My Thoughts On Season 21 Of Classic Doctor Who
I finished off season 21 of Classic Who. Lots of big changes in this season. I was surprised when I found out the season wasn't over when the Fifth Doctor regenerated. They don't usually do that, but the Sixth Doctor had his first serial in this season. He didn't exactly leave the best of impressions, but I'll get to that at the end.
The first serial of the season was “Warriors of the Deep.” The first thing I noticed was The Doctor seemed to have gotten a new haircut. There's also a line he says to look out for: “When I say run, run,” famously said by the Second Doctor. :) War has broken out between the humans of earth and our travelers have landed on one of the sea bases. Unfortunately, the Silurians and their cousins, the Sea Devils are trying to take advantage of the war. Oddly, the Sea Devils have no issue with working under the Silurians. They've also got another monster at their side called a Myrka. The Doctor wanted to save the aliens, but he failed and he despaired over that.
Next was “The Awakening,” a short one this time. Sort of interesting, sort of eh. What appeared to be another historical episode was actually not. It was set in present day 1984 and featured a bunch of LARPers, although they seemed to be taking their role-playing a little bit too seriously. And this is where The Doctor and his companions come in. They were there to visit Tegan's grandfather, but got sidetracked by this weird plot. They land in a church and there's a crack. No, not THAT crack. Turns out there's an alien behind that crack called the Malus and it feeds off the psychic energy of the LARPers war games. No, not THOSE War Games. And it soon will no longer be fun and games, but real. The Doctor puts an end to the monster's psychic attacks and Tegan still wants to see her grandfather, so they do that off screen.
We will meet giant pill bugs or as I call them, snaildillos in “Frontios.” In this one, The Doctor actually gets to be a doctor, helping victims of a meteor shower on a ship. He wears his glasses quite a bit too. But something is living underneath them and dragging people down. They are the Tractators, a species that Turlough was familiar with as they attacked his own people. The Tractators do absolutely horrible things to people, sticking them in machines to mine the planet. The Doctor neutralizes the leader of the Tractators, has his TARDIS which had been blasted apart put back together, and gives Frontios his hat stand as a gift.
The Daleks and Davros make a return in “Resurrection of the Daleks.” The Daleks have formed a time corridor between earth? And the prison spaceship where Davros is being held. They've also got a group of followers. They wear Dalek shaped helmets and have weapons that look like Dalek weapons. Can I just call them a Dalek cult? That actually might have made for a more interesting episode. When The Doctor and the others get involved, The Doctor is all ready to kill this time. Davros tries to develop a cure for the virus that destroyed the Daleks last time. I guess some of the Dalek cult members were being mind controlled by Davros too. One such person, is Stein who tries to help the Doctor and his friends while also trying to resist the mind control. There are still some Daleks who turn against Davros, but he's more prepared this time and uses the virus against them. This results in another foamy mess. More fun with foam I guess. A Dalek Civil War ensues. The Doctor uses the virus to kill the rest of the remaining Daleks and Davros becomes a victim of the virus himself. It is Stein who then starts the self-destruct sequence blowing up the Daleks. The Doctor is ready to go then, but Tegan has had enough. She had vowed that she would leave when the adventures stopped being fun. Really? That being the case, then I would have thought she would have left after she got possessed by the Mara. That didn't seem fun at the time. You can tell The Doctor is heartbroken over it as she returns to earth and Turlough and The Doctor continue on. I really liked Tegan. This serial was pretty decent, but the last part was truly great.
