Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah, Idunno. Nice to see McCoy in any capacity, I guess but my lack of familiarity with the people involved and no interesting in the commonwealth games means there's not really a thing here for me.
-
Welcome to Talking Time's third iteration! If you would like to register for an account, or have already registered but have not yet been confirmed, please read the following:
- The CAPTCHA key's answer is "Percy"
- Once you've completed the registration process please email us from the email you used for registration at percyreghelper@gmail.com and include the username you used for registration
Once you have completed these steps, Moderation Staff will be able to get your account approved.
"It feels different this time..." - The new Doctor Who Thread
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Time-Flight
"It's amazing."
"What?"
"This thing is smaller on the inside than it is on the outside."
In this serial, the TARDIS crew is still mourning the loss of Adric when they finally find themselves in Heathrow... only to end up in the path of a Concorde plane. The Doctor and the Concorde soon find themselves transported 140 million years in the past, where a different mysteriously disappeared Concorde has arrived at. The crew of one Concorde is being hypnotized by entities called Plasmatons into doing their will. One passenger, Professor Hayter, has broken through his hypnosis and informs the Doctor the mastermind is a mystic named Kalid. While the Doctor works his way to Kalid, Nyssa and Tegan overcome a gauntlet of illusions through sheer force of will. This leaves Kalid vulnerable and is seemingly defeated by the Doctor. However, Kalid reveals himself to be the Master in disguise. It turns out the Plasmatons and his psychokinetic powers are connected to him controlling a gestalt entity race known as the Xeraphin. The Xeraphin want to take control of Nyssa's mind to gain freedom but Prof. Hayter steps in instead, seemingly dying. The Doctor learns the Xeraphin is at war with itself, one side wanting to trust the Master and the other side seeing him as evil.
The Doctor seems to convince them but the Master soon uses the Xeraphin as a power source for his TARDIS. It seems the Master in fact was stranded and wanted to use the power of the Xeraphin to create a more powerful TARDIS. The Master gets the Xeraphin and parts from the Doctor's TARDIS and seems to win but with the help of Hayter, now part of the Xeraphin and some Concorde pilots sabotaging the Doctor's TARDIS ends up delaying the Master. The Master and the Doctor find themselves in a tricky trade where it seems the Master has one. But the Doctor manages to use the Concorde to arrive before the Master (knowing the Master would want to backtrack the Doctor's last location to test the machine safely) and uses a trick to send him and the Xeraphin to the Xeraphin homeworld. The Doctor and Nyssa leave, leaving behind Tegan, finally at her location but now distraught at being left behind.
Yeah, this one is a stinker. Sorry if the synopsis doesn't make sense but frankly I can't get past a lot of the techno-jargon and weird plot hiccups and stuff that matters far less than the show seems to think. It's a rather dull story that basically tries to raise the stakes on "The Master tries to fix his time machine" and really doesn't make a lot of sense. The Plasmaton entities disappear really quickly, the Xeraphin... which are also the Plasmatons but also look different, are one of the least interesting gestalt entities in science fiction and the Master's plan is not that compelling. I guess I should be worried but that he has an infinitely powerful TARDIS but what does that mean? What does it do? Does he just travel in time but better? Does he control all matter in the universe? I really don't get the end game and why I should care and how it makes him unstoppable.
Ainley does what he can but I don't really want to give him too much credit because he spends the first half of the story... I think he's supposed to be a Middle Eastern mystic but it really feels like an Asian mystic. I'm confused but I know I am offended. It's pretty bad. But even if that weren't the case, it's ultimately a story that's far more "tell" than show. And that can be part and parcel to this franchise but it's the kind of telling where it feels like Calvinball; the rules are being made up as it goes along. Again, this can happen in this series but this feels like even less effort was put into it. The trick to sci-fi is to give some rules and then have the characters use those rules to win out but I don't know what's happening here despite the show giving us constant updates. The one thing that even stands out as an interesting character turn is Tegan, the character whose whole point is whining about wanting to go to Heathrow, getting there and discovering she wants to be on the TARDIS, feels unearned. It's a good idea but it doesn't play out well because this is not a character we've really learned to love.
I read that Davison really didn't like this one feeling the script was strong but was hurt by the budget. Unless the script was a lot stronger. I can't imagine that. If anything, the low budget can be a part of the charm in this series. I don't mind goofy foam monsters. But when the foam monsters disappear and I don't know how they work, then I start to get frustrated. The show really feels like it wants to make the Concorde the very special guest star. I vaguely remember that the Concorde was a very big deal. I think I might have flown in one as a kid? But that could be a false memory (I know for sure I did do a lot of flying). But even then, there's a big of an interior shot and even though they make a big deal of it, it's kind of unimportant. Time-Flight is a big nothing, especially for a season finale and a follow up to one of the series more earth-shaking developments.
Best Cliffhangers: None are really strong. The Doctor covered in bubbles, I guess?
Next time:
"It's amazing."
"What?"
"This thing is smaller on the inside than it is on the outside."
In this serial, the TARDIS crew is still mourning the loss of Adric when they finally find themselves in Heathrow... only to end up in the path of a Concorde plane. The Doctor and the Concorde soon find themselves transported 140 million years in the past, where a different mysteriously disappeared Concorde has arrived at. The crew of one Concorde is being hypnotized by entities called Plasmatons into doing their will. One passenger, Professor Hayter, has broken through his hypnosis and informs the Doctor the mastermind is a mystic named Kalid. While the Doctor works his way to Kalid, Nyssa and Tegan overcome a gauntlet of illusions through sheer force of will. This leaves Kalid vulnerable and is seemingly defeated by the Doctor. However, Kalid reveals himself to be the Master in disguise. It turns out the Plasmatons and his psychokinetic powers are connected to him controlling a gestalt entity race known as the Xeraphin. The Xeraphin want to take control of Nyssa's mind to gain freedom but Prof. Hayter steps in instead, seemingly dying. The Doctor learns the Xeraphin is at war with itself, one side wanting to trust the Master and the other side seeing him as evil.
The Doctor seems to convince them but the Master soon uses the Xeraphin as a power source for his TARDIS. It seems the Master in fact was stranded and wanted to use the power of the Xeraphin to create a more powerful TARDIS. The Master gets the Xeraphin and parts from the Doctor's TARDIS and seems to win but with the help of Hayter, now part of the Xeraphin and some Concorde pilots sabotaging the Doctor's TARDIS ends up delaying the Master. The Master and the Doctor find themselves in a tricky trade where it seems the Master has one. But the Doctor manages to use the Concorde to arrive before the Master (knowing the Master would want to backtrack the Doctor's last location to test the machine safely) and uses a trick to send him and the Xeraphin to the Xeraphin homeworld. The Doctor and Nyssa leave, leaving behind Tegan, finally at her location but now distraught at being left behind.
