Day 618: Planet of Fire Part 4

So Planet of Fire has come to an end, and so too have some companion's trips in the TARDIS, namely Turlough and Kamelion.

Turlough's leaving comes as we learn more about his history. We discover that he had been exiled to Earth on the grounds that he was a political prisoner. But, through this story, where he encounters other people from his home planet of Trion, he learns that he has been granted a pardon, and that he is allowed to return home. It's one of the quieter companion departures we've had (and can easily be overlooked after the heart-wrenching departure of Tegan in the previous story and the departure of another character in the next story), but is a little sad nonetheless, not least because Turlough isn't leaving because he wants to, but instead out of some feeling of duty. It's a shame to lose the character, as he's actually been rather good to have on the TARDIS, and has been consistently written as well, something that you can't say for all those who have travelled in time and space.

Kamelion's departure, on the other hand, is altogether different. After spending almost the entire story under the control of the Master, he lies on the floor and begs to be killed by the Doctor. The Doctor then picks up the Tissue Compression Eliminator and shoots him, killing this weird robotic companion. It's a moment that's actually rather shocking, not least because it actually happened. Whilst Kamelion may have been a bit of a mistake, and he never really appeared much beyond a few scenes, he was still someone who travelled aboard the TARDIS, and still someone who worked to help the Doctor. To see the Doctor pick up a gun and kill this creature is shocking, and completely out of character for the Doctor, in my opinion.

Still, the new companion, Peri, promises to be a breath of fresh air. She's the first companion in a while to actually want to travel aboard the TARDIS, and she's filled with youthful energy and excitement. How long she keeps that view, however, will be found out over the course of the next couple of stories.

Day 617: Planet of Fire Part 3

The Master is in this story, playing a duel role. He takes control of Kamelion, for unknown reasons, and projects his likeness on Kamelion as a show of dominance over him. We then get two slightly different portrayals of the Master from Anthony Ainley, reflecting his current form.

When being the Master, he is forceful, and occasionally angry. We get a sense of a man who is driven to do something, of someone who is projecting all of their power into this one task. It can be contrasted with Kamelion, portraying the Master. Here, the character is far more jovial, laughing away as he exerts dominance over the Doctor at various times. As a side note, his costume is actually rather good as well, being a simple business suit that reminds the viewer of the suave nature of the Master, making him one of the cooler enemies that the Doctor faces. But getting back to the performance, it' hard to tell why there is such a difference between the two, until the cliffhanger at the end of Part 3.

At this point, it is revealed that the Master has been shrunk, and is currently living inside a small box, attempting to use Kamelion as a way of helping him escape his torment. And suddenly, the performance makes sense. We see a man who is trapped in a prison, yearning for freedom and driven by his urge to get out, then when he is granted the small freedom through Kamelion, he relishes it, laughing away as he is able to enjoy the ability to be a normal size. It's not a large part of Planet of Fire, but I think that it's certainly one of the story's main highlights, and I thought I'd mention it as we reach the conclusion of this story.

Day 616: Planet of Fire Part 2

Planet of Fire is partially filmed on location on the island of Lanzarote. Unlike previous foreign location shoots, such as City of Death or Arc of Infinity, the location is mainly used as the actual location on Earth, but instead as the alien landscape of the planet Sarn. It makes for a very visually impressive landscape, being a beautiful red rocky vista, appearing as if it is unlike anything on Earth and something truly alien (the irony of course being that it is very much on Earth).

There are other bonuses to the landscape as well. There's the fact that there's no-one else in rather large surrounds, which can lead to a feeling of isolation and emptiness, giving the impression that there is only a small colony of people, the TARDIS crew, and nobody else. It also lends the programme with a bit of a cinematic feeling as well, as large shots are taken, showing off the location to full effect, and making the production feel just that bit more visually impressive. One can easily imagine this being shown on a big cinema screen, with the beautiful Lanzarote landscape as the major star of the piece. And if nothing else, the tourism board of Lanzarote should be fairly pleased, as I've actually got half a mind to go on a visit there in the future, and see this awe-inspiring area myself.

Day 615: Planet of Fire Part 1

How much do we really know about Turlough? Despite the fact that several episodes were entirely devoted to his character and the development thereof, we know virtually nothing of his history before joining the TARDIS crew. We knew that he wasn't a human, but aside from a few hints as to his past, that was all that we really knew about this companion.

