Story #58 - Colony in Space

For the first time during the Third Doctor era, The Doctor and his companion Jo travel to another world only to meet up once again with their nemesis The Master.

Written by Malcolm Hulke
Directed by Michael E. Briant

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo - Katy Manning
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
The Master - Roger Delgado

Main Guest Cast-
Ashe - John Ringham
Mary Ashe - Helen Worth
Captain Dent - Morris Perry
Caldwell - Bernard Kay
David - Nicholas Pennell
Norton - Roy Skelton

Synopsis-
The Time Lords send The Doctor to the planet Uxarieus in the year 2472, in order to thwart The Master's latest plot.

Uxarieus is home to an Earth colony.  The colony is struggling as they are unable to get their agricultural crops to grow.  Meanwhile, Captain Dent and a crew from the International Mining Corporation have arrived, with the intent of driving the colonists from Uxarieus so that large scale mining operations can begin.

In addition to the colonists and the miners, there is a race of primitives native to Uxarieus that live in an underground city nearby.

The leader of the colonists, Ashe, advocates for legal methods to the dispute while the more hot-headed colonist David advocates for more aggressive methods.  Captain Perry has also placed a mole, Norton, amongst the colonists and is mostly aware of what is going on.

David leads an assault on the IMC ship, which proves initially successful.  The tables are soon turned, however.  An adjudicator is being sent to Uxarieus to settle the dispute between the colonists and the miners.

Meanwhile, The Doctor has ventured to the underground city of the natives to rescue Jo, who had been taken captive.   The Doctor and Jo are let go, with the warning that they should never return to the city.  The Doctor also learns that the natives once had a great civilization that has since decayed.

The adjudicator arrives on Uxarieus, and it turns out to be The Master.  The Master rules in favor of the miners, and Captain Dent orders the colonists to board their outdated spacecraft and leave the planet.  The Master, meanwhile, orders The Doctor to take him to the underground city with Jo being held hostage in The Master's Tardis as leverage.  Upon arrival at the underground city, The Master's true plans are revealed as he intends to take possession of a doomsday weapon that the natives developed.

The Doctor, with the help of the native leader, causes the weapon to self-destruct.  Jo is rescued, but The Master is able to make his getaway once again. 

The colonists' ship blows up upon takeoff, which causes one of the miners (Caldwell) to change sides.  The colonists had made good their escape prior to takeoff, with the exception of their leader Ashe who sacrificed himself by remaining onboard.  A real adjudicator is being sent to Uxarieus to settle things, and the Doctor and Jo board the Tardis and return to Earth, mere seconds after their departure.

Review-
Colony in Space is, in essence, two stories.  The first story involves the Earth colonists and their struggling colony and their dispute with IMC.  Captain Dent, clearly, has no qualms about using ruthless methods to get what he wants, which is in this case the possession of Uxarieus.  As an audience, we are clearly meant to sympathize with the colonists.  The other story involves the doomsday weapon and The Master's attempt to possess it.

The contrast between the colonists' leader Ashe and the colonist David was quite interesting, however.  Ashe is insistent on using the legal methods to settle the dispute with IMC.  David, meanwhile, is willing to be much more aggressive and it leaves the viewer to decide whether Ashe's or David's approach is the correct way to deal with the IMC.  Caldwell is forced to face up to Captain Dent's ruthless methods, and his implicit cooperation with those methods. 

In many ways, Colony in Space is a morality play, with Ashe as the saint-like leader of the colonists and Captain Dent as the thoroughly corrupt leader of the IMC miners.   Ashe's sacrifice is the event that causes Caldwell to change sides and destroys Captain Dent's credibility.

The subplot involving The Master is more straight forward.  This is the fourth time (in four stories) this series/season that The Master and The Doctor have faced each other as adversaries and a certain sameness has begun to set in.  The Master has some sort of convoluted plot to take over the world (or, in this case, the universe) which The Doctor must thwart.  Sadly, I think the whole Master/Doctor subplot takes away from the main storyline between the colonists and the miners, which I found by far to be the more interesting.  The whole Master/Doctor subplot is summed up quite well with one line when The Doctor tells The Master that he want to "see" the universe, not control it.

Of the two six-part stories from this series/season, I think Colony in Space is the better of the two.  While the addition of The Master wasn't really necessary, the whole morality play between Ashe and Captain Dent is something I found simply fascinating to watch, making Colony in Space well worth checking out.

Reflections on Timegate

As I mentioned repeatedly last week, I attended Timegate over the weekend.  Timegate is a Doctor Who and Stargate themed convention that's held every year in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.   This year, the guest list was Doctor Who heavy due to that show's 50th anniversary.  The headliner guest was the Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker.

In addition to Mr. Baker, other guests included Colin Spaull (guest star on Revelations of the Dalkes and the Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel two-part story), Andrew Cartmel (script editor of the show during the Seventh Doctor era) Steve Gostelow (from the documentary 30 Years in the Tardis), Jody Lynn Nye (contributor to the Chick Dig Time Lords anthology) and Kelly Yates (comic artist on Doctor Who: The Forgotten).

Since I work the convention as staff, I don't necessarily get to everything that I would like to, but this year's Timegate was, to put it quite simply, a blast to attend.

On Friday, I arrived a bit earlier than usual and found that I had some time on my hands.  I sat down and had a chat with other early arrivals, including one cosplayer who was still working on her Zoe costume, which turned out great by the way!

Later, I sat in on the Britcoms panel, which was quite fun as we focused in on Are You Being Served and Last of the Summer Wine, both of which are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.  Granted, for those being technical, the pilot for Are You Being Served aired in 1972 but the full series didn't start until 1973.  Still, it was quite a fun panel, and while there's no way to touch upon every Britcom that exists in an hour we did cover quite a few.

After this, I attended the Doctor Who in the 1960's panel.  The panel itself was all right, but there just isn't quite enough time to cover the 1960's years in just an hour.   The show changes so much during this time and the Troughton era is quite different from the Hartnell era, particularly the early part of the Hartnell era.   As the convention grows, I'm hopeful that we'll be able to split off the Classic and New Series into two separate programming tracks, so we can go more into depth during the panels.  In this case, it would have been great to have had separate Hartnell and Troughton panels.  Perhaps in the future.

My Saturday started with the Iron Man 3 panel, which was quite fun and pretty well attended considering it was at 10am in the morning.  I followed that up by visiting Colin Baker, Colin Spaull and Andrew Cartmel for their autograph session.  All three were quite personable, I even talked a few minutes with Mr. Cartmel about the wonderful EC Comics from the 1950's.

I also sat in on latter half of the Hobbit panel, along with co-hosting or hosting the Downton Abbey and Copper/Ripper Street panels.   The Copper/Ripper Street panel had a small turnout, but that was to be expected since was competing directly with Colin Baker's question and answer in the Main Programming room.

I also co-hosted the Top Gear panel later that day, which was great fun to do.  Top Gear is such a fun show and it was great hanging out with fellow fans.

The highlight of Timegate is, in my own opinion, is the Saturday night charity cabaret.  The cabaret features music, readings and comedy sketches.   Colin Baker read a poem called "It's all Geek to Me", it featured two musical performances (by the Ken Spivey band and Louis Robinson) and a sketch by the group that made the Forgotten Doctor (a local fan made Doctor Who production).  Other participants included Moxie Magnus and that of the emcee Professor Satyre.   The charity cabaret raised well over $1000 for a local Atlanta food bank, which was the best that it's ever done!

On Sunday, I was able to attend the Remebrance of the Daleks live commentary by Andrew Cartmel, which was quite interesting and informative.  I also was able to attend Colin Baker's Sunday's Q+A.  Quite a bit of discussion of Colin's Big Finish audio work, of which he's quite proud.  Perhaps after I've finished watching all the television stories, I'll need to focus in more on the audio plays.

I was also able to listen to the podcast that was done on Friday night with Colin Baker early on Sunday morning.  There were members from several podcasts in attendance at Timegate and they all teamed up to do one big podcast with Colin.  Members from Earth Station Who, Transmissions from Atlantis, Two Minute Time Lord, Cultoom Collective and the Articles of the Shadow Proclamation teamed up to provide a suprisingly informative podcast.  Special props to Mike, from Earth Station Who, who was able to edit it and get it posted by Saturday.   You can listen to this wonderful podcast right here:

http://erthstationone.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/earth-station-who-episode-40-colin-baker-live-from-timegate-2013/

The last major event that I was involved with was the Harry Potter trivia contest.  I'd never hosted a trivia contest before, and I think I learned a few things to make it better for next year.  Special thanks goes out to Jen for helping with the trivia contest.

Timegate is now over for another year.  If you'd like to find out more about what you missed, you can visit the Timegate convention website at http://www.timegatecon.org/index.htm.  I'm sure that it will be updated shortly with information regarding next year's event, which is already in the planning stages.

