The Brigadier gets increasingly out of character in that regard with each passing story after that one. In the 4th Doctor stories, the new lows set are rather spectacular - to the point he was "unavailable" to do "The Android Invasion" so they renamed him to Colonel Faraday. They wanted to call him Colonel Sanders, but since this wasn't season 17 they were too chicken to do so. "War Games" was written one episode every 2 days, that's how late in the season they had to get it done. It's amazing the story has as few plot holes and other problems. It's also why we don't get the big reveal that aliens are involved later in the story and letting the audience think this is just another historical for an extra episode or two. The best companion since Jamie is Leela, and not because they share certain personality traits - except he is from the past and she is from a future (a failed colony, which devolved.) "Spearhead" does set a new tone, and not just a more adult style what with blood being visible on windscreens and other items. Note that the Autons would never be even remotely as scary after this story. Being stuck on Earth, as exile, this starts out very well too - but by a couple seasons later becomes a chore. At least the Doctor hates being there and points out various realities to his situation... The premiere is first rate. The remaining three episodes are slow, but still enjoyable. It feels like genuine sci-fi.
The last stories I'd sat through were "The Krotons" (B+), "The Seeds of Death" (A), and "Meglos" (B-). Troughton's era rarely went majorly wrong and there are some splendid ideas at work. As much as "Meglos" used to win "worst of season" and other such awards, it's not as bad as I remembered it being. Tom Baker certainly steals the show... Season 18 started out slow but was quick to find itself. I should watch "Leisure Hive" next...
I'm 3 episodes into (that seems to be my magic number when posting on this thread) The Ambassadors of Death.
"Logopolis" - The somber attitude, impending annihilation, great direction, and music, all help create a feel and tone that's above and beyond the script -which feels like a rough draft needing a little more work... Some bits I found irksome before now really chop my craw. But the overall atmosphere still keeps it going despite some rushed moments. I suspect Bidmead had ran out of time in drafts and revisions as he was also script editor. "Two roles in one" and I sorta see where he was heading, but what got filmed isn't quite perfected yet. What's there is largely solid, just running out of time clobbered it. But it's rough around the edges and part four truly is rushed: The Master is now holding the whole of the universe at ransom over accelerated heat death, something nobody in the galaxy is going to believe... ...but he can do this only as long as the system transmitting the recursive Logopolitan program remains in effect... ...So no power outage, no transistors or capacitors or microchips or even vacuum tubes failing... ...Not to mention, the dialogue states that the Logopolitans hadn't found a way to make their program run independently of its own accord (despite the marvels of Block Transfer Computation, which could build them hundreds of backup units that can run on unicorn farts for a thousand jillion years with no issue.)... ...They were working on it but the research was also said to be "far from complete". Progress was made but clearly not finished during part 4's run, hence focusing on using the Earth technology from... ...oh dear, it's 1980 where they copied the observatory in the little known city called Funkytown, since they lacked the time to recompile that IBM System 360/Model 50-whatever's M65MP CPU machine language source code into instructions compatible with the Motorola 68040 or Whobloodycareswhatmakeitis, because landing in 1993 to use an Atari Falcon 030 would be just silly despite having power without the price, and only because... ...the Logopolitans didn't think of making a time machine so they could see the scores of Core2Duo i9 Xeon hex-core home computer thingies that ran much faster than their kit, especially in a farm... that still took up less space! than the 360 mainframe... ...So they did the first thing to resolve the immediate emergency, since the universe frying itself is urgent enough, I guess... then had that worked they'd then what for x days/months/years/decades to cobble up the solution to run independently of some tinpot blue planet's outdated landfill fodder. By then it probably would be 1993, 2013, or 2993^3 anyway. So the Doctor disconnects the cable so the Master can't hold the universe hostage, moohahaha... so he falls, regenerates, and the universe is still crumbling with the Master running off giggling away... okay... and you thought my posts were all over the map? Still, the music, the acting... the atmosphere... the actors and director were on top of this. Classic WHO never tried to be more epic. It got close, but not quite. "Castrovalva", which I watched months ago, feels tightly honed, is poetic, and loopholes are few. (Okay, it rightly ignores Logopolis and assumes the universe is A-OK... but the Master loves making elaborate traps that he'd likely never need to use but he probably keeps them aside for other mortal enemies... or he throws them out. Either way, to a Time Lord, doing elaborate traps to him is tiddly winks to us. So there's no problem.)
