And so, we've come to the end of another story, Terry Nation's "The Keys of Marinus." A long-time favorite of Ketina's and a sentimental favorite of mine, neither of us had seen it in years. Of course, we were both used to seeing it slightly out of context, immediately after "Inside the Spaceship," without "Marco Polo" between the two stories. Seeing (sort of) the lost historical did, I think, change how we viewed "Keys," far beyond understanding the continuity of Ian's Chinese jacket (or, as Schmallturm would have it, the "flaming chicken" jacket). The episodic nature, which worked so well in the absence of "Polo," causes "Keys" to pale a bit, with very little development shown in any of the mini-stories within the whole. Even the murder mystery (the most developed by far) was a bit thin. It's fairly obvious that these scripts were written quickly, as the "Brief History of Time (Travel)" page for "The Keys of Marinus" details.
All of the above might sound a bit more dire than it should, so let me hasten to add that we did enjoy ourselves quite a bit watching these episodes. I think the main problem (only for Ketina and me, of course), besides the episodic nature of the serial, is that it didn't quite live up to our memories of it. And, in a general sense, the story suffered from following "Marco Polo," which kind of blew us away, recon or not. Still, there was a lot to enjoy, even with the "Altos' lack of pants" jokes, the weak jungle episode, the Knights Who Said 'Ni,' etc. We've talked about it in the individual episode posts, so I won't go into detail here...but I will use that as a segue for the handy episode post link recap!
"The Sea of Death"
"The Velvet Web"
"The Screaming Jungle"
"The Snows of Terror"
"Sentence of Death"
"The Keys of Marinus"
A few final notes: Something I hadn't realized (though I should have, if I'd thought about it), but "The Sea of Death" has the first TARDIS materialisation on screen in the series! Pity it was a bit of a naff model shot (which was repeated in reverse to dematerialise the ship in the final episode), but still--neat, huh? This story also saw the first of the vacations for the regulars; William Hartnell's absence in two episodes was down to his receiving two weeks off. In the coming weeks, we'll see the others take an occasional episode break. Finally, for those interested in an "official" overview, here's the BBC episode guide for the story. Fun reading!
Starting this weekend, the TARDIS crew takes a break from science fictional shenanigans and goes back in time for another historical. Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
Showing posts with label The Keys of Marinus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Keys of Marinus. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
"The Keys of Marinus"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm and Kroroboros. And here we are at the end of another story, with the last, eponymous episode of "The Keys of Marinus." What did we think of this final episode? You'll find out after the summary!
Episode summary: First aired on 16 May, 1964. Over the phone, Susan tells Barbara that "they" plan to kill her, while Ian has been condemned by the Millenium tribunal to death! Barbara, Sabetha and Altos decide not to tell the Doctor of Susan's predicament, so he will spend all his energy on helping Ian. The three then decide to ask Aydan's wife, Kala, for help, figuring she too would want to get the ones who murdered her husband. She proves no help at all, saying she knows nothing of Aydan's friends, but she sympathizes, telling Barbara she knows how it must have been when Susan called her. After the three leave, Kala opens a door to reveal Susan, tied up and gagged! Kala's phone rings and a mysterious voice tells her to kill the girl and that he will retrieve the key that night. In a holding area, Ian waits for a hand on a clock to reach a star symbol...when it will be time for his execution. Meantime, outside the courtroom, the prosecutor, Larn, offers condolences to a despondent Doctor and Tarron places the evidence from the trial--papers and the mace that had acted as the murder weapon--into a locked cabinet. At the same time, Barbara, walking away from Kala's, realizes that Aydan's wife couldn't have known that Susan called her, and the three race back just in time to capture Kala and stop her from killing Susan! They call Tarron, who interrogates Kala, but it does not help Ian's case, as the woman claims Ian was the one who gave her orders. But Susan remembers that the mysterious voice on the phone said he would retrieve the key. The Doctor, who knows where the key is, lays a trap. When a mysterious figure goes to retrieve the Key from within the mace, police jump him and the Doctor unmasks Larn! Later, after sending Altos and Sabetha back to Arbitan early with the first four keys, the Doctor and his companions take their leave of Tarron and return with the fifth Key. But meanwhile, Altos is being interrogated by Yartek, leader of the Voord, who killed Arbitan back in episode one. After Yartek threatens Sabetha, Altos tells him "the old man" has the fifth Key. Susan, Ian, Barbara and the Doctor meet up again, the Doctor having satisfied himself that the force field has been removed from the TARDIS. Thinking that things are a bit too quiet, they ambush a Voord. Ian and Susan go in search of Arbitan, while the other two look for Altos and Sabetha. Ian and Susan go to the control room and discover a figure in Arbitan's robes with the hood up. He claims that the machine discharged energy and they cannot come close to him and asks about Altos. The two travellers realize something is odd, since Arbitan knew Altos, but Ian gives him a Key anyway. The two then go to find the others, Ian revealing he'd given "Arbitan" the fake Key from the jungle area. The crew and Altos and Sabetha flee as Yartek puts the fake Key in the machine which explodes! Later, the crew says their goodbyes, leaving Sabetha and Altos to begin their new life together...
Whew. The summary actually kind of belies the fact that this episode felt like it went very fast, possibly because of the"split" nature of the plot. About two-thirds of this week went to finishing up the murder mystery (which, to be honest, they kind of gave away last week) and the last third being a wrap-up of the plot from episode one, which did feel a bit rushed. All in all, it mostly worked though, bringing a pretty okay story to a pretty okay end.
I, for one, liked the design of the Voords, though Schmallturm thought the wet/drysuit look was kind of silly. The big question, of course, is why they still had the suits on; it was implied back in "The Sea of Death" that the Voords wore the suits (and they are most decidedly suits) to protect themselves from the acid. So why continue to wear them? A religious thing, maybe? Or perhaps they're needed for some other reason as well? The script doesn't say, but I suppose they're wearing them to look suitably "monstery." And yes, I will grant that, as neat as I think the Voords look, the "Yartek masquerading as Arbitan" thing was silly. The helmet didn't quite fit in the hood of Arbitan's robe, did it?
Another thing that I found funny (but that no one else remarked on) was Ian being executed "when the big hand gets to the star!" I don't know why, but the simplicity of the clock just struck me as silly. It's as if Terry Nation said, "We want a science fictiony clock, but something ridiculously simple...I know, one hand and only one piece of notation...hmmm, ess effy...I know, a star! The kids like that, right?" Or maybe that's just me.
As Schmallturm said, "Wow, I didn't think Ian was that smart!" Meaning, giving Yartek the fake key. It seemed obvious to me, though I have seen this story before, many years ago (more about that in the wrap-up). But this episode did give everyone something to do, even (miracle of miracles) Sabetha and Altos, who got their "protect each other from Yartek" scene. Barbara quickly picks up on the rather obvious (to me) clue dropped by Kala in a very natural way. Susan realizes "Arbitan" is a fake, among other things, and the Doctor goes from despondent to triumphant very nicely. I just can't get enough of Hartnell and the evolution of his character.
A couple more plot notes: As Kroroboros put it, regarding Barbara and the others' overpowering Kala before she could kill Susan, "If you're going to kill somebody, lock the darn door!" We also noted that old Terry Nation recycling plan again, this time with plot points: both Kala and Yartek are tripped up by making conversational slips, Kala about Susan's call and Yartek about Arbitan not knowing Altos. (Though, to be fair, the latter case was just kind of icing on the "he's not really Arbitan, is he" cake for Ian and Susan.) It's a small point, but having both in the same episode really made the, er, coincidence stand out. (I'm surprised David Whittaker didn't nip that in the bud!)
All right, any more from me (about the story in general) will come in the wrap-up post later this week. Next week, though, back to the historicals! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here,
Well, overall the episode wasn't too bad. I liked the wrap up to the court case / murder mystery plot. My favorite bit was at the end when the Doctor points out that the investigator could learn a little about skepticism from Pyrrho. Ian says it was lucky that the Doctor had read Pyrrho and the Doctor remarks "Read him? No, I met the man." or something along those lines.
There were a lot of little gaffs that unintentionally added to the humor this week. Several lines of dialog were mildly muffed by various characters for instance. But the standout for me was the Voord tripping on his own flipper. Creepy costume until you see their feet. Flop flop.
I was a little disappointed at how quickly they resolved the final plot with the Voords, but I suppose there wasn't enough time after the murder plot, and it didn't have enough to fill a full episode entirely on its own. Ian's turn around with the key was clever, although obvious to me as well, but that was about the only good bit during that plot.
Sorry, not much from me this week.
