Five Reasons New Who Fans Should Watch... The Curse of Peladon
Well today I got a couple of Doctor Who DVD's in the post including Torchwood: Children of Earth, the Fifth Series of Nu Who and something I've been looking forwards to watching again after so long, the Peladon Tales boxset with two great Third Doctor Stories - The Curse of Peladon and its sequel The Monster of Peladon. The former is a particular childhood favourite of mine and it's inspired me to start a new occasional Livejournal post idea - reccomending Classic Series stories for fans who have come in with the New Series to pick up and check out (ideally with as little spoilers as possible)! So without further hesitation this is:
Five Reasons New Who Fans Should Watch... The Curse of Peladon
Reason 1: The Setting of Peladon: Gothic Shakespeare meets Space Opera!
(Artwork Copyright Daryl Joyce)
The Curse of Peladon probably has one of my favourite TARDIS landings ever as in Episode 1, the ship lands on the side of a craggy mountainside, leaning dangerously towards the cliff edge as a terrible storm rages about the grand stonework of a towering citadel. Within the confines of the castle amid flickering torches and mute guardsmen, a young King ponders the question of his planet joining the Galactic Federation, who seek new life and civilizations the delegates of which are considering if this backward world is suitable for the Federation's peaceful charter. Yet some amid King Peladon's council firmly believe the aliens will mean the removal of ancient, holy practices scared to the law of Peladon. Chief amongst them being the royal beast, the mighty Aggedor...
Reason 2: The Ice Warriors are in it! (What do you mean, who are they?!)
Last appearing as dangerous enemies of Earth in the late 21st century against the Second Doctor in The Seeds of Death, the former inhabitants of Mars make their long-awaited return in The Curse of Peladon as the Martian Ambassador Lord Izylr and his fellow Ice Warrior brother Ssorg. They claim to be here to help the transition for Peladon to the Galactic Federation run smoothly, but as events transpire against this event the Doctor must question if the Ice Warriors can be considered friend or foe...
Whilst not in the same level of Who Monsters as the Daleks or Cybermen the Ice Warriors nevertheless are great aliens which protrayed properly and Curse is certainly one of their finest hours.
Reason 3: Jo Grant gets to be awesome... and has Patrick Troughton's son fancying her!
While Josephine Grant of UNIT is always one of the best companions the Doctor has had over the years for her inner bravery, desire to stand up to what's right and ability to help with problems when it really counts, The Curse of Peladon has to be one of her better outings. Dressed up for a night with UNIT Soldier Mike Yates is called off as she finds herself having to help the Doctor solve the mystery behind Peladon's entry to the Federation and the forces who wish to prevent it. From scrambling over rocks to sneaking about the dim passages, Jo still manages to win the heart of Peladon's royal king, played by David Troughton. You might know him as Professor Hobbes in Midnight, but he is also of course the son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton and makes his own first major appearance (a brief appearance in Enemy of the World with his father aside) in Doctor Who here as King Peladon. Jo and he get to share some sweet moments in the four episodes, though there's also some lovely reporte with the Doctor, demonstrating how this happens to be one of the better TARDIS teams in the Classic show.
Reason 4: Alpha Centauri: Coolest nice alien ever?
Well my six year old self liked to think so! The Curse of Peladon gets some interesting alien races appearing which if you look past the possibly dated designs are still nonetheless well done! Chief amongst them for me is Alpha Centauri who appears in both Peladon stories. It happens to be, as the Doctor puts it, 'a hermaphroditic hexopod' from the planet... erm, Alpha Centauri. The squeaky voice might seem amusing but all the same I find Alpha's design to be a highly thought out one for the time and he/she becomes a important character and friend to the Doctor in both Peladon adventures.
Reason 5: It's simply one of Classic Who's Finest Hours!
(Artwork from theruedmorgue.blogspot.com)
The Curse of Peladon is great because of many things - it's the first major off-world adventure for the Doctor in some time after being confined to Earth by the Time Lords. It's a interesting blend of gothic and future elements with the idea of having a medieval-like world in the far future. It's the return of the Ice Warriors together with a host of new alien races in a mystery story for the Doctor to investigate, and it features a number of twists and at its heart a well-crafted tale of twists and turns. Best of all this is a very easy adventure for a New Series viewer who is curious about the Third Doctor era to watch because it is perfectly self-contained and introduces you to the much beloved Three and Jo TARDIS crew. So be sure to give The Curse of Peladon a try!
