Day 804: Listen

I wish that I had Listen when I was a kid. You see, when I was a kid, I was pretty much petrified of everything. Not only was I afraid of normal things like the dark, and heights, and water, but I was also afraid of more peculiar things like cinemas, or moral espousing vegetables, or fruit based episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine. And my reaction to all of that fear was to avoid it wherever possible, to the point of avoiding all contact with it whatsoever because I simply didn't want to have that feeling of dread again. That moment when fear takes over your entire body, and you feel blood rushing through your heart, and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry. And Listen is all about that.

Listen is a story about fear. It doesn't appear that way, on first glance, instead it looks like a curious story all about monsters that can hide perfectly - an evolution of the paranoia that was first seen in Moffat's two part story The Impossible Astronaut/The Day of the Moon. But Listen decides to go down a slightly different path, by looking instead at the characters' emotional responses to the situation. In particular, we notice their reaction to fear, and how they cope with it. The young Danny Pink just lets it fester within his mind, preventing him from being able to do anything, as seen in his petrified state through most of his scenes. Clara works with fear by building around it, putting herself into a situation where she has at least some control over the situation, like when she helps young Danny overcome his fears through giving him an army of toy soldiers. Orson Pink, on the other hand, hides from his fear, trying desperately to ignore it but always knowing that it's there.

And then there's the Doctor. Over the course of the episode, we learn that he uses fear to his advantage, in part due to an encounter that he had with Clara when he was just a child on Gallifrey. Fear is the thing that can inspire him, to make him into such a brave person. For him, fear is a superpower, allowing you to do fantastic things instead of curling up in a ball and hoping that it can all be over. And that's the sort of message that I needed when I was a kid.

I never realised the potential of fear when I was a kid, I never realised that I could use it to my advantage. I just let it control me, instead of that symbiotic relationship that Listen advocates for. And I can't help but wish that my younger self know about all of that, that fear doesn't have to be an adversary, it can instead be a companion; helping out and driving that scared little kid to do something instead of hide in his room all day. Because, really, fear makes companions of us all.

Day 602: The Five Doctors

The Five Doctors is special. A 90 minute extravaganza where all five Doctors appear to fight various monsters whilst seeking a great and mystical Time Lord secret to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who. It's remarkable because it's fun, the sort of story where you can just relax and watch the characters that you've seen over the past 20 years, back for one last adventure. It's also special personally for me, as it was the third Doctor Who story that I ever watched, and it will always have that place in my heart.

My parents had already shown me Frontier in Space and one other story that we're yet to cover on this blog, and I was keen to watch some more. I looked downstairs in the video cupboard and found, nestled between Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and some old cooking show, The Five Doctors. It looked cool, so I went back upstairs and put it into the video player. Settling in, I was greeted with words that stick with me to this day.

It's the First Doctor, saying his farewell speech to Susan from The Dalek Invasion of Earth. It's a beautiful little speech, and works in the context here of seeing the Doctors return. We've seen them all go and regenerate (and in the case of the First Doctor, have the actor who played them sadly die), so it's nice to have the idea that they're still alive, working away, which indeed they are. But for now, we go straight from that into the 1980's.

We see the TARDIS team, as it is right now. The Fifth Doctor's full of enthusiasm and energy, and yet there's a calmness about him that works well when contrasted with the other, slightly more rambunctious Doctors. Tegan, who will fulfil the role of the main companion for this story, is actually written rather well here, being a companion with a mind of her own, who will complain if she's not happy, but within reason. It's a far contrast from her first appearance, where she was the reluctant companion, quick to complain and always at the Doctor's throat. Now that she's mellowed, she's a far more likeable character. Turlough has calmed down too, free from the influence of the Black Guardian, he's just keen to help the Doctor without getting into too much trouble.

