When the Doctor returned to our screens, it was, make no mistake, a very drastic reformatting of the programme. For now, the programme was in colour with a brand new star. There was no travelling through time and space- the TARDIS interior was not seen at all in the new season. In fact, the only things anchoring it with the series broadcast six months previously were the police box and the familiar theme tune.
In fact, Spearhead from Space stands out from Doctor Who as a whole. Until the 1996 TV Movie, this was the only story to be made entirely on film. What’s more, the story is shot very cinematically- scenes with the Brigadier facing reporters are shot hand-held and there is a sublime tracking shot when the Brig and Captain Munro are walking down a corridor. Derek Martinus’s accomplished direction makes this one of the most visually striking Doctor Who stories of all time. Robert Holmes’s script has to deal, not only with an alien menace, but with introducing a new version of the main character. The story is very simple and very economically done, due to having to deal with both these requirements in less than 100 minutes, which means that there is hardly any padding in the story at all. The Nestene and the Autons are a bit similar to the Great Intelligence and the Yeti, especially as both seem to like using spheres to contain intelligence. However, the Autons have an iconic look of their own and shop window dummies coming to life is clearly the stuff of nightmares. The very subtle, but extremely effective touch of giving the facsimile Autons slightly glistening faces is inspired. The ending is a bit rushed, but manages to just about work.
However, this is also the debut for Jon Pertwee as the Doctor and he instantly pulls the viewer in. The introduction of the character is far more non verbal than with Patrick Troughton with many of Pertwee’s early scenes being physical in nature, very appropriate for this more action orientated Doctor. Caroline John makes an instant impression as Liz Shaw, probably the most ‘adult’ female companion since Barbara. One minor irritation is that she is constantly called ‘Miss Shaw’ as opposed to ‘Dr. Shaw’ but there is no real sexism in the character- probably because the producers were not consciously trying to deal with it. The Brigadier is back, played excellently by Nicholas Courtney as usual. There is a very interesting dynamic between the Brigadier and Liz in this story- at first, Liz is a sceptic and the Brigadier has to convince her. The supporting cast is sound, in general, with a stand-out performance by Hugh Burden as the facsimile Channing, a very spooky performance.
This is an iconic and exciting story and a great introduction for the new Doctor.
NEXT: Doctor Who and the Silurians
Showing posts with label Derrick Sherwin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derrick Sherwin. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Saturday, 29 November 2008
The War Games
The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in what appears to be the Western Front in World War I. The truth, however, is more sinister- an alien race is kidnapping human soldiers from wars that have occurred throughout human history prior to the 21st century (actually, it seems to be prior to World War II) to create the ultimate army, an army which will be used to conquer the galaxy.
Patrick Troughton’s tenure as the Doctor comes to an end with this epic 10-part story, second only to The Daleks’ Master Plan in length (yes, yes, Trial of a Time Lord blah, blah). There is just over 4 hours of material here, yet it never becomes boring or repetitive. The story gradually escalates in scale- the first episode feels like it actually takes place on the Western Front, with aliens having infiltrated. When Jamie meets the Redcoat from Culloden, this interpretation is questioned and we find that there are soldiers from throughout human history and mysterious machines that materialise with a sound similar, but not identical to, the TARDIS. We are then taken to the control centre where we see the aliens processing the humans and, indeed, pitting the humans against each other like they are playing a deadly game of Risk (perhaps a hint of Malcolm Hulke's communist leanings seeping through?). There are power struggles in the higher echelons of the aliens’ command structure. We then discover that the similarities of the time machines to the TARDIS are not a coincidence and we find out more about the Doctor than we have ever done before. Terrence Dicks and Malcolm Hulke manage to fill the story with memorable dialogue and good characterisation throughout and expertly weave a narrative that moves from the grittiness of the trenches to the ‘futurama’ of the aliens’ domain. There is a distinct stylistic difference between the two, but it works thematically- the aliens maintain a detachment from the affairs of the humans at all times. In a story of ten parts, there is, obviously, some padding evident, but much less than one would expect. It is interesting to note that there are several Troughton stories (The preceding Space Pirates leaps to mind) which are six parters by design, that are considerably more padded than stories which had extra parts foisted on them.
