Arc of Infinity

Faithful viewer, we are approaching a momentous occasion in Doctor Who history. This serial marks the beginning of a brand-new season, and this season happens to mark the twentieth anniversary of our beloved show. Twenty years–can you believe it? Seems like only yesterday…

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

So to celebrate, the Powers that Were created a little extravaganza for all the ’80s Whovians (and for all those who came after). Said extravaganza being that every serial this season will feature a friend or foe from seasons passed. Somehow, someway, they will find their way to the Doctor, and help us–the fans–celebrate twenty years of Doctor Who fun.

Straight off the bat, the Doctor is called to Gallifrey, because the Time Lords want to ask for his help. It would seem that the Time Lords can’t actually do anything without the help of their most famous renegade, but soon the truth comes out. There’s another renegade Time Lord–less famous and far less cuddly than the Doctor–and he’s causing a world of trouble while using the Doctor’s bio-data to cover his tracks. In a stunning plot twist, the Time Lords have decided that the best way to solve this problem is to kill the Doctor, thus restricting this other renegade’s access to his bio-data.

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–How the High Council thought that was a good idea, I’m unsure. It seems about as effective as stopping up a bullet wound with another bullet, frankly.–

At any rate, it soon becomes clear that there’s a traitor within the High Council, and they’re collaborating with one of the Doctor’s maddest, deadliest foes…

I’ll just go ahead and tell you, faithful viewer. Omega’s back. You remember him, right?

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

Traitor to Gallifrey, poisoned by anti-matter, now stunningly fluorescent. That’s Omega.

And now, the power-crazed renegade has come back to settle the score with the Doctor. Even though I’m pretty sure he disintegrated last time we saw him, he’s got himself a new mask and has conned a member of the High Council–as well as something that looks like an Atomic Chicken–into helping out with his dirty work.

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Before I get on with the rest of the recap, I’d just like to state for the record that I’m not surprised that Omega needed only one high-ranking Time Lord to help him, because the rest of the High Council behaved like such idiots this time around, I could hardly believe it myself. Again, I don’t know what they were trying to accomplish by killing the Doctor, but if they were trying to look like fools, they didn’t need any help from Omega.

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–I was quite embarrassed for Michael Gough, who portrayed Councilor Hedin. You might remember him from the Tim Burton “Batman” movies, as well as the inexplicable serial “The Celestial Toymaker” back in ’66. I was hoping Mr. Gough would get a chance to redeem himself in this serial, but unfortunately that was not to be.–

Indeed, the only Gallifreyans worth anything more than base contempt were two young men named Damon and Maxil. Damon, bless him, was a brave sweetie whom I’m fairly positive had the hots for Nyssa. On a planet populated mainly by people who wanted to kill the Doctor, it was nice to have one ally at least.

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And as for Maxil…I’ve been waiting for that man to make his appearance on the show for quite some time. You see, Commander Maxil happens to have been played by none other than the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker himself!

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In a move that eerily echoes Peter Capaldi’s casting in “The Fires of Pompeii” before beginning his tenure as the Twelfth Doctor, our Sixth Doctor has a cameo in this serial. And what a cameo it was. It was difficult, honestly, to look away from Colin while he was strutting his stuff–and I don’t think it was just because of his ridiculous hat. Admittedly, his character was not the friendliest chap in the world. He was actually one of the more gung-ho advocates of the Doctor’s execution. But his asshattishness was nevertheless incredibly engaging.

Hopefully, his interpretation of the Doctor is not quite as asshat-y.

Before I get carried away in more character descriptions, I should probably mention that there’s a plot in this serial that takes place away from Gallifrey. Omega’s plan for world domination also manages to interrupt an Amsterdam vacation for two young Australian fellows, Robin and Colin. I was hoping, when this serial opened on a scenic Dutch boulevard, that we were going to get a love letter of a story for the beautiful city, much like “City of Death” was one for Paris. Unfortunately, such was not the case, as the bulk of the action took place either in Dutch sewers or in the courtrooms of Gallifrey. But I still love the fact that it was Amsterdam that was chosen as the representative of Earth civilization in this serial. Standing in opposition to the futurism and cold reserve of Gallifrey, it’s fitting that the most patchwork, most lively, most human city in the world would be chosen to stand for the human race.

