Which is fair, and in fairness it’s not a terribly likeable trait to have. I just think it’s an interesting way to give her a little more depth than often she seems to have. And of course, some stories lean harder into it than others, but as you say, I think it does give her an interesting contrast to say Jo who is the loveliest sunshine person in the world for Sarah to be a bit more abrasive and quick to react.
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I haven’t found time to carry on watching Monster but I should have the TV to myself on Friday night so I should get through a few more episodes then.
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Three more episodes of Monster tonight. This is a very green story - Centauri, the Ice Warriors and Pertwee’s outfit. Orton is getting on my tits now. He’s Hepesh-lite. Ettis is annoying too. Previously I’ve enjoyed this story but it’s definitely a step down from Curse. Azazxyr is cool though.
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After torturing everyone with a Peladon quiz, I’m finishing off Monster.
This one really could have done with being 4 parts rather than 6. There is A LOT of running around cave corridors. I actually think Centauri is less effective in this one and comes across as a bit of a wimp rather than just the fussy civil servant of Curse.
I do love the glorious villainy of Azaxyr though - even if the Ice Warrior costumes all look a bit shoddy this time round (I like the paint work on Azaxyr’s helmet though).
Eckersley really does sound and look a bit like Tom Baker which I’ve heard people say but never noticed before.
And Queen Thalira is a bit better than I remember too. I still think the performance could be a bit stronger but it’s not awful. The badger-haired miners are a bit 'Doctor Who extraey but Rex Robinson is ever reliable).
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Poor old Aggedor is hardly in this story!
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Not hugely keen on Sarah in this story (or at all, but that’s another story…) but Sladen’s performance when Sarah thinks the Doctor has died is superb - from her head in her hands with the image of the presumed dead Doctor in front of her; her resigned decision to go to deal with it and the way she can’t be bothered to close the secret door behind her. It’s really good.
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I’ve found listening to the audiobooks of the novelisations has helped me focus some of my thoughts about this story. I’ve always enjoyed it in the past and was of the general opinion it wasn’t as bad as received wisdom suggested and that it had lots of good elements.
I was hoping my Peladon-centric rewatch would confirm this but sadly, I found myself a bit bored this time round and I’ve been pondering why whilst listening to the audiobook (which so far is a scene by scene retread of the TV version with nothing added, as far as I can tell).
The Monster of Peladon is, sadly, a pale retread of Curse for the simple reason that it takes the setting, the characters and the atmosphere of Curse and dispenses with every single interesting aspect.
Curse has various alien delegates bickering and scheming. Monster kills the most interesting one off before the first episode has finished and just leaves us wih Centauri and Eckersley.
Curse has Centauri being a prissy, yet effective poltician. Monster has Centauri being a quivering nervous wreck, even more easily pressured into making bad decisions than it was in Curse. It also - bizarrely - has a worse ‘costume’ (the thickness of the curtain makes Centauri look clunky).
Curse has the glorious twist that the Ice Warriors are goodies. Now obviously that couldn’t be repeated here but just making all the Warriors baddies is hugely lazy. Why not have a contingent of ‘good’ Martians turn up and discover a faction of bad Warriors and have the conflict between them - rather than stupidly-haired miners doing the same thing episode after episode - attack the armoury, run through the tunnels, get killed by the Aggedor ghost, run through the tunnels, get angry and cheer, run through the tunnels etc. Imagine the Warriors discovering a traitor in their midst in league with Eckersley. That could have been much more effective than what we got.
Curse has a brilliant role for Jo with her relationship with the King. Monster has Sarah bouncing between the control room and the tunnels with alarming repetition, being taken hostage by a succession of characters and believing the Doctor to be dead more than once across the episodes. The glimmers of good stuff for her are in her throne room scenes - realising how they can get rid of the Federation troops and, significantly, giving Thalira a pep-talk about women’s lib. Her role in the story - and Thalira’s for that matter - could have been hugely improved by pairing them off and having them drive the plot in the palace while the Doctor was focussed on the efforts of the miners and the mystery of the Aggedor ghost. As it is, Sarah does very little in the story and isn’t aided by being written as quite unpleasant in some parts (such as her reaction to Centauri).
Monster really does seem lazy and repetitive both of Curse and within its own episodes. There is good stuff and some great performances - Rex Robinson is good and Nina Thomas was better than I remember but it is definitely a step down from The Curse of Peladon.
The more I think about it, the more I think I need to drop my rating.
