Day 449: The Talons of Weng-Chiang Part 2

There's much humour to be had from the interplay between two of the characters in this story, being Professor Litefoot and Leela. Litefoot is a Victorian gentleman, being exceedingly polite and clearly showing his nature as a member of the upper class, which acts as a strong contrast to Leela, the Doctor's savage companion. She cares not for manners and the like, instead doing as she pleases. Litefoot, being a gentleman, is far too polite to comment on this and so he is forced to go along with her behaviour, resulting in some great scenes such as Leela picking up a large piece of meat and eating it directly off the bone, meaning that Litefoot has to do the same out of politeness for his guest. By seeing Litefoot out of his comfort zone we can both laugh at the character's actions but also gain a respect for him as he is willing to do uncomfortable things in order to make people feel more comfortable. Credit for this clearly goes to Trevor Baxter, the actor who plays Litefoot, but also to Robert Holmes who once again shows his fantastic ability as a writer.

Day 448: The Talons of Weng-Chiang Part 1

There's a minor disappointment to be had with this story. It looks and feels impressive, and we shall certainly go on to see where this story succeeds. However there are one or two things that fail to make everything work. One such thing is the decision to have a giant rat as a monster. On paper, it sounds like a good idea. Rats are creepy looking animals, and could easily frighten youngsters. However, in creating the special effects for the rat, we end up with an unconvincing prop and a shot that is blatantly a normal sized rat climbing over a model. It's disappointing because the serial promises us so much from the outset, with a fantastic design and intriguing story. Still, nothing is perfect and I've got a feeling that this serial will improve...

Day 447: The Robots of Death Part 4

After spending two of the past three entries discussing how terrifying this story is it is nice to get some recognition from the story itself as to its nature. Poul, an undercover investigator on the Sand Miner, has had a mental breakdown. The Doctor attributes this to Robophobia, or Grimwade's Syndrome, and there is some discussion of how this occurred. Grimwade theorised, that it occurs due to a lack of body language from the robots, the 'uncanny valley' effect that we looked at previously. This accounts for the feelings for the audience, but not for Poul himself.

Poul, you see, saw blood on a robot's hand. This directly implicated the robots in the murders, which went against their first principle being that they cannot harm humans. This development suddenly creates a vast amount of horror in Poul, as the robots are stronger, faster, and all around better than humans, and we would die if they were allowed to harm them. It's enough to send a man insane, which indeed it does as Poul cries in front of the silhouette of a robot to not kill him in a very good performance from David Collings.

It's another reminder of why this story is so frightening, and it's certainly one that I'll remember as one of the absolute best stories of all of Doctor Who.

Day 446: The Robots of Death Part 3

I can easily say that The Robots of Death Part 3 is easily one of the most frigthening Doctor Who episodes that I have ever watched. From Briant's direction which, as the terrorist Taren Capel gives orders to the robots to kill all humans, cuts back and forth between images at an alarming rate, creating a sense of discomfort for the viewer. You can add to this the fact that the robots gain frightening red eyes, which made me squirm in my seat a little as well as scenes which place you on edge by guessing that a robot will jump out of nowhere and kill people and scenes where the red eyed robots advance slowly to kill their screaming prey shot from the point of view of the prey, creating a sense of terror in the audience. All of this creates a terrifying atmosphere, and left me with a feeling of actual fear and has made me look forward even more to seeing the conclusion to this story. But maybe I'll watch it in the daytime instead of the pitch black darkness of midnight...

Day 445: The Robots of Death Part 2

The basic plot of the story is quite simple. People are dying on a mining ship and the Doctor, along with Leela, begin to investigate. What makes this different from other plots, however, is the way in which it is constructed. The antagonist who is performing the murders is on the ship, but their identity is concealed, meaning that it is one of the crew members, thus making it into an Agatha Christie style murder mystery. This decision to 'steal from the classics' from the writer, Chris Boucher, is a sane one, as the genre has been shown time and time again to work. The sense of mystery in turn creates suspense, as each crew member suspects the others of doing the murders. The constant stream of killings also creates suspense, particularly when there have been strong indications of the next character to die. This can be seen in the death of Zilda where we see her 'execution order', for want of a better term, and then watch the rest of her scenes with a greater deal of attention as we know that she is living on borrowed time. Overall then, The Robots of Death uses the genre to great advantage creating a nice mystery story for the audience to get their teeth into.

Day 444: The Robots of Death Part 1

The immediate thing that strikes you about The Robots of Death is the design of the robots themselves from Elizabeth Waller, the costume designer for this story. They are designed to look like humans, having recognisably human features in the face that help to make the audience and in turn the characters respond to them as if they were not automatons. However, this does not entirely work. The mask resembles that of a human, yes, but it is too chiselled to truly be human. The 'mouth' and 'hair' do not move either, creating a sense of discomfort in the audience and characters. This sense of the 'uncanny valley' makes for a memorable and unsettling design, sticking in the minds of the viewer and making for an engaging piece of television, encouraging the viewer to watch more of The Robots of Death.

Day 443: The Face of Evil Part 4

It's worth mentioning something, or rather someone, that we haven't touched upon yet in The Face of Evil. Leela is a tribe member of the Sevateem, and by the end of the episode she has become the Doctor's new companion. In her first story she easily sets herself apart from all companions who have come before her. For instance, she is more violent than her predecessors, actively fighting and occasionally killing various people that she comes up against. This is an interesting tack to go along for the new companion, particularly as it introduces an area of conflict between her philosophy and that of the Doctor, something which future episodes can play with to some extent.

However it wouldn't do to just have a violent savage aboard the TARDIS, so Leela must have some other side to her character that will help her fit into some mould of companion for the series. In this case, it is her curiosity and willingness to learn. The Doctor has begun to teach her about technology and the ways of the future, as can be witnessed when she knowingly refers to the place where they met with Xoanon as a computer complex. Her curiosity can also be seen at the very conclusion of the story where she sets the TARDIS into flight, pressing buttons without a care in the world.

And so it's for these reasons, amongst others, that I can be sure that Leela will be a companion to enjoy over the next little while, as the ongoing adventure that is Doctor Who continues...