My next convention after the awesomeness that was Timegate will be in less than two weeks.  I've got another Doctor Who convention that I can attend that's somewhat nearby: Con Kasterborous in Huntsville, Alabama.  Con Kasterbourous' main guests this year are Caitlin Blackwood (Amelia Pond) and Kelly Yates (comic artist on Doctor Who: The Forgotten from IDW Comics).   More information at their website here: http://conkasterborous.com/

I've met both Caitlin and Kelly before, but it will be nice to see them again.  In addition, I just can't pass up the chance to hang out with fellow Whovians or a chance to indulge in my Doctor Who cosplaying addiction.  While I can't make it on Saturday, I'll be attending on Sunday.  I'm not sure what costume I'll be doing yet, but I'm looking forward to another wonderful time.

Story #57 - The Claws of Axos

The Axons arrive on Earth promising a trade and goodwill with the inhabitants of Earth, but their intentions are much more sinister.

Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Directed by Michael Ferguson

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo - Katy Manning
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
Benton - John Levene
Yates - Richard Franklin
The Master - Roger Delgado

Main Guest Cast-
Chinn - Peter Bathurst
Roger Filer - Paul Grist

Synopsis-
During a visit to UNIT by Mr. Chinn from the ministry of defense, a UFO lands in the southeast of England just outside a critical power station.  UNIT, along with Mr. Chinn travel to the power station to investigate.  Roger Filer, an American observer attached to UNIT is able to arrive prior to everyone else and is taken captive and later duplicated.

After arriving at the power station, The Doctor, the Brigadier and Mr. Chinn board the spacecraft.  Inside, they are met by the Axons who claim to have run out of fuel.  The Axons offer to trade the organic compound known as Axonite for fuel.  Mr. Chinn, impressed by the quailities of Axonite, readily agrees to the deal but The Doctor is much more skeptical.

Roger Filer's duplicate escapes and makes it way to the power station, followed by the real Roger Filer.  Once there, the duplicate is destroyed after a fight between the two Roger Filer's.  The real Roger informs UNIT that the Axons intend to feed off the organic material of Earth, and that the Axonite is the vehicle which will allow the Axons to do so.

The Master, who was captured by the Axons is able to escape, and reluctantly helps The Doctor and UNIT.  The Doctor and the Master, who is tricked by The Doctor, trap the Axons in a time loop with the help of The Doctor's Tardis.  The Doctor manages to escape the trap and return to Earth but The Doctor is unaware of The Master's fate.

Review-
What the Mind of Evil got wrong is what the Claws of Axos gets right.  The Claws of Axos moves at a swift pace that never really lags, unlike the Mind of Evil.  The story itself  explores the whole "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"motif, which the hapless Mr. Chinn falls for in his greed for the Axonite compound.   Mr Chinn's greed, of course, backfires on him as Axonite proves to be a Trojan Horse intended to destroy the Earth.  At the very least, Mr. Chinn survives unlike the Trojans.

The most interesting aspect of the story takes place in the latter half.  The Doctor joins forces with the Master in an attempt to defeat the Axons.  Roger Filer is suspicious of this sudden alliance.  The Doctor plays up this alliance with The Master to the upmost, even claiming that he'd rather leave Earth with The Master than remain and share the fate of Earth and its inhabitants.  The ruse doesn't become clear until the Tardis lands inside the Axon's ship.  The Master tries to warn the Axon's, to no avail.

What makes this plot point so interesting is that at the end of the story, it's never made quite clear that if The Doctor had been able to travel anywhere in the universe, would The Doctor have returned to Earth.  The ending makes it quite clear that The Doctor's return to Earth is not necessarily by choice, but that he's now a "Yo-Yo" (which was a great line, by the way!).  This exploration into The Doctor's character was quite interesting, and if I were the Brigadier I would have to wonder just how far I could trust The Doctor in the future.

Story #56 - The Mind of Evil

A machine that's used by authorities to eliminate the evil impulses of hardened criminals is being used by The Master in his attempt to destroy the world peace conference being held in London and throw the whole world into war.

Written by Don Houghton
Directed by Timothy Combe

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo - Katy Manning
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
Benton - John Levene
Yates - Richard Franklin
The Master - Roger Delgado

Main Guest Cast-
Mailer - William Marlowe
Kettering - Simon Lack
Chin Lee - Pik-Sen Lim
Barnham - Neil McCarthy
Dr. Summers - Michael Sheard

Synopsis-
The Doctor and Jo visit Stangmoor prison, where they witness Professor Kettering use the Keller device on the inmate Barnham.  The Keller device is being used on the prison inmates, as the Keller device removes the evil impulses that cause criminals to commit crimes.  Barnham survives the process, and become an innocent without any evil thoughts.   The Doctor, however, is not impressed and believes the machine should be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Brigadier is in charge of security at a world peace conference.  Trouble has brewed, and it turns out the Master is behind it.  The Master is using a member of the Chinese delegation, Chin Lee, to cause trouble.  Her attempt to kill the American representative is foiled by the Brigadier and The Doctor.  They discover that the Master was using the Keller device to control Chin Lee.

The Master returns to the prison, which has been taken over by the inmates who are led by Mailer.  Jo, Barnham and a prison doctor named Summers are being held as hostages.  The Doctor returns to the prison as well, and is also taken hostage. 

The Master informs The Doctor of his plans to capture a nerve gas missile and his plan to use it on the world peace conference.  The Master subjects The Doctor to the Keller machine, and The Doctor barely survives.  However, The Doctor also learns that the machine has achieved self awareness, and that the Master will no longer be able to control it.

The Master and The Doctor team up to neutralize the Keller machine, after which The Master intercepts the convoy that is escorting the missile.  Meanwhile, UNIT is able to retake control of the prison, killing off Mailer and his fellow inmates.

The Doctor discovers that the Keller machine cannot hurt Barnham, since there are no more evil thoughts in Barnham for it to feed on.   The Doctor and the Master agree to a trade, the missile for the dematerialization circuit to the Master's Tardis, which the Doctor took in the previous story.

Using Barnham to safely transport the Keller machine, the climax has both the missile and the Keller machine being destroyed and Barnham being killed in the process.  The Master, however, is able to escape once again and this time in possession of his dematerialization circuit.

Review-
The ending to the Mind of Evil is absolutely brilliant, with the UNIT troops invading the prison, followed by the final showdown between The Doctor and the Master.

Beyond the final showdown, I found the Mind of Evil to be a bit of a slog to get through.  It goes so slowly, that I think the Mind of evil might have worked better as a four-part story.  It certainly would have worked better had they focused on the events at the prison.  Whenever we jumped to the events at the peace conference, I felt frustrated because I felt the main part of the story was at the prison.  The latter half of the story focuses on the prison and the Master's machinations while at the prison and it holds up a great deal better than the first half.

The Mind of Evil was filmed in color, but the only known surviving copies of this story are in black and white.  The late 1990's VHS copy that I watched was pretty good, and it's due to be released on DVD next month with the BBC planning on using the chroma dot process to colorize the story as they did with Ambassadors of Death.  I'm still not sure how I feel about this colorization process, but Ambassadors looked pretty good so I'm hopeful that Mind will look at least as good.

To sum it up, the Mind of Evil is a mostly average story with a terrific ending.  Perhaps a bit of judicious editing and I might have enjoyed the Mind of Evil a bit more.

 

Ripper Street - Season One Review

After the success of Copper, their first original television series, BBC America went ahead and co-produced Ripper Street with the BBC.

I

Ripper Street - Season One Review
Created by Richard Warlow
Written by Richard Warlow, Declan Croghan, Julie Rutterford and Toby Finlay
Directed by Tom Shankland, Andy Wilson and Colm McCarthy
Produced by Gren Brenman, Simon Vaughan, Ed Guiney, Polly Hill, Andrew Lowe, Will Gould, Stephen Smallwood and Katie McAleese

Main Cast-
Inspector Edmund Reid - Matthew Macfayden
Sergeant Drake - Jerome Flynn
Captain Jackson - Adam Rothenberg
Long Susan - MyAnna Buring
Rose Erskine - Charlene McKenna
Emily Reid - Amanda Hale

Review-
Ripper Street was a co-production of the BBC and its sister channel BBC America.  The time is shortly after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders, in the Whitechapel district of London where the Ripper murders took place.  The head of the Whitechapel police force is Inspector Edmund Reid and his assistant Sergeant Drake.   Reid and Drake are sometimes assisted by the American Captain Jackson, a doctor who sometimes performs autopsies to help Reid solve cases.

The first episode focuses on a copycat Jack the Ripper murder.  If the show had been focused simply on the Jack the Ripper murders (and their copycats), my interest might have lagged.  Fortunately, the show also chronicles Reid, Drake and Jackson as they investigate other, non-Ripper related, crimes as well.

What makes Ripper Street so interesting, however, is the focus on the private lives of Reid, Drake and Jackson and how their job affects those lives.  Reid's relationship with his wife is cold due to the presumed death of their daughter.  Sergeant Drake, meanwhile, attempts to court the prostitute Rose despite his rather modest means.  Indeed, Sergeant Drake is one of the most fascinating characters in the show.  Drake's a tough guy, but he's got a soft heart underneath.

Captain Jackson, along with the madam Long Susan, are hiding a secret past.  This secret past will eventually be revealed, with consequences for everyone on the show. 