Then we also embark on Turlough's final adventure in “Planet of Fire.” It begins on the planet of Sarn where a devout group of followers of a fire god partake in sacrificing Unbelievers. How nice. One of these Sarns however, Malkon, or as I call him British 80s RDJ, is the Chosen One due to a special marking on his skin. Meanwhile, an artifact has been uncovered with this same marking. A professor and his stepdaughter are overseeing the expedition. His stepdaughter happens to be Perpugilliam. Really? I feel sorry her parents named her that. She goes by Peri for short. I was trying to figure out her accent. And then I looked it up and found out it's supposed to be an American accent. Uh uh, no. Wanting to leave, she tries to take the artifact and dives into the ocean, only to find out she can't swim? Turlough sees and comes to her rescue. He also sees the artifact and recognizes the symbol, that is on his skin as well, which we have never seen before. He takes Peri back to the TARDIS. Kamelion is there. Where has been in all the previous episodes? Unfortunately, The Master is able to take control of him. He takes the form of Peri's step-father to trick her. The Master really likes to harass The Doctor's future companions doesn't he? Then he takes his true form and Peri goes on the run on the planet of Sarn. Meanwhile Turlough finds Malkon who is his brother. Peri catches up to Turlough and The Doctor, but then The Master shows up as well and takes advantage of the Sarns' faith and tells them to kill the Doctor. The Doctor tries to warn them that he's lying. The Master/Kamelion kidnaps Peri and takes her … well, he has to be somewhere right? But where is he exactly? Apparently he's stuck in a box and a victim of his own shrink ray gun. LOL tiny Master. You know, Peri really missed an opportunity here to squish him with her foot. The Doctor is able to free Kamelion of the Master's control, but the robot doesn't survive. Also the real Master seems to get gassed to death as he returns to his normal size. Can't wait for the explanation for how he survived this one. Turlough had contacted his home planet Trion to help the Sarns escape their volcanic erupting planet, and he's been granted amnesty, so he decides to return home. Turlough was all right. Annoying at first because he was being used by the Black Guardian, but he turned out to be a pretty good companion. Peri decides she wants to continue to travel with The Doctor (a risky decision) and they begin their new journey together.
It's time to say a final farewell to the Fifth Doctor in “The Caves of Androzani,” aka “Deadly Bat Poop.” This serial was quite political and very dramatic as well involving drug smuggling of a drug called Spectrox, which can lengthen one's life span. It is basically synthesized by bat poop. One man , the disfigured Sharaz Jek, is sitting on the supply of the drugs. Meanwhile, The Doctor and Peri are exploring the Androzani caves when they get the bat poop on themselves. They think nothing of it at the time, but little do they know, the stuff is toxic, and will lead to a horrible death if they don't get an antidote. They run into Morgus who orders The Doctor and Peri to be excecuted, but surprise! They are “saved” by Jek and replaced by android doubles. They are now Jek's prisoners, especially Peri, whom Jek wants to keep with him forever, and acts like a completely pervy creeper around her. Phantom of the Opera much? But hey, he's a pretty good villain. They are able to escape however and they really need that antidote, especially Peri, who is in a really bad way. I did say this was really dramatic. The Doctor decides he's got to go to the caves himself to get it himself, which doesn't come easy when he gets captured by the gunrunners in a conflict between them and Jek. The Doctor crashes their ship back down to save Peri. The Doctor needs some extra oxygen where he's going to get the antidote. I thought this might be how he dies - run out of oxygen. Nope. Another fight happens between Jek and the gunrunners and they all kill eachother. The Doctor gets Peri and takes her back to the TARDIS. He was only able to get enough antidote for her as he dropped one, so he saved her life. The Doctor sadly succumbs to the disease, and it's a little scary because he wasn't entirely sure he was going to regenerate. He again sees his life flash before his eyes, his previous companions telling him to live, while the loudest voice seems to be the Master, telling him to die. Oh Master, but then you wouldn't have anyone to play with. I have to say, this was the second hardest regeneration for me after the Tenth Doctor. My eyes watered. It was actually pretty upsetting. But it was time to begin anew again and The Doctor's reborn once more as the Sixth Doctor.
