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| What: | Beneath the Surface (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: |   9 |
The Silurians always has been a giant of a Doctor Who story, in that it packs so many good elements together in an easy to follow and engrossing way. We have the extremely high calibre of acting from cast members such as Fulton Mackay and as usual Peter Miles, who are both excellently cast in their respective roles. This story also has one of the strongest moral fibres of any Doctor Who story ever. If their were these creatures in the distant past, it would be good to work with them and not blast them off the face of the planet. And also the film work on this story is highly credible and seriously brilliant. And Jon Pertwee already gleams and steals every scene he's in. Hes such an immense presence in that flowing cape of his that no one else really gets much of a chance, but they all truly give it their all! Liz Shaw is a brilliant companion, played to perfection by Caroline John. The particularly effective disease plot thread is startlingly realistic, and in some places quite awful and harrowing. Doctor Who gets increasingly more and more mature during the Third Doctor's tenure on the show. The Silurians is a real high quality story.
The Sea Devils follows on very strongly indeed. The Sea devils are very well realised in deed, and Roger Delgado as the Master is absolutely at the hieght of his powers as the charming and evil Master. The Story also again has a high moral content and Jon Pertwee again gleams like a tall light bulb and glitters somewhat all the time.
Warriors of the Deep has always had stick for the rediculous Myrka. But that is all that is lamentable about this tale. What is striking is their are no really black and white characters, just a bunch of grey and sometimes offensive people, but one still feels sorry for the female parts of this story. And yet maybe there is one other lamentable section, where Ingrid Pitt tries karate on that stupid pantomime horse. But the silurians redesign is superb, and the Sea Devils are just as good as in their first appearance on our screens all those years before. JNT certainly had some sense in bringing back faces from the past. The final scene of this tale is highly engaging and ends on yet another moral high, with the Fifth Doctor's famous "There should have been another way" line of real importance. One feels sad that the new series silurian tale just lifted wholesale elements from these three stories, and didnt bring much new to them either. But these tales overall are all very good pieces of Doctor Who. Yeah, I dont care about things like the Myrka if the story itself is still rescuable from the performance of all the other cast members. Brilliant overall indeed. Great three linked stories!
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 | Very Interesting tale indeed |
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| What: | Frontios (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
You sometimes get a story which seems rather out of place in the season its in, either because its glow makes the others just glow dully, or it has a highly interesting idea at the core of it. Frontios is one of those stories. We get presented with a highly different race, not inherently evil, but not whiter than white either, and they are possessed with an interesting and different kind of power which is very well presented and directed within this excellent four parter.
Peter Davison leads an excellent cast in a story that is packed full of very good ideas indeed. Mark Strickson really impresses here, for once given a sizeable chunk of script to get his teeth into. His depiction of fear of a race memory is believable and very palpable indeed, so credit must go to him above all else. A really decent character who was often sadly left out somewhat from most other stories of his tenure as Turlough.
The Tractators too are well realised too, and their voices are also of a good sound. The plot threads in this tale all meld together so well too, and the pace is not too fast and not too slow either. And this story also ends on a cliffhanger, with the TARDIS gripped by a far more dangerous force. So all the way through this story is imaginative and possesses some very good set design too. What more could one expect from a class Doctor Who story?
| What: | The Kingmaker (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 1 June 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
Only the slightly over long feel to this tale mars it in any way, shape or form. One just gets the notion that this would have been better if it had been slimmed down just a little. There are other tales which are excellently paced and dont feel overlong, but this story is not one of them Im afraid.
But this is not bad at all though. There are certainly a whole scope of ideas which are well scripted and well thought through, and all come together in a really good way. Although I think I should say we've always known the Doc is no superhero, he just always tries his best, so the whole make him admit he's not perfect thing in this story is a little laboured and usual.
Where the story does work better is in the pairing of Erimem and Peri, the bond here between them had reached its full height. And Erimem's busting of a blokes arm is a wonderfully comic little scene, as is the whole Doctor Who section with that robot on the front cover which sadly make me feel this might be a toymaker story, for it bears such a resemblence to the robot in the Celestial Toymaker, so I was slightly miffed to find out it wasnt.
