Classic Who day by day

[OmahaStar]

Hmm, I wonder, the Tardis door often seemed to stay open in the classic show, nature of the plot, so this might just have been a continuity error...or if there is an internal door maybe that one's more secure...I'm grasping at straws here!

I know what you're saying. I am pretty forgiving for wobbly sets and silly things, but this one? It seems like a pretty huge plot hole.

The Visitation part 1
Written by Eric Saward
Directed by Peter Moffatt

Hmmm ... Apparently, Adric betrayed the Doctor again and tried to steal the Tardis in the previous story, Kinda. Tegan is still suffering post-traumatic stress from whatever happened to her. The Doctor tries to take her home, but arrives 300 years too early.

Instead of going forward in time a bit, they go exploring. Adric pulls a Susan and falls down, injuring his ankle. That's when they meet a man named Mace who helps them hide from a mob that decides to chase strangers.

There is a plague that started a few weeks ago, after a meteor flew by. People are scared, and Mace is using a rich man's barn as a temporary home. The Doctor convinces him to show him to the owner's house. The Doctor and Nyssa break in and have a look around. He believes aliens have landed.

Nyssa goes to let the others in. While she does, the Doctor finds the alien. It's a robot David Bowie. And it locks him in a secret room in the basement. As we end, the others are yelling for him.

* * *

Really, Adric? As someone mentioned a few days ago, people talk about how Turlough was a big back-stabber, but Adric's way worse. This is three times already he's blatantly betrayed the Doctor (even though it happened in a story that hasn't been released yet).

This time around, I really don't like Adric, but Tegan has grown on me. When she's talking about her experiences with the Mara (from Kinda, in a rare instance of one story leading to the next, to the next, like they did in the early First Doctor stories), I feel for her. She's become a real person, not just a shrill stereotype.

There is a small montage of scenes set in the house early on. I'm not going to bother recapping it, the only part that really stands out is the robot ... It does look like they grabbed a Cyberman costume and went "Ok, now what if the Cybermen were designed by David Bowie?" and went all out on it, making it pretty close to being a drag queen robot. I don't know what is going on with this story, and don't really care, I'm just having fun going along with it. Bring on the popcorn.
​

 

[OmahaStar]

The Visitation 2

It was an illusion. It's a camouflage door, and everyone walks right through. They explore the basement.

David Bowie comes in and starts firing on people, including Tegan and Adric who fall down, stunned. They are taken by the robot to its master, a giant lizard-like creature who interrogates them.

The Doctor, Nyssa, and Mace escape, rushing upstairs where they stand around bickering. Eventually, they go outside and find Bowie's ship, which had crash landed, which the villagers thought was the meteor. It is partially buried.

Bowie's master is controlling the villagers through a bit of technology, in a way that reminds me of the Master's hypnosis. He sends several of them after the Doctor. These are the same people who had chased the group in the previous episode.

Tegan and Adric are placed in an underground cell. They escape, heading upstairs. Adric jumps out a window, but Tegan gets captured again.

The Doctor's group escapes and heads toward the Tardis. They split up with Nyssa continuing on while the men head towards a miller, where they are captured and as the episode ends, about to be killed.

* * *

Still lots of fun. I love the lighting in the ship and in the interrogation room. It's all kinds of yellows and greens, it just looks different and I like it.

Parts of the ship set are recycled from one of the sets in Destiny of the Daleks. Nothing major, just little things in the background that stood out and I noticed.

Kind of starting to dislike Adric. Is it time for him to go away yet?

 

[Starkers]

Almost...not long now

 

[OmahaStar]

Almost...not long now

If memory serves, and without looking it up, I think it's these two remaining episodes of Visitation, then two episodes of Black Orchid (a two parter, the First Doctor did those so well, and the only one I remember of the Fourth Doctor's was terrible ... please don't suck, Orchid!), and then Earthshock. So ... yeah.



The Visitation 3

Just in the nick of time, a man walks in and stops the execution. Bowie's Boss wants them.

Adric returns to the Tardis, where he bickers with Nyssa, who is wandering around aimlessly with some weird piece of equipment.

Tegan is under the creature's mind control.

The Doctor talks with Bowie's Boss. He offers to take the creature to another planet - crashing on Earth was an accident - but he declines. He has another idea in mind. Killing all the Humans.

Adric runs out of the Tardis, right into a trap. Had he listened to Nyssa, that wouldn't happen.

The creature destroys the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. Then, under his prompting, Tegan moves to kill the Doctor.

