My first proper[1] TV Club entry. Going to try out bullet-pointing my thoughts as I watch, but would genuinely love people to let me know if they find this format annoying/over the top as I’ve never really gone into detail like this with any sort of review.
Part One
What an entrance for the Master. I cannot imagine what that must have felt like with no knowledge of the character. Got to be one of the best opening scenes the show had had up to that point. Convinced me within one minute that this serial would be as good as I remembered it.
The first scene with Jo and the Doctor is fun - though I think you can tell she’s a little way off hitting her stride, not that it will take her long.
Delgado is honestly magnetic. He says so little early on and yet is captivating.
I find it hilarious that the Doctor and the Brig literally have a conversation in which the latter essentially plays the BBC by saying ‘no, you don’t need an intellectual equal, you need a screaming and confused damsel, that’s why we’ve shafted Liz’. It feels so unsubtle.
Ah yes, the Season Eight rise of the synth ‘music’.
I’ve never really got the interest in Mike Yates, but I’m excited to see if that changes with this watch through the era (my first time doing Three in order).
I had completely forgotten about the bowler hat time lord. What a fun little piece of lore. Did I miss his name? Has he appeared in the EU…?
Goodge in the Tupperware. What a reveal.
The Doctor’s apron with the ruff underneath. Iconic.
Is this Doctor Who’s first thick Irish accent? Come to think of it, I can’t think of many at all from the whole history of the show. That’s not great, unless I’m forgetting some really obvious ones…
This feels nice and pacey like Spearhead before it. Certainly not a given with Pertwee.
And a classic Third Doctor abrupt cliffhanger to boot. They’re quite charming honestly.
Verdict from the first part - I think the Master does grow a bit stale after overuse but here he absolutely steals the show from the first shot and is nothing short of captivating. The rest is good too though.
I did some eulogising of Turn Left but only because’ it’s my favourite, didn’t actually watch along unlike this time ↩︎
Although Terrance Dicks’ novelisation of Terror of the Autons revealed that the messenger had been part of the tribunal that sentenced the Doctor in The War Games, it was unclear which member of the tribunal the messenger regenerated from. The Legacy of Gallifrey by Gary Russell names the three members of the tribunal as Goth, Socra, and Adelphi, while also featuring the messenger as an unnamed member of the High Council. Because it explicitly establishes Socra as separate from the Time Lord messenger (and implicitly Goth), The Legacy of Gallifrey could be understood to connect with Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons if one assumes (contra to Russell’s syntax) that Adelphi and the messenger are the same individual. However, Russell’s novel Legacy shows the entire tribunal (including Adelphi) still in their War Games incarnations at a later point in the timeline.
Ah, the chair. Honestly, I’m a fan. I would so have loved to be in the studio for that scene, how could any of them keep a straight face?! He does act it well though to be fair.
Possessed Jo in this serial looks quite a lot like Cliff from The Green Death. It’s all one big circle.
That little spark of chemistry between Jo and Mike. Can’t believe they ended up going in a different direction.
The doll really is absolutely terrifying. Kids must have FREAKED.
Ohh, THIS is the one with the elephants. Kind of mad that such a low-budget show so casually features something that these days would never be seen on an equivalent show.
I’ve not previously appreciated what a strong performance Michael Wisher puts in as Farret. He’s very good.
The doll’s little waddle away after killing the bloke reminds me far too much of my toddler.
Ah yes, the trope of huge, silent black man. And of course he’s played by the same actor as previously. The 70s were wild weren’t they. Thank God we’re where we are now and we will be where we will be.
The Brig’s taken more of a back seat sooner than I’d remembered. I suppose because of the rise of Benton, Yates and the Master, there’s just less space.
That cliffhanger is Sensorites-Episode-One-cliffhanger unsettling.
Part Three
Is it really rude to say that Jon Pertwee occasionally sounds a tiny bit like Daffy Duck?