The whole point that a stupidised Willi Shakespeare should be the whole reason for this story is rather good though, and I genuinely did feel this was going to turn out to be a Master tale, so it was a decent surprise when it wasnt in the end. But this is one tale where the three main actors definitely save it from being protracted and boring. Good on them! Otherwise this story would have been too too long.
| What: | Spearhead from Space (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Hugh E. Oxburgh, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 31 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is one of the alltime greats-no question. The Autons have always been my favourite monsters, not least because they don't speak (except in Terror of the Autons) & that scene of them bursting out of the shop windows is iconic. THe reason its so good after 40 years is because it was shot entirely on location & so has a freshness that a lot of the studio-bound ones just don't have. Its hard to believe tat the sho's future depended on this one dong well & what a return to form it was. Hugh burden is brilliant as Channing & John Woodnutt gives one of his numerous great performances as Hibbert, though his best one was yet to come! I strongly recommend buying the new boxset "Mannequin Mania" to relive this one, not least for the moment when the replicas come alive in the waxworks & begin to leave. Creepy.
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| A Redeeming Novelisation... |
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| What: | The Ghosts of N-Space (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Jacob Mason, Manchester, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Tuesday 31 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
Having listened to the original BBC radio serial, I was very, very sceptical about reading it's novalisation. Listening to the recordings, the cast sounded ancient and I could barely make it past a few episodes. But I cast aside my scepticism and pictured the characters as they were in the original 1970s serials, and it works perfectly.
This is by far one of the better written tie-in novels I've read; although the concept and explanation of N-forms and N-bodies is a little bit feeble, it's still a very exciting and fast paced story. A pleasant and enjoyable read - worth the money.
| What: | Heroes of Sontar (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
They come along very rarely. Stories that are funny, but still with so much action and drama to balance. This story is one of the funniest in a long while. The humour is just right, and never even approaching over the top. The characters of all the four main stars are spot on, and the Sontarans are all very interesting indeed. Alan Barnes has done it big time with this brilliant four parter. Starts the season very very strongly indeed.
| What: | The Doctor Trap (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Hessel Hoekstra, Maassluis, Netherlands |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 6 |
When you read the backside of the book, and the first 40 pages, you might think: great story! But nothing is as it seems, and the supposed hunt escalates into a deadly game of bluff between the Doctor and Sebastiene, which is very confusing towards the reader. The clou of the story came too late, and was too expected. But Messinghams fine writing style compensates the negative points.
| What: | The Way Through the Woods (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Hessel Hoekstra, Maassluis, Netherlands |
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| Date: | Monday 30 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
This book starts with many different storylines, which are slowly merging with each other as the story progresses. This is very nicely done. Also the characters are interesting, and a good writing style.
| What: | The Time Warrior (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 5 |
This story is one of those few Doctor Who stories that does pull you left and right in terms of its merits and shortfalls.
Kevin Lindsay must be given a large amount of credit here, for his interpretation of the first Sontaran we see is flawless. A great new alien foil for the Doctor. And the make up here too and costume are all highly commendable given the fact there were obvious budgetary limitations inherent for this story. And his voice is totally different than that of his later, also memorable Kanpo in The Planet of The Spiders.
But I feel that maybe David Daker as Irongron is just a little too over the top. Maybe kings of that time would have acted like this, but for me it just makes a large chunk of the story too farcical for words to describe. Its his clamer scenes when he actually works better, rather than his totally stupid bluster.
And the working robot looks rather pathetic too. But Ive never been one to dwell on weak looking effects. its part of what made the show what it was.
Elisabeth Sladen bucks the story up no end with her very strong characterisation which sadly seemed to greatly diminish in her two Tom Baker seasons in the role of Sarah Jane Smith. She immediately grabs the attention in a good way. Her views on where she thinks she is at the end of part one and the beginning of part two are highly amusing and well directed.
But is it just me or does Jon Pertwee not really get all that much to do in this story other than chuck stink bombs over a wall and try to fight off a sontaran? He just seems to be a bit of a spare part for the most part of the story. And this is bad as Jon deserves far better treatment. Gratefully it didnt happen all that often in his time as the Doctor. But even in the bits he's in he prooves just how brilliant a Doctor he was. The final scene of the arrow in the neck of the Sontaran is also very well done. Although the rather tepid explosion is rather sad, considering the BBCs penchant for brilliant explosive work. The CGI extras really help this one no end for a change.