* * *

Memory has certainly played tricks on me. It's the Adric and Tegan swap. Why in the world was I ever a fan of Adric? He's given no reason to like him. Was it because I was a teenager when I first saw his stories on PBS, and therefore identified "Oh, sweet, someone I can identify with is traveling with the Doctor"? I don't know. He's dropped on the list of favorite companions. Right now, he's hovering down just a few spots above Useless and Rose. If he doesn't do something to justify being on the show pretty damned soon, he'll earn his place as one of the trio of suckitude.

I'm struggling to talk about this episode. Other than the guy destroying the sonic screwdriver, every single plotpoint has been done. Tegan under mind control? Check. Nyssa stuck in the Tardis with nothing to do? Check. The Doctor facing his final doom? Check. Adric not listening to anyone and getting himself captured because of it? Check. Alien bad guy threatening to wipe out all life on Earth? Check.

I really did enjoy the first two episodes ... This one just didn't grab me, I guess.

 

[OmahaStar]

The Visitation 4

The Doctor short-circuits the electronics holding Tegan and Mace's minds. The trio escapes.

Bowie gets inside the Tardis. Nyssa destroys him with the machine she's been building. Adric comes in (he escaped somehow) and nags her. The two of them try to move the Tardis closer to the Doctor.

The whole group goes to London chasing Bowie's Boss. They fight. Things go all 'splodey. It causes a "pudding land" fire. Our heroes depart, going to the next adventure.

* * *

I feel so sorry for Sarah Sutton during this story. She has nothing to do. The few scenes she had after the first episode were all in the Tardis, and may have taken a total of a half-hour to film. It was nice of her to come along for the ride and pop in to say "Hi, I'm still here!" once an episode, but that's got to suck for the actress.

I know she has a lot to do in the next story. Was this to make up for the double-time she gets with two characters later? It doesn't seem like much of a trade. But whatever.

The giant lizard man looked familiar. As in, Timelash familiar. It's the teeth and odd nose, I know, but as it was laying down in the fire, with half the face burned, it reminded me of the costume and makeup on that character from Timelash. It just makes me wonder, when they were getting ready to film that in a couple years, did a designer go "Hey, I've got an idea" and pointed to this one? It's not exactly the same, but looks similar.

 

[OmahaStar]

Black Orchid
Written by Terence Dudley
Directed by Ron Jones

The Tardis lands in 1925, near a railway station. It seems they were expected. A driver is waiting to take them to a mansion where folks are playing cricket.

The Doctor joins in and helps his team win. Yes, the cricket outfit he wears is finally used during a game of cricket.

People keep mistaking Nyssa for a girl they know named Ann. We meet her, and they are exact duplicates. OK, the hair isn't styled the same, but they are twins.

Later, everyone prepares for a fancy dress party. Nyssa and Ann dress in identical costumes, complete with masks so no people won't know who is who. At the party, they switch places.

The Doctor's curiosity gets the better of him (as usual). He goes exploring in the mansion and finds hidden passageways. Problem is, he can't find his way back out. During his exploration, he discovers the body of a murdered servant. At the same time, someone enters his room and steals the costume laid out for him.

At the party, Tegan teaches the guests how to dance the Charleston, something she learned in school.

The clothing thief pretends to be the Doctor. He dances with Ann, then takes her inside, where he tries to kill her. A butler hears this and tries to stop it. He is killed in the process. Ann passes out. Later, she awakens in her room, sees a man with many scars on his face and hands, then starts screaming and runs out.

The thief/murderer returns the clothes to the Doctor's room. He finds his way back, puts the clothes on and goes downstairs, where Ann freaks out. Since he's wearing the clothes and mask of the person who attacked her, obviously (in her mind) he is the killer. He is arrested. Despite his protests, including telling them about his Tardis and traveling through time, nobody believes him.

He does manage to convince them to stop by the railway station, but the Tardis has been taken.

Moments later, it is found. It was discovered by the police and they move it. They've been trying to get in, but their keys aren't working. The Doctor's is, though. He opens it up and everyone, including the police, go inside. They're starting to believe him now.

Scar-man kills again, then starts the place on fire. An associate of the police comes into the Tardis to say he's received a telephone call. There's been another murder. The Doctor offers to take them there in his Tardis, it'll be a lot faster. It lands on the grass just outside the mansion.

Everyone departs. Scar-man comes out and grabs Nyssa, then takes her up to the roof.

Scar-man's name is George. Once upon a time, he was Ann's fiance. He was kidnapped, tortured, and had his tongue cut out. Eventually he was rescued and brought home, but Ann was not told of this. He's been kept hidden by the lady of the house. Now, he's a killing machine.

