Awesome Tom

I just wanted to share this wonderful drawing someone did of Tom Baker with Davros and Daleks. It really captures the 'feel' of "Genesis of The Daleks." If anyone knows the artist please let me know so I can credit the work to the right person.

Halfway Through The Doctors

We are halfway through the amount of Doctors there will be by the end of the year. We are also very close to the end of the classic series. Fans are content now with the knowledge that despite the use of familiar villains and locations, and indeed the fact that it is the same continuing story, the only thing that can always be expected is change. This is something the new fans will have to get used to when the show returns in 2005. In 2013 many are still struggling with it.

1987 brought a new credits sequence and a new all synthesizer theme arrangement. The Doctor's regeneration happened at the beginning of the first episode, with Sylvester McCoy playing his predecessor in a wig as he begins to regenerate. Colin Baker would not return to film any episodes leading up to the regeneration. They say he was offended at being replaced so quickly. The Doctor has Mel and then Ace as companions. Before the show ends in 1989, we see the return of The Master, the Daleks, the Cybermen, The Rani, the Brigadier, Sabalom Glitz, and another visit to Coal Hill school. In the last season we also begin to see a darker side of The Doctor.

I plan to review the first episode, "Time and the Rani" and the last episode, "Survival." I am considering either "Paradise Towers," "Dragonfire," or "Happiness Patrol."

Trial Of A Timelord - Story Two: Mindwarp

PART ONE

They get their money's worth with that shot of the ship from space. Picking up where we left off, The Doctor objects to the abuse of The Brickyard. The Inquisitor warns them both. The Doctor brings up the bleeped evidence and the fact The Earth had been moved, but they continue on with the adventure The Doctor was in when he was taken. Thorus Beta, 24th century. A planet with neon pink oceans and neon green skies. In the sky you see the ringed planet, Thorus Alpha. The TARDIS materializes just off shore and The Doctor and Peri wade to shore. They've come from somewhere where a warlord of Thordin had a device that could stun and liquefy, and The Doctor wants to see where it came from. Inside a cave they find machinery for controlling the tide to extract energy. A creature I will call Sigmund the sea monster grabs Peri. The Doctor accidentally shoots and kills it. Guards enter and ask if The Doctor is with Professor Crozier, to which he agrees. The guard is puzzled that Sigmund attacked and takes The Doctor and Peri to see Crozier.


In the lab there is machinery hooked up to beds. On one bed is Brian Blessed in his energetic portrayal of King Yrcanos, barbarian warlord. Crozier is trying to pacify barbarians and enhance their brains. In the caves, The Doctor and Peri escape the guards. They hear a howl and find one of Crozier's experiments, a man with the face of a dog. He cries for help. There's a shot and they scatter. The Doctor and Peri see men pass by carrying platforms with slug-like creatures on them. One of them is Sil, last seen in Vengeance on Varos. This is his home planet. A greedy race that deal in commerce, loans, stocks, etc The other slug is the leader, Kiv, played by Christopher Ryan, who played the Sontaran leader in the season 4 two-parter. Kiv seems to be suffering from head pain. In the lab, Yrcanos is resisting pacification. They increase power. Kiv discusses a transference procedure to relieve his pain, and the dangers Crozier faces if he fails. The Doctor finds the lab and starts disconnecting cables. Sil comes in, finding Peri as revolting as usual. They don't believe The Doctor was attacked by Sigmund and strap him down to extract the truth about why he killed him. Crozier warns this procedure could kill The Doctor, then turns the machine on.

PART TWO

Yrcanos breaks free and starts rampaging. The Doctor and Peri follow him out. The Doctor seems dazed, not himself. Yrcanos speaks of devils and magic and wants weapons. They introduce themselves. The Doctor objects, claiming not to remember this. Valeyard says claiming amnesia won't work. He says if he doesn't remember then he's in for a surprise. Crozier tells Kiv he needs a new head for his increased brain power and size, but worried how Sigmund reacted to the same procedure. The Doctor, Peri and Yrcanos find where they process human's brains. Yrcanos sees weapons. The Doctor is acting silly. Yrcanos begins alluding to Peri as his queen. Guards come in and The Doctor gives the others away. Peri fumbles with a gun, gets a shot off, then runs. The Doctor stays. The Valeyard shows how The Doctor betrays his friends. the Doctor denies it is him, but is reminded that the matrix cannot lie. The Doctor believes something is wrong, and says it must be a ploy on his part, and to continue. 

