The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon: Snakedance

SNAKEDANCE (Part One) 18/01/2023 

Well, that was a massive improvement on last week, and promises to be fairly good at the very least by dint of being a sequel to last year's Kinda. Aboard the TARDIS, Tegan dreamt about a cave mouth shaped like a snake's head - a dream she's had regularly but can never remember. Turns out the Mara remained inside her head, hiding, and used her to return it to Manussa, its planet of origin over which it ruled until about 500 years ago when it was destroyed by the (Human) Federation. There's been a Federation colony there ever since, currently ruled (in the Federator's absence) by his posh wife, Tanha, and somewhat snobbish son, Lon.

The background to Manussa, whose original society was replaced by the Sumaran Empire for several hundred years, was rather nicely delivered via a basic summary from Nyssa (reading from one of the TARDIS's books) and some very naturalistic conversation between Lon and Tanha, later joined by the Director of Manussan Studies on the planet, a rather self-important and humourless academic-cum-archaeologist named Ambril. While Ambril took Tanha and Lon on a private tour of the cave system from Tegan's dream, the Doctor devised a device to subdue her dreams and, thus, the Mara within while he and Nyssa tried to find out what its plans may be by having a look around the area it (via Tegan) had brought the TARDIS to. This included a rather nicely realised bizarre, and eventually the cave system. The Doctor met Ambril and his party, and tried to explain that the legends of the Mara are real and its return may be imminent. Ambril, unlike his predecessor (apparently) is very closed-minded on the subject and, whilst Lon listened to the Doctor because it amused him, a travelling snake-toy salesman scared Tegan while she and Nysa waited outside and she legged it back to the market. Here, she fainted outside a Fortune Teller's booth, was taken inside and had the Doctor's device removed. This allowed the Mara to reassert itself and the cliffhanger saw a snake skull appear in the Fortune Teller's crystal ball, which then exploded.

The script and cast are brilliant in this one, from clearly bored, privileged boy Lon and his nice-but-also-privileged mother, to the arrogant Ambril, the down-to-earth Carnie Fortune Teller, and even the bloke with the Hall Of Mirrors, the latter two of whom are clearly happy to fleece people with cheap thrills and banter. So much information was given which paint Manussa as a very real place with a believable history, with clear references to the British Empire. The sets, though studio-bound, are stunning, exhibiting very unearthly geology, and the costumes are wonderful.

Speaking of which, Nyssa has a great new outfit, part sailor suit, part Ra-Ra skirt, with red cut-offs underneath - very New Romantic so she wouldn't look out of place at a Spandau Ballet concert - which the Doctor singularly failed to notice. There were also the occasional cutaways to an old man sat meditating in the desert who may be Ambril's predecessor who went a bit weird believing he had to prepare for the Mara's return.

As an example of world-building, this episode was almost perfect. Manussa and its inhabitants feel very real and three dimensional after only 25 minutes. We also got Tegan recalling lines from Kinda and revealing she had a garden when she was a 6 year old and sometimes told lies. It was a very good story for all three main cast, to be honest, with much more for them to do than in the last story's opening episode. Really very promising, with humour, drama, and layers to the script which I think would reward repeated viewing. Hopefully, Christopher Bailey will deliver on the success of his previous script in an equal and opposite way to Johnny Byrne!

SNAKEDANCE (Part Two) 19/01/2023 

This story is going very well so far. Martin Clunes is brilliantly cast as the bored rich kid, and the scenes with him and his mother are very well written and performed. Though they only had a couple of scenes together this episode, their relationship had so many layers. The attention to detail and exposition through naturalistic conversation is what's really selling this story and makes Manussa far more believable and textured than the dry and two dimensional societies of the likes of Gallifrey or Traken, Logopolis or Tigella!