Nick Courtney in his single episode is also keenly felt, although he's only in two scenes really. I always loved his character. He always was so well utilised in the Third Doctor's run of stories.
June Brown though seems rather off par. not even Dot Cotton here. Alan Rowe is a little better, but not all that much, hardly as good as the character of Skinsale in Horror of Fang Rock. So all in all, a real mixed bag that doesnt really hit the target as great Doctor Who. One story where the pros arent in as high abundance as the cons im afraid to say.
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| Axos calling Earth plot thread exhausted |
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| What: | The Feast of Axos (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 21 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 7 |
I havent bought any new audio adventures for a while before my birthday, so it was a delight to hear Maggie Stables again after such a long time. I love Evelyn, shes such a solid character, and she just slots into place with the character of Colin Baker's sixth Doctor.
But now we have the added dimension of that idiot Thomas Brewster to the mix, which rather upsets the flow of these two characters I have to say. Im not saying John Pickard isnt good, im just saying that this trio is one for me that doesnt seem to work so well at all. Which is sad. Thomas Brewster was okay with the fifth Doctor, but no so well with Colin. I love the classic mix of just the Doc and Evelyn. Ill have to try to get used to this new companion for the sixth Doctor. Maybe he'll grow on me.
At least Maggie's still her old self, and is what lifts this story up rather a lot on the whole. And its really great to hear Bernard Holley return as Axos, although most parts of his vocals here are a little less recognisable as Axos, due to the fact that he is over forty years older! But not too bad a job on Bernard's part at all.
And yet one isnt glad that this is just another run of the mill follow on from the classic Claws of Axos. And the ending is rather too similiar, albeit Axos now going round forever into an explosion rather than just a time loop. Here Campbell Irons is the high up official replacing Chinn in the original. Rather the same type of character, with the same kind of plot thread too. One would prefer the axons to come back in a totally original tale with only the fact that its Axos being the sole link to the past show, which in my opinion is better than this story. Sad, considering Mike's first whole script for Big Finish, Legend of The Cybermen, was so brilliant.
And another problem is the almost total lack of natural form axons. And as in the original story the axon clones had huge strength, then Id like to know how Brewster can hold onto a writhing mass of sphaghetti at the climax of this tale! Axos by this time is getting more strength after all. Maybe the axons actually were a wrong choice for audio for once.
But its not all negative though I have to say. The climax to part three is rather emotional and Maggie gives it her all here, and the Doctor's temporary loss he feels is brilliant acted by Colin. And like ive said, Thomas Brewster isnt written badly, its just for me he jars too much with the Doc and dear old Evey. But the sound scenes all set within axos are brilliantly similar to the original, and so you feel youre back on axos again. Believe me this is not the best story big finish have done, but its still better than a huge range of episodes in the new series.
Just please tell me that this DOC/ EVELYN/ BREWSTER mix isnt going to go on for too long. One would rather have Jamie with this group again, that would be a far better mix, and a far more interesting one! A rare dissapointment in the Big Finish range. Thankfully they dont appear with regularity.
| What: | The Lost Stories: Thin Ice (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Saturday 21 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Woe on the BBC for cancelling Doctor Who all those years back in 1989. Sylvester's Doctor was truly bringing the mystery back to the character, and Sophie was one of the best companions in the Who universe. They had just begun to gel so very well indeed that they truly were a double act. And then the BBC go and flipping well cancel the series so these four Sylvester stories to come in the lost stories range were never done on screen. What an offence if this first story is anything to go by.
Sylvester McCoy eases back into the mantel of the slightly manipulative, but still highly moral Seventh Doctor. And here the Doctor and Ace's relationship is at last put through quite a hard ringer. With Ace pushed to the limit and coming to notice that maybe she cant truly trust the Doctor at all anymore really. But the fact that she comes round in the climax to the tale is still believable. As she knows he wouldnt hurt her deliberately. The tension between the two characters is palpable though. And then add to that potent mix a story that has plenty going on aside of this and you have yet another brilliant lost story.
The Ice Warriors here are studied in great detail too, and at last we have a little squabble amoungst warriors and Hhesh is destroyed by the Sezhyr. Nick Briggs brings the martians to vivid life once again, and Marc's script gives the warriors something different to do rather than just trying to take over a planet. The characters here are all so likeable too, wether it be the aloof Creevy, played with great inflection by Ricky Groves, or the brilliant Beth Chalmers as Raina. The sidestory with her daughter is very very well written and thought out, and one cant wait to see what happens in the next story when the Doctor meets the grown up Raine Creevy!
