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Confession #8: I’d Love to See More Classic Baddies (and Think We Will)

Part of the bread and butter of Doctor Who is introducing new creatures to be antagonists for the Doctor.  Writers experiment with it, thrive on it, even cash in on it (~cough~TerryNation~cough~).  Despite our perceptions, though – thanks mostly to institutions such as the Daleks and the Cybermen – most of them show up no more than twice.  So it’s not surprising that we end up with such one-offs as the Sycorax, clockwork robots, the Carrionites, the Vashta Nerada, and the Krafayis (some of which fully deserve to remain relegated to the annals of history).  We’ve also, however, had recurrences of the (rather regrettable) Slitheen, the Ood, and the Weeping Angels as well as the return of the Autons, the Sontarans, and (WTF?) the Silurians.

But what I really want to see is more links back to some the more interesting – and not yet overused – pre-RTD-era baddies.  Here I’m thinking of entities such as the Toymaker, the Black Guardian, the Valeyard, or Omega.  In fact, all of these crossed my mind at one point or another as a possibility for the culprit behind the as-yet-unexplained Silence and reason for the TARDIS’s explosion in Series Fnarg.  And while Toby Jones’ brilliantly creepy Dream Lord could well have been interpreted as another aspect of the Valeyard, I don’t honestly think either the Valeyard or the Toymaker are good fits for the Big Bad of Series Six.  My money (and a huge pent-up fangirl squee, if this wishful thinking pans out) is on Omega.

It’s recently been brought to my attention that I’m behind the curve on this idea.  So I’m certainly not an original thinker on this front, but I submit that I am at least an independent thinker (like Newton and Leibniz, or Hertzsprung and Russell).  Suffice it to say, I had the idea myself – it sprang from the murky depths of my own fandom, not from cruising others’ forum posts.

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Nu-View #2: First Thoughts on Four

The Invisible Enemy (Story #93, 1977)
Viewed 23 Feb 2011

Doctor/Companion:   Four, Leela
Stars:  Tom Baker, Louise Jameson
Preceding Story:  Horror of Fang Rock (Four, Leela)
Succeeding Story:  Image of the Fendahl (Four, Leela)
Notable Aspects:

  • First appearance of K9

For some of the Ladies, this was their first experience with Four.  While jE watched him during his original run, and jA at least knew his look, jO got to be our complete n00b.  Initially, it was Leela (or “Barbarella,” as jO liked to call her) who got most of the attention – with that “leather bikini” of hers, it’s easy to see why she was jE’s dad’s favorite Companion.  But most of the Ladies agreed that she was a good, fearless Companion, taking it upon herself to take care of the poor, defenseless (as she saw him) Doctor.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them right then about her somewhat ignominious departure on Gallifrey.

Obviously, K9 was worth a few comments, too.  From the first little cheer when he first came on screen to the “no – not K9!” when the Nucleus made contact, The Tin Dog was another hit.  I know some fans hate him, but I’ve always found him cheerful and amusing, especially after having seen some DVD extras in which other actors talk about how John Leeson would crawl around on all fours on set during rehearsals.  How can you not love someone who gets so thoroughly into the role?

As for the Doctor himself, the reception was generally warm.  jA reminded me of my own initial reactions when she noted that he’s “got quite a voice.”  I remember being quite familiar with only his image, and having taken quite a while to get accustomed to the voice that went with it.  With the limited exposure to earlier Doctors, though, jO found Four the best of them so far (perhaps because he’s younger).  She found that though he comes across a bit more pompous, he’s overall quite likable.  I think he had such a huge effect on everyone who grew up watching him that it’s unsurprising to see elements of him in later Doctors – especially Ten, as jA pointed out.  For those thoroughly steeped in the RTD era, Four seems “more Doctor-ish.”

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Mutiny of the Botany

Review of The Seeds of Doom (#85)

DVD Release Date: 08 Mar 11
Original Air Date: 31 Jan – 06 Mar 1976
Doctor/Companion:   Four, Sarah Jane Smith
Stars:  Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen
Preceding Story:  The Brain of Morbius (Four, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story:  The Masque of Mandragora (Four, Sarah Jane)

As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes Tom Baker’s performances as Four leave me a bit cold.  Not this time.  I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but The Seeds of Doom really worked for me.  From the opening moment in the Antarctic (is that Hoth?) to the closing moments where the Doctor and Sarah Jane have a timey-wimey moment, this is a classic, full-on romp.

