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| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2011 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
Granted - the Ark is not the best of Hartnell's era, but it's still a pretty good story. It's another great use of time travel in this era (Space Museum does it too) and it has some good lead roles from Hartnell's Doctor (for once!).
In addition the extras on this DVD are brilliant - some tongue in cheek; others fascinating. I particularly love the interview with Peter Purves which has some sadness attached to it too when he discussed the departure of Hartnell due to ill health. The other interesting documentary is the one looking into why some monsters only appear in Doctor Who once - sometimes because they're just a bit rubbish! This was certainly true of the Monoids, though I love the ideas behind them. However, quite rightly one of the interviewees, Jacqueline Rayner pointed out that the real reason is the writers don't write for Doctor Who again - in this case quite right. Is it time for the Monoid's to return to Doctor Who?
| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 18 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Cooking up a storm...
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 February 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
It is a shame for me that the Monoids never came back. True, maybe they werent overly convincing with those plasticky looking heads and those rather funny single eyes, but I for one dont think they are anywhere near the worst of the Doctor Who monsters to appear in Doctor Who. And give them their due, at least these aliens seem to have some depth of character, especially in the second half of the story.
This story is good for a whole lot of reasons. Jackie Lane's first full appearance as Dodo is rather remarkable for a beginner, I honestly felt from watching this story that she had been in the series for far longer. She just eases into the role of the often overlooked character of Dodo so well. It was very sad that her stay on Doctor Who was to be short and sweet. And here is one of her best performances of them all.
The second is the storyline itself, and this really must be the first story where the TARDIS crew are inadvertently the cause of all the future chaos that happens to the Ark's inhabitants after part two. The scenes of the flu virus really getting a grip are very well directed indeed, and the story flows along very nicely. And one would certainly not have thought that this was one of the lower budgetted stories of this season, in fact, with all those excellent shots of zoo animals and birds this has the feel of one of the most expensive looking Doctor Who's of the old series.
And William Hartnell gives a very strong performance as the Doctor. I always liked the First Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor should take a leaf out of his book when he comes back. For the Eleventh Doctor isnt half the Doctor Will Hartnell was. And I actually like the movements of the Monoids, waddling ducks that they are! All in all this is one of the better Doctor Who stories, with imaginative sets and pretty good effects for the time. This is definitely in my top twenty Doctor Who TV stories of all time.
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 | Its the end of the world as we know it.. |
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| By: | Trevor Smith, Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 6 July 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
The Ark is full of good ideas that should be brilliant but ultimately fails.
The last surviving humans, a one eyed intelligent race, the race to cure a killer disease, a live elephant. All these should have made for a cracking story and yet..
The Moniods are poor. Poorly designed and thought out. The trial seems to go on forever and is so dull. The acting from the humans, Peter Purves & William Hartnell aside, is dull & what the hell is a "security kitchen" ? & as for Jackie Lane, her accent wonders up & down the UK
Still it has two great cliff hangers, the earth disintegrating and the reveal of the statue are fantastic, as is the elephant.
The DVD extras for this story are very thin. All's Wells That End Wells is a very tenuous attempt to link the works of HG Wells & Dr Who. One Hit Wonders is a look at why monsters like The Moniods didn't have the popularity of the Daleks (they where crap ?) Riverside Story takes Peter Purves back to the Riverside story's where the early story's where filmed as the best of a poor bunch of extras.
