The Tequila Sunrise Makers

Generally speaking I go in for nice clean mixed drinks like dry vodka martinis or gin 'n tonics (occasionally I'll make myself a spicy Caesar). I'm mystified by the endless coloured bottles of curacao, galliano and triple sec that my partner mixes together like a mad scientist.

Tequila is a bit of an exception. Every once in a blue moon I love a good margarita or a tequila sunrise. I like the spectacle or perhaps the ritual of preparing them. Pulling the blender out from the back of the cupboard or blowing the dust off the grenadine bottle. Chopping up lemons or limes and frosting the glasses. Works particularly well in the summer. I have fond memories of my friend Graeme and I playing "which Doctor Who story shall we watch" accompanied by an icy margarita on a humid August eve (or sipping these green giants after tackling the formidable freeways in Los Angeles to locate a sought-after Chevys).

Back in the day, The Sun Makers was most likely served up with Old Dutch Zesty Cheese Tortilla Chips and a Hires Root Beer. Or if I was too tired to stay up late on that Sunday night, a bowl of Cheerios the next morning in front of the betamax (with my mother trying to shoo me out the door to school). Over time I developed my little rituals of obtaining various snacks from the corner store for the week's story (movie versions of the stories I should reiterate). Sometimes I would bribe my sister with the snacks to get her to watch a given story with me. I treated no other television program with the same intentionality.

And so it was with much anticipation that I plopped an umbrella into my drink and sat down to watch a very different Robert Holmes story. Smack dab in the middle of season 15 it offers up a bright spot amidst a sea of somewhat disappointing stories. It's like nothing that's come before, belonging more rightfully among later fare like The Pirate Planet and City of Death. Witty scripts full of interesting ideas, wonderful moments and endlessly quotable dialogue.

Right off the bat we have that bizarre and hilarious scene with poor Cordo trying to pay his father's death taxes to a woman in a window 3 feet above him (when I watched Terry Gilliam's Brazil years later it immediately evoked The Sun Makers).

The story is so full of Robert Holmes moments, and sharply drawn characters. And in that typically Holmesian way each are both hilarious and disturbing simultaneously. I mean I really shouldn't derive such pleasure when the pompous Hade is thrown over the side of a building--but anything less would have been a supreme disappointment for his character. Unpleasant human beings like Mandrell and Veet somehow worm their way into our affections because they eventually see that the Doctor is a man with a plan. While most of the stories during the Graham Williams era have middling ineffectual direction, Holmes scripts are so winning that they almost demand that some scenes work. Perhaps most successful is the cliffhanger to episode 3 which is quite effective and tense in the midst of the laughs. I think the story works so well precisely because it still manages to takes certain parts of the plot seriously.

Leela also seems to be back in good form after a couple of meh stories for her character. Her warrior instincts are used well and despite being part of a painfully slow assault in a golf cart, all of her scenes have nice tension. Tom Baker is headed full steam towards his new breezy irreverent interpretation of the role, but there are still hints of his old gravitas.

Ritual has been such an important part of this rewatch. As I've noted before, having a weekly date with classic Doctor Who has made it fresh and exciting. I love perusing the aisles of the Summerhill flag ship LCBO for an interesting wine (or the challenge of finding one that fits thematically). Carving out time from a busy weekend. Reminiscing about my earlier experiences with a story. Closing my eyes and listening to a song that takes me back to those days.

A good tequila sunrise is about anticipation and rediscovery. It's a bit showy, with bright colours and a bit of theatricality. But there's a bit of a kick at the bottom and it creates great memories.

Original viewing date: January 29, 1984

Spirit: Tequila Sunrise -- with duty free tequila!

Music: "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.