Gavin Winters
The end of Troughton, Jamie and Zoe… and with them the end of the 1960s and the black-and-white era… always feels a bit like the end of the show’s “innocent” era, with things never being quite the same again. 😕
Next up: Colour! Flares! The 70s! #DoctorWho
Spearhead From Space: my eyes! It’s in colour! 😵💫
The whiplash you feel going from B&W telerecordings to this - colour film, in HD on Blu-Ray… and that’s without even mentioning the huge format changes within the show itself. #DoctorWho
Using a trick that would still be done by showrunners decades later, a familiar face (the Brig!) is brought back to ease the transition into the new era.
And what a version of the character this is: intelligent, capable, non-sceptical…if only they’d kept him this way #DoctorWho
It’s often been said, but imagine if Twitter/the internet/organised fandom had been around back then… the outrage over this totally revamped, almost unrecognisable version of the show would have been spectacular. “Pertwee? Not My Doctor!”, etc. #DoctorWho
Pertwee in the hospital shower… the closest we ever come to seeing the Doctor’s arse crack…😵
And the tattoo! I’ll go with the fan-canon that it’s the mark of an exiled Time Lord. 😜 #DoctorWho
That factory premises has only just cleaned up all the dead Cybermen and now it’s littered with deactivated Autons. #DoctorWho
The Silurians: a rare example of them making a bit of effort with cave floor sets and doing them as realistically as possible, given the budget - rocks, dirt, uneven surfaces, even the odd pool of water. Unlike the smooth studio floors you’d sometimes see in the 80s. #DoctorWho
Bit repetitive to have two stories in a row where a husband and wife living in a rustic countryside cottage are threatened by an otherworldly visitor. #DoctorWho
They sort of wrote themselves into a corner with the idea that anyone witnessing a Silurian goes mad and starts drawing palaeolithic cave art. The story couldn’t progress much if that kept happening, so it’s quietly dropped once Liz and Major Baker see them. #DoctorWho
I love Pertwee being a massive pain-in-the-arse to Doctor Quinn as he pokes his nose round his cottage. 😄 #DoctorWho
Peter Miles’ combover in this story is phenomenal in its audacity.
Amazing how it had all miraculously grown back by the time of Genesis Of The Daleks… 👀 #DoctorWho
For the first time, Pertwee’s Doctor claims to be “thousands of years” old. Remembering bits of the Timeless Child era? #DoctorWho
A 53-year-old scene that has no relevance to the modern world at all. Nope. No Siree… #DoctorWho
The scenes of the virus outbreak across London would be impressive in their realism if done in #DoctorWho today, never mind 1970.
When the ticket inspector in the station faints, I still don’t know if those are extras or genuine (bemused) members of the public bustling past him.
The Ambassadors… (TWANG!) …Of Death: (that’s it’s official name, don’t argue.)
This is the epitome of the idea season 7 is a grittier, more adult take on #DoctorWho. So many layers of conspiracy and double-crossing and mystery. Not one to watch and only pay half-attention to.
What’s going on here? Bizarre new TARDIS interior or just a room in UNIT HQ the Doctor’s managed to get the console into? #DoctorWho
The crew of the Space Centre are all wearing quasi-futuristic uniforms, makes it look very Troughton-era.
The Doctor is *fantastically* rude to Cornish when he barges in and arrogantly takes over. Honestly, who could blame Cornish if he told him to go f*** himself! #DoctorWho
They get their money’s worth from the HAVOC stunt team with that brilliant fight scene in episode 1. It’s one thing to see UNIT fighting Cybermen or whatever, but a shootout with grubby 70s thugs in a warehouse makes it look like something from The Sweeney. #DoctorWho
“Simple transmigration of object”, says the Doctor, after making a whole magnetic tape reel magically disappear and re-appear. Why the hell has he never used that skill before… or since?? #DoctorWho
Some good editing in this story, like the creepy reveal of the blue-faced alien to Liz, which is shot like something from a horror film.
