The Robots of Death is a simple story regarding a group of robots who murder their masters and a hunt for the person behind their revolt. This is, of course, a well-worn staple of sci-fi literature and that one line description does not sound immediately appealing. However, as in the Pertwee story, The Curse of Peladon, the story is a triumphant success because practically everything about it is honed to perfection. First and foremost is Chris Boucher’s script. In the field of world-building, Boucher is every bit as accomplished as Robert Holmes; Boucher presents us with a culture where society is so reliant on robots that if that faith was threatened, society would collapse. This is made immediately obvious by the human crew of the sand miner. They are the equivalent of prospectors on a mysterious and dangerous New World- yet we see them idly sipping drinks and taking massages as if they were in an exclusive health resort. Robots are so much part of the society that even people like this can live in luxury. This society produces its own modes of behaviour and neuroses, typified by Robophobia, where humans are unnerved by the robots’ lack of body language. Again, Boucher’s characterisation transcends simple stereotypes, especially welcome as a story such as this usually falls back on simple stereotypes. Even a relatively minor character like Zilda is given an intriguing back-story, where the viewer is left to fill in the gaps themselves. Boucher gives all his characters good dialogue throughout.
This would be praiseworthy enough, but then there is the gorgeous design work. The costuming, set design and, particularly, the beautiful robots themselves are flawlessly realised. The design manages to flawlessly blend Art Nouveau and Art Deco from everything to the design of the Sandminer to the font used for the Laserson logo. Michael E Briant obviously rejoiced in being given such good material to work with and he directs even simple scenes with an unshowy flair- note that the establishing model shot is punctuated by falling rocks. The lighting is wonderful, creating evocative moods and getting just the right effects and reflections off the opulent design.
The performances are wonderful, working well with Boucher’s characterisation. It says a lot that the weakest performance (Tania Rogers as Zilda) would have been seen as well above average in several other stories I could mention. The main robot performers, Gregory de Polnay as D84 and Miles Fothergill as SV7 put in excellent jobs- we never believe that these are just men with masks on. Best of all are Russell Hunter as Uvanov and Pamela Salem as Toos, especially towards the end of the story where they give their own little spin on the Doctor/Companion dynamic. Speaking of which, it is clear that Louise Jameson and Tom Baker clearly had a chemistry as strong as Baker had with Sladen and their performances are simply gorgeous.
This is a wonderful and intelligent story, well worth a look.
Next: The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Showing posts with label Michael E. Briant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael E. Briant. Show all posts
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Revenge of the Cybermen
Of all the things I was hoping for more of, a Gerry Davis penned Cyberman story was not high on my list. Despite their ubiquity in the Troughton era, there was only one good story that featured the cyborgs (The Invasion) and Davis had nothing to do with it. Like Terry Nation, Davis had a tendency of recycling ideas, but at least Nation’s ideas were good. Things don’t look good for the story at the outset, with Revenge of the Cybermen starting off looking like a remake of The Wheel in Space, the very worst Cyberman story of the Troughton era. The story seems to indicate Davis’s sabbatical from the programme has given him time to think of a couple of new ideas. The Cybermen wish to destroy the planet Voga, a planet with very high gold deposits, a metal that is lethal to the Cybermen. The Vogans wish to be rid of the Cyber menace, but some wish to take offensive action, while others prefer to hide.
The fact that Davis has actually come up with a reasonably original storyline would be refreshing- if perusal of the original script didn't reveal that most of the innovations were the work of Robert Holmes. Beyond this, the actual plotting leaves a great deal to be desired. The Cybermen use the Doctor and the Nerva crew as ‘suicide bombers’ to take explosives to the centre of the planet. The reason why they don’t plant the bombs themselves is unclear. It can’t be because the gold content makes it impossible for the Cybermen to set foot on Voga, as some do, later on in the story. When they do, they are able to kill the entire Vogan army- who, for some reason, don’t use gold in any of the weapons that they deploy against the Cybermen, despite the fact that they use gold in everything else! Although their plan doesn’t have the Heath Robinson level of idiotic complexity that Davis usually gives them, the Cyber-scheme is still convoluted. Vorus’s plan is also ridiculous- why not just shoot down the Cybermen’s spaceship before they disembark? The characters are poorly defined and, even if it wasn’t for the many plot holes, the scene to scene plotting is very pedestrian.
