The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Ribos Operation
The Ribos Operation: Part One (02/09/18)
An inauspicious start to the new season. To be honest, it was rather dull! The premise seems a good one - some bloke called the White Guardian, who appears to be some sort of all-powerful being (but not that all-powerful else he'd be able to do it himself!) has sent the Doctor on a mission to recover the six segments of the Key To Time in order to stop everything and prevent chaos, or something.
The Doctor has built himself a new K9 (who was barely in this episode!) but has also been lumbered with a posh Time Lord woman called Romanadvoratnelundar (or Romana - or Fred - for short). She's pretty stuck up and unlikable.
Anyhow, they've been given a locator which has led them to the planet Ribos, a Russian-influenced planet with a possibly pre-Industrial society which hasn't had contact with any other planets despite being populated with Humans who have a remarkably similar culture to Northern Europe.
A couple of Earthlings are trying to scam some deposed monarch and his aide from yet another planet by planting a lump of rock known as Jethrik in a guarded display room for local crowns and jewels, no doubt in order to convince the Graff Vynda-K to buy the planet because Jethrik is very rare and valuable and he can use it to get his throne back.
I think.
It's all pretty dull and silly, which is a shame because Robert Holmes is usually a very dependable writer. Oh, and there's one of the worst monsters I've ever seen in the series in the form of the Shrivenzale - a flappy-clawed dragon with a Papier-mâché head who ineffectually terrorised the Doctor and Romanadvoratnelundar at the cliffhanger.
I miss Leela, the show needs more K9 and the Doctor seems a bit weary - perhaps it's time he regenerated! He's also got a scar from something on his upper lip. Maybe K9 bit him! There was also reference to the Time Lord President - not the Doctor, so I assume Borusa must have taken over. All in all, a rather disappointing start to the series. Certainly not as bad as 'The Masque Of Mandragora' but far from exciting. I really hope it picks up next week!
The Ribos Operation: Part Two (09/09/18)
There are a few things lurking in the background of this story which are actually pretty good, but on the whole this is still a fairly dull tale about a couple of con artists. For example, the Graff Vynda-K is a Prince of the Greater Cyrrhenic Empire whose half-brother took the Leviathan throne while he was off campaigning. He's a warlord in the same vein as Richard I, and talk of battle fleets and alien monarchies are very reminiscent of both Star Wars and Dune (very much so the latter), but here we have a rather dull tale of Garron and Unstoffe trying to fleece the Graff and his aide, Sholakh.
The Graff is clearly a bit of a tyrant, no doubt why his claim to take the throne back was rejected by the Leviathan High Court, and by the end of this episode he'd twigged that he was being scammed, but everything is very pedestrian and slow. Plus, all the Doctor and Romana seem to have done so far is watch from the sidelines and comment on what's going on! Hardly a dynamic start to the series!
There were one or two instances when the episode was raised out of mediocrity, such as the Doctor and Romana watching Garron and Unstoffe's con take place in the sacred chamber containing the Ribos crown jewels with their faces pushed up against the display case, but otherwise Robert Holmes' script has been uncharacteristically drab. Perhaps it's the Director, but I'm just finding this rather uninteresting.
The Ribos Operation: Part Three (16/09/18)
Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, this story has become really very good!
It all happened within the first five minutes when, confronted by the Graff Vynda-K who slapped him across the face with his glove, the Doctor took the glove and returned the favour. The expression on Tom's face was wonderful, and his and Paul Seed's performances were spot on!
Romana got the next brilliant bit, responding to the Doctor's concerned enquiry that "We're not a dirty gang, are we?" with a beautifully po-faced "Of course not!"!
Meanwhile, Unstoffe has pegged it with the Graff's gold and the piece of Jethrik (which is the first segment of the Key To Time) and been aided by Binro the Heretic, a local who's been cast out of the society of Shur for positing that Ribos isn't in fact a battleground for the Sun Gods and Ice Gods with ice crystals hanging above the world at night, but a planet circling a sun and the ice crystals are actually distant suns with their own planets. Unstoffe's revelation that he was right and Unstoffe himself is from one of those planets was really quite sweet and resulted in Binro helping him escape into the catacombs below the city.
