Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child by Anthony Coburn

The very first Doctor Who story. But certainly not the best. As with most television shows, the opening story is not the best one. The flaw mainly comes from the story setting chosen which was during prehistoric times with cavemen. Cavemen are difficult to portray in relation to modern man because they are so far removed from us that we really can't relate to one another. And it usually fails dramatically when its tried especially in a serious manner. That's really the main flaw in the story. Otherwise its fine. The performances are as good as could be expected under the circumstances given that cavemen are conversing and relating to modern man. We can make the apologists argument that the TARDIS was translating their language to make the TARDIS crew able to communicate with them but that's just what it is.

The pilot episode, "An Unearthly Child" however is top notch and as good as just about any other piece of Who. Very dramatic and very effective in setting up a mystery and dramatic tension and then ably explaining it all in easy-to-understand terms. I absolutely love that episode.

And watching the rest of it in episode format daily made me enjoy the rest of the story more than I usually do, especially once I get past the caveman limitations inherent in the story.

William Hartnell is fantastic as the Doctor. Far from the lovable grandfather figure he would later become, he is almost the antagonist and villain of the piece. Threatening Ian and Barbara often throughout the story and then kidnapping them. Forced to team up to survive the Doctor throughout the story, he seems only concerned with his own well being and that of his granddaughter Susan. He even goes so far as suggesting they commit murder to survive and it appears as if he is going to go through with the act before Ian stops him.

Carole Ann Ford is also very good as Susan making the most of playing a normal teenager at times and at other times seeming a bit otherworldly. An aspect of her character mostly played down in later stories unfortunately.

William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are not only the audience identification characters but the real heroes of the story as well. Its them we wind up rooting for mostly and in these early episodes they are just as much the leads as William Hartnell is.

Not the best story even watching it in episode format but it has much going for it still mostly due to the interactions of the four main characters. I give it 5 out of 10 TARDISes.

Doctor Who - Spearhead From Space by Robert Holmes

I've started a quest to watch every episode of Doctor Who in order. Well, actually I started it back in 2009 but as I've just reached the Pertwee era, I've decided to write reviews of them all!

Spearhead From Space is one of the very best opening stories for any Doctor. Its the debut of the Autons, one of Doctor Who's most prominent monsters. They are great creations, utilizing the creepiness of animated dummies to great effect. The effect is enhanced by this being the first Doctor Who story to be shot entirely on film due to strike at the BBC and one wonders if the show wouldn't have been improved if all of it had been shot on film from that point on. Although the form that controls the Autons, the Nestene consciousness takes at the end is much less better realized, its pretty much the only effect in the story that's a bit shoddy. Other than that the effects, pacing and direction is top notch.

The story itself is a fairly straightforward alien invasion plot but that's part of what makes it so strong. Its familiarity allows for the story to breathe enough to also serve as an introduction to the new Doctor portrayed by Jon Pertwee and Caroline John's Liz Shaw as well. Not to mention the reintroduction of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and the concept of UNIT.

In contrast to Patrick Troughton who had to find his way to a consistent portrayal of the Doctor, Jon Pertwee is immediately giving the same performance he delivers throughout his era and is much more comfortable in the role initially. His portrayal is a bit more quirky than usual due to the regeneration crisis but it is still the least quirky of all the Doctors as Pertwee chose to play it as a man of action. Basically the James Bond of Doctor Who without the womanizing. The only flaw in his performance is his comical expression when the Nestene is trying to choke him. Its more like something out of a vaudeville comedy rather than the actual expression of someone with their life in jeopardy. Other than that though, he's brilliant!

Caroline John is also very good as Liz Shaw and its a shame that after this story her character was pushed back to being the mere lab assistant as opposed to the primary scientific advisor she was brought in to be. In this story more so than others she is portrayed as almost an equal to the Doctor which is a big change from most of his companions. Apparently Barry Letts, the producer and Terrance Dicks, the script editor felt the companion needed to be more of a damsel-in-distress type. But then, it was the 70's and the idea of strong females was still new in concept in television particularly.

