Time Stream #33 - The Moonbase

          I feel a little rusty in doing a Time Stream entry. Has it really been ten months? Yes, yes it has been close to a year, so I guess a little rustiness is to be expected. However, here we go!

          I’m welcomed back to my quest of watching every story with the mixed bad that is “The Moonbase”. I say it’s a mixed bag because while there are a lot of good things in it, I liked them just as well when they were used in “The Tenth Planet”. There are some updates to the Cybermen both visually and in their characterization in this story, but there is so much that is reused that it detracts from the story overall.

          What does not detract is the performance of Patrick Troughton. What a marked difference from his turn in “The Underwater Menace”! The character seemed firmly in place, he seemed at ease in his portrayal, and gone are the forced “character” bits that seemed to weigh down his portrayal of the Doctor, rather than enhance it. No funny hats, no ridiculous disguises, it’s just “The Doctor” in all his sublime Troughton-ness.

          Let me ease back into my Time Streams with my go-to entry enhancer, a list of things which, for good or ill, I will remember from this story.

1) I adore the groovy spacesuits and goggles that the TARDIS crew wears to explore the lunar surface. Totally impractical, and one of the most “60’s” thing in this story.

2) I like the redesign of the Cybermen here, although some design decisions are a bit hard to swallow. The tubing and wiffle ball look is a little bit sketchy, but the three fingered hands, while impractical, are a creepy new look. Also, thumbs up for the “buzzy” voices!

3) The Cybermen recognize the Doctor here. It happens almost without question in later years, but it’s a weird little moment here. Does this Doctor meet them later in his timeline but earlier in theirs?

4) Polly. Anneke Wills is a joy to watch as Polly, being the gung ho, let’s-do-all-we-can character. Ben seems there just to get riled up, and poor Jamie is still reduced to a lot of unconscious and bed-ridden scenes. Like in “Menace” we can chalk it up to the late addition of Jamie to the cast of characters, but he really needs Ben and Polly to get out before he really starts seeing larger pieces of the action.

5) OK, I need to ask. If “Polly Cocktail” is SO powerful that it dissolves the chest unit of a Cyberman, how does the bottle that holds it stay a bottle?? Shouldn’t that dissolve into a melty clump?

6) It will come back again in later stories, but I really like the Cybermen theme. It’s an evocative little tune and I’d kind of like to see it make a reappearance in the modern show.

          “The Moonbase”, overall, works. My main problem with it is the “base under siege” that we get here is really, REALLY like the one in “The Tenth Planet”. I don’t have a problem with stories being similar, but the international crew, the Cybermen march across the moon, the incompetence of Earth authorities. It’s just enough to detract from the story as I sat there half remembering scenes from “The Tenth Planet”. I guess a better word would be distracting. But the cast is all on point, the Cybermen themselves are wonderfully creepy, and I’ll even excuse the weird “bouncing on the moon” sound effect that sounded more like a Hanna Barbera cartoon. This write up was a long time coming, but in the end, it was good to slip back into the series with something familiar, even if that familiarity was a bit heavy handed.

NEXT EPISODE: The Macra Terror

The Worlds of Doctor Who

     If my last, so very long ago post focused more on what we sometimes laughingly call “real life” then this one, will hopefully light a fire under my ass and get me writing more about my other focus on this blog, Doctor Who. There has been a lot of Who stuff going on, so I’m just going to review, pontificate and generally rattle on in roughly chronological order. So, if you’re not here for nerdy stuff, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry…

Series Ten

          I didn’t review each episode as I did with Series Nine, but I couldn’t go without some comments on Peter Capaldi’s last season (barring the Xmas episode). This was EASILY my favorite Capaldi season in terms of strongly consistent stories, characters and performances. Pearl Mackie, oh my goodness. I adored her as Bill and am now kicking myself for not taking the chance to go to Philly Comic-Con where she was guesting. Such a great companion arc for her, and a tremendous foil for the 12^th Doctor this season. Speaking of, Capaldi has never been better. I liked the prickly Doctor he started as, and as he mellowed the role became more and more his. He may have become less tetchy but still never warm and snuggly. I’ve never really ranked my favorite Doctors, my general response is that my favorite is whomever I’m watching at the time. But I’m leaning towards changing that response. I’m not blindly in love with every story of his, but let me just say that when he fires on all cylinders in a story that plays to his strengths, no one has been better.

