Classic Who day by day
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Castrovalva, episode 2
The Master antagonizes Adric, who is basically bound and all but gagged.
The Doctor finds an electric wheelchair, using it to roll himself to the console room. To get them out of their predicament, the Doctor blows 25% of the Tardis to bits. They escape, but the Zero Room doesn't. They find a planet in the databanks called Castrovalva, and decide it may help the Doctor's recovery.
Nyssa fashions a coffin out of the doors to the Zero Room. Since there's no rush, she takes time to change clothes and offers Tegan the chance as well. Then they take the coffin out of the Tardis, heading towards the city in the distance.
After a few mishaps, they see the city on top of a mountain. They hide the coffin and try to climb up. Unable to get very far, they return to the coffin. It's there, but the Doctor is gone.
* * *
Oh, where to start on this one? Well how bout the beginning? The Master sure isn't helping his case here. For years, there were rumors about the character being gay. The Moff even wrote a throwaway line confirming this in the recent "Time Crash" story. But here he is with a young man all tied up, doing unspeakable things. I just have to ask ... What were they thinking? Who sat around in a writers room and made the suggestion "Let's throw a little S&M into this children's show, shall we?" That whole section is just embarrassing to watch.
It's awesome that Nyssa gets a change of clothes so quickly. That doesn't happen with Doctors. Generally they get one costume and they're stuck with it for the rest of their reign (see: Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Ninth Doctor...). But, if possible, they went even more conservative. I know companions are sometimes thought of as "eye candy for dads" who watch the show with their kids, but they're going about this the wrong way. She is now covered from the neck to her toes in hot, thick velvet. I had a blanket like that once. Thermal blankets they use in Antarctica have nothing on it. She's supposed to "look" hot, not have a heat stroke on set!
Yeah, then I think of what they gave Peri when she came along. One extreme to the other. *shrug*
The Doctors generally have a bit of being, um, loopy ... right after a Regeneration, when their personality is still in flux. But none have been this whiny. At this point, you could throw this Doctor into any program on the CW and he'd fit right in. I know he gets better, but dang, bring on Six!
The Master antagonizes Adric, who is basically bound and all but gagged.
The Doctor finds an electric wheelchair, using it to roll himself to the console room. To get them out of their predicament, the Doctor blows 25% of the Tardis to bits. They escape, but the Zero Room doesn't. They find a planet in the databanks called Castrovalva, and decide it may help the Doctor's recovery.
Nyssa fashions a coffin out of the doors to the Zero Room. Since there's no rush, she takes time to change clothes and offers Tegan the chance as well. Then they take the coffin out of the Tardis, heading towards the city in the distance.
After a few mishaps, they see the city on top of a mountain. They hide the coffin and try to climb up. Unable to get very far, they return to the coffin. It's there, but the Doctor is gone.
* * *
Oh, where to start on this one? Well how bout the beginning? The Master sure isn't helping his case here. For years, there were rumors about the character being gay. The Moff even wrote a throwaway line confirming this in the recent "Time Crash" story. But here he is with a young man all tied up, doing unspeakable things. I just have to ask ... What were they thinking? Who sat around in a writers room and made the suggestion "Let's throw a little S&M into this children's show, shall we?" That whole section is just embarrassing to watch.
It's awesome that Nyssa gets a change of clothes so quickly. That doesn't happen with Doctors. Generally they get one costume and they're stuck with it for the rest of their reign (see: Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Ninth Doctor...). But, if possible, they went even more conservative. I know companions are sometimes thought of as "eye candy for dads" who watch the show with their kids, but they're going about this the wrong way. She is now covered from the neck to her toes in hot, thick velvet. I had a blanket like that once. Thermal blankets they use in Antarctica have nothing on it. She's supposed to "look" hot, not have a heat stroke on set!
Yeah, then I think of what they gave Peri when she came along. One extreme to the other. *shrug*
The Doctors generally have a bit of being, um, loopy ... right after a Regeneration, when their personality is still in flux. But none have been this whiny. At this point, you could throw this Doctor into any program on the CW and he'd fit right in. I know he gets better, but dang, bring on Six!
Yeah, they got away with quite a bit that would be shocking today. Which is weird in itself, since they've got a stripper as the Eleventh Doctor's companion.
Castrovalva 3
They are chased by a war party all dressed up in odd, colorful costumes. Eventually, they see the Doctor climbing the mountain. As they watch, he is captured and taken inside a portal. The girls, both wearing high heels, start mountain climbing again.