Visually, the story is a triumph. The Western Front zone (the war zone that is explored the most fully) is excellently realised and could come from a respectable historical drama dealing with the period. The scenes at the alien control point are as differentiated visually as they are thematically and never crosses the line into cheesiness- even the bizarre goggles that are worn do not look ridiculous. David Maloney again directs with consummate style and subtlety with very effective camera work and an unshowy but highly effective use of lighting.
The guest cast is extensive and astonishingly good. James Bree is memorable as the security chief- his diction is almost Dalek like, but seems natural with the character and makes the struggles he has with Edward Brayshaw’s marvellous War Chief very memorable. Philip Madoc is outstanding as the War Lord, a figure who is usually shown speaking calmly with the ghost of a smile on his face, but still projects a horrifying amorality. This makes the depiction of his breakdown in the final episode all the more effective. David Savile and Jane Sherwin are very effective as Lt Carstairs and Lady Jennifer Buckingham. Unlike in The Tomb of the Cybermen, the blatant nepotism (Jane Sherwin was married to Derrick Sherwin) is vindicated. Even minor roles are excellently portrayed- it is not surprising that many were played by future stars. Most notable is Rudolph Walker as the doomed Harper, who puts in a brilliant performance for what amounts to about 5 minutes of screen time.
I have said before that I find the team of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to be the best line-up of the Troughton era and this story demonstrates this excellently. Frazer Hines displays for the last time that irresistible blend of unschooled resourcefulness and fiery energy that makes Jamie one of the greatest companions of all time and Wendy Padbury’s infectious enthusiasm continues to endear the viewer. We can see that the relationship between the characters has deepened considerably- when the Doctor is about to face a firing squad, he gives Zoe an avuncular kiss on the cheek. When the Doctor is faced with his greatest challenge yet, it is made clear- for the very first time- that his companions are willing to spend their entire lives with him.
This story presents the greatest challenge as an actor that Patrick Troughton ever achieved in the role and, of course, we all know that he is more than up to the task. Half-way through the story we hear of a mysterious and powerful race called the Time Lords. We find out that the War Chief is one of them and, in a wonderful moment, it only takes one glance for the Doctor and the War Chief to recognise each other and it is later revealed that the Doctor too is a Time Lord. There is a scene that consists entirely of exposition that is utterly fantastic, starting with the War Chief saying ‘You may have changed your appearance, but I know who you are.’ In this scene, we see the Doctor as we have never seen him before. The Doctor, this incarnation especially, has always been mysterious, always guarded about his origins and past. Now he is with a true peer who knows exactly who he really is. From this pivotal scene onwards, the Doctor is forever changed in our eyes. Troughton’s performance is effortless, yet hugely effective.