The Doctor and another man rescue Nyssa. The Doctor convinces George that Nyssa and Ann aren't the same person and he's made a horrible mistake. As soon as George releases her, he jumps to his death.

Now that the murders are solved, the Doctor and his companions depart for new adventures.

* * *

When was the last time we had a good two-parter? It seems like Four had a single two-parter with the Sontarans, but that was pretty dreadful. The last one I can remember was the First Doctor story The Rescue, which introduced Vicki. It was a small, intimate episode with just a few sets used well. This reminds me of that. There are only a handful of rooms, costumes and such are reused, and other than the dress box at the end, there weren't any new props.

And boy it was done well.

Other than the Tardis (and really, you could take the Tardis out of this and not change a thing about the story), there's nothing science fiction about this. It's an old fashioned murder mystery. There are no aliens, no visitations, the planet isn't on a crash course for the sun, and for the first time since she joined the cast, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa actually contributes to the story. Take her out and there is no story.

It's quick, as most two parters are, with snappy dialog and I couldn't see any story padding at all. Well done.
​

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm glad that you enjoyed Black Orchid for what it is as like I do. A lot of fans hate this story.

 

[Starkers]

I don't know why? It isn't stellar, isn't brilliant, but its fun. Tegan does the Charleston, the Doctor plays cricket, Nyssa actually gets to do something and Adric...well Adric eats lots of food!

It would have made a terrible 4 parter but at only 50 minutes long it doesn't have time to outstay its welcome.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I don't know why? It isn't stellar, isn't brilliant, but its fun. Tegan does the Charleston, the Doctor plays cricket, Nyssa actually gets to do something and Adric...well Adric eats lots of food!

More importantly, Adric wasn't an annoying prat for once!

 

[VDCNI]

I want to like it because I love this Tardis team and everyone is trying their best to save it but it really is a lot of badly written nonsense.

 

[OmahaStar]

Earthshock episode 1
Written by Eric Saward
Directed by Peter Grimwade

In a quarry, a group of troopers are scanning for a lost group of palaeontologists who were researching fossils in caves.

Adric is in his room whining to the Doctor. He says he wants to go back to his people. In the console room, he begins plotting the course back into E-Space.

The humans are in the tunnels while the Tardis lands underground. They are on Earth, in the 26th century. Everyone but Adric goes exploring in the caves. Adric stays behind, moping, and computing the way back home.

The troopers start dying,their numbers quickly dwindling.

The trio meets the remaining troopers, who think the Doctor must have killed the rest.

Androids show up. The surviving paleontologist confirms that she recognizes the sounds made by the androids' weapons. It wasn't the Doctor after all (duh).

It's their masters ... the Cybermen!

* * *

It's about time the Cybermen show up. They've been gone far too long.

The look of the story is ok, the script could use some work though. Adric moping? Yeah that's never happened. Oh, except for every story he's been in except for Black Orchid. Nyssa and Tegan seem superfluous here. Other than standing there to watch the Doctor and Adric fighting, they pretty much did nothing.

More Cybermen, please?
​

 

[Starkers]

One of them gets more to do later in the serial...one of them doesn't. Can you guess which will be which?

 

[OmahaStar]

One of them gets more to do later in the serial...one of them doesn't. Can you guess which will be which?

My guess is Tegan gets something to do while Nyssa doesn't. Other than Black Orchid, that's been the pattern so far. I'll find out tonight.

 

[OmahaStar]

Earthshock 2

Adric comes out (stop laughing) and helps them destroy the androids. After that, they find a bomb the Cybermen had planted. It takes only seconds for the Doctor to deactivate it.

The Cyberment, still watching on their viewer, recognize the Doctor, and we get a bit of a flashback with clips of One, Two, and Four facing off against them. Three never faced them. It was his loss.

The Doctor traces the androids' signals to deep space. He allows the two remaining humans to come along as they go. They land on a space freighter, where the Doctor and Adric go exploring.

Someone on the freighter is working with the Cybermen.

The two stumble upon a pair of bodies. While discussing whether or not they would be blamed for their murders, they are caught and accused of said murder.

* * *

Unless he said it in the snake story that isn't out yet, I think this is the first time Five utters his famous catchphrase "Brave heart, Tegan." It's such a throwaway the way he says it here, but it sort of becomes his signature phrase. Kinda cool, really.

But what happened with the remaining humans? There was at least one, possibly two, who stayed on the surface. There was the one who did all the radio contact and computer work, and the other, the woman. The woman may have gone in and gotten herself killed, but the guy at least is still there. So what happened to him? This may not be a plot hole, we may see him again in episode 3 or 4, but for now, it seems like the two troopers said "Oh, adventure, let's forget everything and go!"

