Carnival of Monsters [Doctor Who, Story 66]

Carnival of Monsters by Robert Holmes

27 January - 17 February​

Talk about a revelation! I knew a little about this story going in - namely that it is generally well liked and the Drashigs are in it - but I should have known that there was more than meets the eye in Bob Holmes' fifth script for the series. His wit and finely honed sense of satire have clearly developed by this point, and it makes for one of the best serials we've had on the show yet.

From the off, we're put on a beautiful set (an actual boat, I think?) of an interwar vessel traversing the Indian Ocean, or at least it first appears. The Doctor and Jo's little disagreement about the chickens was a charming little moment, and when we shift to the terminally gray and drag Inter Minor, the sight of Vorg and Shirna coming tumbling out of the baggage claim - presumably because they couldn't afford better seats - is a great gag. Their hideous costumes shouldn't work, but I find them charming regardless, and the pair of them make for a great comedic double act. Also exceeding expectations are the Inter Minor tribunal, saved by the late decision not to put them in masks, and by the excellent triple casting of Michael Wisher, Peter Halliday (Packerrr!) and Terence Lodge. What would otherwise be three dull, gray aliens from a dull, gray planet are played with a surprising amount of breadth and irony, in spite of their samey appearances and elevated dialog.

This last bit works because Inter Minor is supposed to be a crap Doctor Who alien world on purpose, and the story uses it as a contrast to the events inside of the miniscope. It's a place where the very idea of entertainment is alien, so what does Vorg do? Why, he shows them an episode of Doctor Who. They all crowd in around the screen to watch the monsters play away. It's an amusing moment when Jo, being captured again for the fourth time after escaping, groans "It's all right. I know the routine." So too is the bit where she reveals her skeleton key, showing that those escapology classes she supposedly took were actually good for something. She gets captured often enough! Coming right after the self-mythologizing The Three Doctors, this story seems to pick up on the same thread, but with a comedic spin, reproducing the show's own plot structures and conventions, and winking knowingly while doing it.

For all that it's on a shoestring budget, the effects look very good. The Plesiosaurus, I'm sad to inform you, is tragically not scientifically accurate but has a very winning snarl. And the Drashigs, puppets though they may be, look astoundingly good. The giant hand reaching into the miniscope to pluck the Doctor's TARDIS away is an amazing effect, and the pyrotechnics in the Drashig swamp made me gasp. "Cheap" doesn't always mean "bad", as this story shows with such aplomb.

I was pleased to see Ian Marter a bit earlier than I thought I would. Although his part is a bit limiting, forced to repeat the same actions over and over again, he plays it memorably, with a kind of dated charm despite being at odds with our regulars. I was also interested to note the presence of Albert Moses, who unless I am mistaken (or if someone was crammed in a monster costume) is the first South Asian actor on the program.

The Doctor and Jo are, as usual, brilliant. For me the highlight is the part where, once the Doctor emerges from the miniscope, he ignores the task at hand to see if he won his argument with Jo over what planet they were on. The dejected sort of way he says "I see" when he realizes Jo was right is hilarious.

I could praise this story all day, really. It's one of the smartest scripts that's been offered to the show so far, and is full of interesting moments, great acting, and a whole lot of spectacle. Absolutely one of my favorites now.

We'll be embarking on a somewhat longer galactic adventure next, starting with Frontier in Space.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 6 April 2021.)

The Three Doctors [Doctor Who, Story 65]

The Three Doctors by Bob Baker & Dave Martin

30 December 1972 - 20 January 1973​

I'm starting to realize that the Bristol Boys are the writers on call, as this is their third script in so many seasons. All three of those have been solid but not exceptional stories, and that pattern seems to hold up here. The Three Doctors generally holds up well, but it's more interesting for the fact of its existence than for any of its story beats. After several long years where Doctor Who remained somewhat indifferent to its history, we finally get a story that acknowledges the show's mythology in a way beyond merely bringing back an established monster. It warms the heart seeing William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton back for a guest appearance, even if the former is in a somewhat diminished capacity. This story feels properly celebratory, which is very refreshing.

Omega is the other big highlight of this. He's a fascinating villain, and the design of that mask is so striking. It's interesting that there's a parallel to be drawn between him and the Third Doctor in particular, both of them being Time Lords who've rendered great services for their people but who have been cast aside and even punished for their trouble. The difference, of course, is that it drove Omega mad, while the Doctor has gone on doing his best to help people. Still, the script treats him in a fairly sympathetic way, for all his megalomania, and he is ultimately a tragic figure. I enjoyed the touch that the Doctor says he grew up with stories of Omega and looked up to him. Never meet your heroes!

