The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: Sentence Of Death - The Warriors Of Death
Doctor Who - Sentence Of Death (09/05/04)
Better this week, although it got off to a rocky start. Having visited Renaissance Italy, a jungle and Siberia, we're now in the USA (or the Marinus equivalent) - a place with stupid laws and terrible hats. It seems Altos' mate Eprin got himself a job as a security guard at the vault where the leaders of the city of Millennius were keeping the last key for Arbitan. Eprin had arranged with the Doctor to steal the key (rather than just say "I'm here to collect the key on Arbitan's behalf. Can I have it please?") but acted early and was killed by the relief guard who is in league with another Guardian, Eyesen, who wanted to steal the key for themselves. Ian found the body, but Aydan (the relief guard) knocked him out, made it look like Ian had killed Eprin and claimed to have been first on the scene having hidden the key. There was a charming scene where the Doctor worked all this out, but as Ian is guilty until proven innocent in Millennius the Doctor needs to get the evidence. Having had the attempted rape last week, we had domestic violence this week when Aydan hit his (probably complicit) wife for telling him he shouldn't have lost his temper and gone to hit Susan for questioning him. The Doctor then implicated Aydan by having Sabetha lie in court, using one of the other keys to prove that Aydan had given it to her. He confessed and said that 'they' had made him do it, then someone (probably Eyesen) shot him dead.
So Ian is still implicated and is going to be executed for murder. And now Susan has been kidnapped and is going to be killed because the real killer/thief thinks she knows where the key is. It's still not great, but a damn sight more exciting. It's great having the Doctor back after two very bad weeks. He's taken control and, okay, so he got Aydan murdered by lying in court, but the Millennial laws are ridiculous anyway! And the key wasn't found before the end of the episode so we have more intrigue next week. A definite improvement!
Doctor Who - The Keys Of Marinus (16/05/04)
A further improvement, but overall this series of adventures on Marinus has been much weaker than anything else. The quest was a good idea, but it was incredibly shoddily written, often making little sense, frequently feeling and looking like it was taking place on Earth (it may as well have been set there, just a few years in the future!) and saw the regulars written differently from episode to episode simply to fit the narrative.
However, this week Barbara saved Susan by visiting Aydan's wife, Kala, to see if she knew who Aydan had had contact with and picking up that Kala must have been involved as she knew that Barbara had spoken to Susan when nobody else had been told - turns out she killed her husband and was in league with Eyesen, who the Doctor helped catch because he'd figured out that the key was hidden inside the hollow mace that killed Eprin. With Ian cleared they all headed back to the island where Ian, not fooled by Yartek's rubbish Arbitan impression, gave him the fake key from the jungle. Yartek (leader of the Voord and therefore apparently over 1500 years old if Arbitan's history of Marinus is to be believed) seems to have reprogrammed The Conscience to obey his will, or at least undone the work Arbitan had done to over-ride the Voord's immunity to its control. He'd taken the other keys of Sabetha, but when he added the fake The Conscience exploded and killed him while the Doctor's party escaped.
So what the hell has the last six weeks all been for? The Doctor pointed out that relying on machines to enforce laws is a bit stupid, but in the end they destroyed the very thing they've been collecting the bits for! What a waste of time! Oh, well. Never mind. A new adventure starts next week.
Doctor Who - The Temple Of Evil (23/05/04)
A fairly good episode this week from John Lucarotti (the same guy who wrote the Marco Polo episodes), well researched and interesting. The TARDIS has arrived in the tomb of an Aztec High Priest, Yetaxa, and Barbara (who's a bit of an expert on Aztec culture) has picked up a bracelet and exited the tomb via a one way door. The others followed only to find they couldn't get back into the tomb and, thanks to her light fingers, Barbara has been taken for the reincarnation of Yetaxa. They've encountered Autloc, the High Priest of Knowledge, and Tlotoxl, the High Priest of Sacrifice and, after a long period of drought, Autloc has predicted rain. Deciding that the Doctor, Ian and Susan are Yetaxa's servants, they have the Doctor taken to the Garden of Peace (basically an old folks home) where he meets a woman who could help him work out how to access the tomb, and Ian is sent to prove himself worthy of leading the Aztec army, vying with the current leader, Ixta. He's also told that he and Ixta will present the sacrifice that afternoon when Autloc and Tlotoxl present Yetaxa to the people and herald the return of the rain. Ian warns the Doctor, who warns Barbara and tells them both to go along with it and not interfere, but Barbara's having none of it. She's determined to put an end to Human sacrifice, thus giving the Aztecs a chance of surviving the Spanish invasion. The Doctor warned her against trying to change history, saying that you can't!