I sat through both pilots of "An Unearthly Child". The un-aired original is clearly rough around the edges, but clearly offered enough potential to justify a reshoot. That may have been why the telerecording was made, so they could review it before a reshoot while letting the master tape be reused for another show during the interim. Within the span of one week, what was revised then recorded as the aired version is a true marvel at tightening up some scenes, improving audio effects, and honing dialogue into something that, 58 years later, remains captivating despite evolution in technology and devolution in sartorial taste. All those schoolkids adhering to some dress code instead of heavy metal concert t-shirts complete with rude slogans? Hartnell also improvised the "hmmm" bit between as his original presence lacks this subtle trait. Seems a bit more sinister as well.
I just finished Pertwee's second season. While I generally enjoyed the season, it was a bit monotonous having the Master in every series. This is like the NuWho's obsession with the Daleks and the Cyberrmen. Other than the excessive use of the Master one of the things I loved about the 3rd and 4th Doctors was hoe they used the Daleks and the Cyberrmen sparingly. Anyway, on to the next season .
Celebrating the Master's 50th this year with a run through of their stories in order, last night's being The Time Monster. Weird to realise that already we only have one Delgado story left to go, on Saturday.
I have all my retoration DVDs ripped so i can watch them from a HDD or on tablet and keep the actual DVDs safe and snug, but i also just found out i can load a few stories onto the Oculus Go vr media device and watch them in a virtual cinema, and The Green Death with 50 foot maggots is a sight to behold. lol
The Ark- decent Hartnell story. They didn’t do the final day of Earth as well as in NuWho. Steven is annoying. The Monoids weren’t too bad for the budget. Tried to watch The Gunslingers after but it’s REALLY awful.
"So fill up your glasses, And join in the song. The law's right behind you, And it won't take long. So come, you coyotes And howl at the moon, Till there's blood upon the sawdust, In The Last Chance Saloon. On your way then you cowboys, The time will be soon, When there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. It's your last chance of cussing At a gunfighter's doom, It's your last chance of nothin' At the Last Chance Saloon! Till there's blood on the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. With rings on their fingers And bells on their toes The girls come to Tombstone In their high silk hose. They'll dance on the tables Or sing you a tune, For whatever's in your wallet At the Last Chance Saloon. On your way then, you lawmen, The time will be soon, When there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. It's your last chance of boozing, Where there's no-one to mind. It's your last chance of losing And the first place you'll find. When there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. When there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon! (sung by Steven) With rings on their fingers And bells on their toes The girls come to Tombstone In their high silk hose They'll dance on the tables Or give you a tune For whatever's in your wallet At the Last Chance Saloon It's your last chance of giving It's your last chance of rye It's your last chance of living and Your last chance to die It's your last chance of boozing When there's no one to mind It's your last chance of losing And the first place you find Four days ride from the station And you're leaving at noon And your one consolation Is the Last Chance Saloon (continued to be sung by Steven) ...your last chance of rye It's your last chance of living And your last chance to die It's your last chance of boozing When there's no one to mind It's your last chance of losing And the first place you find Four days ride from the station You're leaving at noon And your one consolation Is the Last Chance Saloon (continued to be sung by Steven) With rings on...(Steven stops singing only to be forced to resume at gunpoint) ...Is the Last Chance Saloon It's your last chance of giving It's your last chance of rye It's your last chance of living And your...