Classic Who Catch Up

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

72: The Face of Evil

“Now drop your weapons or I’ll kill him with this deadly jelly baby”.

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Leela (Warrior Savage)

Story: The Doctor arrives on a planet where two tribes, the savage Sevateem and the technically brilliant Tesh, are at war. He meets Leela, an exile from the Sevateem and discovers their god of evil is apparently himself. In reality it’s actually a super-computer gone mad with part of the Doctor’s personality inside it and the two tribes originate from the same human colonists.

What I liked: 

• The plot was great in every way and I liked how the Doctor was bemused and frustrated when he was called the “evil one”.
• Leela! Not the typical companion who screams a lot, Leela happily takes about enemies and is one tough cookie. 

What I disliked:

• The Tesh look ridiculous. Silly outfits and what is with the grey faces? 

Overall thoughts: Loved it! I am really enjoying the Hinchcliffe era of the show and this was a great story. I really like it when things are actually completely different from what they appear and that’s what this story does brilliantly. Turns out the tribe is actually worshipping a computer that has gone mad and we were once human colonists. Leela is a great companion who works really well with the Fourth Doctor and I look forward to seeing their adventures together!

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: Robots! Of Death!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

71: The Deadly Assassin

“Through the millennia, the Time Lords of Gallifrey led a life of peace and ordered calm, protected against all threats from lesser civilisations by their great powers…”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)

Story: The Doctor is called to Gallifrey by the Time Lords but then has a premonition that he will assassinate the president. Somehow this is what happens and the Doctor must work out how it happened and find the one responsible. In the shadows lurks what is left of the Master, who seeks to destroy the Doctor and the Time Lords, and gain a new body.

What I liked: 

• Gallifrey! Most of the Time Lord mythology is built from this story and it is great to see.
• The whole section in the matrix is terrifying and creepy, especially as the Doctor is on his own with no companion to rescue him.
• Great to see the Master again, and the idea that he has used up his regenerations is brilliant.

What I disliked:

• Some of the bits in the matrix weren’t that well realised- the train that was supposed to the Doctor was tiny!

Overall thoughts: AMAZING! One of my fave classic stories so far. It’s great for a number of reasons. We finally find out more about the Time Lords and most of what we know about them comes from here. The Master is finally back and desperate to obtain a new body. And the episode and a half set in the matrix is brilliant- surreal, terrifying and all held together by a brilliant Tom Baker without a companion. Fantastic! This story is seen as the one that changed the show and I loved it!

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: Time for a new companion…

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

70: The Hand of Fear

“Oh, Sarah…don’t you forget me.”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: When the TARDIS lands on Earth in a quarry, the Doctor and Sarah are caught in a mining explosion. Sarah is found clutching what appears to be a fossilised hand, buried in one hundred and fifty million year old strata. Analysis shows the hand to be silicon-based and inert, but when Sarah begins to act as if possessed, the Doctor suspects that it may still be alive…

What I liked: 

• An interesting story in that all four episodes are very different from each other.
• Sarah-Jane’s farewell is really emotional, a great leaving scene.
• The hand is pretty creepy when it crawls by itself.

What I disliked:

• Sarah-Jane’s outfit is ridiculous. 
• The final episode is a bit confused and the male Eldrad is rubbish!

Overall thoughts: I really enjoyed this story! It’s packed full of different ideas from a creepy hand, a possessed Sarah-Jane, an alien that can regenerate, a nuclear power station in danger, the Doctor and an alien trying to trust each other and an alien that has a downfall which has nothing to do with the Doctor. It’s good fun and you really don’t know where it is going to go next. 

What a great ending for Sarah-Jane too (well until 2006)! Her departure has been teased through the last few stories but it is still a shock when it actually happens. Both the Doctor and Sarah-Jane seem very emotional about it but neither say it outright. The moment Sarah wanders down the street is great as the audience wonders how a companion could possibly cope with their return to the real world! 

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: A story set on Gallifrey! Lots of Time Lords! The return of the Master!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

69: The Masque of Mandragora

“A Time Lord’s got to do what a Time Lord’s got to do!”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: An encounter with the living energy structure known as the Mandragora Helix leads to the TARDIS to 15th century Italy. Between palace intrigue, the machinations of a sinister cult and a rogue fragment of Helix energy, the Fourth Doctor and Sarah have their hands full. There is not much time, for when Mandragora swallows the moon, it will be time to strike.

