|
Which non-Power of the Daleks story would you like to see an episode found from? This poll is closed. |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Polo |
|
36 | 20.69% |
| The Myth Makers |
|
10 | 5.75% |
| The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve |
|
45 | 25.86% |
| The Savages |
|
2 | 1.15% |
| The Smugglers |
|
2 | 1.15% |
| The Highlanders |
|
45 | 25.86% |
| The Macra Terror |
|
21 | 12.07% |
| Fury from the Deep |
|
13 | 7.47% |
| Total: | 174 votes | ||
|
CaptainYesterday posted:Now that the Chibnall Era has some distance from its announcement, the time has come to make catchphrases. Davies had the Gay Agenda, Moffat has the Scottish Agenda - what will Chibnall have? I expect his tenure to feature a Pop Culture Agenda, if his previous Doctor Who episodes are any precedent. Pedophile Agenda Me confirmed for next new Companion 
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 04:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:39 |
|
|
Toxxupation posted:Pedophile Agenda Can we not Please The Brits have a *BAD* history of having very famous people who were also pedophiles. Don't bring this evil here.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 04:43
|
|
|
Burkion posted:Can we not 
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 04:45
|
|
|
Seriously, do you know how many super famous people were found out to be pedophiles in the UK? It's a soul shattering amount We do not need to encourage this, in one way or another
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 04:46
|
|
|
Tom Baker is the new companion. Source: lies.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 05:09
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:The Black Eyed Peas had to change their song "Let's Get Retarded" to "Let's Get It Started" because people got lovely about it. That one isn't even regional or anything, though. Nobody anywhere should be surprised about that one.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 06:15
|
|
|
Cleretic posted:That one isn't even regional or anything, though. Nobody anywhere should be surprised about that one. It's old slang though, "Let's get retarded!" used to be slang for getting poo poo faced. Trying to chart a song about it is kind of dumb.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 06:29
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:
She was one of the best things about the otherwise remarkably forgettable Tooth and Claw so I'm glad she got a chance to play the role again. Edit: Also Jack's sideburns are never not hilarious. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 08:22 on Mar 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 08:19
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:It's old slang though, "Let's get retarded!" used to be slang for getting poo poo faced. Oh, ok. It can't be offensive, it's old slang. Did they also have to change the title of "friend of the family in the woodpile"? Big Mean Jerk posted:Spaz here is the same as goofy. It's from the same root, but took dramatically different paths of usage in the 70's and 80's.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 09:13
|
|
|
 I've tried my best to keep an open mind about The Zygon Invasion, to not let my initial reaction to the episode shape all subsequent viewings. But the more I rewatch it, the more I dislike it, the more I find to criticize and the less I can find to give even superficial praise to. I've often argued that while the second part of a 2-parter can (and often should) recontextualize the content/themes/issues of the first part, that this alone doesn't excuse the first part if it isn't in and of itself an enjoyable (or at least acceptable) episode in its own right. The Zygon Invasion is neither, it's problems are only exacerbated by it's follow-up, and by itself it's a very badly structured episode filled with mischaracterizations, awful writing and an EXTREMELY problematic message. http://i.imgur.com/XWUljMS.gifv So let's just get the worst part of this out of the way first - the allusions to terrorism and even worse its conflation with refugees. It's there and there is absolutely no way to say it isn't. It's deliberate and doesn't even attempt to be subtle, to the point that I was utterly convinced it HAD to be a fake-out to reveal some deeper plot-point - that we were going to discover the REAL terrorists were actually operating within UNIT itself, that maybe they were even a group of humans as opposed to Zygons, that the Zygons using all that familiar ISIS/Al Qaeda imagery were actually trying to preserve the peace treaty. Their use of phrases like "traitors" and "no more lies", coupled with the discovery that the next episode openly used the word Inversion in its title made me convinced that they were doubling down on the refugee-terrorist nonsense to teach the viewer a lesson about racism, bigotry and other-izing. But nope, it's all to be taken at face value - even the cursory attempts to offer up some kind of explanation/excuse for their actions come across as lame and not justifying the extreme reaction it generates, and in fact certain stuff present in those very scenes seems designed to undercut or invalidate those reasons anyway. In New Mexico, the surviving Osgood (her "sister" was killed by the Master in the previous season's finale) flees a massacre and warns the Doctor by text message of the NIGHTMARE SCENARIO, before herself being captured by a Zygon. Soon she appears in a video clearly designed to bring to mind the by now disturbingly familiar to real life "terrorist hostage" scenario. She reads out her captors' list of demands with the same unenthusiastic dullness of the typical hostage - they no longer want to be forced to hide among the humans, they were betrayed by their own kind when the peace treaty was signed in Day of the Doctor and will accept nothing less than complete capitulation to their terms. As UNIT watches this video, the Doctor chases around a couple of little girls on a playground, trying to get through to them that he wants to help - they are the Zygon High Command and they refuse his assistance saying it is purely an internal matter. But they are suddenly captured in an attack on the playground (this is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, even our children are not safe etc), and soon another disturbingly familiar to real life video is being watched by UNIT - the execution of the captured leaders for "betraying" their people. The Doctor tries to contact Clara, but she's in the middle of a disturbing domestic scene after encountering a little boy crying on the steps of her apartment building, and finding his creepy, blank-faced parents in his apartment. Later in the episode, we'll see these two - very unfortunately (deliberately?) cast as South Asians - smuggling a body in a lift, , again playing on the unfortunate connotations of refugees with crime, alien-ness, suspicion, and of course the suggestion that they're somehow "less" than human. The barest attempts are made to acknowledge or even accept that the rebel-Zygons' actions and complaints are, if not justified, at least understandable. The Doctor insists that the vast majority of Zygons are peaceful and just want to stay hidden and not make any waves on Earth, but not only do we see NO Zygons in this episode who fit this description, there is even the suggestion that all the Zygons are so weak-minded that just taking over Zygon High Command will give the Rebels control over all 20 million situated around the world. When the rebel Zygons complain that they don't want to be forced to hide, nobody accepts this as even a possibility (which of course it can't be, because the show needs to maintain the sense that the modern day London of the show equates to that of the real world) - this is part of the problem of further exploring the "perfect treaty" negotiated in Day of the Doctor: because the status quo can't change, the optimal state of the treaty has to somehow be one where the Zygons are happy and content to remain hidden and tucked away. Except at the same time the show points out just how badly the Zygons are being looked after. They've basically been thrown to sink or swim with no infrastructure or safety net by their human "partners" - the Zygons who settled in New Mexico are referred to as jobless, unskilled troublemakers who showed up out of nowhere one day and just made everything worse in town. The one sympathetic moment we're shown (the story of a Zygon child caught