But strange forces are working, as we see a black hand manipulate events. The First Doctor is taken from wandering through a rose garden into some weird maze with mirrored walls. It's perhaps now that I should mention the fact that we have a new actor for the First Doctor, by the name of Richard Hurndall. He's an adequate replacement for Hartnell, but he's not perfect. Hartnell had far more of an edge to him, and his grumpiness helped to define the character (and also, through contrast, made his lighter moments seem all the sweeter. Hurndall, on the other hand, goes mainly for an impression, playing a grandfather-esque figure, missing out on the hidden details that Hartnell put into his performance. But you can't have everything, and at least we have most of the rest of the surviving Doctors.

Troughton, for instance, drops back into the role like he was never away. He plays around, making jokes, and being a foil for the Brigadier (who he is partnered with in this story). There's part of me that's a little bit disappointed, as I kind of feel that his Doctor would be better suited to working with a companion that he worked with more frequently (such as Jamie or Victoria) but Troughton plays it brilliantly, playing a looser character than the Brigadier's straight man, making for a great double act and an excellent time with the story.

Speaking of good double acts, we get a brief clip of the Fourth Doctor and the Second Romana (Tom Baker declined to appear, hence we only get his Doctor through stock footage) from the aborted story Shada. It's a frightfully witty scene, written by Douglas Adams, and acts as a pleasant reminder of his time as the Doctor, frightfully witty and full of fun.

Pertwee's introduced with an action sequence, as befits his Doctor. There's also a brief sequence once he reaches Gallifrey where he rescues Sarah Jane after she's had a nasty fall. And in other stories, I might criticise this moment, on the basis that Sarah Jane's fall is down a very slight slope, which I refer to as The Mild Incline of Moderate Doom. But this story's fun enough and light enough that I can forgive it and just have fun with it, despite its flaws. 

That said, there are several strong flaws. Susan, for one, is poorly treated as a character, where she's reduced to just screaming, spraining her ankle and calling for her grandfather. There's not even a moment where we get a heartfelt reunion, particularly after the little speech that we had at the beginning. But, then again, Susan's character was always treated this badly in the series (save for a few exceptions, e.g. The Sensorites), and so I can hardly blame it for being accurate.

The Master's back as well, playing the role of a vague ally to the Doctor. He's been employed by the High Council to find the Doctor and rescue him, in one of their more curious employment strategies. This leads to what is, in my opinion, Ainley's best performance as the Master yet. He's someone who genuinely wants to help the Doctor, only to be squandered at every opportunity because they don;t trust him. This is something that could perhaps only work with Ainley as the Master, as he is so much of a pantomime villain that it's easy to mistrust him, hence every one of the Doctors that he encounters knows better than to accept his help (contrast with Delgado, where there's enough respect between his Master and the Doctor that they would help each other if circumstances demanded it). This, naturally, makes him give up on everything and attempt to go fully evil, eventually being thwarted by being punched by the Brigadier. Which is nice.

One of the other legitimate highlights of the story is the Raston Warrior Robot. In a remarkably well directed sequence done by both Peter Moffatt and John Nathan-Turner (the producer of the series at the time). It's pacy, action packed, and has, at its heart, a neat concept of a robot that moves as fast as lightning and can take out anything that comes in its way. It also serves as a reminder of the good things that Doctor Who can do now, and that it can be a show filled with action and the like, making it one of the best shows on TV.

It can also deal with fairly big ideas as well, such as the prize for winning the Game of Rassilon: immortality. Borusa, President of the Time Lords, has manipulated these events such that he may win the prize, and so he meets with Rassilon to collect it. However, immortality is not that great, and Borusa is given it in the form of becoming a statue, frozen in time forevermore. It's another cool idea, and one which actually works well with memory of the previous series. If Mawdryn Undead, and to a certain extent Enlightenment, are recalled, it can be seen that immortality has not been seen as a blessing, but rather a curse. Sometimes it's best to die with dignity intact, or you risk being a walking zombie for the rest of time. That's why the series has changed so much, a way of cheating death without immortality, allowing for constant rebirth and renewal, so that we can have five Doctors, all of them different, and all of them part of the same fantastic programme.