To compensate for this, the story is very well designed, with some great sets and costumes and some fantastic location work at Wookey Hole. The makeup for the Vogans is very effective, actually making each of them look slightly different. Michael E Briant directs very well throughout- there are very effective scenes in part 1 when the TARDIS crew find Nerva full of diseased bodies and is helped by a cast that is so good that it elevates the mundane script into something watchable. The Vogans boast Kevin Stoney, David Collings and Michael Wisher, three excellent actors who manage to turn poorly defined ciphers into characters. Kelman is a stock traitor on paper, but Jeremy Wilkin makes him one of the smarmiest characters seen on the series. Unfortunately, the Cybermen themselves are less successful- so poorly defined that they could be any set of alien thugs. The performance of Christopher Robbie as the Cyberleader is completely off- a petulant, camp, silver gimp. The regulars are great, thanks to some great character dialogue by Robert Holmes- if there’s one thing worth watching the story for, it is the ‘Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!’ scene.
This is the best Cyberman story that Gerry Davis wrote. However, that is the faintest that faint praise can be. And the cybermats are still rubbish.
NEXT: Terror of the Zygons
The fact that Davis has actually come up with a reasonably original storyline would be refreshing- if perusal of the original script didn't reveal that most of the innovations were the work of Robert Holmes. Beyond this, the actual plotting leaves a great deal to be desired. The Cybermen use the Doctor and the Nerva crew as ‘suicide bombers’ to take explosives to the centre of the planet. The reason why they don’t plant the bombs themselves is unclear. It can’t be because the gold content makes it impossible for the Cybermen to set foot on Voga, as some do, later on in the story. When they do, they are able to kill the entire Vogan army- who, for some reason, don’t use gold in any of the weapons that they deploy against the Cybermen, despite the fact that they use gold in everything else! Although their plan doesn’t have the Heath Robinson level of idiotic complexity that Davis usually gives them, the Cyber-scheme is still convoluted. Vorus’s plan is also ridiculous- why not just shoot down the Cybermen’s spaceship before they disembark? The characters are poorly defined and, even if it wasn’t for the many plot holes, the scene to scene plotting is very pedestrian.
To compensate for this, the story is very well designed, with some great sets and costumes and some fantastic location work at Wookey Hole. The makeup for the Vogans is very effective, actually making each of them look slightly different. Michael E Briant directs very well throughout- there are very effective scenes in part 1 when the TARDIS crew find Nerva full of diseased bodies and is helped by a cast that is so good that it elevates the mundane script into something watchable. The Vogans boast Kevin Stoney, David Collings and Michael Wisher, three excellent actors who manage to turn poorly defined ciphers into characters. Kelman is a stock traitor on paper, but Jeremy Wilkin makes him one of the smarmiest characters seen on the series. Unfortunately, the Cybermen themselves are less successful- so poorly defined that they could be any set of alien thugs. The performance of Christopher Robbie as the Cyberleader is completely off- a petulant, camp, silver gimp. The regulars are great, thanks to some great character dialogue by Robert Holmes- if there’s one thing worth watching the story for, it is the ‘Harry Sullivan is an imbecile!’ scene.
This is the best Cyberman story that Gerry Davis wrote. However, that is the faintest that faint praise can be. And the cybermats are still rubbish.
