Four to Doomsday
Previous: Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
And here we have an Opening Pan over A Ship In Space with Slow Ominous Music.
TARDIS lands! Hello Team Fivey! Everyone's certainly looking fresh and spritely today! And there's Petey's Dead Giveaway Hair...
Ah yes, the first of many "this isn't Heathrow"s to come.
"NONE of you is to leave here, is that clearly understood?" Doctor, when has that instruction EVER worked? EVER?
Well well well, whaddaya know: an Observant Happy Fun Ball!
"He told us to stay here!"
"Well perhaps he's in trouble!"
"Oh he's ALWAYS in trouble, Tegan. Or haven't you noticed, it AMUSES him."
Umm...okay, wow. I was expecting Adric's infamous random-misogynism to sting more, but it actually didn't bother me much for some reason.
Maybe because it came right off the heels of a legit attempt to calm Tegan down. Well, at least we got that over and done with early...
Oh. Wait. I went back and this time I noticed he used the word "mindless." NOW I'm hurt.
Tegan's revenge: stealing Adric's opportunity to keep track of the spare TARDIS key.
"Hello again! You must be having a ball!" .........congratulations, Doctor. You've FINALLY made me headdesk literally.
With the quality and lighting, it's hard to make out Adric's face. Was he miffed at being sidelined, or chill that he's staying with Nyssa?
The answer: miffed. Neither does he approve of Observant Happy Fun Ball. Nyssa, this one's all yours.
Ladies and gentlemen, our frog-faced antagonists: Monarch, Enlightenment, and Persuasion. Wow, can you just SMELL the ego?
"Nothing on Earth changes quite so often as the fashion! You wouldn't believe the way some people look! Some of them even wear safety pins."
Whew. For a second I was honestly worried that Adric was going to run off to find Nyssa and leave the TARDIS door wide open.
"Energy equals mass times the speed of light squared."
"You grasp the theory of relativity?"
"Doesn't everyone?"
"No."
Actually Adric, I think the bigger question is how do YOU know that? Last time I checked, Einstein didn't come from E-Space.
Then again, this being Doctor Who, there's every genuine likelyhood that ol' Albert DID wind up there at some point...
HOLY CHRISTMONKEYS TEGAN YOU ARE A /CRAZY-GOOD/ ARTIST AND I WANT YOUR M@D SK1LLZ FOREVER. #artisticjealousy
Seriously. Gazing in admiration forever. Wait a sec, that woman's hair looks familiar...
Well, I can certainly see why this is considered Adric's inexplicable downward-spiral. And yet he still really cares about Nyssa. Awwww...
"Could anyone pass the sodium chloride please?" I think that's the second most iconic Adric line after "now I'll never know if I was right."
Four time travelers from four different worlds, an Ancient Athenian, and an Aborigine sit down for a meal on a spaceship. This show.
And now we have a Mayan princess and a Random Feudal Chinese Dude. Oh if only the trailer hadn't spoiled the twist of their presence for me.
And there's the couple from Tegan's drawing! It was made of so much awesomesauce, they came to life!
Observant Happy Fun Ball: 0. Fivey's Hat: 1.
"I understand bioengineering, but I'm also an expert in cybernetics." Come on, Nyssa, don't be a New Abilities As The Plot Demands person.
The Aborigine is from 12,000 years ago? Then HOW could Tegan communicate with him? No. Nyssa, Adric, screw your "pure logic."
I know it's weird of me to even attempt to factor logic into this, but I've been learning a bit in the past week about how language changes.
Ceasing attempt to make sense of this now. Back to the show.
Five, is it just me or are you grinning at nearly EVERY OTHER THING in this story? Are you feeling alright?
Ah yes, the obligatory splitting up of the party...
Dancing Ancient Mayans! In Space! I expect I'll be recognizing a lot of upcoming clips from Babelcolour's Foot-Tapper video.
Wow. A people who consider themselves so high and mighty that they even believe culture to be beneath them. That's...wow.
"When you do this, his hand will be against you."
"Then I will cut it off!"
Srys Monarch is srys.
Adric and Nyssa walk in on a techno-greenhouse tended by more Aborigines, and then leave. That was odd and ultimately quite pointless.
Ancient Chinese Dragon Dance! In Space!
This is kinda eerie: Tegan seems far more concerned for the kids than Five, who's telling her to keep smiling. The drumbeat doesn't help.
"They have lungs."
"Let them remember that!"
ADRIC. NYSSA. HELMETS ON. NOW.
Nyssa has identified mysterious chips on hands! But Athenian does not approve! Neither does Adric approve of Nyssa-shoving!
Dueling Ancient Greeks! In Space!
Tegan, maybe if you'd paid attention you would've noticed that that guy mysteriously didn't BLEED when he was STABBED IN THE CHEST.
Dancing Ancient Aborigines! In Space! (don't worry, I think that's the last of them)
"Bring the children to me." Ho boy, I know what's coming up soon...
I R ANDROID. N SO IZ US.
"I have overthrown the greatest tyranny in the universe: external and internal organs."
"What about love?"
Nyssa, excuse me while my mind explodes forever at how GLORIOUSLY PWNSOME that remark was. That...I can't even...*yes.*
"What you've done is almost beyond belief. You've performed a miracle!" Uh oh, Adric. Here we go...
"Just THINK of it, Nyssa! A whole new technology! No more hunger, no more wars, fine schools, fine hospitals..."
"Fine tyranny..."
Adric, my dear boy, while I greatly appreciate your concern for the welfare of Earthlings, a race you barely know, you are being VERY DUMB.
