Day 612: Frontios Part 4

I suppose the reason that I've enjoyed Frontios so much is the villains, known as the Tractators. They're beings that can control gravity, and they have cqptured humans such that they can tunnel out the caverns of Frontios into waveguides, which will help them transform Frontios into a spaceship allowing them to wreak havoc across the universe. Although, to be honest, I'm fairly sure that they'd be able to wreak havoc across the universe anyway, because they can control gravity. That's one of the four fundamental forces, and control over gravity would give anyone an immense amount of power.

Is it any wonder, then, that Turlough is so distressed by these events? But he's distressed in a different way than what we're normally used to, he's been reduced at various points to a quivering mess as he tries to come to terms with the creatures that he's facing. The Tractators, it transpires, are creatures that have invaded Turlough's home planet, and left a strong race memory due to the immense impact that they made on his society. It's a nice touch, as it makes the monsters feel like a genuine threat, and gives Mark Strickson something worthwhile to do in the story.

It's a shame that Frontios is overlooked by so many people, to be honest, as it's not that bad a story. It does have problems, yes, but it also has an awful lot of things going for it that make it an incredibly worthwhile adventure, and one that I'll look back on fondly.

Day 611: Frontios Part 3

A week or so ago, I lamented the fact that I could not watch episodes of Doctor Who and experience surprises, sudden plot developments that come out of left field and genuinely shock the viewer. Frontios was to prove me wrong though, as it keeps on bombarding me with little bits and pieces that make it all worthwhile.

The biggest example, for me, is the cliffhanger to Part 3 wherein we discover that the villainous Tractators have been capturing humans and using them as slave labour in machinery as some sort of terrifying body horror concept. It's a genuine surprise and throws the story in a new direction with ethical dilemmas to now consider about the lives of the humans in the machines, as well as dealing with the generic alien attack story that had been present for the previous couple of episodes.

It's also a good enough cliffhanger concept to allow me to forgive Ron Jones' poor direction of it, where he elects to zoom the camera in but holds the final position for a second too long, making it slightly awkward. But it's oddly one of the few poor moments from Jones' direction of the story, which is otherwise quite good. Interesting camera angles are chosen as well as some effective glass shots and some strong acting, which presumably comes back to discussion with the director. It's not enough for me to forgive him for Time-Flight or Arc of Infinity, but it is enough for me to say that, on the basis of the first three episodes, Frontios is an underrated gem of a story.

Day 610: Frontios Part 2

There's an absolutely hilarious moment early in this episode where Turlough picks up the TARDIS hatstand, which the inhabitants of Frontios feel is a weapon of mass destruction. Thus, for the first five minutes of the story, Turlough weilds the hatstand with a degree of menace, threatening to kill anyone who comes in his way. It's a moment of unexpected hilarity in this story, which could threaten to be rather serious. It's about mass destruction, death and chaos, and could easily be given an Earthshock-esque treatment with little humour and massive amounts of action, but instead Bidmead and Saward give the story a lightness that makes it all far more bearable. Another example can be seen when Turlough is helping Norna do some tests on the minerals of Frontios. Turlough spends much of the time wandering through the lab and commenting on how nothing really makes sense around the area, which Norna keenly remarks is just his way of getting out of work. It's not a massive moment, but it's well appreciated, and by allowing this moment of lightness, it gives the inhabitants of Frontios some character that makes the story much more enjoyable.

Day 609: Frontios Part 1

Frontios marks a one time only return to the series for former script editor Christopher H Bidmead, who previously script edited the series from The Leisure Hive to Logopolis, as well as writing Logopolis and Castrovalva himself. His time on the series is often characterised by a movement to make the series less fantastical and more scientific, which can be seen very easily in Frontios.

For instance, in Part 1, a large portion of the episode is devoted to finding a power source to improve the lighting of the medical centre of the planet. This is littered with concepts that are either real scientific developments, such as phosphor lamps, or sound realistic enough that one can assume that they will be scientific developments in the far future, such as acid jars powered by wind power (I don't have as much time to research this as I'd like, but I would be curious to learn if this is a real development or something that Bidmead made up). It's stuff like this that gives the story a sense of scientific grounding that marks Bidmead's return to the series.

