The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Claws Of Axos
The Claws Of Axos: Episode One (13/03/11)
Oh. Um. Well, that was surreal, if nothing else. Very colourful this week with the overriding colour being ORANGE.
Started like Spearhead From Space on a budget, then went to the Brigadier - apparently the Government has sent some fat idiot called Chin (should be plural) to investigate the Doctor.
Meanwhile, UNIT's Washington HQ has sent an operative to liaise with the Brigadier concerning locating the Master. However, a UFO turned up, headed for the South coast of England and Chin decided to (unsuccessfully) fire missiles at it. Then he took control of the situation (unrequested), ordered American Bill Filer to fuck off as it was an internal matter and headed off with UNIT to the spaceship's landing site.
Bill Filer got there first, however, and was captured - not before the aliens aboard 'Axos' had caught, processed and disposed of a comedy tramp! Axos has landed next to the Nuton Power Complex which supplies the country with power (?!!?), and the Brigadier, the Doctor, Chin and two guys from the Power Station entered Axos. The Doctor was identified as an alien while Yates and Benton found what was left of the tramp. Then the crew of Axos revealed themselves - they're gold and bug-eyed; NEVER trust a person with bug-eyes!!! Apparently, their ship was crippled by solar flares and they need to stay on Earth to reconstitute. In return for our hospitality, they offer Axonite which has the power to enlarge frogs (amongst other things, apparently). It's all a load of bullshit, obviously, although Chin has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. The Doctor is suspicious...
Then Jo followed them into Axos (having been told to stay behind) and heard Bill Filer calling out. He, incidentally, is being held captive with (for some bizarre reason) the Master! Bit soon for his return, surely, meaning he's been in each story so far this series! And now J's been attacked by some sort of nerve cluster in the organic ship! Odd, trippy, and definitely different. Not a patch on the last story but a definite contrast. We'll have to see how this pans out.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Two (20/03/11)
More weirdness this week, but not as bad as last time! The Axons passed Jo hearing Filer and seeing the nerve cluster/onion bhaji creature off as an hallucination, but the Doctor believed her (though he pretended not to until they'd left the ship). Chin arranged, on orders from the Minister, for Axonite to be taken on behalf of the world by Britain and had all of UNIT arrested by the regular army.
The Doctor and chief scientist at Nuton bickered a lot - this week, as last week and the previous story, everyone (especially the Doctor) seems to be in a bad mood. Bill Filer was duplicated, and the Master had a conversation with a huge jaundiced penis (of Axos) about making a deal with the Axons to destroy the Doctor in return for them devouring the Earth. The Master went off and infiltrated UNIT in order to get Axonite distributed worldwide whilst Filer escaped and destroyed his duplicate when it attacked the Doctor in the lab.
The Doctor then put the Axonite in a particle accelerator in order to analyse it, but because the Axons, Axonite and Axos are all the same thing and feed off energy it began feeding off the reactor and growing which, quite horrifically, made the Penis of Axos all cheesy...
The Nuton chief scientist turned up (after Filer had helped the Brigadier et al. escape) and was killed, then he appeared to transform into the Sleeping Bag of Axos which, along with the Bhaji of Axos, attacked the Doctor and Jo. Haven't seen the Claws of Axos yet, unless they're what I mistook for the Pincers of Axos which held the Master and Filer prisoner.
Anyhoo, it's alright so far. Not as fractured as the Auton story, not as good as The Mind Of Evil. It could be worse. Oh, and the Master's ordered UNIT to take the TARDIS to Nuton. For some reason. I think.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Three (27/03/11)
Quite good this week. Axos kidnapped the Doctor and Jo and attacked Filer, putting him in a coma. The Brigadier contacted the UN but found out that there had been a 'security leak' (the Master) and the UN had overruled Chin, demanding that Axonite be distributed world wide. The Penis of Axos interrogated the Doctor to find out how to time travel (so it could increase its feeding ground) and, after it threatened to age Jo to death, he told it. Then it figured out that if it combined its own energy output with that of the Nuton Power Complex, it could succeed
The TARDIS was delivered to the lab and the Master gained entry, fooling Benton into thinking he was a UNIT General by wearing a silly mask (I think his disguises have got poorer as the season has progressed - this one looked like a rubber mask of the Master! What next? His own face?).
We saw the interior of the TARDIS for the first time in colour! It's a sort of duck-egg blue/green - wasn't expecting that! The Master had trouble getting it to work and, not realising the Brigadier, Yates and Benton had turned up to inform the Power Station controller that an Axon had just entered the main reactor, and that worldwide distribution would end the world (Bill Filer woke up and conveniently told the Brigadier) the Master left the TARDIS to tap the complex. Caught by UNIT, he bargained with the Brigadier to save the Earth in exchange for his freedom.
