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Tag: Sarah Jane Smith

Changing of the Guard

Review of Robot (#75)
DVD Release Date: 14 Aug 07 (Out of Print)
Original Air Date: 28 Dec 1974 – 18 Jan 1975
Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: Planet of the Spiders (Three, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story: The Ark in Space (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)

Having completed an overview of Cybermen stories in the last few months, I felt it was time to switch to another theme. The question, of course, was what theme to pursue? By percentage of (extant) stories, the Fourth Doctor is still my least-reviewed incarnation. Therefore I thought something focusing on his tenure would be appropriate.

I had two ideas of how to cover Four’s time in the TARDIS: deep or broad. I could delve into one particular season (The Key to Time, which was the first season-long story arc) or I could find a way to choose stories distributed across the entire seven-year run.

Eventually I settled on the latter, with the idea that the first story of each season would provide a simple selection criterion. Four of those seven season openers have never been reviewed either directly or with Nu-/Retro-Views. Two (Robot and The Ribos Operation) were the subject of a Retro-View several years ago (Nov 2012 and Apr 2013, respectively), so are due another look-in. The final story in question (Terror of the Zygons) has already been reviewed in full when the DVD came out in Oct 2013. Further, the story that immediately preceded it, Revenge of the Cybermen, was reviewed just three months ago as part of my Cyber-series. Therefore, I’ve decided to skip that period (end of Season 12/beginning of Season 13) in my retrospective.

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All That Is Gold Doesn’t Glitter

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Review of Revenge of the Cybermen (#79)
DVD Release Date: 02 Nov 10
Original Air Date: 19 Apr – 10 May 1975
Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: Genesis of the Daleks (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)
Succeeding Story: Terror of the Zygons (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)

Continuing my exploration of Cybermen stories featuring Doctors who have been under-represented in my reviews over the years, this month I consider the Fourth Doctor’s only encounter with these iconic enemies in Revenge of the Cybermen.

Aside from being the first time in nearly six and a half years that the Cybermen had appeared on screen (and the last time for another seven), Revenge had the dubious honor of falling between what became two of the most highly regarded stories of the pre-Hiatus (and some would say any) era: Genesis of the Daleks and Terror of the Zygons. How, then, does a mild-mannered serial make its mark on the world? With a fabulous TARDIS team and a plot that has just enough twists to keep it interesting, of course.

The story opens—as every story in T. Baker’s first season—following directly on from the end of the prior one. The Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry are all gripping the Time Ring, hoping to land back on Space Station Nerva where they began. Although they arrive intact, the TARDIS has not yet made the temporal adjustment to meet them. Obviously, they decide to look around while they wait.

To their dismay, they find dead bodies scattered everywhere. It turns out that Nerva Beacon, as it is currently known, has been under quarantine the last few months, as all but three crew members and one civilian (an exographer, there to study the asteroid the beacon is orbiting) have succumbed to a mysterious plague. However, what’s really behind all the deaths is even more sinister.

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Let Zygons Be Zygons

Review of Terror of the Zygons (#80)
DVD Release Date: 07 Oct 13
Original Air Date: 30 Aug – 20 Sep 1975
Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: Revenge of the Cybermen (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)
Succeeding Story: Planet of Evil (Four, Sarah Jane)

(Why yes, I have been waiting years to use that obvious, overdone title. Why do you ask?)

With all the recent hullabaloo surrounding the recovery of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, October’s otherwise noteworthy DVD release kind of got lost in the shuffle. Terror of the Zygons is widely regarded as one of the best stories of the pre-Hiatus era, yet for whatever reason (rumor has it, it’s because someone was being pissy to someone else who’d mentioned it was his favorite), it got shunted to the end of the release schedule.

Since I started my fandom well into the age of the DVD, I’ve never purchased a VHS copy of any Who story. Therefore, Zygons has the distinction of being the absolute last Fourth Doctor story (as well as the last complete story of the entire show) I ever saw—on this release. Hell, I even saw Shada before Zygons; that should give you an idea how overdue having this DVD out feels to me.

Needless to say, I’d heard a lot of hype. That always makes me nervous: will it live up to all these high expectations? As a jaded forty-something, will the magic still be there? Luckily, this time I had some real experts to help me test those waters.

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Off to a Helluva Start

Review of The Ark in Space: SE (#76)
DVD Release Date: 12 Mar 13
Original Air Date: 25 Jan – 15 Feb 1975
Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: Robot (Four, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story: The Sontaran Experiment (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)

For someone who didn’t grow up with Doctor Who, especially when watching out of sequence or without paying specific attention to such details, it can be hard to remember that Ark in Space was so incredibly early in Tom Baker’s tenure (only his second story to be broadcast). He has already so thoroughly settled into the role, and the whole TARDIS crew – Harry only just having joined in the final moments of the preceding serial – has such a wonderful rapport, it feels like they’ve been together forever.

