Watching and Reading Classic Who - The First Doctor
Who_Daily Link: < a href="http://persiflage-1.livejournal.com/148660.html">Five First Doctor stories reviewed by < lj user=persiflage_1>
I've been catching up on some First Doctor stories on screen and in print this weekend.
The Aztecs
The TARDIS arrives in 15th century Mexico inside the tomb of the one-time Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. Barbara starts looking at the various items inside the tomb and slips one of Yetaxa's bracelets onto her arm. The travellers become cut off from the TARDIS when they explore the temple outside and the tomb door closes behind them, and cannot be opened from their side of it. Then Barbara is proclaimed by the High Priest of Knowledge, Autloc, as Yetaxa's divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl, when - against the Doctor's advice - she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.
Events reach a climax on the Day of Darkness - the time of a solar eclipse. Ian's unwilling conflict with the Aztecs' 'chosen warrior', Ixta, ends in a fight in which the latter falls to his death from the temple roof. The Doctor manages to re-open the tomb door using a wheel-and-pulley that he has carved (the Aztecs not having mastered the use of the wheel) and the travellers make good their escape.
I found the story very interesting as a history fan, particularly the First Doctor's relationship with Cameca, and Barbara's desire to stop the Aztec civilisation from being destroyed. But it's still hard getting used to (a) black and white, and (b) the actors obviously fluffing their lines! And Ian seemed to spend a lot of time fighting!
The Edge of Destruction
The TARDIS crew are thrown to the floor of the Control Room, but as they slowly recover the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara all seem to be acting strangely. A number of unexplained events occur and suspicions are raised that some alien force may have entered the ship. The Doctor at one point even accuses Ian and Barbara of sabotage in an attempt to get themselves back home.
It gradually dawns on the Time Travellers that what they have been experiencing is an attempt by the TARDIS itself to warn them of something. The Doctor ultimately realises that the 'fast return' switch he used when leaving Skaro has stuck, and the ship has been plunging back to the beginning of time and its own destruction. Once the problem - a faulty spring - is corrected, the TARDIS returns to normal and the Doctor is forced to make some apologies.
I thought the plot device of the faulty spring was as tissue paper thin as any number of New Who plots (which just proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same!). The story reminded me of "Midnight" a little - insofar as "Edge" takes place entirely on board the TARDIS (so, essentially on one set), and features psychological heebie jeebies, rather than a physical threat. (I'm not accusing RTD of nicking the plot... *cough*) Still, it was interesting to see One's interactions with Ian and Barbara before they got to know him well (and he them).
The Tenth Planet
The TARDIS arrives at a South Pole Space Tracking station in December 1986 where the personnel, under the command of General Cutler, are engaged in trying to talk down a manned space capsule that has got into difficulty. The Doctor realises that the problem stems from the gravitational pull of another planet that has just entered the solar system and is now heading for Earth. His words are borne out when the base is invaded by a force of Cybermen. The Cybermen's home world, Mondas, is draining energy from Earth, which was once its 'twin planet' - and the situation will soon become critical.
The Cybermen propose to take the humans back to Mondas for conversion into further members of their race. The humans fight back - although sabotage by Ben prevents Cutler from taking the highly dangerous step of launching a powerful Z-bomb - and Mondas eventually disintegrates due to absorbing too much energy. All the remaining Cybermen collapse and die, having been totally dependent on their planet. The Doctor, who has become weak during the ordeal, hurries back to the TARDIS and eventually regenerates.
This was an interesting story, not least because the Cyberman, in their first Who outing, aren't quite as terrifyingly soulless as they become in later stories. They seemed quite chatty even, on occasion, and there was none of their "Delete! Delete!" chant (which was as well, because it gets pretty monotonous!)
The Romans
The four Time Travellers (The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki) are enjoying a rare holiday, staying at a villa not far from Rome in the year 64 AD. The Doctor soon becomes restless and sets off to visit the city, taking Vicki with him, but not long after they leave Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders.
Having been mistaken for the famous lyre player Maximus Pettulian and asked to perform at the Emperor Nero's Court, the Doctor has to devise ever more elaborate schemes to avoid revealing that he cannot actually play the instrument. Ian has become a galley slave, while Barbara is sold to Nero's slave buyer Tavius at an auction in Rome. Ian and a fellow slave named Delos escape from the galley when it is wrecked in a storm and make their way to Rome to try to find and rescue Barbara.