And yet again we have those pompous, snotty, unlikeable time lords again, here in the form of the mysterious adjudicator. A right ponce of a mush who seems to have no scruples at all like most of that race. A real good new and interesting character that adds to the already potent spice of this story. This is yet another fine lost story, and plaudits go to all involved for making all come alive so well.
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| Yet again, true gems of history... |
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Prison In Space really makes me smile for a vast multitude of reasons which I shall list below.
First it marks the first story in a long long time to feature Frazer and Wendy in both leading roles. They slot back into the roles of Jamie and Zoe with absolutely no effort whatsoever. Its like theyve never left the series back at the end of the Troughton era. One is only very sad that Pat Troughton himself is no longer with us, as im pretty sure he would have relished working on a story such as this.
Simon Guerrier has definitely been the right choice in adapting this story for the audio medium. He gets the second Doctor's character totally spot on. The story again is very well paced, and despite the fact that it is by and large a true comedic gem, there still are plenty of darker scenes which are made all the more realistic by Frazer's and Wendy's brilliant delivery. They both have a multitude of voices which are faultless, especially Frazer's masterful Pat Troughton, it truly does feel as though he was there in this story.
Susan Brown as Babs is just the perfect choice too. She really seems to enjoy her character, and the character would have moulded perfectly with other obvious loonies from the Pat Troughton era of the show all those years ago, back when Doctor Who was a lot more innocent and a lot more fun too.
But one just has to mention how funny a lot of the scenes here are. Whether it be Alice with her arms around the Doctor and Jamie dragging then through the OSCE corridors after theyve been caught, or the wonderful fight scene of Zoe almost succeeding in escaping from the clutches of Babs at the climax to episode two.
And this story is also good in the fact that had it of been made on screen, then we would have had the first notion that earth medicine and pills would have had a probably adverse effect on the time lord. What also impresses with this story too are the very good cliffhangers. They are suitably good and engaging, so you really want to find out what happens next.
This maybe a bit of a battle of the sexes, but never has it been done in such fine comdeic style. Just listen to the final scene of Babs running through the roof garden after the terrified Doctor! Pure classic brilliance of the highest order. This had all the elements that made the Pat era so memorable for me. And again thanks must go to BFP for having the sense to make it, and to Frazer too for finding the ancient script in his garage! And to Dick Sharples too, for writing the original piece.
The Daleks: The Destroyers is a classic piece of Terry Nation writing. Jean Marsh is faultless again as Sarah Kingdom. I rather feel this story might have taken place some time before The Daleks Master Plan. It has the right tone and the right plot elements for this to be so. The narration is greatly detailed, and is delivered brilliantly all along the way by Jean. This has all the typical Terry Nation elements, such as vicious plants and totally heartless Daleks. But this would have been done before Planet of the Daleks, so one can see why a few elements of this stand alone pilot episode for america back in the sixties made it into the script of the aforementioned Jon Pertwee story. The fellow cast members all add to the mix to make this a rather enjoyable little romp. Questions are left unanswered along the way, so this just leaves me wanting to really know what happens next!! Please can this be made into a series soon so I can find out please!
So again, this is brilliant stuff that should have been made. This set is on par with the First Doctor set, as they both fit their intended eras faultlessly.
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| Lost Gem of the highest order... |
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Every so often in the BIG FINISH WORLD, along comes a real true gem of a story. And this time its two lost stories that for some reason or other never made it to the screen back in the early nineteen sixties. I have been a great fan of these lost stories, it is an excellent thought. Its really nostalgic and a great memory to the actors who played the time lord first of all. Its so sad that niether William or Patrick are with us anymore, both oif them were splendid chaps and splendid actors too.
What Is so brilliant about the first story here, FAREWELL GREAT MACEDON, is that firstly its an historical tale. I always loved the Will Hartnell historicals, whether they be full on grim tales such as The Aztecs and The Massacre, Light comedies like The Romans, or epic masterpieces like Marco Polo. They all had such high drama inherent in the storytelling. And it was more of a highlight of human evil rather than some alien nasty all of the time. And what I also liked about them is the high calibre of acting in every single one of them in those black and white early years.