Obviously, there’s personal danger and a threat to the entire planet, but the baddie is amusing (you know he’s bad, because he wears his black leather gloves inside, and all the time) and the alien menace is suitably absurd.  Most of the effects used to realize said menace are also pretty good, as Who goes, though the spanner one character uses to bludgeon another was very obviously rubber (spanners aren’t generally so wobbly), and I have to admit that the camera-flash-on-a-stick “laser guns” literally made me laugh out loud.

One thing I really enjoyed about this story was the “flash-forward” meta-references, only noticeable from this future perspective.  Several times I was put in mind of other Who episodes (like Midnight, while the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and some of the baddies are holed up, hiding from the Krynoid), and one can’t help but draw the parallel with Fargo when the composter is introduced.

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An Eye to the Future

Review of The Ark (#23)

DVD Release Date: 08 Mar 11
Original Air Date: 05 – 26 Mar 1966
Doctor/Companion:   One, Steven Taylor, Dorothea “Dodo” Chaplet
Stars:  William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Jackie Lane
Preceding Story:  The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve (One, Steven)
Succeeding Story:  The Celestial Toymaker (One, Steven, Dodo)

Although we don’t really figure it out until halfway through, The Ark is sort of two stories wrapped into one. Beginning with a rather typical “outsiders bring harmless-to-them germs into a closed population, threatening to wipe out said population” plot, the story soon takes a turn toward more socio-political themes.  Groups are set against each other and make plans of varying degrees of stupidity and brutality.  Obviously, this being Doctor Who, there’s also a time-travel twist to the tale (which I won’t completely spoil here), but that is primarily clever storytelling rather than a necessary element for plot advancement.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the story, at least on the surface, is the abysmal quality of the monster-of-the-week, which is poor even by Doctor Who‘s standards (and that’s saying quite a lot!).  The actors playing the Monoids could not have been comfortable with body-length rubber sheaths that included huge (clearly visible) zippers up the back, mangy wigs draping down over half their faces, and ping pong balls painted as eyeballs in their mouths.  Every time one of these pathetic critters waddles on set, you can’t help but snicker and think about the mechanics of wearing the costume (particularly the moutheyeball – nor does it help to learn that it actually was ping pong balls they used).  Yet somehow, the Monoids manage to fulfill their literary roles in (both parts of) the story relatively well.  Clearly that’s a testament to the quality of the tale the writers had to tell.

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Confession #7: I’ve Learned to Like Six

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As I was first learning about the pre-RTD Doctors, I heard a lot of love for Three, Four and Five, and a lot of hate for Six and Seven.  Although I’ve never understood why Seven was so reviled (perhaps because my first experience with him was Remembrance of the Daleks, which included Ace, who was to become one of my all-time favorite Companions), I must admit that I took an instant dislike to Six, as I’d come to expect I would.

I suppose it was partly a self-fulfilling prophecy, but when you consider my first exposure to Six (not counting the regeneration scene) was in Vengeance on Varos – in which he is exceptionally snotty to Peri (who, granted, kind of deserves it, but not that much…) – perhaps it’s not surprising I didn’t take to him right away. All I got from him was egomania and disregard for his Companion – not a Doctorly attitude at all. It wasn’t till much later that I discerned any sort of affection for Peri underlying the banter.

Since those first few months, though, I’ve come to appreciate him as a great character in his own right. Mostly, this is due to the brilliance of Rich Morris, artist and web comic writer extraordinaire, who penned the epic fan comic The Ten Doctors (also available in PDF format here). It was through Rich’s work that I was finally able to see the beautiful potential of Six, who really had been done a disservice by his writers, in my opinion. (Not to mention the costume designer – what is up with that nasty outfit? Why couldn’t they have gone monochrome?) The Six of TTD was extremely clever, yet never out of acerbic character from the televised episodes.  He was somehow simultaneously grumpy and charming. I had a lot of respect for that version of Six, and was able to superimpose the positive qualities exhibited there onto the on-screen Doctor afterward.  (In fact, I learned a lot about Doctor Who as a whole from both TTD and the associated forums, which are populated by some really knowledgeable folks in what is probably the friendliest community on Teh Intarwebs.)