Yeah, this one is a stinker. Sorry if the synopsis doesn't make sense but frankly I can't get past a lot of the techno-jargon and weird plot hiccups and stuff that matters far less than the show seems to think. It's a rather dull story that basically tries to raise the stakes on "The Master tries to fix his time machine" and really doesn't make a lot of sense. The Plasmaton entities disappear really quickly, the Xeraphin... which are also the Plasmatons but also look different, are one of the least interesting gestalt entities in science fiction and the Master's plan is not that compelling. I guess I should be worried but that he has an infinitely powerful TARDIS but what does that mean? What does it do? Does he just travel in time but better? Does he control all matter in the universe? I really don't get the end game and why I should care and how it makes him unstoppable.
Ainley does what he can but I don't really want to give him too much credit because he spends the first half of the story... I think he's supposed to be a Middle Eastern mystic but it really feels like an Asian mystic. I'm confused but I know I am offended. It's pretty bad. But even if that weren't the case, it's ultimately a story that's far more "tell" than show. And that can be part and parcel to this franchise but it's the kind of telling where it feels like Calvinball; the rules are being made up as it goes along. Again, this can happen in this series but this feels like even less effort was put into it. The trick to sci-fi is to give some rules and then have the characters use those rules to win out but I don't know what's happening here despite the show giving us constant updates. The one thing that even stands out as an interesting character turn is Tegan, the character whose whole point is whining about wanting to go to Heathrow, getting there and discovering she wants to be on the TARDIS, feels unearned. It's a good idea but it doesn't play out well because this is not a character we've really learned to love.
I read that Davison really didn't like this one feeling the script was strong but was hurt by the budget. Unless the script was a lot stronger. I can't imagine that. If anything, the low budget can be a part of the charm in this series. I don't mind goofy foam monsters. But when the foam monsters disappear and I don't know how they work, then I start to get frustrated. The show really feels like it wants to make the Concorde the very special guest star. I vaguely remember that the Concorde was a very big deal. I think I might have flown in one as a kid? But that could be a false memory (I know for sure I did do a lot of flying). But even then, there's a big of an interior shot and even though they make a big deal of it, it's kind of unimportant. Time-Flight is a big nothing, especially for a season finale and a follow up to one of the series more earth-shaking developments.
Best Cliffhangers: None are really strong. The Doctor covered in bubbles, I guess?
Next time:
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Arc of Infinity
"You know how it is; you put things off for a day and next thing you know, it's a hundred years later."
In this serial, two backpackers in Amsterdam are camping out in a crypt, only to be discovered by a horrible monster. One, Colin, is zombified and Colin's friend looks for help from Colin's cousin... Tegan. When Tegan begins investigating her cousin's disappearance she finds herself captured by a cosmic villain. Meanwhile, the Doctor discovers the Time Lords want him dead due to the fact that a powerful creature is intent on bonding with him. Nyssa attempts to save him but the Doctor is seemingly executed by the Time Lords and their zealous police force. The Doctor is saved by his enemy, in fact Omega, who is planning on merging with the Doctor to become a matter being once more. Omega is the fiend who also kidnapped Tegan.
The Doctor is reluctantly freed by Omega but not before Tegan can give him some crucial information about Omega's whereabouts in time and space. The Doctor dodges Gallifrey police until he discovers the traitor who has been helping Omega, a councilor named Hedin, who believes Omega's return will be a new golden age. Hedin is murdered by the police and Omega takes control of the Matrix, the Time Lord master computer. He intends to combine it with the Arc of Infinity, a curve in reality that acts as an anti-matter shield, to gain power to return himself to the universe. The Doctor arrives in Amsterdam to stop Omega only for him to take the form of the Doctor. The Doctor warns he can't stay this way and will die but Omega desperately escapes. After a chase across the city, the Doctor reluctantly kills Omega before his death causes a universe-destroying chain reaction. Tegan rejoins the crew after revealing she was fired.
Even reading the wikipedia of this, things are not explained well. This is a real nothing of a story with a lot of half-completed ideas. Some of them, if dug into in a big way, could be interesting stories. Colin Baker shows up as a sort of Javert figure and that could be a fun cat-and-mouse but it really isn't. He just shuffles around, acting certain and it doesn't even go anywhere. The character disappears in the final act. He's not the only one. No one really gets much of an arc here. It's also a bit of a whodunnit but I didn't even remember this Hedin character despite being played by 1989 Alfred! Michael Gough is sadly given a really thankless role. I'm glad it wasn't the obvious choice of one of the police guys but the remaining possibilities are not that interesting. Hedin's betrayal would be more impactful if I could tell you anything about this guy.
Omega is once again a barely-character, which is a shame because at the VERY last length of the story, it starts to get good. No really, I think Peter Davison is perfectly creepy as Omega and in the moments where the character gets NO dialogue, that's when he's the most interesting. He smiles at a child in a weird awkward way. This is a man who has not smiled in a long time. It feels wrong on his face but he wants it. The fact that Omega's plan actually isn't conquest is interesting because he JUST wants to be part of the world. That's sadder, more interesting and more intimate than the Master's plans to control the universe. I read on wikipedia that the show wanted to use Amsterdam in the same way as City of Death but if that's the case, this story should have STARTED with Omega taking the Doctor's form and being a four part race against time across the city to catch this man who is trying to be part of the world. It could be a thrilling and poignant story. It would also make the Doctor just pulling out a gun and icing this guy much more gutting from the usually whimsical Doctor while here it doesn't carry weight.
OK, are there other things I like? Not a lot. I kind of like the goofy hench-monster who is both creepy and silly. Perfect Doctor Who monster. It makes NO sense that the Doctor knows exactly what the monster is down to it's name because he only faced Omega once (OK, three times but they were all the same time). I really don't like how everything feels like a half completed idea. Maybe you could have made the four parter Doctor-lite and had it be a story where Tegan is in way over her head fighting a monster without the Doctor's help. I kind of don't like her return being "by the way, I was fired". That feels unsatisfying, even as a gag, since the character was working real hard for that job. I don't even know or care what the titular arc is. Real weak entry.
Best Cliffhanger: they are all pretty bad.
Next time:
"You know how it is; you put things off for a day and next thing you know, it's a hundred years later."
In this serial, two backpackers in Amsterdam are camping out in a crypt, only to be discovered by a horrible monster. One, Colin, is zombified and Colin's friend looks for help from Colin's cousin... Tegan. When Tegan begins investigating her cousin's disappearance she finds herself captured by a cosmic villain. Meanwhile, the Doctor discovers the Time Lords want him dead due to the fact that a powerful creature is intent on bonding with him. Nyssa attempts to save him but the Doctor is seemingly executed by the Time Lords and their zealous police force. The Doctor is saved by his enemy, in fact Omega, who is planning on merging with the Doctor to become a matter being once more. Omega is the fiend who also kidnapped Tegan.