That is, of course, until Planet of Fire. Here, we see him genuinely worried, hiding things from the Doctor that hint toward his past. Symbols appear in various places and he recognises them but with a degree of worry and horror that implies a darker history than what one had previously thought. He even goes to the lengths of dismantling the TARDIS console in order to prevent the discovery of his history.

And I suppose that it's at this point that we really realise how little we know about this character, and how we can now be kind of worried that he may be as nice as we had assumed him to be. It also raises the notion of how much faith we, as an audience, put into the role of the companion, being that they are normal beings with no real problems outside of the TARDIS. Of course, in a few years time, this notion will be challenged again in a far more interesting way, and once the series is brought back in 2005, we will see this notion developed again, but for now let's focus on Turlough, as we learn more of his mysterious past.

Day 599: Enlightenment Part 4

Enlightenment refers to the prize at the end of the race. It is the ability to know everything in the Universe, essentially making one all powerful. It is guarded by the two Guardians, Black and White, and is eventually won by the Doctor, with Turlough's help.

They are obliged to offer it to the Doctor, who refuses. It's a flippant monent, and one that is quickly glossed over as Davison babbles on about how he doesn't want it, and indeed feels that no-one should have it save for the Guardians. But it's a moment that speaks truly of the Doctor. A force for good in the Universe, he recognises that this power is overwhelming and will lead to all osrts of problems so he denies it. But that's what we expect from the Time Lord who we have followed for the past 599 days.

Turlough is faced with the choice as well, although slightly altered. He is given a lesser portion of Enlightenment, and the Black Guardian states that, as Turlough is in his employ, he will take it, although he would trade it in exchange for the Doctor's life. Faced with this monumental decision, Turlough, after a moment's thought, refuses violently, shoving the crystal that represents Enlightenment into the Black Guardian, causing him to burn away as the shining brightness of the crystal comes into contact with his deep and dark heart. Enlightenment, as is stated at this point in the story, is the choice, the power to choose what future you might have. Turlough is faced with a future of power, but that of evil, or a future on the side of good, but somewhat lacking on the power sense. He chooses the latter, recognising that it is not within his ability to hold that much power, even if it is just the power over one man's life. In that moment, Turlough can finally be accepted on the TARDIS crew. We can now see that he is at least trustworthy, even if it took some time for this to fully come to fruition, and we can look forward to seeing him, Tegan and the Doctor as they go on many more adventures through time and space.

Day 598: Enlightenment Part 3

Turlough's story arc is nearing its conclusion as we approach the end of this trilogy of stories that began with Mawdryn Undead. He's accepted the offer from the Black Guardian to kill the Doctor, and attempted this, but it's clear that he can't perform the deed, because he doesn't quite believe that he could kill someone. The Black Guardian is thus naturally annoyed, and is now attempting to torment Turlough for not fulfilling his part of the bargain.

The scene, then, that is most important to the story arc in this particular episode, comes near the conclusion. Turlough has been trapped in a chamber that overlooks a portion of space, and the vacuum shield that is preventing all of the air from escaping has been switched off. Running out of oxygen quickly, he calls on the Black Guardian for assistance. He refuses, and leaves Turlough to die. Turlough continues to call for help, but he changes his focus, asking for the Doctor, instead of the Black Guardian. The Doctor arrives, having been looking for Turlough anyway, and rescues him.

This scene is clearly important, as it shows a strong turning point for Turlough's opinion of the Doctor. He no longer views him as a threat or a target, instead as someone who can help, the man who saves people when they're in trouble. By choosing the Doctor over the Black Guardian, this also acts as a swapping of allegiances, showing that Turlough intends to work for the side of good instead of the side of evil, because he knows that the side of good will be there when he is in trouble and needs help. But we're yet to confirm this, and so we'll need to find out what happens as Enlightenment comes to a conclusion.

Day 597: Enlightenment Part 2

Enlightenment, as pointed out yesterday, is set on an Edwardian sailing ship in space. This sailing ship is taking part in a race, where it and other ships from different periods in Earth's history sail around space to reach the finish line first, and win Enlightenment. The people who take part in this race aren't really people at all, instead they are beings known as Eternals, who are a race of immense power, and who decide to do things only to amuse themselves. The danger, however, is that they require Ephemerals, or mortal humans, to provide solutions to problems as well as doing various bits of work.

