Day 156: The Macra Terror Episode 4

About a week ago, I made some comments about Jamie, and how it was difficult for writers to cope with him as this meant that there were now two young male protagonists, meaning that the TARDIS has become rather crowded. But here, roles are found for both Ben and Jamie, and their roles can be defined more easily. Jamie forms the action hero, being courageous and sticking up for himself in moments of peril. He is the one to whom many of the action sequences in this story occur, and he is able to go along with them well. Ben, on the other hand, is able to be influenced by the evil Macra and brainwashed by them to do their will. This means that the more familiar character is put into a position that the audience is unfamiliar with them keeping, and so the audience is able to realise the power of the Macra, given that they can take something that is familiar and make it unfamiliar, something that couldn't be done with Jamie or any other supporting character, as then we wouldn't feel the connection that we do with Ben. But this also means that Jamie is able to become a more trusted figure, which means that he has finally settled into the role of companion to the Doctor, and so we can now look forward to many more adventures with the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie, together in the TARDIS.

Day 155: The Macra Terror Episode 3

As has probably been previously mentioned, Gerry Davis and Innes Lloyd came into the series with an aim to make it more 'serious' and less frivolous, a task at which they have achieved varying success. This is partially down to their choice of writers, most prominently Ian Stuart Black, who has been able to provide simple science fiction thrillers that are able to be unlike anything else we've seen before in the series. Previously, science fiction was defined by the monsters, or perhaps the stories that were told in this location. Black starts with an idea, and then builds the story around the dissection of this idea. The Savages, for instance, takes the idea of transferring a life force and explores what this means for class systems, and is able to build in a parable about colonialism. Similarly, The Macra Terror takes the idea of a society where everybody is brainwashed into being happy, and then he explores what this idea means. He takes it to extremes, seeing how far the brainwashing will go, sees how it would work and why it would happen. He builds a society, then has the Doctor enter and explore the world. It's thoroughly entertaining to watch, because it differentiates these stories from generic science fiction, such as that seen in The Underwater Menace, and provides a thoroughly entertaining story as well.

Day 154: The Macra Terror Episode 2

Much like several stories that we've encountered before, The Macra Terror is not too big on showing the monsters for the first couple of episodes. This breaks Doctor Who away from other series of the same genre, because it encourages storytelling over effects. In doing so, it means that this story is able to actually have a purpose, and do things with how it is told, rather than just be reduced to cheap scares in some B-Movie style generic action adventure. There's a brief interview with the director Gordon Flemyng, where he is asked about why he took on his latest film, an adaptation of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and he responded by saying that, whilst he enjoyed 'message' films, he preferred to make 'entertainment' films. It's an interesting division to make, because it draws to attention the fact that Doctor Who can straddle the line between entertainment and message, due to having monsters, but also having decent stories to tell as well. This is yet another example of why Doctor Who is different from other series on television, it's not afraid to hide its monsters if it's got a bigger story to tell.

Day 153: The Macra Terror Episode 1

This episode has the most disturbing opening to any episode we've seen so far. We begin with a man in terror, breathing heavily as we have a close-up on his eyes. But then, we cut away to a bunch of majorettes dancing around and playing jolly music. The rest of the story continues in the same vein, being relentlessly happy and grinning to the point of terror with their ever-present happiness. But, there's a hidden danger somewhere, hidden darkness. There's a Big Brother style presence behind everything, telling them that work is the thing that will keep them happy, and forcefully making them cheerful, ignoring the handful of people who claim that something is wrong, and sending them away. It's like Nineteen Eighty-Four on happy pills, continually telling people to be happy, and ignoring the hidden aspects of the world. This story feels relentlessly disturbing because of all of this, and it makes it all the more interesting, because it's been able to set a scene around a mystery, and through not mentioning it, it comes to the foreground more, and so this unique way of storytelling means that the series once again is able to do something that is unlike anything else on television.

Until The Prisoner premieres 6 months later, showing that Doctor Who is also a wonderful trend setter.

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.

Day 120: The Savages Episode 2

The Savages is an odd story. This is because it is both unremarkable, and completely remarkable. On the one hand, the story seems relentlessly familiar: the TARDIS crew arrives on an alien world where a society seems to be perfectly kind, until a dark secret is revealed: they are exploiting lower class members of their race for their own personal gain! It feels clichéd, as an audience we are now used to walking into scenarios and thinking that 'Things are not as they seem'. And yet, it somehow works. Each character is well written by Ian Stuart Black, such that their motivations are made clear and we are able to connect with them. The way that things are treated is also of note, it's not mad scientists working in labs, a hidden dark secret, instead it's just some average people who happen to take people's life force away from them. And while the story is well written and presumably well directed, it is still tricky to get away from the fact that the story just feels clichéd. It's not a bad story, it's just one that's unremarkable.

Day 119: The Savages Episode 1

Once again, the Doctor is already known to the people of this planet. Which is remarkably interesting, because previously the Doctor has only been known to a handful of species, mainly those with less than kind intentions. But these people appear to be benevolent, and hold no grudge against the Doctor, they are, in effect, the first Doctor Who fans, keen to hear his opinions on their society for he is a well respected individual. And from now on, things will be slightly different. A precedent has been set for the Doctor's actions to not just have consequences for villainous empires that he has toppled, but also for observers of his work, and this means that he is making an impact within the course of the history of the universe. It draws to mind the outcome of The Wedding of River Song, where the Doctor resolves to remove himself from history, and to not be noticed as much. Because we've now been introduced to a story where a known figure is called in to fix things, but the story of the unknown man who travels in a magic box who travels to places and goes on an adventure is far more interesting. But we'll see how this story unfolds first, realising that with every first must come a last.