We finally got some back story for Garron, and had it stated outright that the Graff is a tyrant, a madman and has been driven from the planet he was Emperor of by his own people.
Oh, and best of all, K9 is back, called by the Doctor (using a dog whistle) to set them free after he, Romana and Garron were captured and locked up by the Graff!
There was a very weird moment when Binro and Unstoffe went through a door which had clearly been painted for use in a pantomime in order to get into the Hall of the Dead on their way to the catacombs (you saw it again when the Doctor et al. followed), and the actual scenes there actually looked rather stunning - I don't know if it was the masses of candles, but these brief scenes were great!
It all ended with a rather bland cliffhanger after the Graff had taken his small garrison after the Doctor's group into the catacombs and the Doctor had knocked over a skull to alert them to where he was hiding, but otherwise this episode has finally turned this story into a recognisable and highly enjoyable contribution from Robert Holmes. I'm actually looking forward to next week!
The Ribos Operation: Part Four (23/09/18)
Well, that wasn't exactly Robert Holmes at his best!
There were some pretty good scenes such as the discussion between Unstoffe and Binro, and Binro's explanation as to why he'd risk his life to help Unstoffe, and it was actually quite tragic when he was killed. Paul Seed's final scenes as the Graff were very good, too, as he mourned the death of Sholakh and recalled his past glories. But overall, it was quite dull, and some of the scenes with Romana and K9 were very badly written and very, very badly Directed!
Plotwise, Garron pinched the Locator off Romana and tracked Unstoffe down while the Doctor went off and disguised himself as one of the Graff's guards, and the Graff forced the Guard Captain of Shur to make the Seeker help him hunt down Unstoffe. Everyone ended up together, sort of, while the Guard Captain decided to blow up the catacombs (not too smart when they're right beneath the city). Either this or the Graff's attempt to execute Garron and Unstoffe caused a cave in that killed all of the Graff's men, then he shot the Seeker, tried to give the disguised Doctor a bomb and stormed off - only to get blown up because the Doctor had swapped the bomb with the Jethrik.
Meanwhile, Romana and K9 rescued Unstoffe and Garron, retrieving the Locator. They and the Doctor somehow got out of the catacombs between scenes and went their separate ways. And that was it!
It occurs to me that it's often the case in a four part story that the plot grinds to a halt for Part Three. However, in this story the reverse seemed to be true. It's nice to see Holmes inverting the norm, but I hope it doesn't happen again! Another one of those Shrivenzales turned up again, flapping its silly head and being utterly unconvincing.
That's about all I have to say. They've located one segment of the Key To Time. As the Doctor said, "Only five more to go...".
An inauspicious start to the new season. To be honest, it was rather dull! The premise seems a good one - some bloke called the White Guardian, who appears to be some sort of all-powerful being (but not that all-powerful else he'd be able to do it himself!) has sent the Doctor on a mission to recover the six segments of the Key To Time in order to stop everything and prevent chaos, or something.
The Doctor has built himself a new K9 (who was barely in this episode!) but has also been lumbered with a posh Time Lord woman called Romanadvoratnelundar (or Romana - or Fred - for short). She's pretty stuck up and unlikable.
Anyhow, they've been given a locator which has led them to the planet Ribos, a Russian-influenced planet with a possibly pre-Industrial society which hasn't had contact with any other planets despite being populated with Humans who have a remarkably similar culture to Northern Europe.
A couple of Earthlings are trying to scam some deposed monarch and his aide from yet another planet by planting a lump of rock known as Jethrik in a guarded display room for local crowns and jewels, no doubt in order to convince the Graff Vynda-K to buy the planet because Jethrik is very rare and valuable and he can use it to get his throne back.
I think.
It's all pretty dull and silly, which is a shame because Robert Holmes is usually a very dependable writer. Oh, and there's one of the worst monsters I've ever seen in the series in the form of the Shrivenzale - a flappy-clawed dragon with a Papier-mâché head who ineffectually terrorised the Doctor and Romanadvoratnelundar at the cliffhanger.
