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REVIEW: The Mutants by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

SERIAL: NNN, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.

Doctor Who, at times, has dealt with political comment, strongly or subtly. The Dominators had elements of satirising the hippie subculture, Aliens of London/World War Three commented on the War on Terror, and many Dalek stories dealt with racism and facism. In The Mutants, we have the Doctor taking on one of the most controversial topics of the 1970s, apartheid...

During the 30th century, the planet Solos has been under the oppressive rule of the Earth Empire for five centuries, and only now, as the empire begins to collapse, is it being given independence. However, the Marshall of Solos intends to hold onto power, even if it means assassinating his own Administrator, framing rebellious Solonian leader Ky, and performing atmospheric experiments that will make Solos' atmosphere breathable for humans, but wiping out the natives. The experiments are causing monstrous mutations to appear amongst the populace, creatures that the Marshall delights in hunting down and killing. Into this mess comes the Doctor and Jo, on a mission from the Time Lords. The Time Lords want the Doctor to deliver a mysterious box to someone on Solos. But who is the box intended for? Are the mutations really a disease? And can the Doctor, Jo, and Ky, along with their allies, stop the Marshall's genocidal plans?

The script for The Mutants is very ambitious, and puts one in mind of the later-done Avatar. After all, we have so-called primitives on a planet ruthlessly mined and commanded by a militaristic commander, with more aspects to the natives than meets the eye. Of course, it is doubtful that James Cameron had even watched this particular story of Doctor Who. Being the second script by the 'Bristol boys', this shows an improvement on The Claws of Axos, with a deeper theme, that of apartheid in South Africa, being involved. Many of the concepts involved are also quite intriguing, being about a race of beings that change their appearance during the unconventional 'seasons' of Solos.

The acting in this story is a little variable. While the characters look good on paper, the acting of Rick James as Cotton (a pity, as the casting of a black actor in a story about apartheid is a delicious irony) and James Mellor as Varan are the worst offenders. George Pravda as Jaeger could have been better, although he has his moments, as does John Hollis as Sondergaard. However, Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshall and Garrick Hagon as Ky (Hagon particularly after the first episode, where the character has less depth until later) are redeeming guest stars, with Whitsun-Jones being delightfully repulsive and nasty, and Hagon showing depth to Ky as the story progresses. Jo gets less to do here, but Katy Manning still gives as good as she can, and Jon Pertwee as the Doctor is as good as ever.

If there are two things that are the worst parts of the production, it's the production design and special effects. While the Mutants (or 'Mutts') are excellent designs, the costumes for the rest of the characters range from the above average to the mediocre. The sets have aged badly for the most part. And while the CSO effects work well enough in the caves, they work less well in other sequences, like the end of episode 4. The model work is significantly better, and rates amongst the more impressive in the series.

The Mutants was ambitious. It could have been much better, but as it stands, it is still a fairly impressive story, even if the production proper isn't up to scratch.



SCORE: 8.5/10


Here's the trailer for the next story, The Time Monster, along with that for two other stories, Underworld and The Horns of Nimon...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPPZO4C_BTg[/youtube]

REVIEW: The Time Monster by Robert Sloman (with Barry Letts, uncredited)

SERIAL: OOO, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.


While not the first Doctor Who story to deal with Atlantis (The Underwater Menace is set in underwater remnants of the city in the modern day, and in The Daemons, Azal implies having had a hand in its destruction), The Time Monster is the first to be set in the kingdom of the time, at least partially. With quirks of time and Atlantis being involved, this story could have been a winner. Unfortunately, that turns out to not be the case...

The Doctor is suffering from apocalyptic dreams of the Master. The Master himself, however, is using the work of a pair of scientists to gain power. The TOMTIT device is meant to transport objects through interstitial time, but the Master intends to use it as a tool to ensnare Kronos, most powerful of the Chronovores. He intends to gain power over all time, or risk the destruction of the universe trying. From a research station in Wootton to ancient Atlantis, and into the depths of the time vortex itself, the Doctor and Jo must stop the Master from unleashing Kronos, before all creation will perish...