Nicholas Courtney is absolutely brilliant as the Brigadier and the chemistry between him and Jon Pertwee is already apparent this early on.

Hugh Burden gives an excellent performance as Channing, the Auton leader, especially in his facial expressions and vacant stare. You immediately realize there's something not quite right about him based on that alone.

Derek Smee goes a bit over-the-top as Ransome, drooling in fear at the sight of Autons. But you have to admire him going for it all the way even if its a bit unintentionally funny.

But the only performance that really doesn't work is Hamilton Dyce as General Scobie. He gives such a bland performance that even when confronted with his own duplicate, he has absolutely no reaction whatsoever. The director edited in an off-camera scream when he his captured but its obvious that the actor must have been confused as to which version of him was supposed to be the Auton.

A great start to the Pertwee era and one of my favorite stories of his Doctor. I give it 10 out of 10 TARDISes.

On a side note, I realized that I have probably never watched this in episode format before due to it being on public television in the states and they usually played the stories in movie format. When released on VHS it was still movie format. I must say although I often enjoy watching a story all in one sitting, I prefer the episodic format better with cliffhangers intact.

Camelot - "Homecoming" and "The Sword and the Crown"

I am a huge fan of the Arthurian mythos and a bit uptight when it comes to altering it too much. I have enjoyed various re-tellings of the legend of the Knights of the Round Table. Some like the musical film "Camelot" and the 1953 film "Knights of the Round Table" offer fairly faithful versions of the main legend and are quite good. Others like "First Knight" and "King Arthur" (2004) I found disappointing due to their reinterpretations of the source material. The former due to its representation of Lancelot as a rogue rather than as in the traditional legend a deeply flawed man who tries so hard to be the perfect knight but comes up short. The latter due to its supposed presentation as a "realistic" version of the story which ends up neither being realistic nor being faithful to the possible inspirations for the legend. And still others like the TV movie "Merlin" I found to be taking such liberties with the legend that I found it distracting. And the most recent television version also entitled "Merlin" has taken broad liberties as well but its fun enough whilst occasionally throwing something from the tales into the plot to keep me entertained.

That brings me to Starz first two episodes of "Camelot". I have to say I haven't been this satisfied with a version of King Arthur since the magnificent film "Excalibur" (1981). So far this is the version of the tales I have wanted to see told in a serialized format for years. The problem with films is the shortness of the running time. When it was compiled by Sir Thomas Malory he incorporated as many legends as possible together so its an incredibly massive work. With a television show, however, they have the ability to take their time portraying more of the story than ever before.

Included in this version for example is King Lot who was Arthur's chief opponent when Merlin revealed him to be Uther's rightful heir. He is rarely included in films and yet he is one of the two main villains of the first two episodes. We also get Sir Kay (Arthur's foster brother) and Sir Ector (Arthur's foster father) in very prominent roles which is rare. There are are even references or cameos of other Arthurian knights like King Nentres, Sir Brastias, Sir Ulfius and King Pellinore.

Of course there are some liberties and/or combining of characters as in any retelling of Arthurian stories. Morgana is, as usual, combined with her sister Morgause into one character and one of Pellinore's chief deeds is actually done by another character. While it would have been nice to not have those changes, it is understandable as there are so many characters that even in a television series they are going to have to pick and choose whom to use.

There's also one major character named Leontes who is totally an invention of this series but who he turns out to be makes for an interesting unexpected plot twist.

As usual for a made-for-pay channel show there's plenty of sex and violence incorporated into the plot but with this legend that's certainly not forced into it as much of the original story's plot is driven by who slept with whom and a lot of killing so its a big plus in the win column that they have the liberty to portray those things without the hindrance of a censor.

I hope the rest of the season turns out to be as good as the premiere. I have hopes that they will be willing to show some of the other tales that are often skipped in the films. I would love to see some of the quests of Lancelot, Gawain and the quest for the Grail told in greater detail. Not to mention my favorite quest, the tale of Sir Gareth. In it he battles not only the famed Black Knight, but also Green, Blue and Red Knights as well whilst being harassed and berated by an ungrateful maiden he repeatedly saves on the way to rescue her sister from Sir Ironsides. Perhaps that's a bit much to hope for but if the series lasts for a while, who knows what they might do? Hopefully they remain faithful.

Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol

Here is my much-delayed review having watched it the day after Christmas initially.

Steven Moffat said that this was to be the most Christmasy Christmas Special ever. And he wasn't wrong on that count. Not only was it the most Christmasy Doctor Who special it was also the best of them yet.

Moffat weaves a virtually self-contained tale free of almost any references to last series and turns in a superb romp of a story. Full of timey-whimey plot and lots of jokes and some genuinely touching moments this story shows that the Moff has plenty of heart and emotion to go around despite what some of his critics say. Its perhaps a bit more natural and more restrained than RTD's way of doing things but the emotion is there nonetheless.

Matt Smith gives what is perhaps his best performance to date as the Doctor giving it plenty of energy and his expected off-the-wall manner but also delivering agreat performance of comedy and drama whenever the script requires.

Amy and Rory are largely absent from the action but they nonetheless have some great comedy bits in the special and its great to see Arthur Darvill's name in the opening credits as a full companion by any definition.

Michael Gambon gives a expected great performance as Kazran Sardick, the Scrooge character of the episode. and Katherine Jenkins does a fantastic job especially since this was her acting debut. And she really does have the most lovely voice.

The only real complaint I have is that I could see is that with the Moff allowing the Doctor to change history so frequently now that its going to start raising the question as to why he doesn't do it all the time. The Moff seems to be taking away all of the reasons to not do so such as the "Laws of Time" as enforced by the Time Lords or the "Blinovitch Limitation Effect" which is apparently no longer an issue. Although I suppose The Waters of Mars shows what happens when it goes wrong but there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason as to why its ok sometimes and not others. I suppose I'm over-thinking it and should just accept the Doctor knows best but it does start to raise questions.

As always here's my 11th story comparison list from favourite to least favourite:

1) The Ultimate Foe by Robert Holmes, Pip Baker and Jane Baker

2) Doomsday (Army of Ghosts) by Russell T. Davies

3) The Seeds of Doom by Robert Banks Stewart

4) A Christmas Carol by Steven Moffat

5) The Curse of Peladon by Brian Hayles

6) Terminus by Stephen Gallagher

7) The Curse of Fenric by Ian Briggs

8) The Enemy of the World by David Whitaker

9) The Rescue by David Whitaker

Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang

The big finale! And big it was indeed. This is the first time since Trial of a Time Lord that I felt the season arc in Doctor Who truly fit together entirely satisfactorily and was very important to the season as a whole. And surprisingly, it isn't even completely resolved and yet The Moff managed to tie enough of it together to satisfy us for now but left dangling threads to entice us to tune in next year as well. I felt the Doctor acknowledging that every thing wasn't resolved through dialog was key to leaving us wanting more and yet I for one was not disappointed by what we did get which was a fun, timey-wimey romp through time and space.

The first half was largely fanwank but in the best way possible. Not only do the Cybermen, Daleks and Autons play key roles in this story but the Sontarans also get a slightly bigger role than just a cameo. Nice cameos by the Judoon, Silurians, Hoix, Roboforms and Sycorax as well as name-checking Slitheen, Drahvins, Zygons, Draconians, Chelonians(in their first-ever TV reference), Atraxi and Terileptils. Plus we get to see a plethora of their spaceships arriving.

Both episodes are fast-paced, funny, dramatic and highly entertaining while also managing to piece the whole puzzle together and explain what exactly happened with the cracks in time.

I loved the fact that the Doctor's hubris in The Eleventh Hour came back to haunt him after the Atraxi ran through his history as the Doctor and his enemies and said, "I am the Doctor. Basically, run." Well, now most of the those enemies have joined together and it was the Doctor in serious trouble.

The second half doesn't really hold together logically since the Doctor basically frees himself by giving Rory the sonic and one has to wonder how he could do that if he was trapped. But I think we're going with Bill and Ted time-travel logic for this story so I just went with it and didn't allow it to bother me.

