Hello there, the Historian here, falling behind again. But here is the last episode in the adventure with the Celestial Toymaker! While watching this, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother and Photobug. So, let's get to the summary!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
"The Dancing Floor"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. We're slowly catching up to "real time!" On 8 July, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, MisterMother, Spoo and MiniSpoo to continue watching the Toymaker's games. So, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
"The Hall of Dolls"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, getting closer and closer to catching up! On 1st July, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Photobug and special guests Altair and Ezio for the second episode of this surreal story. Without further ado, let's get to the (much shorter) summary!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
"The Celestial Toyroom"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, still trying to catch up to where the TARDIS Project has gotten to. On 24 June, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, Photobug and guests Altair and Ezio as we journeyed from Refusis II into...the unknown! So, let's get to the extremely truncated summary!
Monday, July 18, 2011
"The Ark" wrapup
Hello everyone, the Historian here, on the horns of a dilemma. How to go back and wrap up a story that we finished watching just over a month before? I am still determined to catch up, however, and I owe you all a post for this story!
When I say "story," I, of course, mean two small stories joined by a single setting in the scripts written by Paul Erickson (though joint credit was given to his wife, Lesley Scott, everything I've read says she didn't actually do much writing). The idea is fine; as others have pointed out, in the days when an audience had no idea how many parts a story would last (no internet! at this point, no full story titles, even!), the idea of the crew seeming to finish the adventure, leave and then come back hundreds of years later was surprising and fun! Unfortunately, in practice, you get a nice little, if oversimplified, two-parter with minimal characterization, followed by an overstuffed two-parter with, essentially, no characterization. (And, of course, with one of the most ridiculous lines ever spoken on Doctor Who: "Take them to the Security Kitchen.") As I've mentioned in the episode posts, I'm pretty sure that this is the first Hartnell story I ever saw in full and I have fond memories of it being charming and fun, many of which were borne out in seeing it again this time. But those memories don't make me blind to its shortcomings either. I'll direct you to the episode posts for more details. As a final story note, the elephant scene, even seeing it all these years later, is still absolutely magical!
On the production side, this story marked the end of the tempestuous tenure of producer John Wiles. As the second producer of Doctor Who, Wiles had the uncomfortable task of taking over from Verity Lambert around the same time the original cast had broken up, all of which reportedly upset William Hartnell terribly and the star (according to all reports) took a lot of that out on his new producer. Wiles hadn't really wanted to produce the show in the first place, and had been especially unhappy at being stuck with the twelve part Dalek story, and his relationship with Hartnell had put the finishing touches on his unhappiness. With this story, he joins story editor Donald Tosh (whose last televised credit was on "The Massacre") in leaving the show in new hands. Those hands, producer Innes Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis, would see Doctor Who through some of its most important days to come...
But, enough of that! Here are the individual episode posts, so you can see what the Project team had to say.
"The Steel Sky"
"The Plague"
"The Return"
"The Bomb"
Here's the official BBC episode guide for the story and, for the full story I alluded to above as well as other behind-the-scenes info, here's the "Brief History" page.
Next up, one of the odder stories of the Hartnell era, and one where there was some division in the Project team's opinions! Posts coming very soon! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
When I say "story," I, of course, mean two small stories joined by a single setting in the scripts written by Paul Erickson (though joint credit was given to his wife, Lesley Scott, everything I've read says she didn't actually do much writing). The idea is fine; as others have pointed out, in the days when an audience had no idea how many parts a story would last (no internet! at this point, no full story titles, even!), the idea of the crew seeming to finish the adventure, leave and then come back hundreds of years later was surprising and fun! Unfortunately, in practice, you get a nice little, if oversimplified, two-parter with minimal characterization, followed by an overstuffed two-parter with, essentially, no characterization. (And, of course, with one of the most ridiculous lines ever spoken on Doctor Who: "Take them to the Security Kitchen.") As I've mentioned in the episode posts, I'm pretty sure that this is the first Hartnell story I ever saw in full and I have fond memories of it being charming and fun, many of which were borne out in seeing it again this time. But those memories don't make me blind to its shortcomings either. I'll direct you to the episode posts for more details. As a final story note, the elephant scene, even seeing it all these years later, is still absolutely magical!
On the production side, this story marked the end of the tempestuous tenure of producer John Wiles. As the second producer of Doctor Who, Wiles had the uncomfortable task of taking over from Verity Lambert around the same time the original cast had broken up, all of which reportedly upset William Hartnell terribly and the star (according to all reports) took a lot of that out on his new producer. Wiles hadn't really wanted to produce the show in the first place, and had been especially unhappy at being stuck with the twelve part Dalek story, and his relationship with Hartnell had put the finishing touches on his unhappiness. With this story, he joins story editor Donald Tosh (whose last televised credit was on "The Massacre") in leaving the show in new hands. Those hands, producer Innes Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis, would see Doctor Who through some of its most important days to come...