What I liked: 

• The secondary TARDIS control room! It looks all Victorian and I adore it!
• Nice to have a historical story again, it’s been a long, long time!

What I disliked:

• Too much filler. This didn’t need to be more than two episodes!

Overall thoughts: This wasn’t an awful story and the final episode was brilliant but it was unnecessarily long. This was the first historical episode for a long time and it felt a bit odd really. Although there was a sci-fi element it was in the background for most of the story so this almost felt like a Hartnell historical story. Renaissance Italy seemed an odd setting and fairly uninspiring. I really think historicals need a “celebrity” if they are not going to be overtly sci-fi. Still, it has some brilliant moments.

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: A nasty hand and we bid farewell to Sarah-Jane!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

68: The Seeds of Doom

“On most planets the animals eat the vegetation. On planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals”

Format: 6 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: Two mysterious pods are found in Antarctica. They are seeds of the dangerous Krynoid plant which can take over planets, destroying all animal life on it. One pod infects a human who becomes a Man-Plant in the Antarctic base but he is destroyed when two henchmen steal the other pod to bring it to a crazed botanist back in England. There someone else is infected and the Krynoid grows enormous!

What I liked: 

• The whole idea of deadly plants is great and quite disturbing.
• A fantastic guest cast- most notable is John Challis (who you know as Only Fools and Horses’ Boycie) who plays a sinister henchmen who then works with the Doctor to save his own skin.
• Great effects! The first few episodes can genuinely pass for Antarctica and the giant Krynoid destroying the house is great. 

What I disliked:

• UNIT appear but without the Brigadier or Benton meaning they are a faceless organisation that blow up stuff. A bit pointless.
• The man-plants look suspiciously like Axons painted green (because they were Axons painted green).

Overall thoughts: I loved this one! It is a properly original idea and I can’t really find any major faults with it. The guest cast makes it what is with mad botanist Harrison Chase and his henchman Scorby being great villiains and some great little parts too like the plant artist. It’s interesting how active the Doctor is in this story, punching people unconscious and jumping through glass roofs- it almost seems like he is particularly desperate here!

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: A masked ball goes wrong!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

67: The Brain of Morbius

“I, Morbius, who once led the High Council of the Time Lords, reduced to this- to the condition where I envy a vegetable”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: The TARDIS materialises on Karn, a planet not too far from Gallifrey. There live the Sisterhood, who have a sacred flame that produces an elixir of life. More worryingly there is also Solon who is trying to create a new body for Morbius, Time Lord criminal, who was executed by the Time Lords and only the brain survives.

What I liked: 

• Solon is a great villain and it is great to see the Doctor fighting a humanoid again!
• The whole idea of a patchwork body is great. 
• Nice to find out a little bit more about the Time Lords.

What I disliked:

• There was a bit too much coming and going between the Sisterhood and Solon’s lab. 

Overall thoughts: Another great story. It perhaps drags a little but the idea of a mad scientist as a villain is always good, particularly when they are trying to build a body for a criminal, and a Time Lord at that! I also think this is the best I’ve seen Tom Baker so far and he is finally beginning to grow on me as the Doctor. His larking around whilst the Sisterhood want to execute him is brilliant! Enjoyable story, though could have done with losing an episode or two! 

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: An alien plant begins to spread across the Earth!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

66: The Android Invasion

“You know the resemblance is astonishing. For a moment, I thought I was seeing double!”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: The Doctor and Sarah arrive back on Earth, on the outskirts of a small village. When they are shot at by men in helmets they realise all is not as it seems and even their UNIT friends seem to have turned against them. In reality they are all android replicas, created by the kraals ready to head to Earth and replace the entire human race…

What I liked: 

• The whole replica village thing with androids in it is brilliant. 
• Android Sarah’s face coming off is terrifying.
• An evil android version of UNIT is creepy. 

What I disliked:

• The lack of Brigadier. Nicholas Courtney couldn’t make it which is a shame- we know how good he is at being bad from Inferno!
• There are some pretty massive plot holes. It’s never really explained why the Kraals have such an elaborate invasion plan!

Overall thoughts: Despite the fact this is largely regarded as a pretty rubbish story, I loved it! It felt at times very much like The Stepford Wives, where it is obvious something is wrong yet not obvious what that is. Evil duplicates of main characters is always fun (although that happened to Harry on his last appearance!) and both the androids and the Kraals are well realised. Sure there are plot holes and the last episode feels a bit odd because of that but it is great fun! I adored it! 

