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 | The Sixth Doctor at His Very Best |
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Yes. Now this is one lost story I definitely like! Since Colin Baker was on TV screens in the 80s, I felt that his was an interesting Doctor but that with the possible exception of one or two, he never got any really good stories to work with (until the audios). Leviathan is a really good Sixth Doctor story, that gives us a Doctor who is robustly heroic and physical in ways we really never saw on television. He is very much the Sixth Doctor of 1984, yet scripted in a much more impressive and satisfying way in a story of high quality. Leviathan is a bit like an early Tom Baker story on steroids, directed by someone like Joe Ahearne, Euros Lyn or James Hawes (of the new series). As such, this really doesn't feel much like a Season 23 production, as it's too good, but I suppose one can dream. As it turns out, this story was actually commissioned for Season 22 and rejected, probably due to budgetary constraints. To say much about the plot would be to spoil it for those who haven't heard it yet, but I'll just say that the Herne and the Zeron are superb, monstrous characters for audio - they sound great here. Again, doubtful that we'd actually get something as well realized as these in Season 22 or 23 though, as even three seasons later, the Destroyer (of the story Battlefield) couldn't measure up to these characters on screen. So Leviathan gets a failing grade for fitting into this "lost season," but because it's so good while doing so, it doesn't matter.
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| It may well be silly but... |
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| What: | The Underwater Menace (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 28 September 2010 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
For me The Underwater Menace is nothing short of entertaining. Yes, it may well be silly and camp and may be full of cliches as the other reviewers below have said, but the way they are all portrayed has never been more entertainingly done.
Joseph Furst maybe one of the most over the top actors here as the insane Zaroff, but this for me is by no means a really bad thing. You can sense the fun people had making this kind of story. It may not be oscar winning stuff, but for me it is so flipping cool and brilliant that that doesnt really matter or bother me in the slightest.
And as for any Doctor Who, there are some rather nasty bits thrown amoungst the laughable bits. The shooting scene on screen of Thous and his guards may be far from convincing, but on audio it doesnt matter, and Joseph's delivery of that oh so famous line is oh so memorable. But the drowning of Zaroff is again memorable and pretty explicit. And actually, the plot of the story isnt too unbelievable either.
And the fish people design isnt too bad either. And you cant see the strings on audio holding the poor fellows up. Theres even a shark filled well and a pet octopus. So this is not the allround goof so many people seem to think it is, by any means. Robots of Death and Pyramids of Mars are far more tedious than this nice little ott tale.
And the cliffhanger ending to episode four is excellent too, really making you want to come back to see what will happen to the crew of the TARDIS. The episode endings of Pat's time have always been amoung the best the series ever done.
And Pat Troughton again is in fine comic form. And yet again he fits all his disguises so very well indeed. Pat brought so much brilliantness to the role of the Doctor. Him as the gypsy sailor is one of the most memorable of his disguises, he does look rather wierd to say the least with those glasses!
And the thought of being turned into one of the fish people is a good plot line for Polly. Though she doesnt quite get as much to do as in some of the surrounding stories. But she is such a good actress and it is clearly evident on screen or as in here, just on audio.
Perhaps the only oddity here is that there is no narration at all to explain the fish strike action bit in episode three. So for nearly two minutes one still wonders what the fish people are actually doing. It could have been explained so its totally clear. But aside from this, I still really like and enjoy this romp which was Pat's third story in the role of the Doctor. And he already seemed to know the part so well, with all his foibles and isms.
Patrick Troughton's time in Doctor Who for me ranks as the best period in the shows history. Never again would Doctor Who for me continually boast the brilliantness of his era. He was a clown and a buffoon, but also caring and deep, and still true to the original outline of the character, in that he still kept the mystery inherent in the character. One can never quite figure him out. And that is a good thing.
So, the Underwater Menace is silliness. But its about the most highly enjoyable silliness ever to have been experienced by me!!!!
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| An excellently read piece... |
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One thing you can be sure of with Terrance Dicks is a sure and solid story, whether it be all his original novels, or his novelisations of the classic series of Doctor Who. He is a man whose writing has never before dissappointed me. He may not go for the absolutely mind blowing twisting plots of many other Who writers, but that is no bad thing as his stories are always so very very easy to follow or read or listen to as is the case here with this new reading of Planet of The Spiders by Elisabeth Sladen.