And the cliffhanger to episode six, with the quick cuts of Carrington pointing his gun at the Doctor. #DoctorWho
Overall I’ve really enjoyed Ambassadors Of Death on this rewatch. It could maybe lose some of the twists and turns to be a couple of episodes shorter, but there’s an attempt at realism and an attention to detail which you never really get again in later UNIT stories. #DoctorWho
Inferno: *turns around wearing eyepatch to write this*
One of the very best Pertwees. Parallel universe stories are always fun, seeing alternate versions of the regular characters. Nick Courtney in particular makes the Brigade-Leader an utter bastard. #DoctorWho
Evil Liz in her kinky sub-Nazi getup though… 👀
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The golden rule of sci-fi that no-one every obeys: Don’t touch the weird alien thing with your bare hands! Nothing good ever comes from touching the weird alien thing with your bare hands!
(Characters touch the strange green slime with their bare hands)
Behold, viewers of 1970, as Dr. Who dazzles you with his incredible futuristic invention of… a remote control garage door opener! Amazing! #DoctorWho
Greg Sutton, clearly a descendant of Za, but this time trying *not* to make fire. #DoctorWho
I love how it’s basically a glitterball used to depict the transition between universes.
Strange how they just accept the Doctor’s improbable story at the end, especially when they’re all being left to die. The Brigade-Leader’s desperation to live is more believable! #DoctorWho
It’s the comedy joke shop teeth that make Benton’s transformation into a Primord so funny… 😄 #DoctorWho
As interesting and innovative as season 7 was, with its obvious Quatermass influences, I don’t know if #DoctorWho could have continued as long as it did with that format. The pendulum inevitably had to swing back a bit to more kid-friendly adventures with monsters and chases.
And with that in mind, goodbye sensible intelligent scientist Liz and hello ditzy stumbling childlike Jo!
“We Time Lords prefer not to be conspicuous.” says the one visiting the Doctor, while hovering hundreds of feet in the air dressed as a businessman with his brolly and bowler hat. #DoctorWho
Interesting how at this stage the relationship between the Doctor and the Master is portrayed as just ‘occasional adversaries’.
No hint of the whole later backstory of childhood friends turned bitter mortal enemies duelling forever across all time and space. #DoctorWho
Barry Letts really liked experimenting with CSO, didn’t he? (Greenscreen for you under-40s!)
*Obligatory pisstake of Mrs Farrell’s CSO kitchen* #DoctorWho
The Mind Of Evil: what a surprise, it’s the Master again! Though to be fair, this probably was the one time this season that viewers may not have been expecting him.
Love seeing him as a proper Bond villain - fur-lined coat, cigars, chauffeur-driven limo, the works! #DoctorWho
The least foul-mouthed prisoners you’ll ever see on TV. Even in the middle of a riot there’s not a single utterance of a four-letter-word amongst them. 😆
Also very funny how Jo practically takes down the riot single-handedly. #DoctorWho
Lol at the Brigadier’s frustration when the Doctor ingratiates himself with the Chinese diplomats while he’s ignored.
I wish they’d continued these sort of comedy moments with the Brig’s character but *without* turning him into a complete buffoon, as they later do. #DoctorWho
The greatest psychological reveal of the Master’s character ever - his biggest fear being the Doctor looming over him and laughing(!) Well, of course it was. Of *course*! 😄 #DoctorWho
Poor old Barnham - he was a dangling loose plot thread at the end so obviously the Master just randomly bumps him off. #DoctorWho
The Claws Of Axos: ah, here come Bob Baker and Dave Martin. Hugely imaginative writers, but it often feels like their imagination stretched the show’s capabilities and budget way beyond breaking point. You would need Hollywood money to pull off some of their ideas. #DoctorWho
As much as I admire Barry Letts for everything he did with #DoctorWho, there are stories like this that have a real “Oh, that’ll do…” feel to the production.