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And no, I’m not making a drug joke. Read “The Fault in Our Stars,” faithful viewer. You’ll understand.

And last, but certainly not least, we have a major surprise in this serial. Admittedly, the photo above might have given it away. You remember that last time, we lost Tegan to the lure of Heathrow Airport and a steady job? I was certain that that was the last we’d see of our brave and bold Australian lady, since companions who leave the TARDIS seldom return to it. However, much to my delight, she’s back with us again! She lost her job, unfortunately, but that’s why she was in Amsterdam at the most fortuitous time. Turns out that Colin–one of the boys who got caught in the crossfire of Omega’s plan–is her cousin, and she wants to help Robin find him again. Once she discovers that the Doctor’s involved with all the strange goings-on in Amsterdam, she begins to rethink her decision to give up time-traveling with him.

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Her similarities to Donna Noble grow more and more every episode, it seems. Not only is Tegan opinionated and gutsy like her, it seems that even though she spends most of her time with the Doctor at loggerheads with him, she just can’t stop wanting to see the Universe with him.

And now she’s back full-time–and willingly to boot! Let’s see what happens…

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when the Doctor journeys to a planet of snakes and battles an ancient enemy…

Time-Flight

The great thing about this show, faithful viewer, is that it requires a certain amount of intellectual curiosity to be truly enjoyable. Until I watched this episode, I was completely ignorant of supersonic air travel, but as fortune would have it, this serial is entirely based on the innovation of the Concorde jet. Having entered service in 1976, the Concorde model jet flew commercial flights for 27 years before its eventual retirement. In 1982, Concorde jets were still something of a novelty, practically a science fiction dream come true. So naturally, the Powers That Were had to feature a Concorde on Doctor Who.

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Still mourning Adric’s loss, the Doctor and his remaining companions received a request from UNIT (!!!) to investigate the disappearance of a Concorde into thin air. In another Concorde (which demonstrates the gravity of the situation–there were only two Concordes in public service at the time), the Doctor followed the first Concorde into a time contour, traveling 140 million years into the past. Finding the first Concorde and its passengers safe and sound, the Doctor soon realized that something fishy was going on. All the crew and passengers on the first Concorde were utterly convinced that the only thing out of the ordinary about their situation was the exceptionally long layover they were enduring. After a little poking around, it became apparent that a mystic named Kalid was behind it all, and the Doctor resolved to stop him. But Kalid was not all he seemed, and the Doctor was in far greater danger than he realized…

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Pardon my language, faithful viewer, but not for nothing is this serial known as “Time-Shite.” I mean, the plot was okay I guess, but everything else was disgraceful. And here are all the reasons why.

Firstly, the whole look of the thing was extremely shoddy. Since they couldn’t (obviously) bring an actual Concorde onto a sound stage, a model had to be used, and faithful viewer….I don’t think we’ve had models this crappy since the 60s.

Photo credit, archivetvmusings.wordpress.com

Secondly, I spent most of this serial praying for the string of airline-related jokes to end. Clunky and cheesy to the nth degree.

Thirdly, the token alien race the Doctor encountered–the Xeraphin–were completely pointless, despite having a beautiful collective name.

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But most egregious of all was Kalid. I might as well tell you, faithful viewer: Kalid was secretly the Master in disguise.

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Wowee wow, surprise surprise.