I should also note that this is the last story to feature both Harry and Benton, although they mostly play the android versions of themselves here. Both will be missed, especially Benton the loyal and often comical soldier!

Best Format: DVD (as part of the UNIT Files Boxset)

Next Time: We meet another evil Time Lord. Well, what is left of him…

Every month over 2013 a new e-short from a children’s author featuring each Doctor is being released and I’m reviewing them right here. This is a review of the fourth e-short, featuring Tom Baker’s fourth Doctor and his companion Leela, and written by Philip Reeve. 

(This one is set slightly ahead of where I have got to in the TV series but I’m not too far away!) 

Another great e-short! In this one the Fourth Doctor and Leela land on a civilisation built on a giant tree which has been brought up on the idea of killing the Doctor. It’s a great idea which is really well executed and does feel like a Fourth Doctor story. Reeve certainly captures Tom Baker’s Doctor excellently and from what I know of Leela he captures her well too, although perhaps Sarah-Jane might have been a more appropriate companion in a celebration of the series?

The story is built around the Fourth Doctor reacting to something the Eleventh Doctor did which is an interesting idea and works really well here- it’s a pleasure to read the Fourth Doctor’s views on wearing a bow tie. There’s also references to a swimming pool in the TARDIS and the sonic screwdriver not doing wood. Some people don’t seem to like references to future eras in these books but personally I think they are good fun and make it easier for people to get into the story.

Great fun and a worthy story for the Fourth Doctor!

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

65: Pyramids of Mars

“Your evil is my good. I am Sutekh the destroyer. Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness. I find that good”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: The TARDIS materialises in an old priory in 1911 belonging to an Egyptologist. Last survivor of the God-like Osirians, Sutekh the Destroyer is attempting to escape from the prison his brother Horus put him in, using servicer robots that look like mummies and possessing humans. The Doctor and Sarah-Jane must stop him escaping or he will destroy the entire universe.

What I liked: 

• Sutekh is a great villain with a bone-chilling voice.
• Robot mummies! Perfect!
• The Doctor showing Sarah what would happen if they left was a great moment.

What I disliked:

• Still had some filler.
• The Doctor is always nearly dying yet Sarah never seems to stop thinking he is actually dead!

Overall thoughts: Loved this one! Sutekh and robot mummies are great villains and a proper match for the Doctor. It always works well when Doctor Who explains a myth/legend and this one was particularly successful. I really liked the unusual step of the Doctor showing an alternate future where the villain succeeded, it is good to remind the viewers why they can’t just leave! Also I keep being reminded of the scene where Sarah-Jane and Rose Tyler compete over what they haves seen in School Reunion and I am loving finally seeing Sarah-Jane’s half! Fantastic story!

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: Another invasion- this time, androids! Plus the return of Harry Sullivan!

You can read about all the stories I’ve seen so far on this Tumblr Page

I have been a big fan of Doctor Who since it’s revival in 2005 but was too young to have watched the original series. On this blog I shall be recording my thoughts on every story from 1963 onwards!

64: Planet of Evil

“Here on Zeta Minor is the boundary between existence as you know it and the other universe which you just don’t understand”

Format: 4 episodes, each 25 minutes long

Team TARDIS:

• Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)
• Sarah-Jane Smith (Journalist)

Story: The TARDIS lands on Zeta Minor after picking up a distress call. There, the Doctor and Sarah meet the remnants of a geological expedition who have gradually been wiped out by antimatter monsters. An investigation force arrives and rescues the remaining member of the expedition but he becomes an antimatter man…

What I liked: 

• The antimatter monsters were really well realised.
• A bit of Jekyll and Hyde always works well.
• The tension between the leaders of the investigation force was great.
• Great use of special effects and great scenery in the jungle.

What I disliked:

• It’s not particularly exciting.
• The Doctor seems to spend most of this story unconscious or out of the way.

Overall thoughts: I didn’t like this one that much, I found it a bit boring. The fact the antimatter monsters cannot really be fought means most of the usual fun stuff doesn’t appear. There’s some great confrontation between members of the investigation crew and the TARDIS travellers but the whole thing felt a bit bland. Not one I will rush back to.

Best Format: DVD

Next Time: We meet an Egyptian god!

You can read about all the stories I’ve seen so far on this Tumblr Page