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 601: The King's Demons Part 2

A new companion is introduced in this episode: Kamelion. A shape shifting robot that once was under the control of the Master as part of an evil ploy to prevent Magna Carta, it has regained its free will and now travels aboard the TARDIS. It's actually a really cool thing to see, first of all because the shape-shifting aspect of the companion is a neat idea. Aside from the plot related instances in which it can be applied, it can also allow for a range of guest actors to play the role of the companion, which can lead to a bit of variety within the TARDIS team.

The second cool thing to see is the prop itself. It's actually a fully functioning machine, which, although it clearly isn't brilliant, by virtue of the fact that this is the 1980's, I actually have to admire it. Unfortunately, the nature of Kamelion proved to be its downfall, as it's controller sadly died almost immediately after production completed on The King's Demons, and as he never left any notes about the operation of this machine, it never really appeared again until some time in the next series. It's a shame, as this is something that does have a lot of potential, but sadly, this potential was never realised on screen.

Day 600: The King's Demons Part 1

600 days. That's an awfully long time to be watching Doctor Who episodes for. In that time, there's been Aztec priests, disused yetis, Metebelis crystals, imbeciles called Harry Sullivan, a Romana who was one of the noblest of her name, and a companion plagued with an impossibly difficult task. It's been a fun ride (and there's only around 200 days left to go!), and so to celebrate, I'm watching a mediocre Doctor Who story.

I'm perhaps being a bit unfair to The King's Demons, as there are some good things in it. The only problem is that it is a story featuring the Master, where the Master is again disguised. This time, his disguise consists of wearing a beard and speaking in a French accent. It is, perhaps, the worst disguise the Master has ever used. Aside from the eternal question of "Why has the Master disguised himself this time", it is at least something that we can have fun with as an audience. Doctor Who, in all of its history, has occasionally delved into the joy of being enjoyably bad (c.f. The Horns of Nimon, The Underwater Menace), and that at least makes the story somewhat enjoyable (contrast with Arc of Infinity earlier in this series, which was just bad for bad's sake).

Speaking of history, this episode seeks to get in some real world history as well. We learn about King John, and his role in signing the Magna Carta. Similarly, we also get a picture of what it was like living in a medieval castle (very cold, it turns out). This is a nice call-back to the early days of Doctor Who, whereby the series was intended to be educational and, as such, dropped in little history lessons here and there. That said, the history stories were generally either grand epics (e.g. Marco Polo) or bright comedies (e.g. The Gunfighters), but here we have just a light adventure, lacking in the scope of the epic or the humour of the comedy. But it's nice to be reminded of these things, as we have more fun with The King's Demons.