Day 483: The Ribos Operation Part 4

When you look at the final part of this story, things become quite sad. Binro the Heretic is brutally shot down by the villainous Graff Vynda-K. Later, the catacombs where the major character are hiding collapses, causing the right hand man of the Graff to die, making us sympathise with the Graff for the first time in the story. This, in turn, makes his coming insanity as he goes forth, attempting to kill his guards and anyone else in his way, more tragic, and so we feel quite sorry for him as he comes to his inevitable downfall.

This all makes this story feel so much better though. We come to realise just how much we've cone to appreciate these characters when bad things happen to them, as we realise that our time on the planet Ribos is coming to an end. But we've had a very good time though, with this story easily being one of the very best stories we've ever covered on the blog. And it leaves the following story with a very tough act to follow...

Day 482: The Ribos Operation Part 3

"One day, even here, in the future, people will turn to each other and say Binro was right"

Binro the Heretic is a man who we meet in this episode. He believes that the stars in the sky are not ice crystals, but they are Suns, just like Ribos' own Sun. He also believes that there can be a scientific explanation for how the seasons change, because of the way in which the planet rotates around the Sun. He backs this up with measurements that he has made, of the movement of the stars. These views prove to be unpopular, and so he is cast out from society and left to live as a cripple in a dirty room.

He meets Unstoffe, one of the secondary protagonists, though, and offers him a small kindness. He explains his story to Unstoffe, and is pleased when he discovers that Unstoffe has an open mind, welcoming the idea that these scientific developments could be true. And then Unstoffe reveals that, not only does he believe that Binro is right, he knows that he is right. And more than that, he comes from another world, just like Binro hypothesised about. And that in the future, the world shall realise that Binro was right. And it makes Binro immeasurably happy.

This is, for my money, the greatest scene in the history of Doctor Who, as we see a face of true happiness created from a simple act of kindness. It's not a large moment in the story, but that doesn't matter as it's a beautifully heart-warming moment, and sticks out in an already spectacular story as the absolute highlight.

Day 481: The Ribos Operation Part 2

When I last watched this story, I was still somewhat adjusting to my surroundings. We'd moved house at the start of the year, and my room now lacked the necessary space for my much enjoyed digital alarm clock. Instead, I was content with my mobile phone to act as an alarm clock, meaning that each morning I was greeted with a sickeningly chirpy selection of beeps to let me know that it was time to get up. Around the time of re-watching Ribos, it was beginning to get on my nerves and I was in desperate need of a change.

I rarely talk about the music of the series in this blog. It's largely due to the fact that this blog is written, rather than audio, meaning that unlike dialogue, or to an extent direction, it's difficult to effectively describe what is heard on screen, although there is also the fact that it rarely jumps out to the audience as something really special. The Ribos Operation is different though. We have a simple leitmotif that comes throughout the episode, reflecting the time of day as the story passes. At night, where the story begins, the leitmotif is quiet and subdued. On screen as well, the lighting is dark, giving the impression of a civilisation that's about to go to bed. Come morning in Part 2, however, and we get a ritual where the lights are turned on. The music reflects this by being loud and majestic, with horn instruments and a pipe organ playing, making you feel as if an entire civilisation and all its wonders have awoken ready to start the new day. Kudos to Dudley Simpson, the composer, for this then, it's one of my favourite pieces of music in the entire series.

Indeed, I loved it so much when I rewatched it, that I pulled my phone out of my pocket and recorded it. A few adjustments on the settings and my new alarm clock was set. As Ribos awoke, so would I. Gone were the chirping noises that got me out of bed, if only to turn them off. Instead, I had a majestic piece to wake me up, steadfastly encouraging me to go out and seize the day. It's another fantastic part of The Ribos Operation that makes me happy every time I experience it. And this isn't even the best part of the story...