The Fez was awesome. Fezzes are cool. I wouldn't mind the Fez returning at some point next series.

The mystery of River Song continues to grow with a promise that the Doctor will meet her for the first time next year from her perspective and we'll find out who she really is. I must admit I'm stumped except to say I'm pretty certain she's not entirely a hero when he first meets her. I can't wait to find out more. I do wonder though since its strongly implied that "her Doctor" (the one she spends more time with or marries) is neither 10 nor 11 if we will get to see her when it comes time for the 12th Doctor to take over.

Rory's journey is absolutely awesome and I must say I like his character better than Amy so far. Although I think Amy's character works better with the three-crewmember dynamic that we have at the end. I also think Amy's journey was very fulfilling as she was so psychologically scarred by her childhood and disappearing relatives (and ducks) that even on the two occasions Rory dies she never tells him she loves him before or afterwards until time is rewritten and her parents and happy childhood replace her scarred memories. At that point she tells Rory she loves him before he does likewise thus showing how she is now a happier, more well-balanced person. (Although still a bit flirty and saucy obviously) I'm very glad that Amy and Rory are staying for a second series and I look forward to seeing the first married couple in the TARDIS in the show's long history.

Matt Smith is not my favorite Doctor by far, but as always I do really like him nonetheless. I think he has the quirky aspect of the character down pat but he lacks a bit of range in that he doesn't seem to be able to turn the quirky off when necessary making him seem a bit one note at times. But still, he's very good and I hope he has a good run as the 11th Doctor. (3-5 years would be great)

I anxiously look forward to next series as I'm going to try to remain relatively spoiler free next year. I'm still reading some of the press releases and Doctor Who Magazine but I'm hoping to avoid all the rumors on the message boards by steering clear of them this year.

That way maybe I'll be surprised by who or what the Silence is and who or what the real big bad is that could want the universe to end and destroy the Doctor in the process plus have the power and knowledge to destroy a TARDIS. Omega? The Black Guardian? The Toymaker? The Gods of Ragnarok? The Great Intelligence? or something else altogether? It shall be interesting to find out.

LISTS!!! Bwahahahahahaha!

Here's my list of 10th adventures for each Doctor.

1) The Pandorica Opens by Steven Moffat
2) Mawdryn Undead by Peter Grimwade
3) The Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terry Nation
4) Day of the Daleks by Louis Marks
5) The Parting of the Ways by Russell T. Davies
6) The Brain of Morbius by Robin Bland (Pseudonym of Terrance Dicks and Robert Holmes)
7) The Ice Warriors by Brian Hayles
8) Terror of the Vervoids by Pip Baker and Jane Baker
9) Ghost Light by Marc Platt
10) Fear Her by Matthew Graham

My 32nd series list in order of favorites:

1) The Pandorica Opens
2) The Time of Angels
3) The Eleventh Hour
4) Amy's Choice
5) The Vampires of Venice
6) Victory of the Daleks
7) The Beast Below
8) Cold Blood
9) Vincent and the Doctor
10) The Lodger

My favorite Doctors list:

1) Patrick Troughton
2) Peter Davison
3) Paul McGann
4) David Tennant
5) Tom Baker
6) Jon Pertwee
7) William Hartnell
8) Colin Baker
9) Christopher Eccleston
10) Matt Smith
11) Sylvester McCoy

Wonderful chaps, all of him.

Doctor Who - The Lodger

Written by Gareth Roberts (The Shakespeare Code, The Unicorn and the Wasp and Planet of the Dead) this was an interesting change of pace for an episode. Pretty much as close to a comedy as Doctor Who will ever get with genuinely funny lines and situations showing us that Doctor Who could have been a family sitcom with this premise.