We can also see this in the protagonists on the planet Frontios. Almost immediately, we're being told to side with the scientists, the people who keep everyone else alive and are keen to learn the truth, while the military personnel on the planet are far more interested in keeping control of the population and jumping to conclusions when it comes to anything suspicious. It's actually something which speaks to the core of what Doctor Who is about, that scientists and the like will be better than the military any day of the week. It's an understanding of that which shows why Bidmead was a good writer for the series, and why I'm now looking forward to watching more of Frontios.

And for more discussion about science and Doctor Who, why not read the latest issue of The Terrible Zodin, where I write about the recent Brian Cox special where the Science of Doctor Who is discussed, in particular with respect to my life, which can be found here: http://doctorwhottz.blogspot.co.uk

Day 557: Castrovalva Part 4

So, now that he's had some time to settle into the role, it's worth discussing what the initial impressions of the Fifth Doctor are like. He's a lot less eccentric than his predecessor, which comes as a breath of fresh air, and helps to distinguish him in the role. He's also a lot calmer, taking various revelations in the plot in his stride, approaching them logically and without too much anger. Take, for instance, when he discovers that Adric has been missing for the entire serial, by virtue of being captured by the Master. He finds Nyssa and Tegan squabbling over this fact, and although he is still somewhat distressed by this news, he takes it calmly and attempts to be the voice of reason between the two, making the character more likeable and setting himself apart from Baker's Doctor, who would have been slightly more liable to emotion upon the discovery of the capture of one of his companions.

Another element that we can see in Davison's Doctor is in how energetic he is. He spends much of the last part of this story on his feet, running about from place to place. Even in conversations, he's still moving, rummaging his hands through his trouser pockets as he talks with various people. It complements itself well with his appearance, being full of youthful vigour that speaks of a young energy at the heart of this new and renewed Doctor.

The heart of this Doctor, though, is the fact that he's a hero, or perhaps to use a phrase used in the most recent series of Doctor Who, a good man. He's not the action hero that Pertwee was, nor the eccentric oddball of Baker, the grumpy but charming man of Hartnell or the cosmic hobo of Troughton. He's more of a romantic hero, existing to be a simple good man who goes out into the Universe to explore and go on an adventure. It's a more relaxed take on the Doctor than his predecessors, but it's one that I look forward to exploring, as the Fifth Doctor's era begins.

Day 556: Castrovalva Part 3

Castrovalva, as referred to in the title of this story, is a place of harmony, where the Doctor is sent in order to relax and fully get used to his new body following his post-regeneration crisis. The image above is an accurate representation of Castrovalva, as it's quite different from other places in the universe. It's a weird, fifth dimensional area where the corners of space are folding in on themselves, meaning that we have an Escher-like zone where you keep going down and down flights of stairs, but you never reach the bottom, always staying within an odd loop. It's an odd, but engaging idea, and is an excellent example of high concept scientific and mathematical ideas being utilised within a Doctor Who story to engage the viewing audience with something that is truly weird and out of this world.

It's also worth mentioning that we'll be seeing examples of this sort of thing more regularly across the next couple of series, as we get really high concept ideas in a Doctor Who context. It's not all we're going to be seeing though, as we'll come to discover over the next couple of weeks. But for now, let's just enjoy the geometrical nightmare that is Castrovalva.

Day 555: Castrovalva Part 2

I mentioned before about how the other main characters are dealt with in this story, however I neglected to mention Adric and the Master. This is because they are on the other side of the story, with the Master generally spending much of his time trying to kill the Doctor, whilst having Adric trapped in a bizzare web, forcing him to be his unwilling henchman. It's nice to have these two characters together, as it increases our investment in the Master's scheme, now that we know that Adric is trapped and is being forced to work for him, so we're somewhat hoping that Adric will survive this dilemma. We're also intrigued by this, as the script has the Master as a main part of the story, and yet we know little of his full plan to destroy the Doctor. There's a new tension that develops, then, as we wonder as to what the Master's final plan is, and whether this new Doctor will be able to escape this trap before it's too late, which makes us, as the audience, more invested within this story, and whether we, too, can solve the puzzle before it's too late.