Another sadness is the loss of Jacqueline Hill, a fine companion and missed greatly by me as Im a great fan of her character. But What William Russell and Carole Ann Ford do here is simply incredible: they bring the First Doctor and Barbara to life just as much as their own original characters. And John Dorney is frankly excellently cast as Alexander the Great. This story would have made such a big impact on me on screen had the BBC of had the sense to make it all those years ago. This story provides as much epic quality as Marco Polo, there is real character developement along the way, and one truly seems to feel a lot for all the characters who fall foul of the plans of Antipita and his band of scheming thugs.
This story is one of the very best Big Finish had done of late. The pace is excellent, and the story itself boasts some very fine set pieces and great slices of dialogue. One can clearly tell that both Moris Farhi and Nigel Robinson had a great time in the adaptation of this splendid six part tale.
The Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance is a wonderful little oddity of a follow on too. Its rare as it truly seems to be nothing much more than a charming little love tale set on a far distant planet where all the rules are different. Yet again William and Carole bring the script to wonderful life, so much so as to make this one parter just as excellent as the Epic Macedon. These tweo stories both sould have been made. They are true pieces of Doctor Who that would have easily fitted into the TV series (although maybe Fragrance works better on audio, as the crystal seas and all that would have taken up a lot of budget on the classic series)
One is very grateful to BIG Finish at least for having the sense to produce these long lost artifacts. Long may they continue as this box set is on a real high for the series. The sixth doctor lost stories were all very good, but these two are unequivically excellent.
| What: | Nuclear Time (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Ken Lawrence, Birmingham, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
I read this book, and as other reviews said, for a moment it threw me trying to work out what was happening. Once i understood the Doctor's travelling backwards I thoroughly enjoyed the book, excellent story and interesting concept.
It may have worked better as a TV episode soley as it can be difficult to follow at times, but each chapter is 'dated & timed' so you do sometimes have to check whether you're having a flashforward or backward.
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| Doctor Who is required! Bring him here! |
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| What: | The War Machines (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This story has a very good level of realism to it. The internet pre-scare theme is explored very well indeed. WOTAN is another brilliant computer villian, and in some ways yes, probably more superior than BOSS in the Green Death as WOTAN is not a wagner lover. The voice of WOTAN is particularly effective.
The scenes set in the Inferno club are perhaps Doctor Whos first real attempt at grounding a story in a truly normal earth everyday setting. Michael Craze and Anneke Wills instantly make a good impression as Ben and Polly, and one gets the feeling that they really got on well, as it comes off on screen all the way from the start.
Jackie Lane is about the only problem in this story, and I dont mean its her performance. its just that Dodo isnt given a fair and good goodbye from the Doctor at the end of the story. But the Doctor's dialogue to Polly at the end is brilliant. Dodo deserved a far better send off than this. But this is the story's only real downfall.
And again, this story is all the better for the script not being overloading with too many subplots along the way. It just gets on with telling a cracking good tale. The scenes of the war machines fighting the soldiers are particularly impressive too. Very well done indeed for the time this story was made.
William Hartnell is also very good again here in this story. He seems to taake a bit of back seat, but this was probably mostly to do with the facts of the fine actor's failing health in these later years on Doctor Who. But his charm, grumpiness but solid belief in the wrong of evil are what made him such a great Doctor.
The War Machines is definitely high on the tier of classic Who stories. I really like the added touch of real news presenters used in the story too. Its all highly effective and adds to the scare of the computer that overtakes human will for it own ends. Yeah, sort of a precursor to the far less interesting TERMINATOR series of flims. The War Machines is better than Terminator though. By far.
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| Appealing visually and storywise |
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| What: | Four to Doomsday (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
I have always really really liked this story. It has a kind of magic thats hard to nail down to one element. I love the three urbankans, especially Enlightenment. These three frogs look good at the start, but its a wise moves to make them human from the end of part 1.
Janet Fielding is who strikes me the most in this one. Tegan is really rather selfish and idiotic within this one, but this gives a real flavour to her character, which I have always loved. She even knocks Adric out, the evil little woman! Nasty little girl, although Adric is something of a spoiled brat played equally well (despite what a lot say) by Matt Waterhouse.