Compared to Barry Letts and Robert Sloman's previous work The Daemons, this story is a functional but mediocre dog's breakfast. Which is a shame, as the concepts of TOMTIT, the Chronovores, and Atlantis seem to be decent in principle. Unfortunately, in practise, the story is spread way too thin over six episodes (it really should have been four at most), too many parts aren't explained properly (like how the Master gets the crystal in the first place, and how the earthquakes in Santorini are linked properly), and the Atlantis sequence is almost an afterthought on the story when it should have been a much bigger part. One of the best parts is a sequence in the final episode where the Doctor reminisces about his childhood.

The characters of Stuart Hyde and Dr Ingram, while not the best written, are still the best guest characters of the story, with Queen Galleia being the only Atlantean to be interesting in terms of both writing and acting. Most of the Atlanteans are acted...not badly, but too variably, ranging from large hams at the wrong times to decent acting. Inconsistent is the word that I am looking for. However, the regulars are done well, and Sergeant Benton gets a chance to shine, rather than being the butt monkey he sometimes is. Roger Delgado as the Master is at his best here, despite the deficiencies of the script, and both Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning do well.

The production design and effects, unfortunately, are rather bad. Kronos is not very well realised for a cosmic threat, being basically a man in a silly plastic bird suit swinging on a kirby wire. Even the Minotaur in this story was better realised, which is saying something. The Atlantean sets seem all too strikingly mediocre, and many of the time-slowing or stopping sequences are blatantly acted out instead of being done with special effects.

The Time Monster could have been done far better. There were some intriguing concepts that nonetheless were not realised to anywhere near their full potential, even by the standards of 1970s Doctor Who. A very real pity.



SCORE: 6/10

Time Monster is the first DW story I fell asleep while watching. If that says anything...

Probably. I noticed how the Myths and Legends boxset brought together three of the less-liked stories in Doctor Who history, with Underworld probably being the best of the lot. It's going to be a while before I watched The Horns of Nimon, though...

Horns of Nimon is so bad it's good. At least, IMO; though, I do like several DW stories which get panned a lot by fans.

Liked reading your reviews so far. You write them well.

Thanks. I'm going to be starting on The Three Doctors this afternoon, and may finish the tenth season by this time next week, though that's a little optimistic. I want to finish the Pertwee era soon, as well, as a lot of my favourite stories are coming up...

REVIEW: The Three Doctors by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

SERIAL: RRR, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.

The tenth season, a milestone for the program in more ways than one. Barry Letts tried, unsuccessfully, to change the theme music. The show was moving away from its earthbound phase, and by the end of the season, two beloved regulars would leave the program, Katy Manning, and (thanks to a fatal car accident) Roger Delgado. But, for the first (and certainly not last) time, there was a story with multiple Doctors...

A mysterious cosmic ray, moving beyond the speed of light, is beaming to Earth from the depths of a black hole, a black hole which is also draining the resources of the Time Lords, and threatening all creation. The Doctor is being sought out by strange blob-like creatures sent from the black hole, and he needs help. The Time Lords, in their desperation, send the Doctor his past two incarnations, though his first gets stuck in an eddy of time. Transported into the black hole, the three Doctors confront the deranged Omega, a powerful member of Time Lord history, and who is intending to wreak his vengeance for his perceived abandonment on all of the cosmos...

This story is celebratory, pure and simple. The plot exists mostly to get the three Doctors on screen and against a powerful foe, and while it does have its deficiencies, it is nonetheless does things fairly well. The guest characters, barring Omega, are functional, but it is Omega who steals the show, with a wonderful performance by Stephen Thorne. Despite Omega's insanity, you do feel a little sorry for him, especially when he realises something vital about himself.

The performances here are pretty good all around, with my only real complaint being against what appears to me to be a derailment of the character of the Brigadier. He seems far more antagonistic than usual, although I believe this to be more of a fault with the writing than with the performance of Nicholas Courtney. Katy Manning as Jo does well, as does John Levene as Sergeant Benton, but it is Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton as the Third and Second Doctors who shine, with an interesting relationship that evolves from the antagonistic to the brilliantly cooperative. Less well is William Hartnell's prefilmed performance as the Doctor, but this can be excused for a number of reasons, not least his declining health.

Once more, as is often the case, it is the production design that can be at fault. The Gel Guards look silly, especially in comparison to the more eerie-looking electronic effect of the scout blob seen earlier, and some special effects sequences look cheap. Omega's cathedral, however, is quite eerie, and Omega himself is as well designed as he is acted, though he could have been written to exploit him to the fullest more. And, of course, the plot itself is rather thin on the ground.

