Classic Who day by day

[OmahaStar]

The Invasion, episode 8
Written by Kit Pedler and Derrick Sherwin
Directed by Douglas Camfield

UNIT soldiers are listening in to Vaughn's chat with the Cybermen, courtesy of The Doctor's radio. Elsehwhere, the Brig, Zoe, and the rest of UNIT are partying like it's 1999. Zoe is hailed as a hero, after she helped destroy the Cybership. Obviously, she needs to die.

The Cybermen plan to bomb the planet with their other ship. Vaughn decides to kill them (the Cybs). Obviously, he needs to die, too.

Vaughn and the Doctor head for IEM's factory compound to turn off the signal. The Cybs plan on using the signal to home in their bomb. At the factory, the meanie Vaughn keeps attacking the poor Cybs with the professor's gizmo. But it's ok, cuz they kill him dead-like. The signal gets shut down and now that Vaughn's out of the way, UNIT and the Doctor prevail.

Everything turns out ok, and Zoe, Jamie, and the Doctor depart.

* * *

The actor playing Vaughn is brilliant. I wonder if he was ever a Bond villain. If not, it's their loss. Cuz he was basically playing on here.

But seriously, he had to die. Trying to double-cross the Cybermen like that? What a maroon.

Jamie had nothing to do in this episode and doesn't appear until the very end. My guess is this is another holiday week, and he just filmed that part before leaving.

This is my sixtieth episode completed for this project. That also means it's been going for ten weeks. And still going strong. Yay.

Only one story left, and that is Seeds of Doom. After that, it's time for a bit of Lost in Time. Though now that Blinkbox is offering a handful of early stories, I might do one from there before moving on to the Third Doctor. It has The Sensorites and Web Planet (first doctor) and Tomb of the Cybermen and The Krotons (second doctor) ... one released, one unreleased, from each.

 

[DWF]

^^^Seeds Of Death is the next one for right now, The War Games comes out early next month. Kevin Stoney who played Vaughn also played pretty much the same part in The Dalek Masterplan as Mavic Chen.

And while Kevin Stoney wasn't in a Bond movie, George Pastell who played Klieg in The Tomb Of The Cybermen was in From Russia With Love.

 

[OmahaStar]

^^^Seeds Of Death

Right, death. They were used so interchangeable and in so many stories, I sometimes mix them up ... the war of death, the toolbox of doom, the candle of Rassilon, it did get kinda silly after awhile.

is the next one for right now, The War Games comes out early next month.

That's why I'm delaying watching it until the end of November, to give people a chance to get their own copies. That, and I don't want to be waiting by the mailbox for it to arrive, when there are hundreds of other stories I could watch during that time.

Kevin Stoney who played Vaughn also played pretty much the same part in The Dalek Masterplan as Mavic Chen.

I look forward to seeing him in the three episodes ... I'll be doing them on 11/07, 11/09, and 11/10. Nice bit of recycling. They started going green before it became fashionable.

And while Kevin Stoney wasn't in a Bond movie, George Pastell who played Klieg in The Tomb Of The Cybermen was in From Russia With Love.

Was he now? Hmm ... I've only seen a few of the James Bond movies. I don't think I could even tell you which ones, other than the recent ones with Dan Craig. The only one I remember from the previous ones had something to do with outer space. One of these days, I'll have to try a Bond marathon. I mean, I loved Samantha as Mrs. Wormwood in Sarah Jane Adventures, and I understand she has appeared alongside The Judi Dench in a few of the Brosnon movies. So that's incentive.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

"The Toolbox of Doom?" I love it!

 

[OmahaStar]

Seeds of Death, episode 1
Written by Brian Hayles, with Donald Tosh
Directed by Michael Ferguson

We open on a moon base, listening to a voiceover giving super fast directions. It sounds very much like a Cyberman, but not quite.

On a second base, something alien steps out of a transporter chamber and attacks the crew.

Finally, nearly 9 minutes in, we get our first glimpse of the regulars. The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe are on the Tardis, at the controls. They are watching the viewer, and they see different rockets and things that don't fit in each others' time periods. The Doctor decides they must have landed at a space museum, and they go off to investigate.

They soon encounter the museum's owner, who gets excited by The Doctor's interest in his collection. I get the feeling he would be excited by anyone's interest, but he's been ridiculed enough for one lifetime.

The crew of the first base come to visit the owner. They beg him to use a rocket to take them to the second base, as they've lost control and their transporters aren't working.

