"you aren't patriotic rotten DOCTOR commie CAT"
" - they just better remember what happened to sam the bad cat that was left at home and got sick and went pussy heaven"
some thoughts on doctor who "survival" - a sylvester mccoy one - the very last one for however many years it was - and it's anti-cat propaganda ( - so that's one strike against it already in my book) - i watched w/enzo (boy cat) on my lap & lulu (girl cat) asleep by our side
the first episode was v.slow by today's standards - they were just wandering round perivale hinting at a mystery and ace's juvenile delinquent past - the "survival of the fittest" message theme was hammered home again & again with all the subtlety of a brick - & strange acting (most of the supporting actors are really v.poor): everyone speaks to each other in strange aggressive clipped staccato tones; my favourite bit was the master's soliliquy to himself in the mirror; funny to see julian holloway, the cheeky coach driver from carry on camping as the gung-ho sergeant but he was light years ahead of the other actors (doctor who, ace & the master excepted) & emmerdale farm sex symbol adele silva as a child actor - playing midge's grubby little street urchin sis)
not a great story by any means - an unfocussed hodgepodge of ideas - i wonder if writer "rhona munro" is a real person or was it a pseudonym for a group of writers all pulling in different directions? - silliness w/the master gradually being transformed into a cat (but howling at the moon like a dog), it's not a goob look for him; & the story doesn't make much sense (or at least isn't explained properly - why for example when two cats fight does it hasten the destruction of the planet?)
tho obviously an appealling character (one for "the dads" etc) ace seems rather callous - she wasn't bothered that her mum had listed her as a missing person - unlike all the palava w/rose tyler & her mum in the modern version - but in many other ways ace = a sort of proto rose, i guess (they're both fiesty council estate girls for example)
anthony ainsley as the master was dead hammy but not inappropriately so - the "i'm changing into a cat" subplot didn't do him any favours: the teeth looked particularly silly on him i thought - but then, so did that bow tie!
and jesus god, hale & pace are in it in a pointless cameo as two shop workers ( - was this before or after their ill-advised "stab" at dalziel & pascoe i wonder?) - mind you, that's probly how they're earning their corn these days
it's a bit unsportsmanlike to slag off doctor who for pisspoor special effects but there's a very funny anamatronic cat that looks more like spit the dog than it does a cat - or harry hill's stouffer from some angles - they did a close-up on it which was a definite mistake
instead of cats (or cheetahs) the cheetah people looked rather like cuddly teddybears done up in new romantic gear rather than threatening fierce carnivores - where was the sleek beauty & cruel elegance of the big catsand why did the cheetah people ride horses - cheetahs can run abt twice as fast as horses, can't they? (i guess the makers were looking for a planet of the apes vibe)
the tardis is very bright blue - but the whole thing seemed to be shot very brightly - v.difficult to create an atmosphere: sylvester mccoy seems to be trying to play the doctor as v.sad/melancholy/world-weary but this is at odds w/the bright colours - the theme music was awful too: sounded like a kid playing the dr who theme on his toy synthesizer (in contrast to the incidental music which was actually quite goob in this story, almost haunting in places) (the harsh lighting FX so inappropriate for most of the story actually worked really well when they got to the alien planet - the oblig.quarry - esp. the red filter)
the ludicrous motorbike duel which ends in an inexplicable explosion - what was that all about? in my opinion there's something intrinsically "wrong" w/putting doctor who on a motorbike
more nit-picking: why do the cats howl like wolves and dogs? at the end is ace still infected with the cat stuff? how did the doctor finally escape from the cat planet (does the brief flash of yellow in his eyes at the end imply he's been infected too?)
