Doctor Who #149: The Underwater Menace Part 3

"Nothing in the vorld can stop me now!!!"TECHNICAL SPECS: The episode exists and is available on DVD in the Lost in Time boxed set. First aired Jan.28 1967.

IN THIS ONE... The fish people go on strike, the Doctor and friends try to capture Zaroff and a famous line (above) is spoken.

REVIEW: So this is the episode we do have access to at this time, and it seems the grainy telesnaps didn't do justice to its flaws. The costumes, when seen in stark contrasts and movement look impossibly silly (especially the guard uniform with the Robin mask and conch helmet), and the sets are much more cramped than one might expect. Of course, how much scenery can there be when Joseph Fürst chews it all up like it's his last meal on Earth? Wow, that is a BIG performance from Zaroff. HUGE. And it may be on the better reasons to watch the episode. Thous looks deep to see the madness in his eyes, but he really doesn't need to. And when Zaroff gets physical, well, he can shrug big rocks off. His murder of the brave priest Ramo is another piece of camp, with the trident sticking out of him at a 90 degree angle, violent but comical.

Still, I'll give points to the production for some of its designs. The market place is small, but crowded and full of life. Those kids playing in a fountain with a small fish add a lot. Unfortunately, the music in the scene is completely insane and like a lot of the sound design, too loud to properly hear the dialog. The fish people are fairly well realized, though they skimped on the make-up by having a few of them be incomplete transformations (at least, that's what it looks like). The ballet where they swim/fly around on wires is mostly good - not that many wires showing - but oh my, it lasts forever and has no plot value. At this point, the fishies are supposed to be on strike (like everyone else, they do what they're told by, well, ANY character who speaks), so why are they shot doing stuff?

But that's the story's continued problem. The plot is nonsense and the characters all act stupidly. Even the Doctor here, whose plan hinges on Zaroff actually conducting the search himself. He does, but on the eve of his greatest triumph, should the lead scientist be acting like a common guard? If you're going to stop the countdown by capturing Zaroff, why is there a need to make the fish go on strike? And why does the food spoil within hours except to turn the farming strike into a real threat? The second Doctor, painted as a master of disguise since he set foot on his first planet, here takes on the persona of a shade-wearing swami, not that the costume holds very long, or even hides him in a crowd of Atlanteans wearing shell costumes. Camp? Yes. Drinking game in the making? Maybe. Good? Dear Amdo, no!

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The visuals sometimes take on an exotic quality not unlike The Web Planet's, but the script is cringe-worthy. Whovian Man cannot live on that last line alone!

Doctor Who #148: The Underwater Menace Part 2

"This is what will happen. Zaroff intends to raise Atlantis... but in little pieces."TECHNICAL SPECS: Though this episode was recovered late last year, it has yet to be released to the public. A reconstruction will have to do in the meantime. First aired Jan.21 1967.

IN THIS ONE... Everybody escapes their fate and Zaroff reveals his plans to blow up the Earth.

REVIEW: What does this episode have in common with Galaxy 4 Part 3? Both were found in 2011, and it may be that both deserved to be missing. But where Galaxy 4 is simply noisome and boring, The Underwater Menace may have performances of interest to offer on video. Troughton's in particular. I can't wait to see how he does Zaroff's crazy eyes, how he plays with a headdress (this week's hat?), or his subtle sabotage of the power control to save Polly from her fishy fate. Maybe Polly, Ben and Jamie will also benefit. It's hard to imagine the guest cast doing any better though. Ara is all "I'm helping you because the script tells me to", and there's little to make Ramo, Damon, Thous, Sean and Jacko particularly memorable. Zaroff IS memorable, but for being completely insane. Has there been a crazier villain in Doctor Who, EVER? He wants to blow up the world just because he can. The achievement! Yes, well...

Of course, the science behind it is all bad. The Doctor says the Earth is BELIEVED to have a molten core as if it weren't fact, and Zaroff's plan is to drain the ocean away into a drill hole, like the planet is some giant bathtub. No matter how brilliant he's supposed to be, why is this even the idea of a scientist whose claim to fame is feeding the masses with plankton? The story is DUMB, plain and simple. Zaroff's "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" line is surely the Whovian equivalent of Ed Wood's "Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!" The only people in Atlantis who listen to reason are those who have already decided they dislike Zaroff, but since reasoning with people is what drives the plot, we're only ever frustrated. It just can't be done. These characters are all cartoons.

Take Sean and Jacko. Ben and Jamie meet up with them in the mines, and they've got an escape plan. But that escape plan is as dumb as everyone else's plans. They've found a tunnel that leads to somewhere unknown, and they can't return to the mine under penalty of death if they take it. It's foolhardy in the extreme. Why Ben and Jamie follow is anyone's guess, and they're real lucky that it coincidentally reunites them with Polly in the temple. The audience isn't so lucky though, as the trip through the tunnel maze is long and dull, especially on audio-only, and even its bit of jeopardy ellicits a yawn.

REWATCHABILITY: Low - I could have picked at a lot more nits, but at some point, you've just go to throw in the towel and admit it's just not very good and leave it at that. When Lost in Time 2 is released, the episode might go up to Medium-Low, but I doubt it'll achieve more.

Doctor Who #147: The Underwater Menace Part 1

"You're not turning me into a fish!"TECHNICAL SPECS: One of two episodes from this story still missing from the archives (a brief clip survives). Though I've heard the CD version narrated by Anneke Wils, but will use a reconstruction for the purposes of this review. First aired Jan.14 1967.

IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS crew are captured in 1970s Atlantis and are almost sacrificed to an ancient goddess.

REVIEW: Oh, Underwater Menace, do you deserve your bad reputation? You probably do. In some circles referred to as the Plan 9 from Outer Space of Doctor Who, it might be enjoyed as a piece of kitsch à la Ed Wood. Hey, it's even got a mad scientist with a thick accent who claims to have a pet octopus. That's right out of Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster. And what a mish-mash! It's science vs. religion, using extreme sensibilities. One one side, Professor Zaroff the mad scientist. On the other, High Priest Lolem who wants to sacrifice the outsiders as soon as he sees them. Both amoral. And the whole thing set in a contemporary sunken Atlantis that likes to surgically implant plastic gills on people and turn them into fish-people to farm the sea bed. Where else but in Doctor Who, eh?

We're at least spared the serial's notorious cheapness (at least, until the surviving episodes) and from the grainy pictures and audio, it's hard to tell whether the design stands up or not. The Atlanteans' attire could be silly or inspired (did I spot a giant fish-head helmet?), and the statue of the goddess, itself fish-like looks pretty cool. We've got beach scenes and caves on location, and a death trap worthy of Indiana Jones or James Bond, with progressively sloping tables threatening to dump our heroes into a shark tank. The video might show this to be terribly staged, who knows, so the missing video may be a mercy. In the single clip we have, as Polly is forced into an operating room to meet her fishy fate, we may note mirrored metal walls, and in that moment, yes, the production design does look interesting. Is the newly-found Part 2 a revelation? Time will tell.

But of course, beyond its design and premise, The Underwater Menace suffers from a pretty lame script. Jamie's first scene aboard the TARDIS is boring and stilted, the Doctor seems obsessed with prehistory for no good reason (Polly actually figures out the date), and pulls a great big shortcut by knowing who Zaroff is already. The only sympathetic guest character is Ara who does whatever the Doctor tells her to as if she owed him her life, but of course, they've never met. Not that the villains have much of a motivation either, except executing the script's demands in terms of jeopardy and deus ex machina. The episode also forgets about the TARDIS' translation powers and has Polly speak various languages to see if the natives speak them. Happy to see Polly's skills, but they're moot in the context of the program.