The Doctor has to summon the Time Lords as the task of returning tens of thousands of soldiers to their times is beyond him. He tries to escape, but the Time Lords have complete control over the TARDIS- the cliffhanger to episode 9 has the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe running more and more slowly towards the TARDIS as the Time Lords slow down time around them. However, they are eventually brought back to the Doctor’s home planet, where we see the Time Lords for the first time, imposing, forbidding and, by all appearances, well-nigh omnipotent. The Doctor is forced to take leave of Jamie and Zoe in what has to be the most touching departure scene since Ian and Barbara left, which is beautifully played by the three actors. The Doctor is sentenced to exile on earth with a new appearance and we see him continuing to protest as he spirals off into infinity…
Unlike William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton chose to leave the programme and, therefore, is given this thoroughly amazing story as a send off. The faults are very few and far between- the only notable one I can think of is the fact that most of the fight scenes are very poorly done. However, this story has so much more to offer and is excellent as a final Troughton story, one of his best, and would even work well as a final ever Doctor Who adventure. Seven years on the air and 253 episodes is a phenomenally good run by any standards, but, although viewing figures were down…
NEXT: Spearhead from Space
Patrick Troughton’s tenure as the Doctor comes to an end with this epic 10-part story, second only to The Daleks’ Master Plan in length (yes, yes, Trial of a Time Lord blah, blah). There is just over 4 hours of material here, yet it never becomes boring or repetitive. The story gradually escalates in scale- the first episode feels like it actually takes place on the Western Front, with aliens having infiltrated. When Jamie meets the Redcoat from Culloden, this interpretation is questioned and we find that there are soldiers from throughout human history and mysterious machines that materialise with a sound similar, but not identical to, the TARDIS. We are then taken to the control centre where we see the aliens processing the humans and, indeed, pitting the humans against each other like they are playing a deadly game of Risk (perhaps a hint of Malcolm Hulke's communist leanings seeping through?). There are power struggles in the higher echelons of the aliens’ command structure. We then discover that the similarities of the time machines to the TARDIS are not a coincidence and we find out more about the Doctor than we have ever done before. Terrence Dicks and Malcolm Hulke manage to fill the story with memorable dialogue and good characterisation throughout and expertly weave a narrative that moves from the grittiness of the trenches to the ‘futurama’ of the aliens’ domain. There is a distinct stylistic difference between the two, but it works thematically- the aliens maintain a detachment from the affairs of the humans at all times. In a story of ten parts, there is, obviously, some padding evident, but much less than one would expect. It is interesting to note that there are several Troughton stories (The preceding Space Pirates leaps to mind) which are six parters by design, that are considerably more padded than stories which had extra parts foisted on them.
Visually, the story is a triumph. The Western Front zone (the war zone that is explored the most fully) is excellently realised and could come from a respectable historical drama dealing with the period. The scenes at the alien control point are as differentiated visually as they are thematically and never crosses the line into cheesiness- even the bizarre goggles that are worn do not look ridiculous. David Maloney again directs with consummate style and subtlety with very effective camera work and an unshowy but highly effective use of lighting.
The guest cast is extensive and astonishingly good. James Bree is memorable as the security chief- his diction is almost Dalek like, but seems natural with the character and makes the struggles he has with Edward Brayshaw’s marvellous War Chief very memorable. Philip Madoc is outstanding as the War Lord, a figure who is usually shown speaking calmly with the ghost of a smile on his face, but still projects a horrifying amorality. This makes the depiction of his breakdown in the final episode all the more effective. David Savile and Jane Sherwin are very effective as Lt Carstairs and Lady Jennifer Buckingham. Unlike in The Tomb of the Cybermen, the blatant nepotism (Jane Sherwin was married to Derrick Sherwin) is vindicated. Even minor roles are excellently portrayed- it is not surprising that many were played by future stars. Most notable is Rudolph Walker as the doomed Harper, who puts in a brilliant performance for what amounts to about 5 minutes of screen time.
I have said before that I find the team of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to be the best line-up of the Troughton era and this story demonstrates this excellently. Frazer Hines displays for the last time that irresistible blend of unschooled resourcefulness and fiery energy that makes Jamie one of the greatest companions of all time and Wendy Padbury’s infectious enthusiasm continues to endear the viewer. We can see that the relationship between the characters has deepened considerably- when the Doctor is about to face a firing squad, he gives Zoe an avuncular kiss on the cheek. When the Doctor is faced with his greatest challenge yet, it is made clear- for the very first time- that his companions are willing to spend their entire lives with him.