But, enough of that! Here are the individual episode posts, so you can see what the Project team had to say.
"The Steel Sky"
"The Plague"
"The Return"
"The Bomb"
Here's the official BBC episode guide for the story and, for the full story I alluded to above as well as other behind-the-scenes info, here's the "Brief History" page.
Next up, one of the odder stories of the Hartnell era, and one where there was some division in the Project team's opinions! Posts coming very soon! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
Sunday, July 10, 2011
"The Bomb"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, continuing my attempts to catch up to what the Project is actually watching. I'm only three episodes behind now, so I have hopes! I'm still going to be doing the truncated summaries, which are actually working well enough that I'm thinking of sticking with this format--which is closer to what we started with anyway. What do you, the readers at home, think?
So, on 17 June, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Photobug and Cz, when we watched the last episode in this story. So, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
So, on 17 June, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Photobug and Cz, when we watched the last episode in this story. So, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
Friday, July 1, 2011
"The Return"
Hello everyone, the Historian here with another catch-up post. As I said last time, I'm having to forgo the detailed summaries I've been writing up for the past year or so in order to catch these posts up to where the Project has gotten to. I hope to go back and add full summaries at some point, but hopefully this will help me get back on track.
On 10 June, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Spoo, MiniSpoo, Photobug and Cz, as we returned to the giant Ark spaceship about to arrive at Refusis II. So, let's get to the (truncated) summary!
On 10 June, 2011, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Spoo, MiniSpoo, Photobug and Cz, as we returned to the giant Ark spaceship about to arrive at Refusis II. So, let's get to the (truncated) summary!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
"The Plague"
Hello everyone, the Historian finally here. Let me, first and foremost, apologize deeply for the huge delay between posts. I have plenty of excuses, but none of that matters. I can only say that I will try to be more prompt in the future. Getting "meta" for a moment, I can say that what has been tripping me up has been the high level of detail in my summaries--they do take a lot out of me! The solution I've come up with, to try and catch people up with the discussions (which are actually the point of this whole thing) is to do a summary in a few sentences for now. I may go back later and insert longer summaries later. I will also include links to the episode transcripts that have helped me get the level of detail lately. Again, I apologize to our readers and the Project members.
Now, several weeks ago I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz to watch another episode aboard the ship to Refusis II. Let's get to the summary!
Now, several weeks ago I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz to watch another episode aboard the ship to Refusis II. Let's get to the summary!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
RIP Roy Skelton
Hello all, the Historian here. Yes, I know this isn't the post you might have been expecting (I'll catch up soon! I promise!), but I wanted to note the sad passing of actor Roy Skelton, one of the not-sung-enough heroes of Doctor Who. He was the voice of the Daleks from 1967 until 1988 as well as voicing the Cybermen and multitudes of other creatures and appearing on-screen in the Third Doctor's final adventure, "Planet of the Spiders." As an odd coincidence, the TARDIS Project will be watching Skelton's first work for the show this week (and I will hopefully catch up on things and blog about it by next week).
Here's a nice obituary of Mr. Skelton from the Doctor Who News Page. (Warning: mild spoiler for the current TP story buried in there.)
RIP Mr. Skelton. Thanks for making so many monsters as scary and believable as they can be.
THE HISTORIAN
Here's a nice obituary of Mr. Skelton from the Doctor Who News Page. (Warning: mild spoiler for the current TP story buried in there.)
RIP Mr. Skelton. Thanks for making so many monsters as scary and believable as they can be.
THE HISTORIAN
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
"The Steel Sky"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, welcoming you back to the TARDIS Project and apologizing for how irregular posts have been lately. Life has been a bit complicated lately and I can only say I'm sorry and hope to get things out regularly. Hopefully we haven't lost too many of you readers!
Anyway, getting back to this episode, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug, Cz and SpookyGirl. We were also honored to be joined not only by seven year old MiniSpoo, but also by almost-six year old ElfGirl, for whom this was her first ever Doctor Who episode! What did she think? Well, for now, let's get to the summary!
Anyway, getting back to this episode, I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug, Cz and SpookyGirl. We were also honored to be joined not only by seven year old MiniSpoo, but also by almost-six year old ElfGirl, for whom this was her first ever Doctor Who episode! What did she think? Well, for now, let's get to the summary!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
"The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve" wrapup
Hello everyone, the Historian here. As some of you may know, Blogger was down for a good deal of time during the latter half of this week. Unfortunately, this (and my day job) has thrown my posting schedule a bit out the window. So, here's the "Massacre" wrapup post. The new episode post will be up sometime later this week.