The Doctor is reluctantly freed by Omega but not before Tegan can give him some crucial information about Omega's whereabouts in time and space. The Doctor dodges Gallifrey police until he discovers the traitor who has been helping Omega, a councilor named Hedin, who believes Omega's return will be a new golden age. Hedin is murdered by the police and Omega takes control of the Matrix, the Time Lord master computer. He intends to combine it with the Arc of Infinity, a curve in reality that acts as an anti-matter shield, to gain power to return himself to the universe. The Doctor arrives in Amsterdam to stop Omega only for him to take the form of the Doctor. The Doctor warns he can't stay this way and will die but Omega desperately escapes. After a chase across the city, the Doctor reluctantly kills Omega before his death causes a universe-destroying chain reaction. Tegan rejoins the crew after revealing she was fired.
Even reading the wikipedia of this, things are not explained well. This is a real nothing of a story with a lot of half-completed ideas. Some of them, if dug into in a big way, could be interesting stories. Colin Baker shows up as a sort of Javert figure and that could be a fun cat-and-mouse but it really isn't. He just shuffles around, acting certain and it doesn't even go anywhere. The character disappears in the final act. He's not the only one. No one really gets much of an arc here. It's also a bit of a whodunnit but I didn't even remember this Hedin character despite being played by 1989 Alfred! Michael Gough is sadly given a really thankless role. I'm glad it wasn't the obvious choice of one of the police guys but the remaining possibilities are not that interesting. Hedin's betrayal would be more impactful if I could tell you anything about this guy.
Omega is once again a barely-character, which is a shame because at the VERY last length of the story, it starts to get good. No really, I think Peter Davison is perfectly creepy as Omega and in the moments where the character gets NO dialogue, that's when he's the most interesting. He smiles at a child in a weird awkward way. This is a man who has not smiled in a long time. It feels wrong on his face but he wants it. The fact that Omega's plan actually isn't conquest is interesting because he JUST wants to be part of the world. That's sadder, more interesting and more intimate than the Master's plans to control the universe. I read on wikipedia that the show wanted to use Amsterdam in the same way as City of Death but if that's the case, this story should have STARTED with Omega taking the Doctor's form and being a four part race against time across the city to catch this man who is trying to be part of the world. It could be a thrilling and poignant story. It would also make the Doctor just pulling out a gun and icing this guy much more gutting from the usually whimsical Doctor while here it doesn't carry weight.
OK, are there other things I like? Not a lot. I kind of like the goofy hench-monster who is both creepy and silly. Perfect Doctor Who monster. It makes NO sense that the Doctor knows exactly what the monster is down to it's name because he only faced Omega once (OK, three times but they were all the same time). I really don't like how everything feels like a half completed idea. Maybe you could have made the four parter Doctor-lite and had it be a story where Tegan is in way over her head fighting a monster without the Doctor's help. I kind of don't like her return being "by the way, I was fired". That feels unsatisfying, even as a gag, since the character was working real hard for that job. I don't even know or care what the titular arc is. Real weak entry.
Best Cliffhanger: they are all pretty bad.
Next time:
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Snakedance
"Once a man fell asleep and dreamt he was a frog. When he woke up, he didn't know if he was a man who dreamt he was a frog or a frog who was now dreaming he was a man."
In this serial, Tegan is having strange dreams involving a snake-shaped cave and the Doctor soon figures out this involves the Mara. Landing on the planet Manussa, the world is holding a festival celebrating the banishment of the Mara, now considered to be a myth. Finding the cave, Tegan panics, runs away and is once more possessed by the Mara. Meanwhile, Lon, the bored son of a local official, finds himself dragged to the cave, only to find himself under the Mara's control. Lon convinces Ambril, a scholar obsessed with this era but dismissive of the supernatural aspects, to break the cardinal rule of the ceremony and let him have a sacred object called the Great Mind's Eye.
The Doctor tries to warn the locals that the Mara is trying to arise but he's met with disbelief. The Doctor learns of Dojjen, a scholar who seemingly went mad in his research of the Mara and now lives with the Snakedancers, a cult with connections to the defeat of the Mara long ago. The Doctor goes to meet the Dojjen and the Dojjen teaches the Doctor, though an ancient ritual, how to defeat the Mara by freeing his mind of the evil emotions the Mara weaponizes. The Doctor reaches the ceremony but it is too late, using the Great Mind's Eye to emerge and begins a psychic attack on everyone. Only the Doctor can resist the Mara's evil through his epiphany with Dojjen and manages to fend of it's evil. The Mara dies and the Doctor comforts Tegan.
Snakedance is a weird beast, mostly less experimental than Kinda and not quite as good overall but also kind of (or kinda) having some rich ideas in it's own right. The Mara is an interesting villain to not return but I think it's easy to do it wrong. That's because I don't think even though the Mara can gloat and threaten, I actually don't think the Mara has it's own personality. It's a metaphor for internal evil, something really primal. I think it's easy to misunderstand it and make it more like the Great Intelligence but I don't think that's the intent. If anything, the Mara is the most memorable parts of those stories yet I think it would not be easy to define the Mara's identity beyond "evil snake thing".
This story is a little more conventional in structure and in the first two acts, while I didn't dislike it, I also wasn't feeling it. If anything, the biggest problem with these otherwise good stories is that they both revolve around and dispense with Tegan, a character who still struggles to be interesting (though at least her friction makes her more compelling than Nyssa, a character that makes "science duchess from space" actually rather dull). And the part with the Doctor hanging out in cages is a bit of a drag. But I think it ends strong. This era, at least with the Christopher Bailey stories, manages to make the spiritual jargon nonsense of Doctor Who more interesting than the sci-fi jargon nonsense (I know it's long been part of the show but I feel like it's gotten worse with the Baker and Davison eras where the solution feels like an asspull) It's not even just the meditation and "fear is the mind killer stuff", which we've seen before (but still is very well sold in the climax). I think Bailey clearly thought a lot about the traditions in the world and when we see the ceremony or have a little dude dressed like an imp explained to us, it actually feels interesting. The Mara is a part of the play of the festival. Not feared any more. The Doctor's journey isn't just to not fear the Mara but to show what it is to overcome fear.
I read that there was a lot of last minute changes as the show went over. That shows a bit with an ending that feels a bit abrupt. Even though it means we actually don't see the end of the arc for most of the characters, I think that sacrifice is worth it because another "goodbye and thanks Doctor" ending would be a bit dull after that climax. But I also feel like maybe we missed something that might have tied the bigger ideas together more tightly. I think it's a bit of a weird little beast but I think it really committing and ending strong helps a lot. But overall, while I think it's better than most of the arcs of the era, it's more of an OK story with a go-big ending.