          “World Enough and Time” is far and away my favorite episode this season. I’ve always come down firmly on the Cybermen side of the Daleks/Cybermen debate, and this is the best Cybermen story in simply ages. The Mondasian Cybermen are so low tech as to almost be laughable, if they weren’t so flat out frightening. I hadn’t been properly creeped out by a story in ages, and this one just ticked all the boxes for me. As for THAT character reveal… yep, should have seen it coming a mile away. But I didn’t and that was a refreshing change of pace. As for the OTHER reveal one episode later at the end of “The Doctor Falls” – well, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to kinda getting a little choked up. I may be WAY behind on my Time Stream entries, but my recent rewatch of Hartnell just reinforced how much I love that era of the program. Which, prompts me to jump *slightly* ahead to…

The 2017 Christmas Special (“Twice Upon a Time”)

          If you haven’t seen it, watch the trailer here. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve watched this thing already, and I love it to bits. David Bradley! Double the TARDISes! And yes, Mark Gatiss! (I’ve been a fan of his since his New Adventure “Nightshade” and dammit he just always seems to have fun when he shows up in Who). Christmas can’t come soon enough, and that’s not a sentiment I normally express. Speaking of Christmas, there was one other recent bit of Doctor Who news that may have gotten your attention. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you…

Jodie Whittaker as the 13^th Doctor

          Um, wow. Just, wow. Again, if you didn’t see the official BBC video announcement (and in god’s name why on earth are you bothering with my blog if you HAVEN’T) take a look-see right here:

The 13^th Doctor

They actually did it. They cast a woman as the Doctor. I’m beyond thrilled for this, really. There’s never been a legitimate reason why the Doctor couldn’t have been a woman before now, and I think it’s the perfect time. I feel like this deserves a longer essay than I’m affording it here, but damn this thrills me.

          I’m still trying to get my sea legs back in terms of writing and updating this little site of mine. But there was just SO much going on in the world of my favorite program, that I really felt the need to put in my few pennies worth. Thanks for sticking in there with me, and PLEASE  feel free to comment and get in touch about all the goings on in the Worlds of Doctor Who.  It’s a great time to be a fan!

Letting Things Go

Wow, so that was an unexpected hiatus. Reasons? I could give several – end of year craziness, the election, indolence. There are tons of them. My depression and anxiety kicked in for a long stretch which kept me from doing just about anything, including writing and maintaining this site. Then as time wore on, it became one of those things where my (incredibly vocal) inner critic flat out stopped me from even attempting to do those things that I enjoyed. I wasn’t curled up in a fetal position in a darkened room, but I was ridiculously under-inspired, under-motivated, and just struggling, to be frank. This blog was and is a creative outlet for me that I don’t really get anywhere else, and once all that self-doubt came creeping in? Forget it, man. I was in a mental rut, that got deeper every day.

Here’s where the title of this entry comes in. I regret having let this site go for so long. It’s something I enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy. It wasn’t the writing that prevented me from adding entries, it was my own mental paralysis. But I realized that if I was going to do ANYTHING ever again, especially something I like doing, I need to just Let Things Go. Not in a frivolous way, not in a neglectful way, but more of a mental and psychological unclenching of teeth. A physical one too, some days.