I've read many reviews over the years referring to "The Massacre" as the "best Hartnell story" and such-like. And, while I'm not sure I quite agree (as we've discovered over the course of the Project, there are plenty of great Hartnell stories), this one is definitely high on the list. It's also unique in that the Doctor himself is very much tangential to the action; as we've talked about in the episode discussions, this is very much the companion's story. It is Steven who has the adventure while the Doctor is off doing...whatever it is he's doing. Apparently, the Doctor was far more involved in the action in John Lucarotti's original scripts, but Donald Tosh's extensive rewrites put the show's central character off screen.
It's a gamble, for sure. In fact, in our discussion, the Project team identified the Doctor popping up out of nowhere as a bit of a coot ex machina. On the other hand, though, we are gifted with the suspense of not knowing whether the Doctor is the Abbot, what he's playing at, etc., etc. And when the Doctor does pop up, finds out when they are and immediately tells Steven that they have to leave...well, that's pretty powerful. The Doctor, realizing what is about to happen, actually seems scared. How bad must things be about to get to make the Doctor afraid? If the Doctor had been more front and center, all of these points would have been lost.
And, as importantly, we would have been denied Peter Purves' performance as Steven, front and center in the action. This is the first time since Ian and Barbara left that a companion has taken so much of the main role in a story, and Steven does a fine job. He's certainly helped by the obscurity (for us, anyway) of the historical event--he doesn't know what's going to happen and neither do we, so his discoveries are ours as well. As are his fears, for his new friends and especially for the Doctor. Of course, we know that the Doctor can't be dead, but up until that moment, the moment Steven sees the body, we have no reason to not think that the Doctor is the Abbot. It's not the Doctor's apparent masquerade that makes this story work, though; it's Steven's attempts to navigate his way through the quagmire he finds himself in that makes the first three or so parts of this story work so well.
Something that we overlooked, but that should be mentioned here, is how this story proves how good an actor William Hartnell is. We equate Hartnell's character of the Doctor with his own personality so much, we forget that is it--a character. Acting. But the contrast of his Abbot of Amboise--no laughing, no Billy-fluffs, but a cold, hard and frightening character--shows us just how wonderful a character William Hartnell has built his Doctor into.
The story itself is a journey through the cloak and dagger moments leading up to the great massacre of Huguenots in France in 1572. As I've mentioned, many of the events and characters in this story are real historical figures. As such, I thought I'd add a few relevant Wikipedia links:
The Massacre itself
Admiral de Coligny
The Marshal Tavannes
The probable identity of Bondot, the assassin
King Charles
Catherine di Medici, the Queen Mother
Of course, when most fans talk about "The Massacre," they tend to focus on the last ten minutes or so of episode four. Steven's angry accusations and the Doctor's soliloquy loom large in both the memories and the myth of this lost story, as they should. As I said in the episode post, it's like we finally have a philosophy for the show. It's almost like we have a mission statement for both the companions (there's only so far they can go, so much they can understand) and the Doctor himself. It's a powerful moment and a fitting one to end Donald Tosh's somewhat troubled tenure as Doctor Who's story editor. The reason he was able to be credited as a co-writer on the last episode is that he was no longer a member of the production team, although he did have a hand in a few of the stories that followed. But, as of episode four of "The Massacre," Gerry Davis joins the team as story editor. Remember that name, fans!
Finally, I'm not sure whether to make a big deal of this, but I thought it should be mentioned that this is the first Doctor Who story to be directed by a woman, Paddy Russell. She does a fine job, insofar as we can tell from the reconstruction.
All right, all right, enough of me. Here's the episode links:
"War of God"
"The Sea Beggar"
"Priest of Death"
"Bell of Doom"
And, as usual, here's the BBC episode guide link as well as a link to all the production inside information from Shannon Sullivan. (I very much recommend the latter for a great insight on the writing of the story.) And, if you're at all intrigued by this story, I'd urge you to go to the Loose Cannon page and get yourself a copy of the reconstruction. You'll be glad you did.
So, we have a new girl in the TARDIS--Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet--and a new adventure coming! The first episode post will be coming later this week, keep an eye out for it! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
I've read many reviews over the years referring to "The Massacre" as the "best Hartnell story" and such-like. And, while I'm not sure I quite agree (as we've discovered over the course of the Project, there are plenty of great Hartnell stories), this one is definitely high on the list. It's also unique in that the Doctor himself is very much tangential to the action; as we've talked about in the episode discussions, this is very much the companion's story. It is Steven who has the adventure while the Doctor is off doing...whatever it is he's doing. Apparently, the Doctor was far more involved in the action in John Lucarotti's original scripts, but Donald Tosh's extensive rewrites put the show's central character off screen.