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The Poison of Peladon is a step up from The Ordeal of Peladon. Maybe it’s the fact it’s basically The Curse of Peladon but with River Song and Alpha Centauri as the Doctor and Jo, but it was huge fun. It was great having a new delegate from Arcturus and he was perfectly recreated both in voice and sound effects. Jane Goddard is a worthy successor to Ysanne Churchman and embues Alpha with some real chutzpah which is a welcome development from the ineffectual character that emerged in Monster. It’s a shame Nina Thomas isn’t back as Thalira, but Deborah Findlay is a good replacement and is a believable older Thalira.
The plot is a simple ‘who is plotting a political coup’ but there are some lovely twists and turns and the atmosphere is spot on.
And I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but the theme tune for this box set is absolutely perfect - and just right for this time of year. Indeed, there is a cosy, fireside atmosphere to this box set which lends itself to Christmas time.
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The Bride of Peladon next and then I’m going to give the fanfic, The Ghosts of Peladon a go (although if it’s not a good read, I’m not going to force myself to finish it).
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Some artwork for The Bride of Peladon:
The cover:
The DWM preview (not entirely sure about Peri’s attire in the bottom left corner…):
The interior of the CD booklet - Peri seems a bit off here:
And a bit of fan art by megaplumfinity:
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That theme tune is so, so perfect 
And The Bride of Peladon is such a good Peladon story 
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I don’t remember a huge amount about it (apart from the major beats) so I’m looking forward to it.
Started listening on the way to work and it’s all very Shakespearean at the moment - kings on battlements hearing ghosts at midnight; arranged marriages for political purposes (a nice extrapolation from The Curse of Peladon); hunting accidents and nefarious Queen Mothers.
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It certainly has that “Peladon Vibe™” 
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Some thoughts on The Bride of Peladon:
This one is really throwing everything Peladonian at the wall.
- Inexperienced king
- Princess from Earth
- Miners
- Ice Warriors
- Alpha Centauri
- A new character from Vega Nexos
- A new character from Arcturus
- Devices blowing up the mines
- Secret passages around the citadel
- Aggedor
- Political and religious machinations.
It’s pretty much Peladon - The Hits but it’s done with such aplomb and commitment that I’m loving the ride. It’s interesting that I hardly remember much about this one which is odd because so far (halfway through Part 3) there’s been lots of good stuff and Phyllida Law is brilliant as the Queen Mother - I’d have thought I’d have remembered her at the very least!
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Really enjoyed the end of The Bride of Peladon. The defeat of Sekhmet was a bit quick but I did like the lead up to it with the blood of 4 royals releasing her. It did feel a bit weird throwing Osirian lore into a Peladon story and it didn’t quite fit together, but I’ll forgive it because it was a really entertaining return to the Tropes of Peladon.
Erimem’s departure was a little but abrupt to but did fit a grand tradition of companions leaving to marry someone they’ve barely said three words to for one adventure. The element of highlighting the similarities between Peladon and Ancient Egypt does sort of excuse it a little more but overall it does feel like they just wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible (which I believe is what happened when Nick Briggs took over from Gary Russell).
I’m going to give The Ghosts of Peladon, a fan fiction, a try next but will move on to The Death of Peladon if it doesn’t grab me.
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Started reading the fan fic The Ghosts of Peladon last night. It’s a bit odd, if I’m honest. Lots of strange words which I’m not sure are made up or old-fashioned terms the writer is using to seem clever. It also has started oddly with the Doctor, Peri and Frobisher having already arrived, some reference to something I’m not sure whether it’s a previous story in this fan fiction range and Peri apparently recognising Peladon (so I’m assuming this was written after Bride).
I’ll keep going for a bit longer but I might not make it to the end (there’s already been a couple of bits of clunky prose that made me roll my eyes a bit).
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I don’t like to piss on people’s parades because I know fan fic writers are just trying to have some fun but this sentence did make me cringe:
“How should I dress?” asked Frobisher, referring to his
metamorphic abilities.
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All words are made up 
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You know what I mean.
Here’s an example - seneschal
It’s thrown in the text as if the reader should know what it means. I’ve looked it up and apparently it’s an historical word for a steward in a medieval great house. Now that’s fine - it’s a word which fits the Peladonian vibe but why not just say ‘steward’. It smacks of being clever for clevers sake.
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Seeing as I’m picking holes in this and I haven’t even read a whole chapter yet, I’m not holding out much hope that I’ll get all the way through it!
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