The only thing that doesn’t feel quite right is the holdovers from Pertwee’s characterization when Sarah Jane tries to tell the Doctor something, and gets thoroughly shushed: “Doctor, look!” “Not now, Sarah.” or “Doctor, will you listen?” “Sarah, we’re trying to make a plan.” Clearly even a writer as skilled as Robert Holmes didn’t yet know how to write for this new Doctor.

In retrospect, this story is an odd combination of the wonderfully timeless and the terribly dated. The general plot, the horror of a man’s body and mind being taken over while he is powerless to stop it, the brilliant set and lighting design, and the unbeatable characterizations and acting all fall in the former category. Some of the effects (most notably the bubble wrap) and the choice of “microfilm” for the storage of the sum of knowledge from human history are among the latter. To give it its due, though, the green painted bubble wrap would have worked well at the time, as hardly anyone in the general public knew what it was yet. It simply makes for an unfortunate effect decades on. (One has to wonder how bad Tennant’s episodes will look to viewers in the 2040’s.)

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Retro-View #8: The Blossoming of a Fan

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Genesis of the Daleks (Story #78, 1975)
Viewed 07 Dec 2012, 26 Feb 2013

Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: The Sontaran Experiment (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)
Succeeding Story: Revenge of the Cybermen (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)

Life kind of got in the way of our little experiment. In December, G’s family suffered the loss of two loved ones while my family was juggling schedules around not only the holidays but my dad’s medical treatments. January involved both of us regaining equilibrium, and by the time G was ready to get together again, I was on my way to Gally.

Once we finally managed to mesh our schedules again, two and a half months had passed between our viewing of the first half (Episodes One through Three) and the second half of the story. Thanks to the wonders of the TARDIS Data Core (formerly TARDIS Index File), I was able to recap those vaguely remembered episodes in detail for G so we were both up to speed on where we’d left our intrepid heroes before jumping back into the tale.

And what a place into which to jump! We’re getting into the big time here. To hear many fans tell it, this early part of T. Baker’s tenure is the start of the Golden Age of Who, and Genesis in particular is often cited as a stone cold classic. While G and I both enjoyed it (“It’s a good story. A very good story,” she proclaimed at the end), I don’t think it’s quite to my Top Ten (pre-Hiatus) list. Regardless, there’s plenty to enjoy.

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Retro-View #7: Here We Go Again

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Robot (Story #75, 1974-75)
Viewed 05 Nov 2012

Doctor/Companion: Four, Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier, Harry Sullivan
Stars: Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney, Ian Marter
Preceding Story: Planet of the Spiders (Three, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story: The Arc in Space (Four, Sarah Jane, Harry)

We’ve finally made it up to the era G saw bits of in college. “Yep. I remember him” is her first comment as Robot begins. It’s wonderful to see this post-regeneration transition period again through the eyes of someone who’s never seen it before. Granted, it’s only been about five years since I first saw it myself, but evidence suggests I’ve turned into a bit of a ming-mong since then.

So I take great joy in her delight over things like the Doctor’s erratic behavior, his mention of “the definite article,” his first sight of himself in a mirror, and the way he chooses his outfit. It is, perhaps, the main reason to recommend this particular serial. Not, of course, that G doesn’t enjoy it thoroughly while still pointing out the obvious and/or silly bits.

To wit, she realizes immediately when our intrepid Companion (Sarah Jane always did have a bit more gumption than sense of self-preservation) ends up at Think Tank that, “whatever it is is going to fall in love with Sarah.” She wasn’t taken in by the off-screen tinkering with K1’s inhibitor, either: “A little WD-40, and we’re on track to kill!” As Part Two progresses, she is particularly enamored of the way Sarah Jane is so proactive (she loves the Brig’s call to action, “or shall we leave it all to Miss Smith?”), and she believes she’s got it sussed when Kettlewell (whose hair is truly impressive) goes to answer a knock at the door: “Uh oh. It’ll be the silver dude. It’ll be like killing dad.”

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Retro-View #6: That’s a Wrap

Planet of the Spiders (Story #74, 1974)
Viewed 26 Oct, 01 Nov 2012

Doctor/Companion: Three, Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier
Stars: Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney
Preceding Story: The Monster of Peladon (Three, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story: Robot (Four, Sarah Jane, the Brigadier)

Our first session started out a bit rough. G couldn’t commit to sit down straight through because she needed to pop home briefly to give her dog B some meds at a particular time, and I couldn’t go too late because I needed to vacate the premises at a later particular time. However, we started early enough that we figured a pause after Part 1 for dog-doping would still give us time to finish in one sitting.

How wrong we were.

