Review of The Seeds of Death (#48) DVD Release Date: 12 Jun 12 Original Air Date: 25 Jan – 01 Mar 1969 Doctors/Companions: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Krotons (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Space Pirates (Two, Jamie, Zoë)
When I first decided to finish off the blog with the Everything Else category of reviews, I had The Seeds of Deathscheduled for October 2022. However, since we had the delight of Whittaker’s final episode last month, my October review slot ended up being filled by that instead. As I had no desire to shift my entire posting schedule, and didn’t want either to skip Seeds of Death or to move it to the very end, this month you get a bonus review instead of a confession.
It turns out that the timing couldn’t have been better. This past week has been a bit rough for me on a personal level, and so the gentler pacing of a black-and-white era story ended up being exactly what I needed. Even with a high body count, this adventure was well paced enough to feel relatively calm to me.
The Doctor, Jaime, and Zoë arrive on Earth at a time where space exploration has been effectively halted, and transport of both people and goods is accomplished almost exclusively by T-MAT, a high-tech matter transmission system. But there are weaknesses in the system that an enemy can take advantage of, which is how the Ice Warriors end up making a play to take Earth for themselves.
Review of The Dominators (#44) DVD Release Date: 11 Jan 11 Original Air Date: 10 Aug – 07 Sep 1968 Doctors/Companions: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Fraser Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Wheel in Space (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Mind Robber (Two, Jamie, Zoë)
This month I am taking one for the team. I knew this was coming when I decided on this year’s “Highs and Lows” theme, but everything feels a bit different when I’m actually faced with viewing one of the Lows. At least I knew what I was getting into before I started.
Which is not to say that I remembered much of the plot of The Dominators before I began my rewatch. Mostly I remembered that the stumpy little robots called the Quarks were introduced here—reputedly with the ambition of becoming the next Daleks, a new robot to scare the kiddies and delight toy companies with sales. (Their obscurity fifty-odd years later is a testament to how well that went.)
Now that I have seen it again, I… primarily remember the Quarks.
Frankly, I think the root of the problem with this adventure is the same as the problem with the Quarks. The Quarks don’t work because unlike the Daleks, who serve as a fascist allegory, or the Cybermen, who sprang from body horror, they really serve no narrative purpose. They are mindless drones who do the bidding of the eponymous baddies, and unlike Daleks or Cybermen, could easily have been replaced with a simple weapon like some sort of laser borer.
Review of The Mind Robber (#45) DVD Release Date: 06 Sep 05 Original Air Date: 14 Sep – 12 Oct 1968 Doctors/Companions: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoe Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Fraser Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Dominators (Two, Jamie, Zoe) Succeeding Story: The Invasion (Two, Jamie, Zoe)
When I drew up my schedule for this year’s series of review posts and settled on Hidden Gems as a theme, I was delighted when it rolled back around to the Second Doctor’s turn. Although The Mind Robber may be considered mid-list, I have often used it as one of the better adventures for introducing new viewers to Troughton. There are enough bizarre twists and story conceits to keep it fresh. It also doesn’t hurt that even though there are five episodes, they only total about 99 minutes.
As the Doctor, Jaime, and Zoe watch lava begin to surround the TARDIS (the cliffhanger from the end of The Dominators), the fluid link malfunctions, forcing the Doctor to make a risky flight decision. The crew ends up somewhere outside of time and space, a featureless void that really saves on set costs leaves them wandering lost when someone lures them outside the TARDIS.
Soon our heroes encounter all sorts of odd creatures and people, in surroundings that seem to operate primarily on puzzles and words. Poor Jaime gets turned into a cardboard cutout of himself, his face missing, and the Doctor has to put his face back from puzzle pieces. Of course, he flubs the job, giving Jaime a new face (and conveniently giving an on-screen excuse for replacing Fraser Hines with Hamish Wilson for the episode, while Fraser recovered from chicken pox).
