The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: Temple Of Secrets - Horse Of Destruction
Doctor Who - Temple Of Secrets (16/10/05)
Okay, so that was unexpected! No Daleks, but the Doctor and Steven (and Vicki for a short while - her ankle's still sprained) in a comedy set in Asia Minor! Much lighter than last week, but much better written than either story this season - some of the comedy was superb, such as the Doctor being mistaken for Zeus in the form of an 'old beggar', and the bickering between Agamemnon and Menelaus. Some of the comedy was surprisingly sophisticated and often quite dark and therefore hugely enjoyable - ie the jibing at Menelaus about Helen (his wife) being unfaithful, and the humour surrounding what was essentially a scene where they were talking about executing Steven.
So far not much has happened plot-wise; the Doctor and Steven have both been captured by the Greek army and the cliffhanger was the discovery that the TARDIS has disappeared with Vicki inside it (The Web Planet, anyone?). But who cares when the writing and dialogue is so amazing?!? Really can't wait until next week!
Doctor Who - Small Prophet, Quick Return (23/10/05)
Oh dear, now Vicki and Steven are the ones captured and sentenced to death - this time by the Trojans! I have to say this story is really good - the dialogue is brilliant, very naturalistic and therefore (especially given the characters and situations) incredibly funny. Love this episodes title, too.
Anyway, the TARDIS was taken by the Trojans and Cassandra tried to have it burned having had a premonition of a gift from the Greeks containing soldiers (More on that later, I imagine). Then Vicki stepped out and said she was from the future (a similar scene happened with the Doctor and Steven). The Trojans thought 'Vicki' was a stupid name so started calling her Cressida (wonder where this plot-line's going!).
Meanwhile, the Greeks have ordered the Doctor to come up with a way of infiltrating Troy - he thinks the wooden horse idea is stupid and was made up by Homer so he's suggested flying in. And Steven has been allowed to dress up as a Greek, let himself get caught by the Trojans (in an hilarious sequence with Paris) in order to get into Troy and save Vicki. However, when Vicki recognised Steven dressed as a Greek, Cassandra decided they were both spies and has ordered their execution.
My god, this story is so funny! It's brilliant - really well written and performed. Really, really enjoying it!
Doctor Who - Death Of A Spy (30/10/05)
This story just gets better and better! Vicki and Steven have been imprisoned by the Trojans, then the Doctor came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. Enough of the plot, though. The script is just so good - mixing humour and tension to give a story that everyone is clearly enjoying. Cassandra is the straight-man constantly being put down by a barrage of hilarious one-liners made even funnier by Frances White's totally straight, doom-laden and portentous delivery.
The best scene, though (and I missed much of the tail end 'cause I was laughing so much) was where the Doctor tried to sell the idea of making huge paper planes and flying the Greeks over the walls - what got me was the comment about what happens if you let wet animal hide out in the sun.
Anyway, they've built the Horse, and the Doctor and a load of Greeks are inside and the Trojans have taken it into the city. And I'm quite concerned that Vicki may very well be leaving. She had an extensive scene with Troilus and said she could be quite happy in this era. Still, great story!
Doctor Who - Horse Of Destruction (06/11/05)
Well, Vicki's gone. To be honest, not much happened this episode except what we knew would - Troy fell to the Greeks.
There was a lot less humour this week - only at the very beginning. A new girl, Katarina, has joined; she's a handmaiden of Cassandra's. Vicki sent her to fetch Steven who's been injured in a sword fight (and she thinks the Doctor's a god). There was plenty of drama, though, particularly when Vicki was desperately trying to get Troilus to leave the city, and when Cassandra was taken away by the Greeks.
Vicki's decision to stay was an expected surprise - for a moment it looked like she was going to leave with the Doctor, but she got a good send off, and a nice coda where she found Troilus and they encountered his cousin. The Doctor's gone to find medicine for Steven, who's a bit delirious and badly hurt.
All in all, this has been one of the best stories so far - better than the Roman one and better than the one with Richard the Lionheart. This season has picked up no end after an unentertaining first four weeks. I hope the upward trend continues - I seem to remember the last season being a bit hit and miss.
Okay, so that was unexpected! No Daleks, but the Doctor and Steven (and Vicki for a short while - her ankle's still sprained) in a comedy set in Asia Minor! Much lighter than last week, but much better written than either story this season - some of the comedy was superb, such as the Doctor being mistaken for Zeus in the form of an 'old beggar', and the bickering between Agamemnon and Menelaus. Some of the comedy was surprisingly sophisticated and often quite dark and therefore hugely enjoyable - ie the jibing at Menelaus about Helen (his wife) being unfaithful, and the humour surrounding what was essentially a scene where they were talking about executing Steven.
So far not much has happened plot-wise; the Doctor and Steven have both been captured by the Greek army and the cliffhanger was the discovery that the TARDIS has disappeared with Vicki inside it (The Web Planet, anyone?). But who cares when the writing and dialogue is so amazing?!? Really can't wait until next week!