THEORIES: The Doctor signs a note "Dr. W" as if to imply, once again, that his true name is Who. From Romana's long true name, we may assume the "Who" sound is at least the first syllable of his Gallifreyan name.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - The premise is completely cracked and I admire that. However, it's no excuse for a bad script.

Doctor Who #146: The Highlanders Part 4

"Well, the real job's only just beginning. Getting back to the TARDIS with only a rough idea of where it is and the whole English army out to stop us."TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing from the archives. You know the drill, I've used a reconstruction. First aired Jan.7 1967.

IN THIS ONE... The slave ship is liberated, Grey arrested, and Jamie joins the TARDIS crew.

REVIEW: I'm not entirely sure when they decided to add Jamie to the cast, but this episode tries its damnedest to justify it. The Laird's piper/bodyguard gets the "killing blow" on Trask, throwing him overboard (rates highly because Trask is such a terrible character). The Doctor tricks Grey by showing him the signet ring and insinuating that Jamie is Prince Charles. After the adventure is all over, Jamie springs out from under a tarp for no better reason than maybe not wanting to go to France (well, if he doesn't like travel...) and suddenly seems detached from the family he showed fierce loyalty to. And of course, when Polly asks if they can keep him, like a good puppy dog, he walks into the TARDIS. Who knew he would stay with Troughton's Doctor to the end and become one of the most beloved of companions? Sorry Ben, you'll have to share your lines with him for the next couple stories. The scripts have already been handed in and he wasn't in them.

Otherwise, it's business as usual for the end of a historical story. It's even got a big noisome fight we can't see, like The Smugglers only a few stories before it. Things are resolved, the baddies are punished, and it ends with a desperate race to get back to the TARDIS. The Doctor finds a third hat he'd like (a sailor's) and plays a final trick on Grey. He also gains yet another identity, that of a Redcoat, leading me to wonder where one might get a fake mustache in the 18th century. Ben pulls a Houdini underwater to escape the slavers and leads his team to victory by secreting a cache of weapons back to the prisoners. And Polly is forgiven for being so cruel to Lieutenant Ffinch as the officer gets both a high-profile collar in Grey and a little kiss from a swinging 60s beauty.

Because this is a comedy - despite some of the historical brutality - a kind of cartoon morality is strictly enforced. Ffinch is rewarded because leaving him humiliated isn't fair to a character we never disliked. Similarly, Perkins the comedy clerk makes an about-face and becomes the Laird's secretary, escaping to France with the rebels. Again, the audience would never ask for this silly little man's head, despite his collusion in a slave trading ring. Trask gets dunked and isn't seen coming up again, but he's a cartoon pirate, not a whole character. Only Grey, a real historical figure, must answer to a realistic fate.

VERSIONS: I am not aware of any important story changes in the Target novelization.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium - All's well that ends well, and that's about as much as one can ask from a story like this. The noisy battle and the imperative to turn Jamie into a companion perhaps detract from the neat conclusion.

STORY REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Was it too soon after The Smugglers? I kinda think so and wouldn't be surprised if fans mistook events from one for those in the other. What saves it (and makes it more memorable) is the fine comedy from the entire cast (aside from Trask, of course).

This Week in Geek (9-15/04/12)

Buys

The Whoniverse is the star of my buy pile this week (bet no one's surprised): The series 6 music CD, the special edition DVD of Remembrance of the Daleks, and Torchwood: Miracle Day.

"Accomplishments"

DVDs: William Shatner's Full Moon Fright Night Presents Vampire Journals (quite a mouthful) found its way into my collection because it's the Shat, but Shatner is actually the worst thing about this DVD release. He hosts a gothic vampire movie in the Lestat mold (bleh) for the Sci-Fi Network, which means frequent interruptions for commercial breaks and usually unfunny strings of puns from the host. At least he seems to be having fun. Vampire Journals itself wasn't as bad I thought it would be, and more or less taught me how to run a Vampire: The Masquerade game (I'm not sure how that achievement rates). It's about a vampire who hunts vampires and his battle against an evil ancient vampire for the soul of a beautiful pianist. It's not bad, it's just not particularly good. I liked the way vamps turned into shadows, but that's about it. The DVD includes an interview with Stan Lee on the most dubious of justifications, but was part of the original showing. It's Stan's usual stuff, but Shatner gets a few things we don't usually hear out of him. There's also a making of featurette for Journals, and promotional materials for New Moon releases, road shows and monster bras.

I'm not a particular fan of either Peter Pan or Johnny Depp, but I'm very much a fan of Finding Neverland. For one thing, Depp is so much more restrained in his performance than he is in a lot of other things. For another, I'm a real sucker for stories like this where the life and work of an author mix liberally (Shakespeare in Love is another). There isn't a bad note in the film, and he could so easily have slipped into sentimentalism and melodrama. The performances are excellent, the story wonderfully poignant, and the turn-of-the-century stagecraft really interesting. Ultimately, it's about letting your imagination go free, which justifies any and all changes made to the J.M. Barrie's biography. The DVD includes a strong commentary on both the film and its deleted scenes, making of elements taking the film from idea to the premiere, and some fun outtakes.

Where the Wild Things Are is another "imagination run rampant" film, but a very different one, as you would expect from director Spike Jonze. Based on the 1963 children's book by Maurice Sendak, it actually has a darker and creepier edge. 9-year-old Max actually runs away from home in the film (not just to his room) and there's something very odd about the monsters he encounters on his journey which isn't just from Sendak. No, the fact that they have very normal voices - the actors don't put on any monsterish tones - make them even more eerie. Max will become their king, but he'll make a mess of things and we'll realize that they represent some of the worst sides of himself - his anger, fear and boredom - and he'll return home having wrangled with inner demons in the only way a child can, through imagination and play. There are some lovely moments, the effects are top-notch and the monsters' expressions especially well done, but its strangeness does keep you at arm's length and I found it more touching in the real world than in the fantasy. As with other Jonze DVDs, the extras are slight and fanciful, mostly behind the scenes hi-jinks. There's the story of why animals are hard to work with, a prank on the director, a short film by star Max Records, and on-set stories of having children around at all times.

Greg the Bunny's second IFC season has only six film parodies (including Passion of the Christ and Blue Velvet), but the DVD package attempts to give you much more. There's the half-hour reunion special that relaunched Greg for the Independent Film Channel, the full pilot for Warren the Ape's Supper with Friends (much funnier than in the few minutes actually used on the special), plenty of deleted scenes and outtakes, a montage of the best in Greg's public access appearances, webisodes, a gag reel, a music video, photo galleries and making of materials. As with Season 1, there's commentary available on almost everything as well. I continue to be a big fan of uncensored puppets in the real world, and I'm sorry it's over.

I watched my Ocean's Collection a few weeks ago, but not the original 1960 Ocean's 11 starring the Rat Pack as an old WWII unit who reunite to steal from five casinos on the same night. It's not bad, especially once the heist starts, but it shows its age. It's a lot more talky than the Soderberg remake, for one thing, and is in fact as indulgent as Ocean's Twelve, letting its stars do their thing and fearing to leave anything on the cutting room floor. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. even have extended musical numbers. The first hour is all set-up, and unfortunately, not all of it pays off. The subplot with Ocean's wife peters out before the end, and various other back stories are told, but aren't relevant to anything that happens later. I was also surprised by the less satisfying ending, even if it's straight out of the novel. So definitely not as fun as the more recent film, but nonetheless a nice snapshot of 1960s Las Vegas. Frank Sinatra Jr. offers an informative if over-fawning commentary track sometimes supplemented by Angie Dickinson. The DVD also has small featurettes on each of the casinos hit by the thieves from people who worked there, and a Tonight Show clip in which guest host Sinatra interviews Dickinson and talks about their experience together.