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Confession #6: The Fourth Doctor Kind of Bugs Me

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If Confession #3 irked a few Neo-Whovians (and yes, I did catch some flak from the Ladies), then this one is sure to incur the wrath of some Old Skool Whovians.  Tom Baker, aka Four (you know the one – “all teeth and curls,” perpetually wrapped in a ridiculously long scarf), is one of the best-loved Doctors of all time.  In fact, before David Tennant’s stint, he was the most popular Doctor ever.  However, though I do generally enjoy him, a lot of times Four just sort of rubs me the wrong way.

First, there’s the way he seems to work so hard on being weird.  Sure, the googly eyes give him a head start, but that’s the least of it.  There are so many instances where he’ll just repeat! someone else’s line enough to startle (“of course!”), and then come down from that vocal high still as confused as ever (“nope – still don’t know what you’re talking about”) that it ceases to either surprise or amuse (a trait Tennant borrowed for Ten, though I don’t believe he wielded it as often).  I think it would bug me less if it weren’t such an ongoing gag.  It’s something that feels like it started as one of Baker’s many attempts to make the cast and crew lose their composure and start laughing on set – except that once it worked, he kept inserting it as one of Four’s quirks, and it lost its effect (file under: funny once).

What really irritates me, though, is how rude he is to everyone.  He frequently cuts off his Companions mid-sentence, usually when they’re trying to tell him something important that he needs to know.  It doesn’t matter who it is – Sarah Jane, K-9, even Romana (who’s supposed to be as clever as the Doctor) – all suffer the same indignity and implication of insignificance.  Again, every once in a while it can be amusing, but it seems to happen nearly every story.  His self-centeredness in this sense feels very anti-Doctor to me, and makes me wonder:  where’s the Doctor who loves and values his Companions?  Oh, I know he does, but as the saying goes, he has a funny way of showing it…

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It’s All About Perspective

Review of The Mutants (#63)

DVD Release Date: 08 Feb 11
Original Air Date: 08 Apr – 13 May 1972
Doctor/Companion:   Three, Jo Grant
Stars:  Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning
Preceding Story:  The Sea Devils (Three, Jo)
Succeeding Story:  The Time Monster (Three, Jo)

When the Doctor is sent on yet another mission by the Time Lords, he and Jo find themselves on a skybase orbiting the planet Solos.  There, officials of imperial Earth are preparing to grant the natives independence after 500 years, but the Marshal has other ideas.  He wants to make Solos’ atmosphere breathable by humans (which it currently isn’t), rather than to Solonians (which it currently is).  Due to the experiments he has commissioned, some Solonians are mutating into strange, bug-like creatures – derogatorily nicknamed “Mutts” – which the Marshal believes should be purged from the planet.

I must admit that, from my 21st century American perspective, I saw this story as primarily a commentary on our stewardship of the environment, and to a lesser degree about the treatment of indigenous peoples by colonizing cultures.  However, at the time, especially to a British audience not yet completely out of imperial politics, it would have smacked rather heavily of the British withdrawal from India in 1947, not to mention South Africa or the then-current conflict in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe).  It’s interesting to me that this story can play out on so many levels – standard Who story, allegory of imperialism, and allegory of environmental issues – over so many years.  Perhaps that’s why I was so surprised at the way a different theme came across.

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Schedule Adjustment

In the interest of maintaining the quality of my posts (and my sanity), I have decided to change my posting schedule, starting next week (Wednesday, 23 Feb 11).  Rather than trying to post a Confession every week and squeeze in Reviews and Nu-Views as they arise, I will only post something from one of those three classes every week, depending on DVD release schedules and WhoFest session dates.

Partly, this allows me to "ramp up" to my intended eventual tripartite blog structure.  A revised, custom site is under construction (don't ask about a release date for that; I've no idea at this stage) in which each type of post (Confessions, Reviews, and Nu-Views) will have its own blog-stream.  You'll be able to follow the RSS feed for any one of them, or all of them.  If I gain a real Readership, I might even consider adding a forum.  It'll be cool; just wait and see.