And what really helps here is Elisabeth has got such a nice voice to listen to. Her reading is never less than enjoyable, and in places is wickedly pronounced and memorable. Some readers never can quite bring all the many characters to life in audio readings, but Liz seems to manage it with consumate ease.
The story here is written in Terrance's usual way. Never too thick on explanations, more just getting on with telling the story, so as to not leave one bored after a few minutes of reading. And what also really adds to any audio reading is new sound effects and music. This also helps to stilt any boring long chapters, and Planet of the Spiders is never boring.
The characters are all very close to tv serial of the same name. The only slight let down of this audio reading, and this is by no means Liz's fault, but the spider voices here are so very far from scary. Excpet for maybe the more guttural sound of the great one. But the Queen and the other spiders just sound so babyish. But otherwise this audiobook is very well done. Liz's characterization of Tommy and Cho Je are particularly impressive, and add 3D to the characters.
The prologue is also an excellent little intro to the story that could have been done with the serial but wasnt, sadly. A nice little bit with Jo sending the crystal back to the Doctor and starting all the trouble without even realising. And just the notion of the spiders crowding in to eat Lupton's body near the end of the book is rather nasty and very well done. Another element not featured in the serial on the screen. And as you never see anyone being eaten by the spiders on the screen, at least you get the notion of it happening here, which adds a bit more realism to the climax of the story.
So,all in all this is very well done indeed. Oh, yeah, but they could just have had the Doctor Who theme too in there, would have made it feel even more authentic as part of the Doctor Who label. But im not complaining. This is very good stuff indeed.
| What: | Invaders from Mars (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Sunday 26 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
I admit that during my first listen, I was not fond of "Invaders From Mars." However, when I listened a second time, I found the whole thing very amusing. The story is set in New York, 1938, but one that is more like a collection of movie cliches from that period than the real thing. We get stereotypical gangsters, stereotypical spies, stereotypical social gadflies, a seemingly stereotypical hardboiled detective mystery, and several horrid accents to top it off. In other words, audiences are fairly warned not to take any of it seriously. Then come the aliens, sort of space bat versions of the Dominators, with one ready to kill and destroy just about anything he sees and the other constantly talking him down by pointing out just how stupid it is to kill and destroy everything. In this sense, the story sends up not just films of 1930s New York, but also certain aspects of "Doctor Who" itself. There are many genuinely funny lines, such as the aliens' mistakenly thinking that Cosmo Devine's name is Scum Devine. The only perplexing thing about it is the Doctor's naive innocence throughout the story. Who could possilby be fooled by the name "Glory Bee"?
In terms of the revival of the original Season 23 "lost stories," Mission to Magnus achieved the desired effect even better than The Nightmare Fair. My rating of 7 on this is not for the story, which isn't actually that great, but for the overall production. The entire cast, most notably Colin Baker and Nabil Shaban, really threw themselves into this fully, and the result sounds quite competently like an audio soundtrack from a TV story made in 1985. Colin Baker really recaptured the sound of a younger Sixth Doctor here. And in this story, Sil actually provides some genuine humor on the whole, rather than being mostly nasty, as he was in the televised stories featuring him.
So far, these alternative Season 23 stories look like a kinder, gentler route, which unfortunately probably would have also produced a rather lackluster season. The Trial of a Timelord, while offering the very intriguing ideas of the evil half-Doctor as it were, and the Time Lord cover up of the Ravalox/Matrix situation, just didn't work well in its final form. Mindwarp was the most troublesome story in that season, with its very dark tone and the confusion around the falsifying of the Matrix record of what actually happened. I actually would have much rather seen Mission to Magnus instead. And speaking of that story, it is now difficult to know how to look at Mission to Magnus if you're talking about what is canon and what isn't. Mission to Magnus clearly would've taken place after Mindwarp, and this is a fairly unsolvable problem. So it's probably best to look at Mission to Magnus as a standalone, or an alternate universe story, or something...
Part 2 of the CD extras includes some of the funniest banter I've yet heard on these. However, I would have liked to have heard something from William Townsend who was notably absent in the extras. He is the child actor who plays Vion in the story, and does it fairly well, I'd say.
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| three slightly below-par stories |
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| What: | The Black Guardian Trilogy (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Francis Salvi, Chester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 23 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Peter Davison is probably my least favourite Doctor, the only reasons I got this set were to see what the stories were like and to help complete my collection. And unlike the recent Cybermen set and Time and the Rani releases, this is a below-par release (albeit a slightly old one).