The main cast clearly know they've got gold here and are running with it. Davison's performance is breathless; literally! Having lost Tegan and unable to figure out how to prevent the Mara from manifesting itself, he runs from scene to scene gasping his lines and spewing information in a stream of consciousness as he and Nyssa piece together the Mara's plan. -to manifest itself on its homeworld (which it conquered and ruled for 600 years until defeated by the Federation) using the Great Crystal which used to sit at the mouth of a carved snake in the cave from Tegan's dream. He and Nyssa established that the crystal - The Great Mind's Eye - and related smaller crystals (Little Mind's Eyes - one of which was given to the Doctor by Ambril's assistant, Chela) were used in ceremonies during the Sumaran era to focus and concentrate mental energy and make it physically manifest. Hence Tegan bringing them to Manussa the day before a festival commemorating the Mara's defeat.

The scenes between Davison and John Carson's wonderfully stuffy and blinkered academic, Ambril, are so much fun to watch. Ambril clearly sees the Doctor as yet another crank ranting on about the Maran myth being reality so when he was shown up, in front of Chela, wearing the headdress called The Six Faces Of Delusion and had to have it pointed out to him that, added to the five faces on the piece, the sixth was his own, his angry reaction was both believable and a contrast to what we've seen of him so far. Likewise, Janet Fielding is getting plenty to do as Tegan, now fully possessed by the Mara. Whilst I wasn't convinced by her 'mischievous' acting after scaring the shit out of the Fortune Teller, her sudden switch to fear as she begged Nyssa for help, and subsequent interaction with the Mara in the Showman's Hall Of Mirrors (they're not in a circle so have no power over the Mara) was utterly brilliant. We also got more depth to the Showman, who Tegan sent to summon Lon, who has now been taken by the Mara after clearly thinking Tegan had summoned him for an entirely different reason. The three of them ended up in a secret chamber behind the snake carving full of ancient Manussan artefacts which Lon will use to persuade Ambril to replace the Great Mind's Eye into the snake's mouth, and where Tegan and Lon made it clear they were one and the same, and that the Showman was toast.

There's so much going on here and it's all so good! There isn't a scene where we aren't fed background information about Manussa or the characters we meet. These aren't cardboard cut-outs; I feel I have much more understanding about the life and personality of the Fortune Teller than I did about Hedin, Robin or Damon from the last story, and she was a cliffhanger bit-part, not a main character featured in four episodes! I really hope the story remains this good next week. It's rivalling its predecessor for title of Best Davison Story so far!

SNAKEDANCE (Part Three) 25/01/2023 

Very like in Kinda, the Doctor has spent Part Three locked up in a cell. This episode was fairly slow but nonetheless far more interesting than at any point in the previous story. Tegan sent Lon to get the Great Mind's Eye, so he lured Ambril to the secret cavern (blindfolded, of course) using one of the ancient artefacts found there, and bribed him in to using the Great Mind's Eye in that afternoon's ceremony, placing it in the mouth of the carved snake despite it being forbidden for the Director's charge since the Mara was defeated. Nyssa tried to free the Doctor but was caught stealing the key from Ambril's office by Tanha, who had her locked up as well.

Much of the episode was spent with the Doctor winning Chela over and expounding upon the history of Manussa based on the notes in the journal of Ambril's predecessor, Dojjen, who realised that the Mara's return was more than a myth and retreated to the wilderness to cleanse his mind in preparation. Nyssa worked out that the Little Mind's Eye and the Great Mind's Eye had to be man-made since they are perfectly attuned to the Human mind. It seems the Manussans were highly advanced and capable of creating the crystals in zero gravity, but hadn't realised the nature of the power they would unleash. All their dark impulses manifested in the Mara which enslaved them, and they regressed into the Sumaran culture encountered hundreds of years later with only the traditions of the Snakedancers keeping the truth alive.

Ambril's proclamation that the crystal would be used in the ceremony at Lon's request led to Chela taking the key and freeing the Doctor and Nyssa, but Lon saw him take it, persuaded his mother that the Doctor and Chela are conspiring to kill him, and ambushed them at the cliffhanger. Nyssa screamed again, which she didn't do last series. I'm worried the show is regressing back to the tropes of the Hinchcliffe era, which would be a massive shame!