Doctor Who - Small Prophet, Quick Return (23/10/05)
Oh dear, now Vicki and Steven are the ones captured and sentenced to death - this time by the Trojans! I have to say this story is really good - the dialogue is brilliant, very naturalistic and therefore (especially given the characters and situations) incredibly funny. Love this episodes title, too.
Anyway, the TARDIS was taken by the Trojans and Cassandra tried to have it burned having had a premonition of a gift from the Greeks containing soldiers (More on that later, I imagine). Then Vicki stepped out and said she was from the future (a similar scene happened with the Doctor and Steven). The Trojans thought 'Vicki' was a stupid name so started calling her Cressida (wonder where this plot-line's going!).
Meanwhile, the Greeks have ordered the Doctor to come up with a way of infiltrating Troy - he thinks the wooden horse idea is stupid and was made up by Homer so he's suggested flying in. And Steven has been allowed to dress up as a Greek, let himself get caught by the Trojans (in an hilarious sequence with Paris) in order to get into Troy and save Vicki. However, when Vicki recognised Steven dressed as a Greek, Cassandra decided they were both spies and has ordered their execution.
My god, this story is so funny! It's brilliant - really well written and performed. Really, really enjoying it!
Doctor Who - Death Of A Spy (30/10/05)
This story just gets better and better! Vicki and Steven have been imprisoned by the Trojans, then the Doctor came up with the idea of the Trojan Horse. Enough of the plot, though. The script is just so good - mixing humour and tension to give a story that everyone is clearly enjoying. Cassandra is the straight-man constantly being put down by a barrage of hilarious one-liners made even funnier by Frances White's totally straight, doom-laden and portentous delivery.
The best scene, though (and I missed much of the tail end 'cause I was laughing so much) was where the Doctor tried to sell the idea of making huge paper planes and flying the Greeks over the walls - what got me was the comment about what happens if you let wet animal hide out in the sun.
Anyway, they've built the Horse, and the Doctor and a load of Greeks are inside and the Trojans have taken it into the city. And I'm quite concerned that Vicki may very well be leaving. She had an extensive scene with Troilus and said she could be quite happy in this era. Still, great story!
Doctor Who - Horse Of Destruction (06/11/05)
Well, Vicki's gone. To be honest, not much happened this episode except what we knew would - Troy fell to the Greeks.
There was a lot less humour this week - only at the very beginning. A new girl, Katarina, has joined; she's a handmaiden of Cassandra's. Vicki sent her to fetch Steven who's been injured in a sword fight (and she thinks the Doctor's a god). There was plenty of drama, though, particularly when Vicki was desperately trying to get Troilus to leave the city, and when Cassandra was taken away by the Greeks.
Vicki's decision to stay was an expected surprise - for a moment it looked like she was going to leave with the Doctor, but she got a good send off, and a nice coda where she found Troilus and they encountered his cousin. The Doctor's gone to find medicine for Steven, who's a bit delirious and badly hurt.
All in all, this has been one of the best stories so far - better than the Roman one and better than the one with Richard the Lionheart. This season has picked up no end after an unentertaining first four weeks. I hope the upward trend continues - I seem to remember the last season being a bit hit and miss.
A great story with yet another fantastic novelisation. Vicki's departure isn't quite as narratively abrupt as the news was to Maureen O'Brien, by all accounts, and while it feels like a slight cheat, I like the fact that the scene at the end where she persuades the Doctor why she wants to stay is kept between the two of them. Katarina's introduction is, like the character, an afterthought to which no one dedicated enough time or effort. That said, the quasi-cliffhanger ending is nice and a good way of both distracting from and finally kick-starting the teased Dalek epic.
ReplyDeleteI love the novelisation of this - truly one of the very best. I'd forgotten exactly how fantastic this story is until I was typing up my journal; I was just aware I held it in very high regard. Embarrassingly, I even got a bit emotional when I was writing about Vicki's departure. As great as Susan could be, and as wonderful as Ian and Barbara were, Vicki really was a brilliant companion who brought out the best in both Hartnell and his interpretation of the Doctor. The next few months would be the highlight of the era, but the adventures the Doctor and Vicki had - and they really were adventures - were some of the warmest and most entertaining of the series' run. I'm sort of glad she was written out when she was (despite it being an unpleasant surprise for Maureen O'Brien after her Summer break) as I wouldn't have liked to see Vicki endure the events of the next couple of stories. Verity Lambert's departure saw a sharp shift in tone and Vicki didn't fit with that.
DeleteAs far as Katarina goes, it's a huge shame they didn't think to develop her character in the scant few episodes she got, especially when another Historical companion would become a popular mainstay of the series in less than a year. Adrienne did the best with the material she was given, but she's very much a stepping stone during a turbulent period in the production's history.