out in natural form because it couldn't control its powers) is undercut when the dialogue about "British being murdered" is accompanied by the text of the paper Kate is reading describing incidents as the "British" troublemakers staggering around drunk and abusive in the middle of the town and assaulting people just trying to go about their business. Again and again, there is this unmistakable message about the problem (and danger!) of refugees without any kind of apparent self-awareness that these things just don't happen in a vacuum, with what little attempts at humanization of the terrorist Zygons there is feeling superficial and ultimately ignored or dismissed as not being reason enough. I mean hell, the Doctor even cracks a terrible joke about stealing benefits, though what is worse is his comment immediately preceding that - "Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there." Basically, all the Zygons in this story are refugees, but also all the Zygons we see apart from the two (arrogant, unhelpful) little girls are terrorists. All throughout the episode, Zygons are made out to be evil "others" who want to destroy the good and proper human (British) way of life. Terrorist imagery is coupled with refugee imagery, the two groups are conflated inextricably - they're evil, and if they're not evil then they're drunken jobless trouble-makers who aren't like us and can't fit in and all have some kind of secret agenda and are a threat to our way of life. Whether The Zygon Inversion had subverted that or not, the intention of Invasion seems to be an obvious anti-refugee piece and that doesn't fit in with what I like to think Doctor Who represents at all. I honestly have not looked up anything of Peter Harness' own opinions and beliefs around this subject - I don't even know if he has publicly made any - but that just leaves me to consider he's either extremely anti-refugee or that his writing is so clumsy and hamfisted that he's made it look that way. http://i.imgur.com/WsposJ0.gifv But even if you took all this "Refugees are bad and some (most.... maybe all!) are terrorists" nonsense out of the episode... it's still a really, really bad episode. For one thing, the Doctor is extraordinarily passive through most of the story, content to just stand in the background not doing anything but tossing in the odd snarky comment. A story like this should have the Doctor front and center, and he lets a lot of poo poo slide that he would usually be all over (to be fair, he more than makes up for this in the climax of the next episode). The structure is also a mess, unnecessarily split into three parallel stories that don't give any of them the time they need to develop. It creates all kinds of weird pacing/timing issues - how did Kate get from London to New Mexico in the time it took Clara and Jac to get to her apartment? How long did she sit around in that office in the Police Station? Even given the reveal that UNIT doesn't have access to their usual regular army backup, how the hell does it make sense for her to go there without backup? Even the Zygon police officer doesn't believe that! How come the commander in Turmezistan doesn't get somebody else (herself included) to fire the bombs when the first operator refuses? Especially considering later in the story she does just that seemingly without issue? Why does she go alone with the Doctor to the back of the Church instead of having at least a couple of other soldiers with them? Why doesn't she collect the huge amount of intelligence present inside the Church when they get in there instead of automatically ordering that bombing? Why did the Zygons leave Osgood alive and ungagged? Did the one that stayed behind plan to be captured so Bonnie could shoot the Doctor out of the sky? If so, why not just kill him in the basement? If not, why not kill him when he and the Colonel (played by the criminally underused Rebecca Front from In the Thick of It who herself disappears entirely from the story after this point) burst in through the door? How come the soldiers with Clara don't even make a move for their weapons when they find themselves outflanked by Zygons? Why is the UNIT base COMPLETELY empty when Bonnie returns? Did Jac seriously let Zlara empty them out without leaving at least one soldier behind? Why is Jac taking orders from Clara in the first place? While it's true that Clara can be considered an expert she is at best an advisor and Jac should be taking the lead even if she is taking her advice. A lot of what happens does so because the script calls for it to happen, and so the characters get there in stitled, "unnatural" ways that don't seem organic. Like the excuse of taking the plane instead of the TARDIS, the Doctor's excuse is amusing but rather inappropriate given the stakes, and is only there because otherwise it is harder to get to the cliffhanger of the Doctor on the plane evidently about to get blown out of the sky. But the worst part of all is that incredibly terrible scene at the Churchyard.... oh my God that may be the stupidest thing I have ever seen in an episode of Doctor Who. And yes I'm including burping dustbins in that. http://i.imgur.com/5oZspXl.gifv I don't have the words, I am simply not articulate enough to express the mixture of bewilderment and anger I felt watching this terrible scene unfold. The disbelieving laughter that erupted from me, the black joy of seeing something that somehow survived writing, filming, performance, and editing to be broadcast without anybody apparently stopping to say,"Hang on a second this is dogshit...." The intent is clear, the idea is supposed to be that the Zygons use the soldiers' loved ones against them, that they bank on their obvious and understandable reluctance to open fire on people they know and love. But these are professional soldiers, these are guys who have been briefed beforehand on the enemy's abilities, these are people who ask their so-called loved ones for proof they are who they say they are and get nothing back but obvious and even clumsy evasions. The idea that at least one of these soldiers wouldn't shoot stretches credibility but it's still within the realms of possibility.... but then for not one, not some, but ALL of them to lower their weapons and walk willingly into the Church? It's practically a mercy-killing that the Zygons killed them at that point, because they were clearly too stupid to live. Even taking their emotional state and the understandable reluctance to shoot somebody who looks like your mom even if you intellectually know it isn't into account, there is no way these guys can be that stupid. The "hostages" say themselves that they've been kidnapped, that they've been sent outside by their captors to be killed by their own family.... and yet when they say,"Oh but inside is something that'll prove we're telling the truth!" these guys alarm bells aren't ringing? It's just such a poorly put together scene, and even if ideally written and acted I can't see it being something that I could buy. It's just another example of the script feeling unnatural, of failing to get across the sense that the Zygons are experts at psychological warfare. We're told instead of shown, and apparently the greatest danger to humanity isn't so much the crafty nature of the enemy but the gullibility of ourselves. But it's not ALL bad. http://i.imgur.com/jRX85dK.gifv There are two excellent scenes in this episode, with moments in them strong enough to overcome even the nonsense that surrounds or even accompanies them. There's a brief moment on board the plane where the Doctor sits down with Osgood and just has a chat, and it's charming and sweet and does more to humanize her and endear her to me as a character than any of the often grating "fangirl" writing she's been given in previous stories. Sure the Doctor is left astonished by her revelation that she refuses to distinguish between human and Zygon despite informing Kate that Osgood felt this way not 40 minutes earlier in the episode, and sure it includes another hamfisted,"Like a...... HYBRID!" moment - but the quiet sections where they sit there and talk about the peace that his prior incarnations brokered and Osgood's hopes for the future is great viewing. Then there is the (not particularly surprising) reveal that Clara has been replaced with a Zygon. While it was pretty obvious from the abrupt cut from her neighbors' apartment to her own that something was up, to the show's (and Coleman's) credit she is never played as acting