The Three Doctors, like The Time Monster, involves a universal threat to all creation. The difference between the two that, despite the high concepts of The Time Monster, The Three Doctors succeeds, because it doesn't try to do so little spread over so much. The Three Doctors is entertaining, and doesn't pretend otherwise.


SCORE: 8.5/10


Here's a DVD trailer for Carnival of Monsters, along with The Seeds of Death (previously reviewed) and Resurrection of the Daleks, as part of the second Revisitations set...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz9CQLVDTPs[/youtube]

REVIEW: Carnival of Monsters by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: PPP, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


It would be a long time before Robert Holmes would truly get the reputation for writing some of the scariest Doctor Who stories ever written. That being said, he was noted for having wit and interesting concepts in his stories, and both are in Carnival of Monsters, the first story to take place after the Doctor's exile has been lifted...

The Doctor and Jo, while attempting to travel to Metabelis 3, end up on the SS Bernice, a ship apparently in the middle of the Indian Ocean. But the ship is attacked by a dinosaur, and the passengers seem to be looping over and over in their actions. Meanwhile, on the world of Inter Minor, the decrees of President Zarb have allowed the first aliens in a long time to visit their world, and this does not sit well with a xenophobic, hypochondriac populace. And the first two visitors is a dubious Lurman entertainer called Vorg and his assistant, Shirna, who are here to earn money, displaying the creatures within a sort of miniaturised menagerie, the Miniscope. With the ambitious Kalik looking to overthrow Zarb, his own brother, and the paranoid Pletrac desperate to keep contagion off Inter Minor, Vorg has his work cut out for him to keep out of trouble. Can the Doctor and Jo escape the Miniscope? Just how dangerous are the Drashigs, vicious creatures Vorg has imprisoned in the Miniscope? And how far will Kalik go to fulfill his ambitions?

This is not a particularly deep script, being here mostly for pleasure. There are two layers of story, with the Doctor and Jo trying to figure out what's going on from within the Miniscope, and Vorg and Shirna struggling with the intrigue on Inter Minor. The SS Bernice sequences, to me, feel like the weaker parts of the story, filled with cliches that repeat themselves on variations of a theme, although Ian Marter as Andrews and Tenniel Evans as Major Daly do fairly well.

However, the sequences on Inter Minor are more intriguing, with Vorg desperately trying to get money for Miniscope performances and using con-artist tactics to try and stave off deportation, while Shirna, portrayed as being brains as well as eye-candy (just as well, as that leotard, while fetching, is also almost as hideously coloured as the Sixth Doctor's coat), is more reasonable. The bickering Inter Minor officials are also written and portrayed well, with Pletrac showing an interesting mixture of bureaucratic officiousness, pragmatism, and a paranoia about disease. Each speaking Inter Minoran is excellently played by their respective actors, with Peter Halliday as Pletrac and Michael Wisher (later to play Davros) as Kalik very well done. Lesley Dwyer as Vorg and Cheryl Hall as Shirna also excel in their roles.

The Miniscope sequences are quite well realised at the time, and the Drashigs are also moderately decent threats, with excellent design and chilling roars. Their screams are enough to signal to anyone that it's brown trousers time, and it is only when they are superimposed on the screen using rather poor CSO that they become a little more ridiculous.

However, the time loops aspect of the story, at least on the SS Bernice, is tiring after the first time around, and one has to admit to a certain degree of failure with some elements of production design. Inter Minor works best during the later parts of the story, apparently set at night, where it is more moody and atmospheric, but when brightly lit, it doesn't work as well. The Functionaries too are disappointing, and seem to be there mostly to reinforce the xenophobic nature of the Inter Minor officials. Pletrac's paranoia also seems unreasonable, for someone more willing to follow the liberal tendencies of Zarb earlier in the story. Finally, Vorg and Shirna should have had more tatty costumes rather than the garish ones we saw in the story, given their characters.

Still, Carnival of Monsters is an enjoyable story. There are some aspects that could have been better, to be sure, but still, it's a decent example of Pertwee-era Who.


SCORE: 8.5/10


Here's a DVD trailer for the next two stories, Frontier in Space, and Planet of the Daleks, released together as the Dalek War Boxset.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAMk7eTiIIE[/youtube]

REVIEW: Frontier in Space by Malcolm Hulke

SERIAL: QQQ, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: No.

