Quite a highly regarded episode that deserves all the praise. It is full of action and excitement as well as tension that is quite hard to come buy in a doctor who classic. The ending isn't as good as it could have been nonetheless the first 3 parts certainly make up for this with a well thought out plot which is almost like a murder mystery. The locations that make up the matrix particularly stand out as they are perfect. Also the set's have been used to their full potential with the set being mainly mirrors that make it look much bigger than it is. Scenes like when the doctor is almost drowned then hit by a train then a creepy clown then finally being chased by a masked villain who turns out to be the president elect are quite risky, but I think pay off. The Masters costume is really great and quite gory but great for the 1970's. Plus as well as the costume, the master, played by Peter Pratt since the sad death of Roger Delgado was magnificent. A good use of hand gestures as well as his voice create a brilliant villain and is very different from the (almost) playful master of the Pertwee era. Overall some risky stunts like the doctor being drowned, but it makes it stand up very well with hardly any boring parts and everything is used to it's full extent.
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Hmm... a bit of a mixed bag this one. One the one hand you have an excellent cast and pretty good set's then on the other you have a pretty dull and absurd script. Let's start with the good points, as I have said above the cast are simply amazing you have Hugh Bonneville as Henry Avery, Lilly Cole as the siren and other great actors playing pirates. All these great actors really add to the pirate effect that the episode has tried to give on the viewer. The next thing as I have mentioned above is the great locations used as they filmed it on a proper ship (it was moored to land at the time). They really used these locations to their full potential creating a vast ship full of pirates and quite homely I thought but they also managed to make it quite scary and creepy at times although the music and the eerie singing voice of the siren really help this effect. The directing and the music really went well together, particularly the directing, as I have said they used the ship well to make it look like they were out at sea as well as using the ship to it's full potential. Finally we come to the bad points. The script although it is quite ambitions and has some good ideas it is still a bit silly making the episode seem kind of childish and basically makes you think it's just filler after the amazing opening two part stories 'The impossible astronaut/The day of the moon' also it is slightly dull with too much time being spent of the fact there is pirates in a doctor who story. Basically you have an alien (the siren) who wants to take care of you even at the slightest cut, creating a black mark on your hand then the siren comes to get you from reflections and takes you to her hospital where she put's you on life support even though it's just a cut (told you it's a little silly but she has good intentions I guess). Basically the whole plot for about the first half an hour is everybody think the siren's evil but it's just a misunderstanding. In the end Rory dies (again) but Amy manages to resuscitate him (wrongly if I may say). Overall some good costumes for the pirates and the siren, good directing, good locations and a very ambitious story that fails in some aspects. Quite an emotional and deep story in series one. I always think this episode is where series 1 starts to get a little darker, you have this story with the scary dinosaur like creatures that are the reapers (wonder who they're hinting to). Then you have the doctor who classic that is the empty child/the doctor dances, then you have the return of the Slitheen in 'Boom town' which shows Cardiff nearly being destroyed and finally you have the Bad wolf arc finally being revealed, and all the ties of the series coming to a nice little end, with a massive attack from the Daleks featuring the emperor, a lot of death, Anne Robinson (AKA Annedroid) and a surprise regeneration in the amazing finale. Anyway, this story is very much about Rose, also the effects of time travel and what it can do if your not careful. I think it was quite a good decision to put this story here as you need to show the effects of time travel and that there are laws about what you can and can't do (featuring a mention of the time lords). It also show the effects of what can happen which come in the form of the horrifying reapers. The reapers are amazingly made with effects, the way they move is very well designed and the design is very much like something you would find In hell, they even have a tail shaped like the grim reapers stick. The script is very smart brimming with knowledge and wit. There is also an excellent conclusion with Pete (Rose's dad) having to kill himself in order to put time back on track (did I mention Rose's dad dies when she was a baby so she went back to see him when he died but saved him which caused the reapers). My favourite scene is probably when the doctor walks into the TARDIS and the bigger on the inside has gone leaving just a blue box (another effect on tampering with time) Overall a smart well thought out script with excellent effects and amazing acting from Billie Piper, you can really believe her character and she acted the emotional scenes excellently. Well sadly this episode seems to me as pretty much filler, to bridge the gap between the black guardian trilogy and the 5 doctors. It sounds a little bit mean to call this story 'filler', it still has a fairly strong plot although there isn't much you can do or say about it. The plot is basically the master is trying to stop the signing of the Magna Carta (there was a special feature