In the late 80s, comedies about people behaving very badly indeed became popular, for some reason (today, that's more a television thing) and the best of these was A Fish Called Wanda. Hadn't seen it in years, but it's kept its edge, with memorable performances from all involved. While I'm a big fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus on TV, the films' relentless absurdity makes me lose interest in them rather quickly. But Cleese's script for Wanda is crisp and tightly-plotted and provides a more satisfying experience, at least, for me. The DVD package is quite good too, with both vintage (1988) and contemporary (2006) material. The vintage stuff includes a Pythonesque message from Cleese, 50 minutes of making of set around probing interviews with John Cleese and a less interesting episode of "On location", which talks about the film and where it was shot. The more recent stuff includes an excellent commentary track by Cleese, trivia subtitles that fill space with non-movie related subjects like philosophy and the British legal system, a remembrance-focused documentary, and lots of deleted scenes with introductions by, yes, once again, John Cleese. The package is rounded out with picture galleries, and did I mention John Cleese? Well, for Cleese fans, let me make sure: John Cleese is in most of these extras. That's right, Meryl Streep--I mean, John Cleese.

In 2009, Korea produced The Sword with No Name (or literally, Like Fireworks, Like Butterflies), a historical epic very loosely based on real events (Queen Min's openness to other countries in the 19th century and how it led to rebellions and aggressive action by Japan). This is really a sweet and tragic romance between the Queen and her (fictitious) bodyguard, with some insane moments of martial arts action. I bought into every part of that strange equation. Su Ae is wise, centered and affecting as the Queen, and Cho Seung-Woo has a playful, awkward side that plays well against his portrayal of a suffering warrior and lover. The film benefited from being set in a time and place my Kung Fu Friday crowd knew little about. And as for the action sequences crossing into fantasy territory, I saw them as poetic interludes more about feeling and tone than about what was actually happening. That the cool didn't take me out the historicalness is a minor success. The DVD's making of is little more than behind the scenes footage and is of very mild interest unless you really want to see the performances on video, but there are some nice (of awkwardly staged) interviews with the two stars that are worth a gander.

Audios: I started a new 7th Doctor cycle of Big Finish audios, a trilogy that uses a former villain as a companion. Gone are Ace and Hex (whenever these stories take place). In A Thousand Tiny Wings, Andy Lane instead makes the Doctor meet up with Elizabeth Klein (Tracey Childs), the Nazi from an alternate timeline first introduced in Colditz, who undid her Nazi future in trying to steal the Doctor's TARDIS in the past. They meet up again in 1950s Kenya during the Mau Mau Uprising, but have to tangle with a very strange alien as well. It's a good audio story, not least of which because the unusual antagonist would have been difficult to realize on television. The starring Nazi isn't the only morally ambivalent character in the story, which keeps up dramatic interest until Klein is inevitably asked to come along. But can the Doctor teach her a lesson about the evils of fascism before she up and steals the TARDIS?

Survival of the Fittest actually starts with Klein's Story, a one-parter by John Ainsworth and Lee Mansfield. Through the use of flashbacks, it recounts just how Klein found her way to Colditz, and is quite good. Fans will be overjoyed to find a certain character make an important appearance (no spoilers for you!). The bigger story (in three parts) is by Jonathan Clements and creates a really neat sentient insect race that communicates through smell. Clements has the brilliant idea of having the TARDIS translate those smells into words (and vice-versa) and then allowing that concept to affect the story in a variety of creative ways, enhancing the standard "outsiders exploit alien world" plot that Doctor Who has done so often. And it all build to one whopper of a cliffhanger. Steve Lyons, it's all in your hands now!

Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Tennant (2009)

Doctor Who #145: The Highlanders Part 3

"For those who wish to sign, over here. For those who wish to hang, over there. Make your choice!"TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing from the archives. A reconstruction was used to write this review. First aired Dec.31 1966.

IN THIS ONE... Ben and the Scots refuse to sign Grey's contract and the Doctor meets up with the girls and acquires a number of weapons.

REVIEW: In Part 3, I feel like the serial's lost its way a little bit. There's entirely too much pirate stuff - Trask shouting at his prisoners and such. In addition to the plight of the Scottish Laird, we now have the case of Willy McKay who's lost his ship to the likes of Trask, and whether or not the prisoners will sign away their lives to Grey. Lots of shipboard subplots, but at least Ben plays it smart and prevents the men from being divided by the issue by ripping up the contract. He'll get the equivalent of waterboarded for his trouble.

Of course, the episode suffers from the missing video. Seeing Michael Craze dropped in a fog-filled water tank was no doubt dramatic and atmospheric, but all we have left of the cliffhanger sequence are murky telesnaps and hissing audio. The missing visuals also cause some confusion as to what the Doctor was doing feeding a guard in the previous episode. I thought he was getting aboard the ship, but he wasn't. So what was the point there? And with him dressed as an old woman, there's bound to be room for physical comedy and surprised reactions, but that's all lost as well. The set pieces just aren't as funny this time around, because they're not as dialog-based. Polly teases/tortures Ffinch some more, and the Doctor puts a gun under Perkins' nose, but these seem pale echoes of previous altercations.

The sense that the episode is keeping time is represented in the Doctor's behavior too. While things seem desperate (for Ben), the Doctor just wants to go to sleep. It's the kind of inappropriate reaction that's making its way into the character's make-up (and which will be taken up by Tom Baker later, among others), but it's hard not to be as frustrated with it as Polly is. And it seems a needless pause when the next scene shows him with a wheelbarrow full of "liberated" weapons. How about showing us the theft instead? Nevertheless, things DO happen. Polly makes plans and they work out, Ben is a proper hero, and revelations about the signet ring come to light. It's just that on audio-only, it's the "ooh, arrh"s that you remember most.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium - Every time things start to get interesting, we cut back to the ship and it's a bad pirate movie. Can't hate it too much, but really does suffer from being a "lost episode".

Doctor Who #144: The Highlanders Part 2

"I've never seen a silent lawyer before."TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing entirely from the archives, I've had to go to a reconstruction for help. First aired Dec.24 1966.

IN THIS ONE... Polly blackmails Ffinch. The Doctor commits malpractice on Grey and Perkins. And later puts on a drag show to get aboard a slave ship.

REVIEW: A very entertaining episode thanks to the cleverness exhibited by the main cast, Part 2 features a Doctor who fluidly moves from one identity to the next like a living piece of psychic paper. One minute he's a hilarious German doctor, teaching the natives about "germs" (Jamie naturally deduces that germs and Germans have something in common) and using astrology, and the next he's an old woman, putting the guards of the slave ship to sleep with a special broth. Troughton's abilities as a character are brought to bear in his incarnation of the Doctor, turning him into something of a chameleon, and it's all rather funny too. His best moment in the episode is his use of ridiculous diagnoses to trick Grey and Perkins. "Print blindness" indeed. Even when he is himself, this Doctor is a load of fun, enjoying himself only when there is danger, thriving on the challenge. It's a trait that future Doctors will exhibit a lot, and it may well be that Troughton's performance was the most influential of all the Doctors. Care to disagree?