Mawdryn Undead is an average tale which contains a mamorable flashback sequence and re-introduces the Brigadier well, as well as having a good, but short subplot in which Mawdryn tries to impersonate the Doctor. The downside is that the story drags terribly in places, at times seeming to come to a complete standstill.
Terminus is probably the best story in the set, quite a dark tale helped by the dull sets for the space station. The Vanir are admittedly a bit disappointing, and the Garm is quite impressive. Nyssa's departure feels quite rushed, but it is an original leaving scene, and one of the most memorable in Doctor Who.
I am sorry to report that Enlightenment is second in my list of 10 Worst stories. It suffers the same problem as Mawdryn Undead, in that the pace is sometimes non-existant, but unlike that story it doesn't have any redeeming qualities, save for the fantastic model-work.
All in all, a disappointing set that could have been so much better were it not for the quality of the first and third stories.
Producing these "lost" scripts from the original Season 23 was a great idea, especially to us fans of the sixth Doctor. This audio version of The Nightmare Fair does indeed give us a much more enjoyable realization of it than can be gotten from its print form. Having said that, I must once again contradict Colin Baker's comments in the extras and say that this story really doesn't work all that well on audio. Too much of the action is difficult to decipher, which probably wouldn't have been a problem on video. One example would be that the big scene of the Doctor's videogame challenge is rendered fairly ineffective on audio. Still, the Toymaker is a fascinating villain, and we learn much more about the nature of his existence in this story. And the relationship between the Doctor and Peri is much more fun here than it probably ever was on TV. And thankfully, after a rough start, in episode 2 Colin's voice comes back to full strength, and combined with the way he's playing the Doctor here, one can really imagine that this story was done back in 1985. We also get the added bonus of a script apparently unsoiled by the script destroying, I mean, editing... talents of Eric Saward...
Destiny nicely comes full circle with Hex and the long standing sub plot of "whose my mummy". At first the alien plague takes centre stage with the forge lurging but quickly flips and brings together the Project series and latest 7th doctor's run in an exciting, twisting and turning story. A great story that finishes with many questions and leaving you hungry for more.
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| You dont get better than this... |
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| What: | The Enemy of the World (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 21 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Patrick Troughton as the Doctor was always magic. To have Patrick Troughton as the villain of the piece to was a spot of brilliance! This i feel is by far the best of the doppleganger Doctor Whos, although the Massacre isnt very far behind at all.
Patrick is very impressive as the mexican psycho Salamander. And yes, this story definitely has tones of James Bond about it, as Salamander would have made a brilliant James Bond villain. And he is pretty much better than any of that line of villains. Aside from The War Games and The Two Doctors, I would quote this story as being Pat's finest acting in Doctor Who.
The whole underground sequence with the people kept in ignoance of what Salamander is really doing is particularly effective. And the last minute plot twist of Giles Kent being another psycho isnt totally unbelievable either. The acting allround here is excellent, and Salamander ranks amoungst the ost memorable of Doctor Who baddies.
What also shines through this story too is the comedy. The scenes of Victoria in the kitchen still have me in stitches, especially the writing of the menus scene. Griffin might just be a bit of comic relief, but boy is he brilliant!
And once more, the plot isnt too complicated. The new series often fales because the plots of the stories are unfathomable. But here we just get a good central premise and the story rips along at a breathtaking pace and never lets up. The ending is particularly good, with the members of the TARDIS holding on for dear life as the TARDIS hurtles into the vortex with the doors open.....all in all, another dose of top quality Doctor Who.
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| This WAS the season 4 premiere! |
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| What: | The Smugglers (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 21 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Here we go again. The third to last totally historical story. Tragic thinking on behalf of the bbc, to cut out these highly engrossing tales that very often put their sci fi tales to shame around them.
From the outset where a grumpy William Hartnell "welcomes" his new guests aboard the TARDIS, in the guise of Ben and Polly, this story really shines. It boasts some evry well recorded location work, possibly the best for the whole of the First Doctor's era. It is nice to see (or hear) a location beyond London for once. And you really notice it.
The script is ripe and full of lovely little nuggets of glittering dialogue. "Ill have the words spilling from him like blubber from a whale" is aparticularly well crafted line. All these one liners add that extra touch to an already brilliant story.
And Michael and Anneke work so well together, theres a good chemistry between them and overall they deserved a better run than they had. They were a great duo with all the vital elements of a brilliant character.
