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| What: | The Five Doctors (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Andreas, Stockholm, Sweden |
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| Date: | Saturday 14 August 2004 |
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| Rating: |   3 |
What little story there is here is very weak, and the only way the episode may challange you is in trying to keep track of it's ten main characters (there would have been 12, but the fourth doctor and Romana is hardly in it at all). Worth a look if you want to see four doctors (and five companions) duke it out with some classic foes, but don't expect any story to back it up.
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 | Paris has an ethos, ditto City of Death |
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In beauty and finesse very few episodes of Doctor Who can rival City of Death, the most acclaimed serial of the Graham Williams era. Its beautiful image is attributed to the ravishing Parisian atmosphere with its elegant, pittoresque architecture, the large parks and vibrant areas. Although David Agnew, pseudonym for Douglas Adams, David Fisher and Graham Williams, is credited with its script, the contribution of the late Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, is the most important one since he himself always had the rights of the script and used many of its elements in his 1987 novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Douglas Adams, by setting this ingeniously crafted story in one of the most beautiful megacities in the world and by weaving a peerless scenario with a witty and at times humorous dialogue, authored a classic of televised science fiction, which thrills fans and non-fans alike.
The serial's irrelevant title belies its true scenario and misleads the viewer, who would think at first City of Death is a story of urban terror, a dystopian society for example or a horror story of a series of murders. The city itself, more specifically its environment, largely contributes to City of Death's success, pleases the viewer and isn't depicted as a seat of evil and corruption, so that I fail to understand what motivated Douglas Adams or David Fisher and Graham Williams to choose this irrelevant title, which reminds me of horror B-movies. Death and evil are in fact personified by Scaroth, the last member of the alien race of Jagaroth, who strives to travel back in time, 400 million years before the story's principal timeline and by preventing the destruction of his race restores it to life. If he succeeds, he will radically and tragically alter the course of human history and eliminate the entire human race. For this purpose he needs a special time machine and he plans to finance the project of this device's creation by stealing objects of art, including the very famous Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum. A most extravagant but sublime time travelling concept in the finest time travelling TV series ever. The exciting opening scene, in which we watch the spider shaped spaceship of the Jagaroth trying to take off from Earth's very eerie desert landscape and then exploding in the sky, sets the ground for a classic of the series. This scene warns us that a special episode has begun.
In the subsequent scene we are transferred in a totally different spacetime, with the Doctor and Romana perched on top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, in the year 1979. Along with Leisure Hive and Paradise Towers, this is one of the very few times the time travellers are seen as tourists only arriving in a place as a part of their vacation and for relaxation and not for exploration or out of curiosity. The viewer identifies with them and becomes a tourist too in the world's most visited capital. The interaction between the well-dressed Romana and the carefree Doctor is described as heralding the romance between the actors Tom Baker and Lalla Ward (they eventually married only to get divorced a year and a half later). The two characters' chemistry is marvellous, they exchange several memorable lines and since vigorous and in high spirits seem to literally enjoy their stay in Paris.
On the other hand, we encounter another duo, Count Scarlioni (Scaroth) and his Countess, who belong among the series' great villains and stand out not because of their wickedness - the Master, Davros, the Sontarans, Sil and many others are more evil - but because of their glamour and humanness, which oppose the monstrosity of most villains. Though the Count is revealed to be an one-eyed green skinned creature, a Jagaroth in disguise, he is presented in his human form during a large part of the serial. Marcus Scarman in Pyramids of Mars, the mercenary Lytton in Resurrection of the Daleks, Ratcliffe in Remembrance of the Daleks and others have a human form too but, unlike Count Scarlioni, they function as servants carrying out the orders of their non-human master(s). In City of Death, the bad guys are human masters of themselves, give orders, whilst their den is a lavish, luxurious Parisian dwelling, a house and not a spaceship or true head-quarters or their natural residence. In their battle against the two villains aforementioned, the Doctor and Romana are assisted by the aloof and gutsy British private detective Duggan, one of the most memorable one-off characters in the history of the series and who is defined as a one-off companion. All five principal actors offer an excellent performance and their interaction serves as a model. City of Death features unique, peculiar characters with their own idiosyncrasy. Even Kerensky, Scaroth's ingenious scientist with very distinctive foreign accent, although not a major character manages to conserve himself in the viewer's memory.