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "THE TEMPLE OF EVIL"
Episode summary: First aired on 16 May, 1964. Over the phone, Susan tells Barbara that "they" plan to kill her, while Ian has been condemned by the Millenium tribunal to death! Barbara, Sabetha and Altos decide not to tell the Doctor of Susan's predicament, so he will spend all his energy on helping Ian. The three then decide to ask Aydan's wife, Kala, for help, figuring she too would want to get the ones who murdered her husband. She proves no help at all, saying she knows nothing of Aydan's friends, but she sympathizes, telling Barbara she knows how it must have been when Susan called her. After the three leave, Kala opens a door to reveal Susan, tied up and gagged! Kala's phone rings and a mysterious voice tells her to kill the girl and that he will retrieve the key that night. In a holding area, Ian waits for a hand on a clock to reach a star symbol...when it will be time for his execution. Meantime, outside the courtroom, the prosecutor, Larn, offers condolences to a despondent Doctor and Tarron places the evidence from the trial--papers and the mace that had acted as the murder weapon--into a locked cabinet. At the same time, Barbara, walking away from Kala's, realizes that Aydan's wife couldn't have known that Susan called her, and the three race back just in time to capture Kala and stop her from killing Susan! They call Tarron, who interrogates Kala, but it does not help Ian's case, as the woman claims Ian was the one who gave her orders. But Susan remembers that the mysterious voice on the phone said he would retrieve the key. The Doctor, who knows where the key is, lays a trap. When a mysterious figure goes to retrieve the Key from within the mace, police jump him and the Doctor unmasks Larn! Later, after sending Altos and Sabetha back to Arbitan early with the first four keys, the Doctor and his companions take their leave of Tarron and return with the fifth Key. But meanwhile, Altos is being interrogated by Yartek, leader of the Voord, who killed Arbitan back in episode one. After Yartek threatens Sabetha, Altos tells him "the old man" has the fifth Key. Susan, Ian, Barbara and the Doctor meet up again, the Doctor having satisfied himself that the force field has been removed from the TARDIS. Thinking that things are a bit too quiet, they ambush a Voord. Ian and Susan go in search of Arbitan, while the other two look for Altos and Sabetha. Ian and Susan go to the control room and discover a figure in Arbitan's robes with the hood up. He claims that the machine discharged energy and they cannot come close to him and asks about Altos. The two travellers realize something is odd, since Arbitan knew Altos, but Ian gives him a Key anyway. The two then go to find the others, Ian revealing he'd given "Arbitan" the fake Key from the jungle area. The crew and Altos and Sabetha flee as Yartek puts the fake Key in the machine which explodes! Later, the crew says their goodbyes, leaving Sabetha and Altos to begin their new life together...
Whew. The summary actually kind of belies the fact that this episode felt like it went very fast, possibly because of the"split" nature of the plot. About two-thirds of this week went to finishing up the murder mystery (which, to be honest, they kind of gave away last week) and the last third being a wrap-up of the plot from episode one, which did feel a bit rushed. All in all, it mostly worked though, bringing a pretty okay story to a pretty okay end.
I, for one, liked the design of the Voords, though Schmallturm thought the wet/drysuit look was kind of silly. The big question, of course, is why they still had the suits on; it was implied back in "The Sea of Death" that the Voords wore the suits (and they are most decidedly suits) to protect themselves from the acid. So why continue to wear them? A religious thing, maybe? Or perhaps they're needed for some other reason as well? The script doesn't say, but I suppose they're wearing them to look suitably "monstery." And yes, I will grant that, as neat as I think the Voords look, the "Yartek masquerading as Arbitan" thing was silly. The helmet didn't quite fit in the hood of Arbitan's robe, did it?
Another thing that I found funny (but that no one else remarked on) was Ian being executed "when the big hand gets to the star!" I don't know why, but the simplicity of the clock just struck me as silly. It's as if Terry Nation said, "We want a science fictiony clock, but something ridiculously simple...I know, one hand and only one piece of notation...hmmm, ess effy...I know, a star! The kids like that, right?" Or maybe that's just me.
As Schmallturm said, "Wow, I didn't think Ian was that smart!" Meaning, giving Yartek the fake key. It seemed obvious to me, though I have seen this story before, many years ago (more about that in the wrap-up). But this episode did give everyone something to do, even (miracle of miracles) Sabetha and Altos, who got their "protect each other from Yartek" scene. Barbara quickly picks up on the rather obvious (to me) clue dropped by Kala in a very natural way. Susan realizes "Arbitan" is a fake, among other things, and the Doctor goes from despondent to triumphant very nicely. I just can't get enough of Hartnell and the evolution of his character.
A couple more plot notes: As Kroroboros put it, regarding Barbara and the others' overpowering Kala before she could kill Susan, "If you're going to kill somebody, lock the darn door!" We also noted that old Terry Nation recycling plan again, this time with plot points: both Kala and Yartek are tripped up by making conversational slips, Kala about Susan's call and Yartek about Arbitan not knowing Altos. (Though, to be fair, the latter case was just kind of icing on the "he's not really Arbitan, is he" cake for Ian and Susan.) It's a small point, but having both in the same episode really made the, er, coincidence stand out. (I'm surprised David Whittaker didn't nip that in the bud!)
All right, any more from me (about the story in general) will come in the wrap-up post later this week. Next week, though, back to the historicals! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here,
Well, overall the episode wasn't too bad. I liked the wrap up to the court case / murder mystery plot. My favorite bit was at the end when the Doctor points out that the investigator could learn a little about skepticism from Pyrrho. Ian says it was lucky that the Doctor had read Pyrrho and the Doctor remarks "Read him? No, I met the man." or something along those lines.
There were a lot of little gaffs that unintentionally added to the humor this week. Several lines of dialog were mildly muffed by various characters for instance. But the standout for me was the Voord tripping on his own flipper. Creepy costume until you see their feet. Flop flop.
I was a little disappointed at how quickly they resolved the final plot with the Voords, but I suppose there wasn't enough time after the murder plot, and it didn't have enough to fill a full episode entirely on its own. Ian's turn around with the key was clever, although obvious to me as well, but that was about the only good bit during that plot.
Sorry, not much from me this week.
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "THE TEMPLE OF EVIL"
Friday, May 15, 2009
"Sentence of Death"
Hello all, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm and Kroroboros, nearing the end of our journey across the planet Marinus. It's court drama time this week, so let's get to the summary!
Episode Summary: First aired 9 May, 1964. Ian walks forward into the room and sees a man lying on the floor and the Key in a display case. As he moves forward, he is hit from behind and a man in black gloves puts a mace in his hand as he lies unconscious, then steals the key as an alarm sounds...Ian awakes to find himself confronted by an Investigator, Tarron, who tells him he is accused of murdering the guard (who turns out to be Arbitan's follower, Eprin) and demands Ian tell him where the Key is hidden. Tarron also reveals that by the legal ystem of this city, Millenium, Ian is presumed guilty unless proven innocent! As Ian is held, the others search for the Doctor, who finally turns up just before Ian's hearing and promises to defend his young friend. The Doctor manages to get a bit more time out of the tribunal and sends Altos and Sabetha off to the library to find precedents. Meanwhile, he, Barbara and Susan go to the scene of the crime where the Doctor expounds on his theory: the true murderer was the first one apparently on the scene--the relief guard, a man named Aydan! The Doctor also says he knows where the Key must be hidden. Barbara and Susan are sent to confront Aydan at his home. He is infuriated and lets his composure slip, but Susan also lets slip the fact that they know where the missing Key is. After the women leave, Aydan calls the Prosecuter, Larn, that the strangers know where the Key is! At the trial the next day, the Doctor tricks Aydan into confessing and he is about to tell all--including the names of his co-conspirators--when he is gunned down, as his wife Kala watches in horror. The Tribunal, though convinced Aydan did the actual killing, appear unconvinced that Ian was not involved and let the sentence of death stand. Meanwhile, Barbara, Altos and Sabetha are called out of the courtroom to received a phone call--it is Susan. She has been kidnapped and says "they" will kill her unless the travellers do not reveal the location of the Key! Susan kidnapped, Ian being led away to be executed, and Barbara does not know what to do....
Well, this was a pleasant change of pace! No stock footage, a much more complex plot, the full cast back together...Sure, we had plenty of quibbles (which I'm sure we'll elucidate below), but we really enjoyed this episode. And I, for one, noticed our first example of writer Terry Nation's environmentally sound name-recycling. Tarron sound familiar to people who know Nation's later work?
Truth to tell, there was far more to like about this week than to complain about. The Doctor's return was incredibly welcome; William Hartnell's absence was definitely detrimental to the last few episodes. He remains interesting, quirky and charming in a way that the others (although they, too, can be quite good) aren't quite. Ian also shines this week, especially in his reaction to the law code of Millenium; for a man used to the Common Law's guarantee of innocence, the presumption of guilt was a bit of a shock and William Russell did a fine job with it. (I made a "Napoleonic Code" joke, but I am, after all, the Historian.) Barbara and Susan were a bit less well-used; their best scene had them as simply props in the Doctor's reconstruction of the crime. Susan's slip of the tongue at Aydan's house (which we had other problems with) comes across as less of a mistake and more of an obvious plot plant. Still, not everyone can be the center of attention in an episode and, though they were given little to do, Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill do the best with what they're given. Altos and Sabetha, though, are basically dead weight here; other than a rather amusing scene examining law books ("Look, Sabetha! According to Yothuk vs. Arrios..."), the episode wouldn't have lost anything without their presence.
About that scene in Aydan's room...the weakest part of the script in the opinion of most of us. Given that it was the introduction to the character, we had absolutely no idea just who Barbara and Susan were visiting and confronting. Some of us, in fact, mistook Aydan for Tarron--as one of us (Ketina? Ronelyn?) pointed out, dark haired men with the same basic build, a similar hairstyle and wearing very similar uniforms can be a bit hard to tell apart! It was just very abrupt and it wasn't until well into the scene that I was able to connect this new guy to the "relief guard" that the Doctor had talked about; it felt like the previous scene had been edited or a different scene introducing Aydan was omitted. It didn't hurt the story too much, but it was a bit needlessly confusing.