It's a gamble, for sure. In fact, in our discussion, the Project team identified the Doctor popping up out of nowhere as a bit of a coot ex machina. On the other hand, though, we are gifted with the suspense of not knowing whether the Doctor is the Abbot, what he's playing at, etc., etc. And when the Doctor does pop up, finds out when they are and immediately tells Steven that they have to leave...well, that's pretty powerful. The Doctor, realizing what is about to happen, actually seems scared. How bad must things be about to get to make the Doctor afraid? If the Doctor had been more front and center, all of these points would have been lost.
And, as importantly, we would have been denied Peter Purves' performance as Steven, front and center in the action. This is the first time since Ian and Barbara left that a companion has taken so much of the main role in a story, and Steven does a fine job. He's certainly helped by the obscurity (for us, anyway) of the historical event--he doesn't know what's going to happen and neither do we, so his discoveries are ours as well. As are his fears, for his new friends and especially for the Doctor. Of course, we know that the Doctor can't be dead, but up until that moment, the moment Steven sees the body, we have no reason to not think that the Doctor is the Abbot. It's not the Doctor's apparent masquerade that makes this story work, though; it's Steven's attempts to navigate his way through the quagmire he finds himself in that makes the first three or so parts of this story work so well.
Something that we overlooked, but that should be mentioned here, is how this story proves how good an actor William Hartnell is. We equate Hartnell's character of the Doctor with his own personality so much, we forget that is it--a character. Acting. But the contrast of his Abbot of Amboise--no laughing, no Billy-fluffs, but a cold, hard and frightening character--shows us just how wonderful a character William Hartnell has built his Doctor into.
The story itself is a journey through the cloak and dagger moments leading up to the great massacre of Huguenots in France in 1572. As I've mentioned, many of the events and characters in this story are real historical figures. As such, I thought I'd add a few relevant Wikipedia links:
The Massacre itself
Admiral de Coligny
The Marshal Tavannes
The probable identity of Bondot, the assassin
King Charles
Catherine di Medici, the Queen Mother
Of course, when most fans talk about "The Massacre," they tend to focus on the last ten minutes or so of episode four. Steven's angry accusations and the Doctor's soliloquy loom large in both the memories and the myth of this lost story, as they should. As I said in the episode post, it's like we finally have a philosophy for the show. It's almost like we have a mission statement for both the companions (there's only so far they can go, so much they can understand) and the Doctor himself. It's a powerful moment and a fitting one to end Donald Tosh's somewhat troubled tenure as Doctor Who's story editor. The reason he was able to be credited as a co-writer on the last episode is that he was no longer a member of the production team, although he did have a hand in a few of the stories that followed. But, as of episode four of "The Massacre," Gerry Davis joins the team as story editor. Remember that name, fans!
Finally, I'm not sure whether to make a big deal of this, but I thought it should be mentioned that this is the first Doctor Who story to be directed by a woman, Paddy Russell. She does a fine job, insofar as we can tell from the reconstruction.
All right, all right, enough of me. Here's the episode links:
"War of God"
"The Sea Beggar"
"Priest of Death"
"Bell of Doom"
And, as usual, here's the BBC episode guide link as well as a link to all the production inside information from Shannon Sullivan. (I very much recommend the latter for a great insight on the writing of the story.) And, if you're at all intrigued by this story, I'd urge you to go to the Loose Cannon page and get yourself a copy of the reconstruction. You'll be glad you did.
So, we have a new girl in the TARDIS--Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet--and a new adventure coming! The first episode post will be coming later this week, keep an eye out for it! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
Sunday, May 8, 2011
"Bell of Doom"
Hello everyone, the Historian here with the final episode in this historical story. Joining me this week were Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz. Big climax this week, so let's get to the summary!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
"Priest of Death"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. This week, we had a full house of myself, Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz. (Talk about a crowded room!) As I've mentioned before, this story hinges on conversation and intrigue, which makes it very hard to convey the atmosphere and full meanings in a summary...but I'll give it a try. So, let's get to the summary!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
"The Sea Beggar"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. Once again, my apologies for how late this post is; hopefully we haven't lost too many of you readers! Joining me back in early modern France last week were Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, MisterMother, Photobug, Cz and MiniSpoo. (Strangely, Spoo was not with us; just call us babysitters, I suppose...) As I may have mentioned before, this story is a bit of a bear to summarize, but hopefully I'll be able to give you at least some sense of the intrigue. So, let's get to the summary!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Late Post
Hello everyone, the Historian here. As you can obviously tell, last week's post is kind of late. Immediately before watching the episode, I was felled with what can only be described as a terrible cold that only got worse over the next few days. I'm finally seeing daylight at the other side of the tunnel, so I'll get to work on the summary soon.
The only vaguely positive note is that last week's post was going to announce that we'd be taking a week off this week, due to personal commitments of core Project personnel. (It's someone's tenth anniversary, congrats you two!) But now, you'll get a post anyway! Sure, it'll be last week's post, but...