The Master, trapped in prehistoric times, has come up with another half-baked scheme and tried to ally himself with another backwoods alien race. It’s not the ordinariness of his plan that I object to–it’s the pointlessness of it. I mean, he’s trapped on a barren wasteland that will one day become Heathrow Airport (insert joke here), and what does he decide to do? Disguise himself as the melting waxwork of a racist pantomime villain and muck about with Concordes? Lame.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

Well, I guess there was one good scene in all this mess. A couple of the crewmen who were helping the Doctor–Bilton and Stapely–had to figure out how to fly the TARDIS and get it out of the Master’s clutches. (Sidenote: It’s a testament to how cornily villainous the Master has become that I can use phrases like “the Master’s clutches” without a trace of irony). Anyway, Bilton and Stapely managed to figure it out just in time, and watching them do it was both adorable and inspiring. Equating the TARDIS controls with the more familiar controls of human aircraft, the pair of exceptional humans foiled the Master’s plan (again, no irony) and delivered the TARDIS safely to the Doctor. I’m a little sad we won’t be seeing them again–they’d both make fine companions.

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Speaking of companions, I’ve got a bit of sad news. Still recovering from Adric’s death, Team TARDIS also saw Tegan Jovanka’s (thankfully non-fatal) exit. The sad thing is that she didn’t want to go, no really. She had almost decided to get on a plane and start her flight attendant duties as she had originally planned, but she changed her mind at the last minute and ran through the airport, searching for the Doctor. Unfortunately, the TARDIS departed without her, leaving her stranded at Heathrow.

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So, I guess this is good-bye to Tegan. She wasn’t quiet, she wasn’t safe, and she certainly wasn’t calm, but she was a stellar companion at the end of the day. I’m sure we’ll all miss her.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when we travel to beautiful Amsterdam and find out what lies beyond the boundaries of reality…

Earthshock

In hindsight, it may surprise you to learn this, faithful viewer: My only thought upon beginning this serial was a hope that it would be easier to watch than to say its title. Little did I know…

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This time, the Doctor and his companions left the TARDIS in a snit. Adric was feeling homesick for E-space, and was trying to convince the Doctor to send him back. Before long, the question of trans-universal travel was dropped completely, as our Team TARDIS happened to come across a team of archaeologists trying to rescue their comrades, who were trapped in a mine. In their attempts to save them, however, the archaeologists disturbed a colony of Cybermen and their android slaves. With that one slight action, a massive war was sparked between the humans and the Cybermen, taking them from the depths of the Earth’s crust to the outer reaches of our planet’s orbit. Things get grim here, faithful viewer, and in order to destroy the Cybermen, someone has to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Photo credit, en.wikipedia.org

In most respects, faithful viewer, this is a typical Base Under Siege story, with not much remarkable about it. The Cybermen have been upgraded again, and I have to say that I don’t like it at all. Their voice modulators are all sing-song-y again, and their movements are far too smooth and human-like to be entirely convincing. There’s a delicate balance between having the Cybermen look like the most advanced robots that ever existed and having them look like people in ridiculous silver suits. The show hasn’t quite got it right since the late 60s (the Cybermen in “The Moonbase” looking remarkably high-tech and sounding deliciously creepy), and I’m eager to see good Cybermen again.

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Well, I can always just watch “Nightmare in Silver” one more time, I guess.

This serial’s got some heavy baggage though, despite its ordinary presentation. You see, in order to defeat the Cybermen, the humans needed someone to put themselves right in the lion’s mouth. In other words, someone had to stop the Cyber-ship from crashing into the Earth and destroying its inhabitants. Such a problem requires extensive knowledge of complex mathematics, and there just happened to be someone aboard the TARDIS who wore a badge for mathematical excellence.

Photo credit, http://www.bbc.co.uk

Thanks to his careful calculations, Adric was able to send the ship 65 million years into the past, so the future of humanity was saved. And a massive object was supposed to crash into the Earth around that point in time–the chaos that killed the dinosaurs, darling–so the timelines of the Universe were left unbothered.

However…Adric was convinced that he could stop the ship from crashing at all. With the result that he didn’t exit the ship in time.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

The upshot, faithful viewer, is this. Adric killed the dinosaurs, saved the human race, and lost his life. I know I haven’t always been very nice about him, but his last hour really was his finest.