not a very momentous final episode tho i did like the doctor's validictory speech at the end - obviously dubbed on after, presumably when they found out that there weren't gonna be any more dr whos
this is only the third sylvester mccoy story i've seen - and he's probably my least favourite doctor who except for paul mcgann & peter cushing who don't really count/aren't "proper ones - yes, i even prefer colin baker's doctor who (tho his outfit = a bit hard to take if you've got a hangover) - still interesting to see the very last proper episode - but more for curiousity value than for actual enjoyment
i never watched any of these episodes when they came out - as a kid i started w/pertwee and gave up during the peter davison era (when tegan left, i left...!) ( - despite the focus on her admittedly impressive tits i could never "warm" to peri)
some thoughts on doctor who "survival" - a sylvester mccoy one - the very last one for however many years it was - and it's anti-cat propaganda ( - so that's one strike against it already in my book) - i watched w/enzo (boy cat) on my lap & lulu (girl cat) asleep by our side
the first episode was v.slow by today's standards - they were just wandering round perivale hinting at a mystery and ace's juvenile delinquent past - the "survival of the fittest" message theme was hammered home again & again with all the subtlety of a brick - & strange acting (most of the supporting actors are really v.poor): everyone speaks to each other in strange aggressive clipped staccato tones; my favourite bit was the master's soliliquy to himself in the mirror; funny to see julian holloway, the cheeky coach driver from carry on camping as the gung-ho sergeant but he was light years ahead of the other actors (doctor who, ace & the master excepted) & emmerdale farm sex symbol adele silva as a child actor - playing midge's grubby little street urchin sis)
not a great story by any means - an unfocussed hodgepodge of ideas - i wonder if writer "rhona munro" is a real person or was it a pseudonym for a group of writers all pulling in different directions? - silliness w/the master gradually being transformed into a cat (but howling at the moon like a dog), it's not a goob look for him; & the story doesn't make much sense (or at least isn't explained properly - why for example when two cats fight does it hasten the destruction of the planet?)
tho obviously an appealling character (one for "the dads" etc) ace seems rather callous - she wasn't bothered that her mum had listed her as a missing person - unlike all the palava w/rose tyler & her mum in the modern version - but in many other ways ace = a sort of proto rose, i guess (they're both fiesty council estate girls for example)
anthony ainsley as the master was dead hammy but not inappropriately so - the "i'm changing into a cat" subplot didn't do him any favours: the teeth looked particularly silly on him i thought - but then, so did that bow tie!
and jesus god, hale & pace are in it in a pointless cameo as two shop workers ( - was this before or after their ill-advised "stab" at dalziel & pascoe i wonder?) - mind you, that's probly how they're earning their corn these days
it's a bit unsportsmanlike to slag off doctor who for pisspoor special effects but there's a very funny anamatronic cat that looks more like spit the dog than it does a cat - or harry hill's stouffer from some angles - they did a close-up on it which was a definite mistake
instead of cats (or cheetahs) the cheetah people looked rather like cuddly teddybears done up in new romantic gear rather than threatening fierce carnivores - where was the sleek beauty & cruel elegance of the big catsand why did the cheetah people ride horses - cheetahs can run abt twice as fast as horses, can't they? (i guess the makers were looking for a planet of the apes vibe)
the tardis is very bright blue - but the whole thing seemed to be shot very brightly - v.difficult to create an atmosphere: sylvester mccoy seems to be trying to play the doctor as v.sad/melancholy/world-weary but this is at odds w/the bright colours - the theme music was awful too: sounded like a kid playing the dr who theme on his toy synthesizer (in contrast to the incidental music which was actually quite goob in this story, almost haunting in places) (the harsh lighting FX so inappropriate for most of the story actually worked really well when they got to the alien planet - the oblig.quarry - esp. the red filter)
the ludicrous motorbike duel which ends in an inexplicable explosion - what was that all about? in my opinion there's something intrinsically "wrong" w/putting doctor who on a motorbike
more nit-picking: why do the cats howl like wolves and dogs? at the end is ace still infected with the cat stuff? how did the doctor finally escape from the cat planet (does the brief flash of yellow in his eyes at the end imply he's been infected too?)
not a very momentous final episode tho i did like the doctor's validictory speech at the end - obviously dubbed on after, presumably when they found out that there weren't gonna be any more dr whos
this is only the third sylvester mccoy story i've seen - and he's probably my least favourite doctor who except for paul mcgann & peter cushing who don't really count/aren't "proper ones - yes, i even prefer colin baker's doctor who (tho his outfit = a bit hard to take if you've got a hangover) - still interesting to see the very last proper episode - but more for curiousity value than for actual enjoyment
i never watched any of these episodes when they came out - as a kid i started w/pertwee and gave up during the peter davison era (when tegan left, i left...!) ( - despite the focus on her admittedly impressive tits i could never "warm" to peri)