Axos had already begun to drain the reactor (giving the Doctor and Jo the change to try and escape) but the Master planned to siphon the power off into the TARDIS and boost it back at Axos in order to destroy it. Knowing the Doctor and Jo were still in Axos, the Master gave the Brigadier a choice - the Doctor and Jo or the Earth. He, obviously, chose Earth and the Master flipped the switch! Exciting!
The Bhajis of Axos are quite cool, stinging people who then explode. And the dilemma with the Master was good. Best Episode of Axos so far, but still nowhere as good as The Mind Of Evil.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Four (03/04/11)
Yes, well. Not bad, I suppose. The Doctor and Jo escaped, then the Doctor joined forces with the Master in order to repair the TARDIS and escape Earth with the Master leaving Earth to Axos. So he said.
However, he instead took the Master aboard Axos and offered Axos the power of time travel in exchange for destroying the High Council of Time Lords. Or so he said.
What he actually did was link Axos to the TARDIS and trap it in a Time Loop (which he managed to escape from). Nuton Power Complex blew up (!), the Master escaped (so it seems) and the Doctor returned to Earth because that's what the Time Lords had programmed the TARDIS to do now.
Bit of an odd one. Not bad, just a bit non-plussing. Kind of expected more. Instead we got lies of lessening believability from the Doctor, a poor explosion, lots of exciting running around, and a silly joke about intergalactic yoyos. Whilst not as choppy and fractured as the Auton story, this somehow managed to be less interesting. Maybe it was the tone. There tend to be a lot of people going round being angry this series, mostly the Doctor and the Brigadier, but this felt much more like a children's programme than it has since Patrick Troughton - stories like The Underwater Menace and The Krotons spring to mind. All of Pertwee's stories so far have had an edge to them, an attempt at being hard-hitting and gritty with a convincing army group, whilst still being a family show. This is the first that simply felt like a family show. Don't know what to make of it. Hopefully, next week we'll be back to normal.
Oh. Um. Well, that was surreal, if nothing else. Very colourful this week with the overriding colour being ORANGE.
Started like Spearhead From Space on a budget, then went to the Brigadier - apparently the Government has sent some fat idiot called Chin (should be plural) to investigate the Doctor.
Meanwhile, UNIT's Washington HQ has sent an operative to liaise with the Brigadier concerning locating the Master. However, a UFO turned up, headed for the South coast of England and Chin decided to (unsuccessfully) fire missiles at it. Then he took control of the situation (unrequested), ordered American Bill Filer to fuck off as it was an internal matter and headed off with UNIT to the spaceship's landing site.
Bill Filer got there first, however, and was captured - not before the aliens aboard 'Axos' had caught, processed and disposed of a comedy tramp! Axos has landed next to the Nuton Power Complex which supplies the country with power (?!!?), and the Brigadier, the Doctor, Chin and two guys from the Power Station entered Axos. The Doctor was identified as an alien while Yates and Benton found what was left of the tramp. Then the crew of Axos revealed themselves - they're gold and bug-eyed; NEVER trust a person with bug-eyes!!! Apparently, their ship was crippled by solar flares and they need to stay on Earth to reconstitute. In return for our hospitality, they offer Axonite which has the power to enlarge frogs (amongst other things, apparently). It's all a load of bullshit, obviously, although Chin has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. The Doctor is suspicious...
Then Jo followed them into Axos (having been told to stay behind) and heard Bill Filer calling out. He, incidentally, is being held captive with (for some bizarre reason) the Master! Bit soon for his return, surely, meaning he's been in each story so far this series! And now J's been attacked by some sort of nerve cluster in the organic ship! Odd, trippy, and definitely different. Not a patch on the last story but a definite contrast. We'll have to see how this pans out.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Two (20/03/11)
More weirdness this week, but not as bad as last time! The Axons passed Jo hearing Filer and seeing the nerve cluster/onion bhaji creature off as an hallucination, but the Doctor believed her (though he pretended not to until they'd left the ship). Chin arranged, on orders from the Minister, for Axonite to be taken on behalf of the world by Britain and had all of UNIT arrested by the regular army.
The Doctor and chief scientist at Nuton bickered a lot - this week, as last week and the previous story, everyone (especially the Doctor) seems to be in a bad mood. Bill Filer was duplicated, and the Master had a conversation with a huge jaundiced penis (of Axos) about making a deal with the Axons to destroy the Doctor in return for them devouring the Earth. The Master went off and infiltrated UNIT in order to get Axonite distributed worldwide whilst Filer escaped and destroyed his duplicate when it attacked the Doctor in the lab.
The Doctor then put the Axonite in a particle accelerator in order to analyse it, but because the Axons, Axonite and Axos are all the same thing and feed off energy it began feeding off the reactor and growing which, quite horrifically, made the Penis of Axos all cheesy...
