Category Archives: Victoria Waterfield

Oct8

Deborah Watling and Frazer Hines to Appear at Missing Episodes Reveal

Posted on October 8, 2013 by twistie1

Accordingly to Deborah Watling’s official website both she and Frazer Hines will be helping to launch the newly recovered Doctor Who episodes this Thursday between 3.30 and 7.00 p.m. No details have been provided of the location for the press conference/screening. Watling’s intended appearance might suggest that the rumours concerning the return of The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear may indeed be true.

Watling played the Second Doctor’s companion Victoria Waterfield from the Season 4 finale, The Evil of the Daleks in May 1967 until the penultimate Season 5 story, Fury From the Deep, in April 1968.

Hines was the Doctor’s companion Jamie, a Highland Scot from 1746 Culloden. Hines appeared from Patrick Troughton’s second adventure, The Highlanders in December 1966 until his final story, The War Games, in June 1969. Hines reprised his role of Jamie in the 1983 special The Five Doctors and again in the Season 22 story The Two Doctors. Appearing in 116 episodes of Doctor Who, Hines holds the record for the companion with the most Doctor Who episode appearances.

Deborah Watling as Victoria and Frazer Hines as Jamie in The Abominable Snowmen (1967)

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.

Oct4

Day 50 of 50th Anniversary Countdown – The 10 Most Wanted Missing Episodes

Posted on October 4, 2013 by twistie1

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Today The Doctor Who Mind Robber commences its 50 Day Countdown to Doctor Who’s 50^th Anniversary. Today the author will also conclude the 1960s component of her Ultimate Doctor Who Marathon by viewing the final episodes of Patrick Troughton’s last serial, The War Games. What more appropriate era to concentrate our daily articles on than Sixties Doctor Who?

For the next 50 days we will publish a daily article on a 1960s related topic. Perhaps appropriately, given the ongoing Missing Episodes Hysteria, our first survey will be on the Ten Most Wanted Missing Episodes.

10. THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN

Having just finished reading Terrance Dicks’ novelization of The Abominable Snowmen I’d love to see the five missing episodes returned to the BBC Archives. Episode two has been released on Lost in Time.

The first of Doctor Who’s two Yeti stories, The Abominable Snowmen is set in the Himalayan Buddhist Monastery, Det-Sen in 1935. Together with introducing the Yeti to the world of Who, the story is also the first appearance of the Great Intelligence. Given the Intelligence’s reintroduction as the major protagonist of Series 7 (The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John, and The Name of the Doctor), The Abominable Snowmen has obvious marketing potential to New Series fans.

Together with providing fans with another full adventure with the little seen companion Victoria, The Abominable Snowmen is also significant for including the father and daughter team of Deborah (Victoria) and Jack (Travers) Watling. The story was one of the first to involve extensive location filming and features some splendid Welsh scenery as Snowdonia substituted for Tibet. The Yeti, whilst menacing, are also adorably cute.

Patrick Troughton on the set of The Abominable Snowmen

9. THE FACELESS ONES

Ben and Polly’s farewell serial, The Faceless Ones is one of my personal favourites. Episodes one and three are in the BBC Archives and have been released on the Lost in Time compilation.

Set in modern day London, The Faceless Ones was filmed at Gatwick Airport and features Pauline Collins as the would-be companion, Samantha Briggs. Collins would appear in Doctor Who 39 years later as Queen Victoria in Tooth and Claw. The serial has certain similarities with the Mark Gatiss penned Series 2 serial, The Idiot’s Lantern.

As one of the few “present day” serials of Doctor Who’s monochrome era, The Faceless Ones is a worthy companion to Ben and Polly’s first serial, The War Machines. The pair departs on the same day as their arrival in the aforementioned story, which is unfortunately their only complete serial. The most under-represented of all 1960’s companions in terms of extant episodes, it would be a delight to finally see Ben and Polly’s farewell to the Second Doctor in episode six. As the companions who flawlessly provided the continuity between the First and Second Doctors, Ben and Polly justifiably deserve more screen time.

The four members of the Tardis Crew before they scatter at Gatwick Airport in The Faceless Ones

8. THE MACRA TERROR

Another Patrick Troughton serial with a monster revived in New Series Doctor Who (Gridlock), The Macra Terror is entirely missing from the BBC Archives. Featuring Ben and Polly as the Second Doctor’s companions, The Macra Terror features the monster which put paid to model maker Shawcraft Models’ association with Doctor Who. The few off air clips available are just fabulous. As previously mentioned, there are far too few Ben and Polly episodes so any finds will allow us to fully appreciate their significant contribution to this tumultuous period of Doctor Who’s history.

A publicity shot for The Macra Terror

7. THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN

The 12 part Hartnell era masterpiece, The Daleks’ Master Plan has nine of its episodes missing. Episodes two, five and ten have been released on Lost in Time.

The DMP is resplendent with firsts, including Nicholas Courtney’s premier appearance in Who as secret agent Bret Vyon, the first deaths of companions, and the first return of a humanoid villain, the Monk. The short-lived companion Katarina, played by Adrienne Hill, is killed in episode four, which also sees the death of Bret Vyon at the hands of his sister Sara Kingdom (played by Jean Marsh). Sara Kingdom, who also subsequently becomes a companion, is killed in episode 12.

The DMP is perhaps the least likely of all serials to be recovered. Although sold to Australia it was never broadcast as a consequence of censorship problems. The DMP is in fact the only Doctor Who serial to have never been screened in Australia. Australia is the only country to have purchased all Who serials since the first serial, An Unearthly Child. Australia’s neighbour, New Zealand, has an equally prestigious record of long standing support, having purchased all serials save for the DMP. The ABC has confirmed that it no longer holds the episodes. The serial was sold to no other countries.

