Jungle Fever

Planet of Evil did not sit well with me during my adolescence. I saw it as an exceeding grim and depressing story. Fun factor zero. And boy did my life need some fun...

Grade 9 was becoming increasingly unpleasant by the time October rolled around. I was being bullied by a group a rather nasty classmates, my school work had taken a nosedive (Scott needs to apply himself more to his studies, blah, blah...) and I didn't really have any close friends to confide in or suffer with. One particular incident involved my pants being stolen from a locker during gym class. My homeroom teacher, bless her misguided heart, gave a speech later that day in front of the whole class lecturing whoever had done it, but of course I was horrified at been singled out.

So Doctor Who (and reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy) was my great solace at the time. Planet of Evil felt less like escapism and more like a mirror of my tortured life. At 14, I really had a sense of dread when anyone (particularly Sarah or the Doctor) had to go into that creepy jungle (read school). It seemed vast and foreboding. The pit (gym class) freaked the crap out of me! But what really gave me nightmares was the image of the ship (school bus) being pulled back to the planet--it was unrelenting. Oh, and Commander Salamar was such a dick. He was so bloody annoying with his pouty lips.

Planet of Evil is a very underrated story. Sure it's basically a mash up of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with a healthy helping of Forbidden Planet, but design-wise, it's all about that incredible alien jungle. Shot on film at Ealing studios, it's very easy to suspend one's imagination when watching it. There are puddles for god sake! It's one of the most iconic images of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era (with that famous still of the leads peering out at the camera).

Ewan Solon simply rocks as Vishinsky. Everyone, including the viewer, can't help but look to him in any scene he's in. He's just such a intelligent, decent guy. One imagines that in Morestran society, just as in ours, idiots are promoted up the hierarchy because nobody knows what else to do with them. Vishinsky must have pissed someone off royally to serve under such a useless tool as Salamar. Look at how he takes the time to stop Sarah and the Doctor from being ejected out into space, when everyone else takes off to the next emergency. I found myself cheering at the television when he finally took command away from the walking-train-wreck Salamar.

Frederick Jaeger is quite good too (although he has a few tics, like rubbing his face ad nauseum, that kind of wore on me). He's very good at looking distracted though, and as I mentioned in a previous blog entry, he is the culmination of the dirty/sweaty spaceman. Prentis Hancock is...annoying, as per the character, but another actor could have made him good annoying.

The ocular camera is a great little plot device and adds a nice cool factor. Sure it's a bit wobbly, but on film it comes across quite well.

The halcyon days of the Fourth Doctor/Sarah Jane double act are in full swing here and there's a real sense of team here: Sarah retrieving the equipment from the TARDIS, and the sweet moment later where she tells the Doctor to take care.

Other miscellaneous observations:

• For all those who champion the Doctor's lack of violent tendencies, he can still get in a pretty decent right hook (although he can be forgiven considering how much of a prick Salamar is).

• There are great throwaway bits in the story like Vishinsky asking what Morelli's religious practices are (Morestran Orthodox) and then scoffing that he was "one of them" as if he was Jehovah's Witness or Church of Scientology.
  

• I love the last scene of the TARDIS spinning away to the next adventure--it's so wonderfully whimsical.

• For best results, store your anti-matter crystals in a Farrah's Original Harrogate Toffee container.

• Barry Letts gets all the press for the environmental messages front and centre in his stories, but here the message is much more subtly presented.

Original viewing date: October 15th or October 22nd

Wine: "Chateau de Gourgazaud" a really tasty red from the Minervois region of France. There's no real connection to the story per se, but it was a nice little discovery and I'll definitely buy it again.

Music: "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" by the Eurythmics. This song was everywhere!

My Scottish Love Affair

From the time I was diapered and powdered, I've had a love and fascination for all things Scottish. Perhaps it arises from my name or maybe it's because I was born and reared in Nova Scotia. It might be my love of castles or my high school best friend's mother who had the most enchanting brogue I'd ever heard. Like the rest of the world I'm not immune to the heightened romance of the region or the downright stereotypes.