And considering that Bill Hartnell was very ill during the making of his final season, he gives a brilliant performance here, perhaps another of his strongest. I love the way he is perturbed by Pike and stands up to him and talks to him as he does everyone else along the way.
This also has its share of usual excellent done action scenes, never done in pantomime and so very convincing indeed. Cherub's character is one of the best and nastiest villains of the First Doctor age of the programme.
It really doesnt matter that the code changes halfway through, for the rest of the story is so brilliant that this little fluff can be totally forgiven and easily overlooked. Its hard to see why so many didnt like these historical tales. They cut them at their height, and The Smugglers is definitely Brian Hayles finest Doctor Who script (that he actually did most of the writing of!) I would recommend this story to anyone. It has everything.
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| Excellent piece of storytelling |
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| What: | The Aztecs (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 21 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Why so many feel that the historical stories arent all that good is a notion i will never get to grips with. There are so many inhuman periods in our own past to write about without the alien threats from outer space all over the universe.
The Aztecs represents historical Doctor Who at its height. Following after the brilliant Marco Polo earlier in the season, this is a memorable third look into a part of Earth's history. The sets for a start are again very very good. It doesnt look like the cheap tacky stuff that frequently gets shown on Doctor Who.
And all the cast are perfect here. There isnt one character who is boring or even particularly sidelined. But who really shines here is Jacqueline Hill. This is her story really. A story of her moral struggle set against the Doctors firm notion that one cant interfere with time (even though he does it more than anyone!) The tension, like the Edge of Destruction between her and the Doctor, is palpable and effective. That is the thing with Doctor Who: most of the laughs were had in the rehearsals, and then when it came for the recording, it was treated with absolute conviction and zeal by all involved.
And another wonderful element is the obvious chemistry between the Doctor and Cameca. His accidental proposal is very nicely handled, and is rather charming. And its good to see Carole Ann Ford being a bit more gutsy than usual within this story, refusing to marry the man chosen for her.
This is good in the fact that it keeps to telling a brilliant story with well rounded characters who pull you into the story. And that it presents history as not being funny or forgettable or something to lightly pass over. History will always be important. This is one of the best earlier Doctor Whos. The new series could learn much from stories like these.
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| An unfairly maligned piece of brilliance |
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| What: | Time and the Rani (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 18 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I have to agree with Francis review below. Time And The Rani is far from the worst Doctor Who story ever. It has much to recommend it above a lot of other stories from the eighties, and indeed from Sylvester's own time as the Doctor.
Time and the Rani firstly boasts some of the very best effects used on the classic series. The regeneration may not be the best ever, but its not Sylv's fault that Colin didnt want to come back to do just a silly regeneration scene (and i cant blame him, his treatment by the BBC was frankly disgusting) Those swirling traps were quite frankly the best effect ever, including the so called brilliant new series.
The acting is also very commendable and brilliantly done by all the main actors. The scene were Faroon finds out it is her daughter who has died is a particularly well handled and touching little scene, which puts padi yet again to the theory that classic Doctor Who was never all that high on emotion.
The tetraps too are one of the better Doctor Who monsters, those rotating eyes look brilliant and the voice is excellent too. The neat little plot twist once Urak discovers the extent of the Rani's plans is brilliantly subtle, so he goes and gets ready to take his revenge on her! Brilliantly done.
Bonnie Langford too was nowhere near as bad as a lot of people made her out to be. She was a dependable and honest and above all else interesting companion. Her scenes with the newly regenerated Doctor are memorable and brilliantly done. Andrew Morgan didnt do too bad a job at all on this excellent piece of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who is often maligned for its use of comedy, but the comedy in Doctor Who is quite frankly totally awesome and funny and is a vital ingredient of the best Doctor Whos. The comedy here, particularly in the amnesiac Doctor misquoting phrases is particularly brilliant.
And to top it all of Kate O'Mara puts in a far better performance than her first outing as the Rani, and that was excellent enough. She does Mel absolutely comically and excellently. One of the best performances ever in Doctor Who. Add to that mix a brilliant debut from Sylv who looks like he's been in the role for ages and you get one of the finest examples of eighties Who. Even the usual quarry setting is handled better than usual, with the sky tinted red. It truly does feel alien.
