK to be frightened, and that being brave is OK as well. It's a simple message but one that's effective and works well within the episode.

Day 344: Planet of the Daleks Episode 1

It was a long time until I got around to watching Planet of the Daleks. By the time that I watched it, I was no longer the bright faced young boy who was able to look forward to everything. Instead, I was a somewhat cynical teenager watching this story with an apparently poor reputation. It's somewhat depressing, watching this again, because the faults become more pronounced. The problem isn't with the direction though, nor the design, both of which are reasonably strong. Instead, the writing is somewhat lacking, as we come off a highly political story with themes to satisfy older viewers to a simple space adventure story written by Terry Nation. As a child, I would have been pleased and excited to see this story (indeed I remember reading the novelisation when I was 11 and being impressed by what was unfolding before me), but as a teenager there was little to excite me, so I just sat down and hoped that this story would somehow get better.