For some reason, as a kid, I have memories of anxiously awaiting my first viewing of "The Keys Of Marinus". Was it because it's the first story after the Daleks to feature monsters? Audiences at the time had gone for over two months without aliens, but I'd only had to wait two weeks. Had I read the novelization by that point? They often made the older episodes sound more exciting than they actually were. I remember also eagerly awaiting "The Web Planet" for the same reason.
Whatever the reason, "Marinus" was high on my list of must-see classic episodes, and when the local PBS station started re-running the Hartnell years for the first time, I checked and double-checked the VCR to make sure it recorded.
Does it hold up? For the most part, yes. Compared to a lot of the older stories it's fun and moves at a brisk enough pace to keep one's attention. Is it a classic? Nope, not even close.
Terry Nation is writing once again. If the BBC hope to capture some of that Dalek magic, they were disappointed. The Voord are visually interesting, among of some of the most memorable designs of the early years. But are they humans in strange-shaped suits, or is that the actual shape of the creature inside? It's never made clear, and their lack of appearance in episodes 2-5 doesn't give them the opportunity to make much of an impression.
Once again, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan find themselves stranded, though this time it's due to a force field keeping them from the TARDIS. It's the first time we've seen this, and it's a welcome change from the TARDIS breaking down yet again.
Turns out they've landed on the planet Marinus, a world where peace was kept by a powerful computer called the Conscience that maintained justice throughout the entire planet. I don't think it's made clear how this was done: mind control? a computer-run legal system? It's a little vague, but it seems to involve removing some measure of free will, so it's not surprising when the Doctor and his companions turn down a request from Arbitan, the elderly keeper of the Conscience, to track down four missing keys to re-activate the machine.
Actually, that's not entirely true, as it's a little strange to see the Doctor and crew walking back to the TARDIS with no intention of helping anyone. We're still in that stage where the Doctor is eager to leave whatever planet he's on, which is odd, because it's not like he has anywhere else to go, aside from returning Ian and Barbara home, something he apparently doesn't have the capability to do. Their actions would have made more sense if the Doctor showed any outrage over the concept of the Conscience machine, but he never does. It's hard to imagine later Doctors letting the opportunity to speechify about free will and freedom pass them by, but if such a moment happens, we aren't privy to it, at least not until a small bit at the end.
Equipped with teleportation devices strapped to their wrists, the four of them are off to find the missing keys. Barbara, uncharacteristically, dives in and leaves before the others, resulting in a cliffhanger when her bloodied bracelet is found by the others after they arrive.
It's a cliffhanger that's swiftly disposed of, however, when we find Barbara being treated like royalty, and it turns out she merely scratched her wrist. It's here that the craziness begins, as Marinus is apparently made up of regions that seem to have been lifted from the most trite of science-fiction and fantasy stories. The next segment resulted in the BBC even being accused of plagiarism, but each part is so generic that it's hard to really say that Nation stole anything.
First, we get a land that manages to look like the Middle Ages mixed with ancient Rome, whose citizens are under the sway of brains in jars. It's pretty basic stuff, familiar to any fan of science-fiction and horror, but there are some interesting moments in which Barbara can see the world for what it is, while the others see nothing but luxury. While here, they find two of Arbitan's followers previously sent to search for the keys, his daughter Sabetha, and Altos, a man who, if not her boyfriend, seems to be by the end of the story. As if we weren't crowded enough, they decide to re-join the quest. Meanwhile, Hartnell apparently has some vacation days built up, as he's going on ahead by himself and we won't be seeing him again until episode five.
Boy, this is getting long. But this really is like five stories in one. Briefly, we get a plant infested region, whose similarly to "Day of the Triffids" is what nearly got the BBC sued; an icy region with frozen knights guarding a key and a trapper who seems intent on having his way with Barbara while leaving the other to die in the snow; and finally Millennius, a city with a very rigid justice system
It's this last location where things slow down. We spend the better part of two episodes in what is really the most boring segment of Marinus. Standard futuristic city, filled with uptight citizens bent on following rules. And there's a trial. It's tough to make a trial interesting, and this show doesn't have any tricks up its sleeve to change that.