Janet and Martin Clunes were brilliant again as the Mara, and Peter and Sarah work incredibly well together. I was reminded of the scenes with Tom and Lalla locked up in State Of Decay. There was a rather violent Punch And Judy show at one point where Punch clearly killed Judy then got eaten by a pink puppet snake wonderfully reminiscent of the Mara at the end of Kinda. The stickers on Janet and Martin's arms, and the inflatable rubber snake that manifested itself on Tegan toward the end of the episode were significantly less impressive. However, this is outweighed by the quality of the performances and the atmosphere created by the design, direction and score. A massive step up from the bland Amsterdam shenanigans. Here's hoping we get a satisfying conclusion tomorrow!

SNAKEDANCE (Part Four) 26/01/2023 

That was a rather good episode, albeit with yet another fairly abrupt conclusion. Tanha stepped in to stop her son having the Doctor, Nyssa and Chela executed on the spot, and they all adjourned to Ambril's office to discuss things civilly. However, the Doctor twigged that Lon was possessed by the Mara and scuppered things by calling Lon 'evil' in front of his mother, and they were going to be locked up again, but managed to escape to the wastelands. Here they met Dojjen, who instructed the Doctor on how to find the Still Point in order to destroy the Mara using the Little Mind's eye. They returned to the cave, interrupting the ceremony just as the Mara manifested itself via Tegan, Lon having placed the Great Mind's Eye in its place in the snake carving. Of course, the Doctor succeeded and comforted Tegan, confirming that the Mara had been destroyed... and then it cut straight to the credits without any sort of coda.

Granted, such a scene in the aftermath of Lon and Tegan manifesting the Mara which had held the Manussans all in the thrall of its terror (Nyssa and Chela included) would have been a bit awkward, but it did feel premature and sudden. I think it would have been better with some form of coda to allow some resolution, like a the end of Kinda with the Doctor and Todd walking through the forest.

Nevertheless, it was still a very good episode. The script was brilliant, Christopher Bailey once again bringing in references to Buddhism, with plenty of casual exposition which fleshed out the Manussan society and history incredibly well. Janet Fielding and Martin Clunes were excellent as the possessed Tegan and Lon, the latter's relationship with Tanha being particularly well portrayed. In fact, the acting in this story was pretty flawless across the board!

Less successful was some of the design. Whilst the interiors, market, caves and wilderness were wonderful (the rock formations in particular being very unearthly and quite striking when seen on film in the Dojjen scenes), the manifestation of the Mara was decidedly rubbery, and I actually think I preferred the huge, pink puppet from Kinda (which was referenced in the large snake puppet that led the procession through the streets to the cavern). Also, whilst Lon's costume was great throughout, making him look like a member of Spandau Ballet or Duran Duran, his ceremonial garb with its white tunic and silly hat left a great deal to be desired. Nevertheless, the makeup for Fielding and Clunes, emphasising the pinkness of their skin, was quite effective, especially to indicate how strongly the Mara had a hold on them. The very obvious stickers on their arms, however, were much less successful.

Special mention has to go to Peter Howell and Dick Mills who were responsible for the magnificent score and special sound, respectively. The incidental music was wonderfully atmospheric from the music of the market and ceremony through to the wonderfully Brian Eno-esque soundscapes that accompanied the scenes with Dojjen. Likewise, the echoes within Tegan's mind during earlier episodes and the screeches that accompanied the Mara making its presence felt were brilliantly unnerving. This is certainly a story which I'd like to see have its soundtrack released!

So, another great story from the pen of Christopher Bailey, and a vast improvement on Arc Of Infinity. I think I liked Kinda slightly more, but both looked so different and had such different styles and narrative elements (whilst maintaining a shared identity) that it's difficult to choose between the two.