Best cliffhanger: The second episode cliffhanger of Lon and Tegan laughing is really creepy.
Next time:
"Once a man fell asleep and dreamt he was a frog. When he woke up, he didn't know if he was a man who dreamt he was a frog or a frog who was now dreaming he was a man."
In this serial, Tegan is having strange dreams involving a snake-shaped cave and the Doctor soon figures out this involves the Mara. Landing on the planet Manussa, the world is holding a festival celebrating the banishment of the Mara, now considered to be a myth. Finding the cave, Tegan panics, runs away and is once more possessed by the Mara. Meanwhile, Lon, the bored son of a local official, finds himself dragged to the cave, only to find himself under the Mara's control. Lon convinces Ambril, a scholar obsessed with this era but dismissive of the supernatural aspects, to break the cardinal rule of the ceremony and let him have a sacred object called the Great Mind's Eye.
The Doctor tries to warn the locals that the Mara is trying to arise but he's met with disbelief. The Doctor learns of Dojjen, a scholar who seemingly went mad in his research of the Mara and now lives with the Snakedancers, a cult with connections to the defeat of the Mara long ago. The Doctor goes to meet the Dojjen and the Dojjen teaches the Doctor, though an ancient ritual, how to defeat the Mara by freeing his mind of the evil emotions the Mara weaponizes. The Doctor reaches the ceremony but it is too late, using the Great Mind's Eye to emerge and begins a psychic attack on everyone. Only the Doctor can resist the Mara's evil through his epiphany with Dojjen and manages to fend of it's evil. The Mara dies and the Doctor comforts Tegan.
Snakedance is a weird beast, mostly less experimental than Kinda and not quite as good overall but also kind of (or kinda) having some rich ideas in it's own right. The Mara is an interesting villain to not return but I think it's easy to do it wrong. That's because I don't think even though the Mara can gloat and threaten, I actually don't think the Mara has it's own personality. It's a metaphor for internal evil, something really primal. I think it's easy to misunderstand it and make it more like the Great Intelligence but I don't think that's the intent. If anything, the Mara is the most memorable parts of those stories yet I think it would not be easy to define the Mara's identity beyond "evil snake thing".
This story is a little more conventional in structure and in the first two acts, while I didn't dislike it, I also wasn't feeling it. If anything, the biggest problem with these otherwise good stories is that they both revolve around and dispense with Tegan, a character who still struggles to be interesting (though at least her friction makes her more compelling than Nyssa, a character that makes "science duchess from space" actually rather dull). And the part with the Doctor hanging out in cages is a bit of a drag. But I think it ends strong. This era, at least with the Christopher Bailey stories, manages to make the spiritual jargon nonsense of Doctor Who more interesting than the sci-fi jargon nonsense (I know it's long been part of the show but I feel like it's gotten worse with the Baker and Davison eras where the solution feels like an asspull) It's not even just the meditation and "fear is the mind killer stuff", which we've seen before (but still is very well sold in the climax). I think Bailey clearly thought a lot about the traditions in the world and when we see the ceremony or have a little dude dressed like an imp explained to us, it actually feels interesting. The Mara is a part of the play of the festival. Not feared any more. The Doctor's journey isn't just to not fear the Mara but to show what it is to overcome fear.
I read that there was a lot of last minute changes as the show went over. That shows a bit with an ending that feels a bit abrupt. Even though it means we actually don't see the end of the arc for most of the characters, I think that sacrifice is worth it because another "goodbye and thanks Doctor" ending would be a bit dull after that climax. But I also feel like maybe we missed something that might have tied the bigger ideas together more tightly. I think it's a bit of a weird little beast but I think it really committing and ending strong helps a lot. But overall, while I think it's better than most of the arcs of the era, it's more of an OK story with a go-big ending.
Best cliffhanger: The second episode cliffhanger of Lon and Tegan laughing is really creepy.
Next time:
Martin Clunes as Lon deserves a shout out, because he is magnificient as the bored, privileged rich prince. It makes me sad every time he's forced to talk about Snakedance, because the chat shows trot out photos of his admittedly amateurish costume he's forced to wear, when I'd rather they talk about how good he was in the role. It's no wonder he went on to have a career where Doctor Who was a footnote for him.
Otherwise the only thing I really agree with you about Snakedance is the Doctor being locked up for an episode is kind of a bummer! I really vibe with the rest of it. The Doctor, manically insisting the Mara is real and is returning while everyone treats him as a nutjob, even though the audience knows he's right, is fun. Janet Fielding puts in a good performance, too, when possessed by the Mara. I love Snakedance a lot lol
Otherwise the only thing I really agree with you about Snakedance is the Doctor being locked up for an episode is kind of a bummer! I really vibe with the rest of it. The Doctor, manically insisting the Mara is real and is returning while everyone treats him as a nutjob, even though the audience knows he's right, is fun. Janet Fielding puts in a good performance, too, when possessed by the Mara. I love Snakedance a lot lol
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah, I feel like he kind of fits the role of spoiled youth well, we well as his creepy heel turn. I think Fielding does a great job being creepy and it is a shame she never gets to do much beyond complain when she is Tegan. She's clearly a good actress but they haven't found unique voices for their characters. And I think it's also symptomatic of a bigger problems that the companions are given skills (Adric's math, Nyssa's general scientific knowledge) or qualities (Tegan being able to provide a contrary perspective, Adric being at that age to bristle at his seniors) and the writers somehow don't turn these into essential and positive aspects so the Doctor, specifically a Doctor who feels much less like a steamroller than Baker, should have more tools in his belt for solving problems.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Mawdryn Undead
"Obviously. You'd exist twice over. And if the two of you met, you'd short out the time differential. Don't you see? The Blinovitch limitation effect? Oh dear. As Tegan would say, zap!"
In this serial, a impish youth at a boarding school finds himself approached by The Black Guardian. In fact the boy, Vislor Turlough, is an alien trapped on Earth and the Guardian promises him escape in exchange for helping him destroy the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds him and his friends trapped in a time warp stemming from a transmat on a fancy starship and transport between it and Earth for two time periods; 1977 and 1983. The Doctor and his friends arrive on Earth to investigate only for the Doctor to be trapped in 1983 (with Turlough) and his companions in 1977. The Doctor meets the Brigadier once more, only now the Brigadier has no memory of him. Eventually the Doctor manages to jog it and the two, along with Turlough, go off to solve the mystery, with the Doctor unaware of Turlough's intentions. Meanwhile Tegan and Nyssa also meet the Brigadier as well as a mysterious figure near death who Nyssa and Tegan mistake for the Doctor due to his charred body.