Good-bye, Adric, and thank you.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when we climb aboard a Concorde jet and do battle with a clever old foe…

Black Orchid

I don’t know why, faithful viewer, but it seems like the 1920s lend themselves wonderfully to murder mysteries. Maybe it’s the prevailing influence of writers like Agatha Christie, or maybe there’s just something in the water, but a story about the Roarin’ Twenties doesn’t quite seem complete without a really spiffing murder mystery. And what do you know? We’ve got one right here on Doctor Who! Let’s take a look at it, shall we?

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A case of mistaken identity leads the Doctor and his companions to being invited to a cricket match at Cranleigh Hall. A young lady named Ann Talbot–engaged to marry the heir to the estate–looks exactly like Nyssa, which she considers to be great fun. A mysterious person, whom a South American native tries unsuccessfully to guard, keeps killing people, and the Doctor gets blamed for it. The Doctor has to clear his name, save other innocent people from being murdered, and find out who the murderer really is. And what is the connection between the murders and the rare black orchid that the Cranleighs keep on proud display?

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This is a very special serial, faithful viewer, because it is the first straight historical story we’ve had–with no space stuff and no aliens except for the main characters–since “The Highlanders” in 1966. Well, technically “The Enemy of the World” in ’67 didn’t have many aliens, but it took place in the future, so I don’t reckon it counts. And as our first historical in 16 years…I’d say this one is pretty decent. The script is a little lame–not much wit among the fluffy twenties-isms–but the plot was fab. And besides, I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the whole 20s aesthetic (not to be conflated with my fondness for men in kilts that was indulged in our last historical serial). It’s amazing how many sins can be forgiven in a TV show when the delivery looks good.

Photo credit, tansyrr.com

I’m told that’s how Primeval lasted that long.

We had some good characters this time ’round as well. Sir Robert Muir, a guest of the Cranleighs and a man of considerable political authority, is surprisingly adorable for a politician, and the only man (so far) to whom Tegan didn’t give a hard time.

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Lady Cranleigh, on the other hand, is absolutely, deliciously awful. She didn’t vouch for the Doctor when his innocence was called into question–even though she knew full well he didn’t kill anybody–and that earns her a major black mark in my book.

Photo credit, wilybadger.wordpress.com

And lastly, we have George Cranleigh, eldest son and former heir to the Cranleigh estate. Having sustained severe injuries while exploring the Amazon jungle, he seemed to have completely lost his wits and was one of the leading factors in the reason why so many people were killed in this serial.

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Now…I can’t be the only person annoyed by that, faithful viewer. I know that we, as a society, tend to shy away from injury and ugliness, but it doesn’t seem proper that George’s injuries would turn him into an immoral monster, and I’m quite annoyed with this story for portraying him that way.

Photo credit, http://www.warpedfactor.com

Just because you don’t look like a “normal” human doesn’t mean that you have to be a monster.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when the Doctor must battle an old enemy and say good-bye to a new friend…

The Visitation

Boy, I’ll tell you, faithful viewer. When I sat down to watch this serial, the only thing I was thinking was “I hope this one’s a bit lighter.” I mean, “Kinda” was completely awesome and fantastic, but it was also extremely frakkin’ dark. To paraphrase Lieutenant Todd, “Paradise is alright at first, but after a while…it’s just got too many snakes.” So all I was hoping for from this serial was a slight break from those snakes.

Photo credit, en.wikipedia.org

Trying to get Tegan to Heathrow so that she could start her job as a flight attendant at last, the Doctor actually succeeds this time. He lands right smack where he wanted to go…but arrives about 300 years too early. Figuring he might as well do some exploring while he was there, the Doctor ignores Tegan’s objections and sets off. It soon becomes clear that the TARDIS, while it didn’t exactly take the Doctor where he wanted to go, it took him where he needed to be. Right in the middle of 17th century England, it turns out, a colony of Terileptils have settled. With the help of their blinged-out android, the Terileptils plan to kill off all of Earth’s humans and claim Earth as their own terra firma. And, as ever, it’s up to the Doctor to stop them.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

While my thoughts before watching this serial prayed for a lighter-hearted adventure, my thoughts after watching it echoed the sentiments of Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles: “How…owdinawy.” Absolutely nothing about this serial caught my attention, and the whole affair felt like a complete yawn after our last action-packed story. When it comes right down to it, faithful viewer, I prefer high-stakes adventure to bland old telly, any day of the week.