NEXT: Terror of the Zygons
Monday, 16 February 2009
Death to the Daleks
Terry Nation’s last story, Planet of the Daleks is one of the very few Doctor Who stories that I have absolutely no desire to ever see again. Thankfully, for his second Pertwee story, Nation produced a script that didn’t merely consist of the reheated scraps of previous, better stories. In Exxilon, Nation creates an interesting alien planet and the underlying scenario of the galactic plague forms an intriguing backdrop to the planet, which contains the mineral parrinium (stop it!) which can cure it. Nation again starts the story with a threat to the TARDIS, but it is part of the plot as a whole and is far more effective than the threat in his previous story. With all this plot, it might sometimes seem that the Daleks are superfluous to the story. However, for the first time we see the Daleks having to survive without their weapons and we see the Daleks as scheming geniuses, rather than merely killers, although there are two rather silly scenes of them committing suicide for no reason. It is, however, a joy to see them replacing their ray guns with traditional percussion instruments- and then using a model TARDIS for target practice. The busy plot means that there is very little padding, which is always welcome.
The production values are very impressive, with good costumes for the Exxilons and the impressive realisation of the Exxilon city. The Daleks have been repainted, which is very welcome, considering their shabby appearance in Planet of the Daleks. The ‘root probes’ for the city are very well done, with one very impressive scene where one rears out of a lake that almost makes one forget that you can see the string holding it up at some points. Michael E. Briant does some sterling work behind the camera, with some slow dissolves and atmospheric day-for-night photography and moody scenes in the caves. However, the daylight scenes are somewhat overlit, which makes the sterile city sets not as striking as they should be and Carey Blyton’s music saps some of the atmosphere- the jaunty Dalek theme is unintentionally comedic and his decision to use saxophones is almost as unfortunate as his decision to use crumhorns for Doctor Who and the Silurians.
The guest cast ranges for competent to pretty good. Joy Harrison and Julian Fox are unspectacular, but effective enough, with Duncan Lamont making Galloway quite interesting. Characterisation was never Nation’s strong point, but the better actors, with Briant’s help, are able to expand on the characters as written. The regulars work their usual magic with what they are given.
This is a rather underrated story. Nation plays to his strengths as a scriptwriter and the visualisation bolsters these strengths. It’s well worth a look.
NEXT: The Monster of Peladon
The production values are very impressive, with good costumes for the Exxilons and the impressive realisation of the Exxilon city. The Daleks have been repainted, which is very welcome, considering their shabby appearance in Planet of the Daleks. The ‘root probes’ for the city are very well done, with one very impressive scene where one rears out of a lake that almost makes one forget that you can see the string holding it up at some points. Michael E. Briant does some sterling work behind the camera, with some slow dissolves and atmospheric day-for-night photography and moody scenes in the caves. However, the daylight scenes are somewhat overlit, which makes the sterile city sets not as striking as they should be and Carey Blyton’s music saps some of the atmosphere- the jaunty Dalek theme is unintentionally comedic and his decision to use saxophones is almost as unfortunate as his decision to use crumhorns for Doctor Who and the Silurians.
The guest cast ranges for competent to pretty good. Joy Harrison and Julian Fox are unspectacular, but effective enough, with Duncan Lamont making Galloway quite interesting. Characterisation was never Nation’s strong point, but the better actors, with Briant’s help, are able to expand on the characters as written. The regulars work their usual magic with what they are given.
This is a rather underrated story. Nation plays to his strengths as a scriptwriter and the visualisation bolsters these strengths. It’s well worth a look.
NEXT: The Monster of Peladon
Saturday, 7 February 2009
The Green Death
The Green Death has the Doctor, Jo and UNIT fighting Global Chemicals, who have been dumping toxic waste into the coal mine in the Welsh town of Llanfairfach. This is a green slime which kills on contact and causes the mutation of giant maggots. This is the threat faced by the Doctor in the story, but it is by no means the only thing driving the story. The Green Death uses its 6-episode length to fully explore each of the themes it brings up.
