The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Krotons
The Krotons - Episode One (28/12/08)
Interesting episode. We're on an alien planet again inhabited by the Gonds. Apparently it stinks of rotten eggs and has two suns. Anyhow, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrived in time to witness a Gond exit a machine and get vaporised. Confronting the Gonds, they learnt (eventually) that thousands of years earlier 'silver men' (if we hadn't just had 8 weeks of Cybermen I'd be thinking them) landed on the planet and waged a war, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland.
The surviving Gonds built their community around the Krotons' spaceship and basically developed thanks to the Krotons' teaching and laws. Every so often, the Krotons would demand the most promising pupils join them in their spaceship. Then the Doctor turned up and revealed that it looks like the Krotons have been doing something to the students' minds and vaporising them. They tried to do this to Vana, who the son of Selris (the Gonds' Scottish leader) fancies, but the Doctor rescued her and now her beau wants revenge, so he's got a few mates and attacked the teaching machines. However, the Krotons have a big booming voice and a machine with the Doctor's face on it and a big snaky eye and when the Doctor turned up to stop the Gonds the snaky thing attacked him.
Quite good and straight forward with an interesting society and a not-too-bad fight scene for Jamie. The mysterious Krotons are quite interesting - why are they doing all this? Not as fantastic as The Invasion, but good for a non-Earth-based story (but let's face it, the last two were shit!). Promising!
The Krotons - Episode Two (04/01/09)
This story's turning out to be rather good. The Doctor avoided getting killed by the Krotons' snaky thing by covering his face, thus hiding the pattern it was hunting by. Then a Gond with black hair attacked it and it vaporised him instead and disappeared, thinking its job was done - stupid machine.
Then the Doctor explored under the Learning Hall while Zoe took a test on one of the machines getting twice the highest score of any Gond. Obviously, the Krotons wanted her as their companion and demanded her, so the Doctor took the test too and, after clowning about a bit, got an even higher score! They went into the machine (which is crystalline organic according to the Doctor as the foundations he saw beneath the Learning Hall are like a root system) and the Krotons, which are crystalline robots it would seem, used their brain power to awaken themselves from their dormant state. Realising what was happening, the Doctor and Zoe legged it, but Jamie found out they'd gone into the machine and tried to break in.
Seeing they'd gone and weren't Gonds, the Krotons turned their attention to Jamie thinking him a 'High Brain' capable of aiding them further, but after letting him in and probing his mind they realised he was thick and sentenced him to death.
This story really focuses on the characters of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, centring on the fact that the Doctor and Zoe are geniuses and Jamie very much isn't, which is really great! There were also some great lines for the Doctor and Zoe, and some really trippy camera work when they were having their minds probed. This new writer (Robert Holmes) really seems to have thought about the central characters and is using them really well, which I haven't seen much of since the first couple of series with Ian and Barbara. Really enjoying this. More please!
The Krotons - Episode Three (11/01/09)
Not quite so wonderful this week, but still bloody good. The Krotons didn't kill Jamie, but kept him alive for information. One of them went out after the Doctor and Zoe who returned to the TARDIS to test a sample of the Krotons' chemical constituents, but it needed guiding because they're blind in sunlight. Failing to catch them, it tried to destroy the TARDIS but simply caused it to relocate itself.
Meanwhile, Eelek attempted a coup (he's second in command of the Gonds) but Selris took charge and attempted to pull down the foundations of the Krotons' machine. The Doctor and Zoe arrived and gave Beta (the Gond scientist) some sulphur and notes, then learnt Jamie was in the machine (by this point he was trying to escape) and went to help him, but got distracted by Selris' plan. The Doctor rushed in to stop them but the roof caved in and buried him under the rubble.
Thought more would be made of the Krotons leaving their machine, but the Gonds remained blissfully unaware it had happened. Vana (who spent last week ranting incoherently about pulsating balls (!)) is okay now and helping her boyfriend help Beta. The Krotons themselves are a bit clunky, but not as bad as the Quarks or the White Robots (or that daft German Superhero, for that matter!), and their heads spin in a crisis. It's not surprising they spend most of their time in their machine!
But this story's still interesting and rolling along nicely. One thing you can't say is that it's dragging. After a ropy first ten weeks, this season's really picked up. Hope it stays this way!
