Planet of Fire
`Planet of
Fire` seems to have been somewhat forgotten over the years despite being only
the second time the show filmed overseas as well as Turlough’s farewell and
Peri’s debut. Yet amidst gemstones like `Revelation, `Frontios` and `Caves` its
volcanic landscape cannot really compete when the drama happening within it is
comparatively tepid. Its just one of those Doctor Who stories about
which few fans have strong feelings about either way. So is that reputation
justified?
One of the aspects that distinguished the Hinchliffe/ Holmes era was that, however bleak the scenario, lively dialogue, character interaction and some dark humour gave it more depth. Eric Saward seems to have watched that era but perhaps not as closely as a script editor should because while he brings the nihilistic grit, he omits the nuances that made it more palatable. Sometimes this works giving the show an unexpectedly dark thematic palette. Sometimes however it can be too unrelenting. The Daleks were never a barrel of laughs so one expects their stories to skew grimmer than others and `Resurrection of the Daleks` definitely does that.
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Studio bound, dialogue heavy with a bold concept and lashings of incidental music `Frontios` is very much like season eighteen in style, not surprising since it’s penned by that season’s script editor Christopher H Bidmead. It does make you wish he’d done a second season as whatever shortcomings the production has, its intent is steelier, more sci-fi and definitely serious. He writes the main trio so well and the actors each rise to the occasion while the story incorporates some interesting ideas. He did later admit some of these were poached from Nigel Kneale but that you should “steal from the best”. If the results are like this, then why not? Doctor Who had some of its greatest successes with stories filched from outside sources and remade in the series’ style.
I once found
myself chatting with Pennant Roberts back stage at an event and when the
conversation switched to `Warriors of the Deep` I pondered why he’d not decided
to spruce up the atmosphere by having everything doused in emergency red
lighting, like that on a submarine. Was it, perhaps, something technicians
would not agree with, was it too expensive or was it because it was felt viewers
would find the results too murky? As it turned out, it was none of these
things. He agreed it would have definitely added something to what is a
somewhat over lit production but admitted that, simply, nobody had time to
think about it. This was a hint of what we now know was a troubled production
that had two weeks’ time taken from its schedule. By those criteria it’s a miracle
anything much turned up on screen. Even when things were proceeding as normal
there were crazy deadlines and limited scope which was Doctor Who’s
biggest enemy whatever the era.
Classic Doctor Who has reached that point where it’s been through so many different formats from the original broadcasts through releases on video, DVD, Blu ray and streaming, individually and in collections. The stories have been novelised, analysed and enjoyed multiple times. Many have had updated effects and re-edits applied, others have had AI additions made by fans. So you could argue that the only option left is to allow a new generation to tinker with them enabling them to be more relatable for the TikTok generation for whom even ninety minutes is a very long time.
As the previous individual dvd releases for this season were fairly comprehensively packed with additional features- most included here- there’s not quite as much brand new material in this Collection as there have been in others. Of course, the sheer quality of the actual stories is enough in itself yet somehow the team has found some interesting new documentaries to present as well as cleaning up the episodes with AI. The method used has sparked some controversy with some people saying it has caused a loss of detail and some odd looking moments. I believe that, just like when there are new special effects options available, the original episode as it was should still be an option. Apparently, this was thought to be something people would not be interested in yet the large number of social media posts on the subject suggests otherwise. To be honest I didn’t notice that much on my nearly three year old tv, but some of the stills posted online suggest peoples faces are the most affected with them ending up looking too smooth and unnatural.
It’s
been said that atypical Doctor Who
often works best – and unconventional stories such as `Caves of Androzani` or
`Blink` often appear to poll highly - but `Seeds of Doom` might seem to be an example
where the reverse is true. It shows what the series can do well and what its
strengths are. It’s a variation of a story that’s been told often in the show
yet something special comes together to make it a prize specimen. No doubt a
modern take on this story would highlight the ecological issues and perhaps
even delve into Harrison Chase’s undoubtedly colourful past but such depth is
not needed for what remains at its heart an adventure yarn with a threat our
confined heroes have a limited time to sort out.