It's a fascinating and well presented idea! If Barbara succeeds then the Aztec culture may survive in a more complete form than it did and may not be destroyed entirely by the invading Christians. At the sacrifice, Susan cried out when she realised what was happening and Barbara demanded they stop. Humiliated, the sacrifice leapt to his death, appeasing Tlaloc and causing the rain to fall. Susan is being taken away to be educated in Aztec ways, but Tlotoxl believes Barbara to be a false god and intends to expose her. A great set up, even if some of the design (particularly the clothing) is a bit off. Brilliant start.
Doctor Who - The Warriors Of Death (20/05/04)
An increasingly engaging episode this week. Tlotoxl is determined to discredit Barbara and prove she's a false god and teams up with Ixta after Ian manages to overpower him by locating a pressure point in his neck with his thumb. Meanwhile, the Doctor has been talking, flirting even, with his new friend Cameca who has arranged a meeting between the Doctor and the son of the architect of the tomb. Unfortunately, this turned out to be Ixta who promised the plans to the tomb in return for the Doctor's help to beat an opponent (Ian). The Doctor gave him a poison which would weaken his opponent and, when the big fight happened at the end of the episode, it worked. But Tlotoxl has demanded it be a fight to the death and when Barbara intervened he ordered her to save him herself!
Some great scenes this week with the Doctor chastising Barbara for intervening in the Rain Sacrifice. She wanted to make things better, but the Doctor correctly pointed out that she had no right to interfere with their religion. They had a nice scene where the Doctor took heart and said they needed to focus on getting into the tomb and staying alive. He suggested Barbara play Tlotoxl and Autloc against each other and she seems to be succeeding by prophecying the fall of the Aztec empire if they don't change.
It's an interesting story, although I don't think that the designer in 100% on form, and certain aspects of Aztec life seem incongruously 20th Century Western civilisation, such as the rubbish spouted in Susan's only scene this week, but on the whole this one is going rather well!
Better this week, although it got off to a rocky start. Having visited Renaissance Italy, a jungle and Siberia, we're now in the USA (or the Marinus equivalent) - a place with stupid laws and terrible hats. It seems Altos' mate Eprin got himself a job as a security guard at the vault where the leaders of the city of Millennius were keeping the last key for Arbitan. Eprin had arranged with the Doctor to steal the key (rather than just say "I'm here to collect the key on Arbitan's behalf. Can I have it please?") but acted early and was killed by the relief guard who is in league with another Guardian, Eyesen, who wanted to steal the key for themselves. Ian found the body, but Aydan (the relief guard) knocked him out, made it look like Ian had killed Eprin and claimed to have been first on the scene having hidden the key. There was a charming scene where the Doctor worked all this out, but as Ian is guilty until proven innocent in Millennius the Doctor needs to get the evidence. Having had the attempted rape last week, we had domestic violence this week when Aydan hit his (probably complicit) wife for telling him he shouldn't have lost his temper and gone to hit Susan for questioning him. The Doctor then implicated Aydan by having Sabetha lie in court, using one of the other keys to prove that Aydan had given it to her. He confessed and said that 'they' had made him do it, then someone (probably Eyesen) shot him dead.
So Ian is still implicated and is going to be executed for murder. And now Susan has been kidnapped and is going to be killed because the real killer/thief thinks she knows where the key is. It's still not great, but a damn sight more exciting. It's great having the Doctor back after two very bad weeks. He's taken control and, okay, so he got Aydan murdered by lying in court, but the Millennial laws are ridiculous anyway! And the key wasn't found before the end of the episode so we have more intrigue next week. A definite improvement!
Doctor Who - The Keys Of Marinus (16/05/04)
A further improvement, but overall this series of adventures on Marinus has been much weaker than anything else. The quest was a good idea, but it was incredibly shoddily written, often making little sense, frequently feeling and looking like it was taking place on Earth (it may as well have been set there, just a few years in the future!) and saw the regulars written differently from episode to episode simply to fit the narrative.