City of Death is usually praised for its brilliant, witty dialogue. Although I confess the dialogue seems to exaggerate at times and becomes pretentious, it is worth the praises. This serial contains some of my favourite lines ever and I will mention some of them. While on the train, Romana asks where they are going. The Doctor asks, "Are you talking philosophically or geographically?" Romana says, "Philosophically" and the Time Lord replies "Then we're going to lunch". Afterwards, they go to a cafe and the Doctor says to Romana, "You and I exist in a special relationship to time, you know. Perpetual outsiders." and Romana tells him not to be so portentous. When they are heading for Louvre, the Doctor compliments its gallery by calling it "one of the greatest art galleries in the whole galaxy". In the second episode, when Kerensky claims he is the foremost scientist on temporal physics in the whole world, the Doctor mockingly replies "That is a small place when you think about the size of the universe". It is a pity that the series in general lacks an equivalent of Douglas Adams' ingenious sense of humour. Tom Baker's era however, which since the moment I started exploring the fascinating world of Doctor Who, I have been presuming it is the funniest of them all, was marked by comic elements. Episodes such as Robot, City of Death, to a lesser extent The Sun Makers justify this impression I have of the era of Tom Baker, who brought humour and a whimsical attitude in the Doctor and so even in grave stories, he usually offers us a comic relief.
While on top of the Eiffel Tower, the Doctor calls Paris a city with an ethos. I will paraphrase the Time Lord's statement and call City of Death a serial with an ethos, with a distinctive spirit. To label it a "science fiction adventure" wouldn't be accurate because it lacks essential features of a typical science fiction adventure. We are not exposed to battles nor to gunshots/explosions (the explosion of Jagaroth's spaceship excepted), we don't get a glimpse of the outer space, there's no violence (Duggan's fake punches on Kerensky and on the Count don't count) and inevitably there's not exactly action either! As it was pointed out in the third paragraph of this review, this is one of the very few times the Doctor is seen as a tourist. His role as a tourist is overshadowed when he is portrayed as an authentic time traveller because unlike in the vast majority of televised stories, the Doctor of City of Death twice travels in different spacetimes in his attempt to hinder the plans of the enemy. He doesn't remain fixed on one place/area in one timezone, like he does in Inside the Spaceship, Tenth Planet, Tomb of Cybermen, Happiness Patrol and in many other adventures, but maneuvres in three different spacetimes. So unusual an episode City of Death is, that even the location in which it was filmed is striking, transcending for the first time in the show's history the British frontiers and I strongly believe on this foreign atmosphere is grounded its uniqueness. Dudley Simpson's acclaimed and memorable incidental music (my favourite one so far, rivaled only by Paddy Kingsland's incidental music of Logopolis) is melodic and as if emanating from a soap opera, perfectly renders the elegance of this foreign atmosphere and the luxury of the villains' dwelling. Taking into account its distinctive spirit, City of Death could be described as a "humorous science fiction/fantasy soap opera of intrigue", a long but I reckon a truly accurate characterisation.
When it comes to the production values, they are excellent and the serial although it looks dated, that is old-fashioned, doesn't look cheap, of a low budget. The bizarre, deserted settings of prehistoric Earth are so superb that it saddens me they were used only a little, at the beginning and in the end, for about five minutes. Since it is set in the modern era the story doesn't feature many futuristic/science fiction elements. The few special effects used are to be praised, including Jagaroth's spider shaped spaceship and to a lesser extent Scaroth's monstrous face, which although it betrays its true nature, that of a mask, is usually not laughed at.
City of Death's brilliance is by no means spared from imperfection, this time imputed to the severe plot vaguenesses. How did the Doctor know the Countess, a woman he is not acquainted with at all, wore a powerful bracelet of a supernatural function around her wrist and why did he take (steal) it? The Doctor at first seems to grasp the bracelet unwillingly while fainting, but the Countess doesn't react immediately to this incident, to this theft. She doesn't immediately notice that her precious bracelet she was wearing has been clutched, stolen! Why do the cracks in the fabric of time affect only the Doctor and Romana? The manner in which they accidentally get mingled in the affairs of the Count and the Countess, the adventure hook, is flawed, ludicrous. Why did the Doctor travel to Italy of the Renaissance period to meet Leonardo da Vinci? Through his encounter with Captain Tancredi he learns about Scaroth's experiments with time but his "This is a Fake" message to da Vinci proves futile afterwards. In the third part Romana and Duggan break into a closed cafe at night and discuss the situation and future plans. The question is: why? What was the point in breaking into the cafe? Those flaws in the plot and few others abate City of Death but don't detract it of course from its brilliance.