The person who is not the Doctor heals in a hideous mutated form but claims to be the Doctor, trapped in a rapidly mutating body. Both the Doctor's group and Tegan's group return to the ship. In fact, the not-Doctor figure turns out to be Mawdryn, a member of a race who tried to steal the secret of the immortality of the Time Lords but are trapped in entropic mutations and now beg the Doctor for death. However, the only way for him to do it is to use up all his regenerations. The Doctor refuses and tries to leave only to discover that Tegan and Nyssa now suffer from a similar ailment and the Doctor is forced to return to resolve the matter. Though it seems like the Doctor is ready to make a great sacrifice, it is then the Brigadiers of two time periods meet, creating an shocking effect that allows the immortals to die. The Doctor takes the Brigadiers to their homes and Turlough asks to join the Doctor. The Doctor accepts, despite Turlough having shown himself to be a little questionable, though having no idea of his connection to the Guardian.
Mawdryn Undead is a flawed but intriguing story that it trying to do a lot. The introduction of a major new companion, the re-introduction of a major villain (albeit one who... never really did much prior), a guest appearance by an old friend and a story that eschews the usual "alien invasion" story in favour of a moral dilemma. Here's where the flaw comes in. I think while actor David Collings is decent as Mawdryn and I like the reveal he's less of a villain and more of a complication, I kind of wish he got to be more sympathetic. Usually, I think it would be out of character for the Doctor to just leave this dude behind to suffer for eternity (I don't think there's any reason the Doctor doesn't just take the time to figure something out) but I also don't think the character has enough juice to make it more tragic. And I really think it should have been a story that should have leaned into the sadness more and make the dilemma more interesting. If anything, I almost wish they introduced the problem earlier and have the Doctor trying and failing to find clever work arounds to either help them or just dodge the problem. It also feels weird that this should be the Doctor giving up his life for them but they frame it as giving up his Time Lord status which is a big sacrifice but doesn't feel as relatable or sympathetic.
But to be fair, the story is trying to do a LOT. The Black Guardian is... pretty disappoint. I plant NO blame on actor Valentine Dyall, who has that perfect commanding voice for what are pretty silly lines of dialogue. Evil can be portrayed as alluring, things that can be rationalized, making evil decisions sound correct. But he's basically just "I'M FUCKING EVIL NOW DO THE EVIL THING SO I CAN GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT." I don't object to a bullying villain but this take is less interesting. Plus he looks ridiculous. Meanwhile, Nicholas Courtney is doing great work. This version is still very much the same man but clearly being away from life or death apocalyptic decisions has clearly chilled him out. I think he gets arguably the best stuff in the serial.
I was interested to revisit Turlough because I remember not liking his story because I didn't want the Doctor to be travelling around with someone trying to kill him and work against him. I was hoping coming back I'd turn around on him and I kind of did. But I'm also torn. Watching it again, I feel like the character is actually supposed to be a teenager but all the teenagers here read as guys in their mid-20s. I think Turlough being more easily swayed in a Edmund in Narnia-kind of way and being bullied makes more sense when played by a child. But Mark Strickson, while not able to play teen, does a good job in the role. It feels like a corrective to Adric. Adric 2.0. The script has flaws but I think there are parts when it shows that he is willing to betray the Doctor but he's hesitant (but maybe not unwilling) to cross certain ethical lines. I think that's why it would make more sense if he was a lost child but Strickson does a good job with this character so far.
Overall, I think while it doesn't all work, I like this low stakes moral dilemma story and am interested to see where it takes Turlough. Will his face turn feel like a natural arc or will it be sudden and unearned like a lot of this Doctor's era. Because this is the era that really struggles with it's characters.
Best cliffhanger: Mawdryn's brains popping out of his head.
Next time:
"Obviously. You'd exist twice over. And if the two of you met, you'd short out the time differential. Don't you see? The Blinovitch limitation effect? Oh dear. As Tegan would say, zap!"
In this serial, a impish youth at a boarding school finds himself approached by The Black Guardian. In fact the boy, Vislor Turlough, is an alien trapped on Earth and the Guardian promises him escape in exchange for helping him destroy the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Doctor finds him and his friends trapped in a time warp stemming from a transmat on a fancy starship and transport between it and Earth for two time periods; 1977 and 1983. The Doctor and his friends arrive on Earth to investigate only for the Doctor to be trapped in 1983 (with Turlough) and his companions in 1977. The Doctor meets the Brigadier once more, only now the Brigadier has no memory of him. Eventually the Doctor manages to jog it and the two, along with Turlough, go off to solve the mystery, with the Doctor unaware of Turlough's intentions. Meanwhile Tegan and Nyssa also meet the Brigadier as well as a mysterious figure near death who Nyssa and Tegan mistake for the Doctor due to his charred body.
The person who is not the Doctor heals in a hideous mutated form but claims to be the Doctor, trapped in a rapidly mutating body. Both the Doctor's group and Tegan's group return to the ship. In fact, the not-Doctor figure turns out to be Mawdryn, a member of a race who tried to steal the secret of the immortality of the Time Lords but are trapped in entropic mutations and now beg the Doctor for death. However, the only way for him to do it is to use up all his regenerations. The Doctor refuses and tries to leave only to discover that Tegan and Nyssa now suffer from a similar ailment and the Doctor is forced to return to resolve the matter. Though it seems like the Doctor is ready to make a great sacrifice, it is then the Brigadiers of two time periods meet, creating an shocking effect that allows the immortals to die. The Doctor takes the Brigadiers to their homes and Turlough asks to join the Doctor. The Doctor accepts, despite Turlough having shown himself to be a little questionable, though having no idea of his connection to the Guardian.
Mawdryn Undead is a flawed but intriguing story that it trying to do a lot. The introduction of a major new companion, the re-introduction of a major villain (albeit one who... never really did much prior), a guest appearance by an old friend and a story that eschews the usual "alien invasion" story in favour of a moral dilemma. Here's where the flaw comes in. I think while actor David Collings is decent as Mawdryn and I like the reveal he's less of a villain and more of a complication, I kind of wish he got to be more sympathetic. Usually, I think it would be out of character for the Doctor to just leave this dude behind to suffer for eternity (I don't think there's any reason the Doctor doesn't just take the time to figure something out) but I also don't think the character has enough juice to make it more tragic. And I really think it should have been a story that should have leaned into the sadness more and make the dilemma more interesting. If anything, I almost wish they introduced the problem earlier and have the Doctor trying and failing to find clever work arounds to either help them or just dodge the problem. It also feels weird that this should be the Doctor giving up his life for them but they frame it as giving up his Time Lord status which is a big sacrifice but doesn't feel as relatable or sympathetic.