Doctor Who has a long history of Scottish flirtations, in front and behind the camera: Jamie and the Highlanders, Innes Lloyd, Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant, Amy Pond, Steven Moffat and Tooth and the Claw. I could go on and on.

And of course there was Terror of Zygons. A story stuffed to the gills with every sort of Scottish cliche from Haggis to Ben Nevis, and the Loch Ness Monster to a games-keeper nicknamed "The Caber". A story with mostly English actors playing Scots and shot in West Sussex!

But as a 15 year old I still loved it to bits. It was eerie, and action-packed, with an almost effective UNIT (they look cooler than they did in Robot, even if they don't actually do a lot). It didn't really matter that it wasn't actually Scotland--West Sussex was exotic enough.

Call me a sensualist, but I can't get enough of John Woodnutt's silky voice. He simply purrs each and every line. Okay, his utterances as Broton the Zygon are somewhat distracted by the hiss-y "treatment" they received.

All the creepy little touches still do it for me too, like the uber eerie nurse/Zygon and games-keeper/Zygon. And the Harry/Zygon doppelganger charging Sarah with a pitchfork is among the most chilling in the series' history.

Of course the story is still saddled with a threadbare plot (alien menace looking for new home planet develops vague, overly-elaborate plan to subjugate Earth), and the ending is just plane lacklustre--Broton meets the mortal coil by being shot like a dog by the Brigadier, while the Loch Ness Monster (Skarasen) eats its leash and toddles off home.

I eventually made it to Scotland in 2003 (25 years after watching the story) and I must say my love only grew. It really is a fascinating blend of mythological stereotype and modern UK reality. I was treated to odd variations on the Police Box design (double banked and red!), region 2 Doctor Who DVDs at the Virgin superstores, kilts and castles, Scotch Whisky and the Big Issue. And alas a BBC devoid of my favorite Time Lord (at the time).

Alas, it's time to say goodbye to Harry. Yes, I know he'll show up again in for a final swansong, but this is the end of a really nice continuous journey of the Doctor, Sarah & Harry. Perhaps it feels a bit more bittersweet, having just watched The Death of the Doctor episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures. It was nice to get a call-out for him at the end of those episodes--there was real affection in Liz Sladen's voice. Farewell, old friend, it's been nice spending time with you again. Such is the magic of "time travel".


First viewed: October 8 or 15, 1983. Probably the latter.

Spirit: Glenfiddich Single Malt Scotch whisky. Yes, I know, If I'd wanted to be completely authentic to the story, I would have gone for a blended whisky distilled in England, but then I'd have to drink it...

Music: "In a Big Country" by Big Country.

What's Up, Cyberleader?

Waiting for the November 2 DVD release of Revenge of the Cybermen has proven too much for me. Yes, I caved and watched a somewhat sketchy download of the region two version released earlier in Britain.

It wasn't until I was forced to wait that I realized how much I looked forward to this re-watch each week. It's become a ritual. No, more than a ritual, I'm engaged in the ongoing story. Somehow, after watching Genesis of the Daleks, in some part of my imagination, Sarah, Harry and the Doctor remained floating around in a sort of limbo in the time vortex, waiting impatiently to arrive back on the Nerva Beacon.

Back when I was attending church, I would often be perplexed by the way some cradle Christians (Anglicans in this case) would refer to the Christian story. Even though they'd participated in a particular part of the liturgy dozens or hundreds of times, the way they spoke of reliving those moments always had a sense of experiencing them for the first time (Holy Week and Easter are particularly good examples).

I think good narrative works that way, whether it's high liturgy or 35 year old television fantasy drama. It enables us to "return to the beginning" and relive the experience again. Sure our knowledge of what is to come can't be erased, yet we're still able to hold both realities. It's a very human thing to do. A good friend once referred to it as living in the "now and the not yet". I would include in that description the "already happened" as well.