The Doctor meets a librarian among the Castrovalvans, and is then shown to a room he may use as a residence while gathering his memories. Not long after, Nyssa and Tegan arrive and are shown to the Doctor's room, then their own adjacent room.
Nyssa finds the coffin and has it brought to the Doctor's room. There, she sees - and talks with - Adric in the mirror.
The Doctor starts to feel better and goes exploring in the city. The whole city is an M C Eshcer painting come to life ... and it's a trap for the Doctor!
* * *
This one doesn't have as much padding as the last one, though it's almost painful waiting for the Doctor to figure out he's trapped in a Scooby Doo routine. Go through one door and come out another, etc.
It is somewhat strange to see this Doctor without his trademark piece of celery. I know he gets it soon, but I just thought about it, he does look ... well almost naked without it. Like the Sixth Doctor without his cat pins.
How absurd is it for two grown women to be mountain climbing while wearing high heels? They have a Tardis at their disposal. Surely at some point Nyssa would have seen hiking boots in the wardroom. And why is the woman wearing pants climbing up behind the woman wearing a miniskirt? What are they trying to say about this pair? Sheesh.
I still like Castrovalva, I think it was a clear statement of intent that Davison's Doctor was going to be less wild than Baker, and that the companions were perhaps going to play a greater role as they once had. Much like the Christmas Invasion is does suffer from the doctor spending too long alseep 
I think the saddest thing about Ainley is that he's too often portrayed as an overacting ham, when that was just how he was told to play the Master. His portryals of Tremas and as the Portreeve here shopw he had a greater range than people think.
This story has aged in my head though, I recalled the realisation of Castrovalva being really impressive (is the Echer stuff) but oh dear, my nostalgia lied to me!
So, the big question is, who left the Crickety crikcket stuff lying out ready for the Fifth Doctor? Did the 4th do it? did the Watcher do it? Or are there just loads of theme rooms knocking about?
I think the saddest thing about Ainley is that he's too often portrayed as an overacting ham, when that was just how he was told to play the Master. His portryals of Tremas and as the Portreeve here shopw he had a greater range than people think.
This story has aged in my head though, I recalled the realisation of Castrovalva being really impressive (is the Echer stuff) but oh dear, my nostalgia lied to me!
So, the big question is, who left the Crickety crikcket stuff lying out ready for the Fifth Doctor? Did the 4th do it? did the Watcher do it? Or are there just loads of theme rooms knocking about?
I still like Castrovalva, I think it was a clear statement of intent that Davison's Doctor was going to be less wild than Baker, and that the companions were perhaps going to play a greater role as they once had. Much like the Christmas Invasion is does suffer from the doctor spending too long alseep
I think the saddest thing about Ainley is that he's too often portrayed as an overacting ham, when that was just how he was told to play the Master. His portryals of Tremas and as the Portreeve here shopw he had a greater range than people think.
This story has aged in my head though, I recalled the realisation of Castrovalva being really impressive (is the Echer stuff) but oh dear, my nostalgia lied to me!
So, the big question is, who left the Crickety crikcket stuff lying out ready for the Fifth Doctor? Did the 4th do it? did the Watcher do it? Or are there just loads of theme rooms knocking about?
I think there are loads of theme rooms out there. Considering how big the Tardis is, really, there could be hundreds, maybe thousands of rooms. And who knows what kind of pranks Romana might have played, just in case? She regenerated, maybe she thought he would while she was there, and did this just on the off chance?
I agree completely. If only he'd been allowed all along to play the part more like he did in Survival.
Castrovalva part 4
Under the Master's orders, Adric entered Castrovalva into the Tardis databanks. That's how Nyssa and Tegan found it. The whole city is a fiction created to trap the Doctor.
The Master uses Adric's mind to keep the place there. With help, the Doctor destroys the S&M chains holding Adric. When that happens, the whole place goes buh-bye. The city goes poof, the Master stays behind screaming, and the travelers head off towards the Tardis.
* * *
I thought his laugh was annoying. But "My web! My web!" is worse! Overacting at its finest.
The Doctor finally gets his celery.
For those paying attention, Adric's hair changes between shots. From one angle, it's layered and feathered, looking like one of Charlie's Angels. The very next shot, it's all closely combed down, like it's all glued down, then back to feather, then back to down, over and over again.
Thank goodness this is over. Maybe next we can have a real, Master-less story?