But to be fair, the story is trying to do a LOT. The Black Guardian is... pretty disappoint. I plant NO blame on actor Valentine Dyall, who has that perfect commanding voice for what are pretty silly lines of dialogue. Evil can be portrayed as alluring, things that can be rationalized, making evil decisions sound correct. But he's basically just "I'M FUCKING EVIL NOW DO THE EVIL THING SO I CAN GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT." I don't object to a bullying villain but this take is less interesting. Plus he looks ridiculous. Meanwhile, Nicholas Courtney is doing great work. This version is still very much the same man but clearly being away from life or death apocalyptic decisions has clearly chilled him out. I think he gets arguably the best stuff in the serial.
I was interested to revisit Turlough because I remember not liking his story because I didn't want the Doctor to be travelling around with someone trying to kill him and work against him. I was hoping coming back I'd turn around on him and I kind of did. But I'm also torn. Watching it again, I feel like the character is actually supposed to be a teenager but all the teenagers here read as guys in their mid-20s. I think Turlough being more easily swayed in a Edmund in Narnia-kind of way and being bullied makes more sense when played by a child. But Mark Strickson, while not able to play teen, does a good job in the role. It feels like a corrective to Adric. Adric 2.0. The script has flaws but I think there are parts when it shows that he is willing to betray the Doctor but he's hesitant (but maybe not unwilling) to cross certain ethical lines. I think that's why it would make more sense if he was a lost child but Strickson does a good job with this character so far.
Overall, I think while it doesn't all work, I like this low stakes moral dilemma story and am interested to see where it takes Turlough. Will his face turn feel like a natural arc or will it be sudden and unearned like a lot of this Doctor's era. Because this is the era that really struggles with it's characters.
Best cliffhanger: Mawdryn's brains popping out of his head.
Next time:
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Really didnt bother me. Not sure why it should. If anything it matches the narrative of someone naturally aging and changing.
I agree! People don't like it because they see it as a move from a Manly Military Position Of Authority to a lowly maths teacher. Morons.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Terminus
"She'll die here."
"Not easily, Tegan. Like you, I'm indestructible."
Turlough is prompted by the Black Guardian to sabotage the TARDIS, which leads the crew to a strange ship. A couple of raiders also board the ship in order to plunder it. However, to everyone's horror, the ship is revealed to be a plague ship for the victims of Lazar's disease, a leprosy like contagion and now everyone has been exposed. Though the ship arrives at Terminus, a space station in the center of the universe owned by a corporation that claims to have a cure, but no one has come back alive. Terminus is policed by the Vanir, who are essentially slaved to the corporation will die if they aren't granted the drug hydromel.
Investigating with one of the raiders, the Doctor discovers that Terminus was once a time ship run by aliens and that it's fuel leak accidentally caused the big bang... and a second one will end the universe. Nyssa is infected and finds herself taken away by Garm, a large dog-like creature under control of the Vanir. Nyssa discovers there is a cure but it's so poorly handled only a small percentage of people survive it. Garm helps the Doctor save the ship from a second explosion and frees Garm. Nyssa tells the Doctor of her understanding of the cure and Nyssa and the Doctor work out a deal with the Vanir to product hydromel and provide a better cure for those suffering from the disease, breaking free from the company that owns them. Nyssa realizes she needs to stay behind to make sure everyone is saved. The Doctor and Tegan share a tearful goodbye with Nyssa. Meanwhile, The Black Guardian have given Turlough one last chance to kill the Doctor.
Terminus is a story that would be really strong if more happened in it. Or maybe if it were shorter. I think the construction of the central problem is mostly good. I actually could have done without the UNIVERSE DESTROYING STAKES because weirdly that seems the least essential to the story and distracts from the message of corporate injustice. That's really where the sauce is and the emotion. The raiders and most of the Vanir don't do a lot for me but Peter Benson provides a surprising amount of Pathos to his character and is the most engaging. Andrew Burt is good as Valgard but I wish his face turn was more interesting. I think I kind of wanted a more complicated villain because it is clear all of the Vanir are people who just turned off their empathy long ago. What's more, the best way to do so would have been to bring Turlough closer to the plot, since he's someone who is TRYING to be bad for his own safety and well-being.
Yeah, Tegan and Turlough don't get a lot to do except wander around. I think the weakness is separating the cast so much. It's kind of become a problem considering they don't have things for the four person crew to do all the time and it was probably easier for the writers when it was a two hander between the Doctor and one companion. Turlough is in the middle of a big arc and even though the Black Guardian stuff seems shoehorned in the first two tales to set up Turlough being a reluctant villain to set up his eventual redemption, the show should be taking it's time to tie the adventure to him. It has a promising moment where Turlough starts to talk with Tegan about what it means to kill but it never really goes anywhere. If anything, this shoehorning makes the Black Guardian seem like he's got no consistent plan (sometimes it's "kill the Doctor" and sometimes he's asking for needlessly complicated shit for him to do) and no good reason why it had to be Turlough.
Going back to what IS in the story, I wish we actually got to know the Lazar victims more and gave them more pathos but Nyssa only really talks to one and most of the rest are shuffling sadness zombies. At the time, the show was criticized by the Leprosy Mission (I feel like if the show did not straight up say "IT'S A LEPER SHIP", which they didn't need to, they probably would have dodged the criticism) and really, I think they have a big of a point here. As for Nyssa's goodbye, its one of the better ones. Yes, like many it is sudden but it doesn't feel like it short changes the character like getting Leela a man. And Tegan and Nyssa hugging felt like REAL emotion from the actors caught on film. But the main story starts to play into my childhood memory of what the show was becoming at the time; a bleak slog. I think the bleakness works better here because it IS about a world without hope and it ends with regaining it but too many of it is wandering around and also a big dog man. It has a LOT of potential that is untapped but the little bit of good in here is pretty strong. But it's also in a big maze of a sort of boring story.
Best cliffhanger: The Plague Ship reveal is pretty strong.
Next time:
"She'll die here."
"Not easily, Tegan. Like you, I'm indestructible."
Turlough is prompted by the Black Guardian to sabotage the TARDIS, which leads the crew to a strange ship. A couple of raiders also board the ship in order to plunder it. However, to everyone's horror, the ship is revealed to be a plague ship for the victims of Lazar's disease, a leprosy like contagion and now everyone has been exposed. Though the ship arrives at Terminus, a space station in the center of the universe owned by a corporation that claims to have a cure, but no one has come back alive. Terminus is policed by the Vanir, who are essentially slaved to the corporation will die if they aren't granted the drug hydromel.