I love a bit of Three/Brig conflict because you can always tell that they deeply care about each other underneath.
“I sometimes wonder if ‘military intelligence’ is a contradiction in terms.”
Have I missed something? Why does the Doctor seem so shocked at the idea of the doll walking around when he’s recently witnessed the Autons and has already identified the Nestene is involved again this time around?
He may be a holey infant, but he sure ain’t tender or mild.
The OG Doctor/Master telephone call, followed by yet another totally insane but frankly brilliant cliffhanger
I could have sworn I saw the Doctor in the same shot. But to be fair, I was typing these notes at the same time so I may be mistaken. Hmmm, maybe noting as I go was the wrong call…
Finishing this two weeks after it was on the Club schedule. Here’s hoping I catch up a little better now I’m home from being away and in a normal life routine.
Part Four
‘There’s a lot of plastic around’. Tide has entered the chat.
I do so love the Third Doctor’s brand of pacifism. I’m not sure what it is about it that feels less holier-than-thou and more genuinely righteous anger than, say, that claimed by the Tenth Doctor.
I can’t help but feel the mass manipulation of plastic might have been more effective story-wise if they had gone for something more obviously plastic than the uber-realistic flowers…
I know it’s actually the Nestene consciousness etc., etc., but I do think the Autons are more effective when they’re silent.
That said, I do enjoy the carnival flower men outfits. The mannequins are probably a little more effective, but it’s a fun twist that’s effective in its creepiness.
Logopolis foreshadowing vibes in the big climax up the tower.
I know it’s not the first time the show’s done it - and it is true that the Master ends up overused - but it is fun exciting that the Master escapes and not everything is tied up in a neat bow at the end of the serial.
‘As a matter of fact Jo, I’m rather looking forward to it’ - Such a brilliant ending line. I love that they establish as early as the Master’s first story that both he and the Doctor enjoy their rivalry. Almost like… bickering brothers…
Verdict - This story is as good as I remembered it. It treads some of the same ground as Spearhead, but the Master adds such a brilliant new dynamic that it doesn’t bother me. The autons are better realised in Spearhead, but the rest remains as effective as before. Jo is fun, though I’d argue underused for a first appearance - that said, it’s nice how quickly she just seamlessly fits into the dynamic. Pertwee’s on top form and, as I’ve already repeated, Delgado is nothing short of spectacular. Roll on the rest of season eight!
Very silly, and very very fun! Honestly one of my favourite Pertwee stories. So much to love here, Jo, the Master, and the return of the awesome Autons.
This story perfectly represents the joy of Doctor Who for me.
That’s quite a claim! Whatever the source, it’s definitely still acting for both of them. Personally, I’d say it’s more just a different intentional approach to the character, whatever it is they’re drawing from (and possibly the fact that in the context of modern Who, the Doctor’s pacifism just feels a bit more hypocritical generally). You may well be right - I’d be particularly interested to learn whether Pertwee really was a pacifist to some extent (post-war, as you say) - but the inner workings of any actor’s approach to a character or emotion is all guesswork to the rest of us really!
What’s interesting is he was apparently told by BBC’s Head of Drama to play the Doctor as himself. Pertwee said at one point: “Doctor Who is me – or I am Doctor Who. I play him straight from me.”.
Of course, playing the Doctor as himself is playing as someone who spent 6 years in the Royal Navy, transferring off the HMS Hood shortly after it sank, then was attached to the top secret Naval Intelligence Division, working alongside Ian Fleming and reporting directly to Winston Churchhill and the Deputy Prime Minister. He said in an interview: “I did all sorts. Teaching commandos how to use escapology equipment, compasses in brass buttons, secret maps in white cotton handkerchiefs, pipes you could smoke that also fired a .22 bullet. All sorts of incredible things.”
So playing as himself is already playing a pretty incredible character…
Love this one, yes its a bit of a retread of some ideas from Spearheard from Space but we have added Delgado! Some great moments between the Doc, Jo & the Brig.