Regeneration doesn't go smoothly again in “The Twin Dilemma.” The new Doctor becomes totally delirious and narcissistic and moody throughout this whole serial and poor Peri has to put up with it. He decides he wants to find a cave on Titan 3 and become a hermit with Peri at his side. LOL OK? To start Hermits United? But my first impression of the Sixth Doctor: OMG he's Gilderoy Lockhart lol. He speaks in a very Shakespearean manner. I wonder if he will carry on like that in further episodes. He's definitely different … First thing he needed was a new outfit and ugh...lol. OK, so I've seen pictures of Six before so I already knew how he chose to dress, which is “Yuck,” according to Peri. Then The Doctor goes ape-shit on Peri accusing her of being an alien spy and tries to strangle her to death. This new regeneration is really not going well. The story must go on though. Two twins, aptly named Romulus and Remus have been kidnapped by an old man named Edgeworth. Edgeworth!? That's not Edgeworth. When The Doctor and Peri, and also one commander Lang who's searching for the twins catch up to Edgeworth, The Doctor recognizes him. He's actually another Time Lord named Azmael. I literally didn't know this until the last episode of the serial because I probably missed it. Azmael is using the twins' genius minds to make calculations to move some planets around. Azamel abandons The Doctor and Peri to be blown up. Some friend. The Doctor's friends suck. Peri is teleported back to the TARDIS while she thinks The Doctor died until he appears again. You've also got the slug people and the horned bird people called Jacondans who are the slug people's slaves I guess? The slugs have taken over their planet. The Doctor and Azamael confront the leader of the slug people, Mestor, and he says he will take over The Doctor's mind and body. The Doctor dares him to try and Mestor tests his might on Azmael. The Doctor then attacks Mestor with acid and he melts away. Unfortunately this kills Azmael in the process who was on his last regeneration.
Back on the TARDIS, The Doctor assures Peri that he has stabilized now even though he was still acting rude. “I'm an alien.” “I'm The Doctor, whether you like it or not!” Just what are they trying to say here? This scene is pretty reminiscent of Clara's confrontation with Twelve. I don't know that I actually want a rude Doctor lol. That being said, I do actually kind of like Colin Baker's Doctor so far. I've heard people don't like this serial. I can understand why. The regeneration sickness went kind of overboard this time. And that doesn't leave a very good first impression. The Doctor is a pain the whole time and nearly useless. But when you set all that aside, the story wasn't half-bad.
I got sloppy with my write-up this time probably because I took that hiatus watching Iron Fist and my memories went out the window, but oh well, onward to the next season! And getting better impressions of the Sixth Doctor. My favorite serial of the season I guess I would say was "Resurrection of the Daleks," and here's a screenshot. Careful where you're pointing that thing Doctor. This is what happens when The Doctor gets pushed too far.
The first serial of the season was “Warriors of the Deep.” The first thing I noticed was The Doctor seemed to have gotten a new haircut. There's also a line he says to look out for: “When I say run, run,” famously said by the Second Doctor. :) War has broken out between the humans of earth and our travelers have landed on one of the sea bases. Unfortunately, the Silurians and their cousins, the Sea Devils are trying to take advantage of the war. Oddly, the Sea Devils have no issue with working under the Silurians. They've also got another monster at their side called a Myrka. The Doctor wanted to save the aliens, but he failed and he despaired over that.
Next was “The Awakening,” a short one this time. Sort of interesting, sort of eh. What appeared to be another historical episode was actually not. It was set in present day 1984 and featured a bunch of LARPers, although they seemed to be taking their role-playing a little bit too seriously. And this is where The Doctor and his companions come in. They were there to visit Tegan's grandfather, but got sidetracked by this weird plot. They land in a church and there's a crack. No, not THAT crack. Turns out there's an alien behind that crack called the Malus and it feeds off the psychic energy of the LARPers war games. No, not THOSE War Games. And it soon will no longer be fun and games, but real. The Doctor puts an end to the monster's psychic attacks and Tegan still wants to see her grandfather, so they do that off screen.
We will meet giant pill bugs or as I call them, snaildillos in “Frontios.” In this one, The Doctor actually gets to be a doctor, helping victims of a meteor shower on a ship. He wears his glasses quite a bit too. But something is living underneath them and dragging people down. They are the Tractators, a species that Turlough was familiar with as they attacked his own people. The Tractators do absolutely horrible things to people, sticking them in machines to mine the planet. The Doctor neutralizes the leader of the Tractators, has his TARDIS which had been blasted apart put back together, and gives Frontios his hat stand as a gift.