Investigating with one of the raiders, the Doctor discovers that Terminus was once a time ship run by aliens and that it's fuel leak accidentally caused the big bang... and a second one will end the universe. Nyssa is infected and finds herself taken away by Garm, a large dog-like creature under control of the Vanir. Nyssa discovers there is a cure but it's so poorly handled only a small percentage of people survive it. Garm helps the Doctor save the ship from a second explosion and frees Garm. Nyssa tells the Doctor of her understanding of the cure and Nyssa and the Doctor work out a deal with the Vanir to product hydromel and provide a better cure for those suffering from the disease, breaking free from the company that owns them. Nyssa realizes she needs to stay behind to make sure everyone is saved. The Doctor and Tegan share a tearful goodbye with Nyssa. Meanwhile, The Black Guardian have given Turlough one last chance to kill the Doctor.
Terminus is a story that would be really strong if more happened in it. Or maybe if it were shorter. I think the construction of the central problem is mostly good. I actually could have done without the UNIVERSE DESTROYING STAKES because weirdly that seems the least essential to the story and distracts from the message of corporate injustice. That's really where the sauce is and the emotion. The raiders and most of the Vanir don't do a lot for me but Peter Benson provides a surprising amount of Pathos to his character and is the most engaging. Andrew Burt is good as Valgard but I wish his face turn was more interesting. I think I kind of wanted a more complicated villain because it is clear all of the Vanir are people who just turned off their empathy long ago. What's more, the best way to do so would have been to bring Turlough closer to the plot, since he's someone who is TRYING to be bad for his own safety and well-being.
Yeah, Tegan and Turlough don't get a lot to do except wander around. I think the weakness is separating the cast so much. It's kind of become a problem considering they don't have things for the four person crew to do all the time and it was probably easier for the writers when it was a two hander between the Doctor and one companion. Turlough is in the middle of a big arc and even though the Black Guardian stuff seems shoehorned in the first two tales to set up Turlough being a reluctant villain to set up his eventual redemption, the show should be taking it's time to tie the adventure to him. It has a promising moment where Turlough starts to talk with Tegan about what it means to kill but it never really goes anywhere. If anything, this shoehorning makes the Black Guardian seem like he's got no consistent plan (sometimes it's "kill the Doctor" and sometimes he's asking for needlessly complicated shit for him to do) and no good reason why it had to be Turlough.
Going back to what IS in the story, I wish we actually got to know the Lazar victims more and gave them more pathos but Nyssa only really talks to one and most of the rest are shuffling sadness zombies. At the time, the show was criticized by the Leprosy Mission (I feel like if the show did not straight up say "IT'S A LEPER SHIP", which they didn't need to, they probably would have dodged the criticism) and really, I think they have a big of a point here. As for Nyssa's goodbye, its one of the better ones. Yes, like many it is sudden but it doesn't feel like it short changes the character like getting Leela a man. And Tegan and Nyssa hugging felt like REAL emotion from the actors caught on film. But the main story starts to play into my childhood memory of what the show was becoming at the time; a bleak slog. I think the bleakness works better here because it IS about a world without hope and it ends with regaining it but too many of it is wandering around and also a big dog man. It has a LOT of potential that is untapped but the little bit of good in here is pretty strong. But it's also in a big maze of a sort of boring story.
Best cliffhanger: The Plague Ship reveal is pretty strong.
Next time:
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah. Weird stuff, particularly since I feel like a a companion, Nyssa was less sexualized than some.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Enlightenment
"You are a Time Lord, a lord of time. Are there lords in such a small domain?"
"And where do you function?"
"Eternity. The endless wastes of eternity."
In this serial, the Doctor gets a vague message from the White Guardian to stop a "winner take all" scenario. When the TARDIS dematerializes, they find themselves aboard a 1900s sailing yacht in the middle of a race. But the real shock comes when it is revealed the race between ships... is in SPACE. It is revealed that each participant boat is controlled by an eternal, a being that exists outside of the known universe. They have little thought for "ephemerals" (mortal beings) and are using real world humans plucked through time for the race, because despite their endless power, they are dependent on the minds of mortals. And the prize of the race is enlightenment, knowledge of all things. Meanwhile, the Black Guardian is done with Turlough and has claimed to have cursed him. Fearing damnation, he jumps ship only to be rescued by one of the other participants; Captain Wrack of a pirate ship.
Meanwhile one of the eternals, Marriner, has become obsessed with Tegan and her mortal mind. Tegan wonders if he has fallen in love. The Doctor convinces the yacht's captain Striker to accept an invitation by Wrack, as the Doctor wants to rescue Turlough. Onboard, the Doctor discovers that Wrack has been sabotaging other racers with the help of the Black Guardian. The Doctor manages to stop Wrack's sabotage attempt and arrives to rescue Turlough. Turlough seemingly betrays the Doctor but in fact has helped him defeat Captain Wrack making the Doctor the winner of the race. The White Guardian sends the Eternals back from where they came, despite Marriner pleading to Tegan and Turlough overcomes temptation to be all powerful, defeating the Black Guardian. Turlough's actions have proved to the Doctor he is someone worth protecting and Turlough asks the Doctor to take him back to his homeworld.
Enlightenment is a very good story with a lot of small flaws that itch in the back of my head. Part of it is even with the Black Guardian as being as loose as it is, I feel like it is frustratingly not giving Turlough the arc he needed. He does get a couple moments of truth but there's also talk of Turlough's "devious mind", which doesn't quite track with his portrayal of someone who is goaded into all his treacherous acts and there's condemnations of greed by Wrack which I also think doesn't match. If anything, I feel like he is more a man who aims to be amoral but can't go all the way to evil when push comes to shove. I feel those big moments of truth don't ring true because I feel like we need both him crossing certain lines (without making him completely irredeemable) but also building a rapport with the Doctor (or another character), making his situation an agonizing dilemma. The pieces are there but it never quite comes together.
This sounds like a big deal but I almost feel I'm more opining the wasted potential of high drama. What's there is actually "fine". Flawed by fine. What really works for a story that's, like Terminus, is it is actually kind of quiet (and sci-fi jargon light) despite the cosmic stakes. It still has wild ideas like a boat race through space by heartless immortals. And I think the portrayal of the Eternals is interesting, if... incomplete. There's interesting ideas about these guys being impossibly powerful but dependent on humans but I feel like it never completely coheres. But what IS there is still interesting. I think Marriner is a strong point because while on the surface it's an aloof immortal finding love (with Tegan? That's the amazingly compelling mind?) but there's also a sense while he might be drawn to ideas of empathy... I don't think he'd ever learn it. I think that's why Tegan is only a bit sad but accepting when he meets his fate. And I think while I complain about certain elements not being explained, conversely, I do like how they don't put too much of a fine point on this. These creatures are close to getting it but never will, which is why "enlightenment" should especially be denied to them. I even explains everything about the Black Guardians EXCEPT how he beats Turlough. I think if any Eternal won, he wins. He's just helping Wrack because she's especially awful and wants her to just be the fucking worse by the time she wins.