At first glance, the story seems to be stuffed with stereotypes. The Welsh characters drop ‘boyos’ and ‘isn’t its’ all over the place and Professor Jones and the Nut Hutchers make their first appearance looking like a bunch of hippies. This leads one to expect that the Professor will appear intermittently in the story, have the Doctor sympathise with him and get into trouble behind the Doctor’s back and have the Doctor come and rescue him, before assisting him in the final showdown. However, we are drawn into the Professor’s life and, indeed, the Nut Hutch becomes the base of operations for the Doctor, which presents the value of environmentalism in a simple way, without resorting to preaching. Then there are the maggots, for which this story is famous and justifiably so- they are convincingly brought to life by the production team and have to rank as one of the most nauseating Doctor Who monsters of all time. Robert Sloman’s script contains some beautiful dialogue and is excellent at weaving most of these points together. However, the main scheme- the computer BOSS taking over the world- is actually somewhat underdeveloped and could actually have been excised.
However, it is in the interaction and development of the characters that this story really excels. This is, of course, Jo’s last story, and the growing mutual attraction between her and the Professor is beautifully portrayed. She says, at one point, that the Professor reminds her of a younger version of the Doctor and, indeed, with them both looking down microscopes at the Nut Hutch, this is what we get. The Brigadier and UNIT are seen as efficient, but very human- the Brig’s interaction with the Nut Hutch is very different from the reactionary response the audience expects. The sight of the Brig dining at the Nut Hutch in black tie, whilst the others are in their usual clothes and neither being uncomfortable with the incongruity, speaks volumes. The performances are outstanding throughout. Stewart Bevan is instantly likeable as the Professor and it is due to the skills of Jerome Willis and John Dearth that the BOSS storyline works at all. However, the leads should not be forgotten. The Doctor’s mixture of pride and sorrow at the realisation that Jo is moving on is beautifully performed by Pertwee and Katy Manning portrays Jo’s growing independence and maturity excellently. During this retrospective, I was very pleasantly surprised by Jo Grant, expecting to find her annoying. However, Katy Manning always made her worth watching and it is fitting that her departure is so emotional for the characters as well as the viewer.
Michael E. Briant’s direction is astonishingly good throughout. There is an very well executed sequence in episode one, which has Global Chemicals company director, Stevens, explaining how his new oil refining process is more efficient and eco-friendly. This is intercut with the Professor explaining to Jo exactly why it isn’t. The sequences on Metebelis III are both frightening, because of the way they are shot and funny, because of their juxtaposition with events on Earth, without one affecting the other. The production is not perfect, though- there is far too much CSO used as sets and backgrounds. This is a pity, as it is atmospherically and subtly lit elsewhere.
The story ends with one of the saddest shots the programme has ever had- the Doctor driving in Bessie alone. It is a beautiful end to a genuinely great story
NEXT The Time Warrior
At first glance, the story seems to be stuffed with stereotypes. The Welsh characters drop ‘boyos’ and ‘isn’t its’ all over the place and Professor Jones and the Nut Hutchers make their first appearance looking like a bunch of hippies. This leads one to expect that the Professor will appear intermittently in the story, have the Doctor sympathise with him and get into trouble behind the Doctor’s back and have the Doctor come and rescue him, before assisting him in the final showdown. However, we are drawn into the Professor’s life and, indeed, the Nut Hutch becomes the base of operations for the Doctor, which presents the value of environmentalism in a simple way, without resorting to preaching. Then there are the maggots, for which this story is famous and justifiably so- they are convincingly brought to life by the production team and have to rank as one of the most nauseating Doctor Who monsters of all time. Robert Sloman’s script contains some beautiful dialogue and is excellent at weaving most of these points together. However, the main scheme- the computer BOSS taking over the world- is actually somewhat underdeveloped and could actually have been excised.
