DOCTOR WHO-THE CURSE OF PELADON

 

DOCTOR WHO-Day of the Daleks 4 and the Curse of Peladon 1

Two amazingly great episodes of Doctor Who! We get the Brig in top form again as the Doctor and Jo, after much action and a few deaths (two “terrorists” die getting the Doctor out), return to the present day. The TWILIGHT ZONE-ish twist that the time travelers caused the change in history that allowed the Daleks to take over easily is something DW doesn’t do enough but could. I think GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE did something like this but it was more understated and in the final scene. In any case, the Doctor has a moment where he saves the Controller’s life in a very Doctor-ish scene with few words and the writers don’t need whole long boorish speeches (too bad Moffat didn’t learn this) to make a point and give the Doctor real gravitas while keeping him moral and making an impact visually and aurally. I’m sorry but the story doesn’t need new effects or shots for the “invasion” at the end. IF you use your imagination, what’s there is fine as the Ogrons and Daleks invade from the tunnel. Gosh. I guess the UNIT men’s bodies remained for the explosion? In any case, another good episode finishing off a fast paced, well written story. Yes, there were a few odd moments such as when a terrorist bombs a Dalek and then dies doing it…we don’t see if he died from the blast or from an Ogron shooting at him but I think it was the blast. One thing: if this future is avoided, does that mean that the Controller (who is killed by the Daleks for failing and after being spied upon by his underling…he did the right thing by letting Jo and the Doctor go and then is killed for it…does that mean the Controller and the terrorists are never born?). Love when the Daleks says, “No one can resist the power of the Daleks!” It was good to have them back after so long an absence.

 

THE CURSE OF PELADON is often unfairly thought of as a remake of STAR TREK’s very different JOURNEY TO BABEL. It is not the same. It is also a story of some quality and importance in DW history as it sets up more of the loose structure of the future DW created, inadvertently. They were just telling stories. Fans put it all together later on (and in novels and audios they went on to write). Alpha Centauri, Aggedor, Arcturus, the Peladon history: all new and GREAT imaginatively created stuff but to have the Ice Warriors back after so long…and it seems to startle the Doctor in ep1 that they are back. Word must be made of Pertwee and Manning’s rapport. The pointing sequence in the tunnel when they hear a roar is wonderfully funny. They’re at the height of their powers and there’s no letup in sight. They’re marvelous together and quite funny, especially in this episode in and out of the tunnels. I love the landing sequence and the escape from the tilting TARDIS. If they stayed inside, would they have survived? It’s never really clear if the outside and inside when moved would have repercussions for the travelers although it fell over a cliff in THE ROMANS and everyone seemed to have survived. I could less with old men arguing but arguably (!) it set up the back story of Peladon and King Peladon (my how Troughton changed from this story to MIDNIGHT!), he of the bare legs. It’s also quite telling that Pertwee’s Doctor TOOK JO AWAY FROM A DATE WITH MIKE YATES and THEN, he seems quite perturbed when Peladon takes joy in meeting Jo and she seems quite taken with the King. This is the start of the Doctor wanting his female companions in a way he cannot follow through on. It’s also the inspiration for RTD’s entire four years I’d say. It’s also a direct inspiration for 2005’s END OF THE WORLD. I like both but I like this far better. The Third Doctor looks quite upset that Jo is taking an interest in another man, which is odd for the show, even at this time. It almost establishes that he wants to be more to her than a mentor or friend. For the first time ever really. Though he and Liz hugged quite closely in at least two episodes. The cliffhanger with the statue plummeting toward the delegates as the Doctor looks up is classic. As is this entire story and this episode in particular. Love the TARDIS landing scene, did I mention that? THIS is how to do a part one of almost any story…joyous!