Polly's story is great fun too, luring Ffinch into a pit trap and flirtingly blackmailing him by threatening to reveal he was disarmed and captures by a couple of girls (one of them a crybaby at that). Polly is at her best here, taking control and taking that cheeky tone that served her so well in The War Machines. And of course it works on Ffinch because he's a bit of a dandy and a poser. When his men find him in the pit, he has to bribe them just so they'll pull him out in what sounds like a disingenuous union negotiation. The balance is definitely more on the side of comedy this time around, though you still have a man thrown overboard to drown in the cliffhanger to remind you of the stakes.

If I have complaints, they're relatively minor. The music, for example, could really do with more period atmosphere, taking off from the title card cue. But that's always the last we hear of the bagpipes, sadly. And then there's Trask, the slave ship captain, who's come out of a clichéed pirate movie, going "Arrrh" all over the place. Even The Smugglers, which was ABOUT pirates, didn't go to such over-acting extremes. I suppose it adds to the comedy that surrounds the otherwise serious character of Grey, but it's still well over the top.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - A very funny episode, even without the benefits of the video.

Doctor Who #143: The Highlanders Part 1

"The clans are broken. Shot to pieces by the English guns. Never had the chance to get to within claymore's length of them."TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is story is missing from the archives. Though I've listened to the Frazer Hines-narrated CD release fairly recently, in this case, I've opted for a reconstruction. First aired Dec.17 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The TARDIS lands in 18th-century Scotland and it's the first appearance of Jamie McCrimmon.

REVIEW: Some call it the last true historical adventure, and I'm one of them (sorry, but Black Orchid is a genre piece that just happens to be set a few decades in the past), and it's got what it takes to be exciting, dramatic and funny too. And of course, it's the story that first introduces uber-companion Jamie McCrimmon, not that you'd think he was companion material here. No, he's a bloodthirsty sort, loyal to his Laird, putting a gun to the Doctor's head and talking about killing the English. Nor is the role particularly important - he's just one of three Scots attending the wounded Laird, albeit one of only two that survives, though if you were to ask anyone by the end of this episode, they'd say Kirsty, the Laird's daughter, was more of a companion (at least, to Polly). So it's pretty obvious Jamie wasn't meant to join the TARDIS crew all along. From humble beginnings...

Of the actual companions, Polly has the better role, bravely creating a diversion to save the men from a hanging, and generally playing the "modern woman" to Kirstie's easily defeated "primitive". Of course, she's got a lot to learn about respecting other cultures, attempting to strip Kirstie's of her jewelry for money, including an all-important signet ring. It's not very nice of her to call the Scots girl a "peasant", but it's a realistic character flaw for a city girl to look down on country folk (and in the past, isn't everyone country folk?). Ben is a bit of a bumbler, meanwhile, misreading every situation, attracting the attention of the Redcoats with an accidental gunshot, and generally showing his lack of historical knowledge. And then there's the Doctor who frequently defies expectations with his reactions. I like how when he's asked if he's want to people to think him scared, he answers "Why not?", for example. At this point in the series, it seems the production team really do think he's called "Doctor Who", leading to a bit of levity when he passes himself off as a German called Doctor von Wer (again, an impostor). And he finds yet another hat he'd like to wear, thankfully ditching the weird high hat he started wearing in his first appearance.

As with many historical adventures, The Highlanders mixes the drama inherent in the savagery and war of the past, and the sort of comedy we associate with adventure serials. So our heroes are about to be hanged when they are saved by Gray (the only actually historical character), a corrupt solicitor who sells captured rebels as slaves to the colonies. Serious stuff, but writer Gerry Davis relieves some of the tension by making Gray tut at the declining quality of English strategy, strolls onto the battlefield with a bottle of wine, and has a comedy adjutant in Perkins he can abuse. Ffinch's Sergeant gets a black comedy moment when he makes fun of his squeamish officer who always finds an excuse to leave when there's killing to be done. It's a story that's a lot like its Doctor. Deadly serious with a veneer of madcap comedy.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium - A good start to the last historical, with action and comedy in equal measure and as usual, a great performance from Troughton. Fans of Jamie may feel frustrated at how he was initially written though.

Doctor Who #142: The Power of the Daleks Part 6

"They're the new species, you see. Taking over from homo sapiens. Man's had his day. Finished now."TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode is gone from the archives. I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.10 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The Daleks decimate the colony and the Doctor blows them up with a power surge.

REVIEW: It's been some time waiting, but in the end, the Daleks act exactly as they've always done and start exterminating everyone. One by one, guest characters and extras alike are mowed down in what is actually the program's first on screen Dalek massacre. It's a prolonged affair, and even when we're not seeing it, we can hear a blend of screams and gunfire in the background, made all the more tangible by the use of straightforward firearms in the colonists' hands. The humans are no less bloodthirsty, as Bragen orders the execution of the rebels he just encouraged to revolt to get himself on the throne. But here's the thing. Daleks may have been bred to kill, but humans have different ethical thresholds. Janley dares question this order and almost gets summarily shot, and it will be Valmar who will shoot Bragen rather than see those orders carried out. As an audience, we're asked to compare human action to Dalek action - which murders are justifiable? Any of them?

Ultimately, though there was a lot of ambiguity in the preceding chapters, the Whoniverse's innate morality wins out in the end. Every "name" character who dies in this episode was guilty of something, even Lesterson whose scientific hubris opened this particular can of worms. Robert James once again gives an interesting performance as the pitiable Lesterson sacrifices his life by approaching the Daleks are repeating their line back to them, "I am you servant!". He gave them life, and they give him death. No daddy issues here, eh Daleks? (Has anyone ever done a psychoanalytical study of the Daleks and their relationship to Davros?) Among the dead, we of course number the Dalek army, which the Doctor manages to blow up quite spectacularly (we have some clips of it, thankfully) by sending a power surge down their static electricity generator. When the heroes return to the TARDIS, there's a melted Dalek only a few feet from it, and we wonder just how close we came to the Daleks' final victory. As the police box dematerializes, its eyestalk manages to pathetically go up, but I doubt the future of the race lies in this one specimen. Other fugitives from Skaro's civil war though...

I realize I didn't mention the Doctor much (or Ben and Polly at all), but like the Daleks themselves, the story lets the guest cast sort things out. It's all action, running and shooting, and final confrontations. Rather than be caught in the crossfire, the cast might as well keep its head down and let things resolve themselves as if this were a historical adventure with a well-known and unavoidable end. Except the Doctor does act as the agent of good that destroys the Daleks, and then acts coy about it, the scamp. Have you accepted this new Doctor yet? I know you have. And it looks like Ben and Polly are well on their way as well.

VERSIONS: The novelization - one of the rare few published by Virgin rather than Target - features a few notable differences. Sgt. Benton and Sarah Jane Smith are mentioned in the prologue. The Interplanetary Mining Corporation (from Colony in Space) is said to be the driving force behind the colony. And the events of The Tenth Planet are set in the 1990s.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - There's little time for clever dialog with all the shooting going on, but it's an exciting ending to a tense Dalek thriller. Satisfying across the board.

STORY REWATCHABILITY: High - I've said this before, but the fact that they wiped Patrick Troughton's first story, a Dalek story that outdoes Terry Nation's to boot, is perhaps the greatest crime against the program ever committed (albeit without malice). Even on audio, Troughton's performance shines through and wins us over. There's lots of intrigue and the Daleks are particularly devious. And if you're a fan of the new series, you'll recognize its influence on its writers.

Doctor Who #141: The Power of the Daleks Part 5

"Why do human beings kill human beings?"TECHNICAL SPECS: Missing from the archives except for a few brief clips. I have thus used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Dec.3 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The rebels and the Daleks both make their moves.