Magnificent flame throwing Daleks in The Daleks’ Master Plan

6. THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD

The only non-Monster story in Season 5, The Enemy of the World is one of the most sought after Troughton era serials. Only episode three is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.

Very much in the style of a James Bond movie, The Enemy of the World is unique in that Patrick Troughton plays two roles – the Doctor and also the evil would-be world dictator, Salamander. Featuring Who’s first helicopter and hovercraft scenes, which will become all too familiar during Jon Pertwee’s tenure as the Third Doctor, The Enemy of the World is so unlike the “Base Under Siege” stories as to warrant an exulted position in the archives of Doctor Who.

Patrick Troughton as Salamander in The Enemy of the World

5. THE WEB OF FEAR

The second and final Yeti story, The Web of Fear has only one episode in the BBC Archives. Episode one has been released on Lost in Time.

The Web of Fear is set in the present day London Underground and introduces Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. Quickly promoted to Brigadier, Lethbridge-Stewart went on to have a distinguished career of more than 40 years with Doctor Who and its franchises. Bringing monsters to London foreshadowed the Third Doctor’s earth-bound tenure and Jon Pertwee’s much quoted phrase, “Yeti on the Loo”. It precipitated Doctor Who’s propensity to bring horror and science fiction to the mundane, everyday streetscapes of viewers.

The Doctor first met Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in less than perfect circumstances

4. THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS

The second and final Dalek serial of the Troughton era, only episode two of the seven part serial is held in the BBC Archives. It has been released on the Lost in Time DVD.

Coming in at 18 in the 2009 Doctor Who Magazine Mighty 200 poll, The Evil of the Daleks was the most highly placed Second Doctor story. Set in Victorian England, it introduced the new companion Victoria who, having lost her father to the Daleks, was effectively adopted by the Doctor and Jamie. The story featured the concept of the “human factor” in Daleks, something which would re-emerge in the first Dalek story of 21^st Century Who, Dalek. It also included some lovely scenes in which “baby” Daleks, who had been impregnated with the “human factor”, gleefully played trains with the Doctor.

The Evil of the Daleks was the first Doctor Who serial ever repeated and the first and only repeat to be scripted into serials

3. THE POWER OF THE DALEKS

The Power of the Daleks is Patrick Troughton’s first serial as the Second Doctor. In what could only be described as criminal negligence, none of its six episodes are held in the BBC Archives.

Widely acclaimed as one of the better 1960s Dalek stories, Power of the Daleks introduces a Doctor not only wildly different from his predecessor, but also significantly divergent from Troughton’s later portrayal. This is the first the viewer sees of a Doctor who will rapidly transform during the course of Season Four. The recorder, stove-pipe hat and baggy trousers will soon be a thing of the past. More importantly, however, the Doctor’s personality significantly evolves. The Power of the Daleks is also remarkable for the magnificent Dalek production line, which by luck rather than good management, is still available for our viewing pleasure as a short clip.

The Doctor, Polly and Ben are confronted by Daleks in The Power of the Daleks

2. THE TENTH PLANET – EPISODE 4

Although episodes one, two and three of The Tenth Planet exist in the BBC Archives, episode four has been lost in time. Together with the recently animated lost episode, The Tenth Planet will be finally released on DVD in November 2013.

Often described as the proto-type for the Troughton era “Base Under Siege” stories, The Tenth Planet heralded the introduction of the Cybermen. It is perhaps best remembered, however, as William Hartnell’s final story as the Doctor. It is most unfortunate that of all episodes to be lost, it is the final episode with Doctor Who’s first regeneration that doesn’t grace the shelves of the BBC’s Archives. This loss is compounded by the complete absence of Patrick Troughton’s first serial, The Power of the Daleks, from the Archives as well. Gone also was the opportunity to see the regeneration reprised in the first episode of the next serial. As luck would have it, however, an amateur film taken off-screen during the broadcast of episode four exists and allows fans to witness this historic regeneration, albeit in a rather grainy form.

The Tenth Planet introduces the Cybermen to Doctor Who for the first time. A Cyberman is pictured here with Polly and the Doctor

1. MARCO POLO

Undoubtedly the most highly sought after missing Doctor Who story is Marco Polo. The fourth story of the series’ first season, this historical drama is the earliest missing story. Directed by Waris Hussein, who also directed Doctor Who’s first serial An Unearthly Child, all that remains visually of this story is a collection of beautiful colour photographs taken during the filming. On the basis of these photos alone, Marco Polo appears to have been an exceptionally cinematic production. As the most widely sold Hartnell era serial, it’s nothing short of bizarre that not a single episode has resurfaced.

A thirty minute reconstruction of Marco Polo was released with the three disc box set The Beginning, which also includes An Unearthly Child, The Edge of Destruction and The Daleks.

The Doctor and his companions in Marco Polo

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

1. Fury From the Deep

2. The Savages

3, The Massacre

4. The Myth Makers

5. Mission to the Unknown

6. The Crusade

7. The Smugglers

TOMORROW – DAY 49 – The 10 Least Remembered Monsters of the Sixties

For the latest developments in the Missing Episodes Hysteria please see our articles on recent Mirror and Radio Times articles.

Episode two of The Space Pirates has been released on the triple DVD set Lost in Time

Orphan episodes have been released on the triple DVD set Lost in Time

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.

