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 541: State of Decay Part 4

It's easy to dislike Adric in this episode. It's as if the episode goes out of its way to make us dislike him intensely. Romana and one of the villagers have just been on a rescue mission to try and save him, but they failed with Romana about to be sacrificed and the villager already dead. So you'd expect Adric to be a little bit grateful for what everyone has gone through for him. But instead, he's quite annoyed because he was looking forward to becoming a vampire, and Romana has gotten in the way of his defection to the bad guys. And it's not as if he doesn't know that they're evil, he just wants to give up on the whole notion of being on the side of good and instead be on the winning side. Granted, he does attempt to save Romana later, but this fails terribly and is dealt with too swiftly for us to even notice the character's change of heart.

This is Adric's second story, and we're being inclined to dislike him already, before we get a full impression of the character. This does not bode well for the character, and it may be some time before we can be willing to look at him with fresher eyes and see his positives for what they are. But for now, we end this story on a low note and hope that this companion will be better treated in the future.

Day 540: State of Decay Part 3

The story has taken an interesting turn, minutes into Part 3. The Doctor off-handedly mentions that he and Romana are Time Lords and the vampires get quite excited about this, proclaiming that they are the great enemies. Further investigation reveals that these vampires were created by one of the Great Vampires, an ancient race that was fought and, until now, presumed destroyed by the Time Lords in their infancy, led by the President Rassilon.

This makes the story feel far more interesting as a result, mainly because it means that we get a sense of the real peril that the Doctor and Romana are up against, given that these are old foes of the Time Lords, a race that we have seen to be all-powerful and mighty. This is compounded by Tom Baker's performance, where he displays fear and a sense of worry over everything that is taking place, something which we're not really used to with this incarnation of the Doctor, who has been far more relaxed in his fights with various creatures. By seeing him in such a position, we know that things have become far more serious, as we eagerly await the conclusion of State of Decay.

Day 539: State of Decay Part 2

This story features vampires. Slowly, over the course of this episode, we begin to notice that various tropes of the vampire mythos are appearing, such as a fascination with blood, control over bats, and a general gothic demeanour. It's all reasonably effective stuff, and may send a chill down the spine of some young children. But there's still an interest in making this feel different. The key mystery surrounding this story is not the nature of the vampires, but who created them, given that the vampires were originally humans before being converted by some unknown power. It gives the story a driving force that is able to engage the viewer, and make for a more interesting story as a result.

Day 538: State of Decay Part 1

This story feels very traditional as a Doctor Who story. We have the Doctor and Romana landing on a planet and setting off to explore it, and they encounter the locals, who range from people living in fear of the villains who are subjugating this planet, to those who are keen to form a resistance and take back what is rightfully theirs. The villains are clearly defined as well, wandering about their castle sending plagues of bats to attack the Doctor and Romana, whilst taking people from the village for nefarious purposes. It's a far cry from Full Circle, which was more a story about exploring and learning about the surroundings. But this isn't that bad though, as it's still an engaging story, mostly due to the fact that it is written by Terrance Dicks, long time writer for the series. He's a writer that knows how to tell good, simple, entertaining adventure stories, and he certainly delivers on that front, providing a story that is simple, yet engaging. And at the end of the day, sometimes all you want from a story is for it to be a nice fun adventure.

Day 457: Horror of Fang Rock Part 4

The conclusion of this story features a couple of things. One of them is the revelation of the villains behind the piece: The Rutans. The Rutans are the enemies of the Sontarans, and yet they couldn't be more dissimilar. While the Sontarans are short, stocky, and look like typical alien soldiers, the Rutans are more blob like in nature. This gives some insight into their conflict: a dislike for the unlike, as it is fairly obvious that there is no point of similarity between the two species. Even their mides of attack are different, with the Sontarans preferring all out attacks and strong weaponry while the Rutans take a stealthier approach, knocking out their enemies one by one. However, their love of war is the one thing that they do have in common, with dire consequences for bystanders.

This is evident when you look at the amount of death that surrounds this story. Every single character save for the Doctor and Leela gets killed over the course of this story, it's fairly depressing stuff although it's worth noting the way in which the Doctor and Leela take this in, as they accept it and move on to their nect adventure with barely a look back. They won and there's no time to dwell on the loss. It's interesting to note this because back in the Hartnell era this sort of destruction would be recognised by the TARDIS crew, and we shall certainly see much more mourning in the future, but for now we move on to face new foes, off on another adventure.