As part of the tenth anniversary celebrations, the production team wished to create a twelve-part epic in the mold of the 1960s story The Dalek Masterplan. In practice, the story was split into two six-part stories by two different writers, linked together. The first story, by veteran writer Malcolm Hulke, is an intriguing space opera, the first done in Doctor Who for some years...

The Doctor and Jo land on a cargo shuttle that is boarded and raided by beings the human crew think are Draconians, a race that has an empire that has been at an uneasy peace with Earth until now. But the Doctor and Jo see only Ogrons. Taken prisoner, the Doctor and Jo are accused of being spies for the Draconian Empire. With Earth accusing the Draconians of raids, and vice versa, war seems inevitable. A war being engineered by the Master, who has been employed by someone else. Who are the Master's employers? Why do they want the Doctor, preferably alive? And can the Doctor and Jo convince the two sides of the conflict of the truth, before it's too late?

Malcolm Hulke's strongest point is his characterisation, and here in this story, very few of the notable characters disappoint, with only General Williams being a major disappointment. How such a raving paranoiac got to such a high position is beyond me, and only a few lines and his later apology for mistakes he made go anywhere near redeeming him. There is also a certain degree of moral ambiguity here that wouldn't look out of place in an episode of Blake's 7, and even the Cold War themes could be changed minimally to War on Terror allegories without damaging the story much (the Moon Penal Colony screams 'Guantanamo Bay' and 'extraordinary rendition' to a modern viewer).

The Draconians are an intriguing race of creatures, and while they suffer that bane of all science fiction aliens of having an extraordinary singular society ('Planet of the Hats', TV Tropes calls it), they are still an effective one. Their masks and costumes are amongst the best of the story, as are their characterisations.

The regulars of the Doctor and Jo, along with the Master, also get chances to shine. The Master is a rather humourous figure here, but still a dangerous one. It is a pity that this is Roger Delgado's last appearance as the Master, and it is so undignified for him to be hustled off by a fearful stampede of Ogrons at the end, as he is very good. The Doctor, as always, gets plenty of moments to shine, and we have Jo managing to ward off multiple attempts of the Master to hypnotise her, a nice little take that at their first story, Terror of the Autons, where the Master had hypnotised Jo with ease.

The story itself is also good, with politics involved and nice little touches and complexities that raise it above the usual melodrama of Who. It also makes the future look like a scary place, with the Earth being a far more totalitarian regime than we are used to. Not an actual dictatorship or police state, but certainly more restrictive than today. There are some nice touches with the Draconian culture. The weakest point of the writing, besides the not very well written (or acted, perhaps?) role of General Williams, is the rushed ending. It's an ending of sound and fury, signifying nothing but the Doctor injured and in need to find the secret base of the Daleks.

The weakest part of this story has to be the production design. Nothing dates faster in Doctor Who than portrayals of the future, and with high-necked collars that would give Time Lords the screaming horrors, padded uniformed soldiers with silly helmets, and glamorous dresses for female technicians, the human costumes haven't stood the test of time, instead looking camp in a serious production. It is saying something when the most reasonably dressed humans in the story are political prisoners in slippers and pyjamas! And that isn't going into the Ogron Eater, or some of the dodgy spacewalk effects used.

Despite these deficiencies, Frontier in Space shows that Malcolm Hulke is an excellent writer, and while elements of the story seem a bit like Star Trek, they are still very Who, and very Malcolm Hulke to be precise. Interesting characters, complex politics, and a cliffhanger ending, Frontier in Space is a highlight of the season, and of the era.


SCORE: 9/10

Those are really good reviews so far and I'm mostly in agreement with your ratings. I'm glad you did separate ratings for Episode 1 of the two Hartnell stories. You could almost split the ark in two as well.

I'm not sure that your anti-Pertwee bias isn't showing a little. He was my first doctor so naturally, I'm a little protective of him. IMHO, Spearhead could have been rated a little higher and the Mutants could have been rated a lot lower. I dislike it more than the Time Monster.

You didn't mention the other aliens in the Sea Devils. Maybe they could come back for the 11th Doctor. You know, the ones that the Master was watching on TV.

The Three Doctors could probably have rated a little higher too because the Troughton/Pertwee banter was awesome.

I'm actually a little surprised that there were so many that you haven't seen. The ones I haven't seen are the ones that nobody my age will ever see unless a miracle occurs.