On another note, we get to see Benton and the Brig travel somewhere in the TARDIS for the first time, so now I guess they formally get to enter my companion list. They're both pretty good in this story, though the Brigadier's stubborn refusal to believe that the TARDIS has traveled anywhere is a bit bemusing. In terms of less successful side characters, Tyler and Ollis don't add much to the story, but the former is amusing enough, and the second breaks ground by being a rural civilian with a gun who doesn't get disintegrated by monsters. Progress!

It's hard to pinpoint, but Troughton's Second Doctor feels markedly different, even though it's just four years since he left the part at this point. Most likely it comes from the transition from leading man to side character, making his usual plans and capers less central to the script. Still, I was positively delighted by his recorder gizmo and its role in defeating Omega.

The Three Doctors is an ambitious story, presenting a cosmic threat on a level we have not yet seen, one that even the Time Lords are powerless to stop. Although it's not perfect, I found it in many ways quite brilliant, and was left smiling. Seeing the Doctor's exile formally end is just a nice cherry on top. And speaking of that, Carnival of Monsters is next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 6 April 2021.)

Verdigris [Doctor Who, Diversion 23]

Verdigris by Paul Magrs

3 April 2000

‘I am Verdigris,’ the figure said, and didn’t elaborate.​

Verdigris: "green of Greece", or in less obscure terms, the greenness on copper caused by oxidation. There's certainly no rust on this book, however, which at 21 years old still feels quite new and exciting. I've heard a lot about Iris Wildthyme, everyone's favorite auntie and original creation of author Paul Magrs, but I'd never read any of the books or listened to the audios until now. Predictably, this book is quite entertainingly mad, and it seems to have some interesting things to say about the Pertwee era as well.

From the off, it's hilarious how Iris (apparently in her Beryl Reid guise at this point) is just about this Doctor's opposite. She's a hard-partying lush with reluctant companions and far fewer moral scruples. And she's so much fun. The Doctor is stuck between caring for her and wishing she'd buzz off and let him solve this adventure by himself. I was also deeply amused by her apparent antipathy to Jo, given that they'd eventually share an actress. Her companion, Tom, is a nice side character and plays off of her well. His dilemma between liking Iris and distrusting her, to say nothing of his reaction to the other characters, is played very well, and leads to some fun places.

This book doesn't so much lean on the fourth wall as chisel a hole in it and peek on out. There's a sequence where Jo wanders into an abandoned UNIT HQ which is presented to us as a series of Tele-Snaps that are apparently in black and white and with garbled audio. We encounter a nameless man in the woods; the narrator can't decide if he is a poacher or a tramp, then shrugs and calls him both, before killing him. Poor Mike Yates is turned into a two-dimensional cardboard cutout and stuffed in Jo's handbag. The narrative more than once comes only just short of pointing out through text or dialog that they're all in a post-modernist novel. Verdigris takes refuge in absurdity, and I love it. It's poking fun at the tropes of the period, but in a way that I sense to be more fond than anything. I was also amused, and provoked into thought, when Iris pleads with the Doctor, telling him he got off easy being exiled, whereas she'd probably be executed by the Time Lords because he's a "posh" Gallifreyan and she's not.

All told, it's a bit of a mind-fuck, but undoubtedly a very fun one. The prose is hilarious, and the little references to both the continuity and to fan culture, gay culture, and literature were all much appreciated by me. I'm pleased that these two latest diversions have been some of the best I've yet done for this marathon, but not to be outdone, the program itself has some spectacle to offer. The Three Doctors is next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 5 April 2021.)

The Scorchies [Doctor Who, Diversion 22]

The Scorchies by James Goss

7 March 2013

"We'll be succinct / The Doc's extinct! / Yes, we killed that no-good Doctor dead!"​

Oh, now this one was such a surprise and a delight. Musical episodes are my weakness, and frankly it's shocking that one has never properly unfolded on televised Doctor Who! Gunfighters aside, at least. Big Finish has picked up some of the slack and put out several over the years. The Scorchies is one of the Companion Chronicles, and therefore a relatively short story focusing on, in this instance, lovely Jo Grant. She's been kidnapped by a bunch of insane alien Muppets who have apparently killed the Doctor!

The eponymous Scorchies are actually the creations of Professor Baffle, a member of an alien race who invented the television, only to see his people destroyed by it. Ever since, the Scorchies have been visiting developing worlds who have discovered television, hypnotizing them with their catchy songs, and then incinerating them all. And my God, those songs are absolute earworms! I'm humming Jo's Making a Thing still a full day after I listened. Despite it being a purely audio experience, I feel like you can still vividly imagine the mad puppet show that's going on. In fact, I found that picturing the puppets on the cover bouncing around and singing while Jo looks distraught was entirely appropriate for the experience.

