A sad one. One final lap for the Third Doctor and his chums against the backdrop of his demise at the hands (legs) of a particularly vicious spider. The Doctor had stolen a single blue crystal a long time ago and for his arrogance and greed he must now pay - willingly, in the end. There are some giant concepts in this one. So at the very end, having been missing for weeks, the Doctor reappears at UNIT HQ, looking absolutely white, stumbles out of the Tardis and collapses. Sarah gets a cushion for his head. The following week, something called Tom Baker bounces into Pertwee's show with astonishing energy and the rest is history. As is the show. No offence.
A 7-episode serial, only one of which survives in the archive. This story will be animated next year supposedly but for now it's best experienced through its original soundtrack. Victoria's first story. Pat and Jamie well in the zone by now as they turn up in Victorian England where some suspiciously accomplished antiques dealer has been experimenting with time. He has turned up one item that he really didn't want: a dalek. Troughton's anxiety throughout is incredible, looking genuinely terrified as he turns around slowly to see that a dalek has rolled up behind him. One hell of a monster reveal in what was intended as the final dalek story. Any luck?
Last edited by Rogg on Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Randall wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:09 pm
No experience of this one at all
I don't think it's ever been repeated so unless you saw it when it was first aired, you've never seen it. I highly recommend the soundtrack, with linking narration by Frazer Hines (Jamie).
I love Troughton's reaction. The dalek voices are great in this story too. Vicious.
Randall wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:17 pm
Amazing the BBC used tape over them
Wiped, junked, so sad. But every episode survives through its soundtrack plus almost all episodes have telesnaps, which are literally photos taken of the screen. Tantalising glimpses of the real thing.
Brilliant fun with Pertwee, Jo and the guy who played the Punch & Judy man in Hi-De-Hi. He owns a miniscope, a terribly illegal device that stores miniaturised versions of people and other monsters, all left to fight for survival for show. It's reality TV. The Tardis lands inside it and hell breaks loose. Genius writer Bob Holmes is having a chuckle at his own audience when Jo confronts the ethics of the idea of watching assorted creatures suffering bizarre situations in the name of entertainment: those people must be evil and horrible! Gotta point love. What is Doctor Who if not a carnival of monsters? All very memorable and amusing.
The first Doctor Who serial to be broadcast in the 70s and the first in colour. The first of the show's extended period set on Earth. Pertwee, in Troughton's clothes, lands the Tardis in the woods and falls flat on his face. It's happening. Plenty of creepy moments involving an alien consciousness that possesses plastic. Those shop dummies... aren't. Shot entirely on film due to a BBC strike, this feels incredibly different and fresh. They basically cancelled your show. When the series gets rebooted 35 years later, this is the one they turn to.