It's hard not to compare Ripper Street to Copper, since both shows are so similar.  This is true if you watch them back to back, which I pretty much did as I was preparing for Timegate.  I think I might give the slight nod to Ripper Street, simply for Jerome Flynn's performance as Sergeant Drake.  When I watched the first episode, I found Drake to be the least interesting of the three main leads.  Drake's storyline, along with Flynn's great but understated performance was the highlight of the show, in my opinion.

As I've mentioned, I'll be returning to my Doctor Who marathon viewing, as well as my Doctor Who reviews on Monday, May 27th with the Mind of Evil after my attendance at Timegate this weekend.  I hoped you enjoyed this little break from my Doctor Who viewing and my reviews of these other fine British television shows.  Down the road, I'll be trying to make more attempts in the future to include reviews of other British shows in addition to my Doctor Who marathon reviews. 

See you all on Monday!

Mansfield Park (2007)

Continuing on from my theme yesterday of reviewing productions featuring Doctor Who actors, as well as the Jane Austen theme, I offer my review of the 2007 television movie Mansfield Park, featuring Billie Piper as the heroine Fanny Price.

Mansfield Park (2007) - A review
Written by Maggie Wadey based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Iain B. MacDonald
Produced by Suzan Harrison, Rebecca Eaton, George Faber and Charles Pattison

Main Cast-
Fanny Price - Billie Piper
Lord Bertram - Douglas Hodge
Lady Bertram - Jemma Redgrave
Thomas Bertram - James D'arcy
Maria Bertram - Michelle Ryan
Julia Bertram - Catherine Steadman
Edmund Bertram - Blake Ritson
Mary Crawford - Hayley Atwell
Henry Crawford - Joseph Beattie
Mrs. Norris - Maggie O'Neill

Review-
Let me first admit that I've never read the book version of Mansfield Park, so I don't know how closely this television movie adheres to the novel version.   Since the film only runs ninety minutes, I'm sure that there's a great deal left out from the original novel.

This joint ITV-PBS production generally follows the story of Fanny Price who is sent to live with her rich uncle and aunt, the Lord and Lady Bertram, at Mansfield Park in rural England.   Once there, the young Fanny is generally ignored or treated like the poor relation that she is.  Only the younger son Edmund goes out of his way to befriend the young Fanny.

The story really begins to take off with the arrival of the siblings Mary and Henry Crawford to Mansfield Park.  Mary and Henry each set their sights on one of the Bertram siblings, in Mary's case the younger son Edmund and in Henry's case the younger daughter Julia.  However, Henry becomes captivated by the already engaged older sister Maria.

Henry, clearly portrayed as something of a playboy, later decides to play with the affections of Fanny.  Henry even proposes to Fanny, who turns him down as she's secretly fallen in love with Edmund but also because Fanny is well aware of Henry's playboy nature.  Fanny's refusual encourages Henry to act upon his feelings for Maria, and Maria's husband sues for divorce.  Maria's actions bring scandal to the Bertram's good name.

Mary Crawford and Edmund have a falling out over the scandal, and break up.  After this, Edmund realizes his affections for Fanny and the two are married to end the film.

The biggest problem with Mansfield Park is that the most intriguing characters are, by far, the Crawford siblings.   Henry, as a playboy, toys with the affections of women and his affair with Maria that finally exposes him for his true nature.  This affair also exposes Mary Crawford's true nature to Edmund, as it's clear that Mary is far more concerned about the fact that the affair has been exposed rather than how that exposure will affect the Bertram family.  Indeed, from their first appearance in the film, it's Mary and Henry who in many ways drive the plot, with the Bertram's simply reacting to the Crawford's schemes.

Billie Piper struggles to carry the film, but then again Fanny comes off as such a timid and shy character that it must have been a rather difficult character to play.  After all, she has to come off as the only character without any major flaws or vices, but also be interesting as well.  Blake Ritson, who plays Edmund, also has a difficult task in making the upstanding Edmund an interesting character.  I think he succeeds, perhaps a bit more so than Billie as Fanny.

Fortunately, the supporting cast is quite strong.  As the Crawford siblings, Hayley Atwell (best known for the Captain America film) and Joseph Beattie are excellent.  Joseph Hodge is also excellent as the stern, but not uncaring, Lord Bertram and is, in my own opinion, the standout of the supporting cast.

Michelle Ryan (Lady Christina de Souza in Doctor Who) gets very little screen time, and disappears from the latter half of the film.  Indeed, this is a shame as it might have proved to be a very moving scene to see Henry Crawford and Maria Bertram's reaction to the revelation of their affair (all of this takes place off screen).

As I said back at the beginning of this review, I've never read Mansfield Park so I don't know if some of the film's flaws come from the novel or are simply flaws in this film version.  But overall, while I found the film an enjoyable experience, if I'm being realistic it is probably a somewhat average adaptation of a classic novel.   If you're a fan of Billie Piper, it's certainly worth checking out but just be aware that Billie Piper's Fanny Price is no Rose Tyler.

It should be worth noting that the US DVD released by PBS is edited, while the Blu-Ray version is the original unedited UK version of the film.  Therefore, I recommend either renting or buying the Blu-Ray version of the film.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting a review of Ripper Street, after which my next planned posting will on Monday, May 27th where I'll be reviewing the Mind of Evil, as I return to my Doctor Who marathon viewing after my attendance at Timegate.  

Lost in Austen - The Complete Miniseries

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm taking a short break with my Doctor Who rewatch due to pre-planning for Timegate, a Doctor Who and Stargate fan convention.  Because of this, I'm offering a few reviews of other British television shows that I've watched recently.  Today, I'm reviewing the Lost in Austen miniseries that originally aired in 2008 on ITV.

Lost in Austen - A review
Written by Guy Andrews
Directed by Dan Zeff
Produced by Guy Andrews, Michele Buck, Damien Timmer and Kate McKerrell

Main Cast-
Amanda Price - Jemima Rooper
Elizabeth Bennett - Gemma Arterton
Mr. Bennett - Hugh Bonneville
Mrs. Bennett - Alex Kingston
Jane Bennett - Morven Christie
Kitty Bennett - Florence Hoath
Mr. Bingley - Tom Mison
Caroline Bingley - Christina Cole
Mr. Darcy - Elliot Cowan
Mr. Wickham - Tom Riley
Lady Catherine - Lindsay Duncan

Review-
Lost in Austen is an example of one of my favorite type of productions - the reinvented classic.  In this case, the reinvented classic is Pride and Prejudice, the novel by Jane Austen.  I discovered Lost in Austen while perusing the DVD shelves at a local electronics store several years ago, and took a chance by blind buying a copy.

Jemima Rooper, best known as one of the two main leads in the sci-fi series Hex, stars as Amanda Price, a modern-day woman obsessed with Jane Austen and her novel Pride and Prejudice.  Amanda is quite surprised to find a secret passage between her bathroom and the attic of the Bennett household from the novel.  Amanda meets Elizabeth Bennett, and the two end up switching places with each other.

Now trapped in the world of Pride and Prejudice, Miss Price (as Amanda is known to the inhabitants of the Pride and Prejudice world) proceeds to muck up the story, and she spends a great deal of effort in correcting the mistakes made.  Along the way, Miss Price ends up falling for Mr. Darcy, the romantic lead of the novel.  Since Lost in Austen is, first and foremost, a romantic comedy (albeit set in Georgian times), all obstacles will be overcome and the two romantic leads will of course end up together.

What sets Lost in Austen apart from most Austen adaptations is the fact that it isn't a straight forward adaptation of the novel.  Pride and Prejudice has been done several times, with the Colin Firth and Keira Knightley versions being particular fan favorites.  Indeed, there probably isn't really a need for yet another straight forward adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.  Lost in Austen avoids the trap of being compared, likely unfavorably, with the Firth and Knighley versions by turning the story on its ear, by having a modern day fan of the novel take the place of the heroine.

Indeed, it is Rooper's performance as Miss Price, the modern day woman trapped in Georgian England, that holds the film together.  Her reactions to the world of Pride and Prejudice provide the culture clash necessary to get the story off on the wrong foot, and it's her "spunk" as Mr. Wickham calls it that allows Miss Price to correct the mistakes that she's caused.   I do think it was quite smart to have Elizabeth disappear for most of the story, as it made it much more believable for Mr. Darcy to fall for Miss Price.

Sadly, I do think the weak point in the entire production is Elliot Cowan, who plays Mr. Darcy.  Mr. Cowan isn't exactly terrible in the role, but he certainly won't make anyone forget Colin Firth (the 1995 version) or Matthew Macfayden (the 2005 version with Keira Knightley).  Indeed, the more interesting male lead in this film is Tom Riley's Wickham, who pretty much steals every scene that he appears in.   

One of the most interesting aspects of Lost in Austen, particularly to people reading this blog, is just how many of the actors in this production have also starred or guest-starred on Doctor Who.  Mrs. Bennett is played by Alex Kingston, best known for playing River Song in Doctor Who.  In addition to Alex Kingston, a least three other actors from Lost in Austen appear as guest stars in Doctor Who:  Hugh Bonneville (Captain Avery - The Curse of the Black Spot), Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke - The Waters of Mars) and Florence Hoath (Nancy in the The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances two-parter).  Hugh Bonneville, of course, is best known for playing the Earl of Grantham on Downton Abbey so there's something here for Downton fans as well.