Sep3

The Ice Warriors

Posted on September 3, 2013 by twistie1

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Whether there’s a relationship between the resurrection of seemingly deceased Doctor Who monsters and the sale of Classic Series DVDs is an issue worth pondering. Released in late August in the UK and Australasia, and mid September in the US, The Ice Warriors DVD emerged four months after an Ice Warrior appeared in the Mark Gatiss penned Cold War after a 39 year absence from Doctor Who. Prior to the episode’s broadcast Steven Moffat stated that a lot of persuasion was needed to convince him that the Ice Warriors should return.

Grand Marshall Skaldak, a 2013 model Ice Warrior

“It was Mark Gatiss’s idea and it was very much his pitch – he’d been pitching the Ice Warriors for a while. I wasn’t tremendously persuaded. I’ll be honest. I thought they were maybe the default condition for what people thought of as rubbish Doctor Who monsters – things that moved very, very slowly and spoke in a way that meant you couldn’t hear a word they said. Mark came up with a couple of very clever ideas, which he pitched to me over the phone in what was meant to be a Sherlock conversation. He had a couple of really stormingly good ideas, and it’s a great episode, an absolute cracker of an episode”.

One is left wondering if perhaps Moffat failed to mention that the marketing department of the BBC was instrumental in the decision to have the Ice Warriors return.

Trailer for the return of the Ice Warriors in 2013’s Cold War.

Are the Ice Warriors the default “rubbish” monsters that Moffat suggests? They were certainly slow and unfortunately restricted by their large fin like feet. In the special feature, Cold Fusion, actor Sonny Caldinez tells several amusing anecdotes about his time as an Ice Warrior and particularly the filming of The Ice Warriors. He had such difficulty chasing Deborah Watling through the ice caves because of his costume’s feet that they had to slow down Watling’s running speed. That the design of the Ice Warrior in Cold War very faithfully reproduced the 1967 model says much for the integrity of the Mark 1 models.

Victoria chased by Turoc (Sonny Caldinez)

One of the “stormingly good ideas” that Gatiss had about the 2013 Ice Warriors was undoubtedly Grand Marshall Skaldak emerging from his armour for the first time. Strangely, the slightly jerky head movements of the original Ice Warriors, a little akin to a person with mild Parkinson’s Disease, is absent from the current model Warriors. Similarly, Nicholas Briggs toned down the hissing of Skaldak’s speech in Cold War. There wasn’t anything much more shocking in The Ice Warriors then when Zondal says that Storr was “ussselesss and uneccesssssary” just before killing him.

The Scot Storr is killed by an Ice Warrior

Interestingly, the 50th Anniversary Special on 23 November features the Zygons in only their second appearance in Doctor Who. Their first and only appearance was with the Fourth Doctor in the 1975 serial Terror of the Zygons, which incidentally will be released on DVD in Australia and New Zealand on 2 October 2013. Is this a coincidence? Who knows.

The Zygons will be returning in the 50th Anniversary special in November

With the Classic Series range of DVD releases quickly coming to an end I’m left wondering if Season 8 will see the return of The Underwater Menace’s Fish People. Rumour has it that the missing two episodes will be animated and the DVD released sometime in 2014. I can only hope that all of Galaxy 4 is recovered so my long held wish for the return of the Chumblies might be granted!

As outlined in my review of the First Doctor’s adventure Planet of Giants, I’ve always had a soft spot for Doctor Who serials with an environmental message. The Ice Warriors is such a story, albeit one where the science is decidedly fiction and not fact. The Doctor, Victoria and Jamie find themselves at Brittanicus Base, one of a number of such bases established to stem the tide of ice glaciers which have been steadily engulfing the earth’s surface. The New Ice Age which the Earth is confronted by is said to have arisen because of deforestation and the consequential loss of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Even a person as ignorant as myself in things scientific is aware that deforestation (and the burning of fossil fuels) is the cause of global warming, not global cooling. During photosynthesis trees convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar molecules and oxygen. Less trees equals more carbon dioxide. I wonder where the writer, Brian Hayles, received his scientific knowledge on this one?

Although the Doctor can operate an artificial food dispenser (with retro telephone dial) he is a little confused about the relationship between plants and carbon dioxide. He is pictured here with Leader Clent.

The obstinate leader of Brittanicus Base, Clent, outlined to the Doctor and his companions how this catastrophic environmental disaster occurred.

“You know how efficient our civilisation is, thanks to the direction of the great World Computer. As you also know how we conquered the problem of world famine a century ago by artificial food. On the land that was once used to grow the food we needed, we built up to date living units, to house the ever-increasing population … So, the amount of growing plants on the planet, was reduced to an absolute minimum. Then suddenly, one year, there was no spring. Even then it wasn’t understood. Not until the ice-caps began to advance”.

During the course of the conversation the Doctor added the comment ,”No plants, no carbon dioxide.” Is it any wonder that when the Doctor met with the Ice Warriors, Zondal stated “You do not look like a scientist”. “Looks aren’t everything, you know” replied the Doctor.

Together with Ice Warriors, glaziers threaten the earth

Although the consequences of deforestation is the exact opposite to what The Ice Warriors claims, i.e. global warming rather than global cooling, the essence of the message is not lost on the audience. Human manipulation of the environment, even if at the behest of a “great World Computer”, has horrendous consequences on the planet and its human occupants. Population growth is also shown to have negative effects. During the 1960s there was much debate about population growth and artificial birth control. Little more than six months after the broadcast of The Ice Warriors Pope Paul VI released his much discussed encyclical letter Humanae Vitae on human reproduction. In reaffirming the Catholic Church’s traditional teachings against contraception, Humanae Vitae contradicted a report of Paul’s own commission, two years previously, which had recommended limited contraceptive use for married couples.