Day 456: Horror of Fang Rock Part 3

The above .gif file represents probably the greatest moment ever to occur for the character of Leela. Another character, Adelaide, is getting hysterical at the amount of death that is surrounding her. The revelation that her employer, Lord Palmerdale, may be dead, is too much for her and she begins to scream. Leela clearly decides that this is annoying, and so she slaps her. This moment sums up the character of Leela particularly well. For a start, she refuses to be part of the 'screaming girl' tradition of the series, preferring to take a more active role in proceedings. She's also not afraid to avoid social taboos, hitting someone because they are being remarkably annoying. But this also hints at her upbringing in the tribe of the Sevateem, as she comments later in the episode that she is surprised that Adelaide has not seen death before, showing that her own background is different than those of most characters in the series and reinforcing her own character as one that is interesting and deserves to be paid attention to.

Day 455: Horror of Fang Rock Part 2

In order to spice things up with regards to the plot of the story, a group of new characters has been introduced. They're some quite posh people who crashed their sailing ship onto the rocks near the lighthouse. They bring with them a storyline of their own as well, with one of them trying desperately to get back to London in order to make a fortune on the stock market, causing the ship to crash in the pricess and probably killing most of its crew. What's interesting about this plotline is how pointless it all is. We recognise as viewers that the outcomes of this story will have no bearing on what the Doctor and Leela have engaged themselves with. This reflects on how much importance we give the matter. We care about the safety of the lighthouse, and protecting its occupants from danger. We don't care about the squabbles about money that take place within it, partially because the Doctor and Leela aren't involved with it. This comes across as Terrance Dicks holding a sort of mirror up to society, showing that whilst there may be fighting over money and shares and the like, all of this should be ignored when it comes to the important things such as alien invasions and life or death scenarios, because there are always things that are bigger and better than money.

Day 454: Horror of Fang Rock Part 1

Well, this is awkward. After spending the previous episode bidding farewell to the Hinchcliffe/Holmes partnership, we find ourselves with a new producer: Graham Williams, whose first story could very easily be mistaken for a Hinchcliffe story. This is to be expected, of course. The writer is Terrance Dicks (Robot, The Brain of Morbius), the director is Paddy Russell (Pyramids of Mars), the script editor is still Robert Holmes and even the regulars haven't changed with the Fourth Doctor/Leela partnership still the main focus. The Williams era will make its mark, but its fair to say that it doesn't start its era the same way that the Hinchcliffe era did, with a story unlike anything else in The Ark in Space.

But that's not to say that this is bad. The story moves along at a good pace, the darkness and horror elements are good and exacerbated by the claustrophobic nature of the setting: a lighthouse. The direction is good, with some nice POV shots from the perspective of the unknown alien attacker as we see the fear in its victim's eyes. This is all not forgetting the excellent writing from Holmes and Dicks of course, where the characters are allowed to feel realistic with arguments about the lighthouse lamp. So despite the fact that there's not been much change yet, this may not necessarily be a bad thing, and as the old saying goes: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Day 421: The Brain of Morbius Part 4

This story is critically lauded, and for good reason. The direction from Christopher Barry, as mentioned before, is fantastic, as is the acting with masterful performances from Tom Baker as the Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane and Philip Madoc as the villainous Doctor Solon. The story is engaging, the design of the serial is beautifully atmospheric, all of this goes towards making one of the absolute highlights of the series.

All of that said, there is a slight issue. The last part has the Doctor engage in a mindbending contest with Morbius. The scene involves images of the Doctor's past incarnations popping up on the screen in reverse order, but we go past William Hartnell to some unfamiliar faces (in reality members of the production team as an in-joke). This implies that Hartnell is not really the first incarnation of the Doctor, and that there were others before him. Of course, this is not the case, as this would require the Doctor to have broken the '12 regenerations' as early as when Peter Davison regenerates, although admittedly this rule has not yet been established. It therefore sits as a blemish, one that is ignored because of other things that came along after it, a moment when the series refuses to follow the rules.

But I like the scene. I like it because it acknowledges time before the series, and gives us brief glimpses at what the Doctor was like before he became William Hartnell. It uses the assumptions that have been made about the series (that Hartnell was the First Doctor) and refutes them, revealing something new, something that will remain untouched but can be quietly speculated about. It also fits in well with one of the themes of the story, being one of learning this unknown history as we discussed yesterday. So whilst some might choose to ignore the scene, I choose to celebrate it as a way to see something truly unknown and for us to enjoy the untold mythology of the series.