Lost in Austen also marks a reunion for the two lead actresses from Hex.  Jemima, of course, plays Miss Price, but the other lead from Hex, Christina Cole, also appears as Mr. Bingley's sister Caroline.  There's even a James Bond connection, as Gemma Arterton appeared in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

I should note that the US DVD has the four episodes edited into a single film.  While I don't necessarily mind that so much, the US DVD is sadly missing a scene where Miss Price sings the Petula Clark song "Downtown" when asked to perform at a party.  The reason this scene has been edited out is due, as usual, to music right clearances (see my review of the Doctor Who episode The Chase for my thoughts on this issue).

Therefore, if you've got the ability to play UK DVD's, you might wish to pick up the unedited UK version, which also features the episodes in their original broadcast format. 

Lost in Austen won't be everyone's cup of tea.  Jane Austen purists will probably be horrified, and some (mostly men) will be turned off by the romantic comedy aspect.  But for those willing to sample something out of their comfort range, I think you'll find that Lost in Austen is quite entertaining and engaging piece of entertainment.

Copper : Season One Review

My apologizes for the lack of updates to this blog.  I'm hip-deep in preparations for Timegate, a Doctor Who and Stargate fan convention that's being held this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.  I'm a staff member of the convention, which means I've got quite a bit of prep work to do prior to the convention.  As such, it's been difficult to find time to actually watch Doctor Who, so that I can offer my reviews here on the blog.

I intend to restart my Doctor Who marathon after Timegate, and will publish my review of The Mind of Evil on Monday, May 27th.

In the meantime, I've decided to honor the promise I made with myself on this blog's very first posting, which is that I would review other British and BBC shows besides Doctor Who.  I haven't done that up to this point, but with my Doctor Who viewing on hiatus for a week, I might as well offer a few reviews of other British and BBC shows rather than simply shuttering the blog for a week.

First show up for review is the first season of the BBC America original series Copper.

Copper - Season One Review
Created by Tom Fontana and Will Rokos
Written by Will Rokos, Tom Fontana, Frank Pugliese, Kyle Bradstreet, Brandt Englestein, Kevin Dieboldt and Sara Cooper
Directed by Jeff Woolnough, Clark Johnson, Larysa Kondracki and Ken Girotti
Produced by Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana

Main Cast-
Kevin Corcoran aka "Corky" - Tom Weston-Jones
Robert Morehouse - Kyle Schmid
Matthew Freeman - Ato Essandoh
Elizabeth Haverford - Anastasia Griffith
Eva Heissan - Franka Potente
Andrew O'Brien - Dylan Taylor
Francis Maguire - Kevin Ryan
Annie Reilly - Kiara Glasco
Police Captain Sullivan - Ron White

Review-
Unlike my Doctor Who reviews, rather than offering a detailed plot synopsis I intend to simply offer a more general overview of the plot details, along with my review of the series (or season) in question.

Copper takes place in 1864 in New York City.  Kevin Corcoran or "Corky" as he's known, is a police detective (also known as a Copper) who recently come home from the Civil War.  Corky is on the lookout for his missing wife, and the killer of his young daughter.

Corky's fellow compatriots on the force include Francis Maguire and Andrew O'Brien, and Captain Sullivan is his commanding officer.

Corky's beat is the Five Points neighborhood, which during the 1860's was mostly full of various immigrant groups.  Copper doesn't shy away from some of ugliness of the era, depicting much of meanness and racial hatred that simmered underneath the surface.

Corky is a bit unusual in that he has friends in both high and low places.  In high society, he's a friend of Robert Morehouse, a Fifth Avenue businessman with whom Corky bonded during his time with the Army.  In addition, Corky also makes the acquaintance of Elizabeth Haverford, a well-to-do widow.

Corky is also quite unusual in that he's friends with and is known for using the services of Matthew Freeman, an African-American doctor.  At the time, the Irish (and indeed, most white people) didn't mix with black and the racial hostility is depicted in a very realistic fashion in the show.  Corky is also friends and is acquainted with Eva Heissan, who runs a brothel and Annie, a ten-year old prostitute whose sister Kate was killed in the series premiere.

What makes Copper so fascinating, at least to me, is that it's quite unlike anything else on American television.  The ugliness of the time is in full view, and a man like Corky is quite unusual.  Everyone on the show has some sort of agenda, and double-dealings are quite common.  However, Copper does have a sense of justice.   For example, Kate's killer is led into a trap by Corky and her sister Annie, which feels a great deal like frontier justice in many ways but it probably quite true to the time.

Indeed, the tactics that Corky uses to interrogate witnesses and suspects would never happens nowadays.  But in the ugly world of 1860's New York that Copper is set in, these interrogation techniques feel authentic and simply fit the world of the show.

Several revelations about Corky's wife, and a shock ending about who exactly killed his daughter are a great set-up for the second season, which is due to start on June 23rd of this year.

I'll admit that I was a bit hesitant about the idea of BBC America doing their own shows, especially since there are so many great British television shows out there that BBC America could import and show.  However, Copper is produced very much in the British style, with a small group of writers and directors and a short season that helps keep the episode quality high, no filler episodes here.  Besides, I'd rather BBC America do original episodes rather than air more repeats of Kitchen Nightmares and Top Gear (mind you, I do like Top Gear but how many times can one watch the same episodes over and over again!)

Story #55 - Terror of the Autons

The Nestene make a second attempt to take over the Earth with the help of a new ally, the renegade Time Lord known as The Master.

Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Barry Letts

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo Grant - Katy Manning
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Sgt. Benton - John Levene
Captain Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
The Master - Roger Delgado

Main Guest Cast-
Rex Farrell - Michael Wisher
Farrell Senior - Stephen Jack
Mrs. Farrell - Barbara Leake

Synopsis-
The Doctor and his new companion Jo Grant are joined by the Brigadier to investigate sabotage at a radio telescope facility.  While at the facility, The Doctor is visited by a Time Lord from Gallifrey.  This visiting Time Lord warns The Doctor about the arrival on Earth of the Master, a renegade Time Lord.

The Master has allied himself with the Nestene and the Autons.  The Master takes control of a plastics factory run by Rex Farrell, by hypnotizing the hapless Farrell.  The plant starts to churn out thousands of plastic daffodils, which are then given away for free during a promotional tour.

At the final showdown at the radio telescope, The Doctor is able to convince The Master to help him defeat the Nestene and the Autons, as it's now clear that the Nestene intends to discard The Master once they take over the Earth.   Once the link between Earth and the Nestene homeworld is severed, the Autons become disabled.

The Master is able to escape UNIT custody, but is trapped on Earth due to The Doctor having taken the dematerialization circuit from The Master's Tardis.  The Doctor fully expects that there will be a second meeting between himself and The Master and that he's "looking forward to it".

Review-
Terror of the Autons introduces three new characters to the UNIT mix, the new companion Jo Grant, Captain Mike Yates and the recurring villain The Master.

Roger Delgado is, of course, quite brilliant as The Master and it's his performance that makes this tale so interesting.  The idea of having the Moriarty-like Master face off against the Sherlock-like Doctor is a brilliant idea, and unlike the previous attempt to do this with the Meddling Monk, The Master is treated very much as a serious character.

The introduction of Jo Grant is handled quite effectively.  It was fun to watch The Doctor squirm a bit when The Brigadier tells The Doctor that if he wants to dismiss Jo, he'll have to do it himself.  The Doctor, of course, can't bring himself to do that and hurt Jo's feelings.  Jo may not be as smart as Liz Shaw, but she's got pluck and courage. 

One does have to wonder why Captain Yates was added to the program.  He doesn't seem all that different from Sergeant Benton, at least as a character.  Both are underlings for The Brigadier, and as such the roles I suppose could have been easily combined at least in this story.  Yates' obviously flirting with Jo Grant during this episode is quite humorous, however.

The early bit with the Time Lord showing up to warn the Doctor is handled somewhat humorously as well, which is probably just as well since the effect is somewhat ridiculous looking, with the Time Lord simply popping in and out.  If Time Lords can travel this way, then why would any Time Lord bother with building and/or maintaining a Tardis?

Since we've got three major introductions of characters that would feature prominently in the show for the next three series/seasons, it was quite wise that the program would focus almost exclusively on the new main cast.  The biggest qualm is that by doing this, it shoves the titular Autons into the background and basically makes them lackeys for the Master.   It also begs the question, why is the Master helping the Nestene and the Autons?  What exactly does the Master expect to get out of the Nestene taking over the Earth?

Overall, Terror of the Autons is, despite its flaws, a good start off the show's eighth series/season and a great introduction to the quintessential UNIT era. 