Pope Paul VI

The Ice Warriors shares the anti-computer rhetoric of The War Machines. Leader Clent and Senior Control Technician Miss Garrett have an unwavering confidence in the great World Computer’s ability to answer all questions logically and in society’s best interests. As would be expected in 1967, the computer is futuristic and answers questions verbally. It’s very difficult to understand, particularly in episode one where the soundtrack is very muddy. The disaffected scientist Penley shares the Doctor’s distain for them. “I refused to be sucked into that computerised ant-heap you call a civilisation. I’m a man, not a machine”, Penley says to Miss Gifford. When speaking to the Doctor, Penley delivered a further sentence of superior anti-computer verbosity when he stated “You don’t expect me to face Clent alone. That mouth piece of the computer? He’s got a printed circuit where his heart should be”. It’s all very beautifully written and elucidates the same fear of computerization that I outlined in my The War Machines review.

Clent and Miss Gifford with the futurist great World Computer. The Brittanicus Base crew had the most fabulous close fitting outfits

The computer is revered almost as God like in its decisions. “Our trust is in the great computer. With its aid, we cannot fail”, Gifford stated. As the story proceeds, however, it is evident that this deification is undeserved. When Clent reserves the right to consult the computer on whether they should use the ioniser when the alien spacecraft is powered by an iron reactor, the computer spins and gibbers. Jamie cried, “It’s as though it’s gone mad”. The final decision is left to the human Penley, who not surprisingly chose the best option.

In a rather clever premonition of Little Britain’s Carol, Clent says “The computer says no!”. Little Britain – The Computer says no.

The Ice Warriors succeeds because of its superior cast, magnificent set design and absolutely fabulous outfits. Peter Barkworth as Leader Clent is outstanding as he shuffles around the base with his walking stick. Barkworth would later go on to win two BAFTA awards for best TV actor. Peter Sallis generously plays the scientist Penley and is perhaps most famous for his 37 years spent as Last of the Summer Wine’s Norman Clegg. Most surprising of all is Bernard Bresslaw as the Ice Warrior Varga. Bresslaw was a comedy actor best known for his roles in the Carry On movies. At 6′ 7″ tall Bresslaw provided the towering height needed for the Ice Warriors and is credited for creating their movements and hissing speech.

Bernard Bresslaw played the head Ice Warrior, Varga

The Ice Warriors was originally broadcast in the UK between 11 November and 16 December 1967

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.

REFERENCE:

Fraser McAlpine, “Steven Moffat On Zygons, Ice Warriors And A Trip Into The Tardis”, 21 February 2013, BBC America, http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/02/steven-moffat-on-zygons-ice-warriors-and-trip-int-the-tardis/. Retrieved on 3 September 2013.

Aug31

Fury From the Deep – Loose Cannon Reconstructions

Posted on August 31, 2013 by twistie1

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Fury From the Deep is the last Doctor Who story with all of its episodes missing. Only three serials subsequent to this one, The Wheel in Space, The Space Pirates and The Invasion have missing episodes, although the two missing parts of The Invasion have been brilliantly animated by Cosgrove Hall. I’m now on the home run! For the purposes of this marathon I viewed Loose Cannon’s superb reconstructions, links for which appear below.

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 1 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 1 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 2 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 2 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 3 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 3 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 4 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 4 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 5 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 5 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 6 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s Fury From the Deep, Episode 6 Part 2

Aug31

Fury From the Deep

Posted on August 31, 2013 by twistie1

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Commentators have frequently, and with due cause, taken umbrage at the portrayal of women, particularly companions, in Doctor Who. Renown for her lung capacity as much as her acting ability, Deborah Watling’s characterization of the Victorian era companion, Victoria, has been the subject of more than its fair share of criticism. Akin to some feminist Biblical commentators who trawl to Bible to inspire fresh pro-women interpretations, so Victoria’s well known and frequently decried propensity to scream is being re-interpreted and hailed by me as a new foundation for women in Doctor Who. “How can it be so?” you may ask as your casually scratch your heads. Well, precisely because in The Fury From the Deep, her last serial, Victoria’s screams are transformed into perhaps the most lethal weapon that the Doctor has ever used against ravaging monsters.

Fury from the Deep is Deborah Watling’s last serial as Victoria.

Whereas the kindly Sensorites were repelled by bright light, in The Fury From the Deep high pitched noise is the seaweeds’ weakness. Victoria’s scream was the anecdote needed to cure the residents of the base of their infestation of seaweed. Having realized the link between noise and the retreat of the seaweed, the Doctor records Victoria’s screams on a tape recorder and then broadcasts them down the gas rig’s pipe system. Amplified to a frightening level, the distorted din of Victoria’s screeches caused the weed’s rapid retreat. Victory was achieved not by brawn or muscle, but merely by the harnessing of fear.

Seaweed and foam was the source of Victoria's terror in Fury From the Deep

Seaweed and foam were the source of Victoria’s terror in Fury From the Deep

Whilst a desire to depart from the TARDIS was verbalized from time to time by Ian and Barbara, Victoria is the only companion since the teachers to repeatedly express frustration at life in the TARDIS. Admittedly Steven barged out of the TARDIS in anger at the Doctor’s egocentrism at the end of The Massacre, although he was decidedly quick to return. Commencing in the third episode of The Fury From the Deep, Victoria displays a real sense of unease with the near constant battles that the TARDIS crew are confronted by. Counselled by Jamie, who is clearly distressed at the thought of her leaving, Victoria’s anxiety deepens as the serial progresses. At one point she says to Jamie “Why can’t we go somewhere pleasant? Where there’s no fighting, just peace and happiness?” When Victoria asked the Doctor why they always land in trouble his response was less than satisfactory. “Well, Victoria, it’s the spice of life, my dear”, the Doctor responded. Danger was not a spice that Victoria cared to have added to her dish of life.