Now, I've known about this epic bought of genre-blindness for a while so I'm taking it in stride, but SOMETHING needed to be said there.
Actually, the way Adric's talking sounds like another bluff. But I've heard this is the real thing, so maybe Matthew's just Doing It Wrong.
I wonder if Nyssa's sense of politeness is keeping her from telling Adric to shut up more than once. This'd be a good time to say it again.
They've got her now. I wonder if Adric will chill when he sees she's missing, although by this point he'd probably call it good riddance...
So all this craziness is just so Monarch can travel back in time and allegedly meeting himself creating the universe? HUGEST. EGO. EVER.
Okay, let's see how long it takes for Nyssa to be rescued from that memory scanner that looks EXACTLY like a curtain-less shower stall.
For some reason, Adric exists in my mind as the shortest one, but he's actually about Tegan's height. This always confuses me.
"Adric I'm warning you, get OUT OF MY WAY!"
"NO! *grab* Now look, I'm not going to let you do anything silly..."
*SHOVE* *triumphant-walk*
Adric: Wow, you're one to talk. Tegan: Wow, that was kind of epic. Nyssa: Wow, please be uncaptured soon. Five: Wow, why don't you fix this?
Alright Tegan, let's see how this TARDIS-flying attempt of yours goes.
Again: Davison wasn't allowed to put his arm around his female companions but he WAS allowed to pick them up and carry them?
And now he actually has his arm around Nyssa. ...EVERYBODY LIED TO ME.
Yes Adric, I'm sure your head probably does hurt after getting slammed into the floor. Maybe it knocked some sense back into you.
Tegan...actually managed...to make the TARDIS...take...off......what.
I said it in State of Decay and I'll say it again: Adric, the frequency with which you damn/redeem yourself in this story is STAGGERING.
To clarify: he'll go along with the villain's plan to turn everyone into androids, but try and kill the Doctor and he will FIGHT YOU.
AND HE WILL JUMP IN FRONT OF THE GUN AIMED AT THE DOCTOR'S HEAD. (Guys, I'm not a crazed Adric fan making this up. He's ACTUALLY doing this)
Though to be fair, Nyssa is the real hero of this scene, thanks to the sonic screwdriver and a clever idea.
"With respect, I cannot join you if any harm is done to the Doctor!" YES. YEEEEESSSSS.
Ooo yay! Now we get another Doctor-turning-out-his-pockets scene! I love these. It's always fun to see what knickknacks he keeps in there.
Looks like Tegan took a pretty short trip. She seems to be hovering outside the ship now.
Great. Of COURSE Adric completely falls for Monarch's "benevolent" attitude towards Five oh look more Dancing Aborigines In Space!
Ohhh, I see what you did there, Five. Unfortunately, I think it's safe to say that went COMPLETELY over Adric's head.
Actually...wait. You just did that to get your hat back, didn't you?
"Now listen to me, you young idiot, you're not so much gullible as idealistic. I suppose it comes from your deprived delinquent background."
HERE we go: time for Fivey to give Adric a good long talking to. And Adric, I'm withholding hug tiem until you cooperate.
"But you're WRONG, Doctor! He's civilized..."
"Do you want to save Nyssa?"
"Of course I do."
"Then shut up, and listen."
Five. Eyes. Creepy.
Alright kiddo, you say you believe the Doctor now, but actions speak louder than words. Let's see what you do next. I have faith in you...
Looks like Tegan is one supernova short of disagreeing with the TARDIS manual as much as Eleven.
I know I'm mentioning this a bit late, but does anyone else find it interesting how well the drumbeats accent the talks during the dances?
Huh, that was an odd close-up on the dragon WAIT THEY'RE GONE AND SMUGGLED OUT
It amuses me forever that Monarch hasn't noticed the other faulty screen because he's too preoccupied watching the half-naked men wrestling.
And now I finally have an explanation for my "oh hai, I upgraded ur Adric" macro. Nothing major, just a spacesuit.
Is can be multi-cultural dance tiems nao?
Ah yes, the Doctor's infamous Spacewalk That Defies All Laws of Physics.
ADRIC HAS A GUN NOW. AND HE'S USING IT. Unfortunately, it appears to be having no effect whatsoever on Persuasion.
Well, nothing a good Alzarian-Gallifreyan strangling can't handle! (o_o it's more disturbing because I keep forgetting they're androids)
And the sonic screwdriver has been retrieved!
Enlightenment intervenes and LIFELINE IS CUT. "In space forever, going nowhere." Come on, Adric, this might be your chance to save the day.
Taking down Enlightenment and throwing her chip overboard? NICE. Now Five just needs to do that weird thing with the cricket ball...
OH yes. Five just threw a wiggy-hands taunt at Monarch. APPROVE.
Wait, why did they bother having Nyssa mention her oxygen running out if it WASN'T going to be a problem later? Seriously, guys.
WAIT. HOLY CRAP. SCRATCH THAT. SHE JUST COLLAPSED. AND THEN THE EPISODE ENDED. AND THAT DANCE MUSIC WILL BE STUCK IN MY HEAD FOREVER.
Well, that really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I'm SO glad that Five was able to (basically) explain Adric's Idiot Ball.
(To be clear, Five's explanation doesn't EXCUSE Adric's behavior, but at least it makes it make more sense.)
I was prepared to chalk it up to him still being off-kilter from the Master probing his brains, but the "delinquent idealist" works too.
Actually...I'm gonna go ahead and chalk up the random-misogynism to the Master-mind-probe thing. There. We're done, and we can move on :D
Next: Kinda