BURNINATION RECAP: Ultimate Watchalong: All of Time and Space!
This Sunday at 8 PM BST, we will be watching The Ark. This episode features the first Doctor, Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet - oh, what's that? Who's Dodo, you say, and where did Vicki go? WELL. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that all five of the opening stories of series 3 (no, not the one with crazy Simm!Master and Martha, that was series 29) have been subjected to eternal burnination barring some unchecked basements in Hong Kong. In memory of those those lost to the BBC’s 70s tape-saving policy, let us have a short (and extremely uneven, sorry, I’m new at this) recap.
GALAXY FOUR
In this story we meet the occupants of two crashed spaceships - one group the Drahvins, pretty and militant women with dots for eyebrows, and the Rills, large flappy monsters. Nicely, it is the flappy monsters that become our allies, with the lovely ladies turning out to be psycho clone soldiers (female variation of the Sontarans?) The Drahvins were lately mentioned as being one of the groups after the Doctor's destruction in The Pandorica Opens - not surprising, as the Doctor ends up leaving them to fend for themselves on the soon-to-be-exploding planet, while fueling the Rills' crashed ship from the TARDIS herself, allowing them and their adorable drone robots (Vicki names them Chumblies, because they are just that cute) to escape.
MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN (aka DALEK CUTAWAY)
This is historically the only story not to feature any of the TARDIS crew, although as it is a prologue to The Daleks' Master Plan, I find it analogous to the prequels we've been getting for the recent series. It is a lot longer, though. 25 minutes of Daleks leading a galactic domination conference and random heroic spacemen investigating and tripping around the jungle trying to avoid the horrible Varga plants (kind of like Krynoids but with less organ music). Spoilers: everybody dies.
THE MYTH MAKERS
Vicki and the rest of the crew become embroiled in the Trojan War. Episode 2: "Small Prophet, Quick Return." Episode 4: "Horse of Destruction. What could go wrong with titles like that. Over the course of this story, Vicki decides to go by Cressida, and is soon noticed by Troilus, Prince of Troy arrives, for the attractive vixen she is. Vicki knows what's good and impetuously decides to stay with him coming to historical tragedy if you believe Shakespeare and in the middle of the chaos sends a handy handmaiden to transmit the message to her TARDIS family. The handmaiden, Katarina, arrives in time to see Steven shot with arrows and fall desperately ill, and helping in the wounded astronaut into the ship finds herself whisked away through time and space.
Farewell, Vicki.
THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN
Following on from Mission to the Unknown, those Dalek councils have indeed been up to no good. They have brought in representatives of many space peoples in order to form a coalition devoted to the conquering of the universe, starting with Earth, of course. This 10-part story is basically The Chase done seriously - the Doctor, Steven, and Katarina - for as long as she lasts - are intent on foiling the Daleks’ plan, and so have stolen the core to their doomsday weapon, The Time Destructor. They run from place to place with it, followed everywhere, meeting allies and enemies and Krafayis and learning about the far-reaching and twisted nature of the plot. Katarina becomes the first companion to ever die, sending herself out of an airlock in attempt to save the others.
She is almost replaced by space security agent Bret Vyon, who is soon shot dead.
(hello and goodbye, not-Brig D:).
He is then replaced by Sara Kingdom, his sister, who is also the space security agent who shot him dead before learning what was truly going on. She is later aged to death by the Time Destructor, activated by the Doctor at last to foil the Daleks in their own plot, which she was caught in when she went back to help.
And thus the first companion death swiftly became three. :O Brilliant, harrowing, with random Christmas hijinks episode in the middle - I think this might be one of my favorites
THE MASSACRE (OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S EVE)
The Doctor and Steven land in a terrible time of religious riots in France. After they both change into awesome period clothing, the Doctor swiftly disappears, leaving Steven to rescue this chick Anne Chaplet.
Things don’t go so well and when the Doctor finally shows up they have to leave in a hurry, without Anne. Steven is angry.
He confronts the Doctor, and makes the decision to leave the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor on his own.
Lessening the impact of this amazing scene somewhat, Steven suddenly comes running back to warn the Doctor that some policemen are about to mistake the TARDIS for a police box. He is soon followed by a schoolgirl making the same mistake, just as they are all whisked away by the TARDIS dematerializing and trapping them aboard. This is possibly Steven’s great-granddaughter! Dodo Chaplet . She has just stepped into an alien time machine and may never see her home again.
She doesn't seem to mind...?!
And that brings us, at long last, to a story intact - THE ARK!
The first Doctor, Steven, and Dodo arrive on an ark - an actual space ark, for the saving of mankind, earth animals, and Monoids (pictured above). Soon all are threatened by a combination of classism and the common cold.