Jamie counsels Victoria not to leave

One wonders how an oil installation in the middle of the sea, with a couple whom she’d met only days before, could be preferable to the security which the Doctor and Jamie provided Victoria. Unfortunately Victoria had never been afforded the opportunity to properly grieve the death of her father at the hands of the Daleks. She clearly missed her father, as evidenced by her tender conversation with the Doctor in The Tomb of the Cybermen. If Victoria’s tenure was written today then I wouldn’t be surprised if an examination of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder would surface. Victoria’s adventures with the Doctor would have greatly exacerbated her PTSD symptoms which may well have included reliving her father’s death, amongst other things. Her departure, when considered in the light of her encounter with the Daleks, is a great deal more understandable.

Whoever could imagine that the Laurel and Hardy of gas repairmen, Oak and Quill, could be so menacing

Whoever could have imagined that the Laurel and Hardy of gas repairmen, Oak and Quill, could be so menacing

After the hasty retreats of Vicki, Dodo and Steven it was a relief to see a companion departure that was not rushed and actually pre-empted three episodes before she left. As you may well recall, Vicki stayed in Troy with Troilus, whom she had met but a day or two beforehand (The Myth Makers); Dodo disappeared to the country for recuperation midway through The War Machines; and Steven elected to remain behind to facilitate peace between the Elders and Savages in The Savages.

Dodo and Steven both made hasty exits from Doctor Who

The Fury From the Deep heralds the Doctor’s first use of his now ubiquitous, get out of gaol free card, the sonic screwdriver. Confronted by a black metal box fastened to a pipe on the beach in episode one, the Doctor waves his magic wand and miraculously the screws unwind themselves. The Doctor had obviously never used the sonic screwdriver in Jamie’s presence before because the kilted lad innocently asks what it is. It “never fails”, the Doctor says of the tool which works on “sound waves”. I wonder if the writer, Victor Pemberton, still receives financial compensation every time it’s used?

The sonic screwdriver makes its debut in this story. The Second Doctor’s sonic was a basic model and looked surprisingly like a pen torch.

The sonic screwdriver is not without its critics. John Nathan-Turner, the producer of Doctor Who from 1980 to 1989, is frequently quoted as having said that “When the writers rely on it to get out of every tight situation, there’s no suspense, no variety, no drama”. The sonic screwdriver was destroyed in the Season 19 episode The Visitation (1982) and would not be seen again in Classic Series Who. That the Fifth Doctor did not use a sonic screwdriver was remarked upon in Time Crash, the mini episode featuring the Fifth and Tenth Doctors in 2007. The Tenth Doctor jokes to the Fifth Doctor that he “liked to go hand free, didn’t you, like hey, I’m the Doctor. I can save the universe using a kettle and some string. And look at me, I’m wearing a vegetable”.

The Fifth and Tenth Doctors meet in Time Crash (2007)

Mr Quill and Mr Oak, the menacing gas service men, are brilliant in The Fury From the Deep. Thanks to the ever vigilant Australian Censorship Board, Quill and Oak have the distinction of sharing the longest cut scene in the unfortunate history of missing episodes. Clocking in at 56 seconds, the viewer is treated to their entry into Mrs Harris’s bedroom as she is brushing her hair at a dressing table. Having tricked their way into her home by pretending to be servicing the stove, Oak and Quill open their mouths and omit a toxic gas which renders Mrs Harris unconscious. To achieve the effect of blackened mouths the actors John Gill (Oak) and Bill Burridge (Quill) ate charcoal biscuits before the scene. I doubt that they would have been keen to do that again! The silent menacing of Oak and Quill is perhaps one of Doctor Who’s finest examples of using the ordinary to produce terror. So too is Mrs Harris’s walk into the sea in which she is seemingly committing suicide. The “Yeti on the loo” effect is at its best in this serial. Even things as innocuous as seaweed, foam and gas workers are the source of nightmares.

Watch the Oak and Quill clip from 0:36 onwards. I love the note that accompanies that clip – “Don’t watch if in Australia”!

When the TARDIS landed in the sea before a white cliffed beach the Doctor was certain that the crew had landed in England. Jamie responded with suspicion, “Aye, it’s always England. I think by the hammering the TARDIS has got, you’ve gone and spiked it”. As a Scot, the TARDIS’s propensity to constantly land in England probably annoyed Jamie immensely. It would not surprise me, however, if the writer Victor Pemberton was having a dig at the stereotypes that had built up around the programme. Together with Victoria’s screams, it’s refreshing that the programme could laugh at itself. Laughing at Doctor Who may well be warranted when we view the next serial, Season Five’s last offering, The Wheel in Space. Please join me as I continue my journey through Doctor Who.

Fury from the Deep was originally broadcast in the UK between 16 March and 20 April 1968. It is the last Doctor Who serial with all its episodes missing from the BBC Archives.

Vivien Fleming

©Vivien Fleming, 2013.

Aug28

Fury From the Deep – The Making of Fury From the Deep

Posted on August 28, 2013 by twistie1

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The next serial in my marathon is the penultimate for Season Five, Fury From the Deep. I’d rather like, however, to view the long awaited Ice Warriors before it. I’m hoping that The Ice Warriors DVD, which is released today, will materialize in my letterbox sometime this afternoon. It was supposedly posted from Melbourne on Monday, so here’s hoping that Australia Post adheres to its estimated delivery schedules!

