My Thoughts On Season 16 Of Classic Doctor Who
This season was different because it was a complete story arc, and I have to say I mostly enjoyed it. I kind of expected a wham bam ending by the end and because of it, but that didn't really happen, but it was fine the way it ended. I'm not sure what else to say for this intro, so let's get into it.
It begins with “The Ribos Operation,” the one serial of the bunch I didn't care a whole lot about I think. And frankly, I may have missed a part of it, but oh well. It starts off with The Doctor and K-9 playing chess again (unless I have the wrong episode). The Doctor wants to take a holiday (Isn't he always on holiday?), but it's not meant to be. He finds himself face to face with a guy called the White Guardian who tells him he must find six segments of the Key of Time to restore balance to the universe. They have been scattered across the universe, and he must beware the Black Guardian who wants to use the key for more sinister purposes. Also he is made to have a new companion, despite wanting to travel alone. Huh, first time I've heard of this in the classic series. Only, unlike the Tenth Doctor for example, he just sees companions as a burden rather than he just doesn't want to lose them. Well, maybe that could be part of it too for the Fourth Doctor. But a companion, he does get and she's also a Time Lord, or should I say Time Lady? ;) Yes, so I finally get to see Romana and my first perception of her is that she looks like an angel or a goddess. She's only 140 years old (if I have that right) and she wasn't as nice to K-9 as Leela at first. Romana and The Doctor travel to the planet Ribos, which seems to be stuck in Medieval Times. Romana was given a stick that can detect the segments (they can look like anything) insert “poking the stick around” innuendos here. Ribos is boring, except for one monster called a Shrivenzale. I still don't know what its purpose was, but yeah. The first segment is actually disguised as the planet's precious mineral, Jethryk, and some people want it, but The Doctor pulls a little switcheroo at the end to keep the segment. Each segment turns into a crystal piece, once transformed, and when they are all put together, they are the Key of Time.
Next came “The Pirate Planet,” aka “The Wrong Planet,” written by the late great Douglas Adams, and it's pretty obvious that it was written by him. Romana and The Doctor arrive on what he expects to be an icy desolate planet called Calufrax, but there's no cold and there is civilization. It's all wrong. The leader or who appears to be the leader, is a cyborg called the Captain, who is a straight up Douglas Adams character. Very over-the-top. He's at war with the psychic Mentiads who are actually nice people as The Doctor discovers. The real ruler is actually a queen, but she is mostly dead, but can take the form of a hologram? And she's the one pulling the strings. Turns out this planet can materialize like a TARDIS around other planets, leeching them of their resources, and the Captain has his eyes set on earth next. Can't have that. The key segment was actually the planet itself and all came to destruction. No more planetary leech. This was a strange one.
Next came “The Stones of Blood,” aka “Vampire Rocks From Space”, which I quite liked. The Doctor explained to me the “anyone for tennis,” idiom, which does not mean that literally. You learn something new everyday. Romana and The Doctor land in Cornwall, where they find a discount Stone Henge and some archaeologists. The Doctor still didn't point and laugh at them. I really like the old lady, the Professor Amelia Rumford. I like her because she's really smart. How many smart old ladies do you find on shows? Great minor character. Unfortunately, Romana finds herself getting lost and tricked by a fake Doctor. She nearly falls off a cliff, but she would have regenerated I guess. Meanwhile, The Doctor encounters some druids about to make a sacrifice because it's not Doctor Who without a little sacrificing. The druids also appeared to turn into the stones? I may have blinked and missed it, but now the stones (called Ogri) are on the move and require blood. Professor Rumford's partner, Vivian, is not who she appears to be. You don't say! Alien Vivian sends Romana to her spaceship. Now The Doctor has to figure out a way to reach her, so he builds a projector device out of his ass like MacGyver. Once he's on the ship, which is actually a prison ship, he encounters another set of beings called Megara - basically a grouping of stars. At least these looked better than those cellophane aliens. Anyway, their purpose is to deliver justice, and they're pretty dumb and terrible at it. The Doctor broke the law coming there and goes on a very quick “trial.” Spoiler Alert: He's guilty. Back on earth, Vivian destroys the projector. Bitch. All that's really left to do is for The Doctor to point out the truth, that Vivian is a criminal or otherwise use her as a human (alien?) shield as the case may be, which works. They get the third segment of time.