Series/season Seven wrap-up

Doctor Who series/season seven
Airdates - 3rd of January 1970 to the 20th of June 1970
Produced by Derrick Sherwin (Spearhead From Space)
Produced by Barry Letts (Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Ambassadors of Death and Inferno)
Script editor - Terrance Dicks

As I mentioned in my review of Spearhead from Space, the seventh series/season is a great place to start watching Classic Doctor Who, since the series feels a great deal like a reboot.  The Doctor, companion, the Earth-bound setting and especially the jump to color from black and white simply make the show feel quite a bit different from the previous six series/seasons.

The jump to color filming and the subsequent increased production costs involved necessitated a shortening of the the series/season.  While series/season six featured seven stories broadcast over forty-four episodes, series/season seven would only feature four stories over twenty-five episodes.

The higher production values and the addition of color really help the show, and after six series/seasons of black and white episodes (and dealing how to watch or listen to missing episodes), it was quite a refreshing change of pace.

Caroline John is quite good as the companion Liz Shaw, and interestingly its through Liz's eyes that we see the opening and closing of this particular series/season.  Sadly, the decision was made to replace Liz after this particular series/season which means we never really get the send-off that Liz I think deserved.  It's also interesting that Liz Shaw is one of the few companions (perhaps the only companion) who didn't travel with The Doctor in the Tardis.

My ranking for the four stories this particular series/season-
1. Spearhead From Space
2. Inferno
3. The Ambassadors of Death
4. Doctor Who and the Silurians

Since there are only four stories, and all of them are out on DVD, one could consider watching the entire series/season, since it's much shorter than the first six series/seasons.  However, for those wanting a sample, Spearhead From Space and Inferno are the clear choices in my own humble opinion.

The classic UNIT lineup that most casual Doctor Who fans remember isn't quite complete , as we wouldn't see the additions of Jo Grant and Captain Yates, along with the recurring villain The Master until series/season eight.  Even so, the genesis of that lineup could be seen here, as both Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and Sgt. Benton make their first appearances as regulars during this particular series/season.

To put it simply, series/season seven was a great start to the Third Doctor and the color era and it would simply get even better in series/season eight. 

Story #54 - Inferno

The Doctor is transported via the Tardis console into an alternate Earth, where the effects of a planned drilling through the Earth's crust are readily apparent.

Written by Don Houghton
Directed by Douglas Camfield

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Liz - Caroline John
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
Sgt. Benton - John Levene

Main Guest Cast-
Professor Stahlman - Olaf Pooley
Petra Williams - Sheila Dunn
Greg Sutton - Derek Newark
Sir Keith Gold - Christopher Benjamin
Harry Slocum - Walter Randall

Synopsis-
Professor Stahlman is heading a drilling project that intends to drill through the Earth's crust, with the hope that by doing so it will create a new, clean energy source.  The Brigadier and a detachment of UNIT soldiers are on hand at the drilling facility to provide security.  The Doctor is also on hand, as he's using power from the nuclear reactor that powers the drill to experiment with the Tardis console.

Stahlman will suffer no interference, and Sir Keith Gold is concerned and would like more attention to be paid to safety procedures.  Sir Keith brings in an expert oil driller, Greg Sutton, to consult on the project.

Harry Slocum, a repairman, is exposed to a green slime while making repairs.  This turns Slocum into a hairy beast and Slocum ends up going on a killing spree before he himself is killed.  Some of this slime is gathered and an attempt is made to analyze it.  Stahlman arrogantly handles some of the slime, which infects him.  However, unlike Slocum, the limited exposure seems to make the transformation process take much longer.  In order to hide his condition, Stahlman starts wearing white gloves.

The Doctor, meanwhile, conducts an experiment with the Tardis console that transports him to an alternate Earth, one where the drilling is much more advanced.   The Doctor attempts to convince the alternate Brigadier and Liz that the drilling should be stopped.  However, even on this alternate Earth, Professor Stahlman will not tolerate any interference.   The alternate Greg Sutton is adamant about stopping the drilling, and tries to convince the Professor's assistant, Petra Williams to talk to the Professor since it seems that Petra is the only person the Professor will listen to.

However, all efforts to stop the drilling are unsuccessful and the Earth's crust is breached.  This causes an ecological disaster and dooms this particular Earth to destruction.  Stahlman finally finishes his metamorphosis into a hairy beast, along with several technicians.  The alternate Brigadier and Liz hold off the hairy beasts while Petra and Greg help the Doctor to return back to our Earth by reconnecting the Tardis console with the nuclear power generator.  It is hoped that The Doctor will be able to convince the Professor of our own Earth to stop the drilling, and prevent the disaster that has happened on this alternate Earth. 

Once returned home, The Doctor's knowledge of future events, and the early reveal of Stahlman's condition allows the drilling to be stopped just prior to the drill penetrating the Earth's crust.  Petra and Greg supervise the filling of the hole and the project is abandoned.

Review-
One is reminded a great deal of the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror" when watching Inferno.  Much like the Star Trek show, the alternate Earth that's portrayed in Inferno is much more violent and far less benevolent than the regular Earth.

The Brigadier of the alternate Earth is much more violent, and at is proves in the end more worried about self preservation that serving his government.  Greg Sutton, the oilman who's brought in to consult, is much more forceful about his reservations about the drilling project in the alternate world.  Stahlman, however, is very similar in both worlds and simply won't tolerate any interference.

Indeed, it is the alternate Liz who eventually takes charge of the situation at the end.  Unlike the alternate world Brigadier, she understands why The Doctor cannot take the alternate versions with him back to our world, as it would create a paradox.

The plot does contain a few plot holes, particularly in regard to the green slime.  Why does the green slime, which is also heated due to coming from deep within in the Earth, cause those who come in contact with it into hairy, mindless beasts?  This is never really explained, and as it turns out completely unnecessary.  The character of Professor Stahlman was quite arrogant to begin with, even before he became infected by the green slime.  However, Stahlman's transformation at the end of the story is the impetus that's needed to get The Doctor, Petra and Greg to convince the other technicians to shut down the drilling in the nick of time.

Inferno, despite this, is quite entertaining and holds up quite nicely.  A definite winner, and a great way to close out the first color series/season of Doctor Who.  The only sad note is Inferno would turn out to be Caroline John's last regular performance as Liz Shaw.  The character never gets a real send-off, only a quick mention at the beginning of Terror of the Autons as the decision to write out Liz came during the series/season break.  It's a bit of a shame, since I felt she made a decent companion for The Doctor.

Up next is my series/season seven wrap-up, followed by my review of Terror of the Autons.

Story #53 - The Ambassadors of Death

There hasn't been any contact with the astronauts from a returning Mars probe.  Space control authorities are not sure whether they've survived or not, but no one is prepared for what's really happening and the real fate of the astronauts.

Written by David Whitaker
Directed by Michael Ferguson

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Liz - Caroline John
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney
Sergeant Benton - John Levene

Main Guest Cast-
General Carrington - John Abineri
Ralph Cornish - Ronald Allen
Reegan - William Dysart
Lennox - Cyril Shaps

Synopsis-
The Brigadier is monitoring the return of a Mars probe upon its return to Earth.  No contact has been made with the craft for months.  After docking with the probe, Space control loses contact with the astronaut aboard the recovery craft.  Shortly after losing contact, an unexplained siren-like noise is heard at Space control.

The Doctor deduces that this is a communications signal.  A reply is sent by someone on Earth, which the Brigadier and UNIT are able to track.  The device used to make the reply is destroyed, however by those using it.

The recovery probe is returned to Earth via remote control.  Three astronauts are aboard, but are kidnapped by Reegan and his henchmen.  These astronauts are taken to a remote location, where they are kept prisoner.  The astronauts, however, feed off of radioactivity in order to survive.

Cornish, the head of Space Control, makes plans to send up yet another recovery ship, this time with The Doctor aboard despite the objections of General Carrington, who is head of space security.  Having arrived at the Mars probe, The Doctor discovers an alien ship as well.  The Doctor boards the alien craft and meets with the aliens, who demand the return of their ambassadors in exchange for the three astronauts, who are just fine aboard the alien ship.

Meanwhile, Liz has been kidnapped by Reegan and is forced to help with monitoring the "ambassadors" in the astronauts suits.  Liz is able to arrange for a fellow scientist named Lennox to escape under the pretense of needing more radioactive isotopes for the "ambassadors".  Lennox makes his way to UNIT, but is killed while at UNIT headquarters.

The Doctor returns to Earth, but is kidnapped by Reegan.  The Doctor is taken to where the ambassadors and Liz are being held.  We learn that Reegan is working for General Carrington, who made contact with the aliens on an earlier Mars mission.  Carrington fears the aliens and want to destroy the alien ship, feeling that it is his "moral duty".  Carrington intends to make a worldwide broadcast, where he intends to reveal the alien's true identity.  The Doctor and Liz, however, are rescued by the Brigadier and UNIT.

With the help of the ambassadors, the Doctor foils Carrington's plans.  Cornish is then able to arrange for the ambassadors to return to the alien ship, in exchange for the astronauts.