out of character (with other characters not picking up on anything), there are never any snide asides or meaningful looks when nobody is looking etc. Instead "Bonnie" plays Clara as Clara all the way up until the moment she starts eagerly advocating for the UNIT soldiers to start mowing down the "Zygons" inside the chambers. When Jac slowly grasps that these are in fact humans, that slow turn and growing smile on Clara's face is played wonderfully by Coleman, who seems to relish getting to play the villain. If the cliffhanger moment had come at that point, when "Clara" orders her Zygons to kill the "traitors" I would at least have a strong ending to appreciate in this otherwise awful episode. Instead it all goes on just a little bit too long, as she returns to UNIT's safehouse and accesses a rocket launcher, calls the Doctor and delivers her cruel pronouncement of Clara's death before opening fire on the plane itself. I guess the idea was that the cliffhanger wouldn't feel right if the Doctor himself wasn't in some personal danger, but it fell flat for me, after building up so nicely with the reveal of just how easily the Zygons had played UNIT. Peter Harness has interesting ideas and does some laudable things (like comparatively large female casts) but he doesn't quite seem to grasp how to make the story serve those ideas, and they end up sitting uncomfortably together and not really gelling at all. Kill the Moon was a lot of wasted potential but in the end it was just a bad story with a moral conundrum that felt like a hands-off, detached attempt to struggle through a quasi-abortion debate without getting his hands dirty. This first part of his Zygon 2-parter is unfortunately far more than just a bad episode, I think it's a harmful one, and no matter how much better the second episode may have been (and it's got plenty of problems all its own) it isn't enough to lift this out of the muck. I'll remember this episode as probably the low water-mark of series 9, probably Capaldi's run as a whole and maybe even of Moffat's run as showrunner. I can't think of any story in the RTD era that was as ill-concieved and executed as this one, and while there are plenty of episodes that technically or narratively were "worse", the themes that are present here either deliberately or by accident are just too distasteful for me to overlook. To put it in other words, The Zygon Invasion is bad. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Mar 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 11:21
|
|
|
Jerusalem posted:http://i.imgur.com/5oZspXl.gifv This last line and the GIF above it (which, by the way, just might be the best GIF you’ve ever done) is all you would have needed to explain just how BAD this entire episode is. Even if The Zygon Inversion was the second coming of Flatline, it wouldn’t have redeemed this episode. If you’re going to tell a controversial story, than you need to make sure of two things – your main point is crystal clear AND the story elements surrounding have to be absolutely top notch. And this episode had neither. It makes it worse for me because I had just watched the excellent Terror of the Zygons for the first time earlier that week…
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 12:13
|
|
|
MrL_JaKiri posted:Oh, ok. It can't be offensive, it's old slang. Did they also have to change the title of "friend of the family in the woodpile"? reminder that you're arguing with a guy defendin the black eyed fuckin peas
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 14:49
|
|
|
Swing your pants, everybody! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTJx_esVlfo (If anyone knows where I can get hold of the one where they told Jason Donovan "sorry, we only have famous people in the Singing Corner", I'll be most grateful...)
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 18:02
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:If you’re going to tell a controversial story, than you need to make sure of two things – your main point is crystal clear AND the story elements surrounding have to be absolutely top notch. And this episode had neither. Yeah, even if the follow-up episode had been incredible and completely overturned the lovely message this episode had seemed to convey, it wouldn't have changed this story in isolation. It's a fine line, but having characters like the Doctor seem to endorse some of this lovely messaging is just a step too far.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2016 21:37
|
|
|
I am just going to leave this right here.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 01:42
|
|
|
Are we doing fan art? Awesome!
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 01:53
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:
OK, let's say I love Captain Jack on Doctor Who. I never really watched Torchwood, but enjoyed Children of Earth. Is this for me?
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 02:37
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:And I believe "spiv" was supposed to be Ten, if only because Twelve is the magician and Eleven has more of a geography teacher's look as opposed to Ten... I realise that's probably the intention, but I always have to double-take because Eleven feels so much like 'the magician' to me. He's the magic man that whisks you away to Neverland. And the stage magician that keeps you distracted with hand movement and banter until it's too late and the trick's done.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 02:48
|
|
|
Astroman posted:OK, let's say I love Captain Jack on Doctor Who. I never really watched Torchwood, but enjoyed Children of Earth. Absolutely. I enjoy the Torchwood audios more than I did the television series. They're a little more adult and edgy than the normal Who audios but there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch yet. The three with Jack, The Conspiracy, Uncanny Valley, and this one are all solid-to-great. My wife, who can't listen to audios and audiobooks because they put her to sleep, usually grabs my CD copies right out of the mail when they show up...
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 03:01
|
|
|
Rhyno posted:Nope. In American it's similar to saying someone is goofy or a dork. It's like when people claim "fag" isn't offensive because it doesn't mean gay person anymore. Like, that's all well and good, but it doesn't make me any less frightened when I hear it, because it's also what people tend to shout as they beat up or murder people like me. Spaz isn't really okay to use anywhere, but a TON of people here don't know that, because they don't even know what it means. They just hear it used to mean "wacky," and pass that on down the line, unintentionally or in many cases intentionally hurting a ton of disabled people because they can't take on the herculean feat of eliminating a hurtful word from their regular vocabulary. I'm sorry for the effortpost, but anything shorter, and I'd risk just dropping a one-liner insinuating you're an rear end in a top hat, and that's not what I actually think.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 03:28
|
|
|
MrL_JaKiri posted:Oh, ok. It can't be offensive, it's old slang. Did they also have to change the title of "friend of the family in the woodpile"? I never defended it as not being offensive, just that it existed. Toxxupation posted:reminder that you're arguing with a guy defendin the black eyed fuckin peas It was an example, not defending them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 03:57
|
|
|
so guys i finished series nine and the xmas special woof. woof.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 04:02
|
|
|
Toxxupation posted:so guys i finished series nine and the xmas special Hooray!  I am unironically proud that a non-Who-fan could swallow the entire [modern] show, and with in-depth reports no less.You made it through the tedium and mediocrity, the plotholes and bad effects, the insane dialogue and melodrama, and still found a bit of the joy so many of us eke out of this very silly, very serious "family" genre tv programme.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 04:52
|
|
|
Where next, then? Unearthly Child? Spearhead From Space? Ark In Space? Storm Warning? TV movie?
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 05:19
|
|
|
After The War posted:Where next, then? Unearthly Child? Spearhead From Space? Ark In Space? Storm Warning? I'll let everyone know once the review for the Christmas special goes up...