Katy Manning is as stunning as always as Jo, and even puts in a couple of extra vocal credits as some of the Scorchies. Her distress at the Doctor's apparent death is sold very well, and her bond with Professor Baffle is just so nice. Melvyn Hayes also deserves a good deal of credit for the other Scorchies and the Professor, the latter being an especially heartbreaking performance.

This is a short post, but only because I'm too much in love with this audio to be especially coherent. It's creepy, it's bizarre, it's a little heartwarming in places, and it's undoubtedly a Companion Chronicle that's worth listening to.

From strange to stranger, it's a quick bus ride to Verdigris next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 4 April 2021.)

Cities Made of Song, 1972

Cities Made of Song, 1972 - Advent of Panurge by Gentle Giant​

I've already spent several sentences in these posts talking about how great music in this period was, but pound for pound, 1972 has more of my favorite albums than any other year in history. Among others, it's the year that saw "Argus" by Wishbone Ash, Sabbath's "Vol 4", the self-titled "Captain Beyond", Tull's "Thick as a Brick", and one of the very best, "Close to the Edge" by Yes. Must have been something in the water. Talking of water, here's "Octopus".

Poor Gentle Giant so rarely gets talked about. After breaking up in 1980, they never reunited and most of their former members now live out of the public eye. Even though they never packed stadiums like Genesis, I'd argue that Gentle Giant were the far more innovative progressive rock group. For all that they are relatively obscure outside of dedicated rock fans, there's a lot to love about this group. "Quirky" is probably the best descriptor of their kind of music, full of funny interpolations, vocal harmonies, and creative instrumentation.

"Octopus" is definitely my favorite of the lot. Funnily enough, it has nothing to do with marine life; rather the name is a pun on "octo opus", since the album has eight tracks. Roger Dean puts in another iconic piece of album artwork regardless. I just love that scowling cephalopod, the clouds, and the frothing surf. It's all very Sea Devils-y. But that's all just superficial; the real treats are on the record itself. Knots is one of my favorites, a wonderfully schizophrenic little song which seems to be about miscommunication between two people. Raconteur Troubadour is right up there too, the type of song you'd maybe expect to hear while visiting a ren fair on acid. Special mentions also go to the downplayed ode to man's best friend on Dog's Life, and the lovely paean Think of Me with Kindness.

For this post, I decided to highlight the album's first track, Advent of Panurge, because it really has it all: an awesome bassline, call-and-answer singing, and a psychedelic breakdown in the middle. Oh, and it sounds vaguely like Phil Shulman says "exterminate" around the three minute mark. Actually, that's probably just Latin or Old French, because there's an excerpt from a foreign language book right around there. The whole song is based on Gargantua and Pantagruel, a French novel series from the 16th century, which sounds like great fun because it made the religious authorities of the time very angry. And why did Gentle Giant base a song around it? Erm... No clue. Does it matter?

It's said that "art for art's sake is an empty phrase", but I don't think you have to understand anything to enjoy it. My brain kind of switches off when I listen to Gentle Giant, and I enjoy it a lot while doing so. For all their obscurity, I'm far from their only fan, and many of my favorite modern bands (Haken, for example) wear their GG influence proudly. If you're not familiar with this most unique of rock bands, check some of their songs out sometime. Although they've never formally reunited, they did put out a wonderful fan collab of their song Proclamation for quarantine last year, and several of the band members make appearances. Always nice when some quirky thing from yesteryear still has loving fans, isn't it?

Then said he, "Fair Pantagruel / My name is Panurge and I have come from Hell!"​

Before digging into Season Ten, we have a couple of diversions to check out. The Scorchies is first.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 4 April 2021.)

Doctor Who, Season Nine

Can I really already be past the halfway point of the Pertwee era? After the first baby steps to Uxareius in the last season, the show is at last stretching its wings again and untethering itself from the Season Seven format. Three of this season's five stories had no appearances from the UNIT crew at all, even if one of those three is still earthbound. In the midst of it all, Jon Pertwee goes from strength to strength, now thoroughly inhabiting the role of the Doctor in ways that his predecessors rarely did. After her shaky start last season, Katy Manning likewise continues to convince as Jo Grant.

We visited the future, other worlds, and the English Channel (!) and had a lot of fun along the way. I'm finding myself comfortable in this era at this point, and I'm really, really looking forward to what comes next.

