She was 22/23 (born June 1940), and already a mother.
Last Classic Who Story you watched
- Thread starter Pindar
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She was 22/23 (born June 1940), and already a mother.
The Tomb of the cybermen.
The entire Baker/Holmes/Hinchcliffe era, starting with Robot and ending with Talons of Weng-Chiang (although I sorta consider Horror of Fang Rock as an honorary member of that era, due to its feel and stark difference from the rest of the Williams era). Of all of them, I only didn't really like Revenge of the Cybermen, and only Robot and The Android Invasion were outright weak, but they had their moments. Watching them in sequence, I'm kinda surprised how much the Fourth Doctor is directly an influence in both the Ninth and the Tenth. Its clear that RTD took his cues from this era of the show, far more so than any other, though he obviously respected the mysterious feel of the Hartnell years.
I have to admit, like the Letts/Dicks era before it, fairly consistent, though its openers are as strong as the former's (and I kinda count Terror of the Zygons as a season one finale, so...). But, the best Tom Baker stories are here, with only a three or four more of them lying ahead, which makes me wonder how it would have been like if Baker had left in this season instead of later on.
I have to admit, like the Letts/Dicks era before it, fairly consistent, though its openers are as strong as the former's (and I kinda count Terror of the Zygons as a season one finale, so...). But, the best Tom Baker stories are here, with only a three or four more of them lying ahead, which makes me wonder how it would have been like if Baker had left in this season instead of later on.
In VOtD, thank heavens that Churchill only calls the Doctor up during his moment of glory, and not - say - at any point outside of WWII when his accomplishments are somewhat less celebrated. "Ah, Doctor. Wonderful to see you again! We're having some problems in Iraq and I was hoping you could gas the Kurds for me."
Yeah, it bugged me to see Churchill so romanticized in the show. He did and believed far worse things than Harriet Jones did.
Which is the main reason why I never bothered with Big Finish's Winston Churchill boxed set with Ian McNiece reprising his role. Yes, he won the war. He also believed (and did) some absolutely terrible things. (See, for instance, Warren Ellis' alternate history The Ministry of Space.) How he had any sort of career after World War I sometimes boggles my mind.
More than that, he coined the phrase "the Iron Curtain". Basically, Churchill nicknamed the Soviets as international baddies.
"Victory of the Daleks" isn't a classic episode. Jus' sayin'.
I watched The Time Monster. First time I watched it, a few years back, I found it endless and dull, but I watched the whole thing in one go. This time around I watched it in two or three sessions and it worked considerably better. It'll never be a favourite, but, taken in smaller doses, it's a pleasant visit with the classic UNIT family and the Master.
While its merely OK and serviceable, that's still pretty good for the era. Its nowhere near as bad as its reputation has it be.
And it does have one of the very best scenes in all of DW, so respect for that.
And it does have one of the very best scenes in all of DW, so respect for that.
The Time Monster also gets a bad rep from some of the male fans for having so many important female characters
Good grief. I hadn't heard that before. If those fans exist, they are cordially invited to keep their distance.
The Curse Of Peladon.
Rewatched the "Master trilogy" from seasons 18 and 19... and its really a trilogy in name only. Honestly, Bidmead did a pretty bad job resolving any issues from Logopolis with Castrovalva, which he absolutely should've since the former story was absolutely vague on how the Fourth Doctor even actually saved the universe there, least of all from the Master. Honestly, Logopolis does follow on from Keeper of Traken, but also absolutely references all previous stories in the season, save for Leisure Hive. It references the CVE that the Doctor stepped into to get to the E-Space, the Time Lords wanting the Doctor to come back to Gallifrey from Meglos, and of course continues directly from Traken, so its really more like a proper season finale than the middle chapter of an ongoing Master storyline. I blame Bidmead on this, but that'd be unfair, as it seemed obvious that he can't write decent characterization if his life depended on it.
Anyway, some quick thoughts on them... The Keeper of Traken is the most consistent of the bunch, with a solid story and well-defined characters. Its a bit long, as most four-part adventures always are, but its a good Master story, and for once, the Doctor doesn't know that its him, amazingly enough. And while he's not the most popular Master, I have to say that Geoffrey Beevers is still the best iteration of the Master after Delgado, even in his sole TV appearence (he's made tons of BF audios as him, of course, but even without them, I'd prefer him over Peter Pratt, and most of Ainley, Simm and Gomez). I guess its the voice, really.