Day 420: The Brain of Morbius Part 3

The story of The Brain of Morbius is wonderful, as it delves into the past mythology of Doctor Who to produce something weird and new. There exists, on the planet Karn, a Sisterhood who have discovered the secret to eternal life. They only share this information with the Time Lords, who in return keep their secret from the rest of the Universe. That is, until Morbius, a renegade Time Lord, comes along and tells his followers about it. As they attempt to take over the Universe, the Sisterhood capture and execute him for his countless crimes. However, a surgeon, Solon, finds his brain and keeps it to resurrect the great Time Lord Morbius.

This backstory provides new insights into the pre-history of Doctor Who, something which is relatively rare for this time in the series. Previously Time Lords have been restricted to either putting the Doctor on trial and giving him odd jobs (with the obvious exceptions of the Master, Omega and K'anpo Rimpoche). Now we learn of the forces that once were, how they know the secrets of eternal life as well as some of the darker parts of their history. This all provides colour to the series, as well as rewarding the faithful viewer by beginning to answer some lingering questions about the society of the Time Lords. But this is only the beginning, and in a few weeks' time we'll encounter something far far more important. But for now, the important thing is dealing with trying to stop the Brain of Morbius...

Day 419: The Brain of Morbius Part 2

It's worth mentioning one key feature of Doctor Who that I haven't mentioned for a while, and that is the Doctor, or to be more specific, the Fourth Doctor. This Doctor is well and truly into the swing of things, making himself stand out from his predecessors through several factors. One of these is the writing of Robert Holmes, the script editor for the series and occasional writer of serials, such as this one where he rewrote Terrance Dicks' original script so much that Dicks refused to have his name placed on it as he didn't want to take any of the credit. Holmes is able to inject humour into the proceedings, but also a large swath of darkness, making the Doctor seem like a beacon of light in dark places, but one is all to aware of how to become serious when the situation demands it.

This is helped by the wonder that is Tom Baker. He is a tremendous actor in the role of the Doctor, bringing equal quantities of lightness (such as in the scene where he is to be sacrificed to the Sacred Flame of the Sisterhood of Karn) and darkness (such as the scene where he bargains with Solon to help Sarah Jane regain her sight). The juxtaposition of both of these factors increase their impact and make the character far more enticing to watch. It's also worth mentioning the fact that Baker was known to improvise a lot on the set, and thus it is difficult to know where the writer ends and the actor begins, but one thing is perfectly clear: The Doctor is always there and always good.

Day 418: The Brain of Morbius Part 1

This is one of those stories that I feel incredibly guilty about. It's generally held up as a great classic of Doctor Who, dealing with Time Lord mythology in a fantastic script that's been brilliantly brought to life. It's also one that I've never seen before. Much of what I know of this story comes from reading synopses, watching clips, chatting about it with friends and listening to the audiobook version a few years ago, yet this is something that I have never gotten around to watching until today. There's part of me that could feel disappointed, because much of the story has been spoiled for me, and yet there's also a large part of me that's still just as excited to watch this, mainly because the visual component adds an awful lot to the piece.

An example of this is to be found in a scene where The Sisterhood of Karn (more on them later) transports the TARDIS to them through a mystical ceremony. Two things make this scene memorable, one being the choreography of the Sisterhood from Geraldine Stephenson, which injects a mystical air to the proceedings by feeling like an ancient ritual, passed down from generation to generation. The mystical air is helped by the direction from Christopher Barry, which takes full advantage of the multi-camera set-up prevalent at the BBC at the time by taking several angles of the ceremony and fading between them, never allowing one image to dominate the screen at any one time. This adds to the air of mysticism as well as creating a disconcerting air for the viewer, letting them know that things are going to be different this time.

Day 385: Robot Part 4

This episode marks the end of an era. It is the last story produced by Barry Letts, and is written by his long time script editor Terrance Dicks. Both will make contributions to Doctor Who in the future, but now is as good a time as any to reflect on what they brought to the series.

Both brought a sense of consistency to their respective fields, for a start. Stories up until they took over could wildly vary in tone, as well as quality. Both were able to ensure that what was put out adhered to a certain tone, and that it was of some quality. Granted, this did not always occur, but the overarching effects can be seen throughout the series.

Terrance Dicks as well brought with him an ability to write stories, or at the very least improve them. He can add necessary action, reign in unachievable ideas and enhance themes of various stories. This can be seen in Robot, as we get a reasonably action packed climax that also has at the heart of it a Robot struggling with a crisis over its function as orginally programmed, due to it harming various humans, not least its creator. This crisis is able to engage viewers who are looking for something more substantial than just a Robot attacking humans, as we can see that this Robot has thoughts and struggles with its life.

Letts as well brings new technologies such as CSO, or Green Screen as it is commonly known. This allows for new effects to be produced, occasionally enhancing what can be achieved in the environs of a TV studio, but also occasionally bringing with it yet more effects that age particularly poorly. And yet this sort of thing is to be commended, as it broadens the scope of what Doctor Who can do, as can be seen by the Giant Robot in this story.

