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Tag: Five

Retro-View #14: Taken in Stride

Earthshock (Story #122, 1982)
Viewed 22 Oct 2013

Doctor/Companion: Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka
Stars: Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding
Preceding Story: Black Orchid (Four, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)
Succeeding Story: Time-Flight (Five, Nyssa, Tegan)

It’s been four months since G and I last sat down together to watch Doctor Who. A lot has happened both in our daily lives and in the life of the show. In our flurry of catching up, the latter got lost; I never did tell her about the amazing episode recovery announced earlier this month. I did, however, manage to explain a little bit about the Cybermen.

One of the many reasons I chose this particular serial to screen for G next is that our methodology—viewing introductory and final stories for every Doctor, with one or two “representative” stories in between—has meant that she’s missed out on the Doctor’s epic struggles with some of his most iconic foes. She only met the Daleks a few sessions ago in Genesis, and until now, she’d never come across the Cybermen. So it was predictable that the “big reveal” at the end of Part One—when it turns out the Cybermen are behind it all—didn’t get much of a reaction: “Okay, now we’re to the silver guys.”

You see, since the Cybermen are all over the DVD menu, she’d seen them ahead of time. I’d had to explain who they were, and that the Doctor had come across them often before (though it was quick). So her reaction was completely unlike any fan who watched it at the time (“Cybermen! They haven’t been seen for years!”) or even a post-Hiatus fan otherwise unfamiliar with pre-Hiatus stories watching this one without spoilers (“Hey, Cybermen! I guess the Doctor did say that one was an ‘old friend’…”). In fact, I had to remind her that these were, in fact, the Big Bad; she’d been hoping for some sort of pyramid scheme in which we’d keep finding another kind of mechanical creature behind the last, as the Cybermen had been behind the androids in Part One.

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Retro-View #13: The Celery’s Fresh, But G’s Wilting

Castrovalva (Story #116, 1981)
Viewed 24 Jun 2013

Doctor/Companion: Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan Jovanka
Stars: Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding
Preceding Story: Logopolis (Four, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)
Succeeding Story: Four to Doomsday (Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)

I had high hopes for this story going in. G seems ready to try a new Doctor, and despite the fact that my kids are home on summer break from school, they have plans for how to occupy themselves while the grown-ups are involved with their silly videos.

And it starts out well. The regeneration scene is recapped, and the action continues on right from that point. The guards catch up to our heroes and drag them off. Tegan huffs, “Take your hands off me. This is an official uniform!”, causing G to chuckle and declare “I like her the best.” Finally—someone who shares my fondness for the Mouth On Legs!

G asks some good basic questions, too. “Why did the Master do that?” she wonders when he materializes in middle of the fray, then seems to go running, allowing the Doctor to escape into his own TARDIS, and leaving Adric behind to be rescued. “So he’d still have a good adversary?” Now if she’d take her speculation to the next level, we might make a Fan of her yet…

I’ll admit that I still enjoy the whole regeneration regression part (as the Doctor does impressions of himself) far more than G does; I don’t even bother to pause and explain when he spouts “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” and she doesn’t laugh with me. Then again, maybe she didn’t even hear it. After several moments that I’d expected to get a reaction from her get none, I realize she’s left me.

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Dialing It Down

Review of The Doctors Revisited – Fifth Doctor

By now you know the drill. It’s time to look back at the Fifth Doctor and his stint piloting the TARDIS. What made him unique?


Source – bbc.co.uk – © 2013 BBC

Well, for one thing, at 29 years old, Peter Davison was the youngest actor ever to play the Doctor (a record he held until Matt Smith came along and beat him by two years). For another, he was already fairly well known, not least because he’d spent the previous three years or so as Tristan Farnan on All Creatures Great and Small (I’ll admit it took me quite a while to think of him as “the Doctor” instead of “Tristan” when I started watching pre-Hiatus Who).

Perhaps most importantly, though, he was the first one to go from watching the show every week to playing the lead. He knew what it meant to fans, because he was one of us.