Please join us Sunday, 8 PM BST to watch the next story of an exciting era of Who’s history. Those of you who are familiar with it, feel free to comment with the no doubt endless reasons why it must be seen, or with fond remembrances of the five burninated stories above. Or, uh, what they may have to do with the Master...? I feel so off-topic right now.
OH WELL, x_los TOLD ME I COULD
Hope to see you on Sunday!
GALAXY FOUR
In this story we meet the occupants of two crashed spaceships - one group the Drahvins, pretty and militant women with dots for eyebrows, and the Rills, large flappy monsters. Nicely, it is the flappy monsters that become our allies, with the lovely ladies turning out to be psycho clone soldiers (female variation of the Sontarans?) The Drahvins were lately mentioned as being one of the groups after the Doctor's destruction in The Pandorica Opens - not surprising, as the Doctor ends up leaving them to fend for themselves on the soon-to-be-exploding planet, while fueling the Rills' crashed ship from the TARDIS herself, allowing them and their adorable drone robots (Vicki names them Chumblies, because they are just that cute) to escape.
MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN (aka DALEK CUTAWAY)
This is historically the only story not to feature any of the TARDIS crew, although as it is a prologue to The Daleks' Master Plan, I find it analogous to the prequels we've been getting for the recent series. It is a lot longer, though. 25 minutes of Daleks leading a galactic domination conference and random heroic spacemen investigating and tripping around the jungle trying to avoid the horrible Varga plants (kind of like Krynoids but with less organ music). Spoilers: everybody dies.
THE MYTH MAKERS
Vicki and the rest of the crew become embroiled in the Trojan War. Episode 2: "Small Prophet, Quick Return." Episode 4: "Horse of Destruction. What could go wrong with titles like that. Over the course of this story, Vicki decides to go by Cressida, and is soon noticed by Troilus, Prince of Troy arrives, for the attractive vixen she is. Vicki knows what's good and impetuously decides to stay with him coming to historical tragedy if you believe Shakespeare and in the middle of the chaos sends a handy handmaiden to transmit the message to her TARDIS family. The handmaiden, Katarina, arrives in time to see Steven shot with arrows and fall desperately ill, and helping in the wounded astronaut into the ship finds herself whisked away through time and space.
Farewell, Vicki.
THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN
Following on from Mission to the Unknown, those Dalek councils have indeed been up to no good. They have brought in representatives of many space peoples in order to form a coalition devoted to the conquering of the universe, starting with Earth, of course. This 10-part story is basically The Chase done seriously - the Doctor, Steven, and Katarina - for as long as she lasts - are intent on foiling the Daleks’ plan, and so have stolen the core to their doomsday weapon, The Time Destructor. They run from place to place with it, followed everywhere, meeting allies and enemies and Krafayis and learning about the far-reaching and twisted nature of the plot. Katarina becomes the first companion to ever die, sending herself out of an airlock in attempt to save the others.
She is almost replaced by space security agent Bret Vyon, who is soon shot dead.
(hello and goodbye, not-Brig D:).
He is then replaced by Sara Kingdom, his sister, who is also the space security agent who shot him dead before learning what was truly going on. She is later aged to death by the Time Destructor, activated by the Doctor at last to foil the Daleks in their own plot, which she was caught in when she went back to help.
And thus the first companion death swiftly became three. :O Brilliant, harrowing, with random Christmas hijinks episode in the middle - I think this might be one of my favorites
THE MASSACRE (OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S EVE)
The Doctor and Steven land in a terrible time of religious riots in France. After they both change into awesome period clothing, the Doctor swiftly disappears, leaving Steven to rescue this chick Anne Chaplet.
Things don’t go so well and when the Doctor finally shows up they have to leave in a hurry, without Anne. Steven is angry.
He confronts the Doctor, and makes the decision to leave the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor on his own.
Lessening the impact of this amazing scene somewhat, Steven suddenly comes running back to warn the Doctor that some policemen are about to mistake the TARDIS for a police box. He is soon followed by a schoolgirl making the same mistake, just as they are all whisked away by the TARDIS dematerializing and trapping them aboard. This is possibly Steven’s great-granddaughter! Dodo Chaplet . She has just stepped into an alien time machine and may never see her home again.
She doesn't seem to mind...?!
And that brings us, at long last, to a story intact - THE ARK!
The first Doctor, Steven, and Dodo arrive on an ark - an actual space ark, for the saving of mankind, earth animals, and Monoids (pictured above). Soon all are threatened by a combination of classism and the common cold.
Please join us Sunday, 8 PM BST to watch the next story of an exciting era of Who’s history. Those of you who are familiar with it, feel free to comment with the no doubt endless reasons why it must be seen, or with fond remembrances of the five burninated stories above. Or, uh, what they may have to do with the Master...? I feel so off-topic right now.
OH WELL, x_los TOLD ME I COULD
Hope to see you on Sunday!