Day 554: Castrovalva Part 1

And so we begin. We've got a new Doctor, new companions, a new Master and a new era for the series. It's interesting to see how this serial reacts to these changes then, and how they introduce them to the audience.

Castrovalva's approach to this change is to start somewhere near the deep end. Most of the episode is spent with Nyssa and Tegan, the two newest companions, as they try to make sense of the TARDIS and help the Doctor, who is going through some sort of post-regeneration crisis. Oddly enough, this actually works. Part of this is due to Bidmead's strong writing as he helps us feel more comfortable with the characters as they try to make sense of everything. There's also credit to be given to the acting between Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) who obviously have a strong enough chemistry with each other that they can help the audience feel more comfortable with them as a result.

But it's not just with the companions that we get thrown into the deep end. The Doctor, as mentioned previously, is undergoing a post-regeneration crisis. We see a more erratic and worried Doctor than we're used to which creates a feeling of unease within the audience. But this is contrasted with moments of clarity as he calms down, which helps us to get to trust and like the character a lot more. It's another interesting way to introduce us to the new Doctor, but it works, and certainly means that we can begin to look forward to Peter Davison's time as the Doctor.

Day 553: Logopolis Part 4

Everything comes to an end, and everything dies.

That's the essence of the implications of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, as looked at yesterday. It's also the essence of this story, as we see things die and decay all around us, whether it be the planet of Logopolis, or the very nature of the series itself. On the physical side, we have the fact that entropy is now eating up vast chunks of the Universe. This comes to a head as Nyssa looks on a screen and quietly remarks that her planet has just been destroyed. She remarks on the fact that the Master has killed everything that she has ever loved and cared about, creating an emotional attachment to the mass destruction that is being done in this serial, and making things seem more serious. The serious nature continues as the Doctor is forced into an alliance with the Master, in order to save the Universe from this seemingly unstoppable threat.

But it's a different sort of Doctor that makes the deal with the Master. Tom Baker, as the Doctor, has been somewhat less jovial over the past series. There are less jokes, less moments to have fun, even his hair is less curly than it was when the series started. It's a more serious Doctor that makes the deal then, one who has had some weight hanging over him since the beginning of the series, in particular since the beginning of Logopolis, where a ghostly figure known as The Watcher has been haunting the Doctor across these four episodes, having quiet conversations with him that seem to make him slightly more resigned as a result. It's an interesting change to notice in the Doctor, an end to the laugh giving man who we first saw burst onto our screens in Robot, now a man approaching some unknown fate.

But this is one of several changes that have been occurring within this series. We've lost Romana and K9, replaced with Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, characters with whom we don't have the same emotional connection. They're a different breed of companion, with a woman who doesn't necessarily want to be on an adventure, a young boy eager to learn about the Universe, and a quiet young girl with a keen scientific intellect. But it's not just their basic character that differentiates them from everyone else, it's their relationship with the Doctor. Because the Doctor is more serious, we don't have the sparkling wit and strong chemistry with the Doctor that went into every companion before them, from Sarah Jane to Romana, instead we just have a selection of supporting characters that happen to travel on the TARDIS with the Doctor.

But the Doctor's found himself in trouble. Attempting to stop the Master from carrying out one last scheme, he finds himself hanging by a thread on a radio telescope. Haunted by his past foes, he loses grip and falls. We next see him lying on the ground, surrounded by his companions. But it's not just his new companions, all of them are there, as we see clips of his old friends, helping him hang onto life for one last moment. It suddenly hits home how important this one character has been to the series, and just how much fun and excitement we've had together, and how much more we hope to have. But it's not enough.

It's the end...

 

In one final moment, the Doctor who stopped the Jagaroth while remarking on the historical nature of chairs, the Doctor who had the power of the Key to Time, the Doctor who saved Gallifrey from an invasion of tin foil, the Doctor who fought in the land of nightmares, the Doctor who prevented an invasion of obscene vegetable matter, the Doctor who wondered whether he could kill a child to save the Universe, the Doctor who did all of those things and so much more, dies.