And so I was faced with a dilemma: do I wait for the brand spanking new DVD release of Revenge of the Cyberman, or do I watch the "film-like" download that my friends Dawn and Justin procured for me during a recent trip to Victoria. The story has a less than stellar reputation, so watching it in pristine condition was definitely a plus. Then again, the prospect of two more weeks of no re-watch felt unbearable.

So sue me, my Doctor Who flesh is weak.

Funny thing about Revenge though: I have almost no memory of this story! I can't figure out why I didn't see it back in the fall of 1983. Did we go somewhere as a family? Did KVOS skip it? Did I pay Lacuna, Inc. to have it erased from my memory? I can't even tell you when I finally did see it. It was probably somebody's sliced and diced VHS movie edit. Or a washed out off-air version via my friend Graeme.

My appraisal of it now would be that there are a few hits, but mostly misses. Tom Baker is fantastic. He has been a marvel throughout season 12, but even in a "meh" story like this he manages to score. The scene with the Doctor hiding under bed and then jumping around the room to avoid the electrified floor was entertaining and fun in the same way much of Matt Smith's antics are. And I love the Doctor using his yo-yo as he's being transmatted. Conversely, the Doctor's confrontation with the Cyber-Leader is full of force and conviction (no bored Baker of latter years here). Even absurd dialogue involving "glitter guns" destroying Cybermen is given gravitas (honesty I picture a legion of Bowies advancing). I love this exchange:

Lester: Why don’t we just wait here?
The Doctor: I think my idea is better.
Lester: What is your idea.
The Doctor: I don’t know yet. That’s the trouble with ideas – they only come a bit at a time.

Of course on the "miss" side of the ledger we have the titular Cybermen who are in no way menacing (despite there persistent attempts to administer Swedish massage to various characters) and their voices are completely daft and feel like they've been dubbed over real cyber voices. My friend Graeme recently lamented the fact that 2entertain didn't splurge to re-dub proper Cyber voices. And perhaps it was the martini speaking, but I found myself fantasizing what it would be like to re-dub them with completely different dialogue a la Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily. Perhaps, judging from their flared utility pants, the real Cyber plan was to simply find the local Disco.

Ultimately it's a scatter-shot story made a little more interesting by Briant's direction. The scenes on the beacon at the beginning have an eerie, unsettling quality, particularly all those bodies laying everywhere, and their is a nice cast of character actors manning it. Sarah's infection is also suitably chilling, even if the actual Cybermat isn't (again the Doctor's sense of desperation contains some fine acting from Mr. Baker). Other great bits include Harry and Sarah on the run and their banter over Sarah's ankles; the emptying of the Doctor's pockets to see just who he is. And using real caves is makes running around seem far more interesting than it ought to. Of course I can't watch those cave scenes without immediately thinking of Mark Gatiss' hilarious turn as a shell-shocked tour guide (who previously lost a child in the caves) in the first season of "The League of Gentlemen".

Despite David Colling's wonderful voice, the Vogans aren't very impressive and come off like second rate rejects from the Lord of the Rings. Honestly, if they've got all that gold, why is it exactly that they can't hold off the Cybermen? And Carey Blyton's incidental music drove me crazy for much of the story. I'm all for giving the horn section some work, but it just didn't fit here. I understand Peter Howell was asked to add synthesizer to Blyton's original score.

I'll end by saying that my Harry love has only gotten stronger. Like my mother, he has a tendency to state the obvious, but I love both, unconditionally, regardless.

Original Viewing Date: Beat's me...

Spirit: I decided to open up the playing field this week with a dry vodka martini complete with edible "silver" ball bearings garnished with a slice of Golden Delicious apple. Thank you Graeme for an excellent suggestion.

Music: I have no musical association for this episode, but having watched Goldfinger last week, I can't get Shirley Bassey's rendition out of my head...so that'll do.