This creates an interesting argument that the Doctor and Tegan have with the Eternals over the course of this episode. The Ephemerals don't actually do their work willingly, and have been kidnapped and brainwashed into working for the Eternals, acting as toys as they play their little racing game. This little racing game, in order to make things more interesting, occasionally reaches the point of deadliness, as seen when the Greek ship explodes, killing all Ephemerals on board, whilst the Eternals continue to live on in eternity. The Doctor and Tegan are shocked, in particular Tegan, as it represents normal human lives that have been killed in the name of a race.

But the Eternals do not see death. They do not understand the consequences of actions, for they only see life as a game, and death is just a small annoyance for beings such as them. But death is something that is pivotal to the life of the Ephemeral. It is something that reminds us of how fragile and short our existence can be, such as that which affected Tegan when she saw the death of people like her Aunt Vanessa, or Adric, and how she is now making the most out of her life because of this. Death is something that we can try and fight, like the Doctor, who potters around the Universe, saving people from a variety of fates. It can also be our objective to bring death, such as that of The Black Guardian, who orders Turlough to bring death to others, namely the Doctor. Turlough's punishment for not doing this, as shown by the cliffhanger, is to live on this ship forever, an eternal life of servitude without the sweet release of death and as we saw in Mawdryn Undead, this can be far more of a curse than a blessing.

Day 596: Enlightenment Part 1

It's sometimes really annoying to know things. I've lost count of the amount of films that I've accidentally spoiled by reading one article that will casually mention surprise plot developments in the final act, which I feel kind of ruin nice surprises. An example that comes to mind, for me, is Enlightenment.

It's a Doctor Who story that appears to be set on an Edwardian sailing ship. The sets are all accurate, as one would expect from a BBC period drama, and the sailors below decks all seem to be straight from the period, joking about as they continue on some race that they're meant to be on. But slowly, things appear to be rather odd. The men in charge all of an air of otherworldliness about them, in particular one who stares at Tegan in a slightly uncomfortable way. As the end of the episode is reached, the strangeness intensifies, with sailors screaming as they go above decks, anachronistic wetsuits are spotted and eventually we see an electronic terminal in the wheelhouse. We look outside and see that this ship, along with many others, is a sailing ship in space, a wonderful image and a great shock to the audience.

But not for me. I've already read a brief synopsis of the story which reveals the twist. If I'd missed out on that, I could have found a similar synopsis in the DVD sleeve notes, or from the DVD menu screen which plays out highlights from the story. It's annoying, as this is clearly meant to be a genuine surprise, and whilst I can still appreciate it, I can't really experience it. Still, I've found that surprises come in other forms for me with this blog, as I encounter unexpected classics throughout this fantastic voyage.

Day 587: Snakedance Part 4

One of the best patts of Snakedance, for me, is the ending. After Tegan is freed of the Mara's influence, the Doctor goes to comfort her. In tears, she asks if the Mara has been truly defeated. The Doctor says that it has, and then we cut away briefly to the Mara's rotting corpse, at which point the episode ends. There's no wrap up, no moment for everyone to say what a wonderful job the Doctor has done, instead we just focus on the moment, on the fact that this traumatic experience is finally over, which makes the overall story feel far stronger as a result. This is because it keeps the focus squarely on the Mara and how to defeat it, and it knows that once the Mara has been defeated, everything else is just padding.

But that completes Snakedance. I'd love to write more about it, because it is really an absolutely fantastic story. My only problem with writing about it, however, is that it's a massively dense story. Every scene, every moment, every character means and represents something, and it's impossible to get all of the meaning out of the story after watching it once or twice. This story, along with Kinda, is a story that is designed to be savoured, to watch over and over again, and notice more and more as you find more meaning in the tale that is being told. It's Doctor Who for a new age, an age where the audience now has access to video recorders, and can readily watch stories over and over again, getting more enjoyment out of them every single time.

Day 586: Snakedance Part 3

Snakedance is, to a strong extent, about how one views history. The Manussan, who live on the planet where the Mara was first formed, have a strong and deep culture based around the Mara and their life around it. However, the way in which this culture and heritage is viewed creates some strong problems throughout the story.