However, it is in the interaction and development of the characters that this story really excels. This is, of course, Jo’s last story, and the growing mutual attraction between her and the Professor is beautifully portrayed. She says, at one point, that the Professor reminds her of a younger version of the Doctor and, indeed, with them both looking down microscopes at the Nut Hutch, this is what we get. The Brigadier and UNIT are seen as efficient, but very human- the Brig’s interaction with the Nut Hutch is very different from the reactionary response the audience expects. The sight of the Brig dining at the Nut Hutch in black tie, whilst the others are in their usual clothes and neither being uncomfortable with the incongruity, speaks volumes. The performances are outstanding throughout. Stewart Bevan is instantly likeable as the Professor and it is due to the skills of Jerome Willis and John Dearth that the BOSS storyline works at all. However, the leads should not be forgotten. The Doctor’s mixture of pride and sorrow at the realisation that Jo is moving on is beautifully performed by Pertwee and Katy Manning portrays Jo’s growing independence and maturity excellently. During this retrospective, I was very pleasantly surprised by Jo Grant, expecting to find her annoying. However, Katy Manning always made her worth watching and it is fitting that her departure is so emotional for the characters as well as the viewer.
Michael E. Briant’s direction is astonishingly good throughout. There is an very well executed sequence in episode one, which has Global Chemicals company director, Stevens, explaining how his new oil refining process is more efficient and eco-friendly. This is intercut with the Professor explaining to Jo exactly why it isn’t. The sequences on Metebelis III are both frightening, because of the way they are shot and funny, because of their juxtaposition with events on Earth, without one affecting the other. The production is not perfect, though- there is far too much CSO used as sets and backgrounds. This is a pity, as it is atmospherically and subtly lit elsewhere.
The story ends with one of the saddest shots the programme has ever had- the Doctor driving in Bessie alone. It is a beautiful end to a genuinely great story
NEXT The Time Warrior
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
The Sea Devils
Ships have been disappearing in a small area off the coast of England and the Doctor and Jo discover that a group of intelligent reptiles related to those on Wenley Moor are responsible and the Doctor must join forces with the Navy to investigate. Meanwhile, the Master's incarceration may not be as secure as it seems and he may not be entirely ignorant of the saurian threat.
Doctor Who and the Silurians was one of the highlights of the truly outstanding seventh season of Doctor Who and many of the same themes are revisited in this sequel. Indeed, the overall aim of the story is identical, in much the same way as the repetitive Cybermen stories of the Patrick Troughton era. Thankfully, Malcolm Hulke was a far better writer than Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis and there are enough differences to make this story more than a straight remake. Hulke takes care to make as many of the speaking roles proper characters. Trenchard is portrayed as a former colonial governor of the old school and Walker, the Private Secretary, is portrayed as a man who seldom talks without his mouth full (Pertwee-era Doctor Who seems to have little love for high ranking civil servants, what with Chinn and Brownrose). This care in characterisation is especially impressive when one notes just how many speaking roles there are, but even minor characters, such as the boatman, are given real personality. This is supported by a fine guest cast. Clive Morton makes Trenchard both bluff and sympathetic and Edwin Richfield gamely attempts to compensate for the lack of the Brigadier, with some success. I also love Martin Boddey's performance as the gluttonous Walker.
Michael Briant's direction is hugely effective, helped by extensive use of stock footage and naval hardware courtesy of the Royal Navy, making this a very lavish production. Briant also shoots very atmospherically, showing great aptitude with action scenes and moody, unsettling ones, with interesting camera angles and very effective lighting. The gradual revelation of the Sea Devils is very well done. The titular saurians are very well designed (although close ups of their heads tend to draw attention to the fact that their eyes are painted on). Most impressively, the Sea Devils are not slow and lumbering, but are shown running on several occasions. The music is even more bizarre than on Doctor Who and the Silurians, but is far less ridiculous, thanks to the lack of crumhorns!
However, the fact remains that this story does not build and expand on its predecessor in the way that a good sequel should do, but covers the same themes. The Sea Devils, unlike the Silurians, are not portrayed as characters- indeed only one of them (the leader) even speaks, which makes them less sympathetic than their land-based cousins. The fact that they are portrayed as being more aggressive than their relatives does not help matters. They are not antagonists with understandable motives of their own, they are The Enemy. The fact that the Master is involved does not help matters as he takes the role of 'Young Silurian' and there is no real reason why he should have been included at all. This is unfortunate, as Roger Delgado gives his best performance yet as the Master. More seriously, the story implies that the Doctor has learnt nothing from his previous encounter with the reptiles as he takes exactly the same tack in dealing with them. Indeed, the fact that it is the Doctor, not the armed forces, who destroy the Sea Devil base implies that he is moving towards the Government's way of thinking, which is somewhat disturbing and very out of character.