So yes. "The Sea Beggar" will be coming soon, I promise. Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
The only vaguely positive note is that last week's post was going to announce that we'd be taking a week off this week, due to personal commitments of core Project personnel. (It's someone's tenth anniversary, congrats you two!) But now, you'll get a post anyway! Sure, it'll be last week's post, but...
So yes. "The Sea Beggar" will be coming soon, I promise. Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
Sunday, April 10, 2011
"War of God"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. Joining me this week were Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother and Photobug. (Cz also joined us for the episode itself, but bowed out of the discussion afterwards.) Today we leave science fiction for seventeenth century France. Let's get to the summary!
Friday, April 1, 2011
No post this week
Various illnesses have felled various Project members, enough that I decided I had to cancel tonight's episode. Sorry folks. We'll be back next week with the first episode of our new story. Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
THE HISTORIAN
Thursday, March 31, 2011
"The Daleks' Master Plan" wrapup
Hello everyone, the Historian here. Well. Here we are, finally, at the end of one of the most fabled, most epic Doctor Who stories of all time. So, here we are, twelve episodes, over three months (because of some breaks), and an exhausted Project team later. (Though, to be fair, only Ketina and I made it through every single episode!)
So, as I asked the team after we finished, was it worth it? On the whole, I'm going to say yes, though I don't think all of the Project members would agree with me. (Heck, MisterMother decided to skip the rest of this story after watching a few of the episodes.) The story is considered a masterpiece by many fans (especially those with memories of seeing it as kids), but I think it is, at best, a flawed masterpiece.
For one thing, it's too long. About 3 episodes too long, I'd say; as Spoo said in the last episode discussion, the "Master Plan" plot would have made a great seven-parter. Admittedly, most of the filler was enjoyable (especially anything involving the Monk), but it was painfully obvious that it was filler. When you get right down to it, the plot could be said to fit into episodes 1-6 and then parts of 10-12, but even those had long scenes of…nothing. (The space radio operators chatting about what to watch on space telly, Chen and Karlton's apparent flirting, Steven and Sara's interminable trek through the jungle, etc. etc.) By the end, you could tell that even the cast and production team, some of whom hadn't been thrilled about a 12 part story from the beginning, were experiencing a bit of story fatigue.
But the episodes that consist entirely of filler, while dragging the story out, were a lot of fun, sometimes more fun than the central plot. The Christmas episode was fun mainly for the "legendary" novelty value, but the three episodes with the Monk were pure fun…mainly because of Peter Butterworth's wonderful comic acting. One wishes for more, another whole story of the Monk's inept attepts at revenge. (Carry On Timelord?)
Moving on to one of the serial's good points, he came in for a lot of ribbing, but I want to talk a bit about Kevin Stoney's Mavic Chen. True, he was a white man in very heavy "oriental" make-up, but Stoney created a character you just couldn't take your eyes off of. Chen's master manipulation and eventual disintegration ("You can't kill me, I'm immortal!") is compelling…far more compelling, ultimately, than the Daleks and their Time Destructor. It's not easy for someone to steal the show from the Pepperpot Menace, but Mavic Chen did it ably. Which made his final fate even more effective.
And then there's Sara. Jean Marsh does a fine job of playing the "fill-in companion," although she has a rocky start. I know the team had some issues with her going from stone cold killer to caring companion--though Marsh (and the writers) are smart enough to keep at least a bit of a prickly edge to her character. I think the best testament I can make to how much Sara came to mean to this story and the team is shown by our reaction to her death in the last episode discussion.
Katarina…poor Katarina. Poor Adrienne Hill. In some ways, she was as much a casualty of the change in producers (Verity Lambert to John Wiles) as the vacuum of space. Wiles and Donald Tosh realized, quite rightly, that she didn't work as a character out of her element. Sure, it's always good to have a "what's that Doctor" character, but she took that to an extreme that the show couldn't handle at this point. Thankfully, a later production/writing team would find the balance necessary for "historical" companions.
And, of course, this is the story that introduced Nicholas Courtney to Doctor Who, after he got beaten out by Julian Glover for the part of Richard III in "The Crusades." True, Bret Vyon only lasted four episodes, but Nick was a high point in every one of them.
Not much I can say about Peter Purves, other than Steven isn't always well served by these scripts, often being overshadowed by Bret or Sara. But when he is able to shine, Purves rises to the occasion. (He is, for example, wonderful in the Monk episodes.) And William Hartnell, regardless of the behind the scenes problems (and there were many) and his failing health (which finally seems to be starting to be visible on screen), is clearly the life and soul of the show. Some scenes without him are very good, but he brings an energy to every episode that is undeniable.