This site, my own mental and physical self-care, and a host of other things I just… let go. What I couldn’t let go of were those things, mostly imagined or self-created, that reared their heads whenever I even considered doing something that would benefit me. What changed then? I honestly don’t know. I got up off my ass and sat down at the computer and just started writing this entry, so if it’s a bit rambling, well that’s my stream of consciousness talking. As I’ve been writing, I’ve been thinking of those things that were holding me down. I just have to Let Them Go. It’s not easy. Anxiety and depression are two nasty SOB’s and they fight back. But I’m a middle-aged man who still has things he wants to accomplish. I had some health problems the beginning of May, and while it took the wind out of my sails physically, mentally I was kind of rallying. I got more contemplative and thoughtful about stuff I want to do. Not even bucket list, big ticket items but just normal everyday goals. Then I came back, and here I am.

If I have any readers left, I thank you for somehow keeping me on your radar. I intend to get back to my Doctor Who rewatch challenge with the continuation of Time Stream. Slice of life, daily living, and just “I feel like writing today” entries will be back too. I’m not going to try to summarize everything that’s happened between November and now, it’s too insane to even contemplate. The American government alone would take me forever to expound upon! No, I’m starting up after the great hiatus and beginning with a blank slate. This is my reboot. Thanks for sticking around.

Time Stream #32 - The Underwater Menace

          I’ll admit from the start that I higher hopes for “The Underwater Menace” than I realistically should have. Maybe it was the newly recovered episode that would make this special. Maybe it was the completionist in me rejoicing at getting the “last” DVD release of the Classic Series (more on that in a bit). Whatever the reason, I was really looking forward to settling down and watching this one. Hmm.

          It’s really not great, friends. We do get something approaching a traditional Troughton performance, and realistically I know it’s only his third story, but it still feels here like Patrick Troughton is forcing a character that he doesn’t feel 100% comfortable in. There are small moments when he simply relaxes into the role and those scenes are more watchable. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. Additionally, since it’s still early in his run, the shtick of “put the Doctor in a weird costume” is still here, and wow does that get on my nerves. As an occasional bit of business, it would be fine. The problem I’m finding, between this story and “The Highlanders”, is that it’s being forced. The situations where the Doctor needs to don a disguise feel contrived and out of place. It really bothers me.

 

          I will say, however, that the underwater effects are rather good. The swimming effects feel a bit more polished than the similar flying effects way back in “The Web Planet”, although the fish people are almost as silly looking. Can you tell I’m kind of grasping here? Let’s do a list!

 1) Professor Zaroff is every bit bats***t crazy as fan lore describes. He is the stereotype of a “Mad Scientist” and just OTT in all of his scenes. 

2) Poor Jamie. He gets to be a companion, and most of his lines are just tacked on, last minute additions. I know that the choice to add Frazer Hines to the regular cast was kind of a spur of the moment decision, but Jamie is not served well by this story.

3) The Second Doctor has been described over the years as “the little fellow” and the like. They mention in this story that he’s 5’9”. I’m only an inch taller than the Second Doctor? I know that I’m average height (as my 6”1’ 15-year old will attest) but I never really thought I would be towards the lower end of the Doctors-as-Height-Chart.

4) The BBC release of this story is, in a word, disappointing. I’m aware that as Doctor Who fans we have been spoiled by really top of the line DVD releases. This is not one of them. It has the feel of a disc that was released strictly for the completionists and to quiet them down. This way *every* available episode has been released with nothing being held back. 

          “The Underwater Menace” fails for me on almost every level I can think of. I didn’t have fun watching it. I didn’t hate it, but I was definitely not engaged with it. I’ve always been a Second Doctor fan, but most of my exposure has been to his later stories. Following on from “The Highlanders” I really thought I’d enjoy this more, but try as I might, I just didn’t. I have higher hopes for the next story as I’ve seen it a bit more recently and I do love me some Mondasians!

OTHER DOCTOR WHO RELATED BITS OF GOODNESS!!

