Gavin Winters
In his most recent appearance in Mawdryn Undead the Brigadier had been going on about how UNIT was a super top secret organisation that the public couldnāt possibly know aboutā¦
The Time Lords have spent a bit of money giving Gallifrey a makeover for the anniversary. Swanky new sets and better robes. They even have random fountains in corridors now, rather than sofas!
Plus itās a rare occasion where they hardly wear their big stiff collars. #DoctorWho
Funny how the line āthe original, you might say!ā is so strongly associated with Hartnell now, when it was actually Hurndall who originates it here. #DoctorWho
There are some fan-pleasing and box-ticking moments such as Pertwee finally getting to be on screen with the Cybermen, or him meeting the Ainley Master.
And of course how could you bring back Susan without her pointlessly falling and twisting her ankle? š #DoctorWho
The script for The Five Doctors by necessity takes a few shortcuts with regards who knows what and when about what exactly is going on. The companions in particular really should have more questions. But Terrance deftly pulls it off in a way that you hardly notice. #DoctorWho
For example, when Ainley bursts in towards the end, how the hell does the Brigadier know that this is the Master, without being told? He just decks him! š #DoctorWho
Is the Guard Commander who shoots the Castellan meant to be a regenerated Maxil, perhaps? He seems as much of a dick.
Anyway, here we goā¦
āNO, NOT THE MIND PROBE!!ā #DoctorWho
I like how Borusa changes into all-black robes when heās hiding in his secret evil lair and plotting. Just so he can feel like a proper villain. #DoctorWho
Cheer up Borusa! You might still have āa bit of a love lifeā¦ā
Warriors Of The Deep: we havenāt had a good old-fashioned base-under-siege story for what seems like ages. And in spirit at least, this recaptures the feel of those old stories, if not always in execution. The Seabase setting itself is very Troughton-like. #DoctorWho
The Silurians are just plainly introduced in the first few minutes. No attempt to have any kind of mystery or slow build up to a cliffhanger reveal or anything.
And what the hell did they do with those weirdly modulated voices? At least the Sea Devils sound the same. #DoctorWho
āFace it Tegan! Heās drowned!ā says Turlough after the Doctorās been in the water for seconds. Yeahā¦ donāt ever get a job as a lifeguard Turlough!
At least elsewhere he gets a bit of character development and becomes much braver than weāve ever seen him be before. #DoctorWho
Some prime examples here of characters in #DoctorWho having no peripheral vision. The Doctor steals the uniform of a knocked-out guard, then two others walk across at the end of the corridor and donāt notice the unconscious man lying on the floor in his long johns. š
As often happens in this era, random people just wander into the TARDIS for a nose around.
Thereās something that just fundamentally feels a bit āoffā about the TARDIS not being a separate, safe haven for the regular characters, isolated from the rest of the story. #DoctorWho
Look I think we can all agree that television in the twentieth century peaked at this moment. #DoctorWho
The Awakening: if The Sea Devils is āthe one where the monsters come out of the seaā then this is the other #DoctorWho story memorable for being thought of with a Friends-style title - āthe one with the giant face in the wallā.
So thatās Teganās aunt, cousin and grandfather whoāve all popped up, mostly for no particular reason. Family reunions must be fun, as they swap stories of all the crazy shit the Doctor got them involved in. #DoctorWho
Itās often been said, but this is broadly speaking The Daemons all over again, isnāt it? Right down to the destruction of the church at the end. At least the Malus isnāt defeated by an inability to grasp a person sacrificing themselves for others. #DoctorWho
Once again half the guest cast end up strolling into the TARDIS. Some not even reacting to the interior at all. Itās coming to something when thereās so many people filling the console room that it doesnāt look big *enough* on the inside. #DoctorWho
Thereās a particularly āEnglishā quality that comes through strongly in this era, with its medieval castles and cricket pitches. Its sleepy villages and old churches. All in other eras too of course, but it fits Davison well.