Photo credit, http://www.tellytechblog.com

No matter how many snakes come with it.

Well, I suppose there was one stand-out in the serial, after all. His name was Richard Mace, and he was played by an actor (shocker) named Michael Robbins. A highwayman and former thespian, Richard is shown from minute one to be a charmer of high degree. I was sort of won over the moment he greeted the Doctor from a perch in a tall tree, and every witty line he delivered after that only solidified my crush. I know it’s not a very significant thing to admire in a Doctor Who serial, but goodness knows I don’t have a lot else to go on.

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I did get a bit of satisfaction from mocking the Terileptils and their android, too. Faithful viewer, I don’t think we’ve had such lousy-looking aliens for a long time. The Terileptils themselves looked like the progeny of the Cheshire Cat and a giant fish who grew up next to a nuclear power plant.

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Rubbery as hell, and not remotely terrifying. And as for the android, well…that thing had more diamonds on it than the soundtrack for The Jazz Singer.

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Thank you for laughing, no one under forty.

Boy, I sure hope the next one’s got a bit more verve.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when we travel to the twenties and enjoy a good old-fashioned murder mystery…

Four to Doomsday

Welcome welcome, faithful viewer! I’m delighted that you’ve joined me today, because we’ve got a very special recap ahead of us. The serial we’re going to talk about today marks Peter Davison’s first foray into deep space as the Doctor. Let’s see how he does, shall we?

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The Doctor and his companions, at the very beginning of this story, land on what appears to be an abandoned spaceship. After some poking around, they discover that the ship is still very much inhabited. An Urbankan Monarch is in charge, aided by his two Ministers, Persuasion and Enlightenment. The ship is also populated by various delegates from Earth, representing various indigenous human cultures. Ancient Greece, Aboriginal Australia, Ancient China, and the Mayan Empire were all accounted for, and the delegates busy themselves with performing cultural pageants for the entertainment of the Monarch and his Ministers. As idyllic as this setup seems, it soon becomes clear that the Urbankans have evil plans for planet Earth, and the Earth delegates are all pawns in the game. It’s up to the Doctor and his companions to stop them.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

It’s very clear what the Powers That Were were trying to do here, faithful viewer. After the awesomeness that was “The Ark in Space” served as such a wonderful introduction to Tom Baker as the Doctor, the idea was to produce an exact-ish copy of that story to introduce Peter Davison. Unfortunately, this one kind of falls down…a lot. The thing that made “Ark” so wonderful, you see, was its mystery, subtlety, and creeping air of menace. This one is far too busy and has way too many shiny-shinies (in the form of all the glitzy Earth delegates) to be as effective. It’s like Rocky Horror in that way: there’s so much stuff, so many details, and so many half-naked men that you forget to be scared of anything.

Photo credit, http://www.bbc.co.uk

On the plus side, we have a couple of awesome companions in the TARDIS. I like Tegan–or, I’m willing to like her. She reminds me a lot of Donna in her early days–very hasty and loud. I know lots of people don’t like Tegan for that reason, but I think she’ll calm down as time goes on. And in the meantime, someone’s got to give the Doctor a hard time, and Tegan definitely rises to the occasion.

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Nyssa, on the other hand, is super-cool. She reminds me a lot of Romana, in that she seems to think a lot more than she says. We need someone to bust the Doctor’s butt from time to time, but we also need someone who can keep her cool and still say what needs to be said.

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As for Adric…that boy is on my bad list. Not only did we get some petulant misogyny from him at the start of this serial (word to the wise: Never talk trash about women when you’re outnumbered by women two to one–or ever, for that matter), but he also completely fell for all the lies the Urbankans spun for him. Come on, Adric. I expect better of my companions.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

I suppose I should mention the special effects as well. They were pretty boss, I must say. This story featured a few androids, and the standard dramatic reveal of the androids’ inner workings beneath their face-plates has never looked better. In addition, the Doctor went for a brief space-walk at one point, and it actually looked pretty decent.

