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).
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.
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!
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