The Doctor soon deduces that they are in some sort of Land of Fiction, which is why one of their new friends (who turns out to be Lemuel Gulliver of Gulliver’s Travels) speaks so oddly: he can only use the words his author has given him. Worse, their foe is trying either to get the Doctor to replace him as the creative force behind the scenes or to trap the TARDIS crew in the words, turning them into characters themselves.
The sheer metatextual irony of fictional characters within a TV show bemoaning the fact that they’re about to be turned into fictional characters in a(n in-universe) written story is simply mind-boggling. It wouldn’t take many more fractal layers of story-within-a-story’ing to really give one a headache.
But it’s also delightful because if you’re a Doctor Who fan (or at least a fan of Troughton’s era), it actually takes a while for it all to sink in. The viewers have immersed ourselves so thoroughly in the show that at first we simply share the Doctor’s horror that he, Jaime, and Zoe might soon lose their free will—their very existence—and become nothing more than ideas in someone else’s story. Only when we pause for a moment does it dawn on us how meta that actually is.
And that, of course, is the beauty of a good story. Blurring the line between the imagination and reality is what keeps us coming back for more. Even when it gets weird.
Review of The Invasion (#46) DVD Release Date: 06 Mar 07 (Out of Print) Original Air Date: 02 Nov – 21 Dec 1968 Doctor/Companion: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Fraser Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Mind Robber (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Krotons (Two, Jamie, Zoë)
My decision to review The Underwater Menace last time was not in the original plan for the year, but it turns out to have made for a nice segue into this month’s installment in my continuing series. Having just refamiliarized ourselves with the Second Doctor, we can now watch him in action against the Cybermen.
Many fans may be more familiar with Troughton’s clash with this enemy on their native Telos in The Tomb of the Cybermen, but that doesn’t mean this final encounter (of his four) is unworthy of fans’ time. Although it runs twice as long as Tomb, at eight episodes rather than four, there are qualities of the story that, for me at least, make the investment worthwhile.
To be clear, two episodes of The Invasion are still missing from the archives. However, in this release those missing episodes (numbers One and Four) have been animated by Cosgrove Hall, the same studio responsible for Scream of the Shalka. As someone who struggles with audio-only versions (as with the missing episodes of Menace, discussed last time), I really loved these animations. While I don’t know whether director Douglas Camfield left any camera notes nor whether any such notes were consulted in the animated reconstructions, these episodes don’t feel (to my untrained eye) out of place.
The War Games (Story #50, 1969) Viewed 25 Sep, 04 Oct 2012
Doctor/Companion: Two, Jamie, Zoë Stars: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Space Pirates (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: Spearhead from Space (Three, Liz Shaw) Notable Aspects:
Two’s final story
First mention of the Time Lords (by name)
First appearance of the Doctor’s home planet
It is an utter joy to watch Who with G. She’s an ideal audience for indoctrination from the beginning, as she comes into it willingly and with love and appreciation for television of the ’60s anyway. You can always count on her to giggle with absolute glee at the poor stage fighting, Two’s gurning, or the long-since-outdated science fiction props.
On the other hand, she’ll also ask the kinds of questions I imagine the audience at the time would have asked, and is often completely quiet because she’s just soaking it all in, getting involved in the plot. Either that, or she’s exclaiming about something being revealed on screen, “uh-oh”ing at all the right moments or gushing about the “wonderful” sets. I can just imagine if those responsible for creating this story were on hand to observe her they’d be grinning ear to ear the whole time.
For my part, I had a hard time not interjecting things left and right (“Look! The sonic screwdriver is being used as an actual screwdriver!” “He just said his name was Doctor John Smith!” “He just mentioned the Time Lords for the first time ever!” “It’s Philip Madoc! Isn’t he brilliant in this role?”). It was worth it, though, to get her unadulterated reactions (e.g., “I like the War Lord. He’s kind of cute.”).