Christopher Bidmead, who has died, was the first of producer John Nathan Turner’s trio of script editors each of whom ushered in quite different approaches to Doctor Who. Bidmead was the chosen enabler of JNT’s intent on making the series more serious and drawn from real science as opposed to the boggle eyed, humorous iteration that Graham Williams and Douglas Adams had delivered the previous season. From a forty five year distance, Bidmead’s ideas and commissions were not that far removed and no less ambitious that those of Douglas Adams; it is just the way they were played was tonally different.
`Brain
of Morbius` should not work. Studio bound yet including such locations as a
cliff edge and the exterior of a stormy planet and populated by characters
whose larger-than-life personas fill up the screen it would surely be a mess?
Yet it’s like a glorious, bonkers stage play that should really have
transferred to the West End and run for years. It has that melodramatic edge to
it which is what happens when you get a cast that is willing to hurl themselves
into something as mad as this. In any other season this would be the pinnacle,
here it has to make do with sharing the acclaim with others. Whatever the
disagreements about the script that led to the credited `Bland` pseudonym this
is a story that proves that classic Doctor Who is always more about the
story than it is about the effects.
It’s
a shame that this story is destined to sit forever at the foot of any poll you
might run for this season yet there is a lot about `The Android Invasion` I
really like. Not only does it include some iconic imagery- the finger pointing
space helmeted androids and the fake Sarah’s face falling off- but it also has
the Doctor in a pub! Its opening half is atmospheric and full of mystery
like an extreme episode of The Avengers.
It may be the weakest story of the season (and I’ll readily agree to
that) but that’s some standard because this is my favourite season of Doctor
Who ever.
Considering some of the talent involved on both sides of the camera (Dennis Spooner, Douglas Camfield, Peter Butterworth, Alethea Charlton) it’s somewhat disappointing that this story fails to catch light. The idea of someone from the Doctor’s own planet interfering in history, actions in opposition to the principles that the Doctor holds dear, is certainly an interesting one and would be even more so to viewers in 1965.
This is a fantastic book for those of us with fond
memories of getting as close to travelling in the Tardis as we could at Blackpool’s Golden Mile each
summer. I’ve already done several posts on here a while back with my memories
of the Blackpool exhibition and its good to see more people sharing memories
and photos of the place. This book was originally online but for the generation
that remembers Blackpool, a physical memento is something extra special.
A
fill in story apparently only roughly drafted by Terry Nation and then
developed by Dennis Spooner, `The Chase` struggles to match the drama of it’s
title. It never seems much like a chase as the Daleks pursue the Tardis to
several locations, gaining ground as the Doctor has to stop for a period in
each place. What could be thrilling is hidebound by the budgetary restrictions
and a script that seems far too ambitious to be properly realised. Nonetheless
it has interesting elements, lively performances and some good effects.
I’m at a loss as to why `The Space Museum` always fares so badly in various polls over the years where it has even ended up at the very foot of the table. Just off the top of my head I can think of at least thirty stories its better than. The first episode alone is surely one of the finest Sixties episodes of all. All of the aspects singled out by some reviewers are actually no worse (and sometimes better) than in many other stories. Most are the production shortcomings which fans of classic Doctor Who are surely used to by now.
The
early years of Doctor Who did seem to like wholly historical stories
which in theory were easier to produce than sci-fi ones. While there would be
no issue with the Tardis landing amongst ordinary or fictional people, constant
encounters with well-known historical figures creates limitations on the
storylines. The BBC’s educational remit could be tested by depictions of the
likes of Marco Polo or Nero interacting with the Doctor while not all stories
are as strict about the effect the travellers have on history as `The Aztecs`
is. Its probably why the wholly historical adventures were replaced by pseudo
historical ones mixing supposedly real history with some alien antagonist.
Though generally intelligently written and made `The Crusade` harbours these
issues. All the way through you do get a sense that the production would be
more interesting without the Doctor and his companions in it at all. It sits at
the point where adherence to facts crashes into the need for some drama.