on this but it was as boring as hell) so he makes the king Kamelion, a shape shifting robot. I don't really know what the master get's out of this but oh well. Nothing major really happens and It also says how Kamelion was to become the new companion but you just have to look at him and know that's not going to happen. They have obviously tried to keep his usage to a minimum, or he would fall apart. The set's and location is really quite brilliant and look excellent and really help the story. Overall nothing major really but good as a two part story and shows the master being his usual evil self. Well this was actually quite surprising, I was expecting it to be another dull 6 part serial where I would be still watching it next week. But it turned out I rather enjoyed it. It starts off with the doctor and Jo arriving on a spaceship type thing, which is a great set although it is a little stereotypical of a doctor who spaceship. We then meet the pilots who see the doctor and Jo as Draconians who the people of Earth are about to have a war with but the Draconians are actually quite nice and your kind of made to feel sympathy for them, it is actually The Master, who's working with the Daleks, who's using the Ogrons to look like Draconians and start a war. It is a rather confusing plot, but there is a lot of the doctor and Jo being put in prisons so you can kind of keep up. The Daleks only appear very briefly at the end of episode six, the master is the main villain here (and I'll just say that at this point I haven't yet seen Planet of the Daleks, as these two stories are kind of an arc.) My favourite part is when the doctor and Jo are trapped on the Masters ship, there is some excellent dialogue here. My favourite character has to be The master beautifully played by Roger Delgado as usual, but I also like the president of Earth character (fitting she was female). There is some excellent model shots that were really ambitious for back them (even though they stole them from another programme it said in the features). Overall I could write more about this episode as it was great but oh well, for them to improve I will have to watch Planet of Daleks to see what they could have done better. Finally on a rather sad note, this is Delgado's last episode since he died in a car crash, so RIP Roger Delgado! One of my favourite Sarah Jane adventures episodes. It is perfect in making you believe that this house is haunted, but not just your normal haunting, something more sinister is going on. From the monster hiding out in the grounds, to ghostly children standing in a doorway and an alien machine in the basement it has everything I think a Sarah-Jane adventures episode should be. The main villain is of course Erasmus Darkening, and with that name he has to be a villain. He is amazingly acted, and is super villain like, and a real character for you to hate. He is also very scary in the way he does things for example how he stares at you or his hand actions. Another great thing is the music and the effects, the music was just perfect for a haunted old mansion full of mystery, and the sound effects of children laughing are just freaky. There isn't really a monster in this episode apart from a creature in the grounds that follows you if you go out at night, it's glaring red eyes is all we get to see of it which makes it all the more scary. Every moment is full of tension and scariness, it's hard to put into words how much I love this episode, with everything so honestly scary. A particular scene(s) that I liked were when we see all the people Erasmus has taken on the stair well, pleading to be set free, and the scenes in the nursery and the pool room when things are being thrown at them and ghostly childish writing on the board. Finally the scene where they go to the swimming pool and see Erasmus in the mirror, and ghostly footprints. Overall a good episode that I can talk forever about, a story that I watch quite a lot and always has me creeped out better than any other doctor who or spin off stories. Finally I loved the ending when Erasmus had been taken care off, we finish on a look at one of the windows of the mansion showing the family back to together, even in death... A good episode which is well paced and a great script. First of all this episode features the return of the Ice Warriors who were last seen in 'The seeds of death'. The Ice Warriors are the complete opposite as to how we have seen them before. This time they show compassion and care as well as being quite innocent but because of the way it's written, it may seem pretty fake up until the end of episode 3. The episode is basically a murder mystery, which I personally love (which is why Unicorn and the Wasp is my favourite new who episode). It does the murder mystery well although at some points it can get a little confusing in the middle. The thing it does best is make the audience think it's the Ice Warriors but then it turns out to be (spoilers). My favourite part of the whole episode is the part at the beginning where the TARDIS falls down the cliff face. To think that it was a model, it just looks amazing and is so realistic. Another thing I really liked was the love story between Jo and the King, it was quite a development for Jo I thought. The only think I didn't like was the Alpha Centauri (the big green thing with an big eye), it looks kind of poor and the voice is just laughable. Overall a wonderful underrated gem hidden away in the middle of Pertwee's reign that's definitely worth a watch, with great acting, and set's. |
About this areaThis area will be where I write reviews on Doctor Who DVD's classic and new. The area is split up into episodes of the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and new who to make it easier for me and you to see them. Enjoy! Archives
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