However, they are recaptured and forced to fight as gladiators in the arena. Events reach their climax when, by accidentally setting light to the Emperor's plans for the rebuilding of Rome, the Doctor gives him the idea of having the city razed to the ground. Nero plays the lyre while Rome burns, and the Doctor and Vicki make their way back to the villa separately from the reunited Ian and Barbara.
This is something of a light-hearted romp (in spite of the slavery sub-plot), which is unsurprising given the fact it was inspired by a visit to the set of Carry on Cleo. I think it's the story I enjoyed the most of the First Doctor ones I've explored this weekend.
The War Machines
The TARDIS arrives in London in 1966 and the Doctor and Dodo visit the Post Office Tower. While there, they meet Professor Brett, whose revolutionary new computer WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue) can actually think for itself and is shortly to be linked up to other major computers around the world - a project overseen by civil servant Sir Charles Summer. However, it soon transpires that WOTAN considers that humans are inferior to machines, and that the Earth cannot progress any further while they are in charge. Therefore it decides that Earth will be ruled by itself and other computers. It exerts a hypnotic influence, in order to arrange the construction of War Machines - heavily-armed, self-contained mobile computers - with which to take over the world.
These prove more than a match for troops, but by establishing a magnetic force field the Doctor is able to capture one of them, which he then reprograms to destroy WOTAN. Dodo, now back in her own time, decides to remain on Earth. The Doctor enters the TARDIS alone, but Brett's secretary, Polly, and her merchant seaman friend, Ben, follow him inside in order to return Dodo's TARDIS key (which she'd given to Polly) and moments later the ship dematerialises.
I felt this story was a bit hit and miss: William Hartnell seemed to giggle rather a lot at inappropriate moments, and of course all the computer stuff is hopelessly outdated now, but it wasn't utterly dire.
All in all, it's been an interesting weekend getting to know the First Doctor and his various travelling companions.
I've been catching up on some First Doctor stories on screen and in print this weekend.
The Aztecs
The TARDIS arrives in 15th century Mexico inside the tomb of the one-time Aztec High Priest Yetaxa. Barbara starts looking at the various items inside the tomb and slips one of Yetaxa's bracelets onto her arm. The travellers become cut off from the TARDIS when they explore the temple outside and the tomb door closes behind them, and cannot be opened from their side of it. Then Barbara is proclaimed by the High Priest of Knowledge, Autloc, as Yetaxa's divine reincarnation. However, she incurs the enmity of the High Priest of Sacrifice, Tlotoxl, when - against the Doctor's advice - she attempts to use her new-found authority to put an end to the Aztec practice of human sacrifice.
Events reach a climax on the Day of Darkness - the time of a solar eclipse. Ian's unwilling conflict with the Aztecs' 'chosen warrior', Ixta, ends in a fight in which the latter falls to his death from the temple roof. The Doctor manages to re-open the tomb door using a wheel-and-pulley that he has carved (the Aztecs not having mastered the use of the wheel) and the travellers make good their escape.
I found the story very interesting as a history fan, particularly the First Doctor's relationship with Cameca, and Barbara's desire to stop the Aztec civilisation from being destroyed. But it's still hard getting used to (a) black and white, and (b) the actors obviously fluffing their lines! And Ian seemed to spend a lot of time fighting!
The Edge of Destruction
The TARDIS crew are thrown to the floor of the Control Room, but as they slowly recover the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara all seem to be acting strangely. A number of unexplained events occur and suspicions are raised that some alien force may have entered the ship. The Doctor at one point even accuses Ian and Barbara of sabotage in an attempt to get themselves back home.
It gradually dawns on the Time Travellers that what they have been experiencing is an attempt by the TARDIS itself to warn them of something. The Doctor ultimately realises that the 'fast return' switch he used when leaving Skaro has stuck, and the ship has been plunging back to the beginning of time and its own destruction. Once the problem - a faulty spring - is corrected, the TARDIS returns to normal and the Doctor is forced to make some apologies.