Under the Master's orders, Adric entered Castrovalva into the Tardis databanks. That's how Nyssa and Tegan found it. The whole city is a fiction created to trap the Doctor.
The Master uses Adric's mind to keep the place there. With help, the Doctor destroys the S&M chains holding Adric. When that happens, the whole place goes buh-bye. The city goes poof, the Master stays behind screaming, and the travelers head off towards the Tardis.
* * *
I thought his laugh was annoying. But "My web! My web!" is worse! Overacting at its finest.
The Doctor finally gets his celery.
For those paying attention, Adric's hair changes between shots. From one angle, it's layered and feathered, looking like one of Charlie's Angels. The very next shot, it's all closely combed down, like it's all glued down, then back to feather, then back to down, over and over again.
Thank goodness this is over. Maybe next we can have a real, Master-less story?
Agreed. Ainley tried to portray the character straight and a bit darker for The Planet of Fire but JNT instructed him to ham it up.
Four to Doomsday
Written by Terence Dudley
Directed by John Black
The Doctor is trying to take Tegan home. She's very concerned about losing her job, and wants to get back as soon as possible. The Tardis lands, and they all think "Yay, we can stop her whining!" but no. It's a spaceship, and they're nowhere near Earth.
They look outside and realize the Tardis is parked inside a laboratory. The Doctor briefly goes out to investigate, sees nothing wrong, and has the others follow him out to snoop around.
The Doctor and Tegan go one way while Adric and Nyssa go another.
The Two Ts find the bridge, with three green aliens sitting around watching television. For fun, Tegan draws them a picture of Earth-style peeps.
Nyssa gets tired of Adric's foul mood and sexist attitude and wanders off with an older-looking gentleman.
They all meet up very quickly, along with four people who appear to be humans from various cultures and different points of time. One of them is an Aboriginal fellow, and Tegan takes great delight in chatting with him in his native tongue.
Two of the three aliens walk in, now looking like humans straight out of Tegan's drawing.
* * *
WTF is up with Adric? He's completely out of character here, putting the females down because of their gender, he's in a foul mood and is, well, a prick.
Tegan ... Honestly, I've never been a fan of hers. She's always come off as a shrill bitch. There's been a little of that so far, but not to the extent that I remember. Maybe she gets worse later on, but I'm liking her.
It may be getting a little crowded in the Tardis, though. We kind of have to have the Doctor, since it's his series. Adric's being a giant douche, Tegan's being kind of awesome ... And Nyssa's just kind of there, hanging around in the background not really doing anything or contributing in any way.
It makes me wonder, is three companions too many? The series has changed, and the last time we had three was at the very beginning of Jamie's reign, in the 60s. Is too much focus being spent on the guests of the week, with none to spare on the third wheel?
Written by Terence Dudley
Directed by John Black
The Doctor is trying to take Tegan home. She's very concerned about losing her job, and wants to get back as soon as possible. The Tardis lands, and they all think "Yay, we can stop her whining!" but no. It's a spaceship, and they're nowhere near Earth.
They look outside and realize the Tardis is parked inside a laboratory. The Doctor briefly goes out to investigate, sees nothing wrong, and has the others follow him out to snoop around.
The Doctor and Tegan go one way while Adric and Nyssa go another.
The Two Ts find the bridge, with three green aliens sitting around watching television. For fun, Tegan draws them a picture of Earth-style peeps.
Nyssa gets tired of Adric's foul mood and sexist attitude and wanders off with an older-looking gentleman.
They all meet up very quickly, along with four people who appear to be humans from various cultures and different points of time. One of them is an Aboriginal fellow, and Tegan takes great delight in chatting with him in his native tongue.
Two of the three aliens walk in, now looking like humans straight out of Tegan's drawing.
* * *
WTF is up with Adric? He's completely out of character here, putting the females down because of their gender, he's in a foul mood and is, well, a prick.
Tegan ... Honestly, I've never been a fan of hers. She's always come off as a shrill bitch. There's been a little of that so far, but not to the extent that I remember. Maybe she gets worse later on, but I'm liking her.
It may be getting a little crowded in the Tardis, though. We kind of have to have the Doctor, since it's his series. Adric's being a giant douche, Tegan's being kind of awesome ... And Nyssa's just kind of there, hanging around in the background not really doing anything or contributing in any way.
It makes me wonder, is three companions too many? The series has changed, and the last time we had three was at the very beginning of Jamie's reign, in the 60s. Is too much focus being spent on the guests of the week, with none to spare on the third wheel?