The script is also far less structured than Doctor Who and the Silurians. The earlier story used its seven parts well, but The Sea Devils seems overlong at six parts. There is obvious padding, such as the sword fight between the Doctor and the Master and the last episode is somewhat anticlimactic and, as said before, has a rather unsavoury conclusion. The regulars are on excellent form, with Pertwee balancing humour and authority excellently. Jo Grant is at her best when she is not depicted as a totally scatter-brained moron, and Katy Manning is excellent here.
The Sea Devils is rarely boring, is well acted with much good dialogue and characterisation and has a good race of monsters. However, it fails to build on its predecessor and can only really be seen as a qualified success.
Next: The Mutants
Doctor Who and the Silurians was one of the highlights of the truly outstanding seventh season of Doctor Who and many of the same themes are revisited in this sequel. Indeed, the overall aim of the story is identical, in much the same way as the repetitive Cybermen stories of the Patrick Troughton era. Thankfully, Malcolm Hulke was a far better writer than Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis and there are enough differences to make this story more than a straight remake. Hulke takes care to make as many of the speaking roles proper characters. Trenchard is portrayed as a former colonial governor of the old school and Walker, the Private Secretary, is portrayed as a man who seldom talks without his mouth full (Pertwee-era Doctor Who seems to have little love for high ranking civil servants, what with Chinn and Brownrose). This care in characterisation is especially impressive when one notes just how many speaking roles there are, but even minor characters, such as the boatman, are given real personality. This is supported by a fine guest cast. Clive Morton makes Trenchard both bluff and sympathetic and Edwin Richfield gamely attempts to compensate for the lack of the Brigadier, with some success. I also love Martin Boddey's performance as the gluttonous Walker.
Michael Briant's direction is hugely effective, helped by extensive use of stock footage and naval hardware courtesy of the Royal Navy, making this a very lavish production. Briant also shoots very atmospherically, showing great aptitude with action scenes and moody, unsettling ones, with interesting camera angles and very effective lighting. The gradual revelation of the Sea Devils is very well done. The titular saurians are very well designed (although close ups of their heads tend to draw attention to the fact that their eyes are painted on). Most impressively, the Sea Devils are not slow and lumbering, but are shown running on several occasions. The music is even more bizarre than on Doctor Who and the Silurians, but is far less ridiculous, thanks to the lack of crumhorns!
However, the fact remains that this story does not build and expand on its predecessor in the way that a good sequel should do, but covers the same themes. The Sea Devils, unlike the Silurians, are not portrayed as characters- indeed only one of them (the leader) even speaks, which makes them less sympathetic than their land-based cousins. The fact that they are portrayed as being more aggressive than their relatives does not help matters. They are not antagonists with understandable motives of their own, they are The Enemy. The fact that the Master is involved does not help matters as he takes the role of 'Young Silurian' and there is no real reason why he should have been included at all. This is unfortunate, as Roger Delgado gives his best performance yet as the Master. More seriously, the story implies that the Doctor has learnt nothing from his previous encounter with the reptiles as he takes exactly the same tack in dealing with them. Indeed, the fact that it is the Doctor, not the armed forces, who destroy the Sea Devil base implies that he is moving towards the Government's way of thinking, which is somewhat disturbing and very out of character.
The script is also far less structured than Doctor Who and the Silurians. The earlier story used its seven parts well, but The Sea Devils seems overlong at six parts. There is obvious padding, such as the sword fight between the Doctor and the Master and the last episode is somewhat anticlimactic and, as said before, has a rather unsavoury conclusion. The regulars are on excellent form, with Pertwee balancing humour and authority excellently. Jo Grant is at her best when she is not depicted as a totally scatter-brained moron, and Katy Manning is excellent here.