“The Androids of Tara” was next. Tara is yet another planet stuck in Medieval Times, but with robots. Romana has to dress appropriately every time, and this planet has really goofy fashion sense. The Doctor doesn't change. He doesn't have to. He's The Doctor. Maybe this is the one with K-9 and The Doctor playing chess. If there was a sitcom starring The Doctor and K-9, I would totally watch it. So, The Doctor has limited interest in finding the next segment, and instead wants to fish. So, Romana goes off on her own to find it. She finds it rather quickly. It can't be that easy can it? No, of course not. A random monster appears and it is WTF levels of bad. But the Count who saves her also wants the segment to be processed. Somehow down the line, he thinks Romana is android and they're about to...cut into her. Gulp. Turns out Romana has a princess android doppelganger. Really? Meanwhile, The Doctor's fishing trip is interrupted as he is called to repair an android of the prince because every time the real prince is about to attend his coronation, he becomes a target for assassination. Where is the security in this place? It appears to work out, but then the real prince gets drugged and locked away by the Count along with Romana. The Count wants the throne for himself. Then it gets more strange later on as the evil Count plans to first kill the prince, then marry Romana as she poses as the princess, then kill her, so then he can take the throne. LOL, I don't think this is a very well thought out plan. The Doctor shows up during the wedding. The Doctor and weddings, you know. The Count engages him in a duel. I haven't seen The Doctor fight like this for a while. Makes me miss the Third Doctor. The Doctor wins and meets the real princess and they get the fourth segment. And in the end, The Doctor laughs at K-9 who is floating in the middle of the moat. That's mean. :( How was K-9 supposed to get back? I guess they'd use the TARDIS.
Second to last, we've got “The Power of Kroll,” aka “The Doctor vs. Cthulhu”, another one I enjoyed. The Doctor and Romana land in the middle of a swamp on a moon called Delta Magna. The natives there who look like the Jolly Green Giant, worship a creature called Kroll, but is Kroll real? Their planet has been invaded however by people using their planet to extract Methane. The invaders “fondly” call the natives “Swampies.” I'm sure that's not the real name of their race. The plot to this story reminds me strongly of Avatar, which makes me wonder if James Cameron watched Doctor Who. But, you know what, guess what time it is. That's right, it's sacrifice time! Who's gonna be sacrificed? Say it with me now: Romana Romana Romana. But the Swampies must have a dance rave party first. The Doctor stops them in time and reveals Kroll is just a Swampie in a costume. In some episodes, that costume would pass as a legit monster. But the real Kroll is actually real and a ginormous squid-Cthulhu thing, and it's hungry. It wreaks havoc on the refinery and Swampies both. Romana, The Doctor, and some other dude are punished to the rack, stretching their limbs out by growing vines. Kroll is actually the segment and was an ordinary squid that had been mutated by the segment. What I learned from this serial: The Doctor can vocalize high frequency sounds. So what's the point of the sonic screwdriver then? His wit went a mile per minute in this story, although it kind of does generally, especially in his later seasons. The Kroll hunts similar to a Graboid by sensing vibrations.
