The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: The Horns Of Nimon
The Horns Of Nimon: Part One (22/12/19)
It's my birthday and I may have had one too many glasses of Bailey's to appreciate tonight's Doctor Who fully, but Michael got me the special edition of Belinda Carlisle's 'Real' and we watched the videos from that first, so I'm blaming their high production values for how shoddy some of this episode looked.
It all started on an ancient Skonnon battleship that the LX department had lit like the Blue Peter studio. They were transporting the last of their Anethan sacrifices home in order to have their decidedly decrepit empire renewed by the Nimon, a tall, lanky bull-type creature who the Skonnon leader, Soldeed (a raving loony with a pasty face), kow-tows to like a whimpering bitch. The tubby co-pilot pushed to force the engines past their capabilities and fucked the ship, killing the pilot. Luckily, the Doctor was doing some work on the TARDIS and disabled a tonne of systems so it got pulled to the Skonnon ship which is at the centre of a gravity whirlpool.
Anyhow, Romana got enlisted to fix the ship while the Doctor got stuff from the TARDIS, but after she'd got the ship running again the co-pilot locked her in with the sacrifices and st off for Skonnos, leaving the Doctor and K9 in the disabled TARDIS with a load of space shit hurtling toward them.
It all looks a bit cheap, but here are the good things: Romana has an excellent outfit and A SONIC SCREWDRIVER! (which the Doctor tried to steal)! The lighting improved once the ship was disabled, and I loved the way they actually had the set moving when the Skonnon ship was in trouble. The citadel's backdrop on Skonnos is actually bloody impressive (unlike some of the earlier model work) and the Skonnon costumes are very nicely realised.
Tom and Lalla, as has become the norm this series, are impeccable, and K9 has been well utilised for the third story in a row. All in all, it wasn't a terrible episode but not a patch on 'City Of Death' or 'The Creature From The Pit'. And Soldeed's lacky was quite good, again a very straight performance offsetting a very OTT one (see Tryst vs Della/Dymond). I'm very interested to see how this pans out.
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Two (29/12/19)
This has quickly turned out to be a bit of an odd one. The Doctor did literally fuck all except arrive this week and so Romana got the bulk of the action. K9 has been relegated to sounding board for the Doctor and did even less aside from nearly poke him in the eye! Romana got to know the sacrifices (well, Seth and Teka. The other five just stand around looking vaguely bewildered, occasionally doing 'reaction acting') and learnt that Seth is a runaway who ended up in several situations which resulted in Teka thinking he's a hero, a Prince and is going to kill the Nimon. I really hope he does because Janet Ellis and Simon Gipps-Kent are doing a sterling job with what could essentially be two very bland characters. It helps that they've got Lalla Ward with them as she's taken on the Doctor's usual role very seriously and is getting some great scenes as Romana faces off with Soldeed and the co-pilot.
Michael Osborne is again great as Sorak, Soldeed's straight man, and has found a nice balance between bewilderment and seriousness in his scenes with the OTT Graham Crowden. I'm not entirely sure about Crowden's performance. It's verging on hammy, but he's just about managing to pull off 'loony'. His scene with Tom was interesting but not as convincing or memorable as his scene with Lalla. They're now all in the Power Complex (Romana got a great line about that in her chat with Seth) - Romana and the tributes, the Doctor, and the Co-pilot who Soldeed banished there for almost fucking up the final shipment and then lying badly about it. He followed Romana and the tributes to the Nimon's lair (there was a fantastic effect of the dried husk of a previous tribute collapsing to dust as Teka touched it) where he called on the Nimon who then shot him dead then turned on the others.
The cliffhanger was slightly undermined by the massive rip that appeared in the arse of the Co-pilot's trousers as he fell to the ground exposing his white underpants, but it somehow fits with the rest of the episode. Tentative, but intrigued to see where this one's going.
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Three (05/01/20)
This is actually a very clever script let down by some shaky model work and some over the top acting choices. The latter, however, I think are also quite clever. This has been another one of those rarities which have become quite regular in recent years - a very good third episode!