The Krotons - Episode Four (18/01/09)
What a good story! In a bit of a cop-out resolution, the Doctor wasn't completely buried and was rescued by Thara, Selris' son, who in turn was hurt. Beta turned up with a sample of sulphuric acid (with extra stuff) for the Doctor, who left it with Vana. Eelek blamed Selris for all the Gonds killed when the roof fell in, and then a Kroton came out of the machine and demanded the Doctor and Zoe be handed over which Eelek agreed to as long as the Krotons fucked off and left the Gonds alone. Then Eelek kept Selris and Vana captive while the rest of the Gonds went to look for the Doctor.
Vana tried to sneak out but was caught, dropping the flask of acid which Selris picked up. The Doctor and Zoe were caught and taken into the machine, and Selris followed with the flask, handing it to the Doctor just before he was vaporised. That bit was quite shocking! Then the Doctor got the Krotons to explain the plot (basically, there had been four, but two were destroyed when the ship crashed. They need four 'High Brains' to fly the ship so went into suspension whilst educating the Gonds until they were smart enough to power the ship. Then the Doctor and Zoe came along).
The Doctor and Zoe did some funny fannying about while Zoe used the acid to poison the liquid in the vats that the Krotons breathed. The Krotons got poisoned and melted, the Doctor and Zoe legged it to find Beta and Jamie pouring acid all around the ship. Thara vowed to take over his father's position as leader and kick Eelek's arse, and the Doctor et al. legged it.
A really good, straight forward but fun story which I wouldn't have minded going on for another week or two. Still, at least there wasn't any padding to bring the story down. The Gonds were a little dull, but at least they were recognisable individuals, which is rare with some of these aliens. Damn, run out of space.
Interesting episode. We're on an alien planet again inhabited by the Gonds. Apparently it stinks of rotten eggs and has two suns. Anyhow, the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe arrived in time to witness a Gond exit a machine and get vaporised. Confronting the Gonds, they learnt (eventually) that thousands of years earlier 'silver men' (if we hadn't just had 8 weeks of Cybermen I'd be thinking them) landed on the planet and waged a war, turning the surrounding area into a wasteland.
The surviving Gonds built their community around the Krotons' spaceship and basically developed thanks to the Krotons' teaching and laws. Every so often, the Krotons would demand the most promising pupils join them in their spaceship. Then the Doctor turned up and revealed that it looks like the Krotons have been doing something to the students' minds and vaporising them. They tried to do this to Vana, who the son of Selris (the Gonds' Scottish leader) fancies, but the Doctor rescued her and now her beau wants revenge, so he's got a few mates and attacked the teaching machines. However, the Krotons have a big booming voice and a machine with the Doctor's face on it and a big snaky eye and when the Doctor turned up to stop the Gonds the snaky thing attacked him.
Quite good and straight forward with an interesting society and a not-too-bad fight scene for Jamie. The mysterious Krotons are quite interesting - why are they doing all this? Not as fantastic as The Invasion, but good for a non-Earth-based story (but let's face it, the last two were shit!). Promising!
The Krotons - Episode Two (04/01/09)
This story's turning out to be rather good. The Doctor avoided getting killed by the Krotons' snaky thing by covering his face, thus hiding the pattern it was hunting by. Then a Gond with black hair attacked it and it vaporised him instead and disappeared, thinking its job was done - stupid machine.
Then the Doctor explored under the Learning Hall while Zoe took a test on one of the machines getting twice the highest score of any Gond. Obviously, the Krotons wanted her as their companion and demanded her, so the Doctor took the test too and, after clowning about a bit, got an even higher score! They went into the machine (which is crystalline organic according to the Doctor as the foundations he saw beneath the Learning Hall are like a root system) and the Krotons, which are crystalline robots it would seem, used their brain power to awaken themselves from their dormant state. Realising what was happening, the Doctor and Zoe legged it, but Jamie found out they'd gone into the machine and tried to break in.
Seeing they'd gone and weren't Gonds, the Krotons turned their attention to Jamie thinking him a 'High Brain' capable of aiding them further, but after letting him in and probing his mind they realised he was thick and sentenced him to death.
This story really focuses on the characters of the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, centring on the fact that the Doctor and Zoe are geniuses and Jamie very much isn't, which is really great! There were also some great lines for the Doctor and Zoe, and some really trippy camera work when they were having their minds probed. This new writer (Robert Holmes) really seems to have thought about the central characters and is using them really well, which I haven't seen much of since the first couple of series with Ian and Barbara. Really enjoying this. More please!