And coming back to the beginning of the blog entry, I mentioned that this was the third Doctor Who story that I ever saw. I loved it, as it had everything that I could want. Multiple Doctors, action, a Dalek, great jokes, an intriguing story, I would watch it regularly from that point onwards. In fact, when watching it today, I was struck by how much of the dialogue I remembered, as I quoted various bits and pieces along with the characters, having fun with them on their adventure.

And, oddly enough, this story ended up helping me out one day. I was doing my end of school examination for Physics, and there was a question about calculating orbital velocity, or something along those lines. My mind panicked, this was something that I knew how to do in theory, but I couldn't quite remember how to calculate it. Suddenly, I remembered a scene from The Five Doctors. The First Doctor and Tegan are discussing, in order to cross a minefield, how the solution is as easy as Pi. The Greek Letter Pi, it turns out. Tegan says "The ratio of a circumference of a circle, to its diameter, is equal to the Greek letter Pi". Using this relation, I answered the question. So I have to thank The Five Doctors, for helping me with my Physics exam.

And, so, to close this entry, there can only be one way to end it.

"NO, NOT THE MIND PROBE"

Day 333: The Three Doctors Episode 4

This reason also has Omega, an example of the fantastic ideas which Bob Baker and Dave Martin can bring to Doctor Who. Omega is the man responsible for creating the Time Lords, giving them the power of time travel. As a reward for this, he was chucked into a black hole to another universe, where he lives in solitude, going clearly insane due to his isolation. This is a fantastic idea as it draws into the past of the Doctor Who mythology, showing us what happened before the series began and giving glimpses into the universe in which the Doctor inhabits, showing us that it has been working for far longer than ten years. But it's also a fantastic idea at the heart of it, a man who has been given the power to be a God in his own domain and it has driven him mad.

This is also followed up on by two key parts of Omega. One is the performance given by Stephen Thorne, the actor behind Omega's mask. He fully conveys the insanity and strong emotion at the heart of this character, shouting and screaming his way through the dialogue showing his full madness. The other key part of Omega comes when he removes the mask which has covered him for the entire serial, revealing that his entire body has been eroded away and that the only thing keeping him alive is his will to live. This reveals both the strength of the original man that he was able to keep alive through will and will alone, and yet his insanity, as it is shown that there is nothing concrete that remains of his self, only the shadow that holds the very fibre of his being together (and even then that is fading). It's a fantastic idea and shows that Bob Baker and Dave Martin are clearly the people to turn to for some fantastic and truly insane ideas.

Day 332: The Three Doctors Episode 3

One of the best things about The Three Doctors is to be found in the character of the Brigadier. We know this character well, as the military man in charge of the situation. But what happens when he isn't in charge of the situation? This story examines that, having a direct attack on UNIT HQ to cause him some degree of unhappiness then he is faced with the Doctor changing his face again and to top it all off he is sent to an entirely new universe. It's hilarious to see this unflappable man completely out of his comfort zone as he desperately tries to make sense of everything. In a way, we can see this as revenge for the fact that we were forced as viewers into the Brigadier's world when Doctor Who became Earthbound. Now we have been sent back to the more surreal, mystical and wonderful way in which Doctor Who used to be and the Brigadier is unable to take it all in. It shows, in the 10th anniversary story, both the way in which Doctor Who used to be and the way in which it is now coming together in a cataclysmic crash of ideas.

Day 331: The Three Doctors Episode 2

Also appearing in this episode is William Hartnell. As scripted, he appears as the wiser old man to guide his two replacements to the right answers. However, it's sadly apparent that age has not been kind to Hartnell. You look at him and you don't see the energy that was present when he was the Doctor, the ability for him to dash about with his wits and remain on top. Instead, we just see an old man appear on a television screen, obviously unwell and trying to recapture the spirit of the Doctor, but not entirely succeeding. It's a sad reminder of why Hartnell left, he was sadly fading and would not have been able to carry on as the Doctor for this time. Fans can praise Hartnell for returning for the 10th anniversary special, but for me it's somewhat depressing to see what was once so great be so diminished due to illness and age.