Then there are the writers…ok, Terry Nation has gotten a lot of bashing over the past few…months. And yes, some of it was undeserved; there are a lot of great ideas early on in this story. But there's a lot of recycled stuff from his previous Who scripts too. If you include the petrified one in the first Dalek story, he's had five jungle planets/areas in four stories. The "spine" of this story involves the Daleks chasing their enemies, through both time and space…a lot like "The Chase." The "[vi]taranium" reminds one of the special metal developed by the scientist in "Dalek Invasion of Earth"--"dalekanium." And then there's the moment in almost every Nation-scripted episode in this story where the action stops dead. Sometimes there are plot points in those scenes, but they seem to stretch on for far longer than they're actually on screen. Once Dennis Spooner takes over (apparently using Nation's outline), the plot flaws remain, but the dead spots (with a few exceptions!) basically disappear. And the dialogue becomes less portentious, more snappy. And his decision to bring back the Monk (which was not in the outline) was sheer genius, reviving a flagging story. Think how boring the mid-Chase episodes would have been without him!
As for the direction, well, Douglas Camfield seems to have done a fine job. Certainly, the existing episodes look good, and the stills give a good idea of how shots were set up. Not a lot to say, but I wanted to mention that this was another strong story from a strong director.
Ok, I'd better post the links to the episode writeups before I type all night!
"The Nightmare Begins"
"Day of Armageddon"
"Devil's Planet"
"The Traitors"
"Counter Plot"
"Coronas of the Sun"
"The Feast of Steven"
"Volcano"
"Golden Death"
"Escape Switch"
"The Abandoned Planet"
"Destruction of Time"
And here are links to the BBC episode guide and (for all the behind the scenes info) the Brief History of Time (Travel) page for the story. I'd really recommend checking at least the latter out. And, of course, I can't say enough about how wonderful the Loose Cannon Productions reconstruction was. It's probably one of the best ones yet and I can't recommend it enough. Check it out, you'll be glad you did. (2 videotapes and postage, a deal you can't beat!)
Finally, a little trivia quiz for our readers: believe it or not, this story was only the third and fourth time the TARDIS had touched down on "present-day" (i.e. in or around the year of transmission) Earth after leaving it during the first episode. Can you name them all?
So, the Doctor and Steven have left Kembel for the last time, moving through time and space towards a story that is completely different from this one. Change, and not a moment too soon! (That is, tomorrow night!) Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
So, as I asked the team after we finished, was it worth it? On the whole, I'm going to say yes, though I don't think all of the Project members would agree with me. (Heck, MisterMother decided to skip the rest of this story after watching a few of the episodes.) The story is considered a masterpiece by many fans (especially those with memories of seeing it as kids), but I think it is, at best, a flawed masterpiece.
For one thing, it's too long. About 3 episodes too long, I'd say; as Spoo said in the last episode discussion, the "Master Plan" plot would have made a great seven-parter. Admittedly, most of the filler was enjoyable (especially anything involving the Monk), but it was painfully obvious that it was filler. When you get right down to it, the plot could be said to fit into episodes 1-6 and then parts of 10-12, but even those had long scenes of…nothing. (The space radio operators chatting about what to watch on space telly, Chen and Karlton's apparent flirting, Steven and Sara's interminable trek through the jungle, etc. etc.) By the end, you could tell that even the cast and production team, some of whom hadn't been thrilled about a 12 part story from the beginning, were experiencing a bit of story fatigue.
But the episodes that consist entirely of filler, while dragging the story out, were a lot of fun, sometimes more fun than the central plot. The Christmas episode was fun mainly for the "legendary" novelty value, but the three episodes with the Monk were pure fun…mainly because of Peter Butterworth's wonderful comic acting. One wishes for more, another whole story of the Monk's inept attepts at revenge. (Carry On Timelord?)
Moving on to one of the serial's good points, he came in for a lot of ribbing, but I want to talk a bit about Kevin Stoney's Mavic Chen. True, he was a white man in very heavy "oriental" make-up, but Stoney created a character you just couldn't take your eyes off of. Chen's master manipulation and eventual disintegration ("You can't kill me, I'm immortal!") is compelling…far more compelling, ultimately, than the Daleks and their Time Destructor. It's not easy for someone to steal the show from the Pepperpot Menace, but Mavic Chen did it ably. Which made his final fate even more effective.
And then there's Sara. Jean Marsh does a fine job of playing the "fill-in companion," although she has a rocky start. I know the team had some issues with her going from stone cold killer to caring companion--though Marsh (and the writers) are smart enough to keep at least a bit of a prickly edge to her character. I think the best testament I can make to how much Sara came to mean to this story and the team is shown by our reaction to her death in the last episode discussion.
Katarina…poor Katarina. Poor Adrienne Hill. In some ways, she was as much a casualty of the change in producers (Verity Lambert to John Wiles) as the vacuum of space. Wiles and Donald Tosh realized, quite rightly, that she didn't work as a character out of her element. Sure, it's always good to have a "what's that Doctor" character, but she took that to an extreme that the show couldn't handle at this point. Thankfully, a later production/writing team would find the balance necessary for "historical" companions.