Review of The Krotons (#47) DVD Release Date: 10 Jul 12 Original Air Date: 28 Dec 1968 – 18 Jan 1969 Doctor/Companion: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Invasion (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Seeds of Death (Two, Jamie, Zoë)
It’s amazing how different a Doctor Who story looks when comparing the picture in your head whilst reading a synopsis to the picture on the screen as broadcast. The Krotons certainly looks nothing like I envisioned it, but I don’t think that’s altogether bad.
When I first read that synopsis, I was also unfamiliar with several parts of the Whovian mythos that make them items of interest here. First, I really didn’t know beans about Robert Holmes. The Krotons is Holmes’ first stint as a writer for Who, but certainly not his last. He penned more than a dozen stories before he was done, was script editor for a goodly chunk of the show’s “heyday” (depending on which fan you ask about the definition of heyday), and introduced a vast number of important characters and concepts to the Whoniverse. In retrospect, then, it’s interesting to see how he makes his start.
Similarly, Krotons is the first story in which eventually-iconic Who villain Philip Madoc made an appearance. Madoc (who passed away this past March) is perhaps best known for his role as Solon in The Brain of Morbius, but his Eelek here is just as oily and commanding. He is perhaps the strongest of a fair-to-middlin’ batch of supporting cast here (though the Vana character is utterly useless, and in my opinion not well portrayed).
Review of The Seeds of Death: SE (#48) DVD Release Date: 12 Jun 12 Original Air Date: 25 Jan – 01 Mar 1969 Doctor/Companion: Two, Jamie McCrimmon, Zoë Heriot Stars: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Krotons (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Space Pirates (Two, Jamie, Zoë)
Although it is the franchise’s second encounter with them, Seeds of Death is our first real chance to see the Ice Warriors in action, since two episodes of The Ice Warriors are no longer extant. It’s a great intro, too, because the POV shots give it an interesting sense of mystery at the beginning – “who has invaded Moonbase?”, the (original) audience is left to wonder. And we don’t find out until the end of Episode 1, which works quite well.
They’re suitably creepy and threatening, too. What are they up to? Their plan appears so complex, and has so many pieces, that it takes even the Doctor five or six episodes to suss it out completely. And I just love their weaponry. It’s unique and interesting, especially for 1969. I can’t help but wonder how that would (or “will,” if rumor can be trusted) be adapted today. OK, so some of the effects are dodgy (in what story weren’t they, really?) – those rubber suits are just unwieldy, and the “fungal spores” are absolutely laughable (though at least imaginative) – but the overall timbre is nice.
I also really like the timely commentary on the space age. Humanity has become too dependent on one particular technology (T-Mat), and needs to go back to a more “primitive” technology (rocketry) to get itself out of a pickle. It’s totally a cautionary tale.
The Romans (Story #12, 1965) and The War Games (Story #50, 1969) Viewed 28 May 2012
Doctor/Companion: One, Ian, Barbara, Vicki / Two, Jamie, Zoë Stars: William Hartnell, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, Maureen O’Brien /
Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury Preceding Story: The Rescue (One, Ian, Barbara, Vicki) / The Space Pirates (Two, Jamie, Zoë) Succeeding Story: The Web Planet (One, Ian, Barbara, Vicki) / Spearhead from Space (Three, Liz Shaw) Notable Aspects:
Two’s final story
So far, G and I seem to be averaging about 3 episodes a session. That could make things “interesting” in the long term. For now, though, it just means we finished The Romans and barely scratched the surface of The War Games (the story that got the most votes in the what-should-we-watch poll). We also tossed in the surviving footage of the first regeneration (and the resolution of the Episode 1 cliffhanger – G’s not one for too much suspense) for good measure.
After a brief recap from last time, we jumped right back into the middle of The Romans. Right off the bat, we get Nero’s first sight of Barbara. G’s immediate reaction: “You old letch!” She proceeds to giggle at Nero’s antics, chuckle at our heroes’ repeated near misses, and chortle at the (very bad) stage fighting between a pair of gladiators. She’s thoroughly enjoying herself, and I’m enjoying that. Then she proceeds to put her finger on one reason I like this story so much: “every cliché possible is in this thing!”