One point that is a completely unfair quibble has to do with the "phones" used by the people in the futuristic city. Although fancy (rather silly, actually) looking sparkly wands are used as hand receivers throughout the rest of the episode, the phone in the vault uses a normal (well, normal for the 60s-80s, anyway) handset receiver. Ketina and Schmallturm explained this away by saying that everything in the vault must be old, antique, so the communication system would be too. Then we all agreed it was just a bit of a design flub.
All in all, though, this was really great. A fun, if simple, murder mystery with a "Perry Mason" courtroom reveal and the promise of a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion next week. I'm sure there is more to say, but I think I shall turn things over to my companion in commentary, Ketina. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here.
Well, I enjoyed the episode, but I must say that things were a wee bit confusing. It was pretty far into the episode before I figured out that Aydan and Tarron were two different guys. Which explained a lot at the end, but almost required a second showing just to clarify it.
Silly: The hats worn by the judges looked like those paper things worn at the end of roasted turkey legs. And when Aydan is shot there is a tableau as all the character stare a the fallen body for what seems an eternity before his wife Kala finally freaks out. Surprising, NO screams this week by either Barbara or Susan, at least as far as I can recall. Not even when Aydan's shot. This could be the first episode without a scream since The Unearthly Child.
I also liked the "science" used throughout the episode. Their explanation of psychometry used to determine who last touched the murder weapons was neat. They also mentioned giving Kala a technobabble drug to calm her down, which I found amusing given the prevalence of similar drugs used today.
Nastier cliffhanger to leave things on this week as well. Even after getting a confession out of Aydan, Ian is still to be executed. How will The Doctor get them out of this one? :D
NEXT WEEK: "THE KEYS OF MARINUS"
Episode Summary: First aired 9 May, 1964. Ian walks forward into the room and sees a man lying on the floor and the Key in a display case. As he moves forward, he is hit from behind and a man in black gloves puts a mace in his hand as he lies unconscious, then steals the key as an alarm sounds...Ian awakes to find himself confronted by an Investigator, Tarron, who tells him he is accused of murdering the guard (who turns out to be Arbitan's follower, Eprin) and demands Ian tell him where the Key is hidden. Tarron also reveals that by the legal ystem of this city, Millenium, Ian is presumed guilty unless proven innocent! As Ian is held, the others search for the Doctor, who finally turns up just before Ian's hearing and promises to defend his young friend. The Doctor manages to get a bit more time out of the tribunal and sends Altos and Sabetha off to the library to find precedents. Meanwhile, he, Barbara and Susan go to the scene of the crime where the Doctor expounds on his theory: the true murderer was the first one apparently on the scene--the relief guard, a man named Aydan! The Doctor also says he knows where the Key must be hidden. Barbara and Susan are sent to confront Aydan at his home. He is infuriated and lets his composure slip, but Susan also lets slip the fact that they know where the missing Key is. After the women leave, Aydan calls the Prosecuter, Larn, that the strangers know where the Key is! At the trial the next day, the Doctor tricks Aydan into confessing and he is about to tell all--including the names of his co-conspirators--when he is gunned down, as his wife Kala watches in horror. The Tribunal, though convinced Aydan did the actual killing, appear unconvinced that Ian was not involved and let the sentence of death stand. Meanwhile, Barbara, Altos and Sabetha are called out of the courtroom to received a phone call--it is Susan. She has been kidnapped and says "they" will kill her unless the travellers do not reveal the location of the Key! Susan kidnapped, Ian being led away to be executed, and Barbara does not know what to do....
Well, this was a pleasant change of pace! No stock footage, a much more complex plot, the full cast back together...Sure, we had plenty of quibbles (which I'm sure we'll elucidate below), but we really enjoyed this episode. And I, for one, noticed our first example of writer Terry Nation's environmentally sound name-recycling. Tarron sound familiar to people who know Nation's later work?
Truth to tell, there was far more to like about this week than to complain about. The Doctor's return was incredibly welcome; William Hartnell's absence was definitely detrimental to the last few episodes. He remains interesting, quirky and charming in a way that the others (although they, too, can be quite good) aren't quite. Ian also shines this week, especially in his reaction to the law code of Millenium; for a man used to the Common Law's guarantee of innocence, the presumption of guilt was a bit of a shock and William Russell did a fine job with it. (I made a "Napoleonic Code" joke, but I am, after all, the Historian.) Barbara and Susan were a bit less well-used; their best scene had them as simply props in the Doctor's reconstruction of the crime. Susan's slip of the tongue at Aydan's house (which we had other problems with) comes across as less of a mistake and more of an obvious plot plant. Still, not everyone can be the center of attention in an episode and, though they were given little to do, Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill do the best with what they're given. Altos and Sabetha, though, are basically dead weight here; other than a rather amusing scene examining law books ("Look, Sabetha! According to Yothuk vs. Arrios..."), the episode wouldn't have lost anything without their presence.
About that scene in Aydan's room...the weakest part of the script in the opinion of most of us. Given that it was the introduction to the character, we had absolutely no idea just who Barbara and Susan were visiting and confronting. Some of us, in fact, mistook Aydan for Tarron--as one of us (Ketina? Ronelyn?) pointed out, dark haired men with the same basic build, a similar hairstyle and wearing very similar uniforms can be a bit hard to tell apart! It was just very abrupt and it wasn't until well into the scene that I was able to connect this new guy to the "relief guard" that the Doctor had talked about; it felt like the previous scene had been edited or a different scene introducing Aydan was omitted. It didn't hurt the story too much, but it was a bit needlessly confusing.
One point that is a completely unfair quibble has to do with the "phones" used by the people in the futuristic city. Although fancy (rather silly, actually) looking sparkly wands are used as hand receivers throughout the rest of the episode, the phone in the vault uses a normal (well, normal for the 60s-80s, anyway) handset receiver. Ketina and Schmallturm explained this away by saying that everything in the vault must be old, antique, so the communication system would be too. Then we all agreed it was just a bit of a design flub.
All in all, though, this was really great. A fun, if simple, murder mystery with a "Perry Mason" courtroom reveal and the promise of a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion next week. I'm sure there is more to say, but I think I shall turn things over to my companion in commentary, Ketina. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here.
Well, I enjoyed the episode, but I must say that things were a wee bit confusing. It was pretty far into the episode before I figured out that Aydan and Tarron were two different guys. Which explained a lot at the end, but almost required a second showing just to clarify it.
Silly: The hats worn by the judges looked like those paper things worn at the end of roasted turkey legs. And when Aydan is shot there is a tableau as all the character stare a the fallen body for what seems an eternity before his wife Kala finally freaks out. Surprising, NO screams this week by either Barbara or Susan, at least as far as I can recall. Not even when Aydan's shot. This could be the first episode without a scream since The Unearthly Child.
I also liked the "science" used throughout the episode. Their explanation of psychometry used to determine who last touched the murder weapons was neat. They also mentioned giving Kala a technobabble drug to calm her down, which I found amusing given the prevalence of similar drugs used today.
Nastier cliffhanger to leave things on this week as well. Even after getting a confession out of Aydan, Ian is still to be executed. How will The Doctor get them out of this one? :D
NEXT WEEK: "THE KEYS OF MARINUS"
Friday, May 8, 2009
"The Snows of Terror"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Ronelyn and Schmallturm, welcoming you back to Marinus. So let's get on with it!
Episode summary: First aired 2 May, 1964. Barbara and Ian collapse in a freezing, snowy landscape. Barbara wakes momentarily to see a fur-clothed man leaning over her and taking the Key they'd gotten in the jungle...and then awakes in a hut where the man, a fur trapper named Vasor, helps rub the frostbite out of her hands. He rescued the two from the mountain, he says, and warns her that the cold wouldn't have gotten them--the wolves would have. Ian wakes and Vasor tells them that "a mad stranger" helped him carry the two of them before going out again to look for two girls. The stranger must have been Altos, Ian surmises, and the girls Susan and Sabetha! Ian wants to go out after them, but Vasor will not give him a fur for nothing, so he is forced to part with his travel dial. Taking a fur, a lantern and a bag Vasor gives him, Ian goes out into the darkness, aware of the cold and the wolves. Vasor and Barbara finish their meal and, helping to clean up, Barbara discovers a drawer containing three travel dials and Sabetha's necklace containing the Keys! Vasor says he traded it to the girls, who he'd found in a cave, for flint and food. And now that Ian is out of the way...he won't be coming back, Vasor says, as the bag he carries contains something to draw the wolves...Ian, meanwhile, has found Altos, who is lying in the snow with his hands tied. While Ian revives him (and rubs feeling back into Altos' bare legs), they discover what is in the bag: raw meat! Ian flings it away and the two make their way back to Vasor's hut, where, inside, Barbara is fending off his violent advances. Ian and Altos arrive, Barbara breaks away from Vasor to open the door, and the three force the trapper to take them to the cave where Susan and Sabetha wait. Those two, meanwhile, are looking at the remains of their fire in the ice cave. They decide to explore the cave, if only to keep warm, but get totally lost and wander further into the mountain. Discovering a precarious-looking rope bridge, the two cross and enter a chamber where they see strange figures! Meanwhile, the others arrive in the cave, Vasor protesting all the while that there are "demons" lurking there. They force him to lead them further in where they discover the girls, who had fled to the rope bridge. Everyone but Vasor crosses, and the trapper frees the bridge and casts his side into the chasm! He leaves, believing the others to be trapped. With no other choice, the group goes on and finds the figures, which turn out to be four frozen knights guarding this area's Key, trapped in a block of ice. There is a pipe system meant to melt it out. They begin the melting process, then return to the chasm to figure out a way across. Ian and Altos get the idea of taking huge icicles (we think), freezing them together and laying them across. One person will cross, be thrown the rope bridge (which they've pulled up on their side), secure it and help everyone cross. Meanwhile, the women have gone back to get the now thawed Key...but that's not the only thing to have thawed, as the knights come to life and come after them! Ian fends them off and Susan, risking her life as the "bridge" isn't fully frozen yet, crawls across and secures the bridge. Everyone crosses and Ian throws the bridge down again just in time to send a knight plunging to his death. Vasor, back in his hut, is looking at his ill-gotten gains, the keys and travel dials, as our friends burst in. He tries to take Susan hostage, but the knights are battering down his door and a sword gets him in the back. Everyone turns their dials and--a museum. Ian moves forward and sees a man lying on the floor, just as someone hits him from behind and knocks him out! The strange, gloved figure puts the weapon in Ian's hand, then reaches into a display case, steals the Key that is there and leaves as an alarm sounds...
