The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Face Of Evil
The Face Of Evil: Part One (01/01/17)
A new year and a new companion, and I have to say she's already a vast improvement on Sarah Jane! She's a warrior of the Sevateem, a primitive tribe living in a rather stylish forest that rivals 'Planet Of Evil's sets, surrounded by remnants of equipment belonging to Survey Team 6 - I suspect there may be a lot more to them than just being a group of Humanoid aliens. She's already killed three people (mostly in self defence), been thrown out of her tribe for blasphemy (against their god Xoanon who is being held captive by The Evil One who just happens to look exactly like the Doctor), had her father sacrificed, and rescued the Doctor from a similar fate!
Meanwhile, there's some political and religious commentary going on in the background with the usual power struggles and a High Priest who actually communicates with Xoanon (who actually sounds a lot like the Doctor). And, having escaped being sacrificed, the Doctor has been taken by Leela beyond the settlement boundaries to a cliff face with his, er, face carved into it. It's quite a nice likeness, too!
This story's continuing the upward quality we saw developing last year after a dreary opener. Now that Sarah Jane has fucked off things have greatly improved. Having an alien savage from the future (must be the future for there to be a survey team and space suits, etc.) beside the Doctor is a great move. Jo worked really well with Pertwee while Sarah didn't and was only okay with Tom Baker while Harry was around (or Robert Banks Stewart was writing). On the whole she was too dull, middle class, wet and annoying to work alongside Baker's more left-field, alien performance. Leela, on the other hand, already comes across as being a strong, independent, likeable character with strong opinions and a rapport with the Doctor, all things they seemed to try and give Sarah but utterly failed to pull off! Leela's also a great character to up the Doctor's morality - only one episode in and he's already ordered her to stop killing people!
Great characters, great return after the Yule break, and an interesting script. I think I'm going to like this one!
The Face Of Evil: Part Two (08/01/17)
Another utterly brilliant episode with a bit of a weak cliffhanger but regardless one of the best episodes in a very long time; if it continues like this it may well be better than 'Terror Of The Zygons'!
Lots of politics in the tribe of the Sevateem this week and Calib is turning out to be one of the most interesting characters the show has seen. He's denounced the Doctor, tried to kill Leela, had the Doctor, Leela and Tomas put on trial, and is after control of the tribe by undermining Neeva whilst not refuting Xoanon's existence like Leela did, and yet the Doctor still had Calib helping him put together a weapon to help protect the tribe from Xoanon's monsters (which look like the Doctor's head when they're not invisible!).
Leela's also turning out to be pretty amazing, too. SO different to Sarah Jane, she's inquisitive and intelligent, but also hugely likeable. It was actually quite worrying when Calib stabbed her with a Janis thorn, even though it was obvious the Doctor would save her. I think Louise Jameson is a much better actor than Elisabeth Sladen, too, as her performance seems much more naturalistic. There was always something a bit 'Children's Television' about Sarah, whereas Leela's characterisation seems to have had a lot more thought put into it. I don't know what Louise has done before, but she's definitely approaching the character as a real person and not just a companion.
I think the writing's helping a lot, too. It's very clever, funny and intelligent, with sly comments on politics, religion and morality. I just hope the writing continues in this vein and we hear more fro Chris Boucher 'cause he's very good!
As for the plot this week, the Doctor and Leela investigated Neeva's shrine, talked to Xoanon who sounds like the Doctor and also someone else, then Leela asked how they could hear Xoanon when there was a barrier around him leading them to finding a passage in the mouth of the giant carving of the Doctor's head. Neeva had a breakdown, and the tribal leader was killed while Tomas fought off some monsters. Oh, and we got to see some cool beetle-like things called Horda which are quite vicious and nicely realised. A pretty brutal episode, all said, but so well written, acted and directed. Can't wait for next week!
The Face Of Evil: Part Three (15/01/17)
Once again we have a fantastic episode and, unusually for a Part Three, relatively no padding! Chris Boucher continues to explore the world he's created providing a fascinating plot. The shadow the Doctor and Leela saw in the cave was a Tesh which Leela identified due to it's "silvery, loose skin and two heads, one inside the other" - of course, it was a man in a space suit but Leela's descriptions of aspects of her tribal folklore are beautifully worded so that they sound like religious rote but are easily decipherable in a Science Fiction setting.