But first, here's the score breakdown:

Day of the Daleks - 9.25
Episode One - 10.00
Episode Two - 9.00
Episode Three - 9.00
Episode Four - 9.00

The Curse of Peladon - 8.25
Episode One - 8.00
Episode Two - 8.00
Episode Three - 8.00
Episode Four - 9.00

The Sea Devils - 8.33
Episode One - 9.00
Episode Two - 9.00
Episode Three - 9.00
Episode Four - 7.00
Episode Five - 8.00
Episode Six - 8.00

The Mutants - 7.83
Episode One - 8.00
Episode Two - 7.00
Episode Three - 7.00
Episode Four - 8.00
Episode Five - 8.00
Episode Six - 9.00

The Time Monster - 6.17
Episode One - 6.00
Episode Two - 6.00
Episode Three - 5.00
Episode Four - 6.00
Episode Five - 7.00
Episode Six - 7.00

Best episode: Day of the Daleks, Episode One - 10.00
Runner-up: Day of the Daleks, Episode Three - 9.00
Worst episode: The Time Monster, Episode Three - 5.00

Season Nine average: 7.85

Best guest appearance: Aubrey Woods as the Controller (Day of the Daleks)
Best special effect: The Sea Devil costumes (The Sea Devils)
Best musical score: The Sea Devils (Malcolm Clarke)

Now for a musical interlude for 1972, before we get to the next stories.

(Modified from the original posted on Gallifrey Base on 3 April 2021.)

The Time Monster [Doctor Who, Story 64]

The Time Monster by Robert Sloman & Barry Letts

20 May - 24 June 1972​

I'm not exactly going to sit here telling you all that The Time Monster is a great story, but this is far from the worst Doctor Who story I've watched so far! Sloman clearly had tons of fun ideas he brought to the table here, plus a few notable contributions from Barry Letts. It's the way that these ideas play out on screen, however, where this story starts to have teething troubles.

Once I got my giggles about "TOMTIT" out of the way, I otherwise found myself waiting for the inevitable transition to Atlantis. There were some nice moments along the way, like Benton pretending the follow the Master's misdirection, or (some of) the banter between Stuart and Dr. Ingram. By and large, however, I felt that this part of the story was just a bit too drawn out, especially given that we don't arrive fully in Atlantis until Episode Five, by which point there's very little time left to develop that location and its characters. And Atlantis does end up being somewhat interesting, but with so little room to breathe, it sadly never comes across all that well.

Kronos is realized in a fashion that's frankly kind of risible, although I do like how it appears as a glammed-up woman at the very end. I thought the minotaur was pretty good, too, if underused. There seems to be a concerted effort on Sloman's part to introduce some more high-concept ideas relating to time travel into the show's mythos. This is the first time we hear about Chronovores, telepathic circuits, or the Time Vortex. At least I think so in the last case, but either way it's featured more prominently here than it has been before. The sequence in the Time Vortex with the Doctor's and Master's TARDISes grappling is quite interesting, though on the whole the ideas are a bit of a jumble.

Pride of place in this serial probably goes to the moment in the dungeons of Atlantis, where the Doctor tells Jo his story:

JO: Makes it seem so pointless really, doesn't it.
DOCTOR: I felt like that once when I was young. It was the blackest day of my life.
JO: Why?
DOCTOR: Ah, well, that's another story. I'll tell you about it one day. The point is, that day was not only my blackest, it was also my best.
JO: Well, what do you mean?
DOCTOR: Well, when I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. And behind our house, there sat under a tree an old man, a hermit, a monk. He'd lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he'd learned the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me.
JO: And he told you the secret? Well, what was it?
DOCTOR: Well, I'm coming to that, Jo, in my own time. Ah, I'll never forget what it was like up there. All bleak and cold, it was. A few bare rocks with some weeds sprouting from them and some pathetic little patches of sludgy snow. It was just grey. Grey, grey, grey. Well, the tree the old man sat under, that was ancient and twisted and the old man himself was, he was as brittle and as dry as a leaf in the autumn.
JO: But what did he say?
DOCTOR: Nothing, not a word. He just sat there, silently, expressionless, and he listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I'd finished, he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?
JO: No.
DOCTOR: A flower. One of those little weeds. Just like a daisy, it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel. And the colours? Well, the colours were deeper and richer than you could possibly imagine. Yes, that was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen.
JO: And that was the secret of life? A daisy? Honestly, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So, later, I got up and I ran down that mountain and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all, but they were red, brown and purple and gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow, they were shining white. Shining white in the sunlight.

This is so nice, not just because it teases us some more about the Doctor's background, but because it explains so wonderfully why the Doctor travels and why he finds such joy in the new sights the universe has to offer. There's a delightful note of ambiguity, too, in the way that the Doctor tells it in first person, but then says he "laughed when he first heard it". It definitely leaves one wondering.

The Time Monster is a curious way to end Season Nine, and I have to note that we've arrived at the first story of the Pertwee era that doesn't really work. It's a good mark that it took three seasons to get here though! And for all the flaws of this story, I was nevertheless thoroughly entertained all the way through.

We'll have our annual season round-up next. See you then.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 3 April 2021.)