But as the TARDIS dematerialises at the end of this story we can look forward to a new team, and see what ideas they will bring to the infinite table that is Doctor Who...

Day 384: Robot Part 3

Taking a look at the story of Robot reveals some interesting ideas. Once again, we have an invasion of Earth not from aliens, but instead from political radicals. This time, they wish to replace all politicians with scientists, who will then choose what is best for humanity in all aspects of life. This is an interesting concept, as it is a cause that is not too hard to sympathise with until you realise that in effect you are taking away the freedom of humanity. But then again, you would achieve the best for humanity, even if this is at the cost of freedom. Much like with Invasion of the Dinosaurs, I am somewhat swayed by the villains argument and I'm pleased that it got at least some airing, even if it were in the context of evildoers plotting to take over the world.

Day 383: Robot Part 2

Tom Baker is the Doctor. It's actually shocking to see how both how quickly he is able to settle into the character of the Doctor and how quickly his characterisation of the Fourth Doctor forms. He is a bit erratic, a bit wild, and instantly more fun than the more stoic Pertwee. And we can see all of this within his first episode. This is in part due to the way in which Terrance Dicks, the writer, has written him. But it's also in part due to the performance of Tom Baker, who is able to instantly prove to audiences that he is the Doctor, and the series will never be the same again.

Day 382: Robot Part 1

The new Doctor has arrived. Much like Spearhead from Space before it, the decision has been made to surround the Doctor with familiar faces (in this case Sarah Jane and UNIT) in order to ease the transition. This certainly helps, because it allows for an immediate acceptance of the new Doctor, to help audiences accept him as well. It also helps that Sarah Jane has been built up as a character in her own right, as we can follow her adventures whilst the Doctor comes to terms with his new body, and we come to terms with the new Doctor. Although that said, we don't really need that long to come to get used to the Fourth Doctor, as we'll discuss tomorrow.

Day 381: Planet of the Spiders Part 6

"I had to face my fear". The Doctor who has been defined as a man of courage, a man who is full of action, is afraid. But what is he afraid of? The way in which this story states this means that it could read that he is afraid of the Great One, the enormous spider which can control people with a single thought. But it can also be read another way. The Doctor set all of these events in motion by stealing the crystal on Metebelis 3. Now, there has been much death and destruction as part of his greed for knowledge. So is he perhaps afraid of seeing the consequences of his actions? This is something that we will see in the future, when the Day of the Doctor approaches.

But that's the future, and we are focussing on the present as the Doctor collapses to the floor. Death has overcome the Doctor. But with death comes life, at least for some people. The concept of regeneration is introduced for the first time in this episode, as we see the Doctor become reborn. We do not know what he will be like, but can look forward to seeing how this new man shall perform. The end for the Pertwee era may be nigh, but there's still a future, meaning that We've Got Work To Do...

Day 380: Planet of the Spiders Part 5

There's a nice sequence that occurs about halfway through this episode. The Doctor is running to help Sarah Jane, when he encounters a voice. The voice tells him not to come any closer, because the radiation levels near it would kill him. It also tells him to return the crystal that he stole, all the way back in The Green Death. As described, it doesn't sound too intimidating. But actions speak louder than words, as the voice then forcibly takes control of the Doctor, making him turn around on the spot, to show the power that it has over him. This causes the Doctor great pain as he encounters something which has true power over him. His face is contorted into a face of fear as he tries to fight it but can't. It's disturbing to see Pertwee's Doctor like this, in particular as he is the Doctor that is the most cool in deadly situations, as he comes up against a foe that frightens him, and surely cannot beat. Well, maybe he can beat them, but at what cost...

Day 379: Planet of the Spiders Part 4

The Pertwee era is defined by two types of story. Those which are set on Earth, and those which are set on another planet, which generally concern Earth colonists. This story somehow manages to weave the two together. It's achieved by having the Doctor and Sarah Jane, as well as the main human villain, investigate goings on on Metebelis 3, while we follow the actions of the characters that we've met previously in the story on Earth as they come to terms with the plot. It's nice to have this ability to leap between spaces in such a way, and takes full advantage of the spacetime travelling mechanic at the heart of the series. However, there is one small problem, being that half of what happens on Metebelis 3 (through mixture of writing, acting and direction) is incredibly poor. This drags down the overall quality of the story, which is a shame as there are some good things here, but we forget about them as we focus on the negative that it surrounds. Still, we have much to look forward to as we enter the final days of Planet of the Spiders.