This even ends on a line about liking tea! #DoctorWho
Frontios: Iām now well into the era of stories I remember strongly from childhood. At the time, the episode one cliffhanger of the TARDIS apparently being destroyed was the Most. Exciting. Thing. Ever. š #DoctorWho
Why exactly is the Doctor so concerned about the Time Lords discovering his interference here? Itās never bothered him before.
Also the Gravis has heard of the Time Lords, TARDISes, etc. This starts to happen in the 80s - everyone knows everyone else in the #DoctorWho universe.
This is a very strong story for Turlough, who gets to be very proactive and go off investigating with Norna, as well as making some Doctor-like deductions by himself.
Plus all the material about his race memory of the Tractators. #DoctorWho
Actual footage of me watching Frontios back in 1984. #DoctorWho
Resurrection Of The Daleks: hmmm, the epitome of Eric Sawardās vision for #DoctorWho - a grittier, nastier version where characters pointlessly snipe at each other and the body count is through the roof.
Even the Doctor starts waving a gun about when hunting the Dalek mutant. š
On the plus side itās at least somewhat successful in restoring the Daleks as an effective threat, with none of the shoddy production values of their last story - new shiny props and a new mask for Davros that makes him more horrific than ever, like a rotting corpse. #DoctorWho
A summary of Resurrectionās plot:
*characters enter a set/location*
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! AARGH! (they all die).
*characters enter a different set/location*
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! AARGH! (they all die).
*characters enter another set/location*
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! AARā¦you get the idea.
This is just trying too hard to be big and epic and significant. The Daleksā scheme is bloated to the point of ridiculousness. Recovering Davros and curing the Movellan virus and invading Gallifrey to kill the High Council AND having human duplicates on Earthā¦ šµāš« #DoctorWho
And Tegan doesnāt even get much to do in her final story. At least with Nyssa they focused on her and her skills to give her some motivation to leave. This just feels tacked on. #DoctorWho
On top of everything else, Victor Lewis-Smith and TV Offal have ruined this scene for me foreverā¦š
(If you know, you knowā¦) #DoctorWho
Planet Of Fire: this is like a mixture of Face Of Evil (primitive culture bases a religion on alien visitor and leftover bits of technology) and Brain Of Morbius (volcanic flame channeled into a chamber produces a life-restoring substance that even cures Time Lords) #DoctorWho
The Lanzarote filming all looks great of course, but it was perhaps a mistake to use it as both itself and the planet Sarn. Anyone watching this for the first time would be forgiven for initially thinking it was all supposed to be the same place. #DoctorWho
The guy playing Howard is terrible. Pity Kamelion wasnāt able to replicate some decent acting skills when he takes on his formā¦ š«¤
Ah yes, Kamelion. Youād have almost forgotten he was in it. Brought back just to bump him off as part of a clearout before Davison goes. #DoctorWho
Costume changes for everyone. Davison dispenses with his coat, Turlough finally gets out of that public school uniform and the Ainley Master gets his best ever look wearing a plain black suit. (And the irony that itās not even really him, itās Kamelion) #DoctorWho
Turloughās whole backstory gets revealed at last, just in time for him to leave too. Heās been one of the most interesting companions weāve had, when Strickson is given the material.
Anyway, hello Peri! Love the bit when sheās chasing the miniaturised Master around. #DoctorWho
āWonāt you even show mercy to your ownā¦ AAGH!ā
And thus a million fanfics were spawnedā¦ #DoctorWho
The Caves Of Androzani: this is so good and so well-written it actually makes you annoyed that JNT initially had a stupid āno old writersā rule. If only Davison had had scripts this good from Robert Holmes or other experienced old hands throughout his run. #DoctorWho
And again Holmes employs his effortless worldbuilding and makes it look so easy. The way that in the first few minutes the Doctor deduces from marks on the ground how a spacecraft landed and a vehicle disembarked is better than anything similar in the last few years. #DoctorWho
Graeme Harperās direction is top notch too. Underground tunnels shot with low-lighting and lots of dry ice to create atmosphere. Shame about the Magma creature but even thatās kept mostly in shadow. #DoctorWho
I thought Marriner in Enlightenment came across as an obsessed stalker but heās got nothing on Sharaz Jekās all-consuming fixation on Peri. A fantastic performance. Best villain ever? #DoctorWho
As many times as Iāve seen it, part four still has an intense, edge-of-the-seat desperation, as everyoneās plans fail, they all die, and the Doctor barely gets out alive.
