The Seeds of Doom

 

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. 

 

The Brain of Morbius

 

`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.

 

The Android Invasion

 

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.

 

Season 13: Pyramids of Mars

There is an experience Doctor Who fans will never have again that anyone watching the series in the Seventies did have and that is watching your first episode in colour. After years of various shades of grey there would finally be an episode when the series exploded into bright COLOUR! For some it had started with `Spearhead from Space` when the series itself was first broadcast in colour. Some of us had to wait a while longer. For me it was episode 2 of `Pyramids of Mars` first broadcast on 1 November 1975. Having avidly watched most of the third Doctor’s era in monochrome – and therefore spared the garish colours of the Axons- nothing could prepare me for the experience of seeing the series as it should look. It’s difficult to describe in a world now where black and white material is either ancient or used as a novelty. Somehow watching in monochrome you did have some idea of things being different shades yet whenever a photo turned up it was still a surprise. I think the reason why I loved the Target books covers was because of the vibrant colour of the artwork. Yet Doctor Who was still a black and white series for me. Then in 1975 we got a colour television and suddenly everything was different. 

 

Season 13: Planet of Evil

I remember finding this the least impressive story of the season when I first saw it but back then I suppose I wanted it to have more monsters than it does. It just seemed very talky especially at first. Oddly re-watching now I prefer the first half to the second as it contains some interesting ideas whereas parts 3 and 4 seem to become more of a standard base (or in this case spaceship) under siege.  Less outwardly showy than it’s season counterparts, `Planet of Evil` takes its cues from both Forbidden Planet and Jekyll and Hyde. It shows just how effectively Messrs Hinchcliffe and Holmes- here with writer Louis Marks- were able to filter and splice elements of classic stories into something fresh. 

 

Season 13: Terror of the Zygons

Doctor Who never scared me - it thrilled me! Even as a child I watched it without feeling the need to leap behind the sofa. Instead I revelled in all those monsters and slime and robots and everything else. Yet I think that one of the scariest moments in any iteration of the programme is the end of episode one of this story when we see a Zygon for the first time. It is something to do with the fact that, as well as  the appearance of the creature being grotesque anyway – a cross between an embryo and a sea horse- it has its mouth wide open and Sarah’s scream is given a slight echo and mixed into the end sting when the theme music starts. Somewhere in the land of What-if there is a period of Doctor Who called the Banks Stewart Era when the writer Robert Banks- Stewart took over the series and every story was delivered with same brio as `Terror of the Zygons` and `Seeds of Doom`. It would be full of hard action, vicious antagonists, quirky characters and lashings of richly swirling Geoffrey Burgon incidental music. In the event though we have just ten episodes with these ingredients but they do stand out even from their much admired fellow stories this season. Unbelievably `Terror` was supposed to end season twelve - can you imagine this story being shown in the summer?

 

The Hand of Fear@42

It’s testament to the effectiveness of the story’s conclusion that all this time later following multiple returns to the series for the character, Sarah’s departure remains one of the original series’ rare emotional moments. It’s presented in a very English manner, all repressed and buttoned up as neither the Doctor nor Sarah says what they really want to say. The genius of the scene though is that Sarah has only just been having a bit of a strop and if nothing else had happened would undoubtedly have been talked into one more journey and another and… Instead the Doctor gets a call and realises he can’t take her to Gallifrey. It adds weight to the feelings of both because for sure the Doctor wants her to stay. Incidentally when Sarah does meet the Doctor again in `School Reunion` her reaction is so in tune with this farewell scene.  The end of part 4 is such a good sequence, especially from both actors, that it can lead you to think the whole story has been as subtle which despite some strong elements it hasn’t.

The Masque of Mandragora@42

By 1976 Doctor Who was in the midst of an imperial period of distinction with one classic after another being broadcast and more to come. Yet this story, which debuted Tom Baker’s third season, seems to have been curiously undervalued at the time. It’s less showy than the rest of the season and one of the more cultured scripts the original series had thanks to Louis Marks drawing from his knowledge of the Italian Renaissance. It was certainly well thought of enough to be given prominence in obituaries when the writer died in 2010 with The Guardian mentioning “Machiavellian comedy, a book-burning priest and the musical surnames Rossini and Scarlatti” as influences the story included.

Part One: You’ve got to admire this opening episode for its urgency. My own memory of this story is a certain low key, slow unfurling but part one turns out to be the opposite. Packed into an eventful 25 minutes is a lot of material that lays out the parameters of the story and gives us lots of action. By the end both the Doctor and Sarah are facing the prospect of gruesome executions, both having been knocked out (the Doctor twice). There’s some very dangerous Mandragora energy loose in fifteenth century Italy thanks to the Doctor materialising the Tardis in the middle of it. Oh and we’ve seen a new console room and met our retinue of central players. 

Doctor Who and the Pescatons

Released in 1976, at the very apex of the show's popularity, 'Doctor Who And The Pescatons' was a cracking gift to fans It only takes one listen to realise that this is a tremendously vibrant and well produced adventure. I mean, you get Tom and Lis (at the time when he was still the Doctor and she'd only just left), you get Bill Mitchell (the 70's ubiquitous advertising voice), Victor Pemberton is at the typewriter (it's a pity he never got to write more on screen scripts for the show) and when the Pescatons roar, if you turn your volume up it's like the most terrifying sound in the world. 

Downtime

The Nineties saw a slew of fan produced Doctor Who spin offs of varying quality but none has the provenance of Downtime. It stars three iconic series regulars- Nicholas Courtney, Elisabeth Sladen and Debbie Watling - in their original roles and is written by Marc Platt who’s `Ghost Light` was part of the last regular season of the original series. Even more impressively it is directed by Christopher Barry who helmed such series classics as `Brain of Morbius` and `The Deamons` and it even features the Yeti, John Leeson as a DJ and Geoffrey Beevers! You can’t get much more Doctor Who than all that!  Shot during an unseasonably wintry late March in 1995 it is a good watch for fans of the series as well as a fitting tribute to the main stars none of whom sadly are still with us.

The Doctor Who Holiday Special 1974

Our look at the three magazines produced by Polystyle Productions during the Seventies continues with the 1974 Special.

The 1974 Special is fronted by a curious photo of the third Doctor looking a bit knackered. See inside, it says, for “thrilling picture stories, quizzes, exciting features, portrait pin ups and lots more!” 

Judging from the photo the excitement has exhausted him! Jon Pertwee’s introduction on the inside page hopes we have a lovely holiday and continue to be fans of the Doctor. Well so far I am but the holiday I’ve totally forgotten! 

 `Doomcloud` is the first comic strip story this time concerning the bulbous headed Zirconians who seem to travel about looking for new planets in the middle of a galactic cyclone. After only a page and a half this is a far more engaging story than any of the ones in the 1973 Special. In order to save people’s lives UNIT has to evacuate everyone to nuclear shelters as a poisonous cloud envelops the world. The ending is a little pat but even so this is a good start.