After a rushed wrap-up, which involves discovering that Arbitan has been murdered by the Voord and the Conscience machine being destroyed, the Doctor tells Sabetha and Altos that they shouldn't be using such a device. Something he probably should have said in the first place.
It sounds tedious, but I still had fun watching this. The frequent location changes make this one of the few six-parters that doesn't drag for me.While it's all very predictable, it's still fun to see so many different things in one story: mind-controlling brains; screaming, murderous plants; deadly, ice-frozen knights. Everything shifts before there's time to be bored, and even the Millennius segment, boring as it is, would have felt rushed if they'd cut it down to one episode.
The Voord are interesting, and it's a shame they haven't turned up since. I'm not sure what the rationalization would be for such a thing happening, as I doubt a return to Marinus is in the Doctor's future, but they make for a great visual.
GRADE: B
In spite of the cliches, this is still a fun story, and I recently found myself watching all six episodes in one afternoon.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
What is the deal with Marinus? On the one hand, it's refreshing to see a planet that doesn't consist of one culture. But Marinus really pushes the limits of believability. Nothing seems to fit, and many of the places seem unaware of the existence of the other.
The final city, Millennius. They're obviously technologically advanced. Yet they seem to have no interest in the quest for the keys, and they're stunned when the travelers teleport away. Isn't this their own planet's technology?
Susan almost burns her feet off in an acid pool because she wants to "paddle". That says all you need to know about how poorly her characters is being written at this point.
Apparently, the Voord do return in the Doctor Who comics, but the story serves more to muddy up their history than make good use of them.
NEXT: The Aztecs. A four-part historical that I also have fond memories of. And it's one of the few stories Netflix is streaming, so no need to track down a good copy.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
004 Marco Polo
If you're reading this blog, you likely already know the story of all the missing Doctor Who episodes from the Hartnell and Troughton eras. Back in the 1980s, when I first experienced these earliest shows on WTTW channel 11, the PBS station out of Chicago, it was always annoying to tune in next week only to learn the ending of the previous story was just that, the end, with no follow-up on the cliffhangers that frequently ended those earlier episodes.
I would never get to see what that giant footprint in the snow encountered at the end of Edge of Destruction was all about. I could read the novelization, and often the lost stories were my most frequent purchases in that regard, but it would always be out of reach as an actual episodes I could watch.
Of course, this was all pre-internet, when my young brain could only conceive of video taping each and every episodes in order to watch them in the future. How could I have known that one day I'd be able to download a reconstructed version of Marco Polo, and finally experience it in something closer to its original form.
And that's what I did for today's story. It was a reconstruction consisting of colorized photos taken during the filming and publicity shoots for the episodes, along with the audio and occasional caption to clarify the action. It's not as good as the real thing, but it'll do.
I've watched Marco Polo once before, and at the time, I thought it to be the greatest of the lost historical stories. My opinion has shifted since then, as this viewing showed it to be strong at the start, but outwearing its welcome by the end.
It's fine for about the first four episodes, five if I'm generous, but after Tegana betrays Marco Polo for the umpteenth time and the Doctor and his companions repeatedly botch each attempt to escape in the TARDIS, it gets awfully repetitive. When the comedy relief of the Kublai Khan and his wife turns up in episodes six and seven, I was ready to call it a day.
Both Russel Davies and Steven Moffatt have continually reiterated that the companions are often more important than the Doctor. I actually disagree, but in these early episodes, it's certainly the case. Hartnell doesn't contribute much until the end, even vanishing for the better part of two episodes, and the show carries on without missing a beat. Ian, Barbara, Susan, even the temporary players like Marco, Tegana and Ping Cho, all feel more important than the Doctor in this story.