REVIEW: If you've been waiting for the Daleks to go crazy and start overrunning the colony, this is the episode for you. The Daleks have multiplied and hold an insane, cacophonous rally, pumping themselves full of hate before putting their plan into action. When Lesterson tries to block the capsule door with a file cabinet, it's pathetic, but it's so ridiculous as to be funny too. He's terrified, and teeters on the edge of madness, but who could blame him? Every time he tries to speak up, somebody (Janley, the Dalek) lie about what he may have told them before to make him doubt himself. It's an incredibly cruel and well-executed smear campaign. Before this story, you could at least count on the Daleks to shoot you without resorting to destroying your reputation and dignity.

THESE Daleks are manipulative bastards! "Why do human beings kill human beings?" What's with the guilt trip? Skipping over the fact that it was the Dalek who actually shot the Governor even if Bragen gave the order, the Daleks are planning on exterminating the whole colony, capitalizing on the rebellion that's about to start. In their world view, though they are killers, they are better than humans because they don't kill their own kind. Well, they DO, but it's usually a mercy killing (also, see Theories). Seeing the way Bragen and Janley act, we might be inclined to agree, but we soon remember that not everyone is a Janley or a Bragen, while all Daleks are Daleks. Their purity is their greatest pride, and the one we condemn them for. But even in the rebel camp, humanity's not all bad. Just look at the minor character of Valmar who almost responds to Polly's arguments (this week, it's Michael Craze who's on vacation), until she attacks Janley on whom he is "soft". The Daleks could never relate with these emotions.

And the Doctor in this? Well, he also makes his move by breaking out of jail. It seems I jumped the gun on his interest in sonics in the previous episode. It's not that he's thinking forward to his sonic screwdriver, it's that the lock responds to a sonic key, something I completely missed earlier (the disadvantage of not having video to marry the audio). That he manages it by rubbing the rim of a glass of water is sheer brilliance. I do love the 2nd Doctor's MacGyverisms! Unfortunately, the sounds he makes don't unlock the minds of his captors as easily. Bragen sentences him to return to jail, which come to think of it, may be the safest place at the moment.

THEORIES: If these Daleks have traveled back in time from their destruction, then they know about the civil war that destroyed Skaro (in Evil of the Daleks). If so, the question has even more meaning. The civil war starts because the Doctor has infected some Daleks with the "Human Factor", a symptom of which is the ability to question orders and in effect, turn on their own kind. This Dalek may find humanity especially vile because of this.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - The episode could do with a little more Doctor, but the guest cast and villains do very well whether he's around or not. Even when it bides its time, it doesn't feel like it's WASTING time, as some of the middle episodes in The Daleks and The Dalek Invasion of Earth did.

Doctor Who #140: The Power of the Daleks Part 4

"Ben, I've found a message in code. It's an anagram, you just take the capital letters, see, work it out yourself." "Oh, I can't do crosswords."TECHNICAL SPECS: Except for a few brief clips, the episode is missing. I've used a reconstruction (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Nov.26 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The Doctor and Ben spy on a rebel meeting while the Daleks start mass-producing.

REVIEW: The Doctor really is quite charming with his clown act, at least, to the audience. This episode marks the first time he's ever said "I would like a hat like that" (about Bragen's deputy governor's cap), perhaps not as iconic as "When I say run...", but a recurring gag during his first season. Speaking of firsts, he also tries to open a lock with a dog whistle and amusingly, only manages to make a dog bark outside. Is this perhaps the origin of the sonic screwdriver? Only a man who knew what sonics could really do would attempt something so silly. And of course, there's all the clowning around when a Dalek is present, acting scared so that he appears less of a threat. Well, isn't that pretty much what the Daleks have been doing themselves?

It's no surprise that the Daleks have been using the materials supplied by Lesterson to mass produce, but while we have some fun footage of a dozen Daleks coming out of the capsule (through the easy trick of just going 'round the set), I wish we have more of the production line. From the pictures, there are mechanical arms, sprays and foams, mutants grown in a boiling soup and placed on the skirts before the tops come down. Looks awesome. What HAS survived is the cheapest bits of the sequence - toy Daleks on a moving belt and Daleks chanting in front of a cardboard cut-out army. They almost pass muster, but some angles show the trick quite clearly. Still, I like it when Doctor Who gets ambitious.

The characters in the story are ambitious as well, and may fail just as much. Janley is a beautiful monster, as bad as the Daleks, sedating a distraught Lesterson after blackmailing him with his lab technician's death. Bragen is on the cusp of usurping power from the Governor and throws the Doctor in jail with Quinn. And both seem to believe they can control the Daleks. They should look to Lesterson as a cautionary tale. After he realizes the Doctor was right, the man has something of a breakdown. I like how seeing the mutants inside has gnawed as his sanity like he's in a Lovecraft story. Having seen the ugly light, he might have a chance.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - Despite some production flubs and a sad lack of Polly, the episode still hits some high notes for the Daleks and a number of intriguing moments for the Doctor. But when will they unleash their fury?

Doctor Who #139: The Power of the Daleks Part 3

"She's looking around, there's a lot to see in the colony. She's interested. I like that."TECHNICAL SPECS: The episode is entirely missing from the archives. It's off to a reconstruction again (Part 1, Part 2). First aired Nov.19 1966.

IN THIS ONE... One Dalek becomes three, and Bregan is revealed as the murderer and manipulator behind everything non-Dalek.

REVIEW: The Daleks are a lot like the Doctor in this episode. Like him, they reveal themselves move to the audience than they do the people around them, except that instead of reference some trip to China (which we know about, but the companions don't), they almost blurt out that they're better than humans. So we know, it's only a matter of time before they try to kill everyone, even of the colony is quite happy to believe they make fine servitor robots. And like the Doctor, they've adopted a disarming strategy, in their case quite literally, going so far as taking off their own gun arms. It's probably a safety precaution, because their plans wouldn't work if they mistakenly shot too many people (one person has died already, but it was covered up). Seeing the Dalek ineffectually click his empty gun socket reminds us that these guys are always quick on the trigger, fueled by rage as much as static electricity.

The humans also show their hand, and we start to understand the relationships at work. Janley is only pretending to work with the rebels in order to foster instability. She's actually working for security chief Bregen who has killed the Examiner and thrown suspicion on deputy governor Quinn for it. Quinn is revealed as the one who called for the Examiner in the first place, which doesn't put him in the governor's good graces to begin with and ends up in a cell while Bregen takes his place. A proper Richard III, that one. And then there's Lesterson, who's so obsessed with his experiments he doesn't notice Janley steal a Dalek gun. If by now you don't know what happens to people who try to use the Daleks for their own ends, just give Mavic Chen a call. Oh wait. You can't.

And our heroes? Well, it's interesting that instead of taking credit for his companions' good ideas or calling them stupid like the first Doctor was prone to, this Doctor lets them take the lead. Ben's been doing all the theorizing since they arrived on Vulcan, and even gets a compliment out of it. I love the quotation about Polly I used at the top, as it shows a real paradigm shift for the Doctor/companion relationships. They are no longer little girls to be protected or idiots that need everything to be explained to them. The Doctor actually likes them for their curiosity, bravery and resourcefulness. It's a paradigm that holds true today. Of course, Polly gets herself kidnapped (as Anneke Wils goes on vacation), but that's neither here nor there. The Doctor gets to play the boffin and say "What I say run, run" for the first time, in case you're wondering when the second Doctor clicked into place. He's there after less than three episodes.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - As we start to play the Daleks' waiting game, we may get frustrated, but the plot thickens and there's great joy at discovering what makes the new Doctor tick.

This Week in Geek (02-08/04/12)

Buys

Only a couple DVDs this week - The Greg the Bunny IFC Original Series Best of the Film Parodies, both volumes.