Review-
One of the problems is trying to deal with present-day, or near-future stories is that the real future nevers works out quite like what's imagined.  One example of this is Back to the Future Part II.  In that film, it was presented that we would have flying cars by 2015.  While we haven't quite reached 2015 yet, the likelihood that we will have flying cars is unlikely (not to mention the Cubs winning the World Series, though I suppose that's still possible).

The Ambassadors of Death also has to be taken with a grain of salt, because according to Ambassadors the UK had a space program in the 1970's that was able to get manned missions to and from Mars.  Since we still haven't sent a manned mission to Mars as of 2013, this makes the story pretty far-fetched.  Then again, some of the events of the New Series, had they happened in real life would have been front-page news around the world.

The best way to look at present-day Doctor Who is to assume that the Earth of the Doctor Who universe is similar but not quite the same as the real world universe.  In the Earth of the Doctor Who universe, the UK did have a space program and was able to arrange manned probes to Mars in the 1970's. 

I have read from various sources that the Ambassadors of Death was originally written as a Second Doctor story that was adapted to fit the Third Doctor and UNIT.  I can see this, this time with Space Control taking the place of what would have been the usual remote base that would have appeared in the typical Second Doctor story and the "ambassador" astronauts filling the role of monster of the week. 

Because it was originally intended to be a Second Doctor story, the Ambassadors of Death simply doesn't make for a great Third Doctor/UNIT type story.  Ambassadors of Death has its moments, especially watching The Doctor, Liz and even the Brigadier outwit General Carrington and his itchy trigger finger.  For the Brigadier, this is quite a change, since in the previous story with the Silurians, it was the Brigadier who had the itchy trigger finger.

The color restoration that was done on the episodes for the DVD is a bit of a mixed bag.  The first time I watched this, I wasn't aware that a color restoration had been done since I had never seen this episode until the release of the DVD in 2012.  I had a suspicion while watching Ambassadors for the first time that the color was done via restoration of some sort, and after watching the story, I checked and my suspicions were confirmed.  One can tell that it's restored color but it does look miles better than some color restorations that I've seen, which is saying something since I'm generally not a fan of color restorations.

Ambassadors was an improvement over Doctor Who and the Silurians, and the Brigadier makes a much more sympathetic character in this story.  The biggest issue, I think, for many modern day viewers is the need to suspend ones' beliefs and accept that the United Kingdom had a viable space program in the 1970's and that such a program was also capable of launching successful manned Mars missions.   If one is able to get past this issue, the Ambassadors of Death can be quite entertaining.

 

Story #52 - Doctor Who and the Silurians

First off, let me apologize for the delays that have occurred this week.  I have been hip deep in preparations for Timegate, a Doctor Who and Stargate fan convention.  Now that most of those preparations are done, I can get back to updating this blog regularly.  Since I've missed several days this week, there will updates tomorrow as well, unlike most normal weeks where I tend to skip Sunday.  And now, without further ado, here's my review of Doctor Who and the Silurians...

Written by Malcolm Hulke
Directed by Timothy Combe

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Liz - Caroline John
The Brigadier - Nicholas Courtney

Main Guest Cast-
Dr. Lawrence - Peter Miles
Dr. Quinn - Fulton Mackey
Miss Dawson - Thomasine Heiner
Masters - Geoffrey Palmer
Major Baker - Norman Jones

Synopsis-
The members of UNIT are summoned to an underground nuclear facility that experiencing unexplained drops in power.  Personnel problems have also dogged the complex, including the death of one staff member who was exploring part of the cave system where the installation is housed.

Dr. Lawrence, who heads the installation, is unhappy with UNIT's interference.  Dr Quinn, the head researcher and his assistant Miss Dawson also appear to be hiding something as well.

The Doctor explores the cave where the staff member was killed and is attacked by a reptilian-like creature.  After this attack, The Brigadier and the installation's security chief Major Baker descend into the cave system. While they are down there, Baker is attacked by the same reptilian-like creature. 

This reptilian creature is actually a sort-of watchdog for the Silurians, a race of intelligent reptilian men who used to inhabit the Earth.  The Silurians are the ones responsible for the power drains at the nuclear station, as they are using the power to revive members of their race from hibernation.  Dr. Quinn and Miss Dawson have been helping them, but the Silurians turn on Dr. Quinn when he decides to hold a Silurian hostage.

The Doctor eventually gets the Silurian leader to agree to negotiate with the humans about a peaceful co-existence, but the Silurian leader is killed by his second-in-command who feels the leader is no longer fit for command.

The Silurians, who have captured Major Baker and have been holding him prisoner, send the Major back to the nuclear installation infected with a bacteria that will wipe out humankind.  Masters, a government official who's been summonded by Mr. Lawrence because of his objections to UNIT's involvement, contracts the bacteria and after his return to London, spreads the bacteria among the populace.

The Doctor and Liz are able to work out an antidote to the bacteria, which foils the Silurians plan.  The Silurians, however, decide to destroy the Van Allen belt, which blocks harmful radiation from the Sun.  They force The Doctor to help them, but The Doctor tricks the Silurians by overloading the nuclear reactor.  The Silurians return to the caves to re-enter hibernation, while The Doctor restores the reactor.

The Brigadier seals off the cave systems, preventing anyone from reviving the Silurians again, much to the disgust of The Doctor who feels that The Silurians could have been reasoned with.

Review-
The Silurians in the classic series look quite different than the Silurians that we encounter in the New Series.  I'm not sure if the differences are explained in the series or not, but then again the Silurians also have cousins known as the Sea Devils so I suppose the Classic series Silurians and the New Series Silurians could simply be cousins like the Silurians and the Sea Devils.

This story finds the show still trying to get its footing in its new format.  The Brigadier comes off as cold and calculating, as he deliberately deceives The Doctor about his intentions to seal off the Silurians in their caves at the end of the story.  This action makes the Brigadier into a much less sympathetic character, and also gives the story a very tragic ending.  What could the human race have learned had the Brigadier allowed the Silurians to survive?  Sadly, this story thread is barely visited in Ambassadors of Death, where we could have seen The Doctor and the Brigadier very much at odds with each other over the destruction of the Silurians. 

Also compelling is Peter Miles performance as the installation's leader Mr. Lawrence.  Mr. Lawrence feels his career and all his accomplishments slipping away, and the descent of his character is fascinating to watch.

The Silurians isn't as good as Spearhead From Space, but it's still quite entertaining in its own right and if you've never seen it before you may never look at the character of the Brigadier in the same way again.



 

Story #51 - Spearhead From Space

The newly regenerated Doctor joins with UNIT to take on the menace of the Nestene conscious and the Autons.

Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Derek Martinus

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Liz Shaw - Caroline John
Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart - Nicholas Courtney

Main Guest Cast-
Channing - Hugh Burden
Hibbert - John Woodnut
General Scobie - Hamilton Dyce
Ransome - Derek Smee

Synopsis-
Liz Shaw, a noted scientist, is summoned to UNIT headquarters by Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart.  The Brigadier would like Liz's help and expertise in studying some meteorites that have fallen recently in the English countryside. 

Meanwhile, the newly regenerated Doctor arrives on Earth and is found by UNIT personnel.  The unconscious Doctor is taken to the hospital, where his alien physiology confuses the hospital doctors. 

A man by the name of Channing makes an attempt to kidnap the Doctor but proves unsuccessful.  The Doctor eventually makes a fully recovery, steals an antique roadster and makes his way to UNIT headquarters, where the Tardis has been taken by the Brigadier.  The Brigadier, who has the Tardis key, gets the Doctor to agree to help investigate the meteorites for the return of the key.

The investigation of the meteorites eventually leads UNIT to investigate the Auto Plastics factory.  The Auto Plastics factory, run by Mr. Hibbert, is really a front for Channing, who serves the Nestene conscious.  The Nestene conscious intends to take over the Earth by the use of plastic mannequins known as Autons.

General Scobie, the Brigadier's superior, is replaced with an Auton lookalike to prevent UNIT from attacking the factory.  The Doctor disables the Auton Scobie and the attack proceeds against the factory.  The Doctor and Liz use a device that they've built to kill the Nestene consciousness, which destroys all the Autons, including the Auton leader Channing.

The Doctor agrees to remain with UNIT as their scientific advisor, so that he can use their facilities to repair the Tardis.

Review-
Spearhead From Space is probably one of the best reboots of a continuing series, and it reminds one a great deal of the first Ninth Doctor adventure Rose.  Like Rose, Spearhead features the Nestene conscious as the main adversary along with the Nestene's servants, the Autons. 

In addition, the story starts from the point of view of the companion, in this case Liz Shaw.  Liz is the first character introduced in Spearhead and much of the early part of the story is told from her point of view. 

There's also less focus on what came before, one can actually watch Spearhead without having seen any of the black and white era Doctor Who and I don't think one would get too lost. 

The fact that the series would now be Earth-bound means that more location shooting was possible and I think this improves the look of the series.   The addition of color is also a big help in making the show look better than its black and white predecessors.

Oddly, one thing I'll admit is that while I do like Jon Pertwee's portrayal of The Doctor, and I enjoy his stories when I watch them, I don't often seek out Third Doctor stories as a general rule.  I'm not sure why that is, other than I just happen to like other Doctors better.  Or perhaps it has to do with the fact that Pertwee replaced my favorite Doctor, Patrick Troughton.  