Killing time in the interim, I’ve viewed Richard Bignell’s fascinating 1999 amateur documentary, The Making of Fury From the Deep. Running for 50 minutes, the documentary is resplendent with cast and crew interviews and interesting anecdotes from the filming. It comes highly recommended and can be viewed at the YouTube link below. Enjoy!

Richard Bignell’s The Making of Fury From the Deep.

Vivien Fleming

Aug27

The Web of Fear – Loose Cannon Reconstructions

Posted on August 27, 2013 by twistie1

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Only episode one of The Web of Fear is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. For the purposes of this marathon I viewed Loose Cannon’s reconstructions of episodes two through to six, links to which are provided below.

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 2 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 2 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 3 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 3 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 4 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 4 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 5 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 5 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 6 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Web of Fear, Episode 6 Part 2

Episode 1 of The Web of Fear is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. The Web of Fear was originally broadcast in the UK between 3 February and 9 March 1968.

Aug27

The Web of Fear

Posted on August 27, 2013 by twistie1

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Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart began his television career in Doctor Who as a Colonel in The Web of Fear and ended it, more than 40 years later, with a knighthood in the Sarah Jane Adventures serial Enemy of the Bane. In the interim the Brigadier, as he was most frequently and affectionately known, appeared in 103 TV episodes of Classic Series Doctor Who¸ the 1993 30th Anniversary Special Dimensions in Time, and two episodes of the Sarah Jane Adventures (2008). The character’s death was acknowledged in the Series 6 episode The Wedding of River Song (2011). The Brigadier also appeared as a character in countless audio dramas, books, cartoons and short stories right up until the actor Nicholas Courtney’s death in February 2011.

The Doctor first met Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart in less than perfect circumstances in The Web of Fear (1968)

Lethbridge-Stewart appeared alongside the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh Doctors in serials and with the Sixth Doctor in Dimensions in Time. Nicholas Courtney, however, had the distinction of also appearing as Bret Vyon in the first four episodes of the First Doctor’s serial, The Daleks’ Master Plan. Interestingly, Courtney’s first and last appearances in Classic Series Doctor Who were alongside fellow actor Jean Marsh. Marsh had played Courtney’s sister, Sara Kingdom, in The Daleks’ Master Plan and was Morgaine in 1989’s Battlefield. To tangle the interweaving web of Doctor Who even further, Marsh had been married to Jon Pertwee, the Third Doctor, between 1955 and 1960.

Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the Sarah Jane Adventures serial, Enemy of the Bane (2008)

Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was the longest running recurring human character in Doctor Who by a country mile. The only villainous characters of greater longevity have been the Daleks, who first appeared in 1963, the Cybermen (1966), The Ice Warriors (1967) and quite ironically for the purposes of this review, the Great Intelligence (1967). And to think that contract to appear as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart was only four weeks long!

The Eleventh Doctor learns of the Brigadier’s death in The Wedding of River Song

Aside from the creation of the iconic Lethbridge-Stewart, one would be hard pressed to find another Doctor Who story that had such a long term influence on the series than The Web of Fear. As a classic example of the “base under siege” genre, it was the first to be set in present day London. Transferring the previously Himalayan bound Yeti to the London Underground provided both a contemporary and identifiable point of reference for viewers. The sense of terror was greatly amplified when monsters were lurking in the tunnels and tube stations that most viewers knew so well. Incidentally, one of the actors in the Yeti suits was none other than John Levene, who would go on to portray another long time recurring character, UNIT’s Sergeant Benton.

Yeti in the tunnels of the London Underground

The Second Doctor’s co-operation with the military in The Web of Fear would resurface in Season Six’s The Invasion, in which both Lethbridge-Stewart and Benton were members of the newly established United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT). The Invasion was the template for the Third Doctor’s earthbound exile in Seasons Seven and beyond. But more about that when I review The Invasion.

Jack Watling reprised his role of (an aged) Travers in The Web of Fear

The appearance of the Yeti in The Abominable Snowmen, and its sequel, The Web of Fear, propelled them to iconic status. As a consequence of the writers, Henry Lincoln and Mervyn Haisman’s, falling out with the Doctor Who production team the Yeti would only appear again briefly in the 1983 Twentieth Anniversary Special, The Five Doctors. The Yeti’s short screen time had little effect on the creatures’ iconic status. Although never appearing alongside the Yeti on screen, Jon Pertwee is fondly remembered for his oft quoted phrase, “Yeti on the loo in Tooting Bec”. What Pertwee was referring to was the direction that Doctor Who had taken during the Third Doctor’s earthbound tenure. The Doctor was confronting the monsters, not on an alien planet, but in the viewers’ own backyards, or toilets, or under their city …. Akin to the expression, “Behind the Sofa”, “Yeti on the loo” quickly entered the Who vocabulary.

Reading a paper in the loo is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. But did the Third Doctor anticipate meeting a Yeti in the loo?

This “Yeti on the loo” in-joke was most probably lost on a great many New Series viewers to part three of Pond Life, the prelude mini-adventures to Series Seven. The pun was much more than just the play on words of “Ood” and “loo”, and was most certainly a shout-out to Classic Series Who. Give a thought to the late Jon Pertwee as you watch Rory and Amy’s startled responses to the Ood in their bathroom.

Rory and Amy are confronted by an unexpected guest in Part 3 of Pond Life.

Before we leave the Yeti, The Web of Fear was the last serial to feature the sublime composition by British Composer, Martin Slavin, entitled Space Adventure. Ordinarily the Cybermen’s theme, it provided a superb backdrop for their first three stories, The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase and The Tomb of the Cybermen. In its last appearance in Who this composition accompanied the Yeti in Covent Garden.