Poor G got home and discovered B had eaten all the meds in the half hour since she’d left. Luckily, they were of the dietary supplement kind rather than the deadly overdose kind, but we spent the next hour watching Who with a kind of nervous concern at the backs of our minds as we waited for the vet to return her call. It was a weird day.

Things started out well for the Doctor, though. G recognized the om mani padme hum chant, and figured using it as the basis for “black magic” would not go over well with Buddhists. Can’t say that I disagree, but I suppose at the time it seemed as exotic as bubble wrap, so in that sense I can’t get too uptight about it.

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Apathy to the Viewer

Review of Death to the Daleks (#72)
DVD Release Date: 10 Jul 12
Original Air Date: 23 Feb – 16 Mar 1974
Doctor/Companion: Three, Sarah Jane Smith
Stars: Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen
Preceding Story: Invasion of the Dinosaurs (Three, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story: The Monster of Peladon (Three, Sarah Jane)

Although based on some of the comments from the extras, Death to the Daleks has a rather special place in some fans’ hearts, I’m afraid it hasn’t acquired such a position for me. And reviews I’ve read elsewhere suggest I’m not alone.

It’s not that it’s a bad story – it certainly doesn’t rate a Stinker status – but it’s just kind of pedestrian. I simply couldn’t get excited about watching it. (Granted, the fact that Real Life has been rather stressing me out lately may have had something to do with it, but still – a good Who story can snap me out of most any funk.) Maybe there were too many bits I’d seen elsewhere before (like an electrified floor, which put me in mind of the yet-to-come Five Doctors; and how many times has poor Sarah Jane been sent up as a potential sacrifice?!), or maybe I couldn’t stand the “look out: Daleks” theme music.

On the other hand, I have to think the opening episode would’ve freaked out the kids at the time. It’s always ominous when the TARDIS goes dark, and the fact that every attempt at backup power failed would probably have seemed quite alarming. Better yet, we get to hear Sarah Jane refer to the Daleks as “those robot things”! I’ve been following her in random sequence for so long, having started from the other end of her timeline, that I was a bit stunned to realize that this is her first Dalek encounter: “wait, since when does Sarah Jane not know about Daleks?!”

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Pub Kraal

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Review of The Android Invasion (#83)
DVD Release Date:  10 Jan 12
Original Air Date:  22 Nov – 13 Dec 1975
Doctor/Companion:  Four, Sarah Jane Smith
Stars:  Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen
Preceding Story:  Pyramids of Mars (Four, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story:  The Brain of Morbius (Four, Sarah Jane)

We don’t often get to see a non-Dalek Who story by Terry Nation, but this is one of those times. It’s clear he’s got a good sense of plotting, and loves a good action scene. He also does a lovely job with a rather unexpected twist (as well as a couple of obvious ones). So right off, there’s some pedigree to recommend The Android Invasion.

Then there are the androids themselves. Maybe because it’s one of those idyllic English villages at the center of things, but the creepy behavior of the “villagers” in the local pub can really get under your skin. I suppose there’s a bit of the Uncanny Valley at work. There is, of course, one very well-known doppelgänger to watch out for (if you aren’t familiar with the face-falls-off-the-android scene to which I refer, I won’t spoil it further for you), and the performances of the individuals who have to be androids are actually quite well done.

In contrast, the poor actors forced to play the Kraals (the aliens of the piece) have to put up with heavy rubber masks that had to have been nigh-impossible to move (let alone act) in. Their obvious artificiality scupper any credence the Kraals had as a force to be reckoned with, and stretch the believability of pieces of the larger plot thereby.

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Ignore the Dinosaurs Behind the Curtain

Review of Invasion of the Dinosaurs (#71)
DVD Release Date:  10 Jan 12
Original Air Date:  12 Jan – 16 Feb 1974
Doctor/Companion:  Three, Sarah Jane Smith, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
Stars:  Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney
Preceding Story:  The Time Warrior (Three, Sarah Jane)
Succeeding Story:  Death to the Daleks (Three, Sarah Jane)

What can one really say about low-budget mid-70’s television dinosaurs? Certainly nothing flattering. I mean, I give them credit for trying – the script did rather present them with an impossible task, after all. Dinosaurs in Central London? Not something you can just “work around” and keep the story at all intact. That doesn’t disguise the fact that they’re rubber rubbish.

So if we are to take this story anything close to seriously, we need to get one thing straight right off the bat: the effects are heinously poor, but you have to pretend they’re good. Break out some mental steel cable to keep your disbelief willingly suspended if necessary, but make it work. Because behind those shoddy Cretaceous monstrosities is a pretty good science fiction plot.

The Doctor and Sarah Jane are just returning from her first, unintentional adventure with him. When they land, they find London deserted. Eventually, they learn a veritable plague of dinosaurs has descended on the city and prompted a mass evacuation. From there, intrigues abound and chronobabble flows freely while, as they say, the plot thickens.

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