Spearhead was a great way to start the Jon Pertwee and the UNIT era.  Because it functions much like a reboot of the series, it marks a great jumping-on point for new viewers.  Indeed, one of my recommendations for those wanting to do a marathon viewing of Classic Doctor Who is to start with Spearhead and work your way through the Third Doctor era and beyond.  At some point, one can then jump back to the First and Second Doctor era's and the issues of dealing with missing episodes.

Series/Season Six Wrap-Up

Doctor Who series/season six
Airdates - 10th of August 1968 to the 21st of June 1969
Produced by Peter Bryant (from The Dominators to the Space Pirates)
Produced by Derrick Sherwin (The War Games)
Script Editor - Derrick Sherwin (The Dominators, The Mind Robber and The Space Pirates)
Script Editor - Terrence Dicks (The Invasion, The Krotons, The Seeds of Death and The War Games)

As I've already mentioned in some of my posts, the sixth series/season marks the end of several eras.  First and foremost, it marks the end of Patrick Troughton's tenure as the Doctor.  Secondly, it marks the end of the black and white era, as future episodes of the show would be made and broadcast in color.  Finally, it marks the end of the missing episode era as well, since all Third Doctor stories (and beyond) exist, though some admittedly only in black and white.

This series/season proved to be more experimental than the previous series/season.  The formula that had been overused in the fifth series/season: the remote base under siege or attack by some alien threat was used much less this series/season, and in my opinion to the benefit of the show.

It's also a big help that the companions are noticeably strong.  Frazer Hines' Jamie is still a delight to watch.  Wendy Padbury's Zoe is a also delightful to watch, and a much stronger companion than Victoria ever was.

Here are my rankings for the stories from this particular series/season-
1. The Invasion
2. The War Games
3. The Krotons
4. The Mind Robber
5. The Dominators
6. The Space Pirates
7. The Seeds of Death

The two longer stories, the Invasion and the War Games are simply some of the very best that Doctor Who has to offer.  The rest of the stories are also of high quality, though I'll be the first to admit that part of the reason I find these stories to be so good is that they do feature my favorite Doctor.

As for recommendations on what to watch, the advantage of the sixth series/season is that most of it is available on DVD.  The only story where one would have to resort to audio soundtracks or reconstructions is the Space Pirates, and it's hardly the best story from this series/season.

Top of the list of course would be the two longer stories: The Invasion and The War Games.  Those two are simply great, and every Doctor Who fan should see both at some point.  The Dominators, The Mind Robber and The Krotons are all pretty good as well, and all are worth adding if you'd like to supplement your viewing beyond The Invasion and The War Games.

Up next, we make the jump to the Third Doctor era with Spearhead From Space.

Story #50 - The War Games

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrive in what looks like Northern France during the First World War.  The truth is far different, however.

Written by Terrence Dicks and Malcolm Hulke
Directed by David Maloney

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Jamie - Frazer Hines
Zoe - Wendy Padbury

Main Guest Cast-
The War Lord - Philip Madoc
The War Chief - Edward Brayshaw
The Security Chief - James Bree
Lieutenant Carstairs - David Savile
Lady Jennifer Buckingham - Jane Sherwin
Russell - Graham Weston

Synopsis-
The Doctor and his companions arrive in no-man's land in between the British and German trenches in Northern France during World War One.  However, things aren't quite what they seem.   Surprised to find civilians in no-man's land, the British troops report this to their general.  The general orders The Doctor and his companions to be taken to his headquarters. 

While on their way to the general's headquarters, The Doctor and his companions meet Lt. Carstairs and Lady Jennifer Buckingham, an ambulance driver.  Both are having trouble remembering things, such as how long they've been at the front and where the hospital is located.

It turns out that this isn't France in 1917, but an alien planet with several war zones from different times and eras.  The humans have been brought to the aliens planet by the War Lord and his assistant the War Chief.  The War Lord and the War Chief are using the War Games to learn and train soldiers that they intend to use to conquer the galaxy.

The War Chief, as it turns out, is another renegade Time Lord.  The Security Chief doesn't trust the War Chief, and is distrustful of the arrival of The Doctor.  The War Lord eventually arrives from the aliens' home world and forces the War Chief and the Security Chief to work together, despite their mutual distrust and hatred for each other.

Lt. Carstairs and Lady Jennifer join up with The Doctor and his companions.  They make contact with the resistance in the American Civil War zone, and the resistance leader Russell.  The resistance is made up of fighters from each war zone who have shaken off the effects of the hypnotization process.

The Doctor hatches a plan to attack the video communication devices that are located in each war zone.  This will draw out the security troops, leaving the command zone defenseless.  This plan works, but The Doctor is captured and forced to trick the resistance leaders into traveling to the command zone, where they are captured.

The Doctor and the resistance fighters eventually free themselves, and capture the War Chief.  The War Chief agrees to help the resistance fighters to escape the command zone, but they are caught by the Security Chief and some of his guards.  The War Chief kills the Security Chief and the resistance fighters make their way to the landing area, where they can make their way back to the war zones via the time machines built by the War Chief.  However, they are captured by the War Lord, who kills the War Chief.

The Time Lords, however, have been summoned by The Doctor.  The Doctor has done so, because while he has promised to send everyone back home after the defeat of the War Lord, the War Chief's time machines are no longer operational. 

The Time Lords prevent The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe from escaping on the Tardis.  The surviving soldiers are sent home by the Time Lords, and the War Lord is put on trial.  The War Lord is found guilty.  The War Lord's homeworld is placed inside an impenetrable forcefield, while The War Lord himself is dematerialized into nothingness. 

Jamie and Zoe are sent back to their own times, with their memories of traveling with the Doctor erased.  The Doctor, after his own trial, is sentenced to live on 20th century Earth with his knowledge on how to operate the Tardis wiped from his mind.  The Doctor is also forced to undergo his second regeneration.

Review-
The War Games marks the end of several eras.  It's the end of the Second Doctor's time on the show, as Patrick Troughton and his co-stars Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury had decided to leave at the end of this series/season.  It also marks the end of the black and white era, as the next series/season would be broadcast in color. 

The War Chief is a Time Lord, and his double dealing with The War Lord proves fatal.  I did find it interesting that the War Chief did not regenerate after being shot. 

Indeed, the whole concept of regeneration isn't fully explained, just as it wasn't in the Tenth Planet.  Why does The Doctor regenerate, and not the War Chief?  It's never made clear in the episode, though I highly suspect the the War Chief's fate has been dealt with in spin-off media.

The Doctor is told that he can choose what he will look like after his regeneration, but isn't satisfied with any of the choices presented to him.  This concept that a Time Lord can choose his/her looks via regeneration would be explored yet again with Romana. 

The War Games does suffer from some padding in the middle episodes, but that's probably to be expected considering that it's ten episodes long.  But this is a great send-off for the Second Doctor and his companions, which is something we never really got with the First Doctor.

Story # 49 - The Space Pirates

The Doctor and his companions are drawn into a conflict between the Earth Space Corps and the Space Pirates.

Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by Michael Hart

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Jamie - Frazer Hines
Zoe - Wendy Padbury

Main Guest Cast-
Caven - Dudley Foster
Dervish - Brian Peck
General Hermack - Jack May
Madeleine Issigri - Lisa Daniely
Dom Issigri - Esmond Knight
Milo Clancey - Gordon Gostelow

Synopsis-
The Tardis lands on Alpha Four, a space beacon used to help space ships with navigation.  The space beacons are being systematically destroyed by space pirates led by the vicious and ruthless Caven and his assistant Dervish.  Caven and Dervish then take the remnants of the space beacons and pluder them for their argonite, a precious metal in this age.

The Doctor and his companions are caught in the blast that tears the space beacon apart, which separates them from the Tardis, which is in a separate section.  Running out of air, The Doctor makes a desperate attempt to save them by using magnetism to hopefully draw the separate parts together again.  This attempt fail and only causes them to drift away from the other part, floating helplessly in space.

The pirates are being pursued by the Earth Space Corps and their ship.  The Corps are led by General Hermack.  The Corps' ship runs into Milo Clancey's ship as they pursue the pirates.  Milo Clancey is an old space hand, and is also in pursuit of the pirates.  After questioning Clancey, Hermack lets him go, but decides to have him followed.

Clancey finds the Doctor and his companions and they all proceed to the planet Ta, which is run by Madeleine Issigri and features a argonite mine.

It turns out that Madeleine is being forced to work with Caven, as Caven is holding her father, Dom Issigri, hostage.  Caven and his cohorts capture The Doctor, Clancey, Jamie and Zoe and lock them up with Madeleine's father.

The Doctor and his fellow prisoners make good their escape and plan to return to Clancey's ship to escape.  Clancey and Dom get on board, but the rocket takes off via remote control before The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe are able to join them.  Clancey's rocket has been sabotaged by Caven and the oxygen supply is cut off.  The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe meet up again with Madeleine, and are able to help Clancey to get the oxygen working again.

