Ever done a Tom-a-thon?

[Toothy Grin]

Forgot to mention it has some brilliant lines, my favourite being: "I could play all day in my green cathedral!"

[Toothy Grin]

Moving into Tom's third season now, Season 14 being one of the most acclaimed in the series' history. THe Masque of Mandragora introduces us to a new TARDIS console room, all mahogony pannelled and Jules Vern-ish. I like it but I'm glad they reverted to the white control room from the next season as I think it's the definitive look and should be futuristic looking. Being a fan of The Prisoner I can never watch this story without being reminded of it due to the Portmeirion location filming. I'm not a huge fan of historical stories and while this story is solidly made, well acted, and looks good it's never quite grabbed me like others of this period. The special effect of the mandragora helix looks like a cheap firework and Hieronymous is a little too over the top for me. Not bad, but not the best.

[Graceful Leonard]

Forgot to mention it has some brilliant lines, my favourite being: "I could play all day in my green cathedral!"

I thought Tony Beckley was terrific in SoD; sadly, he died just three years after making it, aged 52.

As for Mandragora, it has all the right ingredients, but never really gets going for me. Some good lines, but the story could have been stronger and more dramatic.

[Krono's]

If only the new series of Doctor Who was half as good as stories like Pyramids Of Mars.....

What are you talking about? The new series is fantastic!!!

[Toothy Grin]

The Hand of Fear is most often rememebred for being Sarah's last story. Thankfully the whole story isn't about this otherwise it would have been terribly self-indulgent. I've always thought this story felt very Pertwee-esque for some reason (try adding UNIT to it and you might see my point). Here we see Sarah in her famous Andy Pandy outfit. She's probably the only companion who can get away with this due to her childlike figure and innocent nature. It's highly memorable. The female Eldrad is a very good creation, played very well by Judith Paris. A shame that the character has to suddenly become male when he instantly becomes a lot less interesting, just a shouting power mad dictator. There is some rather silly nuclear physics on display in this story (hiding behind a jeep from an exploding nuclear reactor???) but the filming inside a real power station adds some realism. Lis Sladen gives an excellently spooky performance as the possessed Sarah and then of course we get that wonderful leaving scene, the best companion departure in the series history. When Sarah says "Don't forget me" I always used to get a lump in my throat. Now with Elisabeth's untimely passing a few months ago I got a tear in my eye as well. Good bye Sarah Jane.

[Graceful Leonard]

The Hand of Fear is most often rememebred for being Sarah's last story.

I can't view it objectively for this reason. It's Lis's show, not the doctor's, on this occasion.

[Graceful Leonard]

If only the new series of Doctor Who was half as good as stories like Pyramids Of Mars.....

What are you talking about? The new series is fantastic!!!

The new series is good at what it aims to do -- but it is a very different show to the classic series.

[Toothy Grin]

Moving onto The Deadly Assassin now. This story is a real milestone in the series history and something of a turning point in Tom's era. Gone is his long serving companion, here he is totally on his own and right from the start the story feels like something significant with the voice-over and on screen text (a unique occurance in the series). It's amazing to think this is the first ever time we see the Doctor's home planet, as everything has been so well thought-out, Gallifrey's culture, customs, hierarchy and mythology all come across as fully developed (a credit to writer Robert Holmes). I love the different classes of Time Lord with their varying coloured robes and those distinctive high collars (something that the series has retained to this day). The whole Time Lord culture comes across as rather reminiscent of the catholic church or the vatican in a lot of ways and is presumably equally as rigid, stuffy and corrupt (highlighting the reason the Doctor ran away from them).
The story has clear influences from The Manchurian Candidate and is famous for it's surreal matrix scenes (some 20 odd years before the film The Matrix!) and I think it's really those scenes that help make the story what it is. The location filming is superb, really giving the impression you're in some sort of tropical wilderness. The Master's return is very well judged, making him all decayed as recasting another actor in the Roger Delgado mold so soon after his death probably wouldn't have worked or seemed right. A slight shame that his face is so obviously mask like (those fried egg eyes!) and his voice is sometimes slightly unintelligable).
Tom is on top form, nearing the peak of his powers, and looks very dashing in his baggy white shirt. This is also the first time he wears his boots. It is clear though that the Doctor does need a companion with him to explain plot points as without one it leads to scenes where he's talking to himself which just looks strange!
Despite not being one of my personal favourties, The Deadly Assassin certainly deserves it's high reputation.

[Graceful Leonard]

It is clear though that the Doctor does need a companion with him to explain plot points as without one it leads to scenes where he's talking to himself which just looks strange!

...although that might well be common behaviour for Mr Baker in real life!

I don't remember finding the doctor talking to himself strange when I watched as a child but, yes, when I saw the DVD release it did jar a bit.

[Toothy Grin]

VHS time again (please get Face of Evil out on DVD!!). This is a really neglected little gem of a story, one of the most imaginative and genuinely science fictional stories in the series up to this point. The idea of a schizophrenic computer causing a crashed expedition to seperate into 2 cultures, and the fact that it was the Doctor himself that inadvertantly caused the problem is a superb one. Of course at the start the Doctor is still companionless and once again we see him talking to himself, and at one point he even seems to be talking directly to the camera! Thankfully of course this story introduces a new companion for him, in the attractive form of the savage Leela. Louise Jameson is a superb actress and Leela is a wonderful companion - certainly not someone you'd want to mess with! The design work of the jungle is a little disappointing, in fact Face Of Evil is probably the cheapest looking story of the season, however it compensates for this with it's top notch acting and excellent ideas. There's something I find really creepy about the image of Xoanon's face appearing in the jungle screaming with rage and the "invisible" monsters. The Tesh are also somewhat sinister, despite their ridiculous outfits. The story also has some hauntingly memorable cliffhangers - the mountain carved into the Doctor's face and the one of Xoanon screaming "WHO AM I?" in a child's voice. The Face of Evil is excellent science fiction telly and criminally neglected.