Review of Dragonfire (#151)
DVD Release Date:  08 May 12
Original Air Date:  23 Nov – 07 Dec 1987
Doctor/Companion:  Seven, Melanie Bush, Dorothy “Ace” McShane
Stars:  Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred
Preceding Story:  Delta and the Bannermen (Seven, Mel)
Succeeding Story:  Remembrance of the Daleks (Seven, Ace)

Since this month’s R1 releases included two Seven stories and a Four story, I was going to start with Nightmare of Eden and keep it chronological. After Simon Guerrier (a fellow panelist with me at Gally, and Whovian content creator in his own right) responded to one of my tweets essentially telling me I was slacking, I decided I had to start with Dragonfire.

To be honest, I was sort of looking for an excuse. I adore Ace, and have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see her introduction. Coming at it from the future, so to speak, was actually a tad unsettling. While the original audience was still reveling in a recognition-of-returning-character moment (Glitz!), I’d cut that moment short to squee that I’d just noticed Ace(!) quietly serving him a drink in the background. Almost from that point on, I have a hard time paying any attention to Mel. Maybe it’s that Ace is my all-time favorite Companion (yes, lately Rory’s been giving her a run for her money, but stepping back from the swirl of new episodes for a while, the cream rises, and Ace comes back out on top), maybe it’s that I know it’s Ace’s turn next, or maybe it’s just that the script seems to have more for Ace to do than for Mel. Whatever the case, it already feels like a Seven-and-Ace story to me instead of a Seven-and-Mel one.

And the script doesn’t waste any time developing her character, either. I mean, I love that our first proper look at Ace involves her chafing against authority. We get the whole sense of where she’s come from (though, seriously – how does a kid from Perivale know it was a “time storm” that swept her off to Iceworld?) and what her life on Earth was like, too. On the other hand, I was a tad taken aback that there’s never any explanation for why she chose to call the Doctor “Professor.” Oh well. I suppose that’s part of its charm.

Enough about Ace, though. What about the rest of the gang, and the story that brings them together?

Well, I’ve always been fond of Seven, so I enjoyed the bit in the restaurant where he looks absolutely delighted at the prospect of danger as Glitz points out places on the map: the Lake of Oblivion, Depth of Eternal Darkness… His random exchange with the guard he distracts in Part Two is also quite funny. Glitz does his chauvinistic mercenary thing, and Mel provides the requisite screams, so both fulfill their roles well, being only as annoying as they’re meant to be in context.

The story… well, it’s a mixed bag. I will say that I enjoyed it well enough on first viewing, but upon very little reflection, the copious plot holes were also obvious. The set up is pretty good, and some of the ideas are really interesting (Ace’s temptation to sign on with Kane, Iceworld itself, a guardian that is the treasure), but yes, the lighting, the effects, and aforementioned plot holes let them down. And why, oh why did they do that awful literal cliffhanger at the end of Part One?

Not all the silliness is bad, though. That first time Ace employs her homemade Nitro-9 and, realizing suddenly what it means, a guard shouts, “everybody, get down!” all I could think of was this:

I guess Iceworld has a crystalline lining after all.

DVD Extras (highlights)

Fire and Ice

Covering the standard gamut, Dragonfire‘s making of documentary covers the Companion change, the writer’s challenges, and the director’s regrets in some detail. Sometimes a good script (or at least one with good potential) just doesn’t quite come across right on screen.

Deleted/Extended Scenes

As usual, I find these clips to be a testament to an editor’s skills, but there was one brief moment that stood out for me – the only piece I wish hadn’t been cut. It’s one of Seven’s malapropisms (“time is only skin deep”) that, as I’ve previously noted, began sadly disappearing from his dialogue. The rest will be filed under “10 minutes of my life I’m never getting back.”

The Doctor’s Strange Love

Just as they did on the Special Edition release of The Movie (though I didn’t include it in my review), Simon Guerrier (see above), Joe Lidster and Josie Long talk about why – despite its warts – there’s something to love about Dragonfire.

Big Bang Theory

Current series Special Effects Supervisor Danny Hargreaves shares an analysis of explosions from pre-Hiatus Who, and compares to how such effects are done today. Clips from six of the first seven Doctors’ eras are included.

While it’s Ace’s first story, it’s also Mel’s last. Her departure scene is odd, at best, but in the end shows Seven’s real affection for her. It’s no secret that Mel’s not among my favorite Companions, having largely become a tiny, ginger scream machine during her travels in the TARDIS, but she deserved a less awkward send-off. So farewell, Mel. Happy travels.

Now let’s get going – this next Companion is going to be “Ace!”