"Accomplishments"

DVDs: Though Eureka Season 4.5 is the continuation of Season 4, it has its own arc and feels like a complete package. One of my favorites too. They continue to milk the aftermath of the temporal changes wrought in 4.0 to give the show a good characterization backbone, added Wil Weaton and Felicia Day to the cast of regulars, but most of all, made the arc about a space race to get to Titan. I'm a huge sucker for space program stories, and the continuing story of crew selection provided just the right background for all each week's A-story. Nice guest stars along the way (like Ming-Na, Dave Foley and Grand Nagus Zek), and it builds to an exciting finale. The DVD includes some extended cuts and commentary tracks on key episodes, lots of deleted scenes, a gag real, a featurette about the seasonal arc, and the crossover episode with Warehouse 13 "Don't Hate the Player".

The Wrestler is a raw look at a broken down pro wrestler played with intense naturalism by Mickey Rourke (and mirrored in the broken life of stripper Marisa Tomei) by Darren Aronofsky, and I use the word naturalism in more than one sense. The performances ARE very naturalistic, bordering on the documentary, as we learn the tricks of the trade and see pro wrestlers interact before and after matches. It looks to be a hard life, but one with camaraderie. It's also naturalism in the literary sense, with protagonists unable to elevate themselves beyond their present positions. It could be a depressing film, and it is a tragedy, but it avoids it, I think, by celebrating its main character and not judging him, only presenting him. Like the Black Swan, the Wrestler may die doing what he loves, and is that really a sad thing? The DVD only has Bruce Springsteen's video of the title song as an extra.

Equilibrium is one of those grand dystopias like Farenheit 451, 1984 and Gattaca - and it may remind you of any of these - but it has its own message. In the world of Equilibrium, emotion has been outlawed, and agents known as Clerics are tasked with finding those who aren't taking their meds and destroying the emotion-inducing works of art they hoard. Christian Bale is perhaps the best Cleric that's ever been, but when he misses a dose by accident and starts to feel, he turns against the regime. So it's about self-medication and desensitization, and while I wouldn't call it an iconic SF masterpiece, it is at least a solid entry in the genre. The marketing seems more geared towards action fans, and it does have some of the sweetest gun fu I've ever seen. The DVD is supplemented by a short making of and two very illuminating commentary tracks (director and director/producer, the latter more about the production details than the ideas at work).

The Men Who Stare at Goats would make a good companion piece to Norwegian Ninja (a film I've shilled for this year because it's bloody brilliant, that's why). Both films are based on real-life alternative warrior manuals, both are completely ridiculous, and both are incredibly sincere. The Men Who Stare at Goats is the more mainstream of the two, however, with a stellar cast (Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey) and heartfelt comedy. It's about the U.S. military's real life efforts to use psychic powers in the field and makes creative use of the book by the same name, crafting a fictional story set in Irak to present its research. You won't want to believe it, but there it is. Very funny, surprising, and ultimately, a feel-good movie. One thing that bugged me is that the super-soldiers are called Jedis (this is real), and they have Ewan McGregor play a guy who seems to never have even heard of Star Wars. That called attention to itsel even though, as the director's commentary explains, they didn't even realize he'd played a Jedi before when they cast him. The DVD also has a second commentary with the book's author telling us what's real and what's a fiction, a featurette that talks to the real Jedis fictionalized by the film, a making of, and a few deleted scenes.

When I finished Greg the Bunny' s only (half-)season on Fox the other day, I was left wanting more. Well, there WAS more. The Independent Film Channel, where Greg and Warren the Ape were before Fox picked 'em up, took them in again in 2005 to do more film parodies for them as a way to present specific films. The first season features 14 episodes ranging from 7 to 15 minutes each, a blend of 2005 material and some of the classic stuff from 1999. There are some great puppet parodies in there of the Godfather, 2001, Plan 9 from Outer Space and Natural Born Killers, for example, and a really disturbing Eraserhead parody, but where the most yucks are for me, is when the indulge in the behind the scenes stuff (which is often). The Pulp Fiction episode had me busting a gut because it was all behind the scenes. I just love to see puppets being interviewed with a cigarette in their hand and flipping out at the disrespect, you know. Fun DVD package too. Like the Fox series DVD, each menu has a soundtrack with various characters doing improv, and there's a commentary track for every episode and all the deleted/alternate scenes. The 20-minute outtake reel has some funny stuff as the puppets go off-script. And there are galleries of behind the scenes pictures as well.

Our Kung Fu Fridays selection? The Bastard Swordsman, a late (1983) Shaw Brothers film, and one of their rare full-on magic wuxias. WHAT A STRANGE AND WONDERFUL FILM! The plot is nothing new. A clan challenges another clan, but a third clan has infiltrated the first one and attempts to steal its secrets and destroy from within. Our hero is a poor, bullied servant who is being secretly trained to do kung fu at night by a mysterious benefactor. Convoluted, but simple enough. Into this comes some really crazy chi tricks as characters fly around the room, gravity gives out entirely, people shoot laser beams from their hands and our hero gets encased in a cocoon and comes out a beautiful butterfly. That last one is only a mild exaggeration. There is actually some chi-powered web-spinning in this. Whenever you thought you'd seen it all, there was more. At everyone's insistence, I and my rubber arm immediately ordered Return of the Bastard Swordsman, because we just have to know if the guy with the Fatal Skill also gets his ass handed to him.

Audios: Finished The Ice Warriors, as narrated by Frazer Hines. Even if only a third of its 6 episodes are lost, the BBC still made an audio for it in its Lost Episodes series. It introduced the Ice Warriors to the world, a monster I wish the new series would bring back (though I fear they won't do another Reptilian species so soon after the Silurians), and I can't wait to watch the surviving episodes to see what it all looked like. Moving glaciers and ice caves and of course, the aliens. There's also a large human cast and a strong theme of science vs. nature that I quite liked. The Volume 4 boxed set ends here (damn it, so much of Troughton is gone!), but it does include a bonus disc with interviews with the box's two narrators, Anneke Wils and Frazer Hines. Both have some interesting anecdotes to tell, though the former's sounds like outtakes of the interview she recorded from the previous box. Not complaining, as I love her to bits. I don't think they'll release Volume 5 before I get to its stories in the daily revues though. Ah well.

Hyperion to a Satyr posts this week:
III.ii. The Mouse-Trap - Fodor (2007)

Doctor Who #138: The Power of the Daleks Part 2

"Those 'lumps of metal' - Daleks - I want them broken up, or melted down. Up, or down, I don't care which, but destroyed!"TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from very few clips, the episode is missing from the archives. A reconstruction was used, though I have, of course, listened to the audio CD narrated by Anneke Wills as well. First aired Nov.12 1966.

IN THIS ONE... Lesterson has been experimenting on a Dalek and manages to wake it up. It is our servant.

REVIEW: This script is incredibly clever and I'll hear point to Ben's use of Cockney, calling the Doctor "China" (China plate = mate), an exchange I would have found mystifying if I had never seen Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but it's representative of the entire serial's theme. Ben is transforming words just as the Doctor has transformed himself. The colonists have transformed the Daleks intoo servitor robots, but only by their perspective. The Dalek is obviously putting on a show, screeching "I am your serVANT!" in the cliffhanger - Victory of the Dakeks owes a great debt to this story - transforming itself, but not sincerely. And you have rebels running around making like they're loyal members of society as well.