However, this week Barbara saved Susan by visiting Aydan's wife, Kala, to see if she knew who Aydan had had contact with and picking up that Kala must have been involved as she knew that Barbara had spoken to Susan when nobody else had been told - turns out she killed her husband and was in league with Eyesen, who the Doctor helped catch because he'd figured out that the key was hidden inside the hollow mace that killed Eprin. With Ian cleared they all headed back to the island where Ian, not fooled by Yartek's rubbish Arbitan impression, gave him the fake key from the jungle. Yartek (leader of the Voord and therefore apparently over 1500 years old if Arbitan's history of Marinus is to be believed) seems to have reprogrammed The Conscience to obey his will, or at least undone the work Arbitan had done to over-ride the Voord's immunity to its control. He'd taken the other keys of Sabetha, but when he added the fake The Conscience exploded and killed him while the Doctor's party escaped.
So what the hell has the last six weeks all been for? The Doctor pointed out that relying on machines to enforce laws is a bit stupid, but in the end they destroyed the very thing they've been collecting the bits for! What a waste of time! Oh, well. Never mind. A new adventure starts next week.
Doctor Who - The Temple Of Evil (23/05/04)
A fairly good episode this week from John Lucarotti (the same guy who wrote the Marco Polo episodes), well researched and interesting. The TARDIS has arrived in the tomb of an Aztec High Priest, Yetaxa, and Barbara (who's a bit of an expert on Aztec culture) has picked up a bracelet and exited the tomb via a one way door. The others followed only to find they couldn't get back into the tomb and, thanks to her light fingers, Barbara has been taken for the reincarnation of Yetaxa. They've encountered Autloc, the High Priest of Knowledge, and Tlotoxl, the High Priest of Sacrifice and, after a long period of drought, Autloc has predicted rain. Deciding that the Doctor, Ian and Susan are Yetaxa's servants, they have the Doctor taken to the Garden of Peace (basically an old folks home) where he meets a woman who could help him work out how to access the tomb, and Ian is sent to prove himself worthy of leading the Aztec army, vying with the current leader, Ixta. He's also told that he and Ixta will present the sacrifice that afternoon when Autloc and Tlotoxl present Yetaxa to the people and herald the return of the rain. Ian warns the Doctor, who warns Barbara and tells them both to go along with it and not interfere, but Barbara's having none of it. She's determined to put an end to Human sacrifice, thus giving the Aztecs a chance of surviving the Spanish invasion. The Doctor warned her against trying to change history, saying that you can't!
It's a fascinating and well presented idea! If Barbara succeeds then the Aztec culture may survive in a more complete form than it did and may not be destroyed entirely by the invading Christians. At the sacrifice, Susan cried out when she realised what was happening and Barbara demanded they stop. Humiliated, the sacrifice leapt to his death, appeasing Tlaloc and causing the rain to fall. Susan is being taken away to be educated in Aztec ways, but Tlotoxl believes Barbara to be a false god and intends to expose her. A great set up, even if some of the design (particularly the clothing) is a bit off. Brilliant start.
Doctor Who - The Warriors Of Death (20/05/04)
An increasingly engaging episode this week. Tlotoxl is determined to discredit Barbara and prove she's a false god and teams up with Ixta after Ian manages to overpower him by locating a pressure point in his neck with his thumb. Meanwhile, the Doctor has been talking, flirting even, with his new friend Cameca who has arranged a meeting between the Doctor and the son of the architect of the tomb. Unfortunately, this turned out to be Ixta who promised the plans to the tomb in return for the Doctor's help to beat an opponent (Ian). The Doctor gave him a poison which would weaken his opponent and, when the big fight happened at the end of the episode, it worked. But Tlotoxl has demanded it be a fight to the death and when Barbara intervened he ordered her to save him herself!
Some great scenes this week with the Doctor chastising Barbara for intervening in the Rain Sacrifice. She wanted to make things better, but the Doctor correctly pointed out that she had no right to interfere with their religion. They had a nice scene where the Doctor took heart and said they needed to focus on getting into the tomb and staying alive. He suggested Barbara play Tlotoxl and Autloc against each other and she seems to be succeeding by prophecying the fall of the Aztec empire if they don't change.
It's an interesting story, although I don't think that the designer in 100% on form, and certain aspects of Aztec life seem incongruously 20th Century Western civilisation, such as the rubbish spouted in Susan's only scene this week, but on the whole this one is going rather well!
"What a waste of time" sums up The Keys of Marinus perfectly :D
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