08/08

On-page link, opens in this window 08/08/28 Unrelated linkage
On-page link, opens in this window 08/08/24 Doctor Who: Black orchid
On-page link, opens in this window 08/08/23 Unrelated linkage
On-page link, opens in this window 08/08/16 Doctor Who: Destiny of the Daleks
On-page link, opens in this window 08/08/10 Unrelated linkage

08/08/24

The Doctor travels back to 1920s England to play cricket. Mayhem ensues.

Doctor Who: Black orchid

This is a two-part serial, first broadcast between 1st - 2nd March 1982. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: mistaken for a cricket player known only as 'the doctor', the Doctor visits a manor where a murder mystery awaits him...

'Black orchid' is the kind of story that could have been written by Arthur Conan Doyle, even if it's set in the 1920's rather than in the 1880's. It's also a straight-forward historical story, something Doctor Who (as far as I know) hadn't done since the Hartnell era. Unfortunately, the story has its problems.

One problem is that the story hinges on a string of coincidences. The more farfetched ones (and beware, there are spoilers ahead):

The other problem is that, apart from the cricket, this isn't a good story for the Doctor (beware, more spoilers ahead):

Don't I have anything positive to say about this serial? Well, actually I do:

My verdict:

Interesting.

Flawed, forgettable fluff.

More Doctor Who reviews:
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The latest version of this review:
On-site link, opens in this window Black orchid (1982)

08/08/16

Douglas Adams making the most of an uninspired Terry Nation plot.

Doctor Who: Destiny of the Daleks

This is a four part serial, first broadcast between 1 - 22 September 1979. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: the Tardis lands, and the Doctor and Romana find themselves in another quarry. "Oh look, rocks!" Hey look, Daleks!

Though the on-screen credits list Terry Nation as this serial's writer, much of it was actually written by script editor Douglas Adams. This might be a good thing in theory, but 'Destiny of the Daleks' isn't really a great story.

One problem is that after seeing a number of Terry Nation's Dalek stories, you find that many of them seem to be constructed from one single template. Let's see:

  1. In part one the Doctor-plus-one land in another quarry. 'Where are we?' 'Let's find out. Oh look, rocks!' Slowly, the Doctor-plus-one discover that there's something wrong, though they're not sure what. The object-that-will-go-missing is introduced, for instance anti-radiation medicine that the companion needs in order to survive the planet's hostile atmosphere or a device that the Doctor needs in order to be able to leave the planet. The Doctor and the companion are separated. The object either goes missing now or in part two. The cliffhanger is the appearance of... the Daleks!
  2. In part two the object goes missing, if it hasn't already done so in part one. The Doctor finds himself among militaristic strangers with great firepower who are on a mission and who explain part of the plot to him. The companion finds herself a prisoner among powerless strangers and may get to do a bit of slave labour. She, too, has a bit of the plot explained to her. The Daleks have a plan, and though we don't quite know what it is we see it being set into motion. The companion does something that has little or no impact on the plot and ends up in (even more) peril. The Doctor realises he needs to get away from the militaristic strangers in order to stop their mission / stop the Daleks / find his companion / retrieve the missing object.
  3. In part three the Doctor escapes. We see more of the Daleks. The companion is saved, either by the powerless strangers or by the Doctor, and is reunited with the Doctor. The two of them enlist the powerless strangers' help in order to stop the militaristic strangers' mission / stop the Daleks / retrieve the missing object. They almost succeed, but are either thwarted by the Daleks and / or the militaristic strangers. In the cliffhanger we find ourselves with a situation that seems impossible to resolve.
  4. In part four the situation is resolved because the Doctor is smarter than everyone else / the militaristic strangers' plan is flawed / the Daleks' plan is flawed / both plans cancel each other out / all of the above. The missing object is either found or dismissed as irrelevant. After some light-hearted banter between Doctor and companion the Tardis leaves.

Actually, part four is quite entertaining and the - minor spoiler ahead - 'logical impasse' plot-line is rather clever, but I suspect we have Adams to thank for those rather than Nation.

Some good things about this serial:

Less good:

Not good at all:

A continuity problem:

My verdict:

Quite good, actually.

Not the best Dalek story. Not the best Douglas Adams script. Little to see here, move along.

More Doctor Who reviews:
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