Back on the second base, we finally see the alien ... and whatever it is, it seriously needs to visit a dermatologist! I know, the dvd says they are Ice Warriors, and it's their second appearance. Since I never saw the first one, that doesn't mean anything to me.

* * *

The story so far does not feel like Doctor Who. It feels like I'm watching a foreign science fiction film from the 1950s, the kind that is dubbed over, but we can still see the lips moving with the original language.

Please don't get me wrong - That's not a bad thing. The format of this series offers the ability to drop in like this, it's just not used very often.

At this point, I don't really have any idea what's going on here. There are two groups of workers on space-bases, plus the Tardis crew and the museum owner. I don't yet know enough about the new people to have opinions so far; I'm pretty much just waiting for something to happen.

Fortunately, it's not a bad episode ... I think Mind Robber has that area covered fairly well.
​

 

[Starkers]

well the first base is just a ground station, it isn't in space. I kinda like the Seeds of Death, but the score is terrible, I know I go on about how in modern Who the music is played way to loud at times but this proves it isn't a modern failing.

On the plus side more Zoe is always good

 

[OmahaStar]

Episode 2
Written by Brian Hayles and Donald Tosh
Directed by Michael Ferguson

The alien dude kills one of the workers, threatening the others that if they don't do what he says, he'll kill them too.

In the museum, they discuss - at length - whether or not to use a rocket to visit the base, and then who should go. Days later, they decide The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe should go, leaving the Tardis behind. Eventually, they take off, leaving the others behind.

On the base, the homing signal is cut off. The rocket no longer has a homing beacon to lock onto, and will either crash or drift away in the vastness of space.

* * *

Stretch. Stretch. Stretch some more. There are only three sets used here. The base, the one room that comprises the entirety of the museum, and the cramped rocket. They spend so much time debating about who would go that, for a few minutes, I thought I was watching C-Span. Everything that happened in this episode could have been done in the span of less than 30 seconds. Really. "Oh, he's dead. You better do what I say." cut. "Who wants to go? You three? ok, off you go." ... "Uh oh, ET can't phone home now." end credits.

Again, not BAD, it's just that ... well ... it's this eeeency little bit of plot with a whole lot of filler.

 

[OmahaStar]

Episode 3
Written by Brian Hayles
Directed by Michael Ferguson

The Doctor reaches someone on the base, who tells him they've been taken over by aliens. By his description, the Doctor and Jamie recognize them as Ice Warriors, some aliens they've met before, from Mars. I wonder if they know about the pyramids? Anyway ...

They land safely. The Doctor meets the man he'd been speaking with, while Zoe and Jamie refuel. The Doctor encounters first one Ice Warrior and then a small group of them, before being taken to their leader.

Zoe discovers the rocket's engines have gone kaputs, and she and Jamie go off to find the Doctor and another way off the base. They keep barely avoiding the Ice Warriors.

Whenever this story takes place, humans no longer travel by car or rocket, they use T-Mat - transporters. The main hub is on this moon base, and the Ice Warriors have come to take over the base and use T-Mat for their own purposes. They will transport down some sort of seeds to every major population center on the planet.

One of the seeds opens. A heavy, smokey gas pours out of it, causing the Doctor to pass out. They grab another seed and T-Mat it over to the second base. As the workers watch in awe, it slowly expands ...

* * *

MUCH better than the previous episode. We actually see things happening, and there seems to be some plot developing. I'm still unclear what purpose these seeds have, but at least there's *something* going on, not "stretch stretch stretch" as in the previous two episodes. It's also refreshing to see Zoe acting along with the story, instead of being little more than window dressing.

 

[OmahaStar]

Seeds of Death 4
Written by Brian Hayles, Donald Tosh, and Terrance Dicks
Directed by Michael Ferguson

The seed pops and people start dying from the seed's gas. The Ice Warriors continue sending seeds to more cities on Earth.

On Earth, after the gas goes away, Ice Warriors appear. Apparently, they are grown from the seeds. Or something.

The rest of teh episode is people walking around in various locations and combinations, sometimes this pair, sometimes that trio.

After 25 dragging, painful minutes, we are blessed with an ending. Oh, right, it's Zoe getting herself caught by standing still and letting the leader of the Ice Warriors see her.

* * *

This story is painful to the extreme. Nothing happens. Everything in the episode could be summed up by about two lines of dialog. Blah. Blah. Blah.

