Menu Close

Malus Aforethought

Review of The Awakening (#132)

DVD Release Date:  12 Jul 11
Original Air Date:  19 – 20 Jan 1984
Doctor/Companion:  Five, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough
Stars:  Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson
Preceding Story:  Warriors of the Deep (Five, Tegan, Turlough)
Succeeding Story:  Frontios (Five, Tegan, Turlough)

For various reasons explained in the extras, it was deemed that the story that eventually became The Awakening needed to be reduced to two episodes. I suppose that’s one reason that it didn’t grab me as a particularly inspiring installment. It starts out feeling very Doctor-y, with something going wrong with the TARDIS yet landing in the right time and place. Some villagers are “in on” the odd happenings and others aren’t, and we’re left wondering why.

However, after that, it gets a tad jumbled. It’s not that it’s a bad story, by any means. I never really understood the motivation of the Malus, though. It was all just a bit… foggy. What finally defeated it in the end was unclear, too, but aside from the Malus itself looking a bit rubbish once it began to animate (sorry – I know the production team did a fabulous job given the times and the budget, but…), I actually did enjoy several bits, even if they were oh-so-stereotypical.

For example, Tegan ends up as the target for some sort of nastiness (possessed, kidnapped, slated for ritual death… she seems to “get it” in nearly every story). Then there’s the part where the Doctor and his two Companions are all split up – big surprise. I also had to wonder, as the word extended seemingly forever, how many cliffhangers have ended on someone screaming, “Doctooooooooooooooor!” Even so, those just really give it the Who flavor, so I couldn’t complain.

There were down sides, though. Aside from the Malus, a couple of other things struck me as a little off. Like why, aside from the chance to give them a mention, do the Tereleptils come up at all (the Malus is connected somehow, but it could just have well have been any number of other one-off villains)? Most irritating to my eye, though, was when we finally meet Andrew Verney. The man looked barely old enough to be Tegan’s father, let alone her grandfather. I couldn’t believe that relationship at all. It’s a tiny little thing to let get in the way of my enjoyment, but it bothered me.Shrugging all that aside, my overall impression was good. My favorite part was the memorable quotes. I loved hearing one of the few times Five actually says “brave heart, Tegan” to her. Best of all, though, has to be the exchange between the main nutter and the Doctor. When the Doctor tells him he needs to put an end to what he’s doing, he spews, “You speak treason!” to which Five immediately replies, “Fluently! Stop the games.” Oh, what a wonderful moment that is!

DVD Extras (highlights)

Return to Little Hodcombe

To make the documentary on this disc a little different, several of the actors were brought back to some of the villages in which location shooting for The Awakening was done. Not only did the players then get to be interviewed in this bucolic setting, but some of the actual villagers put in their two cents, remembering what it meant to their villages to have Doctor Who shooting there. The director, whose first directing job this was, explained the story behind a famous outtake, among other remembrances. Be sure to wait to the end of the credits; I certainly smiled.

Making the Malus

Who knew that old Who villains could be wall art? The current “custodian” of the Malus brought it back to the studios so those responsible for creating it could see how well it had stood the test of time, and give us a chance to see how it works.

From the Cutting Room Floor

Most of these, as usual, serve as a testament to the editors’ work. However, I was rather fascinated with the completely cut scene that included Kamelion. Considering how little we ever actually see of that Companion, it struck me as odd that more wasn’t put in when possible. It’s like not even saying, “stay, K-9!” before closing the TARDIS door. Other soundless clips were also fun to watch, giving a sense of what happens behind the scenes.

Neither a “Top Ten” nor a “Worst of the Worst,” The Awakening was an entertaining way to spend an hour. Fans of this Doctor and/or Companions will certainly enjoy it. If you’re looking for a way to start building your collection, though, leave this one till near the end. It’s a fine romp, but there are better.

Tagged , , ,

4 Comments

  1. PaulGreaves

    Villagey
    I love The Awakening (anything with a quiet but slightly freaked out English village) and, along with Black Orchid, it’s an early example of the current fashion for 45/50 minute stories. In fact, it was repeated as an edited together single episode! It was a pilot for the new format 20 years early! Maybe… 🙂

    I don’t recall the Terileptils being mentioned by name, just that Sir George has some Tinclavic from Raaga, which the Hakol Probe (aka The Malus) could have picked up on it’s journey. I suppose it’s an unnecessary reference but I quite like it.

    I’m glad they cut Kamelion out. It was one of JNTs poorer ideas and when they realised they couldn’t make it work properly it made sense to remove it. That said, I thought the conceit worked well in Planet of Fire.

    P

    • mrfranklin Post author

      Tereleptils

      I'm almost 100% sure Five actually said "Tereleptils," because I don't think I would've picked up on it otherwise. Raaga and its tinclavic haven't made their way into my instant-access Who memory yet.  :

      I can totally see your point about Kamelion. I guess it just struck me as odd, since he was supposedly part of the crew, yet they rarely even make passing mention of him. I thought just one little scene would maintain the plausibility of his thread, even if he wasn't really part of the story. ~shrug~

      Keep the comments coming – I love hearing from you folks with a long personal history (Whostory, if you will) with the show. 🙂

  2. Mary

    I enjoyed The Awakening but
    I enjoyed The Awakening but when I saw it I had just read the Target novel beforehand. It helped flesh the story out. I also love ‘something sinister in the village’ stories. They’re a perfect tight little setting for something like this.

    Have you read the Target book?

    • mrfranklin Post author

      Target books

      Sadly, no.  🙁  I have been starting to read through Paul's reviews, though. I want to start looking for some either at my local library or used, and am gathering ideas about where to start.

      Glad to have you here, Mary!  🙂

Comments are closed.