But the moment has been prepared for.

The Watcher moves to the Doctor, and merges with him, changing the Doctor's features. We see a regeneration, not an end, but a renewal, revealing a new Doctor for us, in the form of Peter Davison. And although we may not know who this Doctor is, and whether we'll like him or not, we know that it's still the Doctor, and so we wait with expectation, to see how everything will pan out, as he's got work to do.

Day 552: Logopolis Part 3

There's actually an awful lot to talk about that occurs in this episode. There are key character developments for Nyssa and Tegan, as well as a strong moment at the end of the episode for the Doctor and the Master. But one thing keeps cropping up: Entropy.

Doctor Who has become more scientific as a result of the new script editor, Christopher H Bidmead, and as such he has been introducing more scientific concepts into the series. Entropy is a concept in thermodynamics, referring to the nature of decay within systems. It is related to the second law of thermodynamics, being that energy will always increase in a closed system until thermal equilibrium is achieved. In other words, everything decays. The way in which this is used in this story is that the Logopolitans who live on Logopolis have quietly been working away to prevent the decay of the Universe, by opening up portals to other universes such that the Universe as we know it is no longer a closed system and entropy will no longer be as much of a problem. This fails when the Master meddles with it, meaning that the Doctor now has to prevent the heat death of the Universe. Which would be bad.

So why do I mention all of this? Well, as has perhaps been mentioned previously on this blog, I study Physics. And today, I had a test on Statistical Mechanics, a particular branch of thermodynamics that's possibly a bit too complicated for me to go in right now. But it does mean that I get an extra level of enjoyment from this story, as I can now look at various explanations of the thermodynamical concepts and smile as I see stuff that I study in class in Doctor Who, making both the story and my studies just a little bit more exciting.

Day 551: Logopolis Part 2

We need to talk about the next new companion. Her name is Tegan Jovanka, an Australian air stewardess, and my family has an interesting relationship with her. It's difficult to quantify what our relationship is with the character, but it generally consists of us walking around, putting on strong Australian accents, and proclaiming the words "Tegan Jeblanka!". Tegan Jeblanka is quite forthright in her opinions, expressing such proclamations as "Pharos is Greek for Lighthouse!", as well as various ruminations on Brisbane High and their knowledge of handcuffs. It doesn't bear too much relationship to the character though, which makes things awkward for me when I watch her stories, as I struggle to reconcile the two Tegans in my head. But it makes for a lot of fun with engaging with the character, and I strongly recommend that you find it in your hearts to let Tegan Jeblanka in.

Day 550: Logopolis Part 1

There's a short lived relationship, for reasons that soon become apparent, between the Fourth Doctor and Adric that's quite interesting to watch. The Doctor takes Adric on as a student, almost, teaching him about how various concepts work and operate. An example is when he talks about entropy, quickly and elegantly describing the concept such that Adric can understand it. It works because Adric is naturally curious, seeking to discover more about the world of maths and science, at least when the current script editor, Christopher H Bidmead, is writing for him, and this extends to a certain proportion of the audience, allowing us to become the Doctor's students as well. But, as entropy states, everything decays, and things are going to change awfully soon.

Day 549: The Keeper of Traken Part 4

The Melkur's true identity is revealed, showing him to be the Master. It's recognisably the Master, not so much from the look where he's a variation on the husk that we saw in The Deadly Assassin, but in the manner, as we see the more charming side of the character. He seeks power, and uses it for terrible things, yes, but he goes about it in such a way that you can't help but admire the man behind the actions. There's also a deperation at the heart of this Master, as he seeks a new body to replace his now cripplled one. It's an interesting motive for him to have, not to take over the Universe, but instead to just live. He fails in this venture though, as Adric somehow manages to save the day with the help of Nyssa and science. Left to die as his TARDIS burns around him, we are left wondering if the Master escapes.

