Day 431: The Masque of Mandragora Part 4

I am not good with scares. One of my earliest memories is hiding underneath the dinner table from the Lion on the Teletubbies. This has continued throughout my life, with a fairly recent memory being watching Jurassic Park for the first time at a University event and entertaining my friends with my heightened reactions to the Velociraptors (I neglected to attend another session with the film Alien on similar grounds). So upon watching this story, I must admit that I yelped at considerable volume when the above image flashed on screen.

I had seen the image before, whilst researching photos of the Mandragora Helix. It struck me as one that was a little bit on the unsettling side. A lot of this is the lighting and effects placed on the mask, giving it a demonic look that can scare just about anyone. The design of the mask helps as well, adding a remarkably fierce quality that adds to the terror. Watching it come up in context, however, added a new element of horror to the proceedings. It flashes up suddenly, without any sort of warning. One moment the Doctor is being attacked by Hieronymous, the next we see that image. I gave a resounding cry of shock, and thought to myself of the glorious impact that Doctor Who can have on people. It can still provide fear to people even almost 40 years on from its original broadcast date, adding to the timeless nature of Doctor Who.

Day 430: The Masque of Mandragora Part 3

There's a moment in this story where Sarah Jane asks an important question. If they are in Italy, why does it seem like everyone is speaking English? The Doctor eventually responds with something aling the lines of it being a 'Time Lord's gift' and leaves it at that. What's impressive is that this topic has never once come up in the past 430 episodes. Never have we even stopped to considr why the Thals or Daleks or Ice Warriors or Cybermen or Sontarans or the Nestene Consciousness can speak perfect English. Instead, we accept this as a by-product of drama. We've seen enough programs of this ilk to know the general tropes and we know that everyone will be understood to the audience.

What's also impressive is that this topic will next be touched upon in the episode The End of the World, over 28 years later. This shows the way in which our society has changed, that we are less likely to accept things at face value and we seek for explanations for all that occurs on screen. In a way, this is reflective of one of the themes of this story, that we have become more seeking of reason in our media, seeking science over superstition and made up nonsense, perhaps showing that we have grown as a society.

Day 429: The Masque of Mandragora Part 2

Now the major theme of this story appears to be one of superstition against science. The superstitious beliefs of the time of Renaissance Italy are being taken advantage of by the Helix, who is able to instill the control that it needs through some dedicated followers by claiming to be Demnos, an old god from centuries ago. Meanwhile, we have other characters such as the Doctor and Giuliano, men of science who believe in reason and in seeking out answers even if they may contradict current beliefs. It marks a return to the series' original remit: to educate as well as entertain. Here we are being taught about the very foundations of science, how it is about rationalism and seeking out answers instead of relying on old beliefs and the ways of magic.

Day 428: The Masque of Mandragora Part 1

This story has immediately taken me by surprise. Surrounded by stories where the Doctor lands in somewhat familiar surroundings, here we land somewhere abstract: The Mandragora Helix. It marks a return for the series to the fantastical, after some time away whilst we've had relatively mundane adventures, where we deal with invasions from outer space or alien planets. This means that we can go to stretch the limits of what the series is capable of, showing weird and wonderful settings that are unlike anything that we've seen before. And whilst the TARDIS may make a return to the norm and land in Renaissance Italy later in this episode, the opening few moments stand out and draw the viewer in to what may be an exciting adventure.

Day 391: The Sontaran Experiment Part 2

This story is entirely set on location. Instead of being confined to the studio, we get to see the Doctor and co. dash about on the desolate wasteland that is Dartmoor. This works incredibly effectively, as we never doubt for a second that this is the Earth and that it is in the process of regaining the ability to sustain life, due to it being a region on Earth which isn't ideal for sustaining life. It just goes to show that not all Doctor Who locations are quarries and that this experiment can be deemed a success.

Speaking of experiments, it's probably about time that we mentioned the titular experiment run by the Sontaran Field Major Styre. Styre is in the process of capturing humans and subjecting them to the limits of their abilities to observe what their weaknesses are and how to overcome them. This is achieved through torture, as we see people dying of thirst, Sarah Jane being subjected to mental torture through exploiting her fears and two men forced to hold an ever incresing weight so as to prevent the death of another man. It's gruesome stuff, showing that Doctor Who is no longer afraid to go into these dark places. It also fits in well with the Sontaran psyche, exploiting their military point of view, which is to be expected as is story is script edited by the Sontarans' creator: Robert Holmes.

But coming back to the point that was made yesterday, the shortened length of this story means that we don't get as much time to develop the characters, as plot strands are introduced and then dropped as quickly as they came. Cases in point are traitors amongst the humans, as well as the conclusion in which the Doctor defeats the oncoming Sontaran battle fleet by telling them that if they try to invade, they will be destroyed. It's anti-climactic, and lessens the overall impact of the story. All of that said though, this story wasn't that bad and shows great promise for stories of a similar length (although it will be a long time before we enounter another one), and it should also be noted that the art of writing 45 minute episodes will be honed in future years as the series continues.