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 11:25
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:I'll let everyone know once the review for the Christmas special goes up... That was for Toxx, I figured you already had a battle plan. My own involves trying to figure out how best to deal with the very, very dumb fourth episode of The Leisure Hive in my own review. So dumb.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 13:58
|
|
|
 Peladon will bathe in oceans of blood! A mysterious voice, a missing girl and a murdered queen. The Royal House of Peladon is once more plunged into intrigue, terror and death. The Doctor, Peri and Erimem must find their way through a treacherous labyrinth of lies if they are to distinguish friend from foe before it is too late. For deep beneath the Citadel of Peladon, something infinitely ancient and immeasurably powerful is stirring... Peter Davison is the Doctor in The Bride of Peladon X X X X X Cast Peter Davison (The Doctor) Nicola Bryant (Peri) Caroline Morris (Erimem Phyllida Law (Belldonia) Jenny Agutter (Voice); Christian Coulson (Pelleas) Yasmin Bannerman (Pandora) Nicholas Briggs (Zixlyr) Jane Goddard (Alpha Centauri) Richard Earl (Frankis) Peter Sowerbutts (Elkin) Philip Childs(Foreman)Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Miner) Directed by: Barnaby Edwards Written by: Barnaby Edwards Released: January 2008 Trailer - https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/the-bride-of-peladon-270 X X X X X The Bride of Peladon is an audio that takes place on the same planet as and in the shadow of two classic Third Doctor serials, but subverts expectations by calling upon an unrelated third story to provide the powers and motivation of its central villain, for better or for worse. This is a very dense and rich story with several well-known alien species, familiar faces and new enemies, and well-rounded secondary characters. While it does suffer from a very extreme “Doctor Ex Machina” near the end, it can be easily overlooked as it provides the catalyst for a major event - Egyptian Princess Erimem’s departure from the TARDIS. Peladon is awash with mystery and intrigue. The King of Peladon has just lost his mother in a riding accident and is moments away from meeting his new bride, a princess from the planet Earth. Their arranged marriage will seal an alliance between the two planets, much to the dismay of his grandmother who feels that anyone from such a backwater planet is a poor match for the King. The workers of the local trisilicate mines are threatening to strike due to several mysterious deaths deep within the caves, much to the dismay of their supervisor and his unseen business partner. The ambassador from Alpha Centauri is counting down the days to its retirement while awaiting the arrival of the new diplomat from the Ice Warriors of Mars. The Doctor, Peri, and Erimem have just met said diplomat, attempting to rescue him from his burning ship as it plunges towards the planet’s surface. And even though religion has been replaced by science on Peladon, there are rumors of a creature roaming the forests and a mysterious voice echoing throughout the palace… Barnaby Edwards has done it all when it comes to Big Finish. He’s been an actor (Storm Warning, Sword of Orion, Sisters of the Flame and many, many others) and a director (The Chimes of Midnight, Son of the Dragon, and many, many others). The Bride of Peladon is another feather in his directing hat as well as serving as the first of six audios he has written for Big Finish. For his initial script, Edwards draws upon story elements that were present in two other Doctor Who serials; The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon, both televised stories of the Third Doctor. Curse is often regarded as one of Jon Pertwee’s stronger stories, with praise directed towards variety of unique aliens (the noble Ice Warriors, the shady Arcturans, and the unique and unisex Alpha Centauri) and a healthy mix of humor and mystery, all tied together by the gothic atmosphere of a planet coming to terms with its place in the larger galaxy while coming to terms with the eternal conflict of religion vs. science. It is pointed out however that the romantic subplot between King Peladon and Jo Grant feels forced and somewhat unbelievable, even though Brian Hayles rewrote the script during rehearsals due to the chemistry between David Troughton and Katy Manning. Monster, on the other hand, is looked upon as a failed sequel due to rehashing many of the same plot points and reusing several of the same characters, all adding up to a sense of déjà vu that hangs over the proceedings. At first glance, it appears that The Bride of Peladon is going to follow in the footsteps of Monster. King Pelleas worries about the future of his planet as he attempts to ally with Earth via an arranged marriage. There whispers on the wind, ghosts in secret passageways, and monsters in the woods. The Ice Warriors are sending a new ambassador named Zixlyr to replace one who died under mysterious circumstances, and the new emissary is determined to solve the mystery of her death. An Acturan runs a trissilicate mining operation, skirting the law while doing so. Alpha Centauri wrings its six hexopods at it tries to keep the peace. And the newly arrived Doctor introduces his companion Erimem as Earth royalty. What makes Bride a sharp contrast to Monster is the actual script itself. Edwards draws from the previous Peladon stories, but puts his own twist on things and allows the actors to do so as well. Each character gets their own individual subplots that highlight their concerns and motivations, with the climax pulling all of them together – the deaths in the mines, the actions of the Ice Warrior, the diplomacy of the arranged marriage, and the voice in the castle – in a way that makes narrative sense. The script keeps track of the subplots, walking the fine line between “too little information” and “devoting too much time” with ease. It also helps that the secondary cast all do their best to make their characters stand out, all the way from the two guardsmen on the walls to the villain of the piece voiced by none other than Jenny Agutter (Logan’s Run, An American Werewolf in London, Call the Midwife, and Cobi Is Upset She’s Never Gone On An Aboriginal Walkabout With Him). There is one part of the story that veers wildly away from the two Peladon serials, and it comes at the end of the third episode/beginning of the fourth episode. Erimem realizes that the symbols she’s discovered are actually a form of Egyptian hieroglyphics…and that the true villain behind the murders and violence gripping Peladon is actually an alien named Sekmet…who is kin to none other than Sutekh from the Fourth Doctor classic serial Pyramids of Mars! Sekmet is an Osirian just like Sutekh, and was imprisoned on Peladon in a prison of trisilicate for all eternity…until the mining operation cracked the tomb open and allowed Sekmet’s mental presence to escape, luring several beings to their deaths in an attempt to break her bindings and free her to rampage across the galaxy once more. While the fourth episode does retain the trappings of Peladon during its runtime, it still feels a little disjointed like the listener has been dropped into another story altogether…or even the climax to another Peladon story. Tying Pyramids of Mars into the proceedings either comes off as Edwards paying further homage to the classic series or a little bit of “wink wink see how clever I am” on his part. Peri’s meet the Ice Warriors before, eight years and 96 releases previous in the audio Red Dawn. Separated from the Doctor and Erimem in the aftermath of a spaceship crash, Peri teams up with the Ice Warrior Zixlyr in an attempt to discover what happened. Nicola Bryant plays Peri as the headstrong-and-curious American who is determined to do make sure the right thing gets done, and without the Doctor around it falls on her to pick up that mantle. Peri spends a good bit of the story's runtime opposite Zixlyr (played by, who else, Nicholas Briggs) as what starts out as a respectful relationship soon turns into a heated affair as Zixlyr reveals his true motive for being assigned to Peladon – to find out who killed his sister, the former ambassador, and get revenge on them by any means necessary. Peri and Zixlyr verbally battle to a standstill as she talks him off the proverbial ledge and encourages him to think things through. One thing I've always liked about the Ice Warriors is that among the various alien races who inhabit the Doctor Who universe, they're a noble race who can actually be reasoned with, and who better than Peri “I can shout louder than you” Brown to bring an Ice Warrior to his senses? The pair team up to discover the truth behind the murder of Zixlyr's sister, forming a short-term friendship that helps to uncover some of the story's mysteries. quote:‘Revenge isn’t justice, Zixlyr! If you truly wanted to put right your sisters death you’d find out for certain who killed her and expose the villains! That way you come out a hero and not just some maniac with a bomb!’ I'm a little iffy on the Fifth Doctor's turn in The Bride of Peladon. Not because of Peter Davison's performance, far from it, but rather because of two “deus ex Doctor” moments that pop up in the story. In the beginning of the story, the Doctor is wounded while running through the forest to escape a beast rampaging after him and Erimem. He soon heals quickly, and when asked his remarkable recovery Five just waves her off with a “no need to explain it.” This one I can overlook (see Sarah Jane's language translation question in The Masque of Mandragora), but at the end of the story, after Erimem sacrifices her life to defeat Sekmet via poisoning her own blood (with the distilled Mandrake root that Erimem mentioned in The Kingmaker), the Doctor transfuses some of his own blood to her, stating that the regenerative properties of his blood were triggered after being weakened by Sekmet's assault on him, and that by introducing them into Erimem's bloodstream they helped cure the fatal poison. To which...and we couldn't have done this in HOW many other Doctor Who stories to help save someone's life, including, I don't know, The Caves of Androzani?!?. I'll allow it to slide because that story came out over three-and-a-half decades before before this audio, but it's just such a cop-out that never (to my knowledge, I admit) gets brought back up anywhere else in the show's history. With that said, Peter Davison is great in The Bride of Peladon. His Doctor has always favored logic over mysticism, which makes Peladon's acceptance of science and dissolution of its official religion something that appeals to him. There is the dashing charm that highlights the Fifth Doctor as he effortlessly mixes with Peladon's royalty and its alien ambassadors. And there's his nature to throw himself headlong into danger and put his own life on the line to help defeat Sekmet, including a little moment where it it Peri's turn to carry the Doctor away from certain doom. The Bride of Peladon is Caroline Morris' last story as the Egyptian princess Erimem, wrapping up eleven stories with her as a companion, some good (Eye of the Scorpion, The Church and the Crown, The Kingmaker, Son of the Dragon) and some not so good (Nekromanteia, The Roof of the World). Erimem's departure has been foreshadowed for a long time going back to Three's a Crowd, and The Bride of Peladon provides the perfect exit vehicle for her. The regal nature and royal blood of Peladon calls to Erimem, who left Egypt in part because of the cultural norms that would never allow a female Pharaoh. Morris plays up Erimem's comfort and ease around not only King Pelleas, but her handling of his overprotective grandmother Beldonia. The politics of Peladon are not only familiar to her, but her travels with the Doctor have shown her just how insignificant one is when compared to time and history. History is a large tree, and you can snip a twig or prune a branch, but from a distance the tree will always look the same. Maybe it's this reason that Erimem decides to settle down and attempt to focus on one particular branch, to ensure that it's well taken care of. It also might have something to do with Erimem's near death experience as she willingly sacrifices herself to defeat a creature who troubled her people thousands of years previous once and for all. Heck, it might even have something to do with her encounter with Vlad Tepes in Son of the Dragon or her flower-induced dream state in The Mind's Eye where she was indeed Pharaoh of an Egyptian-flavored planetary colony. While Erimem decided to stay behind and marry King Pelleas might come off as a bit rushed, it's no different, and actually a bit improved on, a lot of other sudden companion departures. Although Peri's last line is a hoot for long time fans... It's going to be three-and-a-half years before Nicola Bryant steps back into the TARDIS as Peri, and it's a fine send-off for Caroline Morris. Overall, Erimem's run as a companion was a solid one. It had its ups and downs, but the downs were rarely the fault of Caroline Morris, the ups were mostly all her, and most importantly the character didn't overstay her welcome. Her time in the TARDIS was definitely better than C'rizz's, and she made a nice foil to the dashing Fifth Doctor and the hyperactive Peri. The Bride of Peladon is the perfect story to end her time with the Doctor, drawing from three classic Who episodes without too much deja vu or drowning the listener in a sea of continuity. The script and direction are solid, the secondary cast is wonderful, and all three main characters get a chance to shine with Erimem finally finding a place where she could be a fine and regal queen. Pros + A top-notch final performance by Caroline Morris + A wonderful secondary cast + The script pulls upon previous television episodes without a sense of repetition Cons - The reveal of Sekmet's origin is a little jarring - A few moments where the Doctor's abilities are a bit overplayed  Cobi's synopsis – Caroline Morris takes her final bow, becoming The Bride of Peladon in a gothic story packed with mystery, humor, and intrigue, all tied together with wonderful performances all around and Erimem leaving the Doctor's company with grace and aplomb. Next up - "Dr John Smith – you’re under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court..." Colin Baker is the Doctor in...The Condemned.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 16:51
|
|
|
Is Wed 30.3 a big-rear end holiday in UK or something? https://www.bigfinish.com/news/v/coming-soon---big-finish-s-march-madness Because Big finish is having weird hourly sales from 9am-9pm or something. Contents TBA.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:24
|
|
|
It's probably just an odd bit of coincidence, but that's National Doctors' Day in the U.S.. It's also the anniversary of Kate O'Mara's death.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:26
|
|
|
adhuin posted:Is Wed 30.3 a big-rear end holiday in UK or something? Nothing I'm aware of
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:27
|
|
|
adhuin posted:Is Wed 30.3 a big-rear end holiday in UK or something? March Madness is Basketball.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:27
|
|
|
So they're expecting people checking/buying things hourly during the Work/School day? That's weird.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:29
|
|
|
adhuin posted:So they're expecting people checking/buying things hourly during the Work/School day? That's weird. Not during the school day, it's just after Easter so all the schools will be off.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 19:49
|
|
|
You get a whole week off? It's Friday-Monday in Finland and back to the Salt Mines on Tuesday.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 20:01
|
|
|
adhuin posted:You get a whole week off? It's Friday-Monday in Finland and back to the Salt Mines on Tuesday. At least two weeks for the Easter school holidays; just Good Friday and Easter Monday for Bank Holidays.