Is this the first time we've seen the Dalek point of view? In a circle like that? It feels like it is, and even if it's not, it has an important function - reminding us that they certainly AREN'T robots, that there's a malevolent entity lurking in there, watching, plotting. When it meets the Doctor, it seems to recognize him, which is strange (see Theories), as is the Doctor half-remembering something horrible about the Daleks that he can't quite put his finger on. Troughton's performance is once again a highlight, continually keeping secrets, whether it's refusing to answer Ben's questions directly, or blowing in his recorder to prevent a companion from saying too much. He's quite good as a Columbo-like detective, questioning with enough sharpness, it puts the lie to his more clownish behavior. Even if Ben stays wary (getting a few good wisecracks in, like the Doctor not just being of two minds about something, but of two bodies as well), Polly takes to this funny little man, singing words with him and accepting him completely. She was always the more intuitive and personable of the two. But it's not all a put-on, as the Doctor has always been a character of contrasts. Though he has a darkness about him, he'll still rip a doorknob off by mistake or some other foolishness. He's BOTH the genius and the clown.

The colony's soap opera continues as well, adding to the mystery not only of the real Examiner's murder, but to the sabotage of the communication systems. Who called for an Examiner in the first place, and who murdered him? Could the deputy governor (Quinn) be after the top job, as Ben believes? Or is it all about the rebels? Or Lesterson's experiments? You get the real feeling in this episode that Janley is manipulating Lesterson so that the rebels might use his Dalek as a weapon, and he being a representative of scientific progress devoid of morality, is more than happy to do what she asks. The experiment is all. He doesn't care about "politics". The Doctor represents a more humanistic way to deal with science, a better way. And that's where we recognize him as the Doctor.

THEORIES: How can the Dalek recognize the newly minted Doctor? There's no real date on The Power of the Daleks, but everything points to the earlier days of space exploration, so only a century or two from now. The only other Daleks who met the 2nd Doctor are the ones from Evil of the Daleks which are more or less at the end of their history and have access to time travel. Of course, as soon as he meets them, they're destroyed. So could this be a Dalek who escaped Skaro's destruction in a time ship? This time traveler might have the Doctor's face on file. Rob Shearman's Dalek episode in the new series, like Victory, owes something to this story then. Not only that core idea, but there's even a line about a single Dalek being more than enough to exterminate the entire colony. Once the Daleks start reproducing as if there's a need to regenerate the race, it gives this theory even more credence.

REWATCHABILITY: High - If the change in actors is going to be a sort of mystery, then let's make the entire thing a mystery. And it works! Clever in the way to tries to reimagine everything you thought you knew about the program.

Doctor Who #137: The Power of the Daleks Part 1

"I'd like to see a butterfly fit into a chrysalis case after it's spread its wings."TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode (indeed, the entire serial) is missing from the archives. I have used a reconstruction. First aired Nov.5 1966.

IN THIS ONE... The second Doctor's first appearance, but the colony on Vulcan think he's the Examiner come to inspect the Dalek capsule they've found.

REVIEW: The first regeneration is complete. Patrick Troughton is now the Doctor. And he's immediately wonderful, even without the full video. Wish we had it though. The pictures taken of this episode give him an impish look, and he does seem to tease his companions a lot, but in the short clips we have, you can tell there's a dark side bubbling underneath, whenever the Doctor goes quiet. Somehow, he's brought back mystery to the Doctor, the same kind of mystery present in An Unearthly Child. We know this new man is the Doctor, not just by virtue of hindsight, but because he sees the old Doctor in the mirror, and he remembers old adventures. But Ben and Polly don't share his point of view in the mirror, and weren't in those adventures, so it's far more ambiguous for them. And the Doctor isn't making it easy on them either, talking about himself in the third person and answering question with sharp flute sounds. They may well believe him to be some kind of impostor. Ben's questions (he's more a doubting Thomas than Polly is) have a function - it's not taken for granted that we'll accept this new character as the Doctor, so we're brought along on Ben and Polly's journey to accept him. Brilliant!

The Doctor, too, is discovering who he is, and it's a concept that will be repeated through all the post-regeneration episodes. He gives up the emblems of his old self, like the ring, and forages for new ones, a recorder, a diary and an outrageous hat. His impishness is disarming, but the fact that he's an unknown quantity makes him dangerous. He's also got an acid wit and a way with a turn of phrase. This was Hartnell's weakness, I think, especially in science fiction scenarios where the bafflegab never sat well with him. Troughton is more of an improviser, and finds a way to make even the scientific dialog work for him.

And of course he IS an impostor. He may be the Doctor, but he isn't the Examiner everyone on the Vulcan colony thinks him to be (or as Ben reminds us, all but the Examiner's murderer does). Vulcan is an interesting looking planet, with strange rock formations, mercury swamps and gas geysers putting our heroes in danger. I'm almost sorry to see them go inside where blank walls are the norm. The colony comes ready-made with a full cast of guest-stars who are obviously hiding something, or several somethings. And the Dalek capsule isn't even it. Like the Doctor, they've got secrets and are being evasive. And guess what, the Daleks will be the same. Writer David Whitaker ties everything into that theme. One of the Daleks' secrets is revealed however as we get our first shot of a naked Dalek mutant. In The Daleks, we saw a claw. Here, they are the tentacular blobs we still know. If this is all set-up, I can't wait to see what's next.

THEORIES: For regeneration trackers, the 2nd Doctor definitely thanks the TARDIS for his ability to "rejuvenate" himself (he's using Ben and Polly's words) and says he couldn't survive without it.

REWATCHABILITY: High - It's a crying shame Troughton's first story was wiped from the archives because even without the original video, it's a great start. The best post-regen stories are the ones where you immediately accept the new Doctor, and Troughton did it first.

The 1st Doctor: The Character Sheet

If you've been following my posts that turn the original seasons of Doctor Who into role-playing sessions, then you know what has to come next: Billy's left us his character sheet before taking his final bow. (Click to enlarge for legibility.)Stuff that didn't fit on the sheet (Billy kept it on the back)...

GOOD TRAITS
Boffin (Major)
Charming (Minor)
Gadget (Minor) - Time Lord Ring (the ring can activate TARDIS systems when the power is down and adds a +2 bonus to attempts at Hypnosis; the gadget also holds 1 Story Point, which was once used to unfuse the TARDIS lock using a particular sky's light after a visit from the Meddling Monk)
Hypnosis (Minor)
Indomitable (Major)
Keen Senses (Major)
Psychic Training (Minor)
Resourceful Pockets (Minor) - Sample items include a torch, small binoculars, a handkerchief and a piece of string
Time Traveler (Major) - The Doctor is familiar with the technology of all Tech Levels, unless in cases where the GM has decided some technology is strange even to him
Tough (Minor) - Though frail-looking, the Doctor was able to resist his
Voice of Authority (Minor)

BAD TRAITS
Adversary (Major) - Daleks, The Meddling Monk
Argumentative (Minor)
Eccentric/Cantankerousness (Minor) - The Doctor is quite volatile and may turn on his own companions
Eccentric/Grandfatherliness (Minor) - The Doctor bonds easily with teenage girls who remind him of Susan
Eccentric/Vanity (Minor) - The Doctor is uncommonly vulnerable to flattery, and will also take credit for others' work
Forgetful (Minor) - This also manifests in his speech patterns, making him tongue-tied or get names wrong
Insatiable Curiosity (Minor)
Weakness (Minor) - -2 penalty to Athletics when he doesn't have his walking stick in situations where it would be useful

SPECIAL TRAITS
Experienced
Time Lord - The first Doctor does not get the Traits Feel the Turn of the Universe or Vortex, making this Trait cost only 3 Story Points

FAVORITE METHOD FOR ACCUMULATING STORY POINTS
Losing access to the TARDIS was a big one at first, the Doctor even going so far as to sabotage his own ship for points (the group came to call it Fluid Linking). Over the course of three seasons, his favored trick became using his Forgetful Trait to get himself into hot water, refusing to acknowledge what his player could obviously see.