Take, for instance, the character of Ambril. He's the official historian on Manussa, and spends much of his time looking at artefacts of the previous peoples who inaphabited the world, and how they were consumed by their fear of the Mara. But he takes little notice of anything that they have to say, as he believes it all to be superstitious nonsense, and disregards much of it on the grounds that it disagrees with his personal theories. And there's a bit more to it than just that. When he finds artefacts, he doesn't seek their true meaning, instead he just applies his own reading of them and leaves them as relics of the past, not seeking to truly understand the way in which their society worked.

Some examples of this are easy to come by. For instance, there is a scene partway through this episode where he is led into a cave filled with artefacts of the previous empire. He looks at them with excitement, but he only really sees them at face value, being excited only at the prospect of these being more things for him to have in his collection, and not as works that can help him gain a greater understanding of history.

So why does all of this matter? Well, it shows the lack of respect that the Manussans have for their history, and thus shows a way in which the Mara can return, as it is not taken seriously by any of the peoples, reduced to being a relic of a bygone age or a puppet to frighten youngsters. It's all part of an underlying message of Snakedance, which is about the respect that one must give to history in order to create a well functioning society.

Day 585: Snakedance Part 2

The Doctor's role in Kinda was fairly basic. He ran around, being one of the few sane people on the planet, and tried to find out what was going on. He found help from various sources, such as Todd from the base, and Panna, the wise woman of the Kinda. It's actually fairly common as a Doctor Who story, in that regard, to have the Doctor meet a few allies in order to find out what is going on. Thisn't necessarily the case in Snakedance.

In Snakedance, the Doctor spends much of his time running about and trying to figure out how to stop the Mara. He learns from discussion with some of the historians that there is a legend on the planet that speaks of the Mara's return (for it had already been a strong presence on the planet centuries before this story took place). However, their minds are closed to the prospect of the Mara returning, caught up in the idea that it is just a legend, and failing to take in new evidence to suggest that their current theories are false.

This is epitomised in a scene towards the end of this episode, where the Doctor bursts into a dinner gathering and attempts to tell everyone that the Mara is going to return, only to be dragged away by the guards. It's an important scene, because not only does it tell of the blindness to the truth that everyone besides the Doctor has, with respect to the return of the Mara, but also of the fact that the Doctor is completely failing in his quest to be taken seriously. The Doctor has been, at least for his past couple of incarnations, a strong presence, the sort of person who walks into a room and is immediately able to take command. In his fifth incarnation, however, he's lost that commanding presence, and this means that he's even more alone as he tries to fight off the threat of the Mara. It's an interesting direction to take the character of the Doctor in, and one that we'll see again, albeit rarely (the most prominent example that personally comes to mind is Midnight, from 2008), and shows that the series isn't afraid to take the Doctor in some new directions, if only to liven up the general story structure for a little while.

Day 584: Snakedance Part 1

Series 20 of Doctor Who is all about the past. Each story features the return of some old villain from the series' past, such as seeing Omega again in Arc of Infinity, and in this story, the Mara makes a return, last seen in Kinda. It's great to see the Mara return again, as it made a strong impact in Kinda, and it deserves a return visit to the world of Doctor Who.

The way in which it comes back is really interesting as well. It turns out that, when at the end of Kinda, we believed that Tegan was free of the possessive influence of the Mara, we were wrong. A small part of the Mara remained in Tegan's mind, building up its strength such that it can possess Tegan completely. It's really interesting to see this concept, because it's a departure from normal stories where villains return, where we just bump into them, only this time in a slightly different context. Here, we learn that the story didn't end when we thought it did, making this feel like more of a continuation of the original story than just a sequel.

This continuation is echoed in some of the production of the story. Not so much in the design, which is completely different by virtue of being on a different world with a different culture than that of the Deva Lokans, nor is it found in the direction, but instead it is found through the audio cues, as developed by Dick Mills (special sound) and Peter Howell (composer) both of whom had previously worked on Kinda. This mainly presents itself with a particular screech, that occasionally comes around when looking at the Mara, or some representation of it, that formed much of the underlying tension of Kinda and returns in Snakedance to provide this tension again, as well as a continuity that helps the story feel like it's a true continuation of the original story.

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.