Logopolis I enjoyed more this second time around, though the usual stupid stuff will always be stupid - why would the Doctor think drowning the TARDIS would be such a fantastic idea? - and I maintain Ainley's Master is at his best here, certainly during the Peter Davison era - but to me, it completely falls apart in the fourth episode. I mean, OK, I can "explain" away the total lack of grief (as Philip Sandifer accurately put it) in Tegan's action in episode 3, but by the fourth episode, something's gotta give. The lack of actual visible resolution to the mess the Master had created bugs me too. Of course, its clear Bidmead's concept is too big to be pulled off visually (that's why they don't even try it, save for showing Traken's total destruction), and thus they fail to showcase the actual impact of the Master's action, and well as the effect of implementing the Monitor's final calculations into effect and actually, then, showing that the Doctor and the Master saved the universe. Its all just a bunch of boring technobabble that doens't relate to anything, thus proving Bidmead's "hard science" thesis on his tenure of the show to be total bull. Furthermore, what did the Master try to achieve with holding the universe in ransom? How supremely idiotic was that? And how did the Doctor stop him, by pulling off that big cable? And why did, in fact, the Doctor fall down to his death? He didn't look to be in peril. It felt like he just let go.
Sandifer also makes an absolutely crystal-clear point about this story, this regeneration story, and indeed the whole of J.N.T.'s tenture.The fact that its just collage of images and not, actually, evocative of the stories that Baker did. Its not evocative, then, of the Fourth's era, but more of a precursor for the Fifth. Which is fine, but it robs of the Fourth Doctor of his emotional triumph over the Master, his victory and sense of relief of having saved billions of lives in the process. Its a sad occassion then, that Tom Baker departs in. Whereas Planet of Spiders was designed as Jon Pertwee's farewell, this was designed as a booting off of Tom Baker.
Still, I guess I enjoyed the concept of the story more this time around. And I liked the idea of the Doctor having to contend with his future, even if it means regenerating into it (its pretty clear he knows the end is coming). Baker's wonderfully moody throughout this, and sells it well, making his last scene solely because of him. Its always to see this Doctor go.
Of course, the whole Pharos Project storyline, as well as the actual questions raised above (what did the Doctor and the Master just do to prevent the universe from falling into further entropy) are never answered in Castrovalva. Instead, we get a story with two episodes of the Doctor wandering around aimlessly and hopeless, an episode where the Doctor is mostly asleep, and an episode where the Doctor almost there, but not really. Meanwhile, Nyssa and Tegan are mostly completely pointless to the story, and Adric is seemingly SO smart that his mind can help the Master create an entire, fantastical facility like Castrovalva, include it magically in the TARDIS data banks and also preprogram the TARDIS to go there, but first to Event One (wait, WHAT?!).
Needless to say, I never enjoyed Castrovalva, and needless to say, I don't think I ever will. While it is, concept-wise, quite above Tom Baker's Robot (which was just a clumsy King Kong pastiche), it is however ineptly written, and awkwardly realized (some nice scenery shooting, but that's it). The characterization is truly all over the place (again going back to Sandifer's remark about "total lack of grief" from both Nyssa and Tegan), and there's also a real lack of reaction to the fact that the larger-than-life Tom Baker morphed into meek-as-they-come Peter Davison.
TO be honest, though, I'd have to say that I greatly enjoyed Davison's performance this time. He has a task as difficult as the Doctors before him, to replace a largely succesful Doctor and make the part his own. Maybe even moreso, considering the longevity of Tom Baker's run. Anyway, while I disagree with their approach, as they decidedly make the Doctor more timid and weaker than any other Doctor before him (even Pertwee's Doctor wasn't this problematic in his regeneration story), nevertheless, he carries his scenes with class and effortlessness that is admirable. I don't think either Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy could've carried these scenes better (in fact, in McCoy's case, I'm sure it wouldn't have worked at all). But beyond that, the story's a pretty inept start for the Fifrth Doctor, and I didn't enjoy it, almost at all.
Wow, I've rambled quite a bit, haven't I?