The only other thing I'll say here is wtf is up with the Ice Warrior leader's voice? Seriously, I think he should be calling in a doctor to take a look at his throat.

Three writers, and this is the best they can come up with? Ugh.

I've got nothing else to say about this one.

 

[OmahaStar]

Seeds of Death, episode 5

The temperature warms up, the Ice Warrior passes out, and Zoe walks away. All the humans T-Mat back to the first base, except the one who'd been working with the Ice Warriors.

But they kill him anyway.

The Doctor rushes off to rescue Zoe and Jamie from trap number 1701B and gets caught. By bubbles.

* * *

What we learn here: 1) The Ice Warriors are trying to take over Earth. Their seeds, besides giving off gas, are a seemingly endless supply of bubbles. Think giant bubble bath, the size of Earth. If it works, the bubbles will replace the atmosphere with one identical to Mars. 2) The Ice Warriors can be killed by tropical temperatures. 3) The seeds and bubbles can be stopped by water.

That's right. The evil dudes' whole disastrous plan can be undone by rain. And on a planet that's like 3/4 water, it can't possibly be undone, right?

* * *

Seeds of Death, episode 6

The Doctor is saved by Zoe. He kills the Ice Warrior with a complicated bit of gobbilty gook speech and two handheld devices that basically look like giant boobies.

Then, he T-Mats up to the moon, turns off the homing signal, adn the invasion fleet flies into the sun.

Jamie T-Mats up and they kill the Ice Warriors there. The rain starts. The crew hops into the Tardis and away we go.

* * *

This was a really excellent two-part story. If only it wasn't told in six parts. There are worse Doctor Who stories, but I can't think of any right now. Ugh.

 

[DWF]

I love The Seeds Of Death, it's a typical story from the Troughton monster era and Troughton was in fine form in this one. Miss Kelly was cute too.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

That's right. The evil dudes' whole disastrous plan can be undone by rain. And on a planet that's like 3/4 water, it can't possibly be undone, right?

Sounds a lot like a certain M. Night Shyamalan film, doesn't it?

 

[OmahaStar]

​

The Crusade, episode 1 - "The Lion" originally aired 3/27/65
Written by David Whitaker
Directed by Douglas Camfield

A forest, men with swords walk through, as - unseen - The Tardis appears.

A king is hunting, surrounded by scared men. They try to convince him to return home, a place called Jaffa.

The Doctor, Vicki, Barbara, and Ian exit the ship. They see one of the hunting groups. As they watch them, Barbara is kidnapped. All around, we hear the sound of sword-fighting. A man is shot by an arrow. The Doctor and Ian grab his body and drag him away, hiding him away from the others.

The king is captured by group number 2. Then there's lots of swordplay. Even the Doctor joins in and puts up a jolly good show. The shot man isn't dead. He gives the remaining crew information about where and when they are. In return, they care for him, providing medical assistance.

In a tent, a man interviews Barbara. He tells her he is the real King Richard. He flirts with her, big time. They concoct a plan - she will pretend to be his sister, the princess Johanna. They're both prisoners of the Sultan's men.

In Jaffa's marketplace, the Doctor plays spy ... and then thief, stealing clothing from a shady salesman.

In the palace, Barbara and the not-King are presented to the Sultan. He sees right through it; see, he knows exactly what the real ones look like. But he takes a liking to Barbara and allows her to live. If she can entertain him over dinner.

Elsewhere, the remaining crew have met up with the real King. Along with the shot man they saved, they are welcomed, though the king is a teensy bit on edge. Ian asks for his help in rescuing Barbara, and that sets him off. He gives a long tirade and then storms out of the room.

* * *

Ok. Not nearly as bad an experience as I feared. While the film has not been cleaned up, it is at least watchable. It reminds me of those public domain movies from like 1920, the kind you find in the dollar store Watchable, but in no way pristine. The audio comes and goes. But the story is there. And what a story it is.

The biggest draw for me is the writer. When I see David Whitaker's name in the credits, I know I can sit back and enjoy the ride. I only remember him doing two-parters before, so I hope there's no padding. But I trust him.

I won't have this opportunity in the next episode, so I'll say it here. The sets and costumes are beautiful. The set designers and costumers outdid themselves here. Even with the grainy video and the choppiness and stuff, we can still see their designs, and they are simply amazing.