Day 330: The Three Doctors Episode 1

Patrick Troughton makes a return to Doctor Who in this serial. To say that I was looking forward to this would be an understatement. I was practically bouncing off the walls with joy at the thought of seeing Troughton again, it's not that I dislike Pertwee, it's just that I like Troughton far more, due to his sense of fun and lightness that he brings to the role. Take, for instance, the second half of this story which brings Troughton and Pertwee into conflict, showing the base differences between their portrayals of the Doctor. Pertwee remains serious throughout the situation, whereas Troughton has an element of fun with the situation, playing his recorder and generally being happy about the situation that he finds himself in. These two personalities immediately come into conflict providing some of the best moments in the history of Doctor Who as they play off eachother perfectly, making this a serial to remember throughout the years as we hit the 10th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Day 134: The Tenth Planet Episode 4

It's just like any other final episode of a serial. The Doctor issues orders, the young male lead partakes in some action sequences, the young female lead gets captured and the baddies are defeated once more. But something feels different this time. The Doctor states when he wakes up that his body is "wearing a bit thin". It's an odd turn of phrase, it feels alien. We forget that the Doctor isn't one of us sometimes, but we put it down to him just being odd, and go on with our business watching the episode. After the Cyber-threat has been dealt with, we see the Doctor once more, but he's more aloof, more mysterious. Something is definitely happening as he goes off to the TARDIS, hurriedly sending it into flight. And even the TARDIS sounds different this time, reminding us that this now normal part of our lifestyle is secretly alien. Thing are different, changing before our eyes. The Doctor collapses onto the TARDIS floor. Again, this is nothing new, part of the way that the series works is that the Doctor is thrown into peril at the end of a serial to draw viewers back next week. But this is no ordinary peril. The camera moves to the Doctor's face and as the familiar wheezing groaning sound of the TARDIS engines roars away, we see a light envelop it, as the once familiar face of the Doctor becomes unfamiliar. Hartnell's grumpy old face that we've come to love, becoming the heart and soul of the programme and one of the primary reasons that we tune in week after week is dying, but a new face is coming. A younger face. New life is brought into this dying old programme. We don't know what is going on, how this is happening or indeed why this is happening, but it is. Doctor Who is changing, no, it's regenerating. Taking something that was hurt and bringing it back to life, albeit with a few changes. It could fail, it could succeed, we really don't know. But what we do know is that this series isn't just going to sleep. It's Got Work To Do.

Day 133: The Tenth Planet Episode 3

Can Doctor Who survive without the Doctor? It's a nice question, and one that comes to mind as we witness the Doctor collapse at the beginning of this episode and not appear at all, leaving the plot to be filled with the supporting cast, as Ben and Polly take the action and compassion roles respectively, whilst a helpful scientist becomes this serial's ally and a headstrong general becomes an antagonist, leaving the Doctor without a role in this serial at all. So because his appearance is not necessary, it's becoming apparent that perhaps Doctor Who could survive without the Doctor, and just make it a series featuring a blue police box that travels through space and time. But this serial is a bad example because it doesn't quite feel like Doctor Who. As mentioned before, the Doctor barely appears, and so the supporting cast fill out the rest of the story. This gives the end result of the programme feeling like a generic (although rather good nonetheless) science fiction serial. But with the Doctor, the series gains a purpose, being able to bring things back to the original concept, about people travelling through time and space, and not just travelling through time and space. Doctor Who does need the Doctor, or rather, a Doctor.

Day 132: The Tenth Planet Episode 2

This episode is of course famous for introducing the Doctor's number two foe, the Cybermen. Created by the writer Gerry Davis and the scientist Kit Pedler, they are monsters with similar concepts to what we have seen before, but presented in a new and profoundly unsettling way. We have seen, particularly with the Robomen in Dalek Invasion of Earth, the idea of humans having their humanity taken away from them, something key to the Cyber-mythos, however it's presentation is different here, because it's willingly done. The inevitability of death, disease and destruction coupled together with the growing rise of technology leads for people to slowly lose their humanity and give into the cold heart of the machine. This is something that's depressingly plausible, and makes these foes different from anything else that's come before. The Daleks succeeded because of their design, while the Cybermen succeed due to their idea, the fundamental horror behind them. Their design accentuates this horror, showing us a human face behind the mask, and human hands, but still there is the machine and the mechanical voice. These creatures are terrifying, as they show us not the inevitability of death, but the inevitability of technology.