Another thing I hope to improve with the upcoming site is giving readers the ability to post comments on Reviews and Nu-Views as well.  Not that there are many comments yet…  (C'mon, people!  I can see you in my stats!  I know someone's at least loading my pages!)  I recognize that episode reviews are probably the most likely to inspire chatter, so that's one of the main reasons I wanted to blog-etize all three sections.  In the meantime, please feel free to comment about any section of the site on the Confessions page.

Now just because I've declared that I will only post in one category a week, it doesn't mean I won't occasionally post to more, if I get inspired.  Sometimes I'll want to write a lot – I do get slightly obsessive about things like blogging.  And, of course, there's Series Six coming up.  So pull up a chair and settle in.  There's plenty to come.

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The Ugly Docling

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Review of Doctor Who: The Movie (Special Edition)

DVD Release Date: 08 Feb 11
Original Air Date: 14 May 96 (US)
Doctor/Companion:   Eight, Dr. Grace Holloway
Stars:  Paul McGann, Daphne Ashbrook
Preceding Story:  Survival (Seven, Ace) – 1989
Succeeding Story:  Rose (Nine, Rose Tyler) – 2005
Notable Aspects:

  • Only televised story to include the Eighth Doctor
  • Doctor’s first on-screen kiss
  • Bridge between Classic and Nu-Who
  • DVD:  First North American video release

There are those who think The Movie is one of the worst crimes ever committed against the Whoniverse.  I am not among them.  Despite some notably bad features, I actually really enjoy it.  Not the least of my reasons is that it’s the one and only on-screen appearance of Paul McGann as the Doctor.

The made-for-tv Movie came about (in its final form) as a “back-door pilot” for a potential series re-launch.  It was to be set in the US and aimed at the US market, so the tone was somewhat “Americanized.”  Among other things, it added a splash of romance (much to the horror of Old Skool Whovians), a “car” chase, and an actual American Companion (as opposed to Peri – played by Nicola Bryant, a Brit).  Not all of it worked, but there’s a reason McGann continues to this day to get work as Eight in audio-dramas and other projects:  he makes a brilliant Doctor.

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Confession #5: I Have My Own Theories About River Song

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This is more an “admission” than a confession, but hey – it’s my blog.

Especially with Series Six coming up in a matter of weeks, and a promise that “everything changes,” ideas about who River Song “really is” are as abundant as fans who watch Nu-Who (if not more so).  I figured now was as good a time as any to put forth my own.

Perhaps I should start with a brief list of the most common hypotheses that I don’t buy.  For example:

  • She’s the Doctor’s wife.  Yeah, right.  They may act “like an old married couple” and there have been hints dropped left and right that they are, but I just can’t credit it.  Undoubtedly, there’s a romantic (or even just sexual) component to the relationship, but if River is the Doctor’s wife, then that is only a fraction of the whole story.  Otherwise, the rest makes no sense.
  • She’s a future incarnation of the Doctor.  This idea clearly comes out of certain fans’ long-standing desire to see a female Doctor, but River Song is no Valeyard.  While she clearly knows how to handle herself in the TARDIS and such, she’s much too comfortable with violence in general, and guns in particular, for me ever to believe she’s the Doctor.
  • She’s another Time Lord.  I’m more willing to believe this one than some of the others, but it still doesn’t ring true to me.  If she’s traipsing around the 51st century, why is the Doctor convinced all through the rest of Nu-Who that he (or, for a time, the Master) is the last of the Time Lords?  Supposedly he can sense other Time Lords, regardless of where (or, presumably, when) they are.  None of that fits with what we know of River.
  • She’s the Doctor’s mother/daughter.  Are these people on drugs?  There is nothing either maternal or filial in River’s attitude toward the Doctor.  If there were, then other comments would be distinctly incestuous in nature, which is far too creepy for someone like Moffat to include in a show that is – at least in Britain – specifically aimed at a family audience.  I’d sooner believe the Woman in White from The End of Time had either familial relationship with the Doctor (most certainly not my interpretation) than that River does.
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