The Nuton chief scientist turned up (after Filer had helped the Brigadier et al. escape) and was killed, then he appeared to transform into the Sleeping Bag of Axos which, along with the Bhaji of Axos, attacked the Doctor and Jo. Haven't seen the Claws of Axos yet, unless they're what I mistook for the Pincers of Axos which held the Master and Filer prisoner.
Anyhoo, it's alright so far. Not as fractured as the Auton story, not as good as The Mind Of Evil. It could be worse. Oh, and the Master's ordered UNIT to take the TARDIS to Nuton. For some reason. I think.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Three (27/03/11)
Quite good this week. Axos kidnapped the Doctor and Jo and attacked Filer, putting him in a coma. The Brigadier contacted the UN but found out that there had been a 'security leak' (the Master) and the UN had overruled Chin, demanding that Axonite be distributed world wide. The Penis of Axos interrogated the Doctor to find out how to time travel (so it could increase its feeding ground) and, after it threatened to age Jo to death, he told it. Then it figured out that if it combined its own energy output with that of the Nuton Power Complex, it could succeed
The TARDIS was delivered to the lab and the Master gained entry, fooling Benton into thinking he was a UNIT General by wearing a silly mask (I think his disguises have got poorer as the season has progressed - this one looked like a rubber mask of the Master! What next? His own face?).
We saw the interior of the TARDIS for the first time in colour! It's a sort of duck-egg blue/green - wasn't expecting that! The Master had trouble getting it to work and, not realising the Brigadier, Yates and Benton had turned up to inform the Power Station controller that an Axon had just entered the main reactor, and that worldwide distribution would end the world (Bill Filer woke up and conveniently told the Brigadier) the Master left the TARDIS to tap the complex. Caught by UNIT, he bargained with the Brigadier to save the Earth in exchange for his freedom.
Axos had already begun to drain the reactor (giving the Doctor and Jo the change to try and escape) but the Master planned to siphon the power off into the TARDIS and boost it back at Axos in order to destroy it. Knowing the Doctor and Jo were still in Axos, the Master gave the Brigadier a choice - the Doctor and Jo or the Earth. He, obviously, chose Earth and the Master flipped the switch! Exciting!
The Bhajis of Axos are quite cool, stinging people who then explode. And the dilemma with the Master was good. Best Episode of Axos so far, but still nowhere as good as The Mind Of Evil.
The Claws Of Axos: Episode Four (03/04/11)
Yes, well. Not bad, I suppose. The Doctor and Jo escaped, then the Doctor joined forces with the Master in order to repair the TARDIS and escape Earth with the Master leaving Earth to Axos. So he said.
However, he instead took the Master aboard Axos and offered Axos the power of time travel in exchange for destroying the High Council of Time Lords. Or so he said.
What he actually did was link Axos to the TARDIS and trap it in a Time Loop (which he managed to escape from). Nuton Power Complex blew up (!), the Master escaped (so it seems) and the Doctor returned to Earth because that's what the Time Lords had programmed the TARDIS to do now.
Bit of an odd one. Not bad, just a bit non-plussing. Kind of expected more. Instead we got lies of lessening believability from the Doctor, a poor explosion, lots of exciting running around, and a silly joke about intergalactic yoyos. Whilst not as choppy and fractured as the Auton story, this somehow managed to be less interesting. Maybe it was the tone. There tend to be a lot of people going round being angry this series, mostly the Doctor and the Brigadier, but this felt much more like a children's programme than it has since Patrick Troughton - stories like The Underwater Menace and The Krotons spring to mind. All of Pertwee's stories so far have had an edge to them, an attempt at being hard-hitting and gritty with a convincing army group, whilst still being a family show. This is the first that simply felt like a family show. Don't know what to make of it. Hopefully, next week we'll be back to normal.
Although this story has its shortcomings, it has a strangely immovable place in my heart. It's certainly trippy, but that's one of the things I like about it. The other is the various manifestations of Axos - an attempt to come up with something different that's both organic and truly alien. The politics is pretty boring and there's a bit too much toing and froing, but yes, I do like this one. (I also think this is the last story to feature the longer Troughton arrangement of the theme in the opening credits, but I could be misremembering.)
ReplyDeleteI think this story is largely responsible for my original disdain for the Pertwee era. It looks pretty awful, the Humanoid Axons are actors in orange catsuits with orange makeup, curly gold wigs and silly plastic bug eyes. The Bhaji Axons are the least laughable but are the epitome of the lumbering Doctor Who monster. I won't mention the sleeping bag (doh!).
DeleteThe underlying narrative of Chinn and the British government almost scuppering the Axons' plans with their greed is a nice touch, but Baker and Martin hit the ground running with their habit of being just that little bit too ambitious (and from what I've heard their original scripts were considerably reigned in by Letts and Dicks!). That said, at least it isn't boring. I certainly enjoyed it more watching one episode a week, but overall it isn't one of my favourites - more point-and-laugh enjoyable than gripping and entertaining.