Day 131: The Tenth Planet Episode 1

The major downside to doing this in the written format is that I am unable to effectively comment on the visual techniques that are used in each episode, as it's easier to show rather than to tell. And, indeed, I would have probably ended up talking about the writing of this story had the director of this, Derek Martinus, not sadly passed away very recently, bringing to mind how good a director he was. Instead of just restricting himself to your basic camera movements, he chooses instead to use tricks with editing and focus to create a greater air of suspense. Dialogue between two locations will go seamlessly from one to the other, often mid-sentence, allowing for it to gain continuity between scenes, for instance, showing us that what is happening in one scene directly impacts others, and making us more interested in the outcome as a whole. Also, the appearance of this serial's monster is interesting, keeping them in the Antarctic wasteland, in the distance. Snow and ice prevent us from getting a good look at them, and we often have harsh cuts away from them as they perform actions, thus keeping them mysterious. It also means that when we get a good look at their faces, we already have a degree of horror associated with them, which is accentuated by their emotionless masks. These new creatures are unsettling, and mysterious, helped in part through Derek Martinus's wonderful direction.

Day 130: The Smugglers Episode 4

Here's the thing about The Smugglers. It is very 'meh' as a story. There is honestly nothing much to remark about the story itself in this. We've had this problem before, but at least those times the story was interesting enough to keep my interest. Here, I've just watched the last episode and would be hard pressed to tell you what happened over the course of the serial. Is this a bad thing though? By having a story that is average, at least it's not bad, and so audiences won't turn off in embarrassment. But that is missing the point, because averageness does not lead to audiences keeping interested, there is nothing here that will make the viewer want to continue watching. Even with stories that I didn't entirely enjoy, such as The Web Planet, that at least had spectacle and ambition to keep interest. Here, there is absolutely nothing beyong a middling story and some pirates with the promise of an action scene later on. The series is becoming duller as it grows older, it needs some brave new idea, and quickly too.

Day 129: The Smugglers Episode 3

This story has only a handful of surviving clips, most of which are from the Australian censors, to prevent young children from being traumatised by too much violence. The clips in question consist of a man being stabbed, and a man wiping blood off of a pike. It's curious to note the changing tastes in violence over time, because these scenes aren't exactly violent. But what it does do is show us how violent the series is, or rather isn't. There haven't been any other censor clips so far, because nothing of violence has popped up in the series, instead it's all been rather tame sword fights and ray guns. But to be confronted with blood and death before your eyes shows you how much more adult the series has become. But this is adult in a different sense, before we've dealt with darker themes but we've moved into the world of the less subtle. Doctor Who has changed, and it's about to change more.

Day 128: The Smugglers Episode 2

This story features pirates, an interesting historical concept to visit in the series. This is mainly because pirates are both incredibly interesting and characters who are beloved for their swashbuckling action, but they also never quite seem to work in fiction. There's excitement, yes, but it sometimes fails to materialise. This can be said for this episode especially, which is mainly dialogue scenes with the occasional escape from prison. It doesn't help that this story is currently missing from the BBC archives, as it enhances the problem here, as we constantly fail to see any action occurring on the screen. This is mostly due to delayed gratification, where we have things being set up for a pay off at the end. This could work in some fields, such as film or literature, where it is possible to consume the media within a single sitting, however it is substantially more difficult to continually wait for a piratical action scene over the course of four weeks, the transmission length of this story. Doctor Who needs to change, because the way in which these historical stories are now being written is not all that exciting, and audiences are moving away.