The Krotons - Episode Three (11/01/09)
Not quite so wonderful this week, but still bloody good. The Krotons didn't kill Jamie, but kept him alive for information. One of them went out after the Doctor and Zoe who returned to the TARDIS to test a sample of the Krotons' chemical constituents, but it needed guiding because they're blind in sunlight. Failing to catch them, it tried to destroy the TARDIS but simply caused it to relocate itself.
Meanwhile, Eelek attempted a coup (he's second in command of the Gonds) but Selris took charge and attempted to pull down the foundations of the Krotons' machine. The Doctor and Zoe arrived and gave Beta (the Gond scientist) some sulphur and notes, then learnt Jamie was in the machine (by this point he was trying to escape) and went to help him, but got distracted by Selris' plan. The Doctor rushed in to stop them but the roof caved in and buried him under the rubble.
Thought more would be made of the Krotons leaving their machine, but the Gonds remained blissfully unaware it had happened. Vana (who spent last week ranting incoherently about pulsating balls (!)) is okay now and helping her boyfriend help Beta. The Krotons themselves are a bit clunky, but not as bad as the Quarks or the White Robots (or that daft German Superhero, for that matter!), and their heads spin in a crisis. It's not surprising they spend most of their time in their machine!
But this story's still interesting and rolling along nicely. One thing you can't say is that it's dragging. After a ropy first ten weeks, this season's really picked up. Hope it stays this way!
The Krotons - Episode Four (18/01/09)
What a good story! In a bit of a cop-out resolution, the Doctor wasn't completely buried and was rescued by Thara, Selris' son, who in turn was hurt. Beta turned up with a sample of sulphuric acid (with extra stuff) for the Doctor, who left it with Vana. Eelek blamed Selris for all the Gonds killed when the roof fell in, and then a Kroton came out of the machine and demanded the Doctor and Zoe be handed over which Eelek agreed to as long as the Krotons fucked off and left the Gonds alone. Then Eelek kept Selris and Vana captive while the rest of the Gonds went to look for the Doctor.
Vana tried to sneak out but was caught, dropping the flask of acid which Selris picked up. The Doctor and Zoe were caught and taken into the machine, and Selris followed with the flask, handing it to the Doctor just before he was vaporised. That bit was quite shocking! Then the Doctor got the Krotons to explain the plot (basically, there had been four, but two were destroyed when the ship crashed. They need four 'High Brains' to fly the ship so went into suspension whilst educating the Gonds until they were smart enough to power the ship. Then the Doctor and Zoe came along).
The Doctor and Zoe did some funny fannying about while Zoe used the acid to poison the liquid in the vats that the Krotons breathed. The Krotons got poisoned and melted, the Doctor and Zoe legged it to find Beta and Jamie pouring acid all around the ship. Thara vowed to take over his father's position as leader and kick Eelek's arse, and the Doctor et al. legged it.
A really good, straight forward but fun story which I wouldn't have minded going on for another week or two. Still, at least there wasn't any padding to bring the story down. The Gonds were a little dull, but at least they were recognisable individuals, which is rare with some of these aliens. Damn, run out of space.
Flashes of Robert Holmes' genius here, but he's still obviously feeling his way. It's a great story for the regulars - the Trout and Padders in particular - and there are some nice ideas, but overall it's just a bit too dull (and plagued by some pretty wooden performances among the guest cast) to make much of an impact.
ReplyDeleteI always remember in the mid-90s, one of the old record stores in the UK which is no longer around - Our Price or Andy's Records (probably the former) - was doing a sale of Doctor Who videos so I jumped on a train to Leeds and went to have a look what they had. I knew I wanted a Troughton as I only had one of his stories (The Mind Robber) and wanted to see if there was anything more...normal. I got there and picked the ones I wanted to purchase alongside the Troughton and was left with a choice between The Krotons and The Dominators. I knew little about either, so plumped for The Dominators. I spent the next few years completely regretting that, until I borrowed The Krotons from a mate (who borrowed Ghost Light from me) and we never re-exchanged. It's certainly the better of the two since it doesn't drag and has better performances from the leads. And better monsters. I like the story, and it certainly shows the economy and brilliance that Holmes would develop during the Pertwee era and beyond. Obviously, it's not the greatest 2nd Doctor story, but it's certainly one of the better ones from his final season.
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