Crozier wants to modify the procedure because of Sigmund, but Kiv wants him to proceed. The Doctor offers to help. Every time someone mentions needing a new body they eye The Doctor. Peri runs into a guard and, swear to God, kicks him in the leg and gets away. Yrcanos finds the dog man and discovers it's his friend Dorf. He vows to avenge him. He also wants to kill The Doctor. Guards chasing Peri are chased off by Yrcanos. Peri stumbles into the harem and gets a job. The harem enters the meeting/dining room where The Doctor sits by as Sil and Kiv eat green slimy chunks. Peri comes in with Kiv's medicine. The Doctor eyes her and asks for a drink. She uses his name and he accuses her of poisoning his drink. The guards take her away as she pleads for help. The Doctor interrupts the trial to say that was just a plan to get her alone. On the shore we see Peri chained to a rock as The Doctor yells at her to confess, but whispers at her that he's her friend. Then yells again that she must be sacrificed in his place. In trial, The Doctor shouts that it wasn't like that. He's reminded again that the matrix cannot lie. Yrcanos watches them taking Peri inside. She asks The Doctor what happened to him. He says he is doing what he thinks is best. Yrcanos attacks, aiming at The Doctor.

PART THREE

Peri stops Yrcanos and runs off with him. "My lady, what have you done?" asks Yrcanos. The Valeyard interrupts to call The Doctor a coward. The Doctor says he can recall some of it but the emphasis is wrong. It happened, just not as they saw. The Inquisitor suggests a recess, but The Doctor declines. The guards take The Doctor to Crozier. Kiv is being prepped for brain transfer. A dead slug with a slightly larger skull is ready. The Doctor helps, they sedate Kiv. For some strange reason we get a maniacal glare from Crozier here. Yrcanos tells Peri he wants to lead the resistance to overthrow Kiv, this is his destiny. Peri scoffs at destiny, which enrages Yrcanos. He says everyone has a purpose, and his is to die a hero. Peri talks him into resting, a cute scene. It seems the brain transfer has failed and the guards raise their guns, but then they get life signs. The resistance finds Yrcanos and takes the three of them away by force.

Peri, Yrcanos and Dorf are tied up. Peri pleads they are on the same side. Yrcanos has a plan and talks of the glory of battle. Trouble with Kiv. Cardiac arrest. The Doctor advises Sil on a business matter. Yrcanos talks himself into leader of the resistance. They find an old man collapsing who had been one of Croziers test subjects. They learn he was young, not old as he appeared. There is a small device attached to the back of his neck. They stabilize Kiv. Yrcanos finds the weapons dump blocked by a rock fall, and they find a body. The Doctor in trial objects that this wasn't his fault. The Valeyard says he is indirectly responsible. In hiding Yrcanos is doing his big war talk when there are shots. He, Peri and Dorf are all shot. The Doctor jumps up in the courtroom, crying out "No" and he's not reponsible. The Valeyard says in his mind maybe, but in reality it is something different.

PART FOUR

The Doctor finds out they were only stunned. The Inquisitor finds the video footage gratuitous. Peri, Yrcanos and Dorf wake up captive for experiments. Kiv is funny because he keeps talking about the sea and once just said "do you smell fish" in the middle of a scene. The new body had been a fisherman. The host cells are trying to distort Kiv and they need another body. Peri is homesick and wants to go home. Yrcanos learns what love means. He says his people are reincarnated to a better life until a king, then they go to Fortuna, the home of the gods, to fight. The Doctor agrees with Crozier that he would willingly give his body for Kiv if it were compatible. He scoffs at the idea of using Peri. When Crozier says he will examine her, The Doctor asks him not to, to which Crozier says he must find him a suitable candidate in time.