THE CURSE OF PELADON episodes 2 and 3

 

 

Wonderful. In ep 3 as the Doctor makes a device to sort of entrance the Aggedor beast (while later also singing it a Venusian lullaby which sounds a bit like the one he issued forth as Bok in THE DAEMONS), I realized the sonic was not overused in this or any other era of the CLASSIC series and certainly RTD used it a bit too much and Moffat…well in typical Moffat illogic and disrespect for the classic series, used it as a weapon, while also turning the time war into a laser battle instead of what it should have been (which Big Finish is somewhat correcting but should the time war even have “stories” about it during it?). In any case, this story also makes us see the Ice Warriors stick up for the Doctor several times in ep 2 (where they fall under suspicion, though only Arcturus was not under the statue, he, too, was sabotaged…but not nearly killed as Jo found out), and mostly in 3, The Doctor hardly even acknowledges that his old foe is now a determined ally who pleads for his life on more than one occasion. It would be as if the Daleks were suddenly on his side in a time far from his own and it’s just…wonderful.

 

The cliffhanger to two is unexpected as the Doctor found in the tunnels hears the punishment: death. And the cliffhanger to three’s end is even more astonishing. After a huge and well-choreographed fight with the huge Grun (and ABOUT TIME is right: it would do to have the STAR TREK-AMOK TIME fight music here rather than nothing!), as a warrior is about to take his sword out, quickly from Arcturus’s box comes a ray device and it fires as Jo screams and the resulting circular red ray takes us brilliantly into the credits. Just wonderful stuff.

 

 

Again the rapport is wonderful between Jo and the Doc, Jo and

Peladon, and Pertwee’s asides (“Yes, you’re a wily old fox,

aren’t you, Hepesh?”) and his accidently hypnotizing himself and a short time later, Jo (“Oh, good grief!”) enliven this gothic murder mystery even more. What gets me is that Peladon (nice legs by the way) is so thick: the Doctor knows what’s going on by ep 3 totally and that Hepesh is behind all of this, he finds the real noble beast (and loses it thanks to Jo’s mistaken saving of him from it), and even thinks (how does HE know?) the federation will make the planet better and come out of superstition and ritual.

 

In ep 2, Jo’s climb along the ledge of the citadel is nicely done as she tries to escape being caught in by the Ice Warriors. The Doctor’s rescue of Arcturus is nicely done as well (“look, will you kindly leave me alone!”). I also like Jo laughing as Peladon calls the Doctor an old man! She just can’t seem to like him though as he can’t seem to make up his mind about things.

 

All in all, another two superior episodes.  

DOCTOR WHO-THE CURSE OF PELADON 4-a longer version?

I would swear in court that on a UHF channel in the 1990s that certain DOCTOR WHO episodes ran longer than 28 minutes and one that vividly sticks in my mind is THE CURSE OF PELADON episode 4 which seemed to be about 33 minutes long. Thus, whenever I view this episode on DVD these days at some 24 minutes, I feel as if I’ve been cheated by a cut version. This happened with BRAIN OF MORBIUS and RESERRECTION OF THE DALEKS, both of which had no extra background music or sound effects. But it is THE CURSE OF PELADON part 4 that looks as if it is VERY edited these days. The jerkiest sequences seem to come from the attack on the main throne room. These scenes seem to jump from moment to moment and I seem to remember the full unedited version being much more violent. When the guards are jumped by two of Hepesh’s men who hurl themselves down, I seem to recall a longer fight where two men are stabbed with swords. Likewise, at the throne room, I seem to recall two guards there who are stabbed with knives or swords before the gang break into the throne room, yelling. The attack on the throne room itself was longer and I remember more men getting stabbed on screen and then one falls and another raises his spear to stab him and brings it down to kill him. As it is on DVD now, this scene shifts quickly but I recall it not being that way and seeing it finish out where the man is speared. As evidence, Centuari is cut off mind sentence before we then see the guards already rushing into the throne room! The cuts are obvious and I wonder if that original 33 min edit still exists.