Anyway, some quick thoughts on them... The Keeper of Traken is the most consistent of the bunch, with a solid story and well-defined characters. Its a bit long, as most four-part adventures always are, but its a good Master story, and for once, the Doctor doesn't know that its him, amazingly enough. And while he's not the most popular Master, I have to say that Geoffrey Beevers is still the best iteration of the Master after Delgado, even in his sole TV appearence (he's made tons of BF audios as him, of course, but even without them, I'd prefer him over Peter Pratt, and most of Ainley, Simm and Gomez). I guess its the voice, really.
Logopolis I enjoyed more this second time around, though the usual stupid stuff will always be stupid - why would the Doctor think drowning the TARDIS would be such a fantastic idea? - and I maintain Ainley's Master is at his best here, certainly during the Peter Davison era - but to me, it completely falls apart in the fourth episode. I mean, OK, I can "explain" away the total lack of grief (as Philip Sandifer accurately put it) in Tegan's action in episode 3, but by the fourth episode, something's gotta give. The lack of actual visible resolution to the mess the Master had created bugs me too. Of course, its clear Bidmead's concept is too big to be pulled off visually (that's why they don't even try it, save for showing Traken's total destruction), and thus they fail to showcase the actual impact of the Master's action, and well as the effect of implementing the Monitor's final calculations into effect and actually, then, showing that the Doctor and the Master saved the universe. Its all just a bunch of boring technobabble that doens't relate to anything, thus proving Bidmead's "hard science" thesis on his tenure of the show to be total bull. Furthermore, what did the Master try to achieve with holding the universe in ransom? How supremely idiotic was that? And how did the Doctor stop him, by pulling off that big cable? And why did, in fact, the Doctor fall down to his death? He didn't look to be in peril. It felt like he just let go.
Sandifer also makes an absolutely crystal-clear point about this story, this regeneration story, and indeed the whole of J.N.T.'s tenture.The fact that its just collage of images and not, actually, evocative of the stories that Baker did. Its not evocative, then, of the Fourth's era, but more of a precursor for the Fifth. Which is fine, but it robs of the Fourth Doctor of his emotional triumph over the Master, his victory and sense of relief of having saved billions of lives in the process. Its a sad occassion then, that Tom Baker departs in. Whereas Planet of Spiders was designed as Jon Pertwee's farewell, this was designed as a booting off of Tom Baker.
Still, I guess I enjoyed the concept of the story more this time around. And I liked the idea of the Doctor having to contend with his future, even if it means regenerating into it (its pretty clear he knows the end is coming). Baker's wonderfully moody throughout this, and sells it well, making his last scene solely because of him. Its always to see this Doctor go.
Of course, the whole Pharos Project storyline, as well as the actual questions raised above (what did the Doctor and the Master just do to prevent the universe from falling into further entropy) are never answered in Castrovalva. Instead, we get a story with two episodes of the Doctor wandering around aimlessly and hopeless, an episode where the Doctor is mostly asleep, and an episode where the Doctor almost there, but not really. Meanwhile, Nyssa and Tegan are mostly completely pointless to the story, and Adric is seemingly SO smart that his mind can help the Master create an entire, fantastical facility like Castrovalva, include it magically in the TARDIS data banks and also preprogram the TARDIS to go there, but first to Event One (wait, WHAT?!).
Needless to say, I never enjoyed Castrovalva, and needless to say, I don't think I ever will. While it is, concept-wise, quite above Tom Baker's Robot (which was just a clumsy King Kong pastiche), it is however ineptly written, and awkwardly realized (some nice scenery shooting, but that's it). The characterization is truly all over the place (again going back to Sandifer's remark about "total lack of grief" from both Nyssa and Tegan), and there's also a real lack of reaction to the fact that the larger-than-life Tom Baker morphed into meek-as-they-come Peter Davison.
TO be honest, though, I'd have to say that I greatly enjoyed Davison's performance this time. He has a task as difficult as the Doctors before him, to replace a largely succesful Doctor and make the part his own. Maybe even moreso, considering the longevity of Tom Baker's run. Anyway, while I disagree with their approach, as they decidedly make the Doctor more timid and weaker than any other Doctor before him (even Pertwee's Doctor wasn't this problematic in his regeneration story), nevertheless, he carries his scenes with class and effortlessness that is admirable. I don't think either Colin Baker or Sylvester McCoy could've carried these scenes better (in fact, in McCoy's case, I'm sure it wouldn't have worked at all). But beyond that, the story's a pretty inept start for the Fifrth Doctor, and I didn't enjoy it, almost at all.