The freighter's captain ... I have no idea who she is, but I kind of adore her already. She is channeling Bette Davis, and is really sort of marvelous. I've already decided that they need to do a spin-off focusing on her, and played by the same actress.

 

[Sindatur]

Earthshock 2

Adric comes out (stop laughing) and helps them destroy the androids. After that, they find a bomb the Cybermen had planted. It takes only seconds for the Doctor to deactivate it.

The Cyberment, still watching on their viewer, recognize the Doctor, and we get a bit of a flashback with clips of One, Two, and Four facing off against them. Three never faced them. It was his loss.

The Doctor traces the androids' signals to deep space. He allows the two remaining humans to come along as they go. They land on a space freighter, where the Doctor and Adric go exploring.

Someone on the freighter is working with the Cybermen.

The two stumble upon a pair of bodies. While discussing whether or not they would be blamed for their murders, they are caught and accused of said murder.

* * *

Unless he said it in the snake story that isn't out yet, I think this is the first time Five utters his famous catchphrase "Brave heart, Tegan." It's such a throwaway the way he says it here, but it sort of becomes his signature phrase. Kinda cool, really.

But what happened with the remaining humans? There was at least one, possibly two, who stayed on the surface. There was the one who did all the radio contact and computer work, and the other, the woman. The woman may have gone in and gotten herself killed, but the guy at least is still there. So what happened to him? This may not be a plot hole, we may see him again in episode 3 or 4, but for now, it seems like the two troopers said "Oh, adventure, let's forget everything and go!"

The freighter's captain ... I have no idea who she is, but I kind of adore her already. She is channeling Bette Davis, and is really sort of marvelous. I've already decided that they need to do a spin-off focusing on her, and played by the same actress.

Yea, I love the Captain too, definitely Bette Davis, I've thought so since the first time I saw her

Hmmm...I think Kinda is the perfect opportunity for a first "Brave Heart Teagan" in episode 4 of Kinda, in the mirror scene, but, it's been 4 or 5 years since I've seen it, so I couldn't tell you if it actually happened

 

[VDCNI]

I suppose the troopers being left behind is a minor plothole but they are on Earth after all - they've not been abandoned on an alien planet.

 

[Starkers]

Yeah he probably just went back to base

As for the frieghter captain, Beryl Reid is something of a fixture in British film and TV of the time so I think some view her very differently and find her presense a trifle jarring.

Personally I quite like the fact that these two older women are running some broken down space freighter, it makes a refreshing change.

 

[OmahaStar]

Earthshock 3

The Doctor and Adric are taken to Captain Awesome.

Cyber Leader wants to go check out the Doctor. Before he can do that, he wants a few guards, just in case. He wakes up a half dozen or so Cybermen, who break through their plastic barriers in an obvious homage to Tomb of the Cybermen.

The two troopers are suddenly a half-dozen troopers, and they go out in search of the Doctor (and death boy).

On the bridge, the Doctor sees the Cybermen on the viewscreen. The traitor outs himself. He steals Adric's badge, which is made of gode. The Cybermen are allergic to gold. It's kind of like that superhero who is allergic to the color yellow. But anyway.

The Cybermen slowly make their way up to the bridge. The Doctor, meanwhile, has a horrifying thought. Earth is protected. A ship has to have clearance in order to get within even the solar system, which means the Cybermen could not go on their own. However, if they work with someone on the ship ... someone like the traitor, could they have a large number of stowaway Cybermen in the cargo hold?

Down below, Tegan is mean and kills a Cyberman in cold blood.

The other group of Cybermen break through into the bridge, where they kill the traitor. After all, if he will betray his own kind, how could he possibly have any allegiance to the Cybermen?

The traitor DID help the Cybermen smuggle sleepers on board. There may be as many as 15,000 on the ship, and the Leader sends out the "alarm clock is saying get up now" signal. We see dozens of them emerging from their tombs as the episode ends.

* * *

Yep, still all about the Captain. She so needed her own spin-off. Forget Sarah Jane, I'd watch Captain Awesome every week!

It was pretty nifty seeing all those Cybermen (ok, there were probably 8 total, but the way they filmed it, it looked like dozens all at once) coming out of their chambers, breaking through the plastic barriers. It was like a flashback - but in color - of Tomb of the Cybermen.

For a change, Adric wasn't annoying here. Why bother changing the character this late in the game?