It's tough to judge on still photographs and audio, but the production looks to be of a higher standard than usual. Existing color photographs indicate this to be the case, but we'll never really know. Still, it has an epic feel that's often missing from the historicals.
GRADE: B-
RANDOM THOUGHTS
The TARDIS breaks down. Again.
To my knowledge, there is not a single Asian person in the cast. Apparently Zienia Merton, the actress playing Ping Cho, is half-Burmese. She's a standout in the episode, and one could easily see her being a companion if timing had been different. One thing about these long Who stories - you really get to live with the guest cast a lot longer, and I often find them more memorable than characters I've watched as recently as last year in the new series.
He may obviously be white, but Derren Nesbitt (whom I always remember as one of the Number 2's from "The Prisoner") still does a good job playing the treacherous warlord Tegana. I don't often remember villains or their names from some of these stories, but it's been several years since I last saw this, and I completely remembered his performance.
The TARDIS saves everyone's lives when they run out of water by forming condensation on its walls. Seriously, how unsafe is this thing? Should a ship traveling through time and space have a dampness problem?
NEXT: A personal favorite, "The Keys Of Marinus".
I would never get to see what that giant footprint in the snow encountered at the end of Edge of Destruction was all about. I could read the novelization, and often the lost stories were my most frequent purchases in that regard, but it would always be out of reach as an actual episodes I could watch.
Of course, this was all pre-internet, when my young brain could only conceive of video taping each and every episodes in order to watch them in the future. How could I have known that one day I'd be able to download a reconstructed version of Marco Polo, and finally experience it in something closer to its original form.
And that's what I did for today's story. It was a reconstruction consisting of colorized photos taken during the filming and publicity shoots for the episodes, along with the audio and occasional caption to clarify the action. It's not as good as the real thing, but it'll do.
I've watched Marco Polo once before, and at the time, I thought it to be the greatest of the lost historical stories. My opinion has shifted since then, as this viewing showed it to be strong at the start, but outwearing its welcome by the end.
It's fine for about the first four episodes, five if I'm generous, but after Tegana betrays Marco Polo for the umpteenth time and the Doctor and his companions repeatedly botch each attempt to escape in the TARDIS, it gets awfully repetitive. When the comedy relief of the Kublai Khan and his wife turns up in episodes six and seven, I was ready to call it a day.
Both Russel Davies and Steven Moffatt have continually reiterated that the companions are often more important than the Doctor. I actually disagree, but in these early episodes, it's certainly the case. Hartnell doesn't contribute much until the end, even vanishing for the better part of two episodes, and the show carries on without missing a beat. Ian, Barbara, Susan, even the temporary players like Marco, Tegana and Ping Cho, all feel more important than the Doctor in this story.
It's tough to judge on still photographs and audio, but the production looks to be of a higher standard than usual. Existing color photographs indicate this to be the case, but we'll never really know. Still, it has an epic feel that's often missing from the historicals.
GRADE: B-
RANDOM THOUGHTS
The TARDIS breaks down. Again.
To my knowledge, there is not a single Asian person in the cast. Apparently Zienia Merton, the actress playing Ping Cho, is half-Burmese. She's a standout in the episode, and one could easily see her being a companion if timing had been different. One thing about these long Who stories - you really get to live with the guest cast a lot longer, and I often find them more memorable than characters I've watched as recently as last year in the new series.
He may obviously be white, but Derren Nesbitt (whom I always remember as one of the Number 2's from "The Prisoner") still does a good job playing the treacherous warlord Tegana. I don't often remember villains or their names from some of these stories, but it's been several years since I last saw this, and I completely remembered his performance.
The TARDIS saves everyone's lives when they run out of water by forming condensation on its walls. Seriously, how unsafe is this thing? Should a ship traveling through time and space have a dampness problem?
NEXT: A personal favorite, "The Keys Of Marinus".
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
003 The Edge Of Destruction
And I'm back. I was waiting for Keys of Marinus to come out on DVD, and having finally watched it, I'm ready to write up everything to that point.