Caven, his plans falling apart, intends to destroy Ta with a series of bombs.  The Doctor defuses the bomb detonator while the Space Corps destroy Caven's ship as it's fleeing the planet.   Clancey offers to give The Doctor and his companions a ride to Lobos, where the fragments of the space beacon where sent in an attempt to frame Clancey.

Review-
The Space Pirates marks the end of a dark period in Doctor Who history, as it's the last of the missing stories.  Only episode two still exists, the others are still missing. 

I really wanted to like the Space Pirates but I really had trouble engaging with the story.  It wasn't until the arrival of Gordon Gostelow's Milo Clancey that the story really begins to take off.  Once Clancey arrives on the scene, the story begins to pick up and it becomes a much more enjoyable experience.  That isn't to say that there still isn't a lot of padding to the story, just that it's much more watchable with Clancey's old timer complaining about everything.

Caven, played by Dudley Foster, is vicious, ruthless and also rather efficient as the leader of the space pirates.  He's forced both Madeleine and Dervish to work for him.  Dervish fears for his life, and will not hear of starting any sort of resistance to Caven's control of Ta.  Madeleine, meanwhile, is a much more reluctant helper and once her father is free from Caven's control, she stops helping the space pirates.

In the end, while I enjoyed the Space Pirates, and particularly the two performances mentioned above, this is simply average Doctor Who and I don't think one would miss too much by completely skipping this story and jumping ahead directly to the War Games, which is what we shall be taking a look at next time.

Story #48 - The Seeds of Death

As promised earlier today, here's my review of The Seeds of Death.  I'm now back on schedule.

The Ice Warriors make their second appearance as they attempt to use the futuristic transportation system known as T-Mat to take over the Earth.

Written by Brian Hayles and Terrance Dicks
Directed by Michael Ferguson

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Jamie - Frazer Hines
Zoe - Wendy Padbury

Main Guest Cast-
Commander Radnor - Ronald Leigh-Hunt
Professor Eldred - Philip Ray
Miss Kelly - Louise Pajo
Fewsham - Terry Scully
Harry Towb - Osgood
Phipps - Christopher Coll

Synopsis-
The Doctor and his companions arrive late in the twenty-first century at what appears to be a space exploration museum.  The museum is run by Professor Eldred.  While The Doctor and Professor Eldred discuss rocket technology, a fault has occurred in the T-Mat system.  T-Mat is a instantaneous travel system that has replaced pretty much all other methods of transportation, including rockets.

It turns out the fault has been caused by the Ice Warriors, who have taken over the Moonbase, which it vital for the operation of the T-Mat system.  The Ice Warriors kill most of the Moonbase staff, including their leader Osgood.  One man, Phipps, escapes from the Ice Warriors while another, Fewsham, agrees to help the Ice Warriors to save his life.

The man in charge of T-Mat, Commander Radnor and his assistant Miss Kelly visit Professor Eldred.  They try to convince the Professor to use the rocket that he's built to fly to the Moon, so that the fault with T-Mat can be fixed.  Professor Eldred is less than cooperative, but eventually relents once The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe agree to pilot the rocket to the Moon.

Meanwhile, Fewsham partially repairs T-Mat under orders from the Ice Warriors.  Once repaired, it allows Miss Kelly to travel to the Moon to repair T-Mat fully.

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe also arrive at the Moonbase, where they meet up with Phipps and discover the presence of the Ice Warriors.  The Doctor is taken prisoner by the Ice Warriors, but Miss Kelly is able to escape and join with Jamie, Zoe and Phipps.  The party hatches a plan to turn up the heat at the Moonbase, since Ice Warriors cannot survive in high temperatures.  The plans succeeds, but Phipps is killed.

However, the Ice Warrior have already completed their objective by this time, which was to send several space seeds, which will cause a fungus to grow on the Earth that will suck all the oxygen out of the atmosphere.  The Doctor, Miss Kelly, Jamie and Zoe return to Earth via T-Mat.  Fewsham, who has also survived, remains on the Moon seemingly in fear whatever justice he might face for helping the Ice Warriors.

Back on Earth, The Doctor is able to discover the fungus' weakness, which turns out to nothing more than simple water.  The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe make their way to a weather station, where they defeat an Ice Warrior sent to sabotage the station.  After defeating the Ice Warrior, they fix the weather stations' controls, which eventually causes it to rain, which kills off the fungus.

Meanwhile, Fewsham has switched on the video feed which allows Radnor and Eldred to discover that the Ice Warriors are going to use a homing beacon to land their invasion fleet.  Fewsham pays for this with his life, as he's killed by the Ice Warriors. 

Radnor and Eldred  create a fake homing beacon and place it onto a rocket which is sent into orbit.  The Doctor returns to the Moonbase, where he is able to turn off the true homing beacon.  The Ice Warrior fleet follows the fake homing beacon, where it will be eventually be destroyed by falling into the Sun.

T-Mat is repaired, and The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe make their way back to the Tardis to resume their travels.

Review-
The idea behind T-Mat was probably lifted from Star Trek, as T-Mat somewhat resembles Star Trek's transporters.  What makes it more interesting is that the human race has become dependent on T-Mat and when a problem occurs there seems to be no backup.  Even Star Trek had backups to the transporters as they had a shuttle craft as well that could be used to ferry the crew to and from a planet.

Fewsham and Phipps are quite interesting as characters, as both react differently to the dilemma of facing imminent death.  Fewsham, it seems, will do anything to survive whereas Phipps is prepared to resist the Ice Warriors, even if it means that he'll be killed.  It's interesting to watch the two men, and it makes one wonder if you were faced with that situation whether you'd resist like Phipps or collaborate like Fewsham.

In the end, The Seeds of Death is a decent story that I might have enjoyed more if I hadn't seen the same plot several times before in the Second Doctor era.  It's certainly worth a look, especially if one wants to get a feel for what the fifth series/season was like without having to resort to audio soundtracks and/or reconstructions.  But the entire I was watching the Seeds of Death, I simply couldn't get the feeling of deja vu out of my head.  

Story #47 - The Krotons

First off, let me apologize for not getting this posted yesterday.  Real world issues, I'm afraid.  I should have my review of the Seeds of Death posted by this evening.  Once again, my apologies for the delay!

The Doctor and his companions get involved in a rebellion by the Gonds, who have been virtual slaves to the Krotons for thousands of years.

Written by Robert Holmes
Directed by David Maloney

Main Cast-
The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
Jamie - Frazer Hines
Zoe - Wendy Padbury

Main Guest Cast-
Selris - James Copeland
Thara - Gilbert Wynne
Vana - Madeleine Mills
Eelek - Philip Madoc
Beta - James Cairncross

Synopsis-
The Tardis lands on an unnamed planet.  While exploring, they are horrified to discover a man who's killed after exiting a building complex.  They are able to rescue the young woman, Vana, who appears shortly thereafter.

Vana is in a catatonic state, and she's taken by the Doctor and his companions to her people, the Gonds.  The Gonds have lived for thousands of years under the control of the Krotons, who live in the complex.  The Gonds have never seens the Krotons, but every so often the smartest of the Gonds are chosen to become companions of the Krotons and are never seen again.  Vana was one of those chosen to be a companion of the Krotons, so now the Gonds know why they never see their people again.

The Gond's leader Selris and his son, Thara are at odds.  Thara wishes to start a rebellion against the Krotons but Selris is unsure since they simply don't have the weapons necessary to defeat the Krotons. 

Jamie stays with Thara to care for Vana while The Doctor and Zoe go with Selris to visit the Kroton complex.  While the Doctor explores, Zoe uses the learning machines that the Gonds have used for years.  The Krotons, who have made the machines, summon Zoe to be a Kroton companion.  The Doctor, horrified, also takes the test and is summoned.

Once inside, the Doctor and Zoe learn that the Krotons have been using the Gonds in hopes of finding enough "high brains" to get them back to their home.  Jamie, having discovered that the Doctor and Zoe have entered the Kroton complex tries to break in to save them.

Selris is deposed by Eelek, another member of the ruling Gond council.  Eelek forces the Gond scientist Beta to help them, as Eelek plans to attack the Kroton complex.  Selris, fearful of the attack and the ensuing casualties that will result, recommends attacking the foundation supports underneath the complex.  This attack fails, and the Krotons reassert control.

Meanwhile, The Doctor and Zoe are able to escape the complex and discovers that the Kroton complex can be destroyed by sulfuric acid.  With the help of Beta, The Doctor manufactures enough acid to destroy the complex, though Selris is killed during the assault by the Krotons while helping the Doctor.

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe quietly slip away while the Gonds celebrate their defeat of the Krotons.

Review-
The idea of having slaves rise up against their masters is nothing new.  The callousness of the Krotons for anything that is of no use to them is fairly evident while Jamie is held as a prisoner by the Krotons.  Jamie isn't a "high brain" and thus is of no use to them, except as a hostage.

While not on the epic scale like the Invasion, I think it was an inspired idea to program a quick and simple adventure like the Krotons to follow on after such an epic story like the Invasion.  The Krotons is another winner in my humble opinion and well worth checking out.