Victoria, Jamie and the Doctor contemplate their options

The Web of Fear is not without its failings. There is an unfortunate negative Jewish stereotype in episode one in the form of Julius Silverstein, a wealthy artefact collector and business person who runs his own museum. Having acquired a deactivated Yeti from Edward Travers, he refused to return it after being advised that the Yeti’s control sphere had been reactivated and disappeared. The consequence of this belligerence was Silverstein’s own death at the hands of the reactivated Yeti. When Terrance Dicks novelized the serial as Doctor Who and the Web of Fear in 1976 the character’s name was changed to Emil Julius in an attempt to avoid the negative stereotype.

The unfortunate artefact owner, Julius Silverstein shortly before his death at the hands of a Yeti

As equally offensive, but rarely mentioned, example of racism is the characterization of Driver Evans, a Welsh officer of the British Army and a member of Lethbridge-Stewart’s team. Evans is portrayed as unintelligent and cowardly, and he clearly wants to dessert from the Army. Had there been more than one Welsh Army officer in the serial then this Cymrophobia (anti-Welsh sentiment) could have been averted by presenting the other character(s) as courageous. Evidently Terrance Dicks was also concerned by this Cymrophobia and had Lethbridge-Stewart state that ordinarily the Welsh are good soldiers.

The character of Driver Evans was evidence of Doctor Who’s Cymrophobia.

The unfortunate stereotyping of the age aside, The Web of Fear is a tremendously suspenseful serial beautifully directed by Douglas Camfield. High up on many Who fans lists of “most wanted” missing serials, The Web of Fear’s influence on the future of Doctor Who could never have been imagined when its episodes were junked. Only episode one remains in the BBC Archives, which is one more than the next serial in my marathon, Fury From the Deep. Join me for my next review as I examine how Australian film censorship has given us a tantalizing glimpse of this long lost story.

A body at the entrance of the deserted Tube Station

Episode 1 of The Web of Fear is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. The Web of Fear was originally broadcast in the UK between 3 February and 9 March 1968.

Vivien Fleming

Aug24

The Enemy of the World – Loose Cannon Reconstructions

Posted on August 24, 2013 by twistie1

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Only episode three of The Enemy of the World is held in the BBC Archives. It has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. For the purposes of this marathon I viewed Loose Cannon’s masterful reconstructions of the remaining five episodes, links to which appear below.

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 1 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 1 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 2 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 2 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 4 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 4 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 5 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 5 Part 2

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 6 Part 1

Loose Cannon’s The Enemy of the World, Episode 6 Part 2

Episode 3 of The Enemy of the World is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. It was originally broadcast in the UK between 23 December 1967 and 27 January 1968.

Aug24

The Enemy of the World

Posted on August 24, 2013 by twistie1

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Appearing exactly half way through Patrick Troughton’s tenure as the Second Doctor, The Enemy of the World is an oft forgotten gem hidden amidst the monster laden fare of Season Five. With only one of its six episodes held in the BBC Archives, The Enemy of the World is frequently overlooked because the single episode released on Lost in Time is so dissimilar to the other five. When I first watched episode three of Enemy I was knocked out by Reg Lye’s characterization of Griffin the chef. The forthright Australian with the phenomenal panache for black humour explodes from the screen with an eccentric disposition that, despite its quirks, is readily identifiable with. That being said, exactly what it meant and why it was included left me totally confused. Upon re-watching the episode during a viewing of Loose Cannon’s reconstructions, it quickly made sense. Griffin is the audience’s identification in a tale of multi-cultural, worldwide intrigue.

Reg Lye was phenomenal as the chef, Griffin

The Enemy of the World is Doctor Who’s first foray into James Bond action style conspiracies for world domination. As Barry Letts’ debut to the series as director, it foreshadows a style which will become quite familiar during Jon Pertwee’s tenure as the Third Doctor. With Letts as Who’s producer, action scenes such as those in the first half of episode one of Enemy of the World will become a great deal more common. The hovercraft and helicopter scenes in Enemy are but a prelude to the chase extravaganzas of 1970’s serials such as episode two of Planet of the Spiders. It’s such a shame that all we have left to gauge the success of these Enemy scenes are telesnaps and the audio.

One of the many chase scenes from the Third Doctor’s final serial, Planet of the Spiders

What differentiates The Enemy of the World most from the other Season Five serials is that the only monster is a human. Patrick Troughton was afforded the opportunity to play two characters in the serial with the second being perhaps the most sinister of all Who villains, the dictator Salamander. A Mexican national, Salamander is perceived as a hero to a world confronted by the ravages of war and world famine. He invented the Suncatcher Mk VII, a device which collects and stores concentrated sun-rays. In a film clip showed to the Doctor by Giles Kent, an Australian whom the audience initially believes to be a principled opponent of Salamander, the impression Victoria receives is that the Mexican is indeed a generous public benefactor. Speaking of the successes of the Sun Conservation establishment at Kanowa, in the Australasian zone, Salamander states that his Sun Catcher has allowed the sun’s rays to be shone upon those areas most needing them. Wheat is growing on the Canadian plains and the Ukraine is the grain field of the planet. Corn is ripening on the Dnieper River where 10,000 robot harvesters are gathering fifty million tons of flour. The impression given is that Salamander is the world’s saviour from starvation.

