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jeriendhalReal quick ones today.
Doctor Who, The Three Doctors
Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton fight Omega, the Timelord who tamed a black hole to give the Time Lords the power they needed for their TARDIS machines. Along the way they're aided by the first Doctor, portrayed once again by a sadly debilitated William Hartnell (who's character is trapped in a time rift, basically to allow the actor to sit down and read his lines off a cue card.) and a rather bitchy Brigadere.
This is a middling episode. Made for the show's 10th anneversary, it might have been better if the producers had just given up on having William Hartnell appear, who at the time was suffering from severe osteoporosis, making it impossible for him to walk or maintain enough concentration to memorize his lines. As it stands, his appearance is more of a cameo and it's painful to watch, though reportedly the chance to act again, whoever briefly, invigorated him, according to his wife. Well that and we get to hear one of the classic Doctor vs. Doctor putdowns, "So these are my replacements. A dandy and clown!"
On the other hand, we're presented with Omega, who became one of the iconic figures of the show's history. Face covered with a sort of Grecian theater mask, the actor is appropriately tragic, having become bitter and megalomanic during his years trapped in a black hole, abandoned by his fellow Time Lords.
Gripping Hand, we've also got the Brig, who frankly comes across as flat out stupid, trying assault Omega's fortress with just himself and a gardener with a shotgun and acting like a complete bonehead when suddenly confronted with the Doctor's previous incarnation.
Conclusion: Not quite the nostalgic pantomime of The Five Doctors, but not a superior episode by any means.
Doctor Who, The Carnival of Monsters
The Third Doctor and Jo find themselves stuck in the sci-fi version of an ant farm, trapped between gigantic worm monsters and the inhabitants of a lost steamer who believe themselves sailing ot Bombay, even as they repeat the same day over and over.
This episode is interesting in that there isn't an actual villain in the piece. The Miniscope is a forbidden piece of technology that the Doctor helped ban long ago, but the people who own it aren't aren't actually evil, just a bit self centered. Okay, there's one guy who wants to let the monsters loose in a city gain power, but his plot is pretty weak and he gets eaten in the end anyway. The serial is designed to be a puzzle piece and actually is a bit heavier than usual on the comedy, with very bureaucratic aliens bumping up against carny performers trying to fleece them for a few credit bars. It's an odd duck compared to the usual "The Doctor fights yet another set of monsters led by a megalomaniac" but that makes it very welcome to viewers who've seen the same plot over and over.
Doctor Who, The Three Doctors
Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton fight Omega, the Timelord who tamed a black hole to give the Time Lords the power they needed for their TARDIS machines. Along the way they're aided by the first Doctor, portrayed once again by a sadly debilitated William Hartnell (who's character is trapped in a time rift, basically to allow the actor to sit down and read his lines off a cue card.) and a rather bitchy Brigadere.
This is a middling episode. Made for the show's 10th anneversary, it might have been better if the producers had just given up on having William Hartnell appear, who at the time was suffering from severe osteoporosis, making it impossible for him to walk or maintain enough concentration to memorize his lines. As it stands, his appearance is more of a cameo and it's painful to watch, though reportedly the chance to act again, whoever briefly, invigorated him, according to his wife. Well that and we get to hear one of the classic Doctor vs. Doctor putdowns, "So these are my replacements. A dandy and clown!"
On the other hand, we're presented with Omega, who became one of the iconic figures of the show's history. Face covered with a sort of Grecian theater mask, the actor is appropriately tragic, having become bitter and megalomanic during his years trapped in a black hole, abandoned by his fellow Time Lords.
Gripping Hand, we've also got the Brig, who frankly comes across as flat out stupid, trying assault Omega's fortress with just himself and a gardener with a shotgun and acting like a complete bonehead when suddenly confronted with the Doctor's previous incarnation.
Conclusion: Not quite the nostalgic pantomime of The Five Doctors, but not a superior episode by any means.
Doctor Who, The Carnival of Monsters
The Third Doctor and Jo find themselves stuck in the sci-fi version of an ant farm, trapped between gigantic worm monsters and the inhabitants of a lost steamer who believe themselves sailing ot Bombay, even as they repeat the same day over and over.
This episode is interesting in that there isn't an actual villain in the piece. The Miniscope is a forbidden piece of technology that the Doctor helped ban long ago, but the people who own it aren't aren't actually evil, just a bit self centered. Okay, there's one guy who wants to let the monsters loose in a city gain power, but his plot is pretty weak and he gets eaten in the end anyway. The serial is designed to be a puzzle piece and actually is a bit heavier than usual on the comedy, with very bureaucratic aliens bumping up against carny performers trying to fleece them for a few credit bars. It's an odd duck compared to the usual "The Doctor fights yet another set of monsters led by a megalomaniac" but that makes it very welcome to viewers who've seen the same plot over and over.