Let's address Soldeed first. Crowden's performance has so far been... 'extravagant'; a little on the scenery-chewing side. However, this week we had a couple of scenes (with the frankly excellent Michael Osborne) which really fleshed out both characters. Soldeed thinks he's being clever, thinks he's playing the Nimon for its power and using it, but at the same time is full of self-doubt when on his own. With Sorak, he claimed control, boasted about his plans and glossed over his general incapability as Skonnos' last scientist in regards to K9 and the TARDIS (both of which he can't figure out). Alone in the Power Complex he's clearly a lot more fearful of the Nimon than he claims and uncertain of how well his plans are going. This culminated in his discovery of the Doctor dicking around with the Nimon teleportation equipment moments after Romana had accidentally been transported to Crinoth, and his dangerously unstable reaction. I'm beginning to think Crowden's performance is actually perfect for this part - a man totally out of his depth playing a power game he isn't convinced he'll win.
On to the Nimon. So, the design isn't great, but it turns out that they're a species who are travelling from planet to planet and ravaging them for all their needs before moving on to the next. They send out one scout who dupes the inhabitants with the promise of power and use them to build up the power to bring the rest of their kind there via a manufactured Black Hole. The natives think they're using the Nimon, but the Nimon are just carrying out a very subtle invasion.
After an underwhelming Part One and a dubious Part Two, this week has actually impressed me, and the two leads and four supporting cast are doing a splendid job of delivering a very interesting script. Finally, I need to say that I actually love the effects laid over the Nimon dialogue. One of the best attempts at making an alien sound alien that the series has seen!
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Four (12/01/20)
Well,that was absolutely brilliant! Granted, the Doctor didn't actually get to do much, but it was nonetheless a very well written episode.
Romana got the bulk of the action again, travelling to Crinoth and finding out not only what the Nimon were and what they planned but also how to disable them. K9 saved the day having spent the last two episodes pretty much neglected. Seth and Teka got to do plenty, armed with weapons and out chasing Soldeed. They got separated (great sequence) and there was a wonderful scene, dialogue free, where Teka found the body of the Co-pilot laid out for ingestion (so he wasn't dead after all!) before being caught by Soldeed (her gun didn't work) who then presented her to the Nimon. His face when the Nimon was joined by the two from Crinoth was brilliant, his horror vastly exceeding Teka's surprise since he believed entirely only one Nimon existed.
Romana's scenes on Crinoth were brilliant, accompanied by the excellent John Bailey as sole survivor and leader, Sezom. She's been given all the Doctorish bits in this story which has really emphasised what a great actor Lalla Ward is! Her face off with Soldeed was nothing short of brilliant, a perfect confrontation between the villain and the lead (except that's usually the Doctor). It featured some cracking dialogue ("You meddlesome hussy!") and Seth saved the day (Yay!).
There were some great sequences with Sorak where his distrust of Soldeed became apparent when he broke into Soldeed's lab to look at K9, and a great scene where K9 shot Sorak to prove how powerful he was (but only to hurt him and get Sorak to put him down from the work bench). Best of all was the acknowledgement that Sorak had succeeded Soldeed (after Seth killed him) and Skonnos probably wouldn't be any better off under his rule. And also that Seth had a lot to deal with on his return to Aneth, particularly with Teka singing his praises.
This has been a brilliant, if premature, end to the season and much better than expected. If only there were a six parter to round this brilliant series off...
...wait...
...what's that?...
...weirdy-beardy...
...timey wimey...
...oh, I do love the Spring; all the leaves, the colours...
It's my birthday and I may have had one too many glasses of Bailey's to appreciate tonight's Doctor Who fully, but Michael got me the special edition of Belinda Carlisle's 'Real' and we watched the videos from that first, so I'm blaming their high production values for how shoddy some of this episode looked.