Salamander is not the virtuous philanthropist that he claims to be. He is pictured here with Jamie

The philanthropic ventures of Salamander are, however, a veil behind which he hides his plans for world-domination. Unbeknownst to all but Giles, Salamander has kept a group of English scientists captive underground for five years. The scientists are under the mistaken belief that a nuclear holocaust has devastated the planet and that it is not yet safe to venture outside. Believing Salamander’s claims that the war is still ongoing, the scientists, by means unknown to the viewers, are creating a series of natural disasters with the intention of thwarting the “enemy”. These supposedly natural disasters, such as a volcano in Hungary, are in effect part of Salamander’s plan to wrest control of all of earth’s regions.

I have to admit that my immediate thought on learning about Salamander’s enslavement of the scientist was the 1993 Australian movie, Bad Boy Bubby. In that film a man is kept captive in a putrid flat by his incestuous mother for 35 years. She claims that the air outside is poisonous and whenever she leaves to collect supplies she dons a gas mask. I wonder if Bad Boy Bubby’s writer, Rolf de Heer, was watching Doctor Who in May 1968?

The 1993 Australian movie Bad Boy Bubby

The exact environmental message that the writer, David Whitaker, is intending to make is a little difficult to discern. Whilst concentrated solar power is perhaps seen as a favourable development, human intervention has devastating effects on the environment. Perhaps an analogy is being made between the deliberate human destruction wrought by the enslaved scientists, and the deterioration suffered by the environment from everyday human activity.

What’s less difficult to ascertain is the anti-corporate and anti-big government messages that Whitaker peddles in The Enemy of the World. In the 21st Century we are used to large scale corporations controlling large segments of the economy. A cursory perusal of the Forbes listing of the World’s Biggest Companies exhibits that six of the top 10 provide banking and financial services, three have oil and gas holdings and one is a conglomerate. Industry was much more local and small-scale in the 1960s, however the consequences of allowing the accumulation of much power into the hands of few was nonetheless appreciated by some.

Salamander with the short-lived Fedorin

Similarly, The Enemy of the World evidences a concern for the consequences of big government. In the serial the world is divided into a small number of zones which presumably contain previously independent countries. Zones named in the serial include the Central European, African and Australasian. Travel between zones is undertaken by rockets, with the journey between the Australasian and Central European zones taking only two hours. Transport costs are presumably reasonable and certainly within the means of government and corporation officials. Even without the internet, the world of the near future is much smaller. The dismantling of small nation states has made the possibility of multiple zones being controlled by one person or organization frightfully real. In the decades following the Second World War and Hitler’s conquest for European domination, such fears were well founded.

Australian actor Bill Kerr played Giles Kent

Imagine for a moment, if you will, that The Enemy of the World was set in our current era. Substitute Bill Gates for Salamander and you may begin to understand the concerns raised. Having established one of the world’s largest corporations, Microsoft, which is currently number 41 in the Forbes listing, Gates is revered by many for his generous philanthropic works. Just imagine that there were some who believed that Gates had an ulterior motive, viz, to take control of the governments of the world. I’m not suggesting that Gates’ philanthropy is anything but wholly virtuous, however the scenario should be sufficient to contextualize Salamander’s motives within a 21st Century schema.

Mary Peach, a contender as Diana Rigg’s replacement in The Avengers, played Astrid

That the serial is set in the near future is only a presumption because nowhere in the script is it specifically stated. As Wood and Miles point out in About Time 2, this question could be easily resolved if episode five was recovered. A close up telesnap of a newspaper shows a masthead, however the photo is not clear enough to enable the date to be read. Given that the recovery of The Enemy of the World is mooted in the current missing episodes rumours, it’s somewhat possible that this question may be answered in the future.

Special Feature – Enemy of the World – Lost Serial

When Salamander was ultimately defeated at the serial’s end by the TARDIS, of all things, I was left somewhat concerned by the Doctor’s inaction. In the fifth Series episode, The Time of Angels, the Doctor saves River Song who, like Salamander (and Katarina before him), was swept out into the vortex. Clearly the Doctor is able to navigate the TARDIS with such precision as to be able to collect persons left floating around in space. Whilst acknowledging that David Whitaker was not Steven Moffat, and the whole concept of the TARDIS as a mid-space rescue vessel had not been dreamed up in 1967, it’s nonetheless disturbing that the Doctor’s stated aim of Salamander facing judicial justice was allowed to dissipate with the blast of air out of the TARDIS.

The Eleventh Doctor saves River Song in The Time of Angels.

May I conclude with a short discussion on casting. The Enemy of the World has the distinction of being the first Doctor Who serial to feature a black female in a speaking part. Carmen Munroe played the role of Fariah, Salamander’s official food taster, a position that reminded me of the First Doctor’s The Romans in which poisoning was perhaps the most common means of homicide. Fariah is one of many well rounded characters which also includes Giles Kent, which was played brilliantly by Australian Bill Kerr, Donald Bruce (Colin Douglas) and Benik, Salamander’s assistant (Milton Johns). Enemy was the first of three appearances by Johns in Doctor Who. Mary Peach, who played the Bond type girl, Astrid, was at the time of filming in the running to be Diana Rigg’s replacement in The Avengers. Finally, I would be remiss to forget Patrick Troughton in his role of the Doctor’s doppelgänger, Salamander.

Carmen Munroe as Salamander’s official food taster, Fariah

Episode 3 of The Enemy of the World is held in the BBC Archives and has been released on the triple DVD set, Lost in Time. It was originally broadcast in the UK between 23 December 1967 and 27 January 1968.

Vivien Fleming

REFERENCE:

Tat Wood & Lawrence Miles, About Time. The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who 1966-1969 Seasons 4 to 6 Volume 2. Mad Norweigan Press: Illinois, 2010.