Ok. I'm going to start off by saying I think we all enjoyed this a bit more than last week's episode (except for Schmallturm, who wasn't here last week). There was more actual story here, more things happened. That being said...we still had quite a bit of fun, but there are some huge flaws, from the gratuitous stock footage wolves (or wolf, I should say, since there was only one) to the use of cellophane technology to stand in for ice to the workboots painted silver that the knights wore... (Ronelyn caught that one, I completely missed it.) And yes, the key guards were immediately referred to, anachronistically, as "the Knights who say 'Ni!'" by pretty much all of us. To be fair, there were a bunch of good things too--which I'll mention below--but they are let down a bit by the sets and general "we're a bit low on money" vibe this episode gives off. Though I quite liked Vasor's hut; it was really the second half of the episode that had apparent budget issues.
Now, some good things: Vasor himself is great. He's essentially a big bully. A lot of bluster when he has the upper hand, but he completely folds if he's truly threatened--not to mention being more than a bit superstitious, which makes one wonder about the rest of the planet (that we've seen) being more in a science fiction/developed mode. No real explanation is given, but I suppose he could be a product of the collapsed civilization, post dispersal of the Keys...or something...Anyway, Barbara is also excellent in this episode. Again, she proves herself to be resourceful and intelligent. Her fight with Vasor shows her spirit and strength. We love Barbara here. Susan also had her moment, the "I'm lightest, I'd better go while they're distracted or we're all dead" bit at the bridge. Ian is...well, he's a man of action. Not much more than that, really. Altos and Sabetha are...there, that's all we can say about them. (Other than could someone please get Altos some trousers, please?? This came up a few times, especially after the "rubbing his legs to get rid of frostbite" scene.)
I am going to try to leave discussion of the rest of "the silly" to Ketina (and I'm sure she'll have more to say about a few of my points above), but I have to mention our big question: why did Altos, Barbara and Ian leave their travel dials and the Keys in Vasor's hut when they forced him to go up the mountain? We came up with a few kind of answers, but they're all extrapolations. No real reason was given onscreen except "an excuse to go back to the hut so we get closure on Vasor." As much as we did enjoy this episode (and, despite our many quibbles, we did enjoy it) we all definitely agreed that the script was not the strongest we've seen this season. Not the weakest, maybe (and it's certainly stronger than last week's), but not as developed as, perhaps, it should have been.
Next week, though, looks interesting: Ian framed? And the Doctor's return! Can't wait! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
----
Ketina here,
This week on Doctor Who, we learned how to cure frost bite, how to avoid advances of lascivious trappers, the importance of pants in a cold environment, and how to build a bridge.
The Historian already covered the good bits. So let's talk some more about the silly, which was pretty much everything arriving at the cave onwards. For one thing, where did the light come from in the caves? They distinctly show that it's night out side, Ian carries a lantern when looking for lack-of-pants boy Altos. Yet, when we switch to Susan and Sabetha in the caves, the fire has just died and they have no torches or other sources of light. Yet the caves are better lit that either the cottage or outside. Glowing ice? No explanation.
Then as the party faced the "great chasm" below the fallen rope bridge, I was reminded of the jumping scene from horrible episode from The Daleks, "The Ordeal". Yet, even though the jump was about half the length as the leap in "The Ordeal" Ian sees it as too short to make. A jump of about four feet too short to make. Yeah.
Also strange was the scene where Ian was fighting the mighty Knights, and the rest of the companions, except for Susan, stood by. Doing nothing. They just stood there, staring down the tunnel. No attempts to help the man, no cries of encouragement, not working on the ice bridge or reconsidering jumping. No, they're just standing there as Ian and Susan both risk life and limb, as it were.
These issues are all in addition to the silliness of wolfie stock footage, leaving the keys and bracelets behind, cellophane ice, the Knights Who Say Ni, and did I mention the lack of pants.
Oh, and screams from both Susan and Barbara this week. Even justifiable they do scream a lot, don't they.
And even after all that, we did enjoy the episode. Hopefully things will get better with The Doctor's return next week.
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "SENTENCE OF DEATH"
Episode summary: First aired 2 May, 1964. Barbara and Ian collapse in a freezing, snowy landscape. Barbara wakes momentarily to see a fur-clothed man leaning over her and taking the Key they'd gotten in the jungle...and then awakes in a hut where the man, a fur trapper named Vasor, helps rub the frostbite out of her hands. He rescued the two from the mountain, he says, and warns her that the cold wouldn't have gotten them--the wolves would have. Ian wakes and Vasor tells them that "a mad stranger" helped him carry the two of them before going out again to look for two girls. The stranger must have been Altos, Ian surmises, and the girls Susan and Sabetha! Ian wants to go out after them, but Vasor will not give him a fur for nothing, so he is forced to part with his travel dial. Taking a fur, a lantern and a bag Vasor gives him, Ian goes out into the darkness, aware of the cold and the wolves. Vasor and Barbara finish their meal and, helping to clean up, Barbara discovers a drawer containing three travel dials and Sabetha's necklace containing the Keys! Vasor says he traded it to the girls, who he'd found in a cave, for flint and food. And now that Ian is out of the way...he won't be coming back, Vasor says, as the bag he carries contains something to draw the wolves...Ian, meanwhile, has found Altos, who is lying in the snow with his hands tied. While Ian revives him (and rubs feeling back into Altos' bare legs), they discover what is in the bag: raw meat! Ian flings it away and the two make their way back to Vasor's hut, where, inside, Barbara is fending off his violent advances. Ian and Altos arrive, Barbara breaks away from Vasor to open the door, and the three force the trapper to take them to the cave where Susan and Sabetha wait. Those two, meanwhile, are looking at the remains of their fire in the ice cave. They decide to explore the cave, if only to keep warm, but get totally lost and wander further into the mountain. Discovering a precarious-looking rope bridge, the two cross and enter a chamber where they see strange figures! Meanwhile, the others arrive in the cave, Vasor protesting all the while that there are "demons" lurking there. They force him to lead them further in where they discover the girls, who had fled to the rope bridge. Everyone but Vasor crosses, and the trapper frees the bridge and casts his side into the chasm! He leaves, believing the others to be trapped. With no other choice, the group goes on and finds the figures, which turn out to be four frozen knights guarding this area's Key, trapped in a block of ice. There is a pipe system meant to melt it out. They begin the melting process, then return to the chasm to figure out a way across. Ian and Altos get the idea of taking huge icicles (we think), freezing them together and laying them across. One person will cross, be thrown the rope bridge (which they've pulled up on their side), secure it and help everyone cross. Meanwhile, the women have gone back to get the now thawed Key...but that's not the only thing to have thawed, as the knights come to life and come after them! Ian fends them off and Susan, risking her life as the "bridge" isn't fully frozen yet, crawls across and secures the bridge. Everyone crosses and Ian throws the bridge down again just in time to send a knight plunging to his death. Vasor, back in his hut, is looking at his ill-gotten gains, the keys and travel dials, as our friends burst in. He tries to take Susan hostage, but the knights are battering down his door and a sword gets him in the back. Everyone turns their dials and--a museum. Ian moves forward and sees a man lying on the floor, just as someone hits him from behind and knocks him out! The strange, gloved figure puts the weapon in Ian's hand, then reaches into a display case, steals the Key that is there and leaves as an alarm sounds...
Ok. I'm going to start off by saying I think we all enjoyed this a bit more than last week's episode (except for Schmallturm, who wasn't here last week). There was more actual story here, more things happened. That being said...we still had quite a bit of fun, but there are some huge flaws, from the gratuitous stock footage wolves (or wolf, I should say, since there was only one) to the use of cellophane technology to stand in for ice to the workboots painted silver that the knights wore... (Ronelyn caught that one, I completely missed it.) And yes, the key guards were immediately referred to, anachronistically, as "the Knights who say 'Ni!'" by pretty much all of us. To be fair, there were a bunch of good things too--which I'll mention below--but they are let down a bit by the sets and general "we're a bit low on money" vibe this episode gives off. Though I quite liked Vasor's hut; it was really the second half of the episode that had apparent budget issues.