The Doctor finds where Yrcanos is kept and frees him, to Yrcanos' confusion. Yrcanos wants to find his "bride." He and The Doctor go to slave control to free the slaves. Crozier has not waited and Peri is strapped into one of the beds. They shave her head for the procedure. Yrcanos is destroying the control center, causing all the slaves to go wonky. He cries out that he needs his queen. A guard kills Dorf. The Doctor and Yrcanos run in Peri's direction as alarms go off. The Doctor, however is stopped when a beam of light shines down behind him and the TARDIS materializes. This, yes this point, is where the Timelords chose to get him for this trial. The Doctor objects that he was on his way to save Peri. The Inquisitor said that things had gone too far and the high counsel intervened to prevent the consequences of the experiment. 

Perfect transfer. But not a brain transfer. Crozier has transferred Kiv's mind into Peri's brain. Peri no longer exists. And Kiv need never die, trading old body for young over and over. Yrcanos is outside about to attack, but the Timelords trapped him in a time bubble until the right moment of attack, using him as an assassin. Peri/Kiv wakes up. He likes the strong body, free of pain. Yrcanos is freed from the time bubble and enters the lab shooting. He sees Peri and goes mad, shooting everyone. The Doctor stands, shocked. The Valeyard says his negligence made it impossible for her to live. The Doctor says something is going on. He was taken out of time for a reason and he has every intention of finding out what it is.

The story isn't finished, but I can remember feeling sick after watching what happened to poor Peri. 

Next up is story three: "Terror of the Vervoids"

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker

For the month of June I am going to review the 4 stories that make up season 23, known collectively as "The Trial of A Timelord."

1. "The Mysterious Planet"
2. "Mindwarp"
3. Terror of the Vervoids
4. The Ultimate Foe

If I can go in the future and see what they are I may add some other things.

Classic Who Review: Earthshock

In case you haven't seen this one, I feel obliged to say that part 4 of this review contains a MAJOR SPOILER. "Earthshock", story 121, was the 7th story of season 19. It saw the Cybermen return after 7 seasons. The companions were Adric, Nyssa and Tegan. I loved this team and love the Cybermen. This is definitely a standout story with an ending unlike any before or since.

PART 1

It begins on a future Earth, at the entrance to a survey sight. Professor Kyle, all that's left of the team of paleontologists and geologists has sent for help. The rescue team is puzzled that no life signs are on the scanner. Their uniforms are pretty good for 1980 BBC budget. The leader, Scott, takes Kyle with his team to try and find the others. There is a flare on the scanner. In the caves we see 2 shadowy figures. In the TARDIS, The Doctor is with Adric in his room. Adric feels The Doctor doesn't have the time for him and feels like he's considered a joke. He wants to go home. Adric is from E-space, where the TARDIS went after falling through a CVE (charged vacuum enboitment) They argue about the possibility of calculating the negative coordinates to even do it. Adric claims to have the mathematical skills and begins work.

In the tunnels, Kyle discusses the sabotage her team had experienced. Above ground the scanner flares again. Thy experience interference with their communicators. One soldier inexplicably stumbles, which somehow hurts her shoulder. Kyle hears noises she heard before the attacks. They show the 2 shadowy figures again. The TARDIS materializes in a nearby tunnel. It is Earth 2526. The Doctor steps out to cool off, Tegan follows. Adric agrees with Nyssa things got out of hand and to just plot the course home and take it from there. Above ground they see new lifeforms on the scanner, one with 2 hearts. Scott says to set weapons to stun. Nyssa joins The Doctor and Tegan and discuss the dinosaur bones they see. Adric can see them from the console room as he works. Scott gets the coordinates to the life signs, which Kyle says is near where the attacks happened.

The wounded party stops for a break and Snyder sets out from above after them.The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan talk about the mystery of the dinosaurs dying out and how he always meant to slip back and find out what happened. The shadowy figures are near the wounded. The scanner flares. Screams. 3 dots on the scanner disappear. Snyder's name tag can be seen amidst a puddle of steaming melted person. With the main group Kyle keeps stumbling. The scanner flares. The group find Snyder and the shadowy figures appear. All in black with smooth featureless heads. The 2 figures are not on scanner. Screams and 2 more dots disappear.

The Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan find the main group near a rockfall. They plead with them to believe they just arrived and were not the attackers. Scott doesn't trust them. Adric looks out and sees no Doctor. The team are looking for bodies in the rockfall and find a hatch. The 2 figures are running towards them. Scott, still not trusting The Doctor, tells him to open the hatch. The 2 figures show up and attack with flashes on their palms. The team have lousy looking lasers. The Doctor says they're androids and their willingness to kill The Doctor should be prove his innocence. Kyle recognizes the figures flash sound from the attacks. With red vision we see a view of the team from the androids point of view. The view appears on the screen of a console, which has 3 Cybermen standing around it, calling out to destroy them all.

PART 2

I love the control panel the Cybermen stand around, something they've used on the new show. More fighting in the caves. They concentrate fire power on one and it damages it. The androids retreat to save power, but stay close to protect the hatch. Adric leaves the TARDIS and finds the others, but hides just in time. They attack the hatch to create confusion in the androids. Adric gets one with a huge rock and the other gets destroyed by lasers. The android was a transmitter so they know someone knows they're there. The Cybermen activate the bomb within the hatch just as The Doctor opens it. Everybody runs to the TARDIS. Scott is visibly amazed. The Doctor temporarily jams the bomb, He and Adric go back to it and try to disarm it. The Cybermen increase power, but The Doctor succeeds just in time. The Cybeleader knows their technology is too advanced for Earthlings and vows to destroy whoever helped them.

The Cybermen review the video from the cave and see the TARDIS. They look at clips from the 1st, 2nd and 4th Doctors. Meanwhile The Doctor wants to go where the signal came from. Kyle and Scott insist on going along with the team. The Doctor thanks Adric for his help and relents about taking him home, if he can calculate it. Adric says he has. They both apologize and Adric doesn't really want to go home, he was just making a point.

The TARDIS destination is a freighter. On deck there are 2 officers. The woman is relaxed but the man, Ringway, is a nervous wreck. They discuss being on time with their delivery and bonuses. The TARDIS materializes in the hold. There are many, many silos as cargo. The Doctor and Adric go out. The Captain arrives on board, their security clearance is cleared and they are on time. They had extra security because of an interstellar conference happening on Earth. Now that they have clearance they will wait to report the 3 missing crew members. The freighter jumps to warp drive. One security camera is down so Ringway goes. Two security guards are looking around the shadows. The Cyberleader says The Doctor will be the perfect scapegoat for the 3 missing crew members. Adric is spooked. On deck they see him and The Doctor on screen. There are screams, they sound the alarm. Now The Doctor and Adric run, and stumble upon 2 bodies, killed in a familiar way to The Doctor. Ringway finds them by the bodies and says on this ship they execute murderers.

PART 3

Ringway apprehends the two. The Doctor offers to show him the TARDIS to prove he's no stowaway, but Ringway doesn't care if they're stowaways or pirates. He takes them to the bridge where The Doctor pleads with the captain. there is an alarm and a power surge. Nyssa says there's a strong magnetic field. The Cybermen in the silos begin to wake up, wrestling free from their drycleaning bags. The Doctor tells the captain about the bomb on Earth controlled from the ship, but she won't stop and risk her bonus. The Doctor says they want to go to Earth and she is giving them safe passage. Alarms are going off and they're arming men. Tegan, Scott and his team go out of the TARDIS and spy the Cybermen as they march through the hold. The Doctor sees on screen who it is. The ship's men shoot and die.

Ringway turns out to work for the Cybermen, and The Doctor bets he wasn't paid in gold because they're allergic. It plugs up they're chest units and suffocates them. Adric fingers his mathematical badge. Ringway sees it and takes it. When he's distracted, the captain knocks out Ringway. The Doctor picks up Adric's badge. They close the shield doors. The captain says there are 15,000 silos on board. Meanwhile Tegan, Scott and the team are skulking about the cargo hold. The Cybermen get a thermal lance to burn through the shield door. The Doctor uses the antimatter power on board to stabilize the shield just as the Cyberman breaks though, freezing him in place. Scott and Tegan attack 2 Cybermen and get a gun. One gets away. The Cyberleader calls for reinforcements to be activated. They blow the shield door and enter the bridge. "So we meet again, Doctor", says the Cyberleader. They kill Ringway for deceiving him, which I think was actually The Doctor's fault. If it wasn't for him they wouldn't have thought Ringway deceived them. The Cybermen are bent on destroying the Earth while The Doctor watches. In the hold, Tegan and Scott take cover as all the Cybermen begin to wake up.