Heh, I like Teagan precisely because she's a Shrew. If she had been with another Doctor, I probably woulda hated her, but, up against Davison's turned down Doctor, she's perfect.
4 To Doomsday, is probably my least favorite Davison Story
3 Companions, yea, too much, IMHO, I can't recall seasons that I've seen, where 3 companions was neccessary (sure, a special event/episode, but, regularly travelling...No) IMHO, it fell apart from the beginning with Ian/Barbara carrying Screeching Susan
4 To Doomsday, is probably my least favorite Davison Story
3 Companions, yea, too much, IMHO, I can't recall seasons that I've seen, where 3 companions was neccessary (sure, a special event/episode, but, regularly travelling...No) IMHO, it fell apart from the beginning with Ian/Barbara carrying Screeching Susan
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Four to Doomsday, episode 2
One of the humans says he was rescued from Earth one hundred generations ago, and that there are three billion people on the ship.
The travelers get separated, then fill time for the rest of the episode. The T's (The Doctor and Tegan) watch performance art while Adric and Nyssa wander about the ship, meeting people who ignore them. Were they viewers?
The old human ends the episode by revealing he's a robot.
* * *
The definition of boredom - 20 minutes of watching people watch a play. The entire episode was filler. The only thing that related to the plot was the last sixteen seconds when we find out they're robots. Here? Big deal.
That's all I've got. It was filler, and not very good filler at that. Come on, Tegan, do something to piss somebody off and make things interesting!
One of the humans says he was rescued from Earth one hundred generations ago, and that there are three billion people on the ship.
The travelers get separated, then fill time for the rest of the episode. The T's (The Doctor and Tegan) watch performance art while Adric and Nyssa wander about the ship, meeting people who ignore them. Were they viewers?
The old human ends the episode by revealing he's a robot.
* * *
The definition of boredom - 20 minutes of watching people watch a play. The entire episode was filler. The only thing that related to the plot was the last sixteen seconds when we find out they're robots. Here? Big deal.
That's all I've got. It was filler, and not very good filler at that. Come on, Tegan, do something to piss somebody off and make things interesting!
Vogon Poetry... That's why this story never resonated with me. Lots of pretty words and promising plot points but no gelling excitement
Four to Doomsday is one of those stories I remembered really liking as a kid (I think a lot of it had to do with the cricket ball) but watching it again last year it isn't great.
Wasn't this the first story Davison made?
Three companions is definitely too many I think. Earthshock is as bad, Nyssa just spends the entire story inside the Tardis!
Wasn't this the first story Davison made?
Three companions is definitely too many I think. Earthshock is as bad, Nyssa just spends the entire story inside the Tardis!
Yes, this was Davison's first serial and I believe Castrovalva was his fourth.
The scene with the cricket ball is the only worthwhile moment in the whole story, to be honest.
The scene with the cricket ball is the only worthwhile moment in the whole story, to be honest.
Four to Doomsday 3
This shit stinks.
In a rewrite of State of Decay, Adric betrays our heroes, siding with the bad guys. He sees that they can offer him immortality (again? really?) and falls to his knees saying "Yes, please." Or something like that. He spills all of the secrets he's learned about the Doctor and the Tardis, while Nyssa stands by trying to get him to shut up. It doesn't work.
Nyssa is taken away. She's hypnotized and taken down below, where her memories will be copied and put into a robot, after which she will be killed. The Doctor and Old Guy find her and bring her out of the chamber.
Tegan returns to the Tardis, goes inside, and tries for a long time to take off. Eventually, she presses the right buttons and the Tardis dematerializes.
The bad guy robots catch up with the Doctor, Adric, and Nyssa, surrounding them and as the episode ends, one of the robots is trying to kill the Doctor.
* * *
Ho hum. So now everybody's a robot, and they've all lived for tens of thousands of years. The bad guy has decided to come to Earth and replace everybody with robots. That's step one, step three is profit, what's step two, there, Underwear Gnomes?
This story is pathetic. If this was my introduction to Doctor Who, I would shut it off and never return to the series. When I'm seriously trying to decide which would be more painful - an episode of this, or an episode starring Jo Grant - I can't really decide. And that's bad.
I don't know what's after this, but it can't possibly be this mind numbing, can it?
This shit stinks.