This story presents the greatest challenge as an actor that Patrick Troughton ever achieved in the role and, of course, we all know that he is more than up to the task. Half-way through the story we hear of a mysterious and powerful race called the Time Lords. We find out that the War Chief is one of them and, in a wonderful moment, it only takes one glance for the Doctor and the War Chief to recognise each other and it is later revealed that the Doctor too is a Time Lord. There is a scene that consists entirely of exposition that is utterly fantastic, starting with the War Chief saying ‘You may have changed your appearance, but I know who you are.’ In this scene, we see the Doctor as we have never seen him before. The Doctor, this incarnation especially, has always been mysterious, always guarded about his origins and past. Now he is with a true peer who knows exactly who he really is. From this pivotal scene onwards, the Doctor is forever changed in our eyes. Troughton’s performance is effortless, yet hugely effective.
The Doctor has to summon the Time Lords as the task of returning tens of thousands of soldiers to their times is beyond him. He tries to escape, but the Time Lords have complete control over the TARDIS- the cliffhanger to episode 9 has the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe running more and more slowly towards the TARDIS as the Time Lords slow down time around them. However, they are eventually brought back to the Doctor’s home planet, where we see the Time Lords for the first time, imposing, forbidding and, by all appearances, well-nigh omnipotent. The Doctor is forced to take leave of Jamie and Zoe in what has to be the most touching departure scene since Ian and Barbara left, which is beautifully played by the three actors. The Doctor is sentenced to exile on earth with a new appearance and we see him continuing to protest as he spirals off into infinity…
Unlike William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton chose to leave the programme and, therefore, is given this thoroughly amazing story as a send off. The faults are very few and far between- the only notable one I can think of is the fact that most of the fight scenes are very poorly done. However, this story has so much more to offer and is excellent as a final Troughton story, one of his best, and would even work well as a final ever Doctor Who adventure. Seven years on the air and 253 episodes is a phenomenally good run by any standards, but, although viewing figures were down…
NEXT: Spearhead from Space
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
The Invasion
The Cybermen are second only to the Daleks in the Doctor Who monster popularity stakes. It is, therefore, unfortunate that Cybermen stories have, so far, been vastly inferior in quality to Dalek stories. Dalek stories have been very ambitious, ranging from the post-nuclear-holocaust morality tale of their first story to the epic plot for galactic domination of The Daleks’ Master Plan. Cybermen stories have been basically the same story every time. The one time they tried something different (The Tomb of the Cybermen) they ran out of plot half-way through.
It is, therefore, a genuine pleasure to announce how much I enjoyed The Invasion. There are two reasons for this which are evident from the start. Firstly, it is not a ‘base under siege’ story, of which there were far, far too many in season 5. Earth invasion stories are also common in Doctor Who, but they offer far more opportunity for variation and creativeness. Secondly, the Cyber-plan is not idiotically over-complicated- I was beginning to think that the Cybermen were being led by a Cyber-Heath Robinson (or Rube Goldberg, if you’re American). The plan is simple, to take over the human race by installing control devices in electronic products. This is effective and also ties in well, conceptually with the Cybermen themselves. There is surprisingly little padding on the story, considering its length.
Interestingly, the Cybermen feature less than in any other story- they do not even appear until half-way through. They have changed appearance again, to perhaps their most iconic look. This makeover is the most successful realisation of the Cybermen since their debut and is very effective (apart from the fact that they wear laced boots!) and, thankfully, the cybermats are nowhere to be seen.
With the Cybermen reduced in prominence, the focus is on the human villain, Tobias Vaughan. Kevin Stoney’s utterly astonishing performance would stand out in any season of Doctor Who, but coming just after a time when the adversaries were becoming increasingly similar, the phrase ‘breath of fresh air’ is totally inadequate. Stoney plays Vaughan as being a bit unhinged, but not mad, ruthless but not inhuman. He roars at his subordinates, banging his fist on the table and when they acquiesce, he calmly says ‘Good chap’. Although he wants to dominate the world, he does not want the human race converted into Cybermen, for reasons both selfish and unselfish. Stoney truly gives one of the best guest performances in the programme ever, making me sad all over again about his recent death. There are some good performances from the other guest stars. Peter Halliday is fun as the sadistic but dim Packer and Sally Faulkner is wonderfully sparky as Isobel Faulkner. This is a very location rich production- Douglas Camfield shoots with a filmic dynamism. The use of lighting is great, especially in the dank sewer sets. The set design is also up to scratch and the use of real military aircraft gives this story a very expensive look. The music by Don Harper is very distinctive, very redolent of an ITC serial. There is one rather bad gaffe- when Gregory reports the rescue of Professor Watkins, it abruptly cuts from him in the office telling Vaughan to him (or a badly disguised double) running from Packer in the sewers. This cut seems to suggest that Vaughan has an identical office in the sewer!
The regulars are on great form, with Troughton and Hines getting better with every episode. Troughton’s scenes with Stoney, in particular, positively sparkle. This is also a great story for Zoe- the scene where UNIT use her computations for launching the missile at the Cyber-fleet is great. And, of course, this is the first UNIT story, with Nicholas Courtney effortlessly bringing the Brigadier to life with a great sense of authority and a dry sense of humour.
This is a wonderfully entertaining story, easily better than all the other 60s Cybermen stories combined.
NEXT: The Krotons
It is, therefore, a genuine pleasure to announce how much I enjoyed The Invasion. There are two reasons for this which are evident from the start. Firstly, it is not a ‘base under siege’ story, of which there were far, far too many in season 5. Earth invasion stories are also common in Doctor Who, but they offer far more opportunity for variation and creativeness. Secondly, the Cyber-plan is not idiotically over-complicated- I was beginning to think that the Cybermen were being led by a Cyber-Heath Robinson (or Rube Goldberg, if you’re American). The plan is simple, to take over the human race by installing control devices in electronic products. This is effective and also ties in well, conceptually with the Cybermen themselves. There is surprisingly little padding on the story, considering its length.
Interestingly, the Cybermen feature less than in any other story- they do not even appear until half-way through. They have changed appearance again, to perhaps their most iconic look. This makeover is the most successful realisation of the Cybermen since their debut and is very effective (apart from the fact that they wear laced boots!) and, thankfully, the cybermats are nowhere to be seen.
With the Cybermen reduced in prominence, the focus is on the human villain, Tobias Vaughan. Kevin Stoney’s utterly astonishing performance would stand out in any season of Doctor Who, but coming just after a time when the adversaries were becoming increasingly similar, the phrase ‘breath of fresh air’ is totally inadequate. Stoney plays Vaughan as being a bit unhinged, but not mad, ruthless but not inhuman. He roars at his subordinates, banging his fist on the table and when they acquiesce, he calmly says ‘Good chap’. Although he wants to dominate the world, he does not want the human race converted into Cybermen, for reasons both selfish and unselfish. Stoney truly gives one of the best guest performances in the programme ever, making me sad all over again about his recent death. There are some good performances from the other guest stars. Peter Halliday is fun as the sadistic but dim Packer and Sally Faulkner is wonderfully sparky as Isobel Faulkner. This is a very location rich production- Douglas Camfield shoots with a filmic dynamism. The use of lighting is great, especially in the dank sewer sets. The set design is also up to scratch and the use of real military aircraft gives this story a very expensive look. The music by Don Harper is very distinctive, very redolent of an ITC serial. There is one rather bad gaffe- when Gregory reports the rescue of Professor Watkins, it abruptly cuts from him in the office telling Vaughan to him (or a badly disguised double) running from Packer in the sewers. This cut seems to suggest that Vaughan has an identical office in the sewer!
The regulars are on great form, with Troughton and Hines getting better with every episode. Troughton’s scenes with Stoney, in particular, positively sparkle. This is also a great story for Zoe- the scene where UNIT use her computations for launching the missile at the Cyber-fleet is great. And, of course, this is the first UNIT story, with Nicholas Courtney effortlessly bringing the Brigadier to life with a great sense of authority and a dry sense of humour.
This is a wonderfully entertaining story, easily better than all the other 60s Cybermen stories combined.
NEXT: The Krotons
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