But not for long. We get a small scene at the end where the Master kidnaps Tremas, one of the major characters in this story and a man who has shown himself to be generally kind and wise, and then takes over his body. Tremas is no more, killed by the Master such that he might live. It's uncomfortable to see, particularly as we have grown rather fond of Tremas over the past few episodes. But it's also uncomfortable as we see what he leaves behind. As the Master's TARDIS dematerialises, Nyssa wanders into shot, wondering where her father is. It's a moment that reminds the audience of how cruel the Master is, because he has now not only killed Tremas, he has deprived his daughter of ever seeing him as he truly is again, only his face with a new mind behind it.

Day 548: The Keeper of Traken Part 3

Another new companion is introduced in this story. Her name's Nyssa, and the incredibly obvious question that comes up as we look at her character is 'why does she become a companion?'. Her role in the story is relatively minor. She spends much of the time running around with the Doctor, Adric and and her father Tremas in order to prevent the plans of the Melkur from bearing fruit, with most of the story going towards the work of the Doctor and Tremas, with Adric fulfilling an assistant's role. Nyssa is worth pretty much nothing in this story, only existing to be nice and help everyone else.

And here's the interesting thing. Nyssa wasn't originally going to be a companion. She was brought back into the series, because the production team felt that she was a good enough character to work well enough to become a regular, even though she's had virtually nothing to do in the entire episode. It's like if Princess Astra from The Armageddon Factor became a companion. They may have worked well as a side character in their own story, but you wonder whether they'd be suited to run off with the Doctor at the end of the episode.

But still, we mustn't pre-judge, and maybe the character will work well in the future. Only time will tell though, as the serial draws to a close.

Day 547: The Keeper of Traken Part 2

The Melkur is the villain in this story, a statue of pure evil that has landed on Traken and has slowly been injecting impurities into their otherwise pure society. It's interesting to see this character, mainly because of the way in which it's portrayed between Part 1 and Part 2. In Part 1 it is a silent menace, remaining perfectly still and only moving towards the latter half of the episode. Up until that point, the only indication that life was inside it were some ominous red eyes that glowed at various intervals. Part 2, on the other hand, gives the creature voice through the actor Geoffrey Beevers. Beevers has a smooth, rich voice that gives the Melkur a slightly sinister quality, and one that adds an extra dimension to the character. And yet, the portrayal of it being silent works better in my opinion, as it makes it far more of an unknowable and worrying quantity, which creates a better villain. But, the Melkur may not be as it seems as we delve deeper into the story of The Keeper of Traken.

Day 546: The Keeper of Traken Part 1

There's a certain quality to this story as we begin it. It's set on a world that has transcended all forms of evil, a place were everyone "held together by...people being terribly nice to one another", to quote the Doctor at the beginning of the story. This transcends to the way in which the story plays itself out. Everything feels slightly more relaxed than what's come before, with the threats not being too imminent at the moment. This is done by slowing the pace of the story down, so that we're allowed to breathe and enjoy the story, by exploring the back stories of some of the supporting cast members or the planet itself. We also get a more natural set, filled with well maintained plant life that gives an air of serenity to the proceedings. All in all, it's just a lovely beginning to the story, but this is subject to change as the story slowly progresses. The Doctor has entered the story now, and brought with him a dangerous amount of chaos...

Day 545: Warriors' Gate Part 4

As it turns out, I was left nowhere with regards to understanding much of what happened in Part 3 of this story. But I do understand a good deal of the rest of it, oddly enough. The story concerns an alien race called Tharils. They are time sensitives, able to use their powers as god-like abilities in a variety of scenarios. They created an entire empire, and were rulers over it for a considerable period of time. But they were cruel gods, and enslaved both humans and robots to serve them. Naturally, an uprising occurred, and they were left helpless as the humans took control of them as their slaves, torturing them to use their time-sensitive abilities to traverse the universe. Their story is one of reversals, that they were once kings and now they are slaves, doomed throughout the cosmos, which is symbolised in the fact that the Doctor and Romana travel through a mirror to reach the point in history when they were rulers, as mirrors not only reflect incoming light, they present an image which is the reverse of the one which the mirror reflects. So they enlist the Doctor and Romana to help set themselves free, and in doing so create a better future.