Wow, I've rambled quite a bit, haven't I?
I've never even heard it called a trilogy. I don't think it was ever promoted that way by the people who made it -- after all, there was a gap of 11 months between the end of "Logopolis" and the start of "Castrovalva." It was just the last two serials of one season and the first serial of the next. So I'd say it isn't even a trilogy in name.
Oh, that was clear enough. They made a point of repeatedly referring to the cable that the Master would use to send a recursive pulse that would undo the repairs they'd just done to the universe, and establishing that the Doctor's goal was to disconnect that cable before the Master could transmit the pulse. Indeed, the Doctor sacrificed his fourth life to achieve that goal, because pulling out the cable was what caused him to fall. And since the end of the cable was dangling way out in midair, I presume the Master was unable to reach and reconnect it, so he just retreated before the guards arrived.
Anyway, again, since "Castrovalva" was a new season's premiere airing nearly a year later, it wasn't a priority for it to dwell on leftover threads from the previous year; its goal was to set up the new status quo going forward.
Because that's exactly what it was -- a season finale. There's no sense in "blaming" a writer for making the serial exactly what it was intended to be, because there was no way he could've known that people decades later would be binge-watching the end of one season and the beginning of the next as if they were a continuous "trilogy."
I never liked the "monster" form of the Master as much as the goateed gentleman villain -- which is ironic, since my experience of Who began with the Tom Baker era, so the "monster" form was how I first encountered the Master, followed by Ainley, and finally by Delgado when my local PBS station cycled back around to the beginning.
His goal was to literally flush out the Master from wherever he was hiding. Given how huge the TARDIS is, a search could take weeks. So the Doctor was willing to take drastic measures. Heck, he was planning to have the old girl remodeled on Logopolis anyway, so what's a little water damage?
I prefer to see it as supremely narcissistic. The Master has always craved power above all else, and at that moment, he literally had power over the entire universe, and it went to his head. His ego overrode his judgment -- which is usually his downfall, if you think about it.
It's hard to hold yourself up with your hands alone for very long. Unless you're an experienced gymnast or mountaineer or something, you'd probably have to let go before too long because your hands just don't have the strength anymore.
Besides, as you mention, the Doctor already knew this was when he was going to "die" and regenerate. He knew he was going to fall anyway, which is probably why he was willing to do something so reckless as go after that cable in the first place, and why the Master didn't anticipate that he would. So it makes sense that he let go -- because he knew what would come next, and he accepted it.
Oh, Christopher, the reason Tiberius referred to these three serials as a trilogy is simply because BBC home video (at least here in the States) once packaged them that way. Keeper of Traken, Logopolis and Castrovalva were sold as a single package. Really, just a marketing scheme, whether or not actually agrees with the notion.
I just finished The Dalek Invasion of Earth. In general it's a solid story, I especially liked the location shooting running around deserted London landmarks in a wheelchair hiding from Daleks. But it was especially notable to me as the first 'companion departure' story. Having recently had an entire season dedicated to (and indeed overshadowed by IMO) the departure of a companion, I think this struck the right balance. The serial itself provided sufficient set-up for Susan's departure so that it didn't come out of nowhere - it was neither dragged out beyond patience as per Clara or Rose, nor "right i'm off, bye" as per Mel.
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Okay, that explains it. But as I said, it's important to understand that that packaging of them long after the fact doesn't reflect the original intention of the creators.
Believe me, since I've become a fan (which is much later than a young kid or even a teenager), I've had to hear those stories being bundled as a trilogy.
And honestly, Castrovalva would've been a lot if the Master hadn't been in it at all, or if the Master's plan had a tangible connection to Logopolis. Instead, we go from menacing Ainley, to the campy, ludicrously powerless Ainley in the span of one stories. That's a record time for any actor, and I can't blame Ainley himself, as he's clearly at his very, very best in Logopolis (indeed, I wish he'd played the part like that throughout his time in the show).
I don't think he was really given the option. The Master's descent into camp was a decision from those in the production office and the control booth than a decision by the actor (who by some accounts did it out of love for the role rather a need to - Ainley was quite well off). A incident was regaled in here a while back about production of one of the later stories with Ainley as the Master. He'd just performed a scene with the Master all dark and menacing. The response from the booth was they wanted more camp.
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