(Kate interrupts) (sung by Kate) So fill up your glasses And join in the song The law's right behind you And it won't take long So come you coyotes And howl at the moon 'Till there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon You've a good chance of swingin' It's your last chance to hide It's your last chance of singin' 'Till your long last ride It's your last chance of cussin' At your hard-earned doom It's your last chance of nuthin' It's the Last Chance Saloon You've a good chance of dyin', It's your last chance to hide. There won't be no flyin' Till your last, long ride. There's gamblers from Denver, There's guns from the South, And many a Cowboy With a dry, dry mouth. There's a ragtime piana' And a small back room, For to sleep off your troubles In the Last Chance Saloon. With rings on their fingers And bells on their toes, The girls come to Tombstone In their high silk hose. You've a good chance of dying, It's your last chance to hide; There won't be no flyin' 'Til your last, long ride. You've a good chance of swingin', It's your last chance to hide. And your last chance at singin' 'Till your last long ride. You've a good chance of swingin' It's your last chance to hide And your last chance at singin' 'Till your last long ride So pick him up gentle And carry him slow, He's gone kind of mental Under Earp's heavy blow. It's your last chance of boozing Where there's no-one to mind, It's your last chance of losing And the first place you find. It's your last chance of earning Your gunfighters fee. The pay is in dollars, But the bullets are free. It's your last chance of cussing At a gunfighters doom. It's your last chance of nothing It's the Last Chance Saloon. So it's curtains for Charlie, That barman of fame. He met Johnny Ringo And he knew Johnny's name. He knew Johnny's name and He spoke it out loud. Now Charlie the barman Has gotten a shroud. He knew Johnny's name and He spoke it out loud. Now Charlie the barman Has gotten a shroud. Johnny Ringo has found her. Johnny Ringo's found Kate. The gunslinger's got her, Now what is her fate? Johnny Ringo has seen her, She's coming his way. Johnny Ringo and Katie Were lovers, they say. It's curtains for Warren, They've gunned the kid down. And them bad, cruel outlaws Are heading for town. On your way then you cowboys The time will be soon When there's blood on the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. He knew Johnny's name and He spoke it out loud. Now Charlie the barman Has gotten a shroud. It's curtains for Warren, They've gunned the kid down. And them bad, cruel outlaws Are heading for town. On your way then you cowboys, The time will be soon When there's blood on the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon. So the Earps and the Clantons Are aimin' to meet, At the OK Corral Near Calamity Street. It's the OK Corral, boys Of gun fighting fame, Where the Earps and the Clantons, They played out the game. They played out the game And we nevermore shall Hear a story the like Of the OK Corral. So the cards, they are drawn and The chips, they are down, Them outlaws and lawmen Are headin' for town. And the Earps and the Clantons Are aimin' to meet At the OK Corral Near Calamity Street. So them bad, cruel outlaws Are meeting up soon. And they've drunk their last drink in The Last-Chance Saloon. It's the OK Corral, boys Of gun fighting fame, Where the Earps and the Clantons, They played out their game. They paid their sins and They lost on the draw. For the Earps they was faster And they was the law. So beware all you cowboys Who's yearning to sin. If the Earps is the lawmen You ain't gonna win. (sung by Kate) So fill up your glasses And join in the song The laws right behind ya And it won't take long So come you coyotes And howl at the moon 'Till there's blood upon the sawdust In the Last Chance Saloon You've a good chance of swingin' It's your last chance to hide It's your last chance of singin' 'Till your last long ride...(fade out)"
Just watched the Loose Cannon recon of The Smugglers; DW I've not seen cos it got wiped. It's actually not a bad show, albeit no specificall Who-ish (it'd fit well as a low-budget Hammer film like Devil Ship Pirates), and Hartnell only really fluffs it up once. The recon does get confuing by using the same few stills over and over meaning Polly reappears in the final battle long after she's moved elsewhere, but really, everybody referring to her as a boy the whole way through is just insane. (she's not disguised as a boy, or otherwise identifying as one - it's just that nobody in the 17th Century notices she's not. Which may be because apparently there werre no women in their lives, as she's the only female character in it). If they animate it I can't wait to hear Anneke's commentary on that!
Is Talons of Weng-Chiang worth watching? I know it's a popular story, and it introduces Jago & Litefoot, but I've also heard that there is some questionable racial stuff when it comes to the Asian characters involved.