Elegant, original, very agreeable but with a somewhat flawed and pedantic storyline, City of Death ranks among the most classic moments of the series. It enjoyed unprecedently high ratings, averaging 14.5 million viewers, and attracted the attention of 16.1 million persons for the fourth episode: the biggest audience ever for a Doctor Who episode. Since the story offers us a visual tour in the French capital, I decided to end this review in French: Vive la Ville de Mort!
Grade: 8,5 or 9/10
| What: | The Sleep of Reason (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Joe Ford, Eastbourne |
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
An astonishingly good read from Martin Day, continuing the excellent run of EDAs this year. The prose was gripping, the plot bubbling with tension and emotion and the characterisation sharp as a knife. I loved how we never saw a single scene from the Doctors POV, looking at him, Trix and Fitz from the POV of outsiders proves very rewarding and captures the magic of the character in a way we haven't seen for a while. Some of the scenes were violently brutal and the overall tone of the piece is very adult, I apriciated that very much after the last two fluffier books. I read this in two long sittings, unable to put it down...
| What: | The Eight Doctors (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | John Wrigley (2nd Incarnation), Time Vortex |
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| Date: | Sunday 25 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
This book was an enjoyable romp for the Eighth Doctor i like books where the Doc meets various Incarnations of his.
Ace book
| What: | Synthespians™ (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Joe Ford, Eastbourne |
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| Date: | Saturday 24 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A truly insane book that might seem shallow and overwritten but is in fact a great deal of fun. This is Craig Hinton's best book by miles because he remember that Doctor Who was about entertainment and not technobabble and continuity. The sixth Doctor is captured to perfection and Peri gets a decent amount of page space too, it is lovely to see her letting her hair down for a change. Its a bit slow in places and the ending will leave you thinking who cares??? but it made me laugh loads and has some gorgeous bitchy dialouge.
| What: | Instruments of Darkness (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Friday 16 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
I find it ironic that there are certain characters who for one reason or another have holes in their memories. I say this because this is a story with some noticeable holes in it. I don't mean plot holes, but holes where something should happen. Characters appear, do little, then disappear again. Ideas arise, give the reader a little wave, float around for a while and then vanish. With the majority of Russell's work I get the impression of someone who jots down a lot of ideas, puts them in a book and then forgets to give them a raison d'etre.
While this book is not as continuity ridden as some of Russell's other work, it still fails to really engage. It is better written than some of his other work, hinting that he is beginning to get the idea. The story also features characters from "Business Unusual" so its an indirect sequel - this was one aspect I thought worked quite well.
I haven't listened to all of the 6th Doctor Big Finish audio adventures so I'm not fully au fait with Evelyn, the Doctor's companion in some of the stories. However, the character's appearance in this book whets my appetite - another plus for the book and Mr Russell. She really comes alive in this book and is perhaps one of the best aspects of it. This book makes me want to go and listen to those other Big Finish productions.
Its a reasonably enjoyable book and it shows an upward curve in Gary Russell's work - after years of dreading his next book, this one made me keen to see if the upward trend continues. This is a lively, entertaining book albeit with a lot of wasted characters and story ideas.
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| Who clears up the mess...? |
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| What: | Business Unusual (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Stephen Carlin, Bangor, Northern Ireland |
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| Date: | Friday 16 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
The Doctor has been helping some friends, members of the Brighton police force, put paid to a scheme by the Master (is Gary Russell planning a prequel?). To finalise the erasure of the Master's work the Doctor requests the services of a computer programmer. Time has passed since his trial, and the Doctor has been trying to avoid ever meeting Melanie Bush (Mel). As far as the Doctor is concerned, Mel is part of a potential future which also includes becoming the Valeyard -it is a path he hopes never to follow. Of course, the programmer appointed to assist the Doctor turns out to be Mel.
Other events are also unfolding: Trey Korte, an American staying with the Bush family, begins to develop psychokinetic abilities - something which interests SeneNet, a company planning to release a revolutionary new games console; SeneNet are sponsoring a fast food company - little plastic toys are being given away with meals; the Brigadier has been asked to investigate SeneNet - and has disappeared; the partially-eaten corpse of a Japanese businessman is found near SeneNet; and people working in various computer centres are experiencing strange personality changes.