Hey Pat! Here the sheet. It's all you get to build your own version of the Doctor!

Doctor Who #136: The Tenth Planet Part 4

"This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin."TECHNICAL SPECS: Though a number of short clips from this episode exist, as a whole it has been lost. Reconstruction to the rescue. First aired Oct.29 1966.

IN THIS ONE... Mondas and the Cybermen are destroyed, and the Doctor regenerates for the first time.

REVIEW: Wouldn't you know it, the most important episode of this serial has to be the one that's missing. Thankfully, we do have a number of clips that feature Hartnell's performance and the all-important regeneration scene. After a noticeable absence from the previous episode, the Doctor returns at just about the same time the Cybermen do, and Cutler, who by this point is a raving and ranting madman, get himself killed. It's a relief, really. Now we can concentrate on things that matter - the main threat and the Doctor taking a defiant stand against it. While Polly is relegated to playing the scared hostage (it seems like she's going to be assimilated, but then isn't), Ben a good share of the action and figures out the Cybermen's vulnerability to (a specific kind of?) radiation. It makes him a bit Doctorish, and not just because he fluffs the word Mondas into Mandos. Were some of Hartnell's bits re-written for Ben to give the unwell outgoing star a bit of a break?

The Cybermen's other weakness of course is that their plans are complete rubbish. Why are they the only ones who don't know their planet is about to "fry" from an excess of energy? Stealing Earth's place in orbit is a good Whovian objective (i.e. epically ridiculous), but do they really have to destroy Earth to cut off the power drain? Wouldn't an off switch have been safer? Especially considering that once their planet starts melting, so do the Cybermen landing parties on Earth. It's all a bit deus ex, isn't it? Structurally, Ben's solution should have been applied on a larger scale. Instead, an illogical, magic solution is put into effect that solves everything.

Thematically, however, the fate of Mondas is mirrored in the Doctor's. He, too, is worn out. The end section is a wonderful piece of television, with strange music and direction, made more so by the way many of the existing clips flicker (film shooting television). It's hard not to see Hartnell's own struggle with health issues in the disorientated, sweating Doctor almost ramming a camera, moaning "It's FAR from over!" He has to get back to the TARDIS as soon as possible, and once there, locks Polly and Ben out, like an animal who needs to be alone so it can die in peace. He does allow them to come in, but has collapsed by then, and a white-out effect turns Hartnell into Troughton (see Theories). Today, we take regeneration for granted, but in 1966, it would still be 8 years before the word "regeneration" was even used! What must the audience at the time have made of this? On the surface, this is no stranger a cliffhanger than the Doctor being made invisible by the Toymaker. That it would be a lasting thing was the real innovation. Did they realize at the time that this scene would ensure the longevity of the program?

THEORIES: If you're trying to track how regeneration works, best of luck to you. Not until the new series would there be any kind of consistency to it. It looks here like the TARDIS is part of the process. The Doctor can feel his body giving out and heads immediately for the TARDIS, where he operates some controls. The central column moves and the regeneration effect is accompanied by the dematerialization sound. Are they related, or is the regeneration just happening at the same time? In the future, featured Time Lords will regenerate in or near the TARDIS on all but two occasions, so it at least seems better if the TARDIS acts as a control for the process.

VERSIONS: The Target novelization makes a number of changes, and not all of them make sense. The story takes place in 2000 instead of 1986. The old western projected into a Cyberman's face by Ben turns into a Roger Moore Bond film Ben claims to have just seen (seeing as that would have been in 1966...). The ending is also changed to end with a renewed Doctor looking at himself in the mirror. The regeneration is played more like Romana's in The Destiny of the Daleks, matter-of-factly.

REWATCHABILITY: High - Those last few minutes and Hartnell's last full performance alone are worth the viewing, even if the Cybermen plot turns out to be drivel.

STORY REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - That The Tenth Planet is historically significant can hardly be debated. First Cybermen, first regeneration, last Hartnell story. The plot's just not very good is all.

Doctor Who #135: The Tenth Planet Part 3

"Well, I could make some coffee or something."TECHNICAL SPECS: Watched on Dailymotion. First aired Oct.22 1966.

IN THIS ONE... After the Doctor faints, Ben and Polly attempt to stop crazy General Cutler from blowing everybody up with his Z-bomb.

REVIEW: Part 3 is sorely lacking star power. Hartnell took ill that week, so the Doctor inexplicably faints (see Theories) and is out of commission for the duration, played only by a double. It's especially painful given that this is his penultimate episode (and the last of the Hartnell era still in the archives), but I guess it shows why a change needed to be made. But while Hartnell's absence has a real-life explanation, that of the Cybermen does not. After Part 2's big introduction, the bandaged giants are almost nowhere to be seen, showing up towards the end and getting their asses massacred in a snow storm.

The antagonist of the piece instead becomes General Cutler, but the stupid military mindset of the Whoniverse is doubly annoying when the Doctor isn't around to attack it with sparkling witticisms. Cutler really has gone round the bend, obsessed with making use of the Z-bomb, a deterrent that would be at home in Dr. Strangelove, despite its probable irradiation of half the Earth. He's told specifically not to use it, then tricks his higher-up into giving him carte blanche so he can use it anyway. It's really about saving his son, an astronaut with an even worse accent than his, which means we spend a lot of time in countdowns and other space program procedures. Ben and Polly do much in taking over the Doctor's role, keeping the story's moral compass and attempting to prevent the Z-bomb from launching. Ben is the action man, and gets to crawl through the program's first modern ventilation shaft (the first of many), while Polly offers to make coffee (it's her thing) as a way to stay on Barclay's shoulder and play angel to Cutler's devil. We'll see if they succeed in the next episode, or if Ben's concussion was all for naught.

The science continues to be bonkers, but that should be obvious from the Z-bomb (strictly B-movie). The missile which can destroy a whole planet, and of which there are only three on Earth, is a smallish affair in a guarded room Ben can access rather easily. But if they just wait out the power drain, Mondas will just fry itself. Surely by then, Earth will have stopped spinning and died? And wouldn't Cutler Jr. be killed if such a bomb exploded in space? Especially if the planet goes supernova (WHAT.), as Barclay fears. It's hard to believe writer Kit Pedler was brought on to bring "hard science" to the program. I guess he was a "medical scientist" and little else. Leave the physics to the big boys, Kit.

THEORIES: Why does the Doctor pass out? No doubt, it's for the same reason he is forced to regenerate in the next episode. Now, the Doctor's first body looks old even by Time Lord standards, but surely that's not it alone. Of course, his inate vitality has taken quite a few hits lately. The Time Destructor aged him, and in The Savages, he was drained of his energies. And in this serial, the Cybermen are draining energy from Earth. And it's not just Earth's motive and geothermal energy, because electrical systems are also affected. Yet, humans don't seem affected. Could Time Lord physiology be different enough that the Doctor WOULD be? After all, whatever sparks regeneration looks to be an energy effect. Is the Doctor drained of life, or was the regeneration energy matrix pulled out of him, causing him first to collapse, and later to regenerate? If so, then the Cybermen can be proud (if only they had emotions) that they drew first blood and killed the first Doctor.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - Without the main protagonist OR the serial's main antagonist, we're left with some very annoying butch officer vs. sniveling scientist action and a whole lot of nonsense. Ben and Polly are the saving grace, but not enough for a better recommendation. I think you can skip from Part 2 to Part 4 with little fuss.