Tegan gets lots to do, going out there with the troopers, going all Xena against the Cybermen. Once again, Nyssa stayed in the Tardis making tea for the men.

Remember how in The Five Doctors, One is portrayed as overly sexist, ordering Tegan to get him a drink, while Five stands around kind of embarrassed-like? Nyssa would have fit in perfectly there. Again I bring up Black Orchid, because it's the only story so far in which she's actually done anything. What's the point of having three companions when she's the third?

 

[Sindatur]

Earthshock 3


Remember how in The Five Doctors, One is portrayed as overly sexist, ordering Tegan to get him a drink, while Five stands around kind of embarrassed-like? Nyssa would have fit in perfectly there. Again I bring up Black Orchid, because it's the only story so far in which she's actually done anything. What's the point of having three companions when she's the third?

Well, without Nyssa, Terminus wouldn't really have much point, so that's two centric episodes, and of course, there's her introduction episodes, so, though she doesn't do much in most episodes, there's 4 episodes that she's central to the episode. And.. You know many of those straight guys enjoy Nyssa's performance in Terminus

Yea, Adric and his Gold Star

 

[OmahaStar]

Earthshock 3


Remember how in The Five Doctors, One is portrayed as overly sexist, ordering Tegan to get him a drink, while Five stands around kind of embarrassed-like? Nyssa would have fit in perfectly there. Again I bring up Black Orchid, because it's the only story so far in which she's actually done anything. What's the point of having three companions when she's the third?

Well, without Nyssa, Terminus wouldn't really have much point, so that's two centric episodes, and of course, there's her introduction episodes, so, though she doesn't do much in most episodes, there's 4 episodes that she's central to the episode. And.. You know many of those straight guys enjoy Nyssa's performance in Terminus

Yea, Adric and his Gold Star

Terminus isn't until the very end of Nyssa's run. As with Adric (and any other departing companion) they had to do something to feature the departing cast member in their final story. I think the only time that didn't happen was Dodo.



Earthshock 4

The Cybermen are at war with many races. Representatives from the races are at Earth, ready to sign an agreement to join their military forces together to fight the Cybermen. That's what their convoluted plan is - make the Earth and the representatives go boom.

Tegan is captured and brought to the bridge. At the same time, two Cybermen get into the Tardis and go on a rampage. Several of the troopers die before the Cybermen are rudely murdered.

The Cybermen reprogram the freighter's computer, setting a crash course for Earth, and locking it off. As soon as it's ready, they depart, taking the Doctor and Tegan, but leaving Adric behind, forced to stay on the bridge. There are two guards watching over the group on the bridge.

With help from the troopers, the two guards are also murdered. Adric works on getting around the computer to try and alter the ship's course.

He is able to slightly alter the ship's heading ... It's still going to Earth, but it goes back in time 65 million years. Inside the Tardis, the Doctor, Tegan, and Nyssa, are being guarded by the Cyber Leader and one of his subordinates. They tag along back in time.

Only seconds remain before the ship will go boom. The remaining humans run for the escape pods and get away. Adric stays behind, desperate to stop the ship. He stands alone on the bridge, holding the belt that had once belonged to his late brother as the ship explodes around him.

This is witnessed on the viewer inside the Tardis. The two Cybers are also killed, one with the help of Adric's gold star. Tegan and Nyssa are silent, in shock, unable to deal with what they've just seen.

* * *

Yeah it was time for him to go, and man, what a way to do it ... The ship exploding is what killed all the dinosaurs (at least, in the Doctor Who universe). He finally did something heroic and it killed him.

Is there any point to Nyssa's character? She's not annoying like Useless, and she's not a whiner, she's just ... nothing. She's just there, a fourth regular, stuck in the Tardis while the others go and do things.

At this point (sorry, Doctor), Tegan is the star of the series. And the way she's going all Xena-with-a-gun is really a joy to watch.

The script needed at least one more draft. The Cyber Leader's "excellent!" became a drinking game, and there were a number of instances where lines were just ... weak. Another draft and this could have been an excellent (pun intended) story.

I wonder, whatever happened with Captain Awesome and the troopers? 65 million years ago, they were in escape pods orbiting Earth. Did the Doctor bring the pods onboard and take them somewhere? Did they crash land on Earth and start a new society? (unlikely, both females were likely beyond the childbirthing age) I don't recall it ever being mentioned again. Which is odd, because it really seems like a dick move on the part of the Doctor if he does leave them stranded there. As awesome as she is, what could the captain do? There's no one to communicate with at that time. Well, maybe the Silurians, but that's just begging for trouble.