Sarah Sutton also shines, I just love her character to bits. Shes so kind and intelligent and a real different character from all those who came before, for she is about one of the only ones who never shouted at anyone, but saw the good in everyone. Its sad that most of the time she was relegated to TARDIS duties for a high number of stories.
I dont even care about the few plot niggles, for this is a highly tasteful and appealing slice of Doctor Who. The set design too is rather impressive as well, and Peter Davison comes to our screen for his first recorded Doctor Who story as a very very different Doctor to Tom Baker and all those before, at once being more human and in some respects more likeable. The android designs too are pretty impressive, and the first two cliffhangers are original and engaging. This story has good pace, and a lot of good ideas flowing throughout it. This was a very good start of the Terrence Dudley trio of stories throughout the Fifth Doctors time. Maybe none of them action packed horror fests, but steady and thoughtful with lots of highly likeable characters played well by all the cast members, and great bits of dialogue too.
This is an "oddball" story, but one that works very well indeed for me. Thanks for making this story BBC!
| What: | The Rescue & The Romans (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Rescue is one of the finest examples of the Doctor Who two part serial. It introduces the new companion, here played to perfection by the great Maureen O Brien, and has some brilliant design work. The Koquillion mask is an excelllent piece of work. What I like is the fact that the dialogue is so crisp and good in this tale. William Hartnell too here really seems far more softened in character tone than in his first season as the First Incarnation of the errant Doctor. I love the first scene with Barbara and Ian lamenting the Doctor falling asleep in a landing and becoming uneasy. I also like the little nod to the fact that the Doc calls out Susan's name, so as yet hasnt really gotten over his loss of his granddaughter, its such a lovely little touch. As soon as they all exit the ship Ian and Barbara are met by that wierd looking masked idiot Bennett, who is a real psycho and played very well indeed by the actor. I thought the scene where he pushes Barbara down the cliff was a total surprise and rather shocking. But Im glad she caught that tree branch on the way down and only severely strained her arm. Sandy is also a well realised creation, and his death cries are frankly very unnerving and very well produced by the sound boys. Its obvious the Doctor sees a new friend in the young Vicki. All elements of this story are very strong indeed and its a real pleasure to watch.
The Romans is one of the comedic masterpieces in all of television and not just in Doctor Who. All the characters here are in their own way witty and engaging. And yet Nero still has a deep shade of evil cutting right through all along. His poisoning of Digilinus for a start shows us a really unfeeling, heartless creation. The comedy though for me is the most great thing about this story. Its a real relief from the harder toned historicals around it. William Hartnell again is more relaxed and calm and he's gelling with his new companion Vicki very well. William and Maureen work so very well together indeed. Jacqueline Hill is the top one here though. Her scenes with Nero are side splitting and funny. William Russell too gets a decent amount to do. They all add dimensions to the whimsical script by Dennis Spooner. So these two stories frankly are two of the finest in the shows history. Not a bad word to say about either of these two. Classy television!
| What: | The Masque of Mandragora (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 12 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This story is a real pleasure to watch. Its a visual feast for a start, as the location really feels like Spain. The acting is very very solid, and the masks of the underground cult followers are creepsville in the extreme. They spooked the hell out of me as a child. Tom Baker is on as high a form as ever, and Lis Sladen isnt bad at all as usual as Sarah Jane Smith. The most special part of this tale is the cultists crashing of the wonderfully costumed Masque in the final episode. This story is also yet again not overly complicated. Its pace too is spot on, and theres some real gems of dialogue along the way. And the Doc's scarf comes in for good use again to help him escape a nasty beheading at the climax to part one. The beginning scenes too are really good, showing a deep friendly link between the good Doc and Sarah. The only thing that lets this story down for me is the rather confused ending. I feel theres no real explanation of what happened to the Helix. But its still a very very impressive Doctor Who story. I feel this is Louis Marks finest script for the series, he went out on a real real high.
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| Better than the Dalek Genesis |
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| What: | Robot (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 9 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Back in these days of Robot, the BBC had more imaginative ways of creating effects, not just relying on darn silly computers for everything! So here the robot is sheer metal real brilliance other than a superimposed cyberman that frankly is even less convincing than a dodgy costume. And there are no dodgy costumes or designs in Robot.