Keep up the good work.

I only got The Ark on Sunday, and as I am doing this review series in order, I'm not reviewing it. However, I also got the Mara Tales boxset (with Kinda and Snakedance), which I will review when (or if) I get to the Davison era. I love Kinda.



Hmmm...Actually, I could have rated many Pertwee stories lower. I very nearly gave a lower score to The Curse of Peladon, and The Mutants was up in the air for a while, though The Time Monster sucks majorly in comparison. In fact, I was surprised to come across such a mediocre Pertwee story.



*facepalm*

You know, the Master seems to enjoy children's TV involving weird aliens. I wonder what that says about him?



Agreed, but unfortunately, the production design was a big strike against it, as was the story. Omega was underutilised, and was really only saved because Stephen Thorne is a damned good actor. "A hero? I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GOD! !!" Not to mention that wonderful and terrifying howl of despair when he realises that all that exists of him is his will to exist.

That's actually a major problem with the first two multi-Doctor stories. They should be The Two-and-a-half Doctors and The Four-and-a-half Doctors. William Hartnell only appears on a monitor to gripe at his successors in the former story, and Tom Baker only appears thanks to footage in Shada in the latter story.



Thanks, gbollard. I thought that I had watched less, but while watching some, I find some memories coming back, presumably from when I watched the VHS tapes over a decade ago. Another problem is that I have read the majority of the novelisations, which may make me a little confused as to what I have or haven't watched.

I watched pretty much every Patrick Troughton story that came out on VHS, barring all of The War Games. As I come to the Tom Baker stories, I think the amount of stories I haven't watched will decrease dramatically. Out of the DVDs available for the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era, the only one I haven't watched is The Masque of Mandragora. Of course, when it gets to the Graham Williams era, it gets better. I haven't watched any of the Key to Time stories barring The Pirate Planet, I haven't watched all of Horror of Fang Rock or Image of the Fendahl, never mind The Horns of Nimon or The Creature from the Pit.

BTW, the story that I just watched, Planet of the Daleks, had a pretty damn fine restoration to turn the monochrome episode 3 into full colour. Not a perfect restoration by any means, but a damned fine effort.

I'll post the review for Planet of the Daleks shortly.

REVIEW: Planet of the Daleks by Terry Nation

SERIAL: SSS, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


As a writer, Terry Nation has his finer stories and his lesser stories. Dedicated to creating adventure stories with lots of excitement and many ideas, he is responsible not only for the creation of the Daleks, but also the TV series Survivors and Blake's 7. But there are times when his creativity seems to fail him. Planet of the Daleks, while not a true failure, is still not quite a distinguished story, even when it should be...

After the plans of the Master were thwarted, the injured Doctor requests the help of the Time Lords to find the Dalek base. While he recovers from his injuries, Jo, concerned for his wellbeing, ventures out onto the deadly planet of Spiridon, where deadly plants and animals abound, and where the native intelligent life is invisible. But they are not alone. A group of Thals are also present on Spiridon, on a suicide mission to destroy a Dalek taskforce that is researching invisibility and bacterial warfare. But with Jo succumbing to a fungal infection, and the Doctor captured by the Daleks, they may not be able to stop the Daleks, as there is a secret army of 10,000 Daleks in cold storage, ready to be loosed on the galaxy...

I'll be honest: after the great characterisation of Frontier in Space, Planet of the Daleks is a bloody letdown. The story, while never short on incident, is arguably nothing but, with relatively shallow characterisation saved only by the performances of the cast. The Doctor is apparently surprised to see Daleks on Spiridon, despite the fact that the Time Lords sent him there, so unless he is surprised at the invisibility of the Daleks, it isn't logical. Neither is that whole thing with the TARDIS oxygen supply, given its relatively large size on the inside, and I get the feeling that Nation just wrote that in to give extra peril to the Doctor. And Marat's sacrifice, considering he was carrying a map concealing the Thal's explosives, is just stupid.

The Thals aren't particularly well written, with Vaber an over-eager idiot, Taron a little too wishy-washy for his own good, and Rebec a little too traditional female to be believably part of a suicide mission. However, Prentis Hancock, Bernard Horsfall and Jane Howe respectively make the most of what they are given without being too ridiculous. The Daleks, too, aren't as menacing as they should be, especially considering how they try to destroy a barricade near the end with brute force than using their blasters (I think the novelisation stated that the blasters merely melted the barricade together, making it stronger, but that's not the point).