I miss Leela, the show needs more K9 and the Doctor seems a bit weary - perhaps it's time he regenerated! He's also got a scar from something on his upper lip. Maybe K9 bit him! There was also reference to the Time Lord President - not the Doctor, so I assume Borusa must have taken over. All in all, a rather disappointing start to the series. Certainly not as bad as 'The Masque Of Mandragora' but far from exciting. I really hope it picks up next week!
The Ribos Operation: Part Two (09/09/18)
There are a few things lurking in the background of this story which are actually pretty good, but on the whole this is still a fairly dull tale about a couple of con artists. For example, the Graff Vynda-K is a Prince of the Greater Cyrrhenic Empire whose half-brother took the Leviathan throne while he was off campaigning. He's a warlord in the same vein as Richard I, and talk of battle fleets and alien monarchies are very reminiscent of both Star Wars and Dune (very much so the latter), but here we have a rather dull tale of Garron and Unstoffe trying to fleece the Graff and his aide, Sholakh.
The Graff is clearly a bit of a tyrant, no doubt why his claim to take the throne back was rejected by the Leviathan High Court, and by the end of this episode he'd twigged that he was being scammed, but everything is very pedestrian and slow. Plus, all the Doctor and Romana seem to have done so far is watch from the sidelines and comment on what's going on! Hardly a dynamic start to the series!
There were one or two instances when the episode was raised out of mediocrity, such as the Doctor and Romana watching Garron and Unstoffe's con take place in the sacred chamber containing the Ribos crown jewels with their faces pushed up against the display case, but otherwise Robert Holmes' script has been uncharacteristically drab. Perhaps it's the Director, but I'm just finding this rather uninteresting.
The Ribos Operation: Part Three (16/09/18)
Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, this story has become really very good!
It all happened within the first five minutes when, confronted by the Graff Vynda-K who slapped him across the face with his glove, the Doctor took the glove and returned the favour. The expression on Tom's face was wonderful, and his and Paul Seed's performances were spot on!
Romana got the next brilliant bit, responding to the Doctor's concerned enquiry that "We're not a dirty gang, are we?" with a beautifully po-faced "Of course not!"!
Meanwhile, Unstoffe has pegged it with the Graff's gold and the piece of Jethrik (which is the first segment of the Key To Time) and been aided by Binro the Heretic, a local who's been cast out of the society of Shur for positing that Ribos isn't in fact a battleground for the Sun Gods and Ice Gods with ice crystals hanging above the world at night, but a planet circling a sun and the ice crystals are actually distant suns with their own planets. Unstoffe's revelation that he was right and Unstoffe himself is from one of those planets was really quite sweet and resulted in Binro helping him escape into the catacombs below the city.
We finally got some back story for Garron, and had it stated outright that the Graff is a tyrant, a madman and has been driven from the planet he was Emperor of by his own people.
Oh, and best of all, K9 is back, called by the Doctor (using a dog whistle) to set them free after he, Romana and Garron were captured and locked up by the Graff!
There was a very weird moment when Binro and Unstoffe went through a door which had clearly been painted for use in a pantomime in order to get into the Hall of the Dead on their way to the catacombs (you saw it again when the Doctor et al. followed), and the actual scenes there actually looked rather stunning - I don't know if it was the masses of candles, but these brief scenes were great!
It all ended with a rather bland cliffhanger after the Graff had taken his small garrison after the Doctor's group into the catacombs and the Doctor had knocked over a skull to alert them to where he was hiding, but otherwise this episode has finally turned this story into a recognisable and highly enjoyable contribution from Robert Holmes. I'm actually looking forward to next week!
The Ribos Operation: Part Four (23/09/18)
Well, that wasn't exactly Robert Holmes at his best!
There were some pretty good scenes such as the discussion between Unstoffe and Binro, and Binro's explanation as to why he'd risk his life to help Unstoffe, and it was actually quite tragic when he was killed. Paul Seed's final scenes as the Graff were very good, too, as he mourned the death of Sholakh and recalled his past glories. But overall, it was quite dull, and some of the scenes with Romana and K9 were very badly written and very, very badly Directed!