And, of course, this is the story that introduced Nicholas Courtney to Doctor Who, after he got beaten out by Julian Glover for the part of Richard III in "The Crusades." True, Bret Vyon only lasted four episodes, but Nick was a high point in every one of them.
Not much I can say about Peter Purves, other than Steven isn't always well served by these scripts, often being overshadowed by Bret or Sara. But when he is able to shine, Purves rises to the occasion. (He is, for example, wonderful in the Monk episodes.) And William Hartnell, regardless of the behind the scenes problems (and there were many) and his failing health (which finally seems to be starting to be visible on screen), is clearly the life and soul of the show. Some scenes without him are very good, but he brings an energy to every episode that is undeniable.
Then there are the writers…ok, Terry Nation has gotten a lot of bashing over the past few…months. And yes, some of it was undeserved; there are a lot of great ideas early on in this story. But there's a lot of recycled stuff from his previous Who scripts too. If you include the petrified one in the first Dalek story, he's had five jungle planets/areas in four stories. The "spine" of this story involves the Daleks chasing their enemies, through both time and space…a lot like "The Chase." The "[vi]taranium" reminds one of the special metal developed by the scientist in "Dalek Invasion of Earth"--"dalekanium." And then there's the moment in almost every Nation-scripted episode in this story where the action stops dead. Sometimes there are plot points in those scenes, but they seem to stretch on for far longer than they're actually on screen. Once Dennis Spooner takes over (apparently using Nation's outline), the plot flaws remain, but the dead spots (with a few exceptions!) basically disappear. And the dialogue becomes less portentious, more snappy. And his decision to bring back the Monk (which was not in the outline) was sheer genius, reviving a flagging story. Think how boring the mid-Chase episodes would have been without him!
As for the direction, well, Douglas Camfield seems to have done a fine job. Certainly, the existing episodes look good, and the stills give a good idea of how shots were set up. Not a lot to say, but I wanted to mention that this was another strong story from a strong director.
Ok, I'd better post the links to the episode writeups before I type all night!
"The Nightmare Begins"
"Day of Armageddon"
"Devil's Planet"
"The Traitors"
"Counter Plot"
"Coronas of the Sun"
"The Feast of Steven"
"Volcano"
"Golden Death"
"Escape Switch"
"The Abandoned Planet"
"Destruction of Time"
And here are links to the BBC episode guide and (for all the behind the scenes info) the Brief History of Time (Travel) page for the story. I'd really recommend checking at least the latter out. And, of course, I can't say enough about how wonderful the Loose Cannon Productions reconstruction was. It's probably one of the best ones yet and I can't recommend it enough. Check it out, you'll be glad you did. (2 videotapes and postage, a deal you can't beat!)
Finally, a little trivia quiz for our readers: believe it or not, this story was only the third and fourth time the TARDIS had touched down on "present-day" (i.e. in or around the year of transmission) Earth after leaving it during the first episode. Can you name them all?
So, the Doctor and Steven have left Kembel for the last time, moving through time and space towards a story that is completely different from this one. Change, and not a moment too soon! (That is, tomorrow night!) Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
Saturday, March 26, 2011
"Destruction of Time"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. We made it--the end of the twelve episode epic! Joining me this week were Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, Photobug and Cz. This episode was a biggie, so, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
Friday, March 18, 2011
"The Abandoned Planet"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo, Photobug and Cz. We're in the home stretch, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this week it may have been the light from an oncoming train. Let's get to the summary.
Friday, March 11, 2011
"Escape Switch"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, with the tenth episode of our Dalek epic. Joining me this week are Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, Photobug and Cz. This week--moving pictures! Let's get to the summary!
Friday, March 4, 2011
"Golden Death"
Hello everyone, the Historian here with the next episode in the Dalek story that may very well never end. Joining me was, as always, Ketina and Ronelyn, with Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo and Photobug. Anyway, let's get to the summary!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The TARDIS Project lands in the Emerald City!
For any readers in the Seattle area, Project members Ketina, Ronelyn, (maybe) Cz and I will be at the Emerald City Comicon this Saturday, March 5th. We'll be wandering the floor, together or separately, probably for most of the day. I've no idea what I'll be wearing, but Ketina tells me you can just "look for a woman with long purple hair in a Doctor Who t-shirt. Seriously, how many of those can there be a convention?" We should have TARDIS Project business cards (no idea how many, though!) to hand out to all and sundry...or simply sundry, depending on how long they last. You can ask us about the blog, give us feedback or just talk Doctor Who in person--how exciting!
Hope to see a few of you there! And look for the new "Daleks' Master Plan" episode post this weekend as well!