Day 480: The Ribos Operation Part 1

Around five hundred days ago, I was quietly figuring out how this journey would take place. I'd created spreadsheets that would tell me when I would be watching each episode, casually thought of what I would write for certain episodes when I came to them, and created a set of rules to keep me on track for this odyssey. One such rule was simple: no skipping ahead. I am not allowed, aside from brand new episodes and under special circumstances, to skip ahead and watch an episode until it comes around on the blog. With that rule in mind, in late 2013, as the blog was about to begin, I watched the last Doctor Who story I would watch before the blog would begin: The Ribos Operation.

This is, to be perfectly blunt, one of my all time favourite Doctor Who stories. It's a a story built on a fantastic idea: the guardians of chaos and order are at war and the White Guardian, in charge of order, has employed the Doctor to seek out The Key To Time, an all powerful object that can control the entire Universe. But we choose not to focus on that completely this story. Instead, we look at a simple tale of an intergalactic con-man trying to trick the powerful Graff Vynda-K on the planet Ribos. You could view this as a disappointment, but that would ignore the very simple fact that this story is relentlessly fun. Every other line is a joke, and when it isn't a joke, it's being played so well by the actors that you just want to spend more time with them. From the Doctor's new assistant, Romana, who for the first time is someone better than the Doctor in terms of intelligence, but lacking the Doctor's experience, to Garron and Unstoffe, one being a larger than life con-man, the other his constantly put-upon assistant, every single character in this story is one that I enjoy, making me want to truly live in this world and meet these characters. And we've barely begun with this fantastic and beautiful story.

Day 465: Image of the Fendahl Part 4

There's a ridiculously dark moment in this episode. Maximilian Stael, one of the scientists, has been instrumental in summoning the Fendahl to Earth. Too late, he realises his error as the Fendhal begins to destroy his cohort, turning them into Fendahleen monsters. The Doctor runs to Stael and attempts to help him, at which point Stael asks for a gun. The gun is not for the Fendahl, he explains, but rather himself. The Doctor gives him the gun and as he runs off we hear a gunshot. The next we see of the room has Stael's lifeless body on the ground.

It's a shocking moment, and one that reflects the serious nature of the story. We don't see the character get eaten by a monster or zapped with a death ray. Instead, it's a simple gunshot, something that is far more commonplace in society, and thus making the event feel more real than we'd normally expect for the series. It's darker as well, I can't recall any moment prior to this story that we've had suicide before in the series, because it's such a dark and serious issue. All of that said, it does improve the story. We now have a greater appreciation for the threat that the Doctor and co. are facing, and we also are able to see Stael redeemed in his death, that he realises the error of his ways, even if it is a little too late for him.

There is a complaint to be had though. It makes the ending of the story feel slightly more 'off'. Instead of seeing the Doctor and Leela dealing with the aftershock of the events, or even the surviving supporting cast reflecting on what has happened, everyone seems to just move along with their lives. It's a by-product of the fact that at this point in time, each story is self-contained, meaning that we don't get much of a chance to see the ramifications of the stories as they unfold. But that's only a small complaint in an otherwise excellent and frightening episode of Doctor Who

Day 464: Image of the Fendahl Part 3

It was odd to re-watch this episode. It's one that I've seen three or four times before, so I was already familiar with much of how the story would play out. This story was, in my opinion, an above average Doctor Who story with some nice horror elements, and would probably scare thousands of children, but wouldn't do much to me, having come to it first when I was a teenager and am currently re-watching it as a young adult. And yet, the ending to this episode left me feeling a bit, for want of a better word, scared.