Lastly is “The Armageddon Factor”, aka “The K-9 Show” because he has a big role. There is a war going on between two planets, Atrios and Zeos. The Marshal, who I guess is the leader of Atrios, looked really familiar to me so I looked the actor up. He was the doctor in An American Werewolf In London. That's where I recognize him from. Anyway, he's seen talking to someone in the mirror, so he seems kind of unstable. The princess Astra of Atrios has been kidnapped by the Shadow. Shadow, Black Guardian, same difference to me. And her one true love, Merak, wishes to rescue her. That's where The Doctor, Romana and K-9 come in. Unfortunately, the Marshal just wants to blow everyone up, so The Doctor and Romana put him in a time loop, but the loop is stretching and won't last. The Shadow has put Astra completely under his control and eventually K-9 too, whom he tries to use to kill The Doctor, but The Doctor removes the device controlling K-9. Then The Doctor runs into another Time Lord called Drax (not to be confused with the member of The Guardians of the Galaxy). I don't trust him because well, I don't really trust any Time Lords, especially those who seem to appear out of nowhere, but Drax knew The Doctor when they attended the academy together and he is a good guy. Sported a London accent too. Time Lords have an affinity for England. However, Drax shrinks The Doctor and then himself. I still don't know if this was on purpose. It's all good though because now Drax and The Doctor can use K-9 as a Trojan horse and go to the Planet of Evil (Yes, really) to stop the Shadow from getting the final segment, which they do and it turns out Astra was actually the key segment. You know, I have no idea what really determined what should be a segment and what shouldn't be. Sometimes it would be objects, sometimes monsters, and sometimes people. Very odd. Back in the TARDIS, The Black Guardian himself disguised as the president of Gallifrey disguised as the White Guardian (um yeah) appears on screen and tries to convince The Doctor to hand over the Key of Time. The Doctor is not stupid though. He splits the key apart and scatters it across the universe again. Oh come on. So, what was the point of finding all those segments if you were just going to break it apart again? But things are cool now right? All in balance again? I don't know. The story arc didn't make much sense. Anyway, The Doctor has now given the TARDIS a randomizer, so they have no idea where they will land next and avoid the Black Guardian's wrath. Oh, so he's doing it deliberately now. I still think that's a risky move because what if they land in a black hole or inside the stomach of an Exogorth? Ah well, on to the next adventure I suppose.
OK, so my pick for favorite serial is kind of an odd choice, but Swampies. It's "The Power of Kroll." The beast itself.
So, the Daleks are finally coming back in the next season. Oooh I can't wait. Can never get enough Daleks. I also have gaming updates too, but I'll share in a later post and maybe my Christmas list too, and one other thing...
It begins with “The Ribos Operation,” the one serial of the bunch I didn't care a whole lot about I think. And frankly, I may have missed a part of it, but oh well. It starts off with The Doctor and K-9 playing chess again (unless I have the wrong episode). The Doctor wants to take a holiday (Isn't he always on holiday?), but it's not meant to be. He finds himself face to face with a guy called the White Guardian who tells him he must find six segments of the Key of Time to restore balance to the universe. They have been scattered across the universe, and he must beware the Black Guardian who wants to use the key for more sinister purposes. Also he is made to have a new companion, despite wanting to travel alone. Huh, first time I've heard of this in the classic series. Only, unlike the Tenth Doctor for example, he just sees companions as a burden rather than he just doesn't want to lose them. Well, maybe that could be part of it too for the Fourth Doctor. But a companion, he does get and she's also a Time Lord, or should I say Time Lady? ;) Yes, so I finally get to see Romana and my first perception of her is that she looks like an angel or a goddess. She's only 140 years old (if I have that right) and she wasn't as nice to K-9 as Leela at first. Romana and The Doctor travel to the planet Ribos, which seems to be stuck in Medieval Times. Romana was given a stick that can detect the segments (they can look like anything) insert “poking the stick around” innuendos here. Ribos is boring, except for one monster called a Shrivenzale. I still don't know what its purpose was, but yeah. The first segment is actually disguised as the planet's precious mineral, Jethryk, and some people want it, but The Doctor pulls a little switcheroo at the end to keep the segment. Each segment turns into a crystal piece, once transformed, and when they are all put together, they are the Key of Time.