So many little moments that could be done better with just a little more care and attention given to them. #DoctorWho
The Axons threaten the Doctor and ensure his cooperation by… ageing Jo into an old woman!
And the Doctor reacts in horror as though it’s the most revolting thing he’s ever seen… For someone claiming to be thousands of years old he can be terribly ageist! 😆 #DoctorWho
In many ways this is the most typical Pertwee era story, with all the requisite elements: UNIT, the Master, a straightforward alien invasion, pompous government bureaucrats, a nuclear power complex… it just all adds up to slightly less than the sum of its parts. #DoctorWho
Colony In Space: you’d forget that Jo hasn’t actually seen inside the TARDIS until now. And once she does she gets to say that it’s bigger on the inside - is she the first companion to use that exact phrase? #DoctorWho
What a treat for viewers of 1971 - many of whom may have got their first colour TV around this time - as #DoctorWho gives us our first alien planet in colour… and it’s the bleakest greyest muddiest shithole you’d ever have the misfortune to see. 😄
At least they try to make the Master’s involvement a bit of a surprise this time, holding his appearance back until the point where you’d think “oh, he’s not in this one.” #DoctorWho
A scene of characters actually standing around drinking and getting pissed! That’s a first. #DoctorWho
At times Colony In Space looks like an ideological battle between Colony of the Hairy Hippies vs the Company of Balding Men with Dodgy Hairstyles.
No wonder Caldwell ends up siding with the hippies, as one of the few IMC guys with a moustache. 👨🏻 #DoctorWho
Plot hole: once the colonists have definitive proof that the ‘giant lizards’ were faked, why do they not suspect Norton is an IMC plant, since he was so adamant they were real and he’d been attacked by them? #DoctorWho
“Don’t bother trying to explain it to him Jo, *he* wouldn’t understand…”
The start of the Brigadier’s character declining into being portrayed as an idiot and the butt of the joke… 😕 #DoctorWho
I’ve usually found this one a bit dull but enjoyed it more this time round. I love the aesthetic of these futuristic Pertwees - 500 years in the future and everyone’s using chunky 70s technology. 😀
A tentative first step towards a return to outer space stories. #DoctorWho
The Daemons: this one’s a bit overfamiliar to me now, having seen it many times over the years, but it’s still very enjoyable with a great atmosphere, especially in the opening episode. #DoctorWho
I wish we’d seen more of this ‘domestic’ side to UNIT, with the Brig dressed up to go off to some fancy military event, while Benton and Yates are watching telly and eating sandwiches. #DoctorWho
When the Doctor’s apparently frozen to death, they put his ‘body’ on a table in the pub with paying customers nearby.
Imagine if they’d had TripAdvisor reviews back then: “Nice rustic pub. Good beer. Quaint little village. Frozen corpse on table put us right off though. (3/5 stars)”⭐️⭐️⭐️ #DoctorWho
Lol at the Master being a gossipy drama queen and revealing all the villagers grubby little secrets. 😄 #DoctorWho
The villagers really are a gullible bunch of prats to fall for the Doctor’s ‘magic’. I know they’ve seen the Master summon Bok, but even so.
And at the end he has a jolly dance around the maypole with them, the same people who wanted to burn him to death an hour ago! #DoctorWho
Anyway, I had to slow down this marathon rewatch for a few weeks to time it so I finished season 8 just as the season 9 set was released. Now to rapidly catch up! 😬 #DoctorWho
Day Of The Daleks: wahey, the metal bastards are back at last. Even if they’re not portrayed at their best here. This is a brilliant story in and of itself, but a not-so-great Dalek story. And they seem to have forgotten how to do the voices properly. #DoctorWho
Pertwee karate-chopping an assailant to the ground then turning to take a sip of his wine is the most perfectly on-brand moment for his Doctor. #DoctorWho
Gaia@gavinwinters she says it in a slightly different way but #itsbiggerontheinside was Jack Harkness’