THE HISTORIAN
Hope to see a few of you there! And look for the new "Daleks' Master Plan" episode post this weekend as well!
THE HISTORIAN
Friday, February 25, 2011
"Volcano"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. We've gone from a full house last week to a small group this week, with only Ketina, Ronelyn and Schmallturm joining me as we get back to the plot of this Dalek story. Eight episodes down, four to go...Let's get to the summary!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Farewell Mr. Courtney...
Word has come to me that Nicholas Courtney has passed away at the age of 81. Courtney was known for playing the rarely flappable Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, acting opposite the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Doctors. (And the Sixth in "Dimensions in Time," for what that's worth.) [EDIT: And the Eighth in audio adventures, which I'd forgotten.] Before that, insofar as Doctor Who goes, Courtney appeared as Space Security Agent Bret Vyon in "The Daleks' Master Plan," the story the TARDIS Project is in the middle of right now.
I'm struggling for what to write here, to articulate what Nicholas Courtney and the Brig mean to both Doctor Who and, well, to me. He brought so much flair to the role, lighting up the screen. He made some of the silliest bits ("The Three Doctors," anyone?) absolute fun. And not only in Doctor Who; I remember watching an old episode of "The Avengers" when I was a kid and being delighted to recognize "The Brig" (sans mustache) in a role.
I guess what it comes down to is Nicholas Courtney did a lot to make a lot of Doctor Who fans very happy. He was reportedly a kind man, generous to fans and very funny. I wish I'd met him. And I'm sad that the Brig will never get to meet the Eleventh Doctor. The Doctor Who world will be sadder for his loss.
Thanks, Mr. Courtney. But remember--this time when you see a chap with wings, belay that five rounds rapid!
THE HISTORIAN
I'm struggling for what to write here, to articulate what Nicholas Courtney and the Brig mean to both Doctor Who and, well, to me. He brought so much flair to the role, lighting up the screen. He made some of the silliest bits ("The Three Doctors," anyone?) absolute fun. And not only in Doctor Who; I remember watching an old episode of "The Avengers" when I was a kid and being delighted to recognize "The Brig" (sans mustache) in a role.
I guess what it comes down to is Nicholas Courtney did a lot to make a lot of Doctor Who fans very happy. He was reportedly a kind man, generous to fans and very funny. I wish I'd met him. And I'm sad that the Brig will never get to meet the Eleventh Doctor. The Doctor Who world will be sadder for his loss.
Thanks, Mr. Courtney. But remember--this time when you see a chap with wings, belay that five rounds rapid!
THE HISTORIAN
Friday, February 18, 2011
"The Feast of Steven"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, with Ketina, Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo and Cz. Tonight, as I mentioned last week, we watched the original lost episode, the first one to be wiped by the BBC. Some of us have been hearing about this one for literally decades...so, what did we think? Well, first, let's get to the summary!
Friday, February 11, 2011
"Coronas of the Sun"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, Photobug and Cz. This week brings us the triumphant return of writer Dennis Spooner to Doctor Who, following an outline presented by Terry Nation, and giving us more Dalek shenanigans. (Oh, by the way, standard Loose Cannon Productions plug. Check out their recons!) So, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
Friday, February 4, 2011
"Counter Plot"
Hi everyone, the Historian here, with our next episode in this increasingly long Dalek epic. Joining me this week was a full house: Ketina, Ronelyn, Spoo, MiniSpoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz. This week we had actual moving pictures, thanks to the somewhat miraculous survival of this episode. Let's get to the summary!
Friday, January 28, 2011
"The Traitors"
Hello everyone, the Historian here. Tonight I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz for another Dalek-flavored episode! I apologize for the lateness of the post; the discussion and summary took a bit longer than I'd expected. But we're here now, so, without further ado, let's get to the summary!
Friday, January 21, 2011
"Devil's Planet"
Hello everyone and welcome back to the TARDIS Project! Hopefully, we're back on a regular-ish schedule for the near future, otherwise we'll never make it through this story! Anyway, this week I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo, MisterMother, Photobug and Cz. (Whew!) We're watching this reconstructed episode, as always, thanks to the fine folks at Loose Cannon Productions--order their recons, they're great! But enough of this, let's get to the summary!
Friday, January 7, 2011
"Day of Armageddon"
Hello everyone, the Historian here and we are back from the holiday break! Well, sort of. Due to a personal commitment of some Project personnel, we'll be skipping next week and will return again on 21 January. After that, things will hopefully settle back into the regular schedule. That being said, we had a full house tonight, as I was joined by Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Spoo, MiniSpoo, MisterMother and Cz. And we have a slight change in the posting roster tonight, as Cz has tried recording our discussion and is attempting to transcribe it as I type. Hopefully, it'll be somewhat intelligible. We'll find out in a little while, but before then, let's get to the summary!
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