All of these traits informed the way Davison played the Doctor, and helped make him an interesting contrast to the Fourth Doctor. Previously, iconically over-the-top Tom Baker had made the Doctor very alien and unpredictable. Davison’s Doctor had a more steady, “down-to-earth” and human quality. As Janet Fielding, who played Companion Tegan Jovanka, put it, Five was “less self-consciously eccentric.” (Fielding appeared in interview sections along with Davison himself; other Companion actors Sarah Sutton, Matthew Waterhouse, Mark Strickson, and Nicola Bryant; and post-Hiatus cast and production team members Steven Moffat, David Tennant, Marcus Wilson, Noel Clarke, and Hugh Bonneville.)

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Worth Visiting

Review of The Visitation: SE (#120)

DVD Release Date: 14 May 13
Original Air Date: 15-23 Feb 1982
Doctor/Companion: Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Stars: Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding
Preceding Story: Kinda (Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)
Succeeding Story: Black Orchid (Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)

I’ve never quite been able to put my finger on why I like this story so much, but it’s high enough on my list that I chose it to show to the Ladies two years ago. Maybe it’s because, crowded as it made the TARDIS, this particular crew really epitomizes Five’s tenure for me.

It’s kind of typical classic fare. The Doctor steers the TARDIS wrong, then his curiosity gets the better of him, then everyone’s in trouble. There’s some lovely character development at the beginning as Teagan and the Doctor get angry with each other and then apologize, and later when Adric complains of feeling useless.

And, of course, there are some wonderful lines. A long-time favorite of mine is the Doctor’s jibe at the Terileptil about his attitude on war, but the one that jumped out at me this time was this conversation between Nyssa and the Doctor:

“So, what are you going to do if we find them?” she asks.
“Oh, twist their arms a bit to let me take them back to their own planet.”
“I hope they have arms to twist.”
“I’ll find something.”

The revelations about the man’s darker nature in the Series Seven finale put this exchange in a new light. Maybe Five isn’t a totally warm, fuzzy, sweet kind of guy after all.

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The Beginning of the End

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Review of Resurrection of the Daleks: SE (#133)
DVD Release Date: 12 Jun 12
Original Air Date: 08-15 Feb 1984
Doctor/Companion: Five, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough
Stars: Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson
Preceding Story: Frontios (Five, Tegan, Turlough)
Succeeding Story: Planet of Fire (Five, Turlough, Peri)

The TARDIS crew unravelled pretty quickly at the end of Five’s tenure. First – here – Tegan bows out, then Turlough immediately thereafter. Having picked up Peri during Turlough’s swan song, Five then completes his last adventure with her. Bam, bam, bam! In quick succession, two Companions and a Doctor were all out; everything was completely changed up by the end of the series.

So in a sense, Resurrection marks the end of an era. Tegan’s been with Five since the beginning, and with this, she’s gone. Change is on the wind (“and not a moment too soon,” if you believe some folks). Of course, as some things change, others stay the same.

First, the Daleks are back. They (and their minions) are more effectively brutal than before – the body count in this story is insanely high; just about everyone dies (including some innocent bystanders), excepting about three baddies and our heroes – but they’re still Daleks, and as such are somewhat predictable. I have to say the new helmets they’ve forced their troopers to wear are good for a laugh, though.

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A Regeneration for the Ages

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Review of The Caves of Androzani: SE (Story #135, 1984)
DVD Release Date:  14 Feb 12
Original Air Date:  08 – 16 Mar 1984
Doctor/Companion:  Five, Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown
Stars:  Peter Davison, Nicola Bryant
Preceding Story:  Planet of Fire (Five, Turlough, Peri)
Succeeding Story:  The Twin Dilemma (Six, Peri)

There are plenty of Long Term Fans out there (and polls, no doubt) that will tell you that The Caves of Androzani is The Best Doctor Who Story of All Time. I’d heard that about Caves ever since I started immersing myself in Who, and was really eager to get to it that first time, some three-and-a-half years ago. I have to admit I was underwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong; I liked it well enough. I just didn’t think it was “all that.” Recently, I was discussing it with an Internet friend who is a Long Term Fan. I eventually decided that, in part, it was because I first saw it while I was still largely unfamiliar with the pre-Hiatus canon. Having now re-watched it both during my pre-Gallifrey One Marathon and for review of the Special Edition DVD release here, I have to conclude that most of it is more likely to be a difference in the Long Term Fan v. neowhovian perspectives.