The jungle sets, while lush and verdant, don't look alien enough, and while the concept of liquid ice and ice volcanos are quite original, sometimes the realisation does leave something to be desired. The production design looks like it was stretched just a tad too far, even for a Doctor Who story.

Planet of the Daleks is not bad. What it is is run of the mill. Average. The story is basically Terry Nation cobbling together elements from his previous stories (you can turn spotting how many plot elements were used in previous Dalek stories into a drinking game, and I guarantee you'll die of alcohol poisoning by the end of the story) in a way that isn't inspiring. Not actually bad, but it could have been much better. A disappointing second half to the Dalek War duology.


SCORE: 7.5/10

REVIEW: The Green Death by Robert Sloman (with Barry Letts, uncredited)

SERIAL: TTT, 6X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


Many Doctor Who stories are memorable for many reasons, like if they introduce a new monster, or are a strong story with an old one. Some are remembered for the location work done overseas, and others because of a strong storyline concept. How unfortunate, then, that The Green Death is remembered, primarily, as 'that one with the giant maggots'...

In the Welsh town of Llanfairfach, a confrontation is arising between a group of eco-warriors and researchers led by Professor Cliff Jones, and the oil-refining company Global Chemicals, led by Dr Jocelyn Stevens. At stake is a new oil refining process said to be more efficient than any other, but which Jones is sure will produce more waste than ever before. While the Doctor is occupied with a brief trip to Metebelis 3, Jo and the Brigadier both head to Wales. Jo intends to join Jones, while UNIT is dealing with an incident at an abandoned mine where a man died from an infection which left him glowing green. When the Doctor returns from Metebelis 3 with nothing to show for it save for a blue sapphire, he becomes embroiled in the investigation. Why is Stevens so determined to prevent anyone from investigating the abandoned mine? What has caused the growth of gigantic maggots and a deadly green slime? And who is the BOSS, Stevens' enigmatic superior? The Doctor must find out, before all is lost...

This is probably one of the most strongly environmentally-themed Doctor Who stories ever made, with a hippy eco-warrior commune on one side, and a ruthless petroleum company on the other, and stuck in the middle are some rather unfortunate Welsh coal miners. And while the viewer is left in no doubt as to whose side you should be on, the characterisation is worthy of a script by Malcolm Hulke (ironic considering that he didn't write the story, though he wrote the later novelisation). Professor Cliff Jones is portrayed as moral, but quixotic and a little quick to lose his temper at Jo's clumsiness, and none of the personnel at Global Chemicals, with the exception of Stevens and his security chief, are portrayed as evil until they are brainwashed.

The acting is well done, and especial credit must go to John Dearth as BOSS, one of the few computers in the series to be actually imbued with an interesting personality. While menacing and megalomaniacal, he can be funny at times, making BOSS a far more interesting adversary for the Doctor than your usual artificial intelligence with attitude. The other cast members, particularly Stewart Bevan as Professor Jones, Jerome Willis as Stevens, and Tony Adams as Elgin, do well. The regulars are at their prime here, with Jo, the Brigadier, Benton, and especially Yates being given chances to shine.

The main arc of this story is the build-up of Jo leaving the Doctor to be with Professor Jones, and while their romance is somewhat whirlwind, it is still built up well enough throughout the story, with an emotional farewell scene, very poignantly done, where the Doctor silently leaves an impromptu party where Jo and Jones are celebrating their engagement. Very well done, and signposting the end of an era.

Unfortunately, the story is let down by some pretty dodgy special effects. While the maggots themselves are an exemplar of what happens when things go right, as is the titular 'green death', there are too many dodgy CSO shots throughout the story, along with an ambitious but ultimately failed 'giant dragonfly' effect. I also feel that there were some faulty reasonings in Stevens and BOSS' thinking about how to deal with the mine and UNIT, as it would only serve to make them more suspicious.

Still, The Green Death is obviously one of the best of the Pertwee era. It goes to show, even being called 'the one with the giant maggots' doesn't mean it's not a good story.


SCORE: 9/10

BTW, forgot to add the DVD coming soon trailer for The Time Warrior. And yes, the DVD does have CG effects as an option, the original story doesn't look as good...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdnvBLd1V0Y[/youtube]


REVIEW: The Time Warrior by Robert Holmes

SERIAL: UUU, 4X25 minute episodes

SEEN IT BEFORE?: Yes.