John Nathan Turner seemed to be often accused of bringing Doctor Who down into the dumps. A lie. Thanks John for having the eye to notice a good story when you see one! Its sad he's gone. He was a real breath of fresh air for Doctor Who.
| What: | Time and the Rani (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Francis Salvi, Chester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 17 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I'm a big fan of Season 24, and the Seventh Doctor is my favourite. Shoot me. If you watch Time and the Rani with the same attitude as I do, its a really enjoyable story.
People criticise McCoy in this story for being too clownish, but if you look at some of his scenes with Mel in the Rani's laboratory, he takes on a melancholy feel. And for those criticisong the regeneration, might I recommend the novel 'Spiral Scratch'?
The Rani is on top form here. I didn't like Mark of the Rani all that much, maybe because it felt too out of place in the mostly sci-fi centred Season 22, but here the Rani is brilliant. Her plan is a good one, and as a rarity in Doctor Who, is scientifically feasible.
All in all, another under-rated story that really doesn't deserve the stick it gets.
At long last, Revenge of the Cybermen and Silver Nemesis come to DVD. Packaged in a stylish purple slipcase, the stories are every bit as enjoyable as i remember them.
I've only ever seen Revenge in an omnibus format, and enjoyed it on a certain level. Watching the story in episodic formast made me like the story even more. The location work is excellent, as are the Cybermen, back to their old tricks of taking over space stations.
Silver Nemesis doesn't actually feature the Cybermen a great deal, focussing more on the character of Lady Peinforte, and her knowledge of the Doctor's secrets. This story poses the question 'Who is the Doctor'? a scene which sticks in the mind long after the credits roll on episode 3.
All in all, two very under-rated stories in one quality boxset. Looking forward to Time and the Rani.
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| SILLY, UNEQUIVICAL FUN... |
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| What: | The Two Doctors (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
"Why dont you resign Styke? Take a pension..."
"Oh my giddy aunt oh crumbs"
"Tea time already nurse?"
"Your Doctor is an anti deluvian foegey!"
"Most of them must have leaked out of your ears, or you wouldnt be involved in this madness!"
"How is it you can be such a stubborn irrational and thoroughly objectionable old idiot?!"
"Of course I can walk!"
"Then we can cook her"
"Take the one in the skirt"
With so many beutifully comedic lines such as this, does it matter if the story isnt in keeping with past elements of Doctor Who.
Pat Trouhgton delivers what I think is his best ever Doctor Who performance. He is so utterly brilliant that he does steal most of the show somewhat.
Give Clinton and Tim their due too, they are brilliant sontarans, especially in the stifling heat of Spain. They manage to rise above the ill fitting costumes and deliver with their voices excellently.
John Stratton is memorable as that psycho Shockeye too. Dastari is likeable, despite all his nasty experiments. So you do feel for him at the end when he is killed. Laurence Payne is an excellent actor.
Yes, for me this story may not be high on continuity, but it is very high on entertainment. Anyway, frequently Doctor Who is all over the place with its continuity anyway. So thats nothing to worry about.
And Frazer is back in full force as my favourite companion ever. And he works just as well beside Colin Baker as with Pat Troughton. And the two doctors here work together so brilliantly. You can see everyone had a good time making this story. It comes out in the performances. Pure Doctor Who brilliance.
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| Were U trying to attract my attention? |
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| What: | The Talons of Weng-Chiang (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Because if you were BBC with this tale, then you certainly succeeded.
This story is the perfect blend of horror action and humour. It is a good end to the Phil Hinchcliffe years as producer. He couldnt have bowed out in better style.
This story is so entertaining. It boasts so many excellently realised elements. Mr Sin is a creepy creation, Magnus Greel is disgustingly disfigured, and John Bennett is sublime as L'hsen Chang. one of the best villains in the long history of Doctor Who. We can frogive the woeful rat for the rest of the story is brilliant. It looks as if tonnes has been spent on the production. The set design again is excellent, one really gets a feel of Victorian England that adds to the realism of it all.
Louise Jameson is so brilliant and so different from so many of the past companions. Jumping out of windows and all that. She is a really strong character indeed. One of the best in fact.
Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter. What can I say about these two that hasnt been said before? These two are the best double act in Doctor Who. Rob Holmes is so good at creating memorable double acts. This is the cream of the bunch here. These two bring so much to their characters. It is no wonder this is conssitently called one of the best Doctor Whos ever. It is stunningly effective.
| What: | Planet of Evil (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Roger Murray Leach reached his height as designer on this story. The jungle is terribly good. It all looks so very very good film. But it is noticeable and not quite as convincing when it goes to the studio, but it can be forgiven because this is such a good story with an excellent plot.