I thought the plot device of the faulty spring was as tissue paper thin as any number of New Who plots (which just proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same!). The story reminded me of "Midnight" a little - insofar as "Edge" takes place entirely on board the TARDIS (so, essentially on one set), and features psychological heebie jeebies, rather than a physical threat. (I'm not accusing RTD of nicking the plot... *cough*) Still, it was interesting to see One's interactions with Ian and Barbara before they got to know him well (and he them).
The Tenth Planet
The TARDIS arrives at a South Pole Space Tracking station in December 1986 where the personnel, under the command of General Cutler, are engaged in trying to talk down a manned space capsule that has got into difficulty. The Doctor realises that the problem stems from the gravitational pull of another planet that has just entered the solar system and is now heading for Earth. His words are borne out when the base is invaded by a force of Cybermen. The Cybermen's home world, Mondas, is draining energy from Earth, which was once its 'twin planet' - and the situation will soon become critical.
The Cybermen propose to take the humans back to Mondas for conversion into further members of their race. The humans fight back - although sabotage by Ben prevents Cutler from taking the highly dangerous step of launching a powerful Z-bomb - and Mondas eventually disintegrates due to absorbing too much energy. All the remaining Cybermen collapse and die, having been totally dependent on their planet. The Doctor, who has become weak during the ordeal, hurries back to the TARDIS and eventually regenerates.
This was an interesting story, not least because the Cyberman, in their first Who outing, aren't quite as terrifyingly soulless as they become in later stories. They seemed quite chatty even, on occasion, and there was none of their "Delete! Delete!" chant (which was as well, because it gets pretty monotonous!)
The Romans
The four Time Travellers (The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki) are enjoying a rare holiday, staying at a villa not far from Rome in the year 64 AD. The Doctor soon becomes restless and sets off to visit the city, taking Vicki with him, but not long after they leave Ian and Barbara are kidnapped by slave traders.
Having been mistaken for the famous lyre player Maximus Pettulian and asked to perform at the Emperor Nero's Court, the Doctor has to devise ever more elaborate schemes to avoid revealing that he cannot actually play the instrument. Ian has become a galley slave, while Barbara is sold to Nero's slave buyer Tavius at an auction in Rome. Ian and a fellow slave named Delos escape from the galley when it is wrecked in a storm and make their way to Rome to try to find and rescue Barbara.
However, they are recaptured and forced to fight as gladiators in the arena. Events reach their climax when, by accidentally setting light to the Emperor's plans for the rebuilding of Rome, the Doctor gives him the idea of having the city razed to the ground. Nero plays the lyre while Rome burns, and the Doctor and Vicki make their way back to the villa separately from the reunited Ian and Barbara.
This is something of a light-hearted romp (in spite of the slavery sub-plot), which is unsurprising given the fact it was inspired by a visit to the set of Carry on Cleo. I think it's the story I enjoyed the most of the First Doctor ones I've explored this weekend.
The War Machines
The TARDIS arrives in London in 1966 and the Doctor and Dodo visit the Post Office Tower. While there, they meet Professor Brett, whose revolutionary new computer WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue) can actually think for itself and is shortly to be linked up to other major computers around the world - a project overseen by civil servant Sir Charles Summer. However, it soon transpires that WOTAN considers that humans are inferior to machines, and that the Earth cannot progress any further while they are in charge. Therefore it decides that Earth will be ruled by itself and other computers. It exerts a hypnotic influence, in order to arrange the construction of War Machines - heavily-armed, self-contained mobile computers - with which to take over the world.
These prove more than a match for troops, but by establishing a magnetic force field the Doctor is able to capture one of them, which he then reprograms to destroy WOTAN. Dodo, now back in her own time, decides to remain on Earth. The Doctor enters the TARDIS alone, but Brett's secretary, Polly, and her merchant seaman friend, Ben, follow him inside in order to return Dodo's TARDIS key (which she'd given to Polly) and moments later the ship dematerialises.
I felt this story was a bit hit and miss: William Hartnell seemed to giggle rather a lot at inappropriate moments, and of course all the computer stuff is hopelessly outdated now, but it wasn't utterly dire.
All in all, it's been an interesting weekend getting to know the First Doctor and his various travelling companions.