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 20:03
|
|
|
CobiWann posted:Cobi's synopsis – Caroline Morris takes her final bow, becoming The Bride of Peladon in a gothic story packed with mystery, humor, and intrigue, all tied together with wonderful performances all around and Erimem leaving the Doctor's company with grace and aplomb. I did like the story, but I feel like anybody not familiar with the two Peladon stories (and Sutekh) are probably going to find it all falls flat or is extremely confusing. Also while I think Caroline Morris does a good job, it's kinda hilarious how often it seems like Peri and the Doctor are eagerly pushing for her to leave them, and the fact they just clear out without even sticking around for the wedding just adds to that. That happened regularly with Erimem, but I do think that's more down to writers for Big Finish just overindulging in having a character they can suggest might die or leave without the listener thinking,"Yeah but she's still around in televised stories set after this so that's not gonna happen."
|
|
#
?
Mar 23, 2016 22:06
|
|
|
 The once-feared Cybermen have disappeared from the universe without a trace. On Telos, a lost colony of the extinct silver giants, a secret expedition arrives from Earth on a quest to find their last remains. Having blasted through a mountainside to a pair of doors, the archaeological party suffers their first casualty as the TARDIS materializes. As usual, the Doctor and his companions, Jamie and Victoria, have turned up at the worst moment, but the Doctor's ready knowledge of the Cybermen soon wins them a begrudging respect. Despite regular warnings from the Doctor, the expedition probes deeper and deeper into the site, whose Cyberman artifacts seem to have a life of their own... Patrick Troughton is the Doctor in The Tomb of the Cybermen. X X X X X Cast Dr Who - Patrick Troughton Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines Victoria Waterfield - Deborah Watling Toberman - Roy Stewart Professor Parry - Aubrey Richards John Viner - Cyril Shaps Jim Callum - Clive Merrison Kaftan - Shirley Cooklin Captain Hopper - George Roubicek Eric Klieg - George Pastell Ted Rogers - Alan Johns Peter Haydon - Bernard Holley Crewman - Ray Grover Cyberman Controller - Michael Kilgarriff Cybermen - Hans de Vries, Tony Harwood, John Hogan, Richard Kerley, RonaldLee, Charles Pemberton,Kenneth Seeger, Reg Whitehead Cybermen Voices - Peter Hawkins Producer: Peter Bryant Writer: Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis Director: Morris Barry Original broadcast: 2 September – 23 September 1967 Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaMmBui6SUg X X X X X Confession – Until Friday, 18 March 2016, I had never seen a Patrick Troughton story. Oh, I’d seen him as the Doctor in The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors, but those stories saw him as part of an ensamble of Time Lords. I had never sat down and watched the Second Doctor and a 15th century Highlander wander the universe fighting evil alongside either a proper 19th century Englishwoman and an astrophysicist from the 21st century. Troughton’s turn as the Doctor was a key moment that ensured the continuation of Doctor Who after the departure of William Hartnell, as the gruff old grandfather regenerated into the wandering cosmic hobo and millions of viewers chose to follow him on his travels across the galaxy. Sadly, a good bit of Patrick Troughton’s time as the Doctor has been lost due to BBC’s policy at the time to erase master tapes of older shows in order to use for new programs. Out of the twenty-one serials that Troughton starred in, only SIX of them exist in their completed format. The rest of his adventures are either missing several episodes or have been lost all together. This is what made the return of The Tomb of the Cybermen by a Hong Kong production company a huge deal back in 1991. It’s the earliest story from the Patrick Troughton era to survive in completed form (for reference, it’s Troughton’s EIGHTH story!), and at the time of its broadcast was highly praised (by none other than Sydney Newman himself!) and sharply criticized for its violence (by none other than Mary Whitehouse herself). Matt Smith himself has stated that Tomb was the episode he watched to familiarize himself with the Doctor and that some of Eleven’s mannerisms were based on the Second Doctor. Of course, 20/20 vision, rose-colored glasses, the hint of nostalgia, and all that jazz. With the passage of time, the big question must be asked – is The Tomb of the Cybermen a good story? Well…yes and no. There’s plenty of things to praise about The Tomb of the Cybermen. The acting is solid throughout, especially with the trio of Troughton, Frazer Hines, and Deborah Watling. The serial’s first two episodes drip with atmosphere, with the second episode cliffhanger as the Cybermen emerge from their tombs one of the show’s most iconic moments. And for being metal monsters dressed in rubber suits with spare appliance parts attached to their costumes, the Cybermen are absolutely chilling. On the other hand, the motivations of the Cybermen, of the central villains, and especially the Doctor makes little narrative sense other than to push the plot along, and there are several…unfortunate colonial era implications that are glaringly apparent in hindsight. Leaving behind her father’s death at the hands of the Daleks, Victoria Waterfield eagerly accepts the Doctor’s offer to travel with him and Jamie in the TARDIS. Their first trip takes them to the planet of Telos where they cross paths with an archaeological team who are searching for a lost tomb. The team seeks nothing more than knowledge…or so they say…but the once the crypt is cracked open, the Doctor realizes just who lies in repose deep inside. A race he’s fought before on the lunar surface and whose motif adorns the walls. The Cybermen.  With the success of The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase, the producers of Doctor Who were eager to being production on a third serial involving the Cybermen. Kit Pedler, co-creator of the Cybermen, worked with script editor Gerry Davis to add some dimension to the race of metal monsters. To get around the destruction of their home planet of Mondas, the writers created the planet of Telos as a colony of the Cybermen. They gave the Cybermen a leader in the form of the Cyber Controller, a hulking cyborg who loomed over the humans who had invaded his home. And to add extra menace, there were the Cybermats, silverfish-like robots who stealthily hunted down their enmies. During the filming block that would conclude with the production of (the soon to be renamed story) The Cybermen Planet, producer Innes Lloyd decided to step down as showrunner. Davis was offered the position, but turned it down due to his desire to move away from the show as well. In the interim, the position fell temporarly to Davis’ assistant, Peter Bryant. The Tomb of the Cybermen was seen by the BBC brass as a test to see if Bryant could handle the complexities of being the head of a science fiction program Who[/i]. Bryant and director Morris Barry asked the actors who played the Cybermen in The Moonbase to be prepared to come back in a few months, and the rest was Doctor Who history. There’s no denying that The Tomb of the Cybermen contains many of the best elements of a good Doctor Who story. In an effort to move away from the “base under siege” stories that peppered Troughton’s first season, Davis and Pedler instead borrowed from the “tomb robber” genre of films such as The Mummy where a team of adventurers break into an ancient crypt only to find more than they bargained for inside, usually in the form of traps and the reanimated corpse of whatever embalmed creature lay inside. There are a variety of characters who make up the secondary cast, starting with a redshirt whose sole purpose is to die trying to open the tomb at the hands of the very first trap. There’s