The Doctor sets out to investigate SeneNet and soon discovers that someone else has been mopping up after UNIT for many years now.
There are times when the book is quite enjoyable, but most of the time the book wanders off and becomes preoccupied with Gary Russell's mission to fill in the blanks in the series' history. I do applaud his attempts to create a cohesive back story (the book features elements which first appeared in "The Scales of Injustice" and other elements reappear in "Instruments of Darkness") but he seems to have missed the whole point of a really good book - telling a good story and telling it well. He has the potential to tell a story well. "Business Unusual" is not only bogged down by heavy dollops of continuity, it is also bogged down by taking bits and pieces of other Doctor Who stories. Its as if Mr Russell has used a recipe "a spring of The Invasion, a pint of Terror of the Autons, a pinch of Inferno...etc". Legacy remains his best work, although there is no guarantee that he can turn his hand to good "original" stuff (as the dire Invasion of the Cat-People would testify).
In short, if you don't like Gary Russell's other books this will not change your mind, but it does serve its purpose in introducing Mel as the Doctor's new companion.
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| Indifferently written but fluffy fun |
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| What: | Mad Dogs & Englishmen (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, Location? Mind yer own bloody business! |
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| Date: | Friday 16 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
No worse or better written than an average Tezza Dicks Target novel (Mawled Prose eulogises The Mighty Tel in a simpering postface to The Scarlet Vulva. It works though. A piece of fun with C S Lewis and Tolkein's Inklings being borrowed for The Smudglings and various spoofings including Princess Leia's holographic distress call from Star Wars. Certainly can't be accussed of trying too hard but at the same time finding Fitz and Anji inspecting and then recoiling from dog shit on a carpetted alien space station is an unexpected pleasure.And for a characteristically unpretentious addition to the post-Ancestor Cell community of the Doctor's acquaintance. Recommended as a change of style and pace. No great shakes but I've read worse (by Mawled Prose himself, amongst others).
Now this is what I call Dr. Who!! This was an awesome book and majorly ties upstory lines as well as preserves continuity in unimaginable ways. When I first heard Sabbath was back, I was worried but Justin Richards does an awesome job of piecing everything together. Keep it up guys!!!
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| Interesting and ingenious but convoluted |
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| What: | Parasite (New Adventures novels) |
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| By: | P. G. Steiner, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 11 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Parasite builds on events and characters that will be familiar to the readers of the author's earlier NA novel Lucifer Rising (written with Andy Lane). The Doctor, Ace and Benny arrive on Artifact, a vast, mysterious world that defies the laws of everyday physics. The Artifact is also undergoing cataclysimic changes, and our heroes must discover what is going on before they themsleves are destroyed in the ensuing chaos. Mortimer offers some tantalizing explanations for these mysterious goings-on drawing on both evolutionary biology and theoretical physics, which are puzzled out by Ace of all people. While some of the science fictional ideas in the novel are actually rather intriguing and ingenious, Mortimer goes overboard, putting one layer of complexity on top of another until the storyline becomes so convoluted that I gave up trying to follow it. I also found the idea of Ace--admittedly smart and resourceful woman, but hardly a great abstract scientific thinker--being the one to figure it all out and explain it to the reader more than a little hard to swallow.
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| Worth the price for the Troughtons! |
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| What: | The Reign of Terror (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Steve , Atlanta, Georgia USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 11 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I originally purchased this set because of the Hartnell episode, but I have since found it is the second tape (Web of Fear and The Faceless Ones) that I am wearing out. Since seeing the only existing episode of The Web of Fear, I have bought the Yeti Attack CD set and the book of this episode. This little gem shows just how spooky the show could be (this episode came out in the middle of the incredible "monster season")! Web of Fear's music, lighting, and plot are all perfect (especially the music, which I believe was some stock horror film music, but I haven't been able to track down the source). The Faceless Ones was an episode I didn't really think I would care for, but it, too, was a pleasant surprise. Both stories will make you curse the day the Beeb tossed the originals (especially since the conclusion of each seems to be gone forever). Incidentally, Reign of Terror is a great historical episode (the foundation of the Hartnell era) and the missing episodes in the middle are linked very well. You can't expect any Hartnell episode to be perfect, but this one was very well-done. The sets and costumes establish a great feel for the period and the acting isn't too over the top. All in all, this is a very nice set to give you a feel for each Doctor at or near his best. Ian Marter's novelization of Reign is superb and would be a great companion piece.