Photo credit, tardis.wikia.com

It helped, of course, that it was a nice and tense scene script-wise and direction-wise, too.

All in all, though, this one was a bit of a mess. Fortunately, Peter Davison managed to acquit himself well, regardless. While we won’t ever forget Tom Baker as the Doctor, I think it’s safe to say that Peter will do just fine.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when we journey through an alien jungle, and find out exactly how dark this show can get…

Castrovalva

Hey there, faithful viewer! Glad you could join me today, for my recap of Peter Davison’s first-ever serial on Doctor Who! I’m sure you’re still sad about Tom Baker’s departure from the show–I know I definitely am–but we’ve got a brand-new adventure with a brand new Doctor to talk about today, so…let’s get right to it, shall we?

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It’s always rough watching the Doctor regenerate, and it does seem like his regenerations get harder and harder on him every time. Unfortunately, the Doctor could not have picked a worse time or place to regenerate than the moment he did. Not only did Tegan, Nyssa, and Adric have to fight off the police that were drawn to the scene of the Doctor’s last fight with the Master, but it turns out that the Master didn’t get enough of an ass-kicking last time and has come back for more–and kidnapped Adric for the purposes of yet another nefarious plot. The Doctor, trying to recover from his regeneration, seeks out the Dwellings of Simplicity on Castrovalva, and discovers more than he bargained for once there.

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Much like Jon Pertwee’s first story, “Spearhead from Space,” this story calls to mind another Next Generation Who episode: “The Christmas Invasion.” For most of the story, the Doctor is pretty much out of commission, so his companions have to rely on themselves to navigate time and space. All things considered, they manage to do pretty well–Tegan even tries her hand at flying the TARDIS! I think the Doctor’s got a pretty good team of companions this time–they look after him while he regenerates, they get him where he needs to go, and even when they get captured, they still do their best to foil their captors and stop the Doctor from getting killed by villainous Time Lords.

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Sidenote: In an interesting twist, Tegan is now the only Earthling in the TARDIS. What with the Doctor from Gallifrey, Adric from Alzerius, and Nyssa from Traken, it’s nice to have at least one modern-day Earthling on the show. Not to mention the fact that Tegan’s the first Earth-companion we’ve had since Sarah Jane! That’s quite a legacy to live up to–let’s see if she can do it!

I think this serial is the last we’re going to see of the Master for a while now, and I have to say, I’m glad. I’m always happy to see the Master–just because I love his relationship with the Doctor, how they are so completely hostile to each other, but at the same time respect and fear each other–but I wish he’d come up with more feasible plots. You know that he can never actually succeed, because of the rules of the show (the Doctor always wins and the villain never does), but I would at least like him to put together a plot that has a snowball’s chance in Florida of succeeding.

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That said, his plot this time was actually pretty clever. Using Adric’s mathematical know-how, he created a virtual reality trap for the Doctor, complete with real-live characters and a history and everything. Anyone who’s ever become addicted to an MMO RPG knows the allure of virtual reality, and the one the Master created was pretty darn cool. Maybe the Master should become a video game designer and give up this whole “life of crime” thing he has going on?

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Well, I suppose I should give you my initial impressions of Peter Davison as the Doctor. He’s…alright, I suppose. I admit, I’m still a little heartsick over Tom Baker, so I’m pretty mistrustful of Davison. If I’m completely honest, I haven’t been this hesitant of the new boy since Troughton took over from Hartnell. I will say, however, that Davison is a lot less rude than Tom ever was–I have yet to hear a harsh word from the man. And he does have an endearing energetic quality to him, while Tom always had more of a laid-back approach to shenanigans.

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I guess I’ll just have to see how he does. I’ll always miss Tom, but I’m sure Peter will be wonderful in his own way.

Stay tuned ’til next time, faithful viewer, when the Doctor and his companions travel into deep space and uncover an insidious plot against the planet Earth…