PART 4

The Cybermen mess with the navigation. They lock it, making the ship a bomb. The interstellar conference is a cyber pact against the Cybermen. Tegan is hiding but gets nabbed by a Cyberman. Scott gets to the TARDIS, but a Cyberman gets in with him. Three of them shoot it and it dies, but another tries to get in as they try to block the door. The Cyberarm sticking in shoots the console. They grab the gun and kill the Cyberman, but Kyle is also dead. Tegan is taken to the bridge. The Cyberleader shows he's in control by pretending he's going to kill Tegan, causing The Doctor to interfere, showing his weakness in emotion. Scott goes back out to the ship. On deck the Cybermen are leaving the humans behind with 2 Cybermen to observe, but taking The Doctor and Tegan only, refusing to take Adric. Adric tells them to go. He shakes The Doctor's hand and says goodbye. He calls out to Tegan "see you soon". The Cyberleader goes of to the TARDIS. Adric ponders knocking the ship off a degree or two to miss the Earth, but the guards are there.

As The Doctor enters the TARDIS with the Cyberleader plus one, Scott was defeating the guards on the bridge. Adric says solving the 3 logic codes on the Cyberman device will disarm it. Cybermen are walking towards the bridge, though. Tegan is upset about having to watch Earth destroyed and tries to mess with the controls, throwing everything wonky. The Doctor scolds her. Scott shoots a Cyberman. Adric cracks a logic code. In the TARDIS they see the ship begin to disappear, jumping time warps, going back in time. The Cyberleader demands The Doctor follow. The Doctor says the ship is still locked on Earth, so the Cyberleader is still pleased. A damaged Cyberman gets close to the bridge as Adric cracks the 2nd logic code, bringing the ship out of warp drive.

The captain is evacuating, Scott has to drag Adric to the elevator? But he slipped out at the last second, convinced he can crack that 3rd code. The TARDIS group see the escape pod leave. The Doctor says they've traveled back 65 million years and they realize it's the ship that collides with Earth, wiping out the dinosaurs, so the Cybermen lose. Scott calls The Doctor and tells him Adric is still on board. In his hand The Doctor looks at Adric's badge. The Cyberleader aims at The Doctor, but Tegan jumps him from behind. When he turns, The Doctor scrapes the star badge over the Cyberleaders ventilator, causing gasping and wheezing until The Doctor shoots him with his own gun. Nyssa kills the other.  The console is damaged, and they can't get to the ship.

Adric is trying to figure it out, feeling he's forgotten something. Then, "Of course, that's it" and he starts pressing buttons, but he's kind of hesitant because Matthew Waterhouse knew it was about to explode from the gunshot of that damaged Cyberman that finally got to the bridge. He looks out the screen and says "Now I'll never know if I was right". In the TARDIS they see the ship start to glow. Nyssa calls out Adric's name. We see Adric standing on deck holding close the cord of rope that belonged to his dead brother. The ship explodes. Tegan doesn't want to believe it and Adric's 3 friends stand in stunned silence in the TARDIS. When the credits run there is no music. The only time this has happened to my knowledge, and against a black background they showed the crumbled star badge that saved Adric's friends.

What's Happening Here

Hello and welcome. This is the portion of my blogging I am devoting to the classic series of Doctor Who, or Doctors 1-8. Their pics are in the left sidebar, and soon you will be able to click on them for more information on that Doctor as I begin to post. There will be other things added that will hopefully be enjoyable. Try the New Who page for my main Doctor Who blog.

So this is the 50th anniversary year, so each month beginning in January, I have focused on the Doctor that corresponds with that month. First Doctor in January, second in February and so on. If I had started this in January I would begin with William Hartnell, but I will have to circle back around after November because May is the 5th month, or Peter Davison. Tom Baker and Peter Davison are my first Doctors so the episodes hold a special place in my heart. BBC America has been showing a classic episode and background for the Doctor of the month, and this month they will show "Earthshock", so it will be my first classic review. It sees the Cybermen return, gives an explanation for the dinosaurs dying out, not 1, not 2, but 3 companions, and a shocking end for the time. Look for it and more soon, but after I review the series 7 finale.