The Sea Devils is rarely boring, is well acted with much good dialogue and characterisation and has a good race of monsters. However, it fails to build on its predecessor and can only really be seen as a qualified success.
Next: The Mutants
Monday, 5 January 2009
Colony in Space
Colony in Space has the Third Doctor travelling in the TARDIS for the first time to an alien planet, namely, the planet Uxarieus, where a colony from earth has been established. However, the ruthless Interplanatary Mining Company want to claim the planet for its mineral wealth and the apparently primitive natives hold a deadly secret.
When Malcolm Hulke writes a Doctor Who story, one thing the viewer can expect is a degree of intelligence, airing of social issues and the like. However, it takes more than that to create an engaging narrative. This story is well designed and competently directed. The performances are generally good, although perhaps a bit mannered in places. However, the story fails in two key areas- characterisation and plot.
The colonists have no really interesting characters amongst them. They are depicted as worthy decent folk, some slightly more aggressive than others. The impression that is given is, frankly, The Good Life in space (although the story predates that programme). What made that cosy 70s sitcom watchable were the characters and the fact that it could be very funny. Remove that, and you have a bunch of earnest middle-class types talking endlessly about crops- hardly the most arresting series of events. The IMC people are more interesting purely because they are bent on causing the colonists harm. However, the colonists are so boring that, whilst the viewer wants IMC to be thwarted, it is not for the sake of the colonists. Pertwee and Delgado are great as usual, but Katy Manning is severely hampered by a story that asks no more of her than to scream and be rescued by the Doctor.
The arrival of the Master makes things much more interesting. We are taken into the alien city and are shown the reason for the Master's presence (and the reason for the Time Lords allowing the Doctor to travel in the TARDIS. The aliens are reasonably well realised, as is their city, although the realisation of the alien leader is unwittingly reminiscent of Vic and Bob's Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye! The problem is that these events occur too late in what is a longueur saturated 6-episode narrative. Had more time been given to this, the story might have been saved.
This is a pity, as there is little in the story that is actually bad- in fact, the story might have been more entertaining had there been a hammy performance, silly music or a really rubbish monster. Instead, Colony in Space commits a crime that very few Doctor Who stories are guilty of- being dull. One for completists only.
NEXT: The Dæmons
When Malcolm Hulke writes a Doctor Who story, one thing the viewer can expect is a degree of intelligence, airing of social issues and the like. However, it takes more than that to create an engaging narrative. This story is well designed and competently directed. The performances are generally good, although perhaps a bit mannered in places. However, the story fails in two key areas- characterisation and plot.
The colonists have no really interesting characters amongst them. They are depicted as worthy decent folk, some slightly more aggressive than others. The impression that is given is, frankly, The Good Life in space (although the story predates that programme). What made that cosy 70s sitcom watchable were the characters and the fact that it could be very funny. Remove that, and you have a bunch of earnest middle-class types talking endlessly about crops- hardly the most arresting series of events. The IMC people are more interesting purely because they are bent on causing the colonists harm. However, the colonists are so boring that, whilst the viewer wants IMC to be thwarted, it is not for the sake of the colonists. Pertwee and Delgado are great as usual, but Katy Manning is severely hampered by a story that asks no more of her than to scream and be rescued by the Doctor.
The arrival of the Master makes things much more interesting. We are taken into the alien city and are shown the reason for the Master's presence (and the reason for the Time Lords allowing the Doctor to travel in the TARDIS. The aliens are reasonably well realised, as is their city, although the realisation of the alien leader is unwittingly reminiscent of Vic and Bob's Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye! The problem is that these events occur too late in what is a longueur saturated 6-episode narrative. Had more time been given to this, the story might have been saved.
This is a pity, as there is little in the story that is actually bad- in fact, the story might have been more entertaining had there been a hammy performance, silly music or a really rubbish monster. Instead, Colony in Space commits a crime that very few Doctor Who stories are guilty of- being dull. One for completists only.
NEXT: The Dæmons
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