Next came “The Pirate Planet,” aka “The Wrong Planet,” written by the late great Douglas Adams, and it's pretty obvious that it was written by him. Romana and The Doctor arrive on what he expects to be an icy desolate planet called Calufrax, but there's no cold and there is civilization. It's all wrong. The leader or who appears to be the leader, is a cyborg called the Captain, who is a straight up Douglas Adams character. Very over-the-top. He's at war with the psychic Mentiads who are actually nice people as The Doctor discovers. The real ruler is actually a queen, but she is mostly dead, but can take the form of a hologram? And she's the one pulling the strings. Turns out this planet can materialize like a TARDIS around other planets, leeching them of their resources, and the Captain has his eyes set on earth next. Can't have that. The key segment was actually the planet itself and all came to destruction. No more planetary leech. This was a strange one.
Next came “The Stones of Blood,” aka “Vampire Rocks From Space”, which I quite liked. The Doctor explained to me the “anyone for tennis,” idiom, which does not mean that literally. You learn something new everyday. Romana and The Doctor land in Cornwall, where they find a discount Stone Henge and some archaeologists. The Doctor still didn't point and laugh at them. I really like the old lady, the Professor Amelia Rumford. I like her because she's really smart. How many smart old ladies do you find on shows? Great minor character. Unfortunately, Romana finds herself getting lost and tricked by a fake Doctor. She nearly falls off a cliff, but she would have regenerated I guess. Meanwhile, The Doctor encounters some druids about to make a sacrifice because it's not Doctor Who without a little sacrificing. The druids also appeared to turn into the stones? I may have blinked and missed it, but now the stones (called Ogri) are on the move and require blood. Professor Rumford's partner, Vivian, is not who she appears to be. You don't say! Alien Vivian sends Romana to her spaceship. Now The Doctor has to figure out a way to reach her, so he builds a projector device out of his ass like MacGyver. Once he's on the ship, which is actually a prison ship, he encounters another set of beings called Megara - basically a grouping of stars. At least these looked better than those cellophane aliens. Anyway, their purpose is to deliver justice, and they're pretty dumb and terrible at it. The Doctor broke the law coming there and goes on a very quick “trial.” Spoiler Alert: He's guilty. Back on earth, Vivian destroys the projector. Bitch. All that's really left to do is for The Doctor to point out the truth, that Vivian is a criminal or otherwise use her as a human (alien?) shield as the case may be, which works. They get the third segment of time.
“The Androids of Tara” was next. Tara is yet another planet stuck in Medieval Times, but with robots. Romana has to dress appropriately every time, and this planet has really goofy fashion sense. The Doctor doesn't change. He doesn't have to. He's The Doctor. Maybe this is the one with K-9 and The Doctor playing chess. If there was a sitcom starring The Doctor and K-9, I would totally watch it. So, The Doctor has limited interest in finding the next segment, and instead wants to fish. So, Romana goes off on her own to find it. She finds it rather quickly. It can't be that easy can it? No, of course not. A random monster appears and it is WTF levels of bad. But the Count who saves her also wants the segment to be processed. Somehow down the line, he thinks Romana is android and they're about to...cut into her. Gulp. Turns out Romana has a princess android doppelganger. Really? Meanwhile, The Doctor's fishing trip is interrupted as he is called to repair an android of the prince because every time the real prince is about to attend his coronation, he becomes a target for assassination. Where is the security in this place? It appears to work out, but then the real prince gets drugged and locked away by the Count along with Romana. The Count wants the throne for himself. Then it gets more strange later on as the evil Count plans to first kill the prince, then marry Romana as she poses as the princess, then kill her, so then he can take the throne. LOL, I don't think this is a very well thought out plan. The Doctor shows up during the wedding. The Doctor and weddings, you know. The Count engages him in a duel. I haven't seen The Doctor fight like this for a while. Makes me miss the Third Doctor. The Doctor wins and meets the real princess and they get the fourth segment. And in the end, The Doctor laughs at K-9 who is floating in the middle of the moat. That's mean. :( How was K-9 supposed to get back? I guess they'd use the TARDIS.