First, one of the odder stories in the series, the two-parter "The Edge Of Destruction".
I'll be honest, I've seen this several times now, and I still have trouble reconciling part one with part two. Part one is so strange, it's almost like watching the cast in their own production of "Waiting for Godot". Lots of awkward behavior, strange dialogue. If, as this episode seems to imply, the TARDIS has been infiltrated by some unseen invader possessing the travelers, it might make more sense.
But, no, it's all the TARDIS' doing, attempting to warn the crew of their imminent destruction. I suppose that's more interesting than another alien menace, but I've never felt it was handled well. This story still seems like what it was - a quick two-parter inserted at the last minute to make up for cost overruns due to the stories preceding and following it.
It amazes me just how unreliable the TARDIS is in these earlier episodes. You get the impression that it could break down at any time and leave them all stranded, or worse. It needed mercury last story (while a ruse by the Doctor initially, it did end up becoming an actual need), we have all the craziness of this story, and next story we'll have yet another malfunction. We're not at the point where the Doctor willingly stays to help anyone, so for now we're stuck with these gimmicks to keep them in one place for several episodes.
The plot itself aside, this story does accomplish the important task of setting up the relationships for the rest of the season. By the story's end, the Doctor has warmed to his new companions, especially Barbara, and the show even makes the effort of giving us some character moments to display this. It's interesting how once Ian and Barbara leave, the companions often become cyphers rather than fleshed-out characters. For now, though, the show attempts to develop a rapport among the characters, with most of them on equal footing with the Doctor.
GRADE: B
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
Seriously, has the TARDIS ever been shown to do something this screwy, at least in the classic era?
I'm kind of surprised we don't get more TARDIS-centered episodes, since it's certainly a cost-saving measure. Off the top of my head, I'm only recalling "Invasion of Time" and "Castrovalva" as having episodes that spend this much time in the TARDIS.
NEXT: the first "lost" story, Marco Polo
First, one of the odder stories in the series, the two-parter "The Edge Of Destruction".
I'll be honest, I've seen this several times now, and I still have trouble reconciling part one with part two. Part one is so strange, it's almost like watching the cast in their own production of "Waiting for Godot". Lots of awkward behavior, strange dialogue. If, as this episode seems to imply, the TARDIS has been infiltrated by some unseen invader possessing the travelers, it might make more sense.
But, no, it's all the TARDIS' doing, attempting to warn the crew of their imminent destruction. I suppose that's more interesting than another alien menace, but I've never felt it was handled well. This story still seems like what it was - a quick two-parter inserted at the last minute to make up for cost overruns due to the stories preceding and following it.
It amazes me just how unreliable the TARDIS is in these earlier episodes. You get the impression that it could break down at any time and leave them all stranded, or worse. It needed mercury last story (while a ruse by the Doctor initially, it did end up becoming an actual need), we have all the craziness of this story, and next story we'll have yet another malfunction. We're not at the point where the Doctor willingly stays to help anyone, so for now we're stuck with these gimmicks to keep them in one place for several episodes.
The plot itself aside, this story does accomplish the important task of setting up the relationships for the rest of the season. By the story's end, the Doctor has warmed to his new companions, especially Barbara, and the show even makes the effort of giving us some character moments to display this. It's interesting how once Ian and Barbara leave, the companions often become cyphers rather than fleshed-out characters. For now, though, the show attempts to develop a rapport among the characters, with most of them on equal footing with the Doctor.
GRADE: B
RANDOM THOUGHTS:
Seriously, has the TARDIS ever been shown to do something this screwy, at least in the classic era?
I'm kind of surprised we don't get more TARDIS-centered episodes, since it's certainly a cost-saving measure. Off the top of my head, I'm only recalling "Invasion of Time" and "Castrovalva" as having episodes that spend this much time in the TARDIS.
NEXT: the first "lost" story, Marco Polo
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