With Katy Manning having left the series, and Roger Delgado dead thanks to a car crash, the UNIT family was beginning to come to an end. Jon Pertwee was beginning to feel that it was about time to move on. But there was one more season of Doctor Who to do, and Terrance Dicks commissioned it from Robert Holmes, who would create one of Doctor Who's most infamous foes, and introduce one of its best companions...

Research scientists are disappearing, and the Doctor is asked by the Brigadier to try and help find them. The Doctor encounters at a special research station Sarah Jane Smith, a journalist masquerading as her virologist aunt, and Sarah is convinced that the Doctor is the on responsible for the disappearances. But in reality, it is a Sontaran, Linx, who crash landed on Earth in the Middle Ages, and who is using primitive time travel to kidnap scientists to work on his ruined spaceship. But the Doctor finds that the Sontaran is guilty of more than kidnapping, for he is arming a local robber baron with guns and android knights to use against his noble but weak neighbour, Sir Edward, Earl of Wessex. Will Sarah believe that the Doctor is not a villain? Can the scientists be returned to their own time? And can the Doctor stop Linx before he disrupts the course of history?

This is before what I consider to be Robert Holmes' golden age on Doctor Who. The Time Warrior is a fairly straightforward romp with a few interesting characters, notably the Sontaran Linx, robber baron Irongron, and Irongron's deputy, Bloodaxe. We also learn the name of the Doctor's homeworld for the first time. However, it is mostly a vehicle for getting the Doctor a new companion, journalist Sarah Jane Smith.

I am fairly sure that not since Sara Kingdom from the events of The Dalek Masterplan has a companion been so suspicious of the Doctor and his motives, but it is done in an extraordinarily believable way. After all, the Doctor likes to keep his cards close to his chest, and from Sarah's point of view, it is a little reasonable for her to be suspicious, even though she is wrong. Elisabeth Sladen is a delight, even if sometimes Sarah's feminist values come on just a little strong once or twice. She is certainly a more realistic and certainly more initiative-taking companion than some. As always, Pertwee is a delight as the Doctor.

Of the guest stars, David Daker as Irongron, John J Carney as Bloodaxe, June Brown as Lady Eleanor and Jeremy Bulloch as Hal stand out. Unfortunately, Donald Palmear as Rubeish is more comic relief than he should and is a major plot hole in himself (how does he remain well fed, or fool Linx into thinking that he was hypnotised?), and Alan Rowe as Sir Edward is pretty flat.

However, of particular note is Kevin Lindsay as Linx, the first Sontaran in Doctor Who. Despite the apparent heart condition Lindsay had to deal with, he gives a fine performance as the squat, militaristic alien soldier. The costume and makeup is very well done, giving the appearance of an absolute SOB of an alien.

Besides the characters, simple plot and plot holes mentioned above, one of the major faults of The Time Warrior is the special effects. While I was able to watch this story with optional CGI effects, there was a reason that option was added in the first place. Between stock footage and naff electronic effects even for the day, it's a pleasure to watch it with CG effects.

Overall, The Time Warrior is a good enough story that introduces an alien race and a comapnion that would end up with the program for years to come. But the best of Robert Holmes, and of Sarah Jane Smith, are yet to come...


SCORE: 8.5/10

The next story will be The Monster of Peladon, the last Jon Pertwee story currently available on DVD in Australia.

Personally, I don't think the Sontarans ever looked as good as Lynx again. The new series ones are good but there was something about the original Lynx costume that worked really well.

Of course, when they modified it for the Sontaran Experiment, it looked awful - and don't get me started on the soggy heads in the Two Doctors - what a choice of climate to film rubber masks in.

Blame JNT for that. He wanted The Two Doctors in Spain (originally, he wanted New Orleans). But the Sontarans still look fairly good throughout the series.

Kevin Lindsay as Linx and Styre was pretty good, as is Clinton Greyn as Stike. Christopher Ryan plays pretty definitive Sontarans as well. I thought his casting was a stunt, really, but he plays it really well. In fact, I love the way he plays Staal's line in The Poison Sky, "The planet's going nuclear!" He sounds like he is part amused, part eagerness for glory.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrxWhF2ok3Y[/youtube]