In a rewrite of State of Decay, Adric betrays our heroes, siding with the bad guys. He sees that they can offer him immortality (again? really?) and falls to his knees saying "Yes, please." Or something like that. He spills all of the secrets he's learned about the Doctor and the Tardis, while Nyssa stands by trying to get him to shut up. It doesn't work.
Nyssa is taken away. She's hypnotized and taken down below, where her memories will be copied and put into a robot, after which she will be killed. The Doctor and Old Guy find her and bring her out of the chamber.
Tegan returns to the Tardis, goes inside, and tries for a long time to take off. Eventually, she presses the right buttons and the Tardis dematerializes.
The bad guy robots catch up with the Doctor, Adric, and Nyssa, surrounding them and as the episode ends, one of the robots is trying to kill the Doctor.
* * *
Ho hum. So now everybody's a robot, and they've all lived for tens of thousands of years. The bad guy has decided to come to Earth and replace everybody with robots. That's step one, step three is profit, what's step two, there, Underwear Gnomes?
This story is pathetic. If this was my introduction to Doctor Who, I would shut it off and never return to the series. When I'm seriously trying to decide which would be more painful - an episode of this, or an episode starring Jo Grant - I can't really decide. And that's bad.
I don't know what's after this, but it can't possibly be this mind numbing, can it?
Four to Doomsday 4
The Doctor is saved. He looks outside and sees the Tardis is parked there. Tegan didn't get very far.
Adric is utterly convinced Bad Guy is the only way to go, and keeps telling the Doctor how great the guy is.
In the only cool bit in the whole story, the Doctor slips outside the ship and uses a cricket ball to "fly" to the Tardis. He brings it back onboard in the "play" room, slips out to find the others, and then away they go, having defeated the big bad guy. Except one thing little ... Nyssa passes out in the console room.
* * *
Might I just point out a slight little plot hole here? The lead bad guy, named Monarch, wants the Tardis in the worst way. The whole time, he's been grooming Adric to get it for him. He can't go inside, because he doesn't have the key, so he tries to use Adric, and tries to threaten the others, so he can get inside.
With me so far? Good. Because the writer isn't.
Towards the end, Monarch is chasing the Doctor and the others. He's in the play room when the Tardis materializes. He steps in front of the Tardis. The Doctor and Tegan step out, stare at him, and then go off to find Adric and Nyssa. They leave the door to the Tardis open. Monarch is RIGHT THERE, less than three feet away. That golden prize is right there in sight, he could fall down and be partially inside the blue box.
The Doctor and Tegan run away, they don't even pretend to care that the guy is there. They are gone for several minutes, possibly up to 20 minutes, during which this Monarch could do anything he wanted inside the Tardis.
Instead, he WALKS AWAY. He goes back to his throne and starts threatening people again, turning off the air and such.
What? His ultimate goal is literally within reach, and instead, he's going to go back to his throne room and talk insults at the Doctor? That's what we call a plot hole right there, folks.
The Doctor is saved. He looks outside and sees the Tardis is parked there. Tegan didn't get very far.
Adric is utterly convinced Bad Guy is the only way to go, and keeps telling the Doctor how great the guy is.
In the only cool bit in the whole story, the Doctor slips outside the ship and uses a cricket ball to "fly" to the Tardis. He brings it back onboard in the "play" room, slips out to find the others, and then away they go, having defeated the big bad guy. Except one thing little ... Nyssa passes out in the console room.
* * *
Might I just point out a slight little plot hole here? The lead bad guy, named Monarch, wants the Tardis in the worst way. The whole time, he's been grooming Adric to get it for him. He can't go inside, because he doesn't have the key, so he tries to use Adric, and tries to threaten the others, so he can get inside.
With me so far? Good. Because the writer isn't.
Towards the end, Monarch is chasing the Doctor and the others. He's in the play room when the Tardis materializes. He steps in front of the Tardis. The Doctor and Tegan step out, stare at him, and then go off to find Adric and Nyssa. They leave the door to the Tardis open. Monarch is RIGHT THERE, less than three feet away. That golden prize is right there in sight, he could fall down and be partially inside the blue box.
The Doctor and Tegan run away, they don't even pretend to care that the guy is there. They are gone for several minutes, possibly up to 20 minutes, during which this Monarch could do anything he wanted inside the Tardis.
Instead, he WALKS AWAY. He goes back to his throne and starts threatening people again, turning off the air and such.
What? His ultimate goal is literally within reach, and instead, he's going to go back to his throne room and talk insults at the Doctor? That's what we call a plot hole right there, folks.
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