Now, some good things: Vasor himself is great. He's essentially a big bully. A lot of bluster when he has the upper hand, but he completely folds if he's truly threatened--not to mention being more than a bit superstitious, which makes one wonder about the rest of the planet (that we've seen) being more in a science fiction/developed mode. No real explanation is given, but I suppose he could be a product of the collapsed civilization, post dispersal of the Keys...or something...Anyway, Barbara is also excellent in this episode. Again, she proves herself to be resourceful and intelligent. Her fight with Vasor shows her spirit and strength. We love Barbara here. Susan also had her moment, the "I'm lightest, I'd better go while they're distracted or we're all dead" bit at the bridge. Ian is...well, he's a man of action. Not much more than that, really. Altos and Sabetha are...there, that's all we can say about them. (Other than could someone please get Altos some trousers, please?? This came up a few times, especially after the "rubbing his legs to get rid of frostbite" scene.)
I am going to try to leave discussion of the rest of "the silly" to Ketina (and I'm sure she'll have more to say about a few of my points above), but I have to mention our big question: why did Altos, Barbara and Ian leave their travel dials and the Keys in Vasor's hut when they forced him to go up the mountain? We came up with a few kind of answers, but they're all extrapolations. No real reason was given onscreen except "an excuse to go back to the hut so we get closure on Vasor." As much as we did enjoy this episode (and, despite our many quibbles, we did enjoy it) we all definitely agreed that the script was not the strongest we've seen this season. Not the weakest, maybe (and it's certainly stronger than last week's), but not as developed as, perhaps, it should have been.
Next week, though, looks interesting: Ian framed? And the Doctor's return! Can't wait! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
----
Ketina here,
This week on Doctor Who, we learned how to cure frost bite, how to avoid advances of lascivious trappers, the importance of pants in a cold environment, and how to build a bridge.
The Historian already covered the good bits. So let's talk some more about the silly, which was pretty much everything arriving at the cave onwards. For one thing, where did the light come from in the caves? They distinctly show that it's night out side, Ian carries a lantern when looking for lack-of-pants boy Altos. Yet, when we switch to Susan and Sabetha in the caves, the fire has just died and they have no torches or other sources of light. Yet the caves are better lit that either the cottage or outside. Glowing ice? No explanation.
Then as the party faced the "great chasm" below the fallen rope bridge, I was reminded of the jumping scene from horrible episode from The Daleks, "The Ordeal". Yet, even though the jump was about half the length as the leap in "The Ordeal" Ian sees it as too short to make. A jump of about four feet too short to make. Yeah.
Also strange was the scene where Ian was fighting the mighty Knights, and the rest of the companions, except for Susan, stood by. Doing nothing. They just stood there, staring down the tunnel. No attempts to help the man, no cries of encouragement, not working on the ice bridge or reconsidering jumping. No, they're just standing there as Ian and Susan both risk life and limb, as it were.
These issues are all in addition to the silliness of wolfie stock footage, leaving the keys and bracelets behind, cellophane ice, the Knights Who Say Ni, and did I mention the lack of pants.
Oh, and screams from both Susan and Barbara this week. Even justifiable they do scream a lot, don't they.
And even after all that, we did enjoy the episode. Hopefully things will get better with The Doctor's return next week.
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "SENTENCE OF DEATH"
Saturday, May 2, 2009
"The Screaming Jungle"
Hello everyone, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Kroroboros and Ronelyn, continuing our journeys on the planet Marinus. This week, a bit of an arborean adventure...
Episode summary: First aired 25 April, 1964. Susan clutches her ears to cut off the sound of the whispering jungle...just as it stops and Ian, Barbara, Altos and Sabetha reach her. She is hysterical, so Barbara helps her to calm down while Ian and the others search the area. There seems to be an alcove, choked with vines (which are all over the area), leading into a building. Ian and the Marinus people decide to search along the building's walls while Barbara helps Susan. Susan tells her about the whispering, saying that it seemed familiar...and evil. Barbara realizes she can make it through the vines into the alcove and does, just as Ian returns. At the end, she discovers an idol with the Key on its forehead! She wrenches it off, but is unable to get away as the idol's hands close and it pivots in the wall. Ian and Altos recover the Key, and the group determines that Susan, Altos and Sabetha will go on to the next area while Ian searches for Barbara. But before she leaves, Sabetha discovers that the Key Barbara found is a fake! Ian climbs the idol and is taken into the wall where he finds a courtyard and barely escapes a death trap, thanks to Barbara's warning. She tells him that the whole place is booby trapped. They attempt to open a locked door, but fail. Ian goes to find something to help, and the door opens while he's gone. Barbara enters and is tangled in a net as the ceiling descends on her, while Ian is trapped behind a barred wall! An old man, Darrius, stops the descending ceiling, and seems on the verge of believing Barbara when she tells him Arbitan has sent them. Ian frees himself and the two discover that Darrius is being strangled by a moving vine! They free him and he gives them a clue to the location of the real Key: a series of letters. He also warns them that the darkness will bring the "whispering"...and then he dies. The two enter his laboratory and discover a safe, which is an obvious blind. They begin to search the lab when Barbara notices darkness has fallen outside. Meanwhile, Ian has found Darrius' notebook and reads that he was trying to find a way to speed up Nature's ability to erode the environment. Suddenly, a whispering fills the room and the two realize it is coming from the plants and vines outside--as Darrius had theorized, the plants' ability to overtake and destroy the building has accelerated! Vines crash through walls as the two suddenly realize what the letters and numbers Darrius gave them as a clue meant: A chemical formula! They find the jar with that label, take the Key inside and turn their travel dial. The two appear in a snow-swept area, where the temperature is sub-zero. Although Ian urges her to move or they'll die, Barbara is so tired and cold and cannot move....
This episode was...far less interesting than the previous one, for us. It's a simple, almost bog-standard SF story, just like the last one, but it feels less interesting for some reason. The idea of acceleration of Nature's fury is a very good one (as Doctor Who would find several more times over its history), but not a lot is done with it here. The booby traps are fun, but, again, there's not a lot of there there. Darrius is another old man scientist, much like Arbitan, but less interesting. Again, we don't really find out much about him. It's nice to see Ian and Barbara alone for a bit, and it's nice to see Barbara's rebellion against Ian treating her like "Dresden China" (though you'll note that the first thing she does when she's in danger is scream for him), but the whole episode just felt slight. Altos and Sabetha continue to be just kind of there and Susan basically only got to be hysterical--although we did get the information that she'd left first because she didn't want to say goodbye to her grandfather, because she doesn't like to say goodbyes, which might come up later. Really, though, there wasn't very much going on here.
The effects were simple, but effective. Yes, the arms of the statue/idol were human arms, and yes, they twitched once or twice, but I was impressed by the attempt, when the trap was sprung, to make their movement look mechanical. The plants were also pretty good, given the limitations of the time.
I feel like there's something more I should say. This wasn't bad, by any means, not at all. It was a fairly fun 25 minutes. But, really, that's all it was; fun, but not engrossing. Thus far, this serial has not really kept up the riveting interest of the previous, though it's been fun. We'll have to see where it goes next, I suppose! I've no doubt, whether we're on the edge of our seats or not, we'll still certainly enjoy it.
That's all for me. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN.
----
Ketina here,
The Historian already covered most of what was interesting about the episode. I generally agree that it was mildly okay, with nothing particularly special happening.
The good: I liked the solution to finding the key was discovering a chemical formula. And the traps were pretty cool.
The silly: Pretty much all of Darrius's death scene. The dying man urging Ian to come closer, and then speaking his final cryptic words in a perfectly loud enough voice, while sitting upright, and then falling over dead. Thud!
The special effects for the plants also bordered on silly, however they're really no worse than similar killer plant effects shown throughout the history of Doctor Who. The first of many killer plants. :)
And we get obligatory screams this week from both Susan and Barbara. Many from Barbara.
I also completely missed the reference to Dresden China. Possibly a generational thing. My immediate thought was that Dresden was in Germany not China, and that Barbara was making some kind of obscure political or historical reference. But The Historian pointed out to me what she meant - fragile. Like plates! Of course. ;)
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "THE SNOWS OF TERROR"
Episode summary: First aired 25 April, 1964. Susan clutches her ears to cut off the sound of the whispering jungle...just as it stops and Ian, Barbara, Altos and Sabetha reach her. She is hysterical, so Barbara helps her to calm down while Ian and the others search the area. There seems to be an alcove, choked with vines (which are all over the area), leading into a building. Ian and the Marinus people decide to search along the building's walls while Barbara helps Susan. Susan tells her about the whispering, saying that it seemed familiar...and evil. Barbara realizes she can make it through the vines into the alcove and does, just as Ian returns. At the end, she discovers an idol with the Key on its forehead! She wrenches it off, but is unable to get away as the idol's hands close and it pivots in the wall. Ian and Altos recover the Key, and the group determines that Susan, Altos and Sabetha will go on to the next area while Ian searches for Barbara. But before she leaves, Sabetha discovers that the Key Barbara found is a fake! Ian climbs the idol and is taken into the wall where he finds a courtyard and barely escapes a death trap, thanks to Barbara's warning. She tells him that the whole place is booby trapped. They attempt to open a locked door, but fail. Ian goes to find something to help, and the door opens while he's gone. Barbara enters and is tangled in a net as the ceiling descends on her, while Ian is trapped behind a barred wall! An old man, Darrius, stops the descending ceiling, and seems on the verge of believing Barbara when she tells him Arbitan has sent them. Ian frees himself and the two discover that Darrius is being strangled by a moving vine! They free him and he gives them a clue to the location of the real Key: a series of letters. He also warns them that the darkness will bring the "whispering"...and then he dies. The two enter his laboratory and discover a safe, which is an obvious blind. They begin to search the lab when Barbara notices darkness has fallen outside. Meanwhile, Ian has found Darrius' notebook and reads that he was trying to find a way to speed up Nature's ability to erode the environment. Suddenly, a whispering fills the room and the two realize it is coming from the plants and vines outside--as Darrius had theorized, the plants' ability to overtake and destroy the building has accelerated! Vines crash through walls as the two suddenly realize what the letters and numbers Darrius gave them as a clue meant: A chemical formula! They find the jar with that label, take the Key inside and turn their travel dial. The two appear in a snow-swept area, where the temperature is sub-zero. Although Ian urges her to move or they'll die, Barbara is so tired and cold and cannot move....
This episode was...far less interesting than the previous one, for us. It's a simple, almost bog-standard SF story, just like the last one, but it feels less interesting for some reason. The idea of acceleration of Nature's fury is a very good one (as Doctor Who would find several more times over its history), but not a lot is done with it here. The booby traps are fun, but, again, there's not a lot of there there. Darrius is another old man scientist, much like Arbitan, but less interesting. Again, we don't really find out much about him. It's nice to see Ian and Barbara alone for a bit, and it's nice to see Barbara's rebellion against Ian treating her like "Dresden China" (though you'll note that the first thing she does when she's in danger is scream for him), but the whole episode just felt slight. Altos and Sabetha continue to be just kind of there and Susan basically only got to be hysterical--although we did get the information that she'd left first because she didn't want to say goodbye to her grandfather, because she doesn't like to say goodbyes, which might come up later. Really, though, there wasn't very much going on here.
The effects were simple, but effective. Yes, the arms of the statue/idol were human arms, and yes, they twitched once or twice, but I was impressed by the attempt, when the trap was sprung, to make their movement look mechanical. The plants were also pretty good, given the limitations of the time.
I feel like there's something more I should say. This wasn't bad, by any means, not at all. It was a fairly fun 25 minutes. But, really, that's all it was; fun, but not engrossing. Thus far, this serial has not really kept up the riveting interest of the previous, though it's been fun. We'll have to see where it goes next, I suppose! I've no doubt, whether we're on the edge of our seats or not, we'll still certainly enjoy it.
That's all for me. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN.
----
Ketina here,
The Historian already covered most of what was interesting about the episode. I generally agree that it was mildly okay, with nothing particularly special happening.
The good: I liked the solution to finding the key was discovering a chemical formula. And the traps were pretty cool.
The silly: Pretty much all of Darrius's death scene. The dying man urging Ian to come closer, and then speaking his final cryptic words in a perfectly loud enough voice, while sitting upright, and then falling over dead. Thud!
The special effects for the plants also bordered on silly, however they're really no worse than similar killer plant effects shown throughout the history of Doctor Who. The first of many killer plants. :)
And we get obligatory screams this week from both Susan and Barbara. Many from Barbara.
I also completely missed the reference to Dresden China. Possibly a generational thing. My immediate thought was that Dresden was in Germany not China, and that Barbara was making some kind of obscure political or historical reference. But The Historian pointed out to me what she meant - fragile. Like plates! Of course. ;)
-Ketina
NEXT WEEK: "THE SNOWS OF TERROR"
Friday, April 24, 2009
"The Velvet Web"
Hello everyone, the Historian here and, after a few small technical difficulties, Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm, Kroroboros and I settled in to watch this second episode of "The Keys of Marinus" serial. I might add that this episode is also a bit of an event; as of last week, we have made it halfway through the first season of Doctor Who! So, let's begin the second half, shall we?
Episode synopsis: First aired 18 April, 1964. Ian, Susan and the Doctor have discovered Barbara's travel dial--and there is blood on it! Although the Doctor urges caution, Ian and Susan burst through the doors immediately in front of them. The three are then stunned with flashing lights and sound, but come to to see a beautiful room...with Barbara (in a lovely dress) reclining on a couch. She tells them the people here give them anything they want and orders food for the four. Ian is skeptical, wondering how much "the bill" for all that comes to, but Barbara tells him he's being silly. A young man, Altos, enters and welcomes them to the city of Morphoton and offers them anything they desire. Susan asks for a dress made of fine silk and the Doctor asks for access to a laboratory with "any instrument." Ian, however, refuses to name anything. Although the others try to convince him, he is firm. The crew goes to sleep on the couches. As they sleep, a girl, Sabetha, enters and places tiny disks on each of their foreheads. Barbara, however, turns in her sleep and the disk clatters to the floor, waking her just in time to see everyone assailed by lights and sound, which knocks her out. The next day, Ian, Susan and the Doctor are eating a wonderful breakfast. Susan wakes Barbara to show her the new dress, but Barbara does not see beauty. She sees the room for what it really is, a dirty, old shell, and Susan's dress is simply tailored rags. Altos enters and Barbara confronts him--this time, it is Ian who tries to convince Barbara to believe in what he sees. She flees. Altos follows, but Barbara hides behind a pillar. Altos reports to his masters, a group of brains in jars called the Morphon. They are the evil influence who have hypnotised the people and are the true rulers of the city. The Morphon tell Altos that Barbara must be destroyed, the others placated until they can be fully converted, and Sabetha punished for failure. Sabetha happens to be thrown into the very room Barbara is hiding in. Meanwhile, Ian and the Doctor are taken to the "magnificent" laboratory: an empty room with a cracked cup that the Doctor sees as a highly advanced scientific instrument. Altos reports to the Morphon who tell him that the crew's wills are already weakening and repeat that Barbara must be killed. Meanwhile, Barbara has realized that Sabetha has the first Key on a chain around her neck and that she must be Arbitan's hypnotised daughter! Altos enters and tries to take Barbara, but Sabetha knocks him unconscious. Barbara leaves and runs into Ian, who is fully hypnotised and takes her to the Morphon. The brains explain to Barbara that they use humans as their hands and she must be killed, but Barbara begins destroying equipment, which destroys the Morphon! Ian and the others are freed from their power and the four, along with Sabetha and Altos (who was another of Arbitan's followers), escape. The decision is taken: the Doctor will skip ahead to try for the fourth, while the others jump to find the second Key. Susan impetuously leaves a moment before the others. She is now in a jungle and hears screams coming from all around her, unrelenting screams. She falls to her knees, her hands clutching at her ears....
Well, this was just fun. At its heart, this episode is a very simple SF story, but the production makes the whole thing work wonderfully well. (It doesn't hurt that this week was designed by Ray Cusick, who also designed the Daleks.) The highlight was probably the contrasting views between Barbara and everyone else. Seeing everything through the supposedly omnicient camera as beauty and then seeing from Barbara's point of view was a very simple (obviously!) effect, but it was tremendously effective! There was a bit of disagreement in the grouop about the Morphon. True, they were pretty simple props, but Ronelyn and I found them pretty darn creepy (eyes and all). Not everyone felt they worked as well. One thing, though, that undeniable did work was the eerie lack of blinking done by all the "hypnotised" actors. When Ian mentioned that it was odd that Altos didn't blink, we all started watching. Sure enough, he didn't! It did look like it caused a bit of a strain on the actors, but it worked very well...especially when a hypnotised Ian didn't blink either.
As I said, at its heart, a simple episode, and probably a fairly inexpensive one with only four (or so) sets and about a five member guest cast. A very fun little SF mini-story which is part of a larger piece. I can't close, though, without a mention of Ian's Chinese jacket, mainly because Schmallturm specifically mentioned that he wanted me to write that the phoenix on the back looks like a flaming chicken. Trust me, it was funny at the time. We're all having a great time--can't wait until next week! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here,
First the good: Overall I was quite pleased with the episode. I wouldn't describe it as the greatest Doctor Who episode ever or anything, but it was quite fun. I thought they did an especially good job at comparing the beautiful world with the real world, after Barbara wakes up. Initially it's all from Barbara's perspective, which they show by having the camera angle come from where she's sitting. And they use really simple props, like a broken mug, to indicate one of the laboratory equipment parts. It required some fairly smart acting on the cast. And the lack of blinking from everyone hypnotised was very cool.
The silly: Yes, this episode did have it's share of silly. There's a large face inlaid into the wall of the beautiful room, which initially appears to be part of the Grecian-like architecture, however when the lights and sound kick in while nearly everyone is asleep, the eyes in the face glow in a very goofy way. I also disgree a bit with The Historian regarding the brains in the jars. From behind they looked okay - they're just giant brains in jars, afterall, but from the front when they showed the eyes I thought they looked especially fake, especially when they deflated after Barbara attacked them. But the biggest silly moment for me was when Barbara was hiding from Altos. She was barely hiding behind a pillar. All he needed to do was look to his right and he would have been looking right at her. Does hypnosis impare peripheral vision? Or possibly his vision was messed up due to not blinking in who knows how long?
Oh, and the best line "I think you've been deeply hypnotised under deep hypnosis."
One more thing... I think I've failed to point this out in a few of my posts, but I have been keeping track. So far, in this first season of Doctor Who, not an episode has gone by where we don't get a scream from either Susan or Barbara, typically both. This episode was, of course, no exception. :)
NEXT WEEK: "THE SCREAMING JUNGLE"
Episode synopsis: First aired 18 April, 1964. Ian, Susan and the Doctor have discovered Barbara's travel dial--and there is blood on it! Although the Doctor urges caution, Ian and Susan burst through the doors immediately in front of them. The three are then stunned with flashing lights and sound, but come to to see a beautiful room...with Barbara (in a lovely dress) reclining on a couch. She tells them the people here give them anything they want and orders food for the four. Ian is skeptical, wondering how much "the bill" for all that comes to, but Barbara tells him he's being silly. A young man, Altos, enters and welcomes them to the city of Morphoton and offers them anything they desire. Susan asks for a dress made of fine silk and the Doctor asks for access to a laboratory with "any instrument." Ian, however, refuses to name anything. Although the others try to convince him, he is firm. The crew goes to sleep on the couches. As they sleep, a girl, Sabetha, enters and places tiny disks on each of their foreheads. Barbara, however, turns in her sleep and the disk clatters to the floor, waking her just in time to see everyone assailed by lights and sound, which knocks her out. The next day, Ian, Susan and the Doctor are eating a wonderful breakfast. Susan wakes Barbara to show her the new dress, but Barbara does not see beauty. She sees the room for what it really is, a dirty, old shell, and Susan's dress is simply tailored rags. Altos enters and Barbara confronts him--this time, it is Ian who tries to convince Barbara to believe in what he sees. She flees. Altos follows, but Barbara hides behind a pillar. Altos reports to his masters, a group of brains in jars called the Morphon. They are the evil influence who have hypnotised the people and are the true rulers of the city. The Morphon tell Altos that Barbara must be destroyed, the others placated until they can be fully converted, and Sabetha punished for failure. Sabetha happens to be thrown into the very room Barbara is hiding in. Meanwhile, Ian and the Doctor are taken to the "magnificent" laboratory: an empty room with a cracked cup that the Doctor sees as a highly advanced scientific instrument. Altos reports to the Morphon who tell him that the crew's wills are already weakening and repeat that Barbara must be killed. Meanwhile, Barbara has realized that Sabetha has the first Key on a chain around her neck and that she must be Arbitan's hypnotised daughter! Altos enters and tries to take Barbara, but Sabetha knocks him unconscious. Barbara leaves and runs into Ian, who is fully hypnotised and takes her to the Morphon. The brains explain to Barbara that they use humans as their hands and she must be killed, but Barbara begins destroying equipment, which destroys the Morphon! Ian and the others are freed from their power and the four, along with Sabetha and Altos (who was another of Arbitan's followers), escape. The decision is taken: the Doctor will skip ahead to try for the fourth, while the others jump to find the second Key. Susan impetuously leaves a moment before the others. She is now in a jungle and hears screams coming from all around her, unrelenting screams. She falls to her knees, her hands clutching at her ears....
Well, this was just fun. At its heart, this episode is a very simple SF story, but the production makes the whole thing work wonderfully well. (It doesn't hurt that this week was designed by Ray Cusick, who also designed the Daleks.) The highlight was probably the contrasting views between Barbara and everyone else. Seeing everything through the supposedly omnicient camera as beauty and then seeing from Barbara's point of view was a very simple (obviously!) effect, but it was tremendously effective! There was a bit of disagreement in the grouop about the Morphon. True, they were pretty simple props, but Ronelyn and I found them pretty darn creepy (eyes and all). Not everyone felt they worked as well. One thing, though, that undeniable did work was the eerie lack of blinking done by all the "hypnotised" actors. When Ian mentioned that it was odd that Altos didn't blink, we all started watching. Sure enough, he didn't! It did look like it caused a bit of a strain on the actors, but it worked very well...especially when a hypnotised Ian didn't blink either.
As I said, at its heart, a simple episode, and probably a fairly inexpensive one with only four (or so) sets and about a five member guest cast. A very fun little SF mini-story which is part of a larger piece. I can't close, though, without a mention of Ian's Chinese jacket, mainly because Schmallturm specifically mentioned that he wanted me to write that the phoenix on the back looks like a flaming chicken. Trust me, it was funny at the time. We're all having a great time--can't wait until next week! Until then, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
---
Ketina here,
First the good: Overall I was quite pleased with the episode. I wouldn't describe it as the greatest Doctor Who episode ever or anything, but it was quite fun. I thought they did an especially good job at comparing the beautiful world with the real world, after Barbara wakes up. Initially it's all from Barbara's perspective, which they show by having the camera angle come from where she's sitting. And they use really simple props, like a broken mug, to indicate one of the laboratory equipment parts. It required some fairly smart acting on the cast. And the lack of blinking from everyone hypnotised was very cool.
The silly: Yes, this episode did have it's share of silly. There's a large face inlaid into the wall of the beautiful room, which initially appears to be part of the Grecian-like architecture, however when the lights and sound kick in while nearly everyone is asleep, the eyes in the face glow in a very goofy way. I also disgree a bit with The Historian regarding the brains in the jars. From behind they looked okay - they're just giant brains in jars, afterall, but from the front when they showed the eyes I thought they looked especially fake, especially when they deflated after Barbara attacked them. But the biggest silly moment for me was when Barbara was hiding from Altos. She was barely hiding behind a pillar. All he needed to do was look to his right and he would have been looking right at her. Does hypnosis impare peripheral vision? Or possibly his vision was messed up due to not blinking in who knows how long?
Oh, and the best line "I think you've been deeply hypnotised under deep hypnosis."
One more thing... I think I've failed to point this out in a few of my posts, but I have been keeping track. So far, in this first season of Doctor Who, not an episode has gone by where we don't get a scream from either Susan or Barbara, typically both. This episode was, of course, no exception. :)
NEXT WEEK: "THE SCREAMING JUNGLE"
Friday, April 17, 2009
"The Sea of Death"
Hello all, the Historian here, along with Ketina, Ronelyn, Schmallturm and Kroroboros. We've left Mongol China and are back to science fiction--and getting close to being half done with the first season as well! More about that another time, now on to the summary!
Episode summary: First aired 11 April, 1964. Having left Cathay, the TARDIS lands on what appears to be a beach and the crew go out to have a look. It turns out they are on an island, surrounded by a perfectly calm sea. Unbeknownst to the travellers, several small torpedo-like craft have approached and landed on the island out of sight. Susan discovers a small pool and takes off her shoes, about to wade in, when Ian stops her with a yell. One of her shoes has fallen into the "water" and immediately dissolves! The pool is not full of water, but acid! Ian and Barbara, sending Susan back to the TARDIS in Ian's boots, realize it must be a tidal pool..which means the whole sea is acid! The Doctor has also discovered that the beach nearest to the sea is made not of sand, but of glass. In fact, the whole set-up seems artificial, as if it was all a defense. Ian notices a large building at the center of the island, but the group decides to go back and find Susan before exploring further. Unknown to all of them, they have been observed and stalked by the beings that came in the "torpedos," humanoids wearing protective wetsuits. One of them attempted, but failed to get into the TARDIS just before Susan comes out. She notices strange footprints leading to the building....Meanwhile, the other three have discovered the torpedo submarines, noticing that one of them has a crack in it...and an empty wetsuit with a tear in it. The owner must have simply...dissolved. Susan approaches the city and is nearly ambushed by one of the creatures...who is pulled behind a rotating wall before he can attack her. Then Susan falls prey to a similar trap. The others come to the city and begin to search. One by one, they too are taken within a wall, some of them being captured by a monk-like figure, first the Doctor, then Ian, and finally Barbara. Barbara, Susan and the Doctor are held in a room, while Ian is still roaming free when he finds a wetsuited creature attacking the monk. He fights the creature off and the monk introduces himself as Arbitan. Later, the four travellers and Arbitan stand in the central area of the building. Arbitan tells them they are on the planet Marinus and the large machine they see is the "Conscience of Marinus," a judgement machine that eliminated evil from human minds on the planet. But, ages before, a man named Yartek and his followers, the Voords (who are the wet-suit wearers) learned to resist the machine and threatened the whole planet. The "Keys," circuits that power the machine, were hidden in locations around the planet until the Voords could be overcome. Arbitan has fixed the machine to do just that, but every one of his followers who he sent to gather the keys (including his daughter) have never returned and now he is alone. He begs the crew to help him, but they refuse. So Arbitan extorts them by putting a forcefield around the ship! They have no choice and so Arbitan gives them travel dials, wristbands that will enable them to travel around Marinus. Barbara is transported, then the others follow, as a Voord sneaks up on Arbitan. Ian, Susan and the Doctor arrive at the first location, but do not see Barbara. Ian sees and picks up her travel dial on the floor and discovers there is blood on it....
