The Mutants:
No, I’m not going to say it. Everyone’s said it. It’s an obvious joke that’s been done a million times. I’m going to resist the temptation and will definitely not say that…
…THE OPENING SCENE IS LIKE THE “IT’S!” MAN FROM MONTY PYTHON!!
Goddamnit!
It may be unintentional, but the CSO fringing around characters when they’re in the cave helps add to the disjointed, surreal effect they were aiming for.
And I never noticed before that Sondergaard is not just bald, but also has no eyebrows… 👀 #DoctorWho
Barry and Terrance make a well-meaning but clumsy attempt to address early 70s feminism with the character of Ruth, who’s lumbered with dialogue where every second line of hers begins with:
“Men!”
or
“JUST because I’m a woman you assume…”
We detour into an Atlantean soap opera for the last couple of episodes, with the Master seducing the Queen. Blimey! #DoctorWho
🎵 BOM-CHICKA-WAH-WAH! 🎵
The Three Doctors:
Pat! 😃 Billy! 😃 Not much more to be said really.
Watching these in order and seeing these returns in context has so much more impact. Troughton’s return (and Pertwee’s reaction to him) is joyous. Always sad to see Hartnell’s condition though. 🙁 #DoctorWho
Fair play to Nick Courtney though, who makes the best of it and gets some comedy out of the situation.
Meanwhile in Frazier Hines’ absence Benton becomes a bit of a Jamie-substitute for the second Doctor. #DoctorWho
You can’t beat a booming, scenery-shaking performance from Stephen Thorne.
But how does Omega know all about what became of the Time Lords and him supposedly being forgotten, if he’s been trapped in this other universe all these years? He seems very up-to-date on events. #DoctorWho
Carnival Of Monsters: always loved the idea behind this one. One of those stories that has a ‘unique to #DoctorWho ‘ feel to it.
I mean, look at this image. A completely bonkers, mind-expanding concept, presented via slightly dodgy FX.
That’s it. That’s the show. 😀
Jo says they’ve gone “about forty years back in time” after seeing the 1926 newspaper.
Forty?? Either Jo’s maths is terrible or this puts a *whole* new spin on the UNIT dating conundrum! 😵💫 #DoctorWho
Robert Holmes makes great use of his incredibly simple but incredibly effective trick of fleshing out the universe by just… having characters mention stuff.
All these little references to off-screen planets and people and anecdotes of Drashigs eating spaceships… #DoctorWho
A rare chance to see the Master teaming up with the other big bad of the Daleks, even if they are the slightly underwhelming tinny-voiced versions here.
I love his disdain and exasperation with both them and the Ogrons. 😅 #DoctorWho
And that’s it for Roger Delgado, sadly last seen in a confusing and poorly-directed melee with Ogrons scattering everywhere.
We were denied seeing the proper epic final showdown between him and Pertwee that they deserved… 😕 #DoctorWho
Planet Of The Daleks: or ‘Terry Nation’s Greatest Hits’.
Old Tel was doing cut-&-paste Dalek tales at this stage - Thals, jungles, lethal plants, invisibility, viruses, underground cities, escapes up a shaft… I’m surprised the Daleks aren’t drilling the planet’s core #DoctorWho
We even get a mention of Ian, Barbara and Susan to really ram it home.
The middle part with the ice-cano and the escape up the ventilation shaft is almost entirely filler, albeit with a great cliffhanger of the Daleks burning through the door (another callback!) #DoctorWho
Funny how in the entire Pertwee era we never see beyond the TARDIS console room. Anyone who started watching here would think that’s all there was to the interior.
Even when he needs a bed to lie on it has to extend from the console room wall. #DoctorWho
Pertwee’s Doctor is particularly bossy and arrogant in this one, constantly barking orders at the Thals.
When he’s snapping at them to empty the frozen Daleks in the lake and get the casings back on land I wanted one of them to snap back “WTF DO YOU THINK I’M DOING?!” #DoctorWho
The Green Death: the most famous ‘Friends-style’ title ever applied to a #DoctorWho story, as it’s “The One with the Maggots!”
The environmental concerns this story raises have only become more relevant with every passing year.
Where did BOSS come from and who built it? (Headcanon: someone made it from leftover bits of Wotan!)
For such a clever computer, it’s clearly unfamiliar with those episodes of Star Trek, The Prisoner, etc, where computers are driven mad by simple logic conundrums. #DoctorWho
So after knowing each other for a matter of days (longer than most #DoctorWho companion romances, to be fair!) Cliff decides he and Jo are getting married, without consulting her(!)
Still, it leads to Jo getting one of the best companion departure scenes ever… 🥲🌅
“There is not a galaxy in the universe that our spacecraft have not subjugated!” boasts Lynx.
An early example of Sontarans coming out with *absolute* bullshit. 😄 #DoctorWho
Invasion Of The Dinosaurs: excellent opening episode, nicely building the mystery of what the hell is going on.
That brief shot of the looter with his bloodied mangled face must be one of the most gory things in #DoctorWho so far.
Of course, as everyone says, this is a fantastic story let down by the overambitious dinosaur FX.
Still hoping there’ll be some sort of CGI replacement when they get round to doing the season 11 box set. #DoctorWho
As the Brig says: “Is everyone in on this conspiracy?”. Seems every single military/government character is, apart from him and Benton!
And crikey, actual character development that shakes up the status quo, as Mike Yates has gone mad. Blame that Metebelis crystal! #DoctorWho
Gavin Winters