          As most of us know by now, “The Underwater Menace” will NOT be the last Classic Series video release. The BBC will be releasing, both digitally and on disc, depending on where you live, Pat Troughton’s first story, “The Power of the Daleks”! The list of extras looks amazing, there’s going to be a one-night cinema release here in the US (anybody in the Philly/Delaware area want to make a night of it?), plus it was revealed today that there will also be a COLOR version made available as part of the release. It almost makes me forgive the sub-par quality release of “Menace”. Almost.

          Additionally, the weekend of November 11^th-13^th (just 8 short days away as I write this) will see the return of Long Island Who, a Doctor Who convention now in its fourth year. They have great guests this year (as always) including Peter Purves, Anneke Wills, Sophie Aldred, Jemma Redgrave, and THREE Doctors- Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Paul McGann. If anyone reading this is going, please let me know, I would love to meet up! Their website is http://longislanddoctorwho.com/ and I can’t recommend it highly enough. I can’t wait!

          That’s all for now, but after a year of no new Who, it’s good to finally have some news. Which reminds me – what does everyone think of Class? It’s not aired in the US yet so there’s no possible way that anyone here could have seen it, no sir, but I thought I’d ask.

          See you after L.I.Who!!

NEXT EPISODE: The Moonbase

"The Underwater Menace" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at tardis.wikia.com

Time Stream #31 - The Highlanders

          Remember “The Smugglers” a couple of stories ago? How it was serviceable, but ultimately unremarkable? Welcome to its thematic cousin, “The Highlanders.” Patrick Troughton’s second story would end up becoming the last purely historical story (all together now!) until “Black Orchid” with Peter Davison. If the historical stories were to have continued down the path set out by “The Smugglers” and now “The Highlanders” then it’s probably a good idea they were stopped. “The Highlanders” also isn’t a bad story, but it feels like it’s all been done before.

          Let’s start with the elephant in the room – yes this is Frazer Hines’ first story as Jamie McCrimmon. There are some good moments for Jamie, but nothing throughout the story would have made me think “Ah, this is the newest companion!” I know they weren’t sure about adding him and two versions of the end were shot, one with Jamie leaving and one with him staying.  I’m glad he stayed on as Jamie does become one of my favorite companions later on, but his first story doesn’t give him the introduction he deserves.

          Patrick Troughton is still finding his footing as the Doctor. Much has been said of the Doctor’s affinity for disguises in this story, and personally, I’m glad that particular characterization wasn’t continued. It’s fine once in a while, but the Doctor here has at least three distinct disguises that he uses for long stretches of time. His “Doctor von Wer” hangs around for far too long. Troughton also seems to really enjoy the more unpleasant aspects he can hide behind while in disguise. Doctor von Wer has moments of violence and temper that just made me uncomfortable.

          There are no surviving episodes of “The Highlanders” which may also have been part of my difficulty with the story. It doesn’t necessarily work well as a recon – swordfights don’t translate well to audio only. There are some scenes which appear to have been either cut for some reason, or unfilmed from the beginning. The Doctor at one point brings a cache of weapons to help the rebels, but it’s never shown where or how he got them. I may have missed it, but I don’t think I did. It’s just a very obvious gap in the storytelling.

          I’ve had a hard time writing this entry. I watched the story and started writing it up a couple of weeks ago, but nothing about it excited me. The plot was routine, and the characterizations inconsistent. I know that Troughton was still figuring out how to play the Doctor, but I didn’t really care for his experiments in this story. Even Polly, who I tend to like, called Kirsty a “stupid peasant”. I mean, really. I still feel it’s not a bad story, but one that is not served well by only being available in audio. There are going to be a lot of recons during the Troughton era, and I know already that some of them are quite good. I don’t think “The Highlanders” translates well, and I feel that part of the problem is with the story itself. Purely historical stories are being put to rest after this one, and it isn’t hard to see why. I’ll forgive a LOT in a Doctor Who story, but this one doesn’t even seem to try, and that’s where, in the end, it lets me down.

NEXT EPISODE: The Underwater Menace
"The Highlanders" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at tardis.wikia.com