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So that's it for this installment! In the comments below, be sure to leave your thoughts on Curse of Peladon, whether if you have already seen it (and want to add your own reasons why you like it or not) or will do after reading this (and if you do also let me know what you thought of it!) Thanks for reading! :)
Five Reasons New Who Fans Should Watch... The Curse of Peladon
Reason 1: The Setting of Peladon: Gothic Shakespeare meets Space Opera!
(Artwork Copyright Daryl Joyce)
The Curse of Peladon probably has one of my favourite TARDIS landings ever as in Episode 1, the ship lands on the side of a craggy mountainside, leaning dangerously towards the cliff edge as a terrible storm rages about the grand stonework of a towering citadel. Within the confines of the castle amid flickering torches and mute guardsmen, a young King ponders the question of his planet joining the Galactic Federation, who seek new life and civilizations the delegates of which are considering if this backward world is suitable for the Federation's peaceful charter. Yet some amid King Peladon's council firmly believe the aliens will mean the removal of ancient, holy practices scared to the law of Peladon. Chief amongst them being the royal beast, the mighty Aggedor...
Reason 2: The Ice Warriors are in it! (What do you mean, who are they?!)
Last appearing as dangerous enemies of Earth in the late 21st century against the Second Doctor in The Seeds of Death, the former inhabitants of Mars make their long-awaited return in The Curse of Peladon as the Martian Ambassador Lord Izylr and his fellow Ice Warrior brother Ssorg. They claim to be here to help the transition for Peladon to the Galactic Federation run smoothly, but as events transpire against this event the Doctor must question if the Ice Warriors can be considered friend or foe...
Whilst not in the same level of Who Monsters as the Daleks or Cybermen the Ice Warriors nevertheless are great aliens which protrayed properly and Curse is certainly one of their finest hours.
Reason 3: Jo Grant gets to be awesome... and has Patrick Troughton's son fancying her!
While Josephine Grant of UNIT is always one of the best companions the Doctor has had over the years for her inner bravery, desire to stand up to what's right and ability to help with problems when it really counts, The Curse of Peladon has to be one of her better outings. Dressed up for a night with UNIT Soldier Mike Yates is called off as she finds herself having to help the Doctor solve the mystery behind Peladon's entry to the Federation and the forces who wish to prevent it. From scrambling over rocks to sneaking about the dim passages, Jo still manages to win the heart of Peladon's royal king, played by David Troughton. You might know him as Professor Hobbes in Midnight, but he is also of course the son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton and makes his own first major appearance (a brief appearance in Enemy of the World with his father aside) in Doctor Who here as King Peladon. Jo and he get to share some sweet moments in the four episodes, though there's also some lovely reporte with the Doctor, demonstrating how this happens to be one of the better TARDIS teams in the Classic show.
Reason 4: Alpha Centauri: Coolest nice alien ever?
Well my six year old self liked to think so! The Curse of Peladon gets some interesting alien races appearing which if you look past the possibly dated designs are still nonetheless well done! Chief amongst them for me is Alpha Centauri who appears in both Peladon stories. It happens to be, as the Doctor puts it, 'a hermaphroditic hexopod' from the planet... erm, Alpha Centauri. The squeaky voice might seem amusing but all the same I find Alpha's design to be a highly thought out one for the time and he/she becomes a important character and friend to the Doctor in both Peladon adventures.
Reason 5: It's simply one of Classic Who's Finest Hours!
(Artwork from theruedmorgue.blogspot.com)
The Curse of Peladon is great because of many things - it's the first major off-world adventure for the Doctor in some time after being confined to Earth by the Time Lords. It's a interesting blend of gothic and future elements with the idea of having a medieval-like world in the far future. It's the return of the Ice Warriors together with a host of new alien races in a mystery story for the Doctor to investigate, and it features a number of twists and at its heart a well-crafted tale of twists and turns. Best of all this is a very easy adventure for a New Series viewer who is curious about the Third Doctor era to watch because it is perfectly self-contained and introduces you to the much beloved Three and Jo TARDIS crew. So be sure to give The Curse of Peladon a try!
###
So that's it for this installment! In the comments below, be sure to leave your thoughts on Curse of Peladon, whether if you have already seen it (and want to add your own reasons why you like it or not) or will do after reading this (and if you do also let me know what you thought of it!) Thanks for reading! :)