It all started on an ancient Skonnon battleship that the LX department had lit like the Blue Peter studio. They were transporting the last of their Anethan sacrifices home in order to have their decidedly decrepit empire renewed by the Nimon, a tall, lanky bull-type creature who the Skonnon leader, Soldeed (a raving loony with a pasty face), kow-tows to like a whimpering bitch. The tubby co-pilot pushed to force the engines past their capabilities and fucked the ship, killing the pilot. Luckily, the Doctor was doing some work on the TARDIS and disabled a tonne of systems so it got pulled to the Skonnon ship which is at the centre of a gravity whirlpool.
Anyhow, Romana got enlisted to fix the ship while the Doctor got stuff from the TARDIS, but after she'd got the ship running again the co-pilot locked her in with the sacrifices and st off for Skonnos, leaving the Doctor and K9 in the disabled TARDIS with a load of space shit hurtling toward them.
It all looks a bit cheap, but here are the good things: Romana has an excellent outfit and A SONIC SCREWDRIVER! (which the Doctor tried to steal)! The lighting improved once the ship was disabled, and I loved the way they actually had the set moving when the Skonnon ship was in trouble. The citadel's backdrop on Skonnos is actually bloody impressive (unlike some of the earlier model work) and the Skonnon costumes are very nicely realised.
Tom and Lalla, as has become the norm this series, are impeccable, and K9 has been well utilised for the third story in a row. All in all, it wasn't a terrible episode but not a patch on 'City Of Death' or 'The Creature From The Pit'. And Soldeed's lacky was quite good, again a very straight performance offsetting a very OTT one (see Tryst vs Della/Dymond). I'm very interested to see how this pans out.
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Two (29/12/19)
This has quickly turned out to be a bit of an odd one. The Doctor did literally fuck all except arrive this week and so Romana got the bulk of the action. K9 has been relegated to sounding board for the Doctor and did even less aside from nearly poke him in the eye! Romana got to know the sacrifices (well, Seth and Teka. The other five just stand around looking vaguely bewildered, occasionally doing 'reaction acting') and learnt that Seth is a runaway who ended up in several situations which resulted in Teka thinking he's a hero, a Prince and is going to kill the Nimon. I really hope he does because Janet Ellis and Simon Gipps-Kent are doing a sterling job with what could essentially be two very bland characters. It helps that they've got Lalla Ward with them as she's taken on the Doctor's usual role very seriously and is getting some great scenes as Romana faces off with Soldeed and the co-pilot.
Michael Osborne is again great as Sorak, Soldeed's straight man, and has found a nice balance between bewilderment and seriousness in his scenes with the OTT Graham Crowden. I'm not entirely sure about Crowden's performance. It's verging on hammy, but he's just about managing to pull off 'loony'. His scene with Tom was interesting but not as convincing or memorable as his scene with Lalla. They're now all in the Power Complex (Romana got a great line about that in her chat with Seth) - Romana and the tributes, the Doctor, and the Co-pilot who Soldeed banished there for almost fucking up the final shipment and then lying badly about it. He followed Romana and the tributes to the Nimon's lair (there was a fantastic effect of the dried husk of a previous tribute collapsing to dust as Teka touched it) where he called on the Nimon who then shot him dead then turned on the others.
The cliffhanger was slightly undermined by the massive rip that appeared in the arse of the Co-pilot's trousers as he fell to the ground exposing his white underpants, but it somehow fits with the rest of the episode. Tentative, but intrigued to see where this one's going.
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Three (05/01/20)
This is actually a very clever script let down by some shaky model work and some over the top acting choices. The latter, however, I think are also quite clever. This has been another one of those rarities which have become quite regular in recent years - a very good third episode!
Let's address Soldeed first. Crowden's performance has so far been... 'extravagant'; a little on the scenery-chewing side. However, this week we had a couple of scenes (with the frankly excellent Michael Osborne) which really fleshed out both characters. Soldeed thinks he's being clever, thinks he's playing the Nimon for its power and using it, but at the same time is full of self-doubt when on his own. With Sorak, he claimed control, boasted about his plans and glossed over his general incapability as Skonnos' last scientist in regards to K9 and the TARDIS (both of which he can't figure out). Alone in the Power Complex he's clearly a lot more fearful of the Nimon than he claims and uncertain of how well his plans are going. This culminated in his discovery of the Doctor dicking around with the Nimon teleportation equipment moments after Romana had accidentally been transported to Crinoth, and his dangerously unstable reaction. I'm beginning to think Crowden's performance is actually perfect for this part - a man totally out of his depth playing a power game he isn't convinced he'll win.