Day 390: The Sontaran Experiment Part 1

This is going to be a quick one. The Sontaran Experiment is a rarity in Classic Doctor Who, as it is do e and dusted in 45 minutes. Thus, there's not as much time for character development, or having a longer and more detailed plot, however there's no danger of this outstaying its welcome meaning that we'll get a half decent story at the end of the day. All of that said though, this episode still feels like a Part 1 of a four part story. We're introduced to the guest cast and get a sense of the mysterious goings on. The monster, in is case a Sontaran returning from The Time Warrior, is also kept hidden from view, to increase tension and pad out the story. This implies that Part 2 will feel more rushed, as it struggles to conclude the plot strands that have all been built up whilst expanding on the actions of Part 1 at the same time. But this is all me hypothesising, and we still have Part 2 to come of this Experiment.

Day 389: The Ark in Space Part 4

The other thing that Holmes has brought to the series, along with new producer Philip Hinchcliffe, is horror. The series has become far more terrifying over the space of the past four episodes, in thanks due to intelligent lighting, a surprisingly effective jump scare in this episode, and a dreadfully dark idea at the heart of the monsters. The Wirrn are creatures that infect their host and then take them over, slowly destroying every last part of what makes them human both physically and mentally. It's horrible to think about, and even more horrible to witness as we see Noah, the station's leader, overcome by the Wirrn. This is all remarkably frightening, and whilst I cannot comment on what younger audiences must think of this due to this actually being the first time that I watched this story (although I can say that ratings wise, this was the highest charting single story until Voyage of the Damned came along in 2007), but I can say that as an adult this was an incredibly tense and watchable experience. Any doubts about what direction the show will go in can now be laid to rest. The script editor and producer have a strong vision for the series, we have two excellent companions in the form of Sarah Jane and Harry and above all else we have Tom Baker as the Doctor, a part he was seemingly born to play.

Day 388: The Ark in Space Part 3

The new script editor is Robert Holmes, a man who has written several times for the series before. This story is one which he has written himself, and thus we can get a feeling for what he is like off the leash, writing Doctor Who as he sees it. There are two major things that come across: horror and world building. We'll deal with the horror element tomorrow, but for now let's take a look at the world building that is in place here. The world of The Ark in Space is well constructed, with various details hidden away through technobabble and audio addresses from a lead politician thanking the crewmembers of the space station, but it's mainly through the dialogue between characters that we get a sense of a world that is inhabited. Take for instance the two technicians (Lycett and Rogin) who have been woken up from their 10,000 year slumber. They bicker about how they could have stayed on Earth (thus avoiding their current problem by being dead for several millenia), as well as express their fears about the risks that they undertook when they first went on this mission. They don't appear for very much lf the episode, but they become memorable characters and help to create the world that the Ark in Space inhabits.

Day 387: The Ark in Space Part 2

This story is remarkably good so far. The story is tense, the characters are both well drawn and performed well by their various actors, in particular Noah, as played by Kenton Moore. He is a man who at first refuses to trust the Doctor and co. as per normal Doctor Who stories. However he begins to deviate from the norm when he blatantly ignores the Doctor's advice and gets infected by the aliens attempting to invade Earth, meaning that he begins to metamorphose into an alien being. His manner changes and he confuses his fellow crew-members as he behaves more and more erratically. This comes to a head when he shoots a fellow crew-member with a stun gun and reveals his already changed hand to both himself and the audience in a state of horror. However there is one small problem with this. Depite the fact that the actor is clearly performing the scene extraordinarily well, and they have use the best special effects they had available at the time, there is the large issue that Noah's hand is quite clearly made of bubble wrap. Granted, at the time it would have been seen as terrifying, but to a 21st century audience this comes across as cheap and takes you out of the story, which is a shame, as the story is remarkably good and it's disappointing to be let down by such a small special effect.

Day 386: The Ark in Space Part 1

The series has now undergone a rebirth. We have a new script editor, a new producer, a new companion and a new Doctor. We'll look at each of these in due course, but for the moment let's have a look at our new companion, Dr Harry Sullivan. He's a character from an earlier age, not necessarily in time (he comes from aroundabouts the modern day) but in behaviour. He acts as a gentleman (especially around women), is quietly perplexed by everything that is happening around him and is able to act as the straight man. This makes him work well with Tom Baker as the Doctor, who is significantly more loopy. It's a Doctor/companion relationship that feels brand new and exciting, although it should be noted that it's a relationship that we've seen since the early days of the programme with William Hartnell and Ian Chesterton. However, the fact that we have a new production team and a new approach to the series manages to make this all feel fresh, and ensures that we shall be able to look forward to the adventures of the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry for the next little while.