Day 127: The Smugglers Episode 1

New story today, and it's Ben and Polly's first trip in the TARDIS. They react to this in the usual way, not choosing to believe that they have travelled in time, despite the large evidence to the contrary,mgiven that they have gone into a police box that is bigger on the inside and obviously travelled through space, but the time travel seems to be a little too unbelievable for them. This comes across as poor writing, given that these characters just accept these things as they happen. But this shows us one of the mahor problems with having a rotating cast as we have for the past while, it means that we have to tack on scenes to explain the concept of the show every once in a while, for new characters, but rarely new viewers, because it is by now well known enough in the public consciousness for the idea of a man who travels in time to be part of regular life. Also, it means that writers are unable to write for characters, instead writing for roles. If this story featured Steven and Dodo, then it's a fair bet that the only things that would be changed are the disbelief at time travel and the names would go from Ben and Polly to Steven and Dodo. Whilst we will get to see these characters develop (as much as we can for a 1960s adventure serial), it's still going to be a while. It's a disappointing reminder of the differing ways in which television was written in those days.

Day 126: The War Machines Episode 4

45 days. That's how long it's been since I started series 3 of Doctor Who. Through that time I have seen companions, producers and script editors all come and go, not to mention all the writers and directors who showed their take on this series. Reflecting on series 3 as a whole, it has been variable. Not in terms of quality, but instead in terms of storytelling. Compare the first and last serials of this series. Galaxy 4 is a morality tale set in space, where we learn not to judge a book by its cover, meet a megalomaniacal villainess, and meet some robots who could become replacements for the Daleks. It is a simple idea for a story firmly set in science fantasy, your basic dose of escapism and fun adventure. But throughout the series, things have been getting darker and more realistic, even the traditional comedy historicals have rougher edges to them. And so we culminate with The War Machines, which is an urban adventure where we fight computers, and learn about the dangers of technology. It's not so much a dose of fun adventure as it is watching an action serial with danger at every turn. There's still fun, yes, but danger is more prevalent and fun is slowly being moved away from as we grow up and get more serious. But for all that seriousness, we still have robots introduced who could be replacements for the Daleks. We continually search for things that will drive the audience back because they have tired of seeing just the same thing week after week. The Daleks are less popular than they once were, and the production team is still mindful of trying to find a replacement for them to keep people interested. Because while the show is changing to make it better, it's also changing to allow for audiences to return. We just have to find a way for this to happen.

Day 125: The War Machines Episode 3

The third act of this episode is extraordinary, showing us something that we haven't seen before in Doctor Who, but we will see for the next several years: the army fighting a useless battle. It feels clichéd but here it's a shock to see the things that we rely and trust fail at the horrors of the future. Every action sequence before this has been grounded in the realms of fantasy, or history, showing us the stuff that dreams are made of. But again, in keeping with the modern tone of this episode, we get to see a vaguely gritty and realistic battle with an unstoppable force. But as the chaos ensues, the Doctor shines wonderfully. To the right, you will find one of the best cliffhangers in Doctor Who, as the Doctor stands firm against the War Machine. It works, not because we are afraid for the Doctor's safety, but because we want to know what will happen next. The Doctor has mainly been a background figure in this story, but here he is firmly in the foreground, taking full charge when others fail. That's the beauty of this, because he is a figure standing up against the otherworldy menace, and even though he's mildly out of place here, representing a television character who has visited the modern world for a change, he is still the protector and will still fight. And that is truly brilliant.