And it isnt overburdened by sub plots galore. It just gets on with telling a totally gripping sci fi tale. And the acting is of a high class indeed. Prentis Hancock delivers again as Salamar, perhaps bettering Vaber.
And also of worthy note is the excellent creature. Shown as an energy being, and so not totally there. Only a reddened outline which is very ominous. Especially in the scenes when it rises out from the pit to hunt.
What is good is the creature isnt all bad. As soon as the Doctor promises to give the antimatter back, it keeps its promise and returns Professor Sorenson.
The scenes inside the pit are well realised too. All rather well directed is this tale. I can quite see why Elizabeth Sladen likes this story more than a lot of her other outings. It does have a lot going for it.
The only downfall slightly for me is the prepensity for this era of Doctor Who to be rather lacking in humour. Doctor Who always had a lot of good humour amidst the previous horror stories in its past, but in this era seems to be running dry. And for me it is a vital element. But for that, this story is otherwise very entertaining.
| What: | Horror of Fang Rock (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The fact that this story was written so quickly is unbelievable. This classic story has all the qualities of a well thought out and long planned script.
The studio bound nature may be very obvious. But the lighthouse interior is excellently realised. And highly cramped and claustrophobic.
The acting here too is excellent, with so many memorable characters. Alan Rowe is memorable as Skinsale. Lord Palmerdale represents that nasty breed of baddies that Doctor Who always does so well. And poor old Adelaide, acted to perfection. So brilliantly written are these parts.
And the rutan is another great design. Its amusing to see how different to the Sontarans these aliens are. Jellies fighting tough warriors. A brilliantly imaginative match too.
Terrance once again did a brilliant job at crafting this tale in the time he had. This has all the brilliant Doctor Who ingredients, and puts them together in a refreshing and brilliant way.
And keeping the real sight of the rutan to the end is not a bad thing for once. The story is so good it doesnt actually need it a whole lot. Brilliant Doctor Who! One of the best.
| What: | Terror of the Zygons (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The inside of the spaceship is excellently designed. It reminds one of a plate of lasagne. It looks so organic and real that one just has to ask why the exterior looks like just a plain every day UFO? But aside from this niggle this story is absolutely brilliantly produced. The direction is tought and startlingly realistic. The characters are all memorable, especially the Nurse. Those eyes of hers. I shiver.
And the cliffhanger to part one was absolutely toilet inducing for me when i first saw it.. For the zygons are one of the best monster designs to grace Doctor Who. The look realistic. They look like genuine flesh. Douglas Camfield duly deserves his praise as a director. And the final London piece isnt as bad as all that either. This is certainly one of the best Tom Baker stories.
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| An altogether excellent story.... |
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| What: | Invasion of the Dinosaurs (BBC classic series videos) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 9 September 2010 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
As is the case for many a Doctor Who story, an otherwise flawless production is let down just by the effects. But this is only relevant when it comes to the poor design of the Tyrannosaur. The other model dinosaurs arent actually all that bad, although they are clearly unflexible and stiff and therefore not brilliant for all out dino-fighting as seen in the Lost World. But as that film had more money than most of the entire original series of Doctor Who, then actually it wasnt done too badly. And for a point in fact, this story is far better than Jurassic Park, for all its special effects.
Jon Pertwee is at the head of a very experienced and polished cast. And Elizabeth Sladen is really making an impact already as the headstrong but reliable Sarah Jane Smith. Peter Miles again portrays one of the villains of the piece brilliantly, as with his past and futre Doctor Who roles.
The plot of this story is also believable and easy to follow. The writers of the Third Doctor Handbook obviously cant see the merit in this excellent story. Barry Letts seemed to be injecting a lot of his productions with a good moral centre, and here it is done in a twisted way where the ends as per usual dont justify the means.
And that Mike should become one of the enemy is not too hard to believe. Its a neat little surprise that I was totally not expecting at all. Richard Franklin really excels in the story right from the word go.
And the final scene with the Doctor talking all things greed is excellent and very well scripted. A real truth amidst the fantasy of the program.
This was and still is one of my favourites of Jon Pertwee's era as the Doctor. I cant believe the Handbook rates it as two out of ten. That really is abominable and totally unbelievable too. This story really does have a lot going for it. Paddy Russell's direction is spot on with the characters, and its not her fault she had to deal with that t-rex. She did a great job and deserves recommendation!!!
