The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Space Museum - The Final Phase
Doctor Who - The Space Museum (24/04/05)
What a very strange episode! It appears that the TARDIS 'jumped a time track' and everyone spent the episode walking around unseen and insubstantial because they hadn't arrived yet, but were seeing into their own future where they'd apparently been freeze-dried as an exhibition at the Space Museum of the title. Of course, you only find that out in the last 3-4 minutes. The rest of the episode was full of mystery as they explored their surroundings, and halfway through the episode what should turn up? A Dalek! It appears to be another dead exhibit, but that doesn't mean it will be now they've arrived! Will there be more Daleks? Vicki said she thought they'd be scarier as she'd never seen one but had read books about their invasion 300 years before her time. I get the feeling we're going to see more of them! It surely can't be about the dull looking men with bad bouffant hair.
So, looking forward to the next episode. How did they get freeze-dried, and more importantly, how will they prevent it? Last word, I have to say that the effects were very good and the music (all orchestral-y) was excellent. Seems the series is just getting better and better!
Doctor Who - The Dimensions Of Time (01/05/05)
A lot of interesting comedy with the Doctor this week, following a dodgy start where he seemed slightly distracted and was simply reeling his lines off. He possibly didn't understand what he was saying.
The Dalek is still just an exhibit (so no fun there) which the Doctor hid in at one point (!) and there was some bickering between Ian and Barbara who are clearly scared of becoming exhibits - Vicki's expressions (bored, bemused, etc.) were brilliant. The episode lacked something, though. The aliens are very dull - bureaucrats on one side, posh boys with dodgy eyebrows on the other. You just can't care about them. The only real drama came at the end after the (very funny) interrogation where the Doctor visually claimed (on a mind scanner) that he'd arrived on a Penny Farthing, was friends with seals, and you got to see him in a Victorian swimsuit (er...). Looks like he's been caught and is being taken off to be freeze-dried!
Slow and dull with the odd good bit - not engaging. Hope this isn't going to be a six-parter!
Doctor Who - The Search (08/05/05)
This week was actually really good! Got off to a slow start with a guard discovering Ian, Barbara and Vicki, then waiting while they had a two minute conversation before saying "Enough talking!". But who cares when Vicki starts a revolution to prevent them from ending up in the museum as exhibits, Ian goes after the Doctor and has lines like (when told killing the head Bad Guy won't help the Doctor) "Maybe, but I might enjoy it"!!!!!! and Barbara got gassed!
The Doctor wasn't in it, but the rest of the cast shone (except for the Moroks who were crap again, and the Xerons who were too fey but had an excuse. But who gives a shit when Ian, Barbara and Vicki are this good?!?). You got a real feeling of desperation from the regulars, and I'm just really impressed!
Doctor Who - The Final Phase (15/05/05)
Bloody Hell! Daleks!! Right at the end the Daleks appear!!! And they've got a Time Machine!!!! And they're after the Doctor!!!!!
But anyway, back to this week's episode and it's still really quite good. So it's a Good Guys vs Bad Guys story, but seeing Vicki start a revolution on her own is brilliant. The way she gave up her gun when Tor said it would let the Moroks know they'd raided the weapons store, and then him giving it back when she was determined to go and find Barbara! Ian threatening to kill Lobos with a gun was good too and showed how desperate he was for himself and the Doctor not to die. It's the most effective story yet at showing the crew in a desperate situation, thanks mostly to them already knowing their fate (otherwise this would have just been a boring heroes and villains runaround). Seta's death was quite unexpected and sudden, and then right at the end, like I said, the Daleks appear! Very impressed with this story because, even though it was a tale of a battle between the boring and the bored, the regulars were acting their socks off with great dialogue for all four! Impressive stuff!
What a very strange episode! It appears that the TARDIS 'jumped a time track' and everyone spent the episode walking around unseen and insubstantial because they hadn't arrived yet, but were seeing into their own future where they'd apparently been freeze-dried as an exhibition at the Space Museum of the title. Of course, you only find that out in the last 3-4 minutes. The rest of the episode was full of mystery as they explored their surroundings, and halfway through the episode what should turn up? A Dalek! It appears to be another dead exhibit, but that doesn't mean it will be now they've arrived! Will there be more Daleks? Vicki said she thought they'd be scarier as she'd never seen one but had read books about their invasion 300 years before her time. I get the feeling we're going to see more of them! It surely can't be about the dull looking men with bad bouffant hair.