It wasn't the occult sacrifice nor the killing of Dr Fendelman that made me feel a bit uneasy, it was instead the reveal of the monster. Again, a lot of this is due to the way in which the cliffhanger was composed. For instance, the camera at the end chooses to hang on the monster for as long as possible, making the audience feel slightly uncomfortable as you see this horrific beast lurch towards you. Similiarly, the writing includes the small fact that the characters's legs cannot move from the monster, a slightly unnerving idea that festers in the back of the mind. But these things, whilst unsettling in their own right, weren't the thing that really scared me. For that, we have to go to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and look at the sound produced for the episode. As we see the rear of the monster approach, we hear a horrific squelching sound in crystal clarity, as if it's right in front of you and coming towards you. It unnerved me enough that I was left somewhat frightened by the cliffhanger, and the experience leaves me with a new found appreciation for this story, and as we approach the conclusion, I hope that it will continue to deliver at the high quality that it has done previously.

Day 463: Image of the Fendahl Part 2/Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The resolution to last episode's heavily analysed cliffhanger is quite disappointing, revealing that much of the effectiveness has been achieved through clever editing and that the Doctor and Leela weren't in too much danger after all. It's a bit of a cop-out, yes, but it doesn't detract from what was originally an excellently put together piece of television.

Meanwhile, you have no doubt noticed, the title of today's entry states that we will not be discussing just Image of the Fendahl today. Indeed this entry is in the style of Day 236, where an attempt was made to talk about The Seeds of Death, however I ended up talking about The Avengers, Hank Pym, and Ultron instead. This time, the subject that is on my mind is that of Star Trek, for obvious reasons.

Leonard Nimoy sadly passed away today. He left behind him a fantastic career, with his best known role being that of Mr Spock in the television series Star Trek, a series that was a television phenomenon, in no small part due to Nimoy's performance as the emotionless Vulcan. His character became a pop culture icon, representing so many things to so many people. To some, he represented difficulties with emotions, to others he represented a minority view, being the only alien on a human spaceship. He was the voice of logic and reason on the Enterprise, and represented a trusted figure to all who watched the series, a guiding voice as we explored the universe.

To commemorate his life, I made the decision to watch The Wrath of Khan for the first time last night. It's a fantastic film, being a film about aging. We look at Kirk, now an older man and struggling with this fact. He wants to be running about the universe, but he is constantly faced with the fact that he isn't a young man any more. The film then becomes about him trying desperately to prove to himself that he is still a capable man, however he is still let down and faced with failure at various points, culminating in the loss of Spock.

Nimoy plays the scene perfectly, being stoic and logical to the last, pointing out that it was the only solution to the problem that had been placed in front of them. It affects Kirk strongly, because it's a personal loss, one which takes away a firm part of his life. But it's not just Kirk that it affects. It strongly affects the audience because we all lose Spock together. We all loved him as a character and are saddened to see him go. But we know that he lives on. Not just in the mind of Dr McCoy as explored in Star Trek III, but also in our minds, as we know to be logical and reasonable thanks to him. We also see his compassion, that he would give his life such that others may live. We'll never forget Mr Spock, or Mr Nimoy, and they'll both live on in our memories. Indeed, you could say that they'll Live Long and Prosper.

Day 462: Image of the Fendahl Part 1

This episode has a fantastic cliffhanger, which works through a variety of factors. On paper, it consists of Leela walking into a room and a gun being fired, whilst an unknown force advances on the Doctor. This reasonably ordinary cliffhanger is able to be massively intensified on screen. For a start, the episode is shot at night, so the scenes where the Doctor is advanced upon by the unseen force have a new degree of menace through the darkness and shadows that surround the area, whilst a heavy fog plays up the unsettling nature of the countryside location. This is edited back and forth between the Leela scenes, meaning that we are in constant peril with no room for breath, and in addition the scenes never seem to stay on one shot for more than a handful of seconds, creating tension as the climax is reached. Tension is also created through the soundscape, as there is no music, only a steadily rising pitch of some unknown force creating more tension as you get a sensation that it is slowly approaching some form of climax. The only break from this steadily rising noise is a simple gunshot, which is sudden, giving a brief sense of shock to the audience and leaving them more unnerved for the true cliffhanger as the camera approaches the Doctor and we realise that there may be no escape from the horrifying and unknowable force.