This is the first episode of Lost in Time. It's a collection of rare episodes, snippits of larger stories which no longer exist. There are only two stories - this and the Second Doctor story The Moonbase - which are semi-complete.

In each case, of the four episodes, two still exist in video form. The other two in audio. So tomorrow, I'll be listening to Crusade episode 2, no video to go with it.

So far, an excellent story, and I look forward to more.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I love The Crusade and I'm sad that half of the serial is missing. Two of the biggest highlights of this serial are Jean Marsh (The Daleks' Master Plan and Battlefield)and Bernard Kay (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Faceless Ones, and Colony in Space), although as much as I love Kay, I still kind it awkward seeing a British actor playing a Arab.

 

[OmahaStar]

Lost in Time: The Crusade, episode 2 - "The Knight of Jaffa" originally aired 4/03/65
Written by David Whitaker
Directed by Douglas Camfield

The Doctor talks the king into working out a trade for his men. We meet the real Johanna.

The shady merchant barters for info and an audience with the Sultan.

The king knights Ian. The Doctor says he wishes he could have been knighted, too.

No idea how it ended. The last 5-6 minutes are all music with no dialog or sound effects.

* * *

I'm lost. Video tomorrow, though, so that's cool.

Also, funny about the Doctor wanting to be knighted, since in the Tenth Doctor's era, that exact thing happens.

 

[OmahaStar]

And yeah, you're right about British playing others, but back then, they didn't seem to have many options in casting.

 

[Captain Pike]

For these lost stories it's advantageous to have on hand one of the BBC audio cd's with narration for the missing eps. Really helps fill in the gaps.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

And yeah, you're right about British playing others, but back then, they didn't seem to have many options in casting.

Oh, I realize that but it still feels awkward even when a great actor is doing it.

 

[OmahaStar]

For these lost stories it's advantageous to have on hand one of the BBC audio cd's with narration for the missing eps. Really helps fill in the gaps.

I have listened to a few of them, and you're right, the linking narration is a huge help. Underwater Menace is one that comes to mind. I've listened to that one, and I'm looking forward to seeing the surviving episode to compare them.

And yeah, you're right about British playing others, but back then, they didn't seem to have many options in casting.

Oh, I realize that but it still feels awkward even when a great actor is doing it.

You're right. Sometimes it's just downright bizarre. Ah well, it could be worse. Could be a British woman trying to plan an American newsreader, very very badly. *ducks*

 

[OmahaStar]

I'm doing both 3 and 4 tonight. That way, I'm not rushing tomorrow night when I get the privilege of meeting Mr. Martin Landau. That's right, Drusilla's pappy. And away we go!

3 - "The Wheel of Fortune" written by Dave Whitaker and directed by Douglas Camfield

Barbara is somewhere, surrounded by the Sultan's men, but a man helps rescue her.

The Doctor and Vicki model new clothes provided by shady guy. She's pretending to be a boy. As soon as shady guy leaves, the princess comes in and admonishes the old man for making Vicki carry on like she's a boy. She then tells the Doctor that she thinks her brother the king is plotting and wants his help to find out what it is.

Ian has apparently run off, or so they say in passing.

The Doctor finds out what the king is planning - he will give his sister to the Sultan, forcing her into marriage. He thinks this will ensure peace through the land, and that she would not dare refuse his order.

Barbara is taken to the man's home and agrees to watch over his daughter, but she is quickly re-captured by the Sultan's men.

The princess finds out about her brother's plans and she is furious.

Barbara is brought before the Sultan and informed that she is to meet her death.

* * *

Ok, first up, Ian's only scene was pre-filmed with none of the regulars. I'm guessing it was this actor's turn to go on holiday.

Vicki shows her comedic chops here, and it works out splendidly.

The actress playing the princess gets a real chance to shine here, and does she ever. She is a force of nature, and it is an absolute joy to witness. I don't know if she was a stage actress before appearing here, but she ... well, she is awesome.

* * *

episode 4 - "The Warlords"

I guess I need the video to go along with it. Listening to the audio and trying to figure it out is just not working.

What I do know is that Ian rescues Barbara. They meet up with the Doctor and Vicki, and they depart in the Tardis.

For some reason, the Doctor is once again thought of as a fugitive by the king, and Ian keeps calling himself Sir Ian. Beyond that ... no idea what just happened.

Moonbase is going to be fun. *sigh*

The next episode is The Daleks' Masterplan, episode 2, on Saturday.