the character (Haydon) who dies in the first act while trying to figure out the purpose of a mechanism. There’s the brash pilot oozing machoism and 1960’s sci-fi sexism (Captain Hopper) and his more likeable-but-still-chauvinist co-pilot (Callum). There’s the leader of the expedition who is in it for the knowledge but knows that it’s time to go when people start dying (Professor Perry, played by Aubrey Richards) and his colleague who is more concerned with looking smart and sharing none of the credit (Viner, played by Cyril Shaps who would also play in Planet of the Spiders and The Ambassadors of Death) and wants to flee Telos out of fear once expedition members start dying. And then there are the “vaguely Continental European” Kaftan (Shirley Cooklin, the wife of Peter Bryant who was cast as a dark-haired villain to contrast her series of roles ad a blonde-haired type, to the point where Frazer Hines spent some time hitting on her because he didn’t know who she was!) and the “possibly North African” Klieg (George Pastell), the financers for Professor Perry’s expedition to find the Cybermen. Cooklin and Pastell play the financiers with just the right amount of charm and smugness, but with a little bit of panto as well as they exaggerate their accents and shout about their evil actions with the utmost glee. It’s obvious from the very beginning, as Kaftan (who constantly rolls her “R's”) “accidentally” locks Victoria in some sort of chamber/coffin, that there’s more to the pair that meets the eye. Indeed, they’re members of the Brotherhood of Logicians who have come to Telos in order to bargain with the Cybermen, a logical order requesting the aid of a logical race in order to control the Earth. Kaftan is the more sly of the pair, pretending to be unconscious to lure Captain Hopper into a false sense of security while Klieg is more concerned with his sense of intellectual superiority, which he shows by figuring out how to break out of the room he and Kaftan have been locked in. Also, he constantly compares himself to the Doctor, rubbing it in his face when he’s right and storming off in a huff when he’s wrong. When he finally thinks he’s one, that’s when Kleig reveals his true colors in true over-the-top fashion…and of course, the Doctor calls him out on it. quote:DOCTOR: Don't you see what this is going to all mean to all the people who come to serve Klieg the All Powerful? Why, no country, no person would dare to have a single thought that was not your own. Eric Klieg's own conception of the, of the way of life! The atmosphere and tension are also very well done. The motif of the Cybermen adorn every possible surface, and the various buttons and switches that sit upon every control panel may bring salvation or death. The tunnels are claustrophobic with only the entrance room leading down into the tombs of a normal size, the other rooms packed with equipment and consoles. The Cybermen themselves…ok, let’s be honest, they look a little silly. In the early years of their time on the show the only metal on their costumes were the various oversized bits and pieces that made them look like the inside of a toaster.  It wasn’t until The Invasion that viewers would see the sleeker costumes that would come to define the Cybermen. It’s their movements, their unerring drive, their slow-but-determined motions, that bring about fear and terror. The scene where the Cybermen emerge from their tombs, forcing their way through the plastic doors, is one of the most famous shots in the history of Doctor Who. Slowly, relentlessly, they crawl forth to meet those who stirred them from their chambers, a four-level structure that seems to never empty of the metal monsters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOrql7vzYWA Their leader, played by Michael Kilgarriff (who would also play the Cyber-Controller in Attack of the Cybermen as well as the K1 Robot in Robot) towers over the others, his helmet extended like a bullet to hold his expanded intellect. The other Cybermen are under his control, and soon the humans will be as well, whether it be by brute force…or by conversion into the next generation of Cybermen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9or2yDvC3Ck  quote:You belong to us. You shall be like us. Now, for the bad, and I kind of hate writing this section because when the good works, IT WORKS. But there's no doubt that there are some unfortunate colonial and racial overtones that permeate The Tomb of the Cybermen. Even if you'd overlook the “European” and “North African” villains and the plundering of an ancient tomb for modern edification, there's the matter of Kaftan's black manservant, a hulking and silent brute named Toberman...seriously, why not just chance “T” to a “D” and go all the way with it? Toberman is the muscle for the villains, existing only to serve them through physical strength, become a victim of the “native” Cybermen, and to “honorably” redeem himself by sacrificing himself to lock the Cybermen away once again. It's just very, very uncomfortable to watch in the modern era, especially since the writers, producers, and viewers didn't see anything wrong with the portrayal, it being par for the course in those days (indeed, we're still a year out from the character of Ben in 1968's Night of the Living Dead to begin to bring down those barriers in America). That said, Roy Stewart is fantastic IN the part of the big hulking brute who tosses around the Cyber-Controller (or specifically a ragdoll of it) with ease, letting his facial expressions and body language do most of the acting. The cast had nothing but praise for him and his turn during the behind-the-scenes vignettes and Stewart would make a return appearance in Terror of the Autons. It also doesn't help that the master plans of the two villains are a bit dodgy. Klieg, being so smart and logical, shouldn't be surprised when his offer for the Cybermen to work under him is rejected. Not only had humanity fought the Cybermen before, but the Cybermen was upgraded human-like creatures. Why would they “lower” themselves to work alongside humanity when their goal has been to conquer and convert Earth? Likewise, the Cybermen didn't so much build themselves a tomb so much as a puzzle, to ensure that whoever freed them from their energy-conserving hiatus is clever and logical enough to defeat their traps and figure out the controls to ressurrect them...and the only person they manage to convert is Toberman, the Braun Strowman of the bunch. And they don't have any other type of back security system just in case people say “let's see what's inside this...HOLY CRAP CYBERMEN, GET THE PLASMA PISTOLS AND SHOOT THEM BEFORE THEY WAKE UP?!?” And there are some dodgy special effects as well. Aside from the scene where the Cybermen do some kind of spinning ballet dance to showcase the effects of Captain Hopper's smoke grenades, there are the Cybermats. In theory, they're supposed to be terrifying, silverfish-like monsters with sharp teeth. In reality...well, they look like the Scrubbing Bubbles mascots. Future stories would improve upon their look somewhat, but for now...they're just very hard to take seriously.  However, they do lead to one of the best drat puns ever put on television. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MprObKcLEk So there's the good, there's the bad, and then there's the Doctor and his companions. This time out, it's the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon, and Victoria Waterfield. This is Deborah Watling's second story (after making her debut in the previous story The Evil of the Daleks) and her first as an official companion. I'd never seen Victoria in a story before, so I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that the character wasn't portrayed as the shrieking wallflower some 1960's sci-fi heroines were (although she did have set of lungs on her as heard a few times during this story). Even though the two pilots treat her as such and keep calling her “Vic” as she insists otherwise (and several times she's the victim of the “and of course the women will stay behind” card at the hands of Viner), Victoria has no qualms grabbing a gun and shooting a Cybermat, insists on going into the tombs with the Doctor and Jamie and chafes at being left behind, and even takes a shift at the night watch. It's very refreshing to see a female character from this age being portrayed as a (relative being the key word) equal with her fears and actions being based upon the situation they find themselves in and the fact that's she's a new hand at the whole “time and space” bit an d NOT because she's a woman. She falls into an alcove because of Kaftan's actions and falls for the old “drugged coffee” trick, but these could have happened to any of the other characters. Victoria just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for those events. It also helps that Watling has no problems keeping up with Troughton and Frazer Hines as their characters treat her with the utmost respect. In terms of number of episodes, I believe Jamie McCrimmon is the “longest running” companions with many of his stories comprised of six, seven, even eight parts! What wowed me from the very beginning is the relationship between the Doctor and Jamie, and it's reall because of how well Hines plays the part. As he shows Victoria around the TARDIS for the first time, Jamie needles the Doctor about “making sure the TARDIS has a smooth takeoff causing the Doctor to grouse under his breath. Or when the Doctor tells people to leave the room if they value their own safety only to stop Jamie when he tries to step out! When the Doctor is in danger, it's Jamie who slips back into the vaults in an effort to free him. It's not quite a “teacher/student” or “mentor/apprentice” relationship between the Doctor and Jamie. It's two blokes traveling across the cosmos conquering evil whether they want to or not, and willing to poke fun at each other when the situation calls for it without descending into jerkdom. When people talk about Doctor/companion pairings, Two/Jamie is always near the top of the list, and this serial definitely shows why. And the Doctor himself? I was a little taken aback by how the Doctor, who encountered the Cybermen twice before now and could indirectly blame them for being the cause of his first regeneration, insists that the expedition be careful, and perhaps even leave once people start dying...but he's also slyly helping them figure out how to open up the tombs, suggesting “the addition of integers” and flipping switches when no one is looking, as was as pleading “oh, no, don't” to manipulate Klieg into thawing out the Cybermen. When called out on this by Jamie, the Doctor waves it off by stating “I wanted to see what Klieg was up to.” Since this is the first Second Doctor story I've seen, I have to wonder...was this just the writers' way of advancing the plot with a few handwaves? Or is this Doctor one who sees the larger picture, the fate of the universe, and will manipulate people into putting themselves into harm's way in order to stop a bigger evil? It's a question that I guess can only be answered by watching more Troughton stories. Oh. Dear. What a pity. With this being my first real glimpse of the Second Doctor, I was amazed with how effortlessly Troughton mixed humor and determination in his performance, with his willingness to play the fool covering up for a keen and cunning mind. He demands the Cyber-Controller give him answers, but quickly backs off when the Cyber-Controller confronts him and states that he doesn't have to answer now if he doesn't want to. He puts himself in harm's way to seal the tombs of the Cybermen one more time before escaping their clutches, and he's willing to call out everyone, from Klieg to the Cybermen, on the futility of their mad schemes. Perhaps the defining moment for the Second Doctor however comes from a quiet scene between him and Victoria while the pair are standing watch in the third episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaDw79__VRc There is just so much wisdom in this conversation. A man who has seen so much and perhaps forgotten more, who knows what fears and terrors are out there among the stars, providing comfort to someone who just lost their father, telling her that the sad times will be forgotten and only the good times will remains when she thinks of her father. One of the few times the Doctor's family is ever mentioned in the show's history, Troughton delivers this speech with the authority of experience and the gentleness of compassion. It's just an amazing moment and one of the best pieces of dialogue in the show's history. So did The Tomb of the Cybermen live up to the hype? Yes, it did. I noticed its flaws and unfortunate implications during my viewing, but they were quickly forgotten by the atmosphere of menace provided by the Cybermen and the acting by Watling, Hines, and Troughton. In recent years, the Cybermen have become less of a threat to the Doctor, with Nightmare in Silver a glaring and wasted opportunity. But it's this story that shows, once upon a time, that the Cybermen were not to be taken lightly. While it's far from a perfect episode, I can definitely say it deserves the title of “classic.” Random Thoughts - For years, Tomb of the Cybermen was the only complete serial from Season 5 until the 2012 discovery of the missing episodes for The Enemy of the World. - Two more sub-par special effects stood out to me during this episode. At one point, you could see the wires holding Toberman in the air as the Cyberman pressed him over his head, and at another point it's incredibly obvious that Toberman is throwing a dummy Cyber-Controller into a control panel. Nothing you could do about it back then, but they're still moments that risk taking a viewer out of the scene. - The scene where the Doctor accidentally grabs Jamie's hand wasn't in the script. It was planned in advance by Troughton and Hines who believed that director Morris Barry wouldn't allow them to do it. So they did it anyway, believing that Barry wouldn't call for a re-shoot because of budgetary concerns!  Cobi's Synopsis – The flaws may have become more glaring at the years passed, but there's no doubt Tomb of the Cybermen is one of Doctor Who's all-time classic episodes, featuring several iconic moments and the chilling introduction of the Cyber-Controller.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 03:40
|
|
|
Goddamn do I love that story, and Troughton, and the trio, and the Cyber-Controller's voice, and the music, and even the dodgy American accents for the pilot and crew. Just a wonderful episode all around. The scene where the Cyber-Controller is struggling to keep the doors from closing while buzzing incessantly,"WE MUZZZZZT SURVIVE! WE MUZZZZZT!" is about as perfect a portrayal of the Cybermen as I have ever seen from the show. Edit: Also.... http://i.imgur.com/GI18ysb.gifv 
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Mar 24, 2016 |
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 03:58
|
|
|
adhuin posted:So they're expecting people checking/buying things hourly during the Work/School day? That's weird. Yeah, tough to do... ...unless you have Wednesday off work!  Gonna be buying some BF I guess!
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 04:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 3, 2024 10:39 |
|
|
CobiWann posted:
One of the reasons Troughton and Hines have such a good dynamic is that they were genuinely good friends in real life, and spent a ton of time hanging out both on and off set. There are some funny bits in the making of The Invasion where Nicholas Courtney reminisces about getting drunk and playing liar's dice with them during filming. Hines was also one of the few people at the time aware of Troughton's secret second family, if that tells you how close they were.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2016 04:49
|
|