This works as a story, mostly because of the way in which the story is revealed to us, through having us figure out their entire history and so we get that sense of satisfaction of figuring everything out. It would be a much less satisfying story if we were presented with a generic 'free the slaves' plotline, instead we get a story about helping someone, and we have to figure out both how they need to be helped and the motive for which we should give them help.

And there's one other thing about Warriors' Gate. At the end of it, Romana leaves. She makes a simple decision that she'd much rather be helping the Tharils than return to Gallifrey. The Doctor gives her K9, bids her farewell and leaves E-Space with Adric. It's a quick exit for two characters who have meant so much to the programme, K9 bringing humour as well as appeal for children, whilst Romana was a character who proved to be an equal to the Doctor in every way, shape and form, something that we often don't see with companions. It's a shame to see them leave, and more than that, to see them leave quickly, but that reflects the new period that we're in, production-wise. It's a period of 'out with the old, in with the new'. Or at least, out with some of the old...

Day 544: Warriors' Gate Part 3

When setting up this blog, I gave myself a few rules to follow. One such rule was no skips ahead. Aside from brand new episodes, I said to myself that I could not watch any episode until the day upon which I have it scheduled to appear on my blog. This has mostly worked well, but there are one or two hiccups that get in the way. One such hiccup is Warriors' Gate Part 3.

I've seen this story at least once before, maybe twice. I've read reviews of it and listened to analyses in the past as well, so I'm readily familiar with the basic beats of the story. I know, for instance, the journey of the Tharils, which we may perhaps talk about tomorrow. But in all that viewing, I can never really claim to fully understand what happens from about halfway through Part 3. Basically, Romana meets one of the Tharils, they hold hands and start glowing, then they walk off and disappear, re-appearing near the titular gate. At no point is any explanation given for how this occurs. It's all a bit confusing, and left me somewhat lost for words that didn't begin with a W, T, or F.

Another instance is the cliffhanger, where the Doctor would appear to be magically teleported from one position to another, because an axe hit the table in front of him. Or it may be that he travelled from one time period to another. It's the sort of thing that gives the idea that the production staff had a perfectly good idea of what was going on, but they failed to effectively communicate that on screen, leaving the viewers with very little idea as to what was going on.

But we get back to the hiccup at the introduction. As the episode concluded, I felt the need to put on Part 4. I needed to see whether an explanation would be made as to what everything means, with full discussions of the various concepts and their importance to the story. And the fact that I wanted to watch the rest of this must say something about the story, and how it somehow manages to draw viewers in, even if it's only to find out what the hell is going on.

Day 543: Warriors' Gate Part 2

An impressive thing about Warriors' Gate is how it deals with its supporting cast. We have a crew who have been similarly marooned at the zero point of the Universe, and through a combination of writing, directing, design and performance, we get to feel that this crew is easily one that is comfortable with one another and their surrounds. Take, for instance, a scene where Packard, a crew-member, gives some gobbledygook order to someone under his command. They respond quizzically, to which he responds by saying that it means to close the door. They promptly do, and so we get a shot of the door closing on his disappointed face, as he relays the information that he'd like it to be closed after he's gone through it. It's a simple character moment, but nice, and adds depth to the story, making it a more enjoyable experience on the whole.

Day 542: Warriors' Gate Part 1

When looking at Doctor Who stories en masse, it's easy to categorise them. There are those that are on alien worlds, those that have alien invasions, those that are less about a group of monsters and are more about just one villain, and those that are all about visiting history and meeting famous figures from the past. But there's another type, one that hasn't been shown very much in the 1970's and is about to make a return in the 1980's. We are about to witness the return of the trippy story.

Trippy stories are weird. Normally high concept, they look and feel different to everything else around it. They can be difficult to understand, but can be incredibly rewarding due to the intricate way in which the story has been constructed. But the main point to make here is that they're a bit weird. Take Warriors' Gate for instance. Part 1 features the Doctor and co. landing nowhere, the zero point that connects normal, or N-Space, with E-Space. We meet Biroc, who moves in such a way that he leaves a shadow in time behind of his past position. It's all very curious, and sparks the beginning of a story that's a bit different from everything else around it.