Plotwise, Garron pinched the Locator off Romana and tracked Unstoffe down while the Doctor went off and disguised himself as one of the Graff's guards, and the Graff forced the Guard Captain of Shur to make the Seeker help him hunt down Unstoffe. Everyone ended up together, sort of, while the Guard Captain decided to blow up the catacombs (not too smart when they're right beneath the city). Either this or the Graff's attempt to execute Garron and Unstoffe caused a cave in that killed all of the Graff's men, then he shot the Seeker, tried to give the disguised Doctor a bomb and stormed off - only to get blown up because the Doctor had swapped the bomb with the Jethrik.
Meanwhile, Romana and K9 rescued Unstoffe and Garron, retrieving the Locator. They and the Doctor somehow got out of the catacombs between scenes and went their separate ways. And that was it!
It occurs to me that it's often the case in a four part story that the plot grinds to a halt for Part Three. However, in this story the reverse seemed to be true. It's nice to see Holmes inverting the norm, but I hope it doesn't happen again! Another one of those Shrivenzales turned up again, flapping its silly head and being utterly unconvincing.
That's about all I have to say. They've located one segment of the Key To Time. As the Doctor said, "Only five more to go...".
I can never tell if the problem here is Robert Holmes trying to adapt his style to the more comedic leanings of the Williams era, or his scripts being edited that way. Either way, I agree that much of the first half of the story is quite slow, mostly because it's played for laughs. It does get better though, there are some lovely quintessential Holmes moments throughout and the performances are generally very good. Romana's introduction is more set-up than pay-off at this point, but I quite like her initial haughtiness and the Doctor's resentment at being lumbered with her. (The less said about the inconsistency-ridden concepts of the Key to Time and the Guardians the better though.)
ReplyDeleteSo yes, as you said, not Robert Holmes at his best, but not bad overall.
Distance makes me appreciate this story more than I did when I watched it in weekly episodes. The first two weeks, as the first new Who since two rather underwhelming stories seven months earlier, were a huge slog to get through, and a distinct lack of K9 and Tom being at his least tolerable, added to the script/Directing issue, and with the new companion being set up as cold and snobbish, made for a very depressing start to the season.
DeleteHowever, I agree that there are some great Holmesian moments, mostly in Part Three, and whilst I'd argue the bad outweighs the good, the good is more memorable due to the bad chiefly being also very boring.
This is the point (on the back of 'The Invasion Of Time') that I started to tire of Tom Baker as the Doctor and wish he'd move on. Not a patch on Pertwee, he'd improved greatly playing opposite Louise Jameson and I'd argue 1977 was his best year in the role. 1978, however, had so far been his worst.
I think if the best bits of Seasons Fifteen through Seventeen had been condensed down into two much better seasons and he'd left at the end of them, or at the very least if he'd called it quits at the end of Season Seventeen and everyone had upped their game knowing this, and allowed JNT a completely fresh start for Season Eighteen, it would have worked out better overall. As interesting as Season Eighteen is, it very much feels like an anachronism having the Fourth Doctor as part of it, and what with Tom Baker's health worries and resulting look and demeanour, his up-and-down relationship with Lalla Ward and both of them despising Matthew Waterhouse, it makes for quite an unhappy atmosphere at times, rather like a long wake being held before the person's even died.
DeleteI think you make some very valid points there. Over the years I've both loved and not so much loved Season 18 to varying degrees, and I'm looking forward to seeing what my reaction will be later this year when I reach it on the marathon. I've never been Tom Baker's biggest fan (I can name at least four actors I prefer in the role, and that's just from the Classic era) but I do think it's a shame that he didn't leave at the end of Season 17 - he clearly enjoyed working with Douglas Adams and Lalla Ward, and the overriding memory I have from Season 18 (I haven't seen anything from it in almost 18 months!) is one which looks amazing but stars a very tired and depressed looking Doctor who's a far cry from the energetic hero running around making witty quips - more a miserable, suddenly aged man stalking about and being ratty. I know all the behind the scenes stories, and on one level it suits his final series, but I'll be interested to see how it feels watching it as broadcast.
Delete