Barbara Clegg (getting to script the first Doctor story written AND directed by women) makes a script that, despite all the small things I think fall flat (which I am willing to put more into the hands of the show runner for making all the Turlough/Guardian stuff so repetitive and empty) I think it has that weird, cosmic epic feel that the show often aims for before devolving into deus ex machina sci-fi jargon nonsense. This one succeeds but focusing more on ideas than the mechanics of the solution. I do wish that the strengths and weaknesses of the Eternals were more consistent (they can read all minds and control all matter, unless you... think hard enough, I guess). I think this could have worked better if they could handle Turlough's two-facedness better. Like, it could explain that even though his mind can be read, he could literally have a change of heart in the last moment that they didn't expect because they know what he is thinking in the moment, they don't know who he is as a person. Sorry, I did REALLY enjoy this but am hung up on some of the weakness.
The acting is good. A lot of stories have Davison's Doctor weirdly more irritable than I remember, as I remembered him as earnest, wise and kind. Like a paladin. To me he's the closest the Doctor comes to Lawful Good rather than Chaotic Good. This is closest to how I see him in my memory, especially when he is standing with dignity and patience, having faith that Turlough will do the right thing. Strickson is good too which makes me REALLY wish they landed his story better. Again, I feel as written he should have been played by someone younger but that's not on him. Christopher Brown and Lynda Baron both kill it in their roles as eternals (the latter properly chewing the scenery as a character right out of a children's fairy tale play). So my takeaway is that the strengths greatly outshine the weaknesses.
Also, holy shit hahahahaha
Best cliffhanger: Space is the place... FOR A RACE (WITH BOATS)
Next time:
"You are a Time Lord, a lord of time. Are there lords in such a small domain?"
"And where do you function?"
"Eternity. The endless wastes of eternity."
In this serial, the Doctor gets a vague message from the White Guardian to stop a "winner take all" scenario. When the TARDIS dematerializes, they find themselves aboard a 1900s sailing yacht in the middle of a race. But the real shock comes when it is revealed the race between ships... is in SPACE. It is revealed that each participant boat is controlled by an eternal, a being that exists outside of the known universe. They have little thought for "ephemerals" (mortal beings) and are using real world humans plucked through time for the race, because despite their endless power, they are dependent on the minds of mortals. And the prize of the race is enlightenment, knowledge of all things. Meanwhile, the Black Guardian is done with Turlough and has claimed to have cursed him. Fearing damnation, he jumps ship only to be rescued by one of the other participants; Captain Wrack of a pirate ship.
Meanwhile one of the eternals, Marriner, has become obsessed with Tegan and her mortal mind. Tegan wonders if he has fallen in love. The Doctor convinces the yacht's captain Striker to accept an invitation by Wrack, as the Doctor wants to rescue Turlough. Onboard, the Doctor discovers that Wrack has been sabotaging other racers with the help of the Black Guardian. The Doctor manages to stop Wrack's sabotage attempt and arrives to rescue Turlough. Turlough seemingly betrays the Doctor but in fact has helped him defeat Captain Wrack making the Doctor the winner of the race. The White Guardian sends the Eternals back from where they came, despite Marriner pleading to Tegan and Turlough overcomes temptation to be all powerful, defeating the Black Guardian. Turlough's actions have proved to the Doctor he is someone worth protecting and Turlough asks the Doctor to take him back to his homeworld.
Enlightenment is a very good story with a lot of small flaws that itch in the back of my head. Part of it is even with the Black Guardian as being as loose as it is, I feel like it is frustratingly not giving Turlough the arc he needed. He does get a couple moments of truth but there's also talk of Turlough's "devious mind", which doesn't quite track with his portrayal of someone who is goaded into all his treacherous acts and there's condemnations of greed by Wrack which I also think doesn't match. If anything, I feel like he is more a man who aims to be amoral but can't go all the way to evil when push comes to shove. I feel those big moments of truth don't ring true because I feel like we need both him crossing certain lines (without making him completely irredeemable) but also building a rapport with the Doctor (or another character), making his situation an agonizing dilemma. The pieces are there but it never quite comes together.
This sounds like a big deal but I almost feel I'm more opining the wasted potential of high drama. What's there is actually "fine". Flawed by fine. What really works for a story that's, like Terminus, is it is actually kind of quiet (and sci-fi jargon light) despite the cosmic stakes. It still has wild ideas like a boat race through space by heartless immortals. And I think the portrayal of the Eternals is interesting, if... incomplete. There's interesting ideas about these guys being impossibly powerful but dependent on humans but I feel like it never completely coheres. But what IS there is still interesting. I think Marriner is a strong point because while on the surface it's an aloof immortal finding love (with Tegan? That's the amazingly compelling mind?) but there's also a sense while he might be drawn to ideas of empathy... I don't think he'd ever learn it. I think that's why Tegan is only a bit sad but accepting when he meets his fate. And I think while I complain about certain elements not being explained, conversely, I do like how they don't put too much of a fine point on this. These creatures are close to getting it but never will, which is why "enlightenment" should especially be denied to them. I even explains everything about the Black Guardians EXCEPT how he beats Turlough. I think if any Eternal won, he wins. He's just helping Wrack because she's especially awful and wants her to just be the fucking worse by the time she wins.
Barbara Clegg (getting to script the first Doctor story written AND directed by women) makes a script that, despite all the small things I think fall flat (which I am willing to put more into the hands of the show runner for making all the Turlough/Guardian stuff so repetitive and empty) I think it has that weird, cosmic epic feel that the show often aims for before devolving into deus ex machina sci-fi jargon nonsense. This one succeeds but focusing more on ideas than the mechanics of the solution. I do wish that the strengths and weaknesses of the Eternals were more consistent (they can read all minds and control all matter, unless you... think hard enough, I guess). I think this could have worked better if they could handle Turlough's two-facedness better. Like, it could explain that even though his mind can be read, he could literally have a change of heart in the last moment that they didn't expect because they know what he is thinking in the moment, they don't know who he is as a person. Sorry, I did REALLY enjoy this but am hung up on some of the weakness.
The acting is good. A lot of stories have Davison's Doctor weirdly more irritable than I remember, as I remembered him as earnest, wise and kind. Like a paladin. To me he's the closest the Doctor comes to Lawful Good rather than Chaotic Good. This is closest to how I see him in my memory, especially when he is standing with dignity and patience, having faith that Turlough will do the right thing. Strickson is good too which makes me REALLY wish they landed his story better. Again, I feel as written he should have been played by someone younger but that's not on him. Christopher Brown and Lynda Baron both kill it in their roles as eternals (the latter properly chewing the scenery as a character right out of a children's fairy tale play). So my takeaway is that the strengths greatly outshine the weaknesses.
Also, holy shit hahahahaha
Best cliffhanger: Space is the place... FOR A RACE (WITH BOATS)
Next time: