As has been apparent all the way through the series’ debut
story the combination of writer Anthony Coburn and director Waris Hussein has
been vital in turning what could easily have been a far less impressive affair
into something stylish and clever. Here in the final episode they both triumph
bringing matters to an interesting conclusion.
Vintage 70s and 80s Doctor Who plus 2000s revival. Includes archive fanzine material - reviews, memories, merch, fandom, spin offs and more. X (aka Twitter- @JohnConnors100, Instagram- JohnConnors100
Showing posts with label Waris Hussein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Waris Hussein. Show all posts
December 14, 2016
November 30, 2016
The Original #2 The Cave of Skulls
In which our newly minted time travellers encounter a Stone
Age tribe engaged in a power struggle over who should be the leader setting the
tone for all tribes ad infinitum. The line to be balanced with this kind of
thing is how the portrayal of cavemen is achieved. There is much potential for
over acting here and while occasionally this does happen, on the whole the
production manages to achieve a believable take on such an ancient culture.
While the tribe speak English they do so with enough linguistic skill to make
the dialogue engaging enough. There’s a bit of grunting, usually when someone’s
annoyed but only one occasion where things go right over the top. Poor old Za,
trying his best to make fire fails in his goal and yells his head off. I
suppose this is the Stone Age equivalent of clearing the air.
November 23, 2016
NEW SERIES The Original # 1 An Unearthly Child
53 years ago today the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast and I’m re-watching the first story once a week to see if I can recapture the magic.
It is impossible to imagine just what an impact this episode had on anyone watching it in 1963 but equally impossible to imagine that anybody would not want to watch the next episode. This really is a textbook example of how to set up a new series in any genre. Keep it simple, tease mysteries, focus on a handful of characters and make it visually stunning. `An Unearthly Child` does all this and never puts a foot wrong. Years back I remember older fans who’d seen the original broadcast talking in hushed tones about its magnificence and even though I’ve seen it lots of times I’m now not sure I have ever actually watched it. That is to say allowed its contents to reveal themselves without the accumulated narrative weight of 53 more years of Doctor Who swimming about my head. When you do that there is something compelling about every minute of this.
It is impossible to imagine just what an impact this episode had on anyone watching it in 1963 but equally impossible to imagine that anybody would not want to watch the next episode. This really is a textbook example of how to set up a new series in any genre. Keep it simple, tease mysteries, focus on a handful of characters and make it visually stunning. `An Unearthly Child` does all this and never puts a foot wrong. Years back I remember older fans who’d seen the original broadcast talking in hushed tones about its magnificence and even though I’ve seen it lots of times I’m now not sure I have ever actually watched it. That is to say allowed its contents to reveal themselves without the accumulated narrative weight of 53 more years of Doctor Who swimming about my head. When you do that there is something compelling about every minute of this.
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