The Daleks and Davros make a return in “Resurrection of the Daleks.” The Daleks have formed a time corridor between earth? And the prison spaceship where Davros is being held. They've also got a group of followers. They wear Dalek shaped helmets and have weapons that look like Dalek weapons. Can I just call them a Dalek cult? That actually might have made for a more interesting episode. When The Doctor and the others get involved, The Doctor is all ready to kill this time. Davros tries to develop a cure for the virus that destroyed the Daleks last time. I guess some of the Dalek cult members were being mind controlled by Davros too. One such person, is Stein who tries to help the Doctor and his friends while also trying to resist the mind control. There are still some Daleks who turn against Davros, but he's more prepared this time and uses the virus against them. This results in another foamy mess. More fun with foam I guess. A Dalek Civil War ensues. The Doctor uses the virus to kill the rest of the remaining Daleks and Davros becomes a victim of the virus himself. It is Stein who then starts the self-destruct sequence blowing up the Daleks. The Doctor is ready to go then, but Tegan has had enough. She had vowed that she would leave when the adventures stopped being fun. Really? That being the case, then I would have thought she would have left after she got possessed by the Mara. That didn't seem fun at the time. You can tell The Doctor is heartbroken over it as she returns to earth and Turlough and The Doctor continue on. I really liked Tegan. This serial was pretty decent, but the last part was truly great.
Then we also embark on Turlough's final adventure in “Planet of Fire.” It begins on the planet of Sarn where a devout group of followers of a fire god partake in sacrificing Unbelievers. How nice. One of these Sarns however, Malkon, or as I call him British 80s RDJ, is the Chosen One due to a special marking on his skin. Meanwhile, an artifact has been uncovered with this same marking. A professor and his stepdaughter are overseeing the expedition. His stepdaughter happens to be Perpugilliam. Really? I feel sorry her parents named her that. She goes by Peri for short. I was trying to figure out her accent. And then I looked it up and found out it's supposed to be an American accent. Uh uh, no. Wanting to leave, she tries to take the artifact and dives into the ocean, only to find out she can't swim? Turlough sees and comes to her rescue. He also sees the artifact and recognizes the symbol, that is on his skin as well, which we have never seen before. He takes Peri back to the TARDIS. Kamelion is there. Where has been in all the previous episodes? Unfortunately, The Master is able to take control of him. He takes the form of Peri's step-father to trick her. The Master really likes to harass The Doctor's future companions doesn't he? Then he takes his true form and Peri goes on the run on the planet of Sarn. Meanwhile Turlough finds Malkon who is his brother. Peri catches up to Turlough and The Doctor, but then The Master shows up as well and takes advantage of the Sarns' faith and tells them to kill the Doctor. The Doctor tries to warn them that he's lying. The Master/Kamelion kidnaps Peri and takes her … well, he has to be somewhere right? But where is he exactly? Apparently he's stuck in a box and a victim of his own shrink ray gun. LOL tiny Master. You know, Peri really missed an opportunity here to squish him with her foot. The Doctor is able to free Kamelion of the Master's control, but the robot doesn't survive. Also the real Master seems to get gassed to death as he returns to his normal size. Can't wait for the explanation for how he survived this one. Turlough had contacted his home planet Trion to help the Sarns escape their volcanic erupting planet, and he's been granted amnesty, so he decides to return home. Turlough was all right. Annoying at first because he was being used by the Black Guardian, but he turned out to be a pretty good companion. Peri decides she wants to continue to travel with The Doctor (a risky decision) and they begin their new journey together.