 

The episode itself is a good ending and at least here, Aggedor survives. Jo’s dilemma seems a bit forced and the episode seems to come up short even without the idea that it’s been badly edited. ABOUT TIME will point out all the problems in the execution of this episode and with THE SEA DEVILS episode 1 (and the others). Fortunately, unlike the Colin Baker stories (though I will always defend and love THE TWIN DILEMMA and MARK OF THE RANI) and about half of McCoy’s 12 stories as well as about 90 percent of the awful Moffat Era, these mistakes do not detract from enjoyment of this story and this episode in particular. Pertwee rubs his neck a lot and more rubbing of his face. Yet, his delivery is spot on in every scene (“I’m going to see a man about an open door,” and, “Come on Grun, you’re not afraid, a big chap like you?”). His touching of Jo’s chin is a nice touch and he says he would not want to lose her.

 

Centuari, despite the cowardice and the whining, is a lovable character, possibly the first hermaphrodite on TV and one of the most alien of shapes, if not motivations.

 

Another good episode and a wonderful story, set totally off Earth, a refreshing thing in this era. I’m not sure enough was made of the Doc’s prejudice against the Ice Warriors but those aliens fare well in this as does the whole costuming thing, the sets, and the barely there effects. Aggedor might have been a bit more menacing in look but it’s okay.

 

THE SEA DEVILS episode 1

One thing about this era, from one episode to the other, one is never sure what one will see next. Here, there are no TARDIS references and in fact the whole story doesn’t have any, nor the TARDIS itself and while UNIT is discussed, I’m pretty sure UNIT never appears, nor does the Brig. The Doc, Jo, and an imprisoned Master DO appear. The Doc has a good love/hate thing going with not just this jailed Master but with the fun character Captain Hart. There is also a secret sea base, an off shore nearly abandoned fort (haunted by appearances of the hands of the monster, who are not fully seen until the end), and the prison itself (with another duplicitous head warden in the wonderfully eccentric Trenchard). The rapport is evident between…well, just about everyone and DOCTOR WHO doesn’t even look like DOCTOR WHO here. The location work of the dock, the ports, and the sea trips are all well done and give the episode and the story a great, expensive look. There’s also the sound and the music. Not sure of it. It sounds…rather dated but experimental, today and yet almost works in giving the story a unique sound. I wouldn’t want it in every story, though as it sounds a bit like a kazoo or a synthesizer. As for the Sea Devils, we only see a hand or two before it actually appears and again, I seem to think this episode was longer and on DVD now has the cliffhanger at “It’s coming toward us,” but I seem to recall the cliffhanger being where the Sea Devil face is first seen in the fort.

 

With the Master watching Clangers (and ABOUT TIME seems to have gotten this scene totally wrong…the Master is not faking his enjoyment of the show and in fact, doesn’t seem to really enjoy it for what it was and thinks it was a video about an extra-terrestrial and when he finds out they are puppets, he seems disappointed). Trenchard doesn’t seem to be taken in by anything because the Master, at least in this scene, isn’t trying to pull anything. He doesn’t have to here. He’s in charge of his own prison and the staff! His laughter after Jo and the Doc leave is both fun and creepy. Some of this plays like an old 1950s American or British horror or sci fi movie (THE GIANT BEHOMOTH, BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD, MONSTER FROM THE OCEAN FLOOR and othes) about things from the sea…and also seems a bit like both the original GOJIRA and its redo GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS as there have been attacks on ships and disappearances.

 

All in all THE SEA DEVILS episode one is another entertaining episode. During the first three Doctors’ times, there haven’t been many bad or slow moving stories or episodes. While some have been a bit clunky and at least one a bit…comedic in execution (THE CHASE, I’m looking at you), none of them have been insulting, boring (GALAXY FOUR comes close) or badly done, even when experimental (THE WEB PLANET, EDGE OF DESTRUCTION, ENEMY OF THE WORLD) or awkward (SPACE PIRATES).