The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Bride Of Sacrifice - The Unwilling Warriors

Doctor Who - The Bride Of Sacrifice (06/06/04)

A Lot happened this week! Barbara stopped Ixta killing Ian by holding a knife at Tlotoxl's throat; Tlotoxl teamed up with Tonila (some learned bloke) to prove Barbara was a false god by poisoning her but Ian had warned her something suss was going on and she demanded Tlotoxl drink first, then smashed the pot and confessed to him that she was mortal - didn't see that coming! Then she threatened to destroy him if he said anything! She's getting very brave and confident, but then she's always been a very strong character.

Susan refused to marry the Perfect Victim and is to be publicly punished at the coming eclipse, and there were some great scenes with the Doctor and Cameca (who is a little besotted with him) where he inadvertently got engaged to her by preparing some coffee. Those scenes were really well written and you could tell that Bill Hartnell and Margot van der Burgh were really enjoying playing them. The Doctor also thinks he's worked out that there's a tunnel from the garden to the tomb and located it. Ian went in to investigate but then Ixta arrived and put the stone back (which Ian moved because the Doctor wasn't strong enough), sealing it and saying that it would fill with water from the mountains, which it promptly started to do.

This hasn't been quite as wonderful as the Marco Polo story so far, but is still very interesting, very well written and is speeding along with its various plots. Anyway, next week should see the eclipse and Barbara's denouncement of Tlotoxl and ritual sacrifice!



Doctor Who - The Day Of Darkness (13/06/04)

That was in turns quite brilliant and very depressing! Tlotoxl won in the end - the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan escaped back to the TARDIS but Tlotoxl got his way, Autloc lost his faith (after Ixta framed Ian for attacking Autloc in the garden) and went off into the wilderness to find his 'truth' (ie- to die), Cameca helped the Doctor free Susan and Ian but was ultimately left behind, and the Aztecs history was left unchanged (of course), doomed to extermination at the hands of the Europeans and the illnesses they brought with them. Autloc and Cameca's stories were particularly dark (an appropriate episode title) but at least the guard captain who Cameca bribed on Autloc's behalf, who was KO'd by Ian after he sent all the other guards away, was executed before he could reveal her part in Susan's escape; which is also just a little brutal. Ian ended up in a fight on top of the temple of Yetaxa with Ixta and won by hurling Ixta to his death. And Tlotoxl got his way by sacrificing the Perfect Victim during the eclipse to appease the gods and bring back the sun.

It really was a brilliant episode and a great story with plenty of intelligent dialogue about history and intervention, mainly wonderfully performed by Hartnell and Jacqueline Hill. The Doctor's final rejection of Cameca was really sad, but clearly for the best in the long run. Their scenes together were all quite charming, though, and it was nice to see a different side to his character. I think so far the Historical stories have been superior to the Science Fiction stories, but it looks like we have the latter next week with 'Strangers In Space'!



Doctor Who - Strangers In Space (20/06/04)

A very odd and unnerving episode this week! The TARDIS has landed inside a spaceship from Earth in the 28th Century. The two crew, Captain Maitland and, er, Carole, first appeared to be dead - creepy enough - but revived and informed the travellers that they'd been put in a death-like sleep by the Sensorites; inhabitants of the nearby Sense Sphere. One managed to sneak on board and steal the locking mechanism to the TARDIS, then while trying to find water and failing to follow Carole's directions, Barbara and Susan went through into another part of the ship where they were trapped and stalked by deranged Mineralogist John (Carole's fiancĂ©) whose mind was attacked and broken by the Sensorites. Luckily, Barbara reminded him of his sister and he broke down rather than attack them. Then some Sensorites flew to the ship and one appeared at the window. It's really freaky-looking with pale skin and slit-like features and an odd backward beard!

The episode may not have been brilliantly scripted in places, and Maitland's strange South African-ish accent took a bit of getting used to, but it was wonderfully atmospheric! By far the scariest and most disturbing episodes with deranged victims of mental attack, characters paralysed by the Sensorites and the reveal of the weird alien at the end. Very tense. Very good. It looks like the Sensorites are psychokinetic or telepathic or something, able to control people's minds (and distract them while stealing the TARDIS lock in the same room, by the look of it). Certainly the best Sci Fi episode so far! Looking forward to next week!



Doctor Who - The Unwilling Warriors (27/06/04)

This story's very well plotted and paced. Turns out Susan, and possibly the Doctor, is telepathic and the Sensorites - freaky-looking aliens - can communicate with her. Looks like they chose her after she and Barbara realised the Sensorites were telepathically communicating with John and trying to persuade him to scare them. It looks like the aliens are essentially non-violent; they're protecting their home planet from exploitation after John discovered Molybdenum deposits and his mind opened up with financial possibilities, so the Sensorites attacked him and sent him mad. A lot of his scenes were really disturbing, as were the scenes of the Sensorites wandering slowly round the ship. It also turns out the Sense-Sphere has been visited by Humans before and they possibly brought illness with them (just like with the Aztecs!) but that has only obliquely been referred to.

The Sensorites and the Doctor have had a long discussion and have chosen to mediate through Susan; she goes with them down to their planet or they kill everyone. A bit of a turn around from demanding the Doctor and the others remain on the Sense Sphere forever, but then that was flatly refused.

This has been really good so far, despite there being one point whilst Ian and Barbara were searching the ship for Sensorites and part of the wall accidentally swung open like a door and then was clearly closed again by a stage hand! Oh well. Otherwise, brilliant stuff!

Comments

  1. It's charming how much you're enjoying The Sensorites... at this point ;) It's a terrible comedown after the heights of The Aztecs. It's not as bad as its reputation would suggest, but it's certainly way too overstretched at six episodes. The opening episode is good but after that...

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    1. I actually really enjoyed it all the way through. I think the design struck a chord with me, and the previous encounter between the Sensorites and Humans was downplayed enough that the twist in Part 6 took me by surprise. There's some obvious padding in the middle, but I certainly enjoyed it more than either of Terry Nation's stories or the Stone Age serial!

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