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| A good read, but not perfect |
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After reading the previews for the book, I was really looking forward to reading this novel. There was something about the premise that I found interesting, but having read the book it doesn't go into as much detail about the Victorian attitudes to death and the afterlife as I thought it might. Queen Victoria came across as a little one dimensional, as she was driven solely by grief and not much else. The explanation to the paranormal side of the story was a bit of a let down after 200 or so pages of build up, but the twist regarding James Lees was really unexpected and probably the most rewarding part of the story. The ending was a little rushed and it became a headache to work out who was who (or what!). This book was atmospheric and the premise a great idea, but it would have benefited with being longer, allowing some of the lesser (and more interesting characters) more time to grow. The time James spends between the prologue and his appearance before Queen Victoria should have been expanded upon, his time in the asylum sounds more hoffific than anything else approached in this novel, yet is only covered by a few throwaway lines of flashback.
I enjoyed this book as it combined a dark period of British History with an equally dark story, even if it didn't live up to my initial expectations.
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| It dose what it says on the tin! |
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| What: | The Five Doctors (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Ian, Leeds, England |
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| Date: | Thursday 8 July 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
A wonderful collection of everything (up to that point anyway) that is/was Dr Who. Daleks, Bessie, the Master, Cybermen, The Brigadier, Timelords et al. The plots a bit of mess, the location shooting is dull (all though its supposed to be) and Tom Baker is sorely missed. However, the others Drs are on form, even Hartnells stand in and you are never left hanging around waiting for something to happen.
Light, cheerful entertainment for all to watch, without too much to think about.
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| You Know What I Want!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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This story is nearly always put down by fandom, so i approached it with caution upon its release. I was more than pleasantly suprised having watched it from beginning to end, to find it a completely underrated classic! And light-hearted at that!
There are some great supporting characters, nice, bright sets, Tom and Lalla at their peak and the machine itself is an interesting concept which harks back to The Carnival Of Monsters. I think its wonderful stuff. It has now become one of my most watched tapes (and i've got them all!).
Well, took me over a month to get through this book, some of it due to time but mostly because it dragged on and on. This book made no sense and really should have been shelved. It was nice that they eluded to the Doctor's past to get him to think about it, but it was done in a lame way plus the ending was just a cop out it seemed. I, for one, was not happy at all with this book.
Well it is certainly a very intriguing story. The whole political situation is described in a very real and believable manner and there really is a sense of suspense as the story develops. All the other Dalek Empire's I have had so once one was finished I could go onto the next but now I really have a lot of time to relisten to and think about each chapter. I'm enjoying the experience so far!
The twist at the end of the story is really, really good and we really don't know what the Daleks are up to so I'm looking forward to seeing how this all comes together!
| What: | Death Comes to Time (Miscellaneous audio dramas) |
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| By: | W, USA |
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| Date: | Sunday 20 June 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I liked the story because it was complex enough, for an audio, to make it interesting listening more than once. Every time I listen to it, I pick up more details.
I would like to see the story eventually turn up fully mounted as a television episode.
| What: | Relative Dementias (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | J Sykes, England |
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| Date: | Sunday 20 June 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This was a brilliant story with a well structured plot and great characters although the end was slightly confusing.
| What: | Endgame (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | J Sykes, England |
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| Date: | Sunday 20 June 2004 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
While this book seemed better suited to the 7th or 5th Doctor rather than the 8th it still proved to be a great read and the best 8th Doctor book so far.
| What: | The Space Age (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Phil Ince, The Vortex storeroom, stealing jam |
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| Date: | Wednesday 16 June 2004 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Very simple, on the brink of simplistic, but has a certain power and - though 50 pages of to-ing and fro-ing too many - still very enjoyable with a convincing morality. SPOILERS (maybe) - the plot revolves around the displacement of 2 groups - mods and rockers - from 1960s England to a future city, conceived in terms of the sci-fi of their time. Whilst it's 2-parts Face of Evil to 1-part Survival, still the willful, damaged and persistent escalation of their violence is convincingly and infuriatingly portrayed. I really detested them and wanted to give 'em an almighty slap; in short, I fell into the trap. At the denouement, the characters are given the choice to learn from what they've done or to forget it. By implication, those who elect for memory over amnesia are credited whilst we see the negative consequences that choosing to forget has. This pre-Ancestor Cell Doctor isn't the same character as his Post-AC self.