They made their way (off screen) to the ship of the Tesh where Xoanon lives and the events behind the story slowly unfolded: apparently, a post-regenerative 4th Doctor encountered the Mordee expedition whose ship was damaged and stuck on a planet. He offered to help and did so by wiring himself into the ship's computer to reboot it. Unfortunately, he didn't wipe his personality from it before he left, nor was he aware that the expedition's attempts to fix the ship's computer had caused it to evolve into a sentient lifeform. Thinking all was well, he left, but Xoanon began to develop its own personality alongside that of the Doctor's and over time this sent it mad. As a result, it turned the Survey Team and the Technicians into a sociological experiment, developing the Sevateem's physical side whilst enhancing the Tesh's psychological and mental attributes. Thus, Leela's people are a tribe of warriors, and the Tesh are pale, weirdly dressed guys who can knock the Doctor and Leela unconscious with just a look, and they all worship Xoanon as their god.
Anyway, the Doctor contacted Neeva and got him to get Calib to lead everyone to the ship to escape Xoanon's monsters while the Doctor infiltrated Xoanon's heart (having been denounced by Tesh leader Jabel as "not the Lord of Time come to save us". There was a diversion where the Doctor and Leela were almost particle analysed, but it ended with Leela guarding the entrance to Xoanon's centre but running out of ammunition in her laser gun while the Doctor tried to reason with the many personalities of Xoanon within, resulting in a very surreal cliffhanger of the Doctor's head shouting "Who am I?" is a child's voice while the Doctor curled up in pain on the floor. Really quite brilliant!
The Face Of Evil: Part Four (22/01/17)
Well, that's possibly the best story we've had in the series! The writing was excellent throughout with so much to say put forward in witty observations ("the incredibly powerful and the incredibly stupid have one thing in common..."), wise sentiments ("with proof, you don't need to believe"), and some really affecting scenes; the bit where the Doctor came round, with Leela at his side, to learn he'd been unconscious for two days was quite beautifully written, as was the subsequent meeting with Xoanon and the argument between Jabel and Calib over who should lead the two groups which resulted in Tomas proposing Leela as the perfect candidate. Obviously she was unwilling and I don't know if she ran after the Doctor to escape the possible responsibility or because he hadn't said goodbye - probably a bit of both.
The Doctor and Leela have a wonderful chemistry, a million times better than his rather dreary friendship with Sarah, and now she's boarded the TARDIS and initiated dematerialisation without the Doctor's wholehearted agreement that she join him - I think Tom quite enjoyed travelling alone - so I think we have some interesting adventures ahead of us!
Anyway, plotwise, Xoanon began controlling the Tesh's minds while the Sevateem attacked the Mordee ship. Leela rescued the Doctor and he set about using the unused computer banks to remove his consciousness from Xoanon, undoing the mess he'd created. Xoanon responded by electrifying the walls and taking over the minds of the Sevateem as well, but ultimately failed to control Neeva who was determined to kill Xoanon for what it had done. As a result, he found an abandoned Tesh weapon, took it to Xoanon's control computer and blasted Xoanon, being vapourised in the process but allowing the Doctor to save the day. So Neeva was really the hero of the story in the end. Such a layered and intelligent story - definitely the best Tom Baker has done, even better than 'Terror Of The Zygons'!
Maybe I overstated saying best ever, as Hartnell had some brilliant Historicals and Pertwee had quite a few great ones, but it really was a fantastic set of episodes and I hope they get Chris Boucher back to write for the series again!
A new year and a new companion, and I have to say she's already a vast improvement on Sarah Jane! She's a warrior of the Sevateem, a primitive tribe living in a rather stylish forest that rivals 'Planet Of Evil's sets, surrounded by remnants of equipment belonging to Survey Team 6 - I suspect there may be a lot more to them than just being a group of Humanoid aliens. She's already killed three people (mostly in self defence), been thrown out of her tribe for blasphemy (against their god Xoanon who is being held captive by The Evil One who just happens to look exactly like the Doctor), had her father sacrificed, and rescued the Doctor from a similar fate!
Meanwhile, there's some political and religious commentary going on in the background with the usual power struggles and a High Priest who actually communicates with Xoanon (who actually sounds a lot like the Doctor). And, having escaped being sacrificed, the Doctor has been taken by Leela beyond the settlement boundaries to a cliff face with his, er, face carved into it. It's quite a nice likeness, too!