Terrance Dicks writes one of his best scripts here. The Robot/ Sarah segment is particularly well played and dispalys real and rare emotion for a Doctor Who tale of this time. Lis was given her final real meaty part as Sarah here in this tale, after this she became largely a spare part, which is a disgusting thing to do for such a fine actress. She always was a brilliant companion, and even the lesser usage of her after this doesnt disable that fact. She was a brilliant companion and its a huge shame now that she is no longer with us.
Patricia Maynard as Miss Winters is a revelation, you can tell she really enjoys playing the part, and comes over as arrogant and psychotic without being overtly over active. One of the strongest female roles offered to Doctor Who one off actors at this time i feel.
And the usual involvement of The Brig and Benton just help the brilliant mix no end in this story. They provide a lot of light relief and some moments of great comedy too are peppered throughout this story from the word go. And to think that this was Tom's first Doctor Who he is the Doctor straight away, he sits into the role like a comfy chair and steals the show with his mental but still immensely moral character.
The design of the Robot too has to be mentioned, as its excellently done, and plaudits must go to Michael Kilgariff for acting in a monster of a metal suit so well. The final scenes of this story are particcularly good, when Sarah is truly sad at the loss of the Robot. Its a nice story end and all round this story is solid and great.
Ian Marter definitely needs a mention too. Yet again though he suffers here in his first tale from being underused, what he suffered in every story except maybe Terror of The Zygons. He was a fine actor and brought Harry Sullivan to vivid life and it was indeed short sighted of the Beeb to get rid of him after only one pitiful season! But aside from this this story is still excellent in almost every way. I dont give a toss about the toy tank and the blue legs of the giantly enlarged robot because at least they were attempted with real things and not just computers. They had originality and werent as bad as all that anyway in my opinion. Robot saw the fourth Doctor begin in great style, pity it was followed by three underpar stories as far as Im concerned, the Fourth Doctor needed a jump start after this, and he got it only from Revenge of the Cybermen onward.
| What: | Mannequin Mania (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Sunday 8 May 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
When I was a lot younger I didnt really use to like Spearhead From Space all that much. But I dont know why, as now I really like it a lot. It has great autons for a start, far more lumpy and frightening than those stupid new series efforts! I was about as scared of them as a scab! These two Jon Pertwee tales are both excellent though.
Spearhead From Space boasts some great characters, one would expect no less from Rob Holmes. I love the characters of the Seeleys particularly. The banter between these two older characters is highly amusing. And Jon Pertwee finds his feet immediately, although its not til part three that he really makes a huge contribution to the story, for being in the Ashbridge Cottage Hospital. But those scenes where he meets the Brigadier with his new regenrated face are rather comic and good too. Hugh Burden is excellent as the soulless and ruthless nestene Channing, and John Woodnutt is a great foil as the taken over Hibbert. I really like these interesting characters. Caroline John also makes a marked impression as new companion Liz Shaw. I love the immediate connection she makes with Jon Pertwee. I am really sad she was only in the series for a single season, even more sad that she wasnt given a real goodbye. And theres no need to go on about how good Nick Courtney is. He's a great character, part of the Third Doctor perfect mix. The fight scene in episode four is particularly well done and shot, being highly suspenseful indeed. What I also think adds to the effect of this story is that its entirely shot on film. It gives it a firm uniqueness amidst every other Doctor Who around it.
Terror of the Autons though is my favourite of these two stories. one for its introduction of the great Roger Delgado as the Master and Katy Manning as brilliant reliable and clothheaded Jo Grant. These two make a brilliant entry into the series, Katy being charmingly dim but loyal, and Roger being suitably chilling and suave all at the same time. And the fact that far more plasti things come to life make this all the more fulfilling adventure in my opinion. The troll doll is particularly well realised, and looks truly ugly and unfriendly. And I mustnt forget the other great guy who makes his debut here, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates. I liked his character, as he seemed to be given a bit more depth than the other officers of UNIT. Although John Levene is always dependable and again is used well in this story. The Master's savage killing of the technician at the climax of this story just highlights how evil a character he is. Things all come to a great crescendo. Maybe the ending is just a little quick, but for me this is no problem. I think its highly believable that the Master would have been so blinded by the power he could gain to forget that the Nestenes wouldnt see him as being any different from any human. Its a brilliant script point to me. So I love these two stories. (Yeah, I know Ive written this before the DVDS out, but I know all the extras too will be great I know.