Thunderstorm of the Daleks

There are certain TV moments from my childhood and adolescence that have been raised to a mythical level. The "Meet Dracula" episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is one of them. As is the "Dragon's Domain" episode of Space: 1999. And then of course there were a boatload of Sid and Marty Kroft inspired memories.

Doctor Who came later for me, but was no less potent. Genesis of the Daleks was made more memorable because I had an unintended and prolonged break between episodes two and three. As was my habit, I set the old Betamax on Sunday night at 11:30PM. The next day I excitedly re-wound the tape and immersed myself in the epic story. Then as I was on the edge of my seat watching Sarah and the Mutos climb the scaffolding to the top of the Thal dome the TV went to snow! Suddenly I recalled the terrific thunderstorm the night before. I was crestfallen.

It wouldn't be for 7 or 8 months until the episode was thankfully rerun and I got to see the rest of the story. But my anticipation only made it all the more exciting and rewarding.

Genesis of the Daleks has some amazing moments, including a very memorable opening with a bunch of gas-masked soldiers being mowed down in the fog, then another group disappearing into said fog, and the fourth Doctor emerging a second later. It was mysterious, surreal, with perfect direction and editing. The arrival of the Timelord and his mission to the Doctor is positively Bergman-esque. It's probably the most effective use of the Doctor's brethren barring only The War Games.

David Mahoney's direction and Robert Holmes script editing have turned Terry Nation's paint-by-numbers template into something truly special. But hey this was my first Dalek story outside of the second Peter Cushing movie, so even Nation's familiar beats were new to me. At 14 what struck me most was the terrifying way the Doctor, Sarah and Harry just kept getting more and more enmeshed in the horror. Every time the Time Ring was lost or confiscated I felt a sense of panic. My own life in grade 9 was getting progressively more miserable and the idea of escape was a potent one. As was the twin idea of changing the past and averting bad things in the future.

What's haunts me now as I watched it this time is the tragedy of the Kaleds as personified by Gharman and his portrayal by Dennis Chinnery. His naive devotion to the democracy is so strong (even after the Thals have decimated his people and the Daleks have decimated the Thals), and there is that moment when he tells the Doctor that everything will be okay that just breaks my heart. Watching as he and the other scientists are mowed down is excruciating.

David Mahoney manages to keep everything looking so fresh and interesting, even as characters seem to journey back and forth from the respective domes. The image of the Dalek against the violet sky is quite striking (almost in the style a Nazi propaganda poster). Mahoney deserves real credit since the Daleks-as-Nazis metaphor has been milked to death by this point in the show's history. Oh and the revulsion on Nyder's face at the thought of a democratically elected leader is priceless.

And Harry Sullivan continues to be wonderful. Sure the character is woefully underwritten and unnecessary, but Ian Marter portrayal is so darned likeable and fun to have around (even when he's being ambushed by a clam). It's also nice to see him perform solo companion duties with the Doctor for a chunk of the story. I'm already suffering separation anxiety from his impending departure.

Of course the things that bug me about Genesis still bug me. Like the rather indifferent parting of Sarah's Muto friend: she shows a moment of affection and he all be brushes her off as he departs to join the Thal brigade. I never got that! And the Thals seem to have no real identity as a people. They're just perfunctory (so much so that a spunky young woman can just ascend to their leadership without a second thought).

As grade 9 dipped lower into despair, Doctor Who only got better and better (thunderstorms not withstanding).

Originally viewed: October 1, 1983 (Episodes 1 & 2); Sometime in 1984 (Episodes 3-6)

Wine: A red Zinfandel from the DeLoach vinyards in California. Spicy and peppery, with a smooth and velvety character. An excellent companion to beef, sausages and Nazi allegory! (Thanks to Dennis for pointing me towards the choice).

Music: "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar.

*Note: The blog will resume in one month to coincide with the release of Revenge of the Cybermen on DVD.