This story's continuing the upward quality we saw developing last year after a dreary opener. Now that Sarah Jane has fucked off things have greatly improved. Having an alien savage from the future (must be the future for there to be a survey team and space suits, etc.) beside the Doctor is a great move. Jo worked really well with Pertwee while Sarah didn't and was only okay with Tom Baker while Harry was around (or Robert Banks Stewart was writing). On the whole she was too dull, middle class, wet and annoying to work alongside Baker's more left-field, alien performance. Leela, on the other hand, already comes across as being a strong, independent, likeable character with strong opinions and a rapport with the Doctor, all things they seemed to try and give Sarah but utterly failed to pull off! Leela's also a great character to up the Doctor's morality - only one episode in and he's already ordered her to stop killing people!
Great characters, great return after the Yule break, and an interesting script. I think I'm going to like this one!
The Face Of Evil: Part Two (08/01/17)
Another utterly brilliant episode with a bit of a weak cliffhanger but regardless one of the best episodes in a very long time; if it continues like this it may well be better than 'Terror Of The Zygons'!
Lots of politics in the tribe of the Sevateem this week and Calib is turning out to be one of the most interesting characters the show has seen. He's denounced the Doctor, tried to kill Leela, had the Doctor, Leela and Tomas put on trial, and is after control of the tribe by undermining Neeva whilst not refuting Xoanon's existence like Leela did, and yet the Doctor still had Calib helping him put together a weapon to help protect the tribe from Xoanon's monsters (which look like the Doctor's head when they're not invisible!).
Leela's also turning out to be pretty amazing, too. SO different to Sarah Jane, she's inquisitive and intelligent, but also hugely likeable. It was actually quite worrying when Calib stabbed her with a Janis thorn, even though it was obvious the Doctor would save her. I think Louise Jameson is a much better actor than Elisabeth Sladen, too, as her performance seems much more naturalistic. There was always something a bit 'Children's Television' about Sarah, whereas Leela's characterisation seems to have had a lot more thought put into it. I don't know what Louise has done before, but she's definitely approaching the character as a real person and not just a companion.
I think the writing's helping a lot, too. It's very clever, funny and intelligent, with sly comments on politics, religion and morality. I just hope the writing continues in this vein and we hear more fro Chris Boucher 'cause he's very good!
As for the plot this week, the Doctor and Leela investigated Neeva's shrine, talked to Xoanon who sounds like the Doctor and also someone else, then Leela asked how they could hear Xoanon when there was a barrier around him leading them to finding a passage in the mouth of the giant carving of the Doctor's head. Neeva had a breakdown, and the tribal leader was killed while Tomas fought off some monsters. Oh, and we got to see some cool beetle-like things called Horda which are quite vicious and nicely realised. A pretty brutal episode, all said, but so well written, acted and directed. Can't wait for next week!
The Face Of Evil: Part Three (15/01/17)
Once again we have a fantastic episode and, unusually for a Part Three, relatively no padding! Chris Boucher continues to explore the world he's created providing a fascinating plot. The shadow the Doctor and Leela saw in the cave was a Tesh which Leela identified due to it's "silvery, loose skin and two heads, one inside the other" - of course, it was a man in a space suit but Leela's descriptions of aspects of her tribal folklore are beautifully worded so that they sound like religious rote but are easily decipherable in a Science Fiction setting.
They made their way (off screen) to the ship of the Tesh where Xoanon lives and the events behind the story slowly unfolded: apparently, a post-regenerative 4th Doctor encountered the Mordee expedition whose ship was damaged and stuck on a planet. He offered to help and did so by wiring himself into the ship's computer to reboot it. Unfortunately, he didn't wipe his personality from it before he left, nor was he aware that the expedition's attempts to fix the ship's computer had caused it to evolve into a sentient lifeform. Thinking all was well, he left, but Xoanon began to develop its own personality alongside that of the Doctor's and over time this sent it mad. As a result, it turned the Survey Team and the Technicians into a sociological experiment, developing the Sevateem's physical side whilst enhancing the Tesh's psychological and mental attributes. Thus, Leela's people are a tribe of warriors, and the Tesh are pale, weirdly dressed guys who can knock the Doctor and Leela unconscious with just a look, and they all worship Xoanon as their god.