The TARDIS has never seemed more like a beacon of hope as he staggers towards it carrying Peri. #DoctorWho
The Twin Dilemma: NEXT!
Attack Of The Cybā¦ oh alright, Iād better say something about The Twin Dilemma then. š¬
Never been as much of a contrast between two successive stories as Androzani and this, and never as much of a contrast between Doctors either. #DoctorWho
The budget seems to have drastically run out at the end of the season. Everything looks cheap - the sets, the props, the alien designs.
And oh god, the āactingā from the twins. Come back Adric, all is forgiven! š«£ #DoctorWho
Poor Colin, getting lumbered with this as his debut, with the Doctor being written as completely deranged for most of it. JNT always seemed to want regenerations to go wrong somehow.
By the time heās strangling Peri even the most loyal fanās patience was being tested. #DoctorWho
Never mind Kevin, wait a few decades and youāll get a much better role in #DoctorWho.
Attack Of The Cybermen: this at least starts off much better than The Twin Dilemma. The bank heist plot leading to the discovery of Cybermen underground is very good, but wouldāve been even better as an Earthshock-type surprise by not having their name in the title. #DoctorWho
Colinās pompous, self-aggrandising Doctor can be very entertaining in the right circumstances. His leap into the garage pit with the fake policeman, followed by lots of off-screen thumping sounds is very funny. As is him later casually ordering Peri to shoot Russell(!) #DoctorWho
Who are Lyttonās fake cops anyway? Hired human mercenaries, or aliens like himself? We never find out.
And since they barely even saw each other in Resurrection Of The Daleks, why does the Doctor act like he knows Lytton well? #DoctorWho
The second half is where it all starts to unravel. A pointless continuity-fest designed to please members of DWAS who read Doctor Who Bulletin or other 1980s fanzines.
And the sub-plot with Bates and Stratton goes nowhere as they just get killed in the end. #DoctorWho
These twitchy, gesticulating Cybermen are more expressive than ever before.
Also a *hell* of a lot of them are blown up, decapitated, shot, etc. As if thereās an influence of 80s āvideo nastiesā starting to creep in, which leads neatly into the next storyā¦ #DoctorWho
Vengeance On Varos: finally, a decent story for Colin, although not without its flaws.
Sil is one of the best original monster creations of the decade. He has that ākids-imitating-his-voice-in-the-school-playgroundā factor not seen since the Daleks. #DoctorWho
Like many stories of this period, the TARDIS takes just too bloody long to get there and get the Doctor involved in the action.
And while heās calmed down a lot, thereās still the issue of how he treats Peri. Why the hell does she want to keep travelling with him? #DoctorWho
Is the Doctor too violent here? You could argue the laser that kills the guard was set up as a warning, and he didnāt intend to kill him. And the infamous acid bath scene is clearly an accident.
But he then blatantly kills the bad guys at the end with poison vinesā¦š¤·š»āāļø #DoctorWho
So the story is kind of trying to have its cake and eat it with the subject of violence. Criticising the idea of people watching it while simultaneously indulging in it.
The meta-commentary by Arak and Etta is a highlight of the story though. #DoctorWho
Quillam is a boring and pointless panto villain. An unnecessary addition when you already have Sil and the Chief. #DoctorWho
When you see how Varos deals with its Governors youāre torn between thinking āWhat a terrible vision of the futureā and āHmm, thereās actually some politicians I wouldnāt mind seeing that done to!ā š #DoctorWho
Sean C.@gavinwinters @SocialCommentaryBot my opinion on Colin Baker has mellowed over time