Day 124: The War Machines Episode 2

This episode sees the departure of Dodo. Her departure scene is completely unlike anything we've ever seen before, in that it is less of a departure scene and more of a closing of a plot point. The summary is that she was hypnotised in order to lure the Doctor to the evil supercomputer WOTAN. The Doctor realises this in this episode, breaks her out of her hypnotic state, and then puts her to sleep. And that is the last we ever see of the character. But, to be honest, I wasn't expecting anything better, because the fact of the matter is that she was a poor character. Of her stories, she only existed to be introduced in The Massacre, and she only brought influenza to The Ark, a mild amount of compassion to The Celestial Toymaker and almost nothing to The Savages. She only exists as a function of the plot, a character for viewers to recognise. But even then, she doesn't quite work because of the inconsistent way in which the character is portrayed, moving from mildly annoying hip youngster to just another screaming girl. She fails to connect with the audience, doesn't do too much and is generally unmemorable as a companion. Her departure scene represents the way she was treated on the series, not as a character who had potential, but as another plot point to be used within the next couple of episodes. Because sometimes she could have potential, and The Gunfighters shows us a character who was enjoyable and watchable, the only problem is that they needed to throw things out and start again. Perhaps with something that will connect to the audience more...

Day 123: The War Machines Episode 1

For the first time since Planet of Giants, we have story set completely in the modern day, which is to say, the 1960s. And, unlike Planet of Giants, which was just a story that happened to feature modern issues, that could be transplanted to any point in the post 1950s world, here it is firmly set in 1966. It reeks of the 1966, such as through our new companions Ben and Polly who represent the modern young people of the day, as we meet them in a nightclub, swinging away in the 1966. There's the story matter as well, dealing with a supercomputer that is going to hypnotise people and rule the world. This is so wonderfully dated, because we now use computers on a daily basis, and yet 50 years ago, they were science fiction, machines that could end up enslaving mankind. But saying that this story is dated is not a bad thing, because it allows for the show to become more interesting, particularly for the viewers of the time. Because this episode is not set on a distant alien planet, or in Revolutionary France, instead it's set just down the street, both physically and temporally. Issues that occur in this story are relevant, but also the way that it's drawn is relevant as well. We finally get companions who feel trendy and modern, because they are trendy and modern (I'm not counting Vicki because she's technically from the future. Or Dodo, because she was never trendy). Doctor Who has firmly visited the modern day, and it's unlike anything we've ever seen before. Our new producer/script editor team of Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davis are certainly very good at showing us things that we've never seen before happen within Doctor Who

Day 122: The Savages Episode 4

Another serial ends today. And with it, we see another departure, this time of Steven, the Doctor's faithful companion, as played by Peter Purves. Steven has been a very good companion, because of the way he plays off against the Doctor. He is not willing to just let this man with far greater experience take control, he wants to have a say and he provides an opposing force to the Doctor's world, yet one still on the same side. In a way though, his departure feels cheapened, because it should have happened earlier. This is nothing against the character or the actor, but from The Myth Makers to The Massacre, Steven witnessed people dying left, right and centre and was unable to help them. He fought with the Doctor on this issue and left the TARDIS, only to return a little while later for no apparent reason. Which is very disappointing, because it means that the character is left in stasis for the rest of his adventures, accepting his role in events as an occasionally active observer, and thus we don't get to see the bright spark that we witnessed earlier in his tenure. But he has left now to use his wisdom to guide a society and help it back on its feet. This, while not the best exit for the character, isn't too bad of an idea, because he is the character who has learnt the most from the Doctor, the one who has taken on his wisdom and will now go forth to help others find their feet. Meanwhile, other changes are afoot, and we shall see what happens with them very soon.

Day 121: The Savages Episode 3

For the first time in a while (read: I can't be bothered to look it up) we are in a Doctor Who story where nobody dies. Stuff happens to people yes, and there are threats that we know will be carried up on regarding life-force energy, and yet nobody dies. This is interesting, because it has no impact on the story's quality at all. Death does not indicate terror, nor does it lead to fear. This story is quite good at ratcheting up tension despite the fact that death is not an option, instead it is forced to be more creative with its punishments. Take for instance, seeing the Doctor reduced to a grunting vegetable when we see him after he has been drained of energy. It's an uncomfortable image because we are seeing this character whom we trust and like reduced to complete helplessness, and we know instinctively that there may be no way out of this. Death is not required to create horror, sometimes it can be created through more undignified concepts, like a lack of death, just doomed to wander around without your senses for all eternity.