There are unarguably some brilliant facets. The regeneration – more correctly, the series of events that lead up to the regeneration – is the most poignant, selfless, Doctor-y one ever. I am in complete agreement with those who cite it as The Best Regeneration of All Time. If for nothing else than being able to see the Doctor completely swept along with events out of his control and paying the ultimate price in order to pull it out for his friend at the last moment, you should definitely go watch this one. But I’d be lying if I told you I thought there were none finer.

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Excitable and Exasperated

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Review of the Fifth Doctor’s era

1982 – 1984
Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
Kinda
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
Time-Flight		 Arc of Infinity
Snakedance
Mawdryn Undead
Terminus
Enlightenment
The King’s Demons
The Five Doctors (Special)		 Warriors of the Deep
The Awakening
Frontios
Resurrection of the Daleks
Planet of Fire
The Caves of Androzani

 

There’s a lot about Five that feels eminently Doctor-y to me. It could be that Ten is “my” Doctor, and Five was Tennant’s, so a lot of mannerisms and such carried over. But the way Five gets so excited about possible solutions to the problems he faces – almost frenetic at times – is very much part of what I consider “the Doctor.” He’s quick-witted yet fallible, and has great love for his Companions even as he gets irritated with them on a regular basis.

Nowhere is that more obvious than in his relationship with Tegan, one of the longest-running Companions. They constantly snark at each other, yet in threatening circumstances each strives to protect the other. When his off-kilter regeneration threatens his well-being, Tegan takes charge, keeping control of the situation with an “excuse me – I’m responsible for the Doctor!” Conversely, he often tries to bolster her courage with a “brave heart, Tegan!”

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Nu-View #4: My Job Here’s Not Done

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Resurrection of the Daleks (Story #134, 1984)
Viewed 19 Jul 2011

Doctor/Companion:   Five, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough
Stars:  Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson
Preceding Story:  Frontios (Five, Tegan, Turlough)
Succeeding Story:  Planet of Fire (Five, Turlough, Peri)
Notable Aspects:

  • departure of Tegan

Having felt that I’d not yet given the Ladies a good feel for Five, I decided to trot out some Daleks (the vote was in favor of them over the Cybermen). I’m not sure I still managed to get across a good feel for his character, as evidenced by some of the general reactions (see below), but at the very least, a good time was had by all.

First impressions were that this one seemed more ’70s than ’80s (aside from costuming). It was also rather Star Trek, what with the crashing around and the doctor in battle, ready to “take the fight to them!” Someone also opined that Turlough looked like a Romulan with a red wig (also apropos because he claims to be on the side of the “good guys,” but we (the Ladies, anyway) never quite trust him…). However, it was really the Doctor and the Daleks that brought the most comments.

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Malus Aforethought

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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.

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Nu-View #3: Foray Into Five

The Visitation (Story #120, 1982)
Viewed 19 Apr 2011, 21 Jun 2011

Doctor/Companion:   Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan
Stars:  Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding
Preceding Story:  Kinda (Five, Adric, Tegan)
Succeeding Story:  Black Orchid (Five, Adric, Nyssa, Tegan)
Notable Aspects:

  • demise of the sonic screwdriver, which would not be seen again until The Movie in 1996

I found it difficult to decide at what point in his tenure to trot out Five for the Ladies’ viewing. Eventually, I decided I wanted one that involved the classic trio of Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, and settled on The Visitation because it gave a good sense of the three of their personalities. I’d have used Castrovalva, but I wanted to save that as the denouement of the whole regeneration arc for another time.

Due to various scheduling conflicts, the Ladies had to watch this one in shifts. Each time we had at least one n00b and one veteran (here I include myself). Among other things, it was entertaining to hear the first impressions of appearances. One initiate commented that she wasn’t sure about Five’s outfit (to which jE immediately responded, “wait’ll you see the next one!”). The other thought he reminded her of Chevy Chase. Everybody commented on the ’80s-ness of the episode, from make-up to hair to costuming (jO thought Nyssa “would have looked so amazingly cool in 198[2]”) to the TARDIS herself. There was also some consternation – coming from those accustomed to the modern “just swap ’em out” era – that the poor sonic screwdriver would disappear from the Doctor’s toolbox for nearly a decade and a half after its destruction at the hands of the Tereleptils.

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