So, looking forward to the next episode. How did they get freeze-dried, and more importantly, how will they prevent it? Last word, I have to say that the effects were very good and the music (all orchestral-y) was excellent. Seems the series is just getting better and better!
Doctor Who - The Dimensions Of Time (01/05/05)
A lot of interesting comedy with the Doctor this week, following a dodgy start where he seemed slightly distracted and was simply reeling his lines off. He possibly didn't understand what he was saying.
The Dalek is still just an exhibit (so no fun there) which the Doctor hid in at one point (!) and there was some bickering between Ian and Barbara who are clearly scared of becoming exhibits - Vicki's expressions (bored, bemused, etc.) were brilliant. The episode lacked something, though. The aliens are very dull - bureaucrats on one side, posh boys with dodgy eyebrows on the other. You just can't care about them. The only real drama came at the end after the (very funny) interrogation where the Doctor visually claimed (on a mind scanner) that he'd arrived on a Penny Farthing, was friends with seals, and you got to see him in a Victorian swimsuit (er...). Looks like he's been caught and is being taken off to be freeze-dried!
Slow and dull with the odd good bit - not engaging. Hope this isn't going to be a six-parter!
Doctor Who - The Search (08/05/05)
This week was actually really good! Got off to a slow start with a guard discovering Ian, Barbara and Vicki, then waiting while they had a two minute conversation before saying "Enough talking!". But who cares when Vicki starts a revolution to prevent them from ending up in the museum as exhibits, Ian goes after the Doctor and has lines like (when told killing the head Bad Guy won't help the Doctor) "Maybe, but I might enjoy it"!!!!!! and Barbara got gassed!
The Doctor wasn't in it, but the rest of the cast shone (except for the Moroks who were crap again, and the Xerons who were too fey but had an excuse. But who gives a shit when Ian, Barbara and Vicki are this good?!?). You got a real feeling of desperation from the regulars, and I'm just really impressed!
Doctor Who - The Final Phase (15/05/05)
Bloody Hell! Daleks!! Right at the end the Daleks appear!!! And they've got a Time Machine!!!! And they're after the Doctor!!!!!
But anyway, back to this week's episode and it's still really quite good. So it's a Good Guys vs Bad Guys story, but seeing Vicki start a revolution on her own is brilliant. The way she gave up her gun when Tor said it would let the Moroks know they'd raided the weapons store, and then him giving it back when she was determined to go and find Barbara! Ian threatening to kill Lobos with a gun was good too and showed how desperate he was for himself and the Doctor not to die. It's the most effective story yet at showing the crew in a desperate situation, thanks mostly to them already knowing their fate (otherwise this would have just been a boring heroes and villains runaround). Seta's death was quite unexpected and sudden, and then right at the end, like I said, the Daleks appear! Very impressed with this story because, even though it was a tale of a battle between the boring and the bored, the regulars were acting their socks off with great dialogue for all four! Impressive stuff!
Well that's possibly the most glowing review of The Space Museum I've ever seen :D It's not as bad as its reputation would suggest, I'll give it that, but after that intriguing first episode it's just such a letdown. Maureen O'Brien in particular gets good material, but it's not enough to save the story as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI'd previously viewed it as a bit of a dud, and the second episode isn't great, but watching it over 4 weeks really revealed how much better it is than most seem to think. It completely turned my opinion of the story around, largely down to Maureen O'Brien's great performance as Vicki. Throughout this series she gets far more to do and is much more fun and interesting than Susan was, and her relationship with the Doctor is one of the warmest of any companion. She tends to be often overlooked and regarded as a 'Susan clone' but that couldn't be further from the truth. By episode four I'd really been drawn in, as you can probably tell from the use of character names and general enthusiasm. My opinion of the story has so far had the biggest turnaround of any serial having viewed it as originally broadcast. I think it's great!
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