Second to last, we've got “The Power of Kroll,” aka “The Doctor vs. Cthulhu”, another one I enjoyed. The Doctor and Romana land in the middle of a swamp on a moon called Delta Magna. The natives there who look like the Jolly Green Giant, worship a creature called Kroll, but is Kroll real? Their planet has been invaded however by people using their planet to extract Methane. The invaders “fondly” call the natives “Swampies.” I'm sure that's not the real name of their race. The plot to this story reminds me strongly of Avatar, which makes me wonder if James Cameron watched Doctor Who. But, you know what, guess what time it is. That's right, it's sacrifice time! Who's gonna be sacrificed? Say it with me now: Romana Romana Romana. But the Swampies must have a dance rave party first. The Doctor stops them in time and reveals Kroll is just a Swampie in a costume. In some episodes, that costume would pass as a legit monster. But the real Kroll is actually real and a ginormous squid-Cthulhu thing, and it's hungry. It wreaks havoc on the refinery and Swampies both. Romana, The Doctor, and some other dude are punished to the rack, stretching their limbs out by growing vines. Kroll is actually the segment and was an ordinary squid that had been mutated by the segment. What I learned from this serial: The Doctor can vocalize high frequency sounds. So what's the point of the sonic screwdriver then? His wit went a mile per minute in this story, although it kind of does generally, especially in his later seasons. The Kroll hunts similar to a Graboid by sensing vibrations.
Lastly is “The Armageddon Factor”, aka “The K-9 Show” because he has a big role. There is a war going on between two planets, Atrios and Zeos. The Marshal, who I guess is the leader of Atrios, looked really familiar to me so I looked the actor up. He was the doctor in An American Werewolf In London. That's where I recognize him from. Anyway, he's seen talking to someone in the mirror, so he seems kind of unstable. The princess Astra of Atrios has been kidnapped by the Shadow. Shadow, Black Guardian, same difference to me. And her one true love, Merak, wishes to rescue her. That's where The Doctor, Romana and K-9 come in. Unfortunately, the Marshal just wants to blow everyone up, so The Doctor and Romana put him in a time loop, but the loop is stretching and won't last. The Shadow has put Astra completely under his control and eventually K-9 too, whom he tries to use to kill The Doctor, but The Doctor removes the device controlling K-9. Then The Doctor runs into another Time Lord called Drax (not to be confused with the member of The Guardians of the Galaxy). I don't trust him because well, I don't really trust any Time Lords, especially those who seem to appear out of nowhere, but Drax knew The Doctor when they attended the academy together and he is a good guy. Sported a London accent too. Time Lords have an affinity for England. However, Drax shrinks The Doctor and then himself. I still don't know if this was on purpose. It's all good though because now Drax and The Doctor can use K-9 as a Trojan horse and go to the Planet of Evil (Yes, really) to stop the Shadow from getting the final segment, which they do and it turns out Astra was actually the key segment. You know, I have no idea what really determined what should be a segment and what shouldn't be. Sometimes it would be objects, sometimes monsters, and sometimes people. Very odd. Back in the TARDIS, The Black Guardian himself disguised as the president of Gallifrey disguised as the White Guardian (um yeah) appears on screen and tries to convince The Doctor to hand over the Key of Time. The Doctor is not stupid though. He splits the key apart and scatters it across the universe again. Oh come on. So, what was the point of finding all those segments if you were just going to break it apart again? But things are cool now right? All in balance again? I don't know. The story arc didn't make much sense. Anyway, The Doctor has now given the TARDIS a randomizer, so they have no idea where they will land next and avoid the Black Guardian's wrath. Oh, so he's doing it deliberately now. I still think that's a risky move because what if they land in a black hole or inside the stomach of an Exogorth? Ah well, on to the next adventure I suppose.
OK, so my pick for favorite serial is kind of an odd choice, but Swampies. It's "The Power of Kroll." The beast itself.
So, the Daleks are finally coming back in the next season. Oooh I can't wait. Can never get enough Daleks. I also have gaming updates too, but I'll share in a later post and maybe my Christmas list too, and one other thing...