To call this a change of pace from the last serial is an understatement, both in content (historical back to sf) and, at least a bit, in quality. The opening model shots of the TARDIS landing and the Voord ships arriving are...less than impressive, and the Terry Nation script is a bit of a step down in quality from "Marco Polo." Ronelyn mentioned having to refrain from making silly comments at various points. Things weren't helped by William Hartnell's apparent problems with his lines. Billy-fluffs abounded, especially early on. There were also a few things that made us say, "huh?" Like the sea is acid so it makes sense that the beach is glass? We decided that it fit into the whole "artificial defensive" thing, but I also have the suspicion that Nation had some idea that acid+sand=glass, which is, of course, nonsense. The design of the building, after the wonderful sets in both "Marco Polo" and "The Daleks," was a bit of a letdown as well; Schmallturm kept making Bauhaus jokes. I did like Ian and Barbara's science/history lesson connected with the construction of the building: no mortar between the bricks! Must be perfectly balanced! The Egyptians and some Central American Indians made stuff like this! (Gee, wonder if that'll come up again later this season?) And I have to take a moment to talk about the scenery chewing of George Coulouris as Arbitan. His...dramatic postures were certainly different than the restrained performances from the guest cast of the previous story.
Now, all of that being said, we still enjoyed the heck out of this episode. There was quite a bit to like; the regular cast, Billy-fluffs and all, were a lot of fun. (And it was nice to finally watch this episode knowing where Ian got the Chinese outfit!) The dissolving shoe was very effective, as was Barbara's realization that the pool was tidal. Very nice acting there. And the Voord, while a bit silly, are still a pretty effective design. Sure, it's a wet-suit with a...thing on its head, but the total facelessness and silence of the baddies were a bit creepy. Would have been nice to see them do something rather than kind of keystone cop their way around. (And hey, how about that visible stagehand moving the wall when the first Voord is captured in the city?)
I think the important thing here is to realize we have to reset our expectations a bit for this story. The last one was costume historical epic in the best BBC tradition. But now we have a scifi romp. With all its faults, it's essentially shaping up to be a quest story...with, apparently, a very nasty surprise for the crew at the end, if the Voord attacking Arbitan is anything to go by! It's not brilliant, by any means, but this first episode was silly fun and if that's what we get from this story, we're prepared to enjoy it a lot!
Well, that's enough from me. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
----
TRADE OFF!
Ketina here,
So, the silly: Well, most of it. :P It was pretty tough to hold off the giggling from the get go, given the "special effects", followed pretty quickly by weird scenery, monsters in wet suits, and many verbal gaffs by the good Doctor. I think the favorite was "It can't be frozen in this temperature, besides it's too warm." Although the later "Too bad you don't have your shoes on Chesterton, then Susan could borrow hers." was quite funny as well. Also The Doctor apparently doesn't know the difference between extortion and blackmail.
Also the companions miming around the TARDIS to indicate an invisible force field was very goofy. I'm pretty sure Ian stepped into said force field several times.
And at one point, when they were pulled into the building, you could see a stage hand manipulating the doorway.
This episode was pretty loaded with the silly. :)
The good: Yes, I started with the silly this week, but the episode seemed to merit it. However, all the goofy aside, it was very fun as well. As much as I complain about the many gaffes, it does look to be an entertaining story. There are a lot of strong Scifi elements. The planet is very alien, in culture, scenery, and architecture. And I'm generally a big fan of "gather the parts of the widgit" types of adventures, which this appears to be turning into. So, I'm looking forward to the next part.
NEXT WEEK: "THE VELVET WEB"
Episode summary: First aired 11 April, 1964. Having left Cathay, the TARDIS lands on what appears to be a beach and the crew go out to have a look. It turns out they are on an island, surrounded by a perfectly calm sea. Unbeknownst to the travellers, several small torpedo-like craft have approached and landed on the island out of sight. Susan discovers a small pool and takes off her shoes, about to wade in, when Ian stops her with a yell. One of her shoes has fallen into the "water" and immediately dissolves! The pool is not full of water, but acid! Ian and Barbara, sending Susan back to the TARDIS in Ian's boots, realize it must be a tidal pool..which means the whole sea is acid! The Doctor has also discovered that the beach nearest to the sea is made not of sand, but of glass. In fact, the whole set-up seems artificial, as if it was all a defense. Ian notices a large building at the center of the island, but the group decides to go back and find Susan before exploring further. Unknown to all of them, they have been observed and stalked by the beings that came in the "torpedos," humanoids wearing protective wetsuits. One of them attempted, but failed to get into the TARDIS just before Susan comes out. She notices strange footprints leading to the building....Meanwhile, the other three have discovered the torpedo submarines, noticing that one of them has a crack in it...and an empty wetsuit with a tear in it. The owner must have simply...dissolved. Susan approaches the city and is nearly ambushed by one of the creatures...who is pulled behind a rotating wall before he can attack her. Then Susan falls prey to a similar trap. The others come to the city and begin to search. One by one, they too are taken within a wall, some of them being captured by a monk-like figure, first the Doctor, then Ian, and finally Barbara. Barbara, Susan and the Doctor are held in a room, while Ian is still roaming free when he finds a wetsuited creature attacking the monk. He fights the creature off and the monk introduces himself as Arbitan. Later, the four travellers and Arbitan stand in the central area of the building. Arbitan tells them they are on the planet Marinus and the large machine they see is the "Conscience of Marinus," a judgement machine that eliminated evil from human minds on the planet. But, ages before, a man named Yartek and his followers, the Voords (who are the wet-suit wearers) learned to resist the machine and threatened the whole planet. The "Keys," circuits that power the machine, were hidden in locations around the planet until the Voords could be overcome. Arbitan has fixed the machine to do just that, but every one of his followers who he sent to gather the keys (including his daughter) have never returned and now he is alone. He begs the crew to help him, but they refuse. So Arbitan extorts them by putting a forcefield around the ship! They have no choice and so Arbitan gives them travel dials, wristbands that will enable them to travel around Marinus. Barbara is transported, then the others follow, as a Voord sneaks up on Arbitan. Ian, Susan and the Doctor arrive at the first location, but do not see Barbara. Ian sees and picks up her travel dial on the floor and discovers there is blood on it....
To call this a change of pace from the last serial is an understatement, both in content (historical back to sf) and, at least a bit, in quality. The opening model shots of the TARDIS landing and the Voord ships arriving are...less than impressive, and the Terry Nation script is a bit of a step down in quality from "Marco Polo." Ronelyn mentioned having to refrain from making silly comments at various points. Things weren't helped by William Hartnell's apparent problems with his lines. Billy-fluffs abounded, especially early on. There were also a few things that made us say, "huh?" Like the sea is acid so it makes sense that the beach is glass? We decided that it fit into the whole "artificial defensive" thing, but I also have the suspicion that Nation had some idea that acid+sand=glass, which is, of course, nonsense. The design of the building, after the wonderful sets in both "Marco Polo" and "The Daleks," was a bit of a letdown as well; Schmallturm kept making Bauhaus jokes. I did like Ian and Barbara's science/history lesson connected with the construction of the building: no mortar between the bricks! Must be perfectly balanced! The Egyptians and some Central American Indians made stuff like this! (Gee, wonder if that'll come up again later this season?) And I have to take a moment to talk about the scenery chewing of George Coulouris as Arbitan. His...dramatic postures were certainly different than the restrained performances from the guest cast of the previous story.
Now, all of that being said, we still enjoyed the heck out of this episode. There was quite a bit to like; the regular cast, Billy-fluffs and all, were a lot of fun. (And it was nice to finally watch this episode knowing where Ian got the Chinese outfit!) The dissolving shoe was very effective, as was Barbara's realization that the pool was tidal. Very nice acting there. And the Voord, while a bit silly, are still a pretty effective design. Sure, it's a wet-suit with a...thing on its head, but the total facelessness and silence of the baddies were a bit creepy. Would have been nice to see them do something rather than kind of keystone cop their way around. (And hey, how about that visible stagehand moving the wall when the first Voord is captured in the city?)
I think the important thing here is to realize we have to reset our expectations a bit for this story. The last one was costume historical epic in the best BBC tradition. But now we have a scifi romp. With all its faults, it's essentially shaping up to be a quest story...with, apparently, a very nasty surprise for the crew at the end, if the Voord attacking Arbitan is anything to go by! It's not brilliant, by any means, but this first episode was silly fun and if that's what we get from this story, we're prepared to enjoy it a lot!
Well, that's enough from me. Until next week, I remain
THE HISTORIAN
----
TRADE OFF!
Ketina here,
So, the silly: Well, most of it. :P It was pretty tough to hold off the giggling from the get go, given the "special effects", followed pretty quickly by weird scenery, monsters in wet suits, and many verbal gaffs by the good Doctor. I think the favorite was "It can't be frozen in this temperature, besides it's too warm." Although the later "Too bad you don't have your shoes on Chesterton, then Susan could borrow hers." was quite funny as well. Also The Doctor apparently doesn't know the difference between extortion and blackmail.
Also the companions miming around the TARDIS to indicate an invisible force field was very goofy. I'm pretty sure Ian stepped into said force field several times.
And at one point, when they were pulled into the building, you could see a stage hand manipulating the doorway.
This episode was pretty loaded with the silly. :)
The good: Yes, I started with the silly this week, but the episode seemed to merit it. However, all the goofy aside, it was very fun as well. As much as I complain about the many gaffes, it does look to be an entertaining story. There are a lot of strong Scifi elements. The planet is very alien, in culture, scenery, and architecture. And I'm generally a big fan of "gather the parts of the widgit" types of adventures, which this appears to be turning into. So, I'm looking forward to the next part.
NEXT WEEK: "THE VELVET WEB"
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