It's time to say a final farewell to the Fifth Doctor in “The Caves of Androzani,” aka “Deadly Bat Poop.” This serial was quite political and very dramatic as well involving drug smuggling of a drug called Spectrox, which can lengthen one's life span. It is basically synthesized by bat poop. One man , the disfigured Sharaz Jek, is sitting on the supply of the drugs. Meanwhile, The Doctor and Peri are exploring the Androzani caves when they get the bat poop on themselves. They think nothing of it at the time, but little do they know, the stuff is toxic, and will lead to a horrible death if they don't get an antidote. They run into Morgus who orders The Doctor and Peri to be excecuted, but surprise! They are “saved” by Jek and replaced by android doubles. They are now Jek's prisoners, especially Peri, whom Jek wants to keep with him forever, and acts like a completely pervy creeper around her. Phantom of the Opera much? But hey, he's a pretty good villain. They are able to escape however and they really need that antidote, especially Peri, who is in a really bad way. I did say this was really dramatic. The Doctor decides he's got to go to the caves himself to get it himself, which doesn't come easy when he gets captured by the gunrunners in a conflict between them and Jek. The Doctor crashes their ship back down to save Peri. The Doctor needs some extra oxygen where he's going to get the antidote. I thought this might be how he dies - run out of oxygen. Nope. Another fight happens between Jek and the gunrunners and they all kill eachother. The Doctor gets Peri and takes her back to the TARDIS. He was only able to get enough antidote for her as he dropped one, so he saved her life. The Doctor sadly succumbs to the disease, and it's a little scary because he wasn't entirely sure he was going to regenerate. He again sees his life flash before his eyes, his previous companions telling him to live, while the loudest voice seems to be the Master, telling him to die. Oh Master, but then you wouldn't have anyone to play with. I have to say, this was the second hardest regeneration for me after the Tenth Doctor. My eyes watered. It was actually pretty upsetting. But it was time to begin anew again and The Doctor's reborn once more as the Sixth Doctor.
Regeneration doesn't go smoothly again in “The Twin Dilemma.” The new Doctor becomes totally delirious and narcissistic and moody throughout this whole serial and poor Peri has to put up with it. He decides he wants to find a cave on Titan 3 and become a hermit with Peri at his side. LOL OK? To start Hermits United? But my first impression of the Sixth Doctor: OMG he's Gilderoy Lockhart lol. He speaks in a very Shakespearean manner. I wonder if he will carry on like that in further episodes. He's definitely different … First thing he needed was a new outfit and ugh...lol. OK, so I've seen pictures of Six before so I already knew how he chose to dress, which is “Yuck,” according to Peri. Then The Doctor goes ape-shit on Peri accusing her of being an alien spy and tries to strangle her to death. This new regeneration is really not going well. The story must go on though. Two twins, aptly named Romulus and Remus have been kidnapped by an old man named Edgeworth. Edgeworth!? That's not Edgeworth. When The Doctor and Peri, and also one commander Lang who's searching for the twins catch up to Edgeworth, The Doctor recognizes him. He's actually another Time Lord named Azmael. I literally didn't know this until the last episode of the serial because I probably missed it. Azmael is using the twins' genius minds to make calculations to move some planets around. Azamel abandons The Doctor and Peri to be blown up. Some friend. The Doctor's friends suck. Peri is teleported back to the TARDIS while she thinks The Doctor died until he appears again. You've also got the slug people and the horned bird people called Jacondans who are the slug people's slaves I guess? The slugs have taken over their planet. The Doctor and Azamael confront the leader of the slug people, Mestor, and he says he will take over The Doctor's mind and body. The Doctor dares him to try and Mestor tests his might on Azmael. The Doctor then attacks Mestor with acid and he melts away. Unfortunately this kills Azmael in the process who was on his last regeneration.
Back on the TARDIS, The Doctor assures Peri that he has stabilized now even though he was still acting rude. “I'm an alien.” “I'm The Doctor, whether you like it or not!” Just what are they trying to say here? This scene is pretty reminiscent of Clara's confrontation with Twelve. I don't know that I actually want a rude Doctor lol. That being said, I do actually kind of like Colin Baker's Doctor so far. I've heard people don't like this serial. I can understand why. The regeneration sickness went kind of overboard this time. And that doesn't leave a very good first impression. The Doctor is a pain the whole time and nearly useless. But when you set all that aside, the story wasn't half-bad.
I got sloppy with my write-up this time probably because I took that hiatus watching Iron Fist and my memories went out the window, but oh well, onward to the next season! And getting better impressions of the Sixth Doctor. My favorite serial of the season I guess I would say was "Resurrection of the Daleks," and here's a screenshot. Careful where you're pointing that thing Doctor. This is what happens when The Doctor gets pushed too far.