Anyway, the Doctor contacted Neeva and got him to get Calib to lead everyone to the ship to escape Xoanon's monsters while the Doctor infiltrated Xoanon's heart (having been denounced by Tesh leader Jabel as "not the Lord of Time come to save us". There was a diversion where the Doctor and Leela were almost particle analysed, but it ended with Leela guarding the entrance to Xoanon's centre but running out of ammunition in her laser gun while the Doctor tried to reason with the many personalities of Xoanon within, resulting in a very surreal cliffhanger of the Doctor's head shouting "Who am I?" is a child's voice while the Doctor curled up in pain on the floor. Really quite brilliant!
The Face Of Evil: Part Four (22/01/17)
Well, that's possibly the best story we've had in the series! The writing was excellent throughout with so much to say put forward in witty observations ("the incredibly powerful and the incredibly stupid have one thing in common..."), wise sentiments ("with proof, you don't need to believe"), and some really affecting scenes; the bit where the Doctor came round, with Leela at his side, to learn he'd been unconscious for two days was quite beautifully written, as was the subsequent meeting with Xoanon and the argument between Jabel and Calib over who should lead the two groups which resulted in Tomas proposing Leela as the perfect candidate. Obviously she was unwilling and I don't know if she ran after the Doctor to escape the possible responsibility or because he hadn't said goodbye - probably a bit of both.
The Doctor and Leela have a wonderful chemistry, a million times better than his rather dreary friendship with Sarah, and now she's boarded the TARDIS and initiated dematerialisation without the Doctor's wholehearted agreement that she join him - I think Tom quite enjoyed travelling alone - so I think we have some interesting adventures ahead of us!
Anyway, plotwise, Xoanon began controlling the Tesh's minds while the Sevateem attacked the Mordee ship. Leela rescued the Doctor and he set about using the unused computer banks to remove his consciousness from Xoanon, undoing the mess he'd created. Xoanon responded by electrifying the walls and taking over the minds of the Sevateem as well, but ultimately failed to control Neeva who was determined to kill Xoanon for what it had done. As a result, he found an abandoned Tesh weapon, took it to Xoanon's control computer and blasted Xoanon, being vapourised in the process but allowing the Doctor to save the day. So Neeva was really the hero of the story in the end. Such a layered and intelligent story - definitely the best Tom Baker has done, even better than 'Terror Of The Zygons'!
Maybe I overstated saying best ever, as Hartnell had some brilliant Historicals and Pertwee had quite a few great ones, but it really was a fantastic set of episodes and I hope they get Chris Boucher back to write for the series again!
It's always surprised me how [relatively] underrated this story is. I know it comes from a season and indeed era generally where there are more obvious 'standouts', but on the whole this is better than, or at the very least just as good as, most if not all of them. It's all the more astonishing for being Chris Boucher's debut script for the series, and for the fact, as the novelisation attests, that it saw very little tweaking by Robert Holmes to get it from script to screen. To play devil's advocate, it's far more interesting before we meet the Tesh, but the fourth-episode dog-leg doesn't undermine the rest of the story nearly as much as, say, Pyramids of Mars or The Hand of Fear. In any case, the cast uniformly give it their all, and what with the brilliant design and the innovative narrative take on doing the sequel without ever having told the original story, it's really pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly an impressive debut for Boucher, and he makes Leela an interesting and rounded character from the off - certainly a companion for the Punk era. I've always felt that this story and 'The Hand Of Fear' get glossed over in favour of more 'obvious' Classics (is it because both have body parts in their titles?) and they're certainly from a season with more than its fair share of excellent stories (and 'The Masque Of Mandragora'). Season 14 is by far the Hinchcliffe/Holmes peak of creativity, vastly superior to the previous two series with only '...Mandragora' really letting the side down (but exhibiting some great locations). Coming off the back of such a politically clever, satirical serial, 'The Face Of Evil' shows the series turning its attention to organised religion and it pulls no punches. Perhaps it's a little too deep for many fans who are just looking for thrills and scary monsters, but it's certainly one of the most interesting and adult stories of the era, and for that it more than deserves greater attention and praise.
DeleteAnd it remains a terrible pity that the original title was nixed. I can't remember who officially nixed it now - whether they (i.e. Hinchcliffe and Holmes) knew it wouldn't wash or whether the veto came from on high - but 'The Day God Went Mad' would have made the whole thing even more memorable.
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