Day 684: Battlefield Part 3

There's a series of interesting decisions leading up to the revelation of the monster, The Destroyer, at the end of this episode. We first see it in silhouette, inside a crystal ball. That silhouette is then transfered to the real world, but it remains in silhouetted form, keeping a degree of mystery about the character, but also allowing for a sense of anticipation to build as the monster becomes more of a threat. This threat becomes palpable at the end of the episode, as it reveals itself in all of its glory, a majestic horned blue beast that looks vaguely demonic. It lives up to the anticipation that has been built around the character, mostly because through the shadow that we see of it, we're able to discern a lot of its features. However, there's a degree of disappointment, because the shadow form of it is slightly more unnerving and mystical, and one kind of wishes that they had stayed wi that form for the entire story. But, it's still a good monster, and another positive thing about this story.

Day 683: Battlefield Part 2

So this story is all about the Doctor engaging with the legend of King Arthur, as he fights Morgaine Le Fay, the evil villain who fought Arthur in days of old. What's interesting about this setting, however, is who they have in the role of Merlin. It's the Doctor, which is fairly obvious as far as analogues go, although what's not obvious is which Doctor. Merlin is a future version of the Doctor, and has set up a lot of this adventure such that his past self can come along and finish it for him.

It's a fun idea, not only because it plays with the idea of time travel (something which is rarely mentioned in Doctor Who in the Classic era) but also because it plays with the idea of the Seventh Doctor. The Seventh Doctor has become known for being a bit of a manipulator, developing complex and ornate plans in order to defeat villainy across the Universe. Here, he's been put in a position where he's a pawn in a future version of himself's game, and he's willing to play his role, treating it as some sort of puzzle where he has to figure out exactly how everything falls into place.

It all adds to the sense of fun behind this story, and makes each episode one to look forward to, as we see what happens as the Doctor figures out the Doctor's plan.

Day 682: Battlefield Part 1

And so it begins. Season 26. The last season of Classic Doctor Who. It begins with Battlefield, which appears to be an action story merging Arthurian legend with UNIT, who are making their first full appearance since Season 13 (there have been name-checks here and there, but this is the first story in a very long time to feature them in such a major role). It's clear from the offset that things have changed in the intervening years with regards to UNIT, in part due to the fact that fresh eyes are now able to look at the concept and re-work it to fit their idea of what UNIT should be.

For a start, there's a new Brigadier: Brigadier Winifred Bambera. She's similar to the old Brigadier, in that she's clearly a military type of person, someone who commands respect and is able to lead their team, but is slightly closed-minded with regards to new ideas (in her case, specifically the nature of the Doctor). However, what she lacks with comparison to the old Brigadier is the sense of warmth and familiarity that we associate with the character, or indeed, that character is allowed to associate with the Doctor and co.. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, as it allows for room for the character to move and grow, and one can expect that if the series continued we would see Brigadier Bambera more frequently throughout the years.

But as we know, things didn't pan out that way. So instead of focussing on the possibilities of the future, let's get back to the present and continue watching Battlefield. For, as the Seventh Doctor is becoming increasingly fond of saying, "We've got work to do!".

Day 681: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Part 4

It's towards the conclusion of this story that the cracks begin to show within the narrative. There's a lot of things that happen that require the audience to make assumptions as to how their meaning, because they're never adequately explained, at least in my opinion.

For instance, there's the character of Captain Cook. He gets killed within the first five or so minutes if Part 4, and is left to his eternal rest in some corner of the circus tent. However, towards the climax of the adventure, he comes back as a zombie, in order to prevent Ace, Mags and one of the circus performers known as Kingpin from getting a medallion to the Doctor. It's never really explained why Cook comes back though, instead we're left to assume that he's been brought back by the villains, the Gods of Ragnarok, even if they didn't give any indication that they did such a thing.

There's also the entire premise of the Gods of Ragnarok. They're actually fairly well explained in the story, we know that they wish to be entertained for all eternity, and as such they kidnap performers to perform for them throughout the story. However, there are still some sore points with regards to their story, such as their downfall, which involves the Doctor pulling a sword out of nowhere and using it in conjunction with the medallion to reflect their power back at them. Apparently, this causes the circus to begin to collapse in on itself, which whilst an arresting image, doesn't really feel completely explained to me, the viewer.

But, I'm willing to give this story a free pass, because it's actually incredibly engaging in terms of atmosphere and character, and one gets the sense that there was all of this information in some edit of the script, but it had to be left out for reasons of time or the like. It means that The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is left being an imperfect story, but then again, nothing's perfect.

Day 680: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Part 3

The cliffhangers to this story have been fairly weak so far. The exception is clearly the end of Part 3, where it is revealed that Mags, one of the supporting characters in the story, is a werewolf. Now, I knew that Mags was going to be revealed as a werewolf when I went into the story, and I had seen various images of her in her werewolf form. What I'd neglected, however, was that in context, she is incredibly creepy and terrifying, and an interesting depiction of what a werewolf could look like. It forgoes the traditional form of a werewolf, i.e. a wolf-like creature, for something altogether stranger, consisting of sharp teeth and lime green face paint. This may not sound like much, however it is a production decision that allows for focus to be put on the performance of Jessica Martin, the actress who plays Mags, who is able to unleash the inner animal and give a truly frightening performance. This is accentuated by director Alan Wareing's decision to use several close ups of her, focussing on the vaguely terrifying aspects of her form and giving a fully scary monster for this adventure.

Day 679: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Part 2

The corridors in this episode are actually some of the best corridors to feature in Doctor Who ever. Now, that may not feel like I'm saying much, but it certainly feels as if it should mean something. You see, this story is set inside a circus, and a lot of this episode features Ace running through corridors within the tent complex. These corridors succeed for a variety of reasons, but it's mainly because these corridors were actually set up as if they were a circus tent, with the outside light permeating slightly through the fabric of the walls, as they sway ever so gently in the breeze as people rush by them. It adds a sense of realism to the production, as well as making the process of running through the corridors ever so slightly scarier, because the flimsy nature of the walls always gives the impression that someone could be hiding right behind them, ready to jump out and attack. And, the funny thing is, this was never actually meant to be set up this way. The production team were kicked out of their original studio due to an asbestos scare, and as such, had to relocate to a car park in the middle of some other BBC studio complex. It's a beautiful example of serendipity affecting the programme and adding a degree of atmosphere to this fantastic story.

Day 678: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Part 1

On the surface, there's not much to this episode. The Doctor and Ace arrive on a planet, one that looks suspiciously like a quarry, looking for a circus. On their journey, they meet a variety of weird and colourful characters, and it all culminates with the Doctor and Ace making the decision of whether they will enter the circus or not. But, after watching it, I was surprised to find that I couldn't keep my eyes away from the story, as I remained constantly alert throughout the entire piece.

There are so many factors that play into this, but the main one in my opinion is the weirdness of the surroundings. We're treated to surreal images of a clown dressed as an undertaker setting off kites to find an Adam Ant impersonator, which feels so odd that it draws a sense of curiousity about the proceedings. This is helped by the music, by Mark Ayres, who delivers a muted but everpresent feel of mystery to the story, adding a degree of suspense, and helping build an atmosphere that engages the viewer.

So I'm actually rather looking forward to the next episode of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and I hope that it will live up to the oddness of the first part.