The downside is that I found it a bit difficult at times to swallow that the Doctor was quite so unfamiliar with Earth customs as he was portrayed in this episode. I know sometimes he acts quite alien and odd and there are nuances of human behavior he doesn't get but by his Eleventh incarnation I think he's be familiar enough with humans in the 21st century to know they don't greet each other with air kisses and that Englishmen have an insane love of football. So while his disinterest with money and its value is very consistent with every previous Doctor, some of the other acts seemed at odds with his previous incarnations knowledge of humanity. It was nice to see his love of cats restored though after the Tenth Doctor said he hated them in Fear Her.

As a result of these two things, I find myself conflicted with the episode on one hand enjoying the comedy and situations and on the other hand the fanboy inside me is saying, "But he wouldn't really act like that would he?"

I really liked the headbutting telepathic contact scene. That was a really interesting way for the Doctor to pass on his life story and yet it also showed why he doesn't do it very often despite it being a potentially very useful ability. This was the fourth time we've seen a picture of the 1st Doctor and the third time for the 2nd Doctor this series which is a welcome surprise.

I'm not sure what to make of the psuedo-TARDIS. Especially since we are not told who or what built it. Its always implied that the TARDIS is immensely difficult to build as no other race outside of the Time Lords has ever mastered it so it must be a terribly advanced race to even attempt getting a partially working one. Even the War Chief was unable to replicate them completely as he was only able to construct sub-par SIDRATs for the War Lords. I'm not sure they will ever follow up on this mystery but I would sure like them to.

Overall a success I would say especially as a comedy but not one of my favorites of the series so far.

Here's my list of favorite ninth stories for every Doctor:

1) Mindwarp by Philip Martin
2) The Daemons by Guy Leopold (Pseudonym for Barry Letts and Robert Sloman)
3) The Abominable Snowmen by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln
4) Battlefield by Ben Aaronovitch
5) Planet of Giants by Louis Marks
6) Boom Town by Russell T. Davies
7) The Android Invasion by Terry Nation
8) Love & Monsters by Russell T. Davies
9) The Lodger by Gareth Roberts
10) Snakedance by Christopher Bailey

Doctor Who - Vincent and the Doctor

Written by Richard Curtis the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love, Actually, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Bean and of course episodes of Black Adder and Mr. Bean, I had pretty high expectations and hopes for this episode as I've loved all of these works. He's the writer of my absolutely favorite romantic comedies because unlike many films from that genre, he remembers the comedy bit is actually important.

This episode has gotten stellar reviews and has been raved about as the best episode of the series so far on message boards but I must admit I think its my least favorite of the season. That's not to say its bad or there's anything wrong with it, but it just didn't excite me like most of the other episodes have.

I liked the thinly veiled references to Rory with Amy crying but not knowing why and the Doctor mistakenly calling Van Gogh "Rory".

An interesting side note is that the painting Van Gogh signs "For Amy, Vincent" was actually painted in 1888 and the episode takes place in June, 1890. I would say he just signed the painting to Amy but his reaction to her suggesting he paint sunflowers seemed to indicate he never had done so before. So its either a mistake, artistic license by Curtis or Van Gogh was so ashamed of that painting that he did not mention it to Amy at the time.

The exploration of depression and its effects on the psyche of people was interesting but perhaps people with more melancholy dispositions or those with bi-polar disorders might have gotten more out of it than I did. I get very depressed at times but I'm not subject to sudden mood swings like Van Gogh was. (Outside of occasional "that's it" moments but they aren't even truly sudden, I just hide the rage and frustration building up inside me very well. lol)

Great performances all around but I think I would just call it a good solid episode rather than the "classic" its being touted as.

Here's my comparison of each Doctor's eighth stories:

1) The Empty Child by Steven Moffat
2) The Satan Pit by Matthew Jones
3) The Tomb of the Cybermen by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis
4) Pyramids of Mars by Stephen Harris (Pseudonym of Robert Holmes and Lewis Greifer)
5) The Reign of Terror by Dennis Spooner
6) The Mysterious Planet by Robert Holmes
7) Arc of Infinity by Johnny Byrne
8) Vincent and the Doctor by Richard Curtis
9) Colony in Space by Malcolm Hulke
10) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy by Stephen Wyatt