On to the Nimon. So, the design isn't great, but it turns out that they're a species who are travelling from planet to planet and ravaging them for all their needs before moving on to the next. They send out one scout who dupes the inhabitants with the promise of power and use them to build up the power to bring the rest of their kind there via a manufactured Black Hole. The natives think they're using the Nimon, but the Nimon are just carrying out a very subtle invasion.
After an underwhelming Part One and a dubious Part Two, this week has actually impressed me, and the two leads and four supporting cast are doing a splendid job of delivering a very interesting script. Finally, I need to say that I actually love the effects laid over the Nimon dialogue. One of the best attempts at making an alien sound alien that the series has seen!
The Horns Of Nimon: Part Four (12/01/20)
Well,that was absolutely brilliant! Granted, the Doctor didn't actually get to do much, but it was nonetheless a very well written episode.
Romana got the bulk of the action again, travelling to Crinoth and finding out not only what the Nimon were and what they planned but also how to disable them. K9 saved the day having spent the last two episodes pretty much neglected. Seth and Teka got to do plenty, armed with weapons and out chasing Soldeed. They got separated (great sequence) and there was a wonderful scene, dialogue free, where Teka found the body of the Co-pilot laid out for ingestion (so he wasn't dead after all!) before being caught by Soldeed (her gun didn't work) who then presented her to the Nimon. His face when the Nimon was joined by the two from Crinoth was brilliant, his horror vastly exceeding Teka's surprise since he believed entirely only one Nimon existed.
Romana's scenes on Crinoth were brilliant, accompanied by the excellent John Bailey as sole survivor and leader, Sezom. She's been given all the Doctorish bits in this story which has really emphasised what a great actor Lalla Ward is! Her face off with Soldeed was nothing short of brilliant, a perfect confrontation between the villain and the lead (except that's usually the Doctor). It featured some cracking dialogue ("You meddlesome hussy!") and Seth saved the day (Yay!).
There were some great sequences with Sorak where his distrust of Soldeed became apparent when he broke into Soldeed's lab to look at K9, and a great scene where K9 shot Sorak to prove how powerful he was (but only to hurt him and get Sorak to put him down from the work bench). Best of all was the acknowledgement that Sorak had succeeded Soldeed (after Seth killed him) and Skonnos probably wouldn't be any better off under his rule. And also that Seth had a lot to deal with on his return to Aneth, particularly with Teka singing his praises.
This has been a brilliant, if premature, end to the season and much better than expected. If only there were a six parter to round this brilliant series off...
...wait...
...what's that?...
...weirdy-beardy...
...timey wimey...
...oh, I do love the Spring; all the leaves, the colours...
Underrated, but still not as good as it could - and should - be. I do wonder why Romana gets all the limelight, even in the script, but it works. (Perhaps Tom Baker asked for four less demanding weeks of shooting? Or maybe the writers just liked Romana more as a character.) The central concept isn't new, to [science] fiction generally or to Doctor Who itself, but is still well developed, earning the sidestep to Crinoth, which could very easily be filler but actually turns out to be quite moving and important to cementing the story as far more than the pantomime it occasionally comes across as. As per pretty much the whole season, it's the monster design that lets the side down most, with the Nimon looking every bit actors-in-costume.
ReplyDeleteI've since heard talk that the Nimon heads are meant to be helmets concealing something much more horrifying, but that's sadly not what they come across as. They still just look like men in platforms and a brown body stocking with Leela's modesty flap cast-offs covering their junk and a cheaply made bull mask. But elsewhere it looks rather nice (once we reach Skonnos) and whilst Crowden does come across as hammy much of the time, in a way it works (and I suspect Tom's performance tended to seem more of a challenge at excess for incoming actors at the time). It's a good story and Season 17 is one of Tom's best, only just ousted from the top by Season 14.
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