arts | the m0vie blog

Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars (Review)

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I’ll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC’s Doctor Who.

Pyramids of Mars originally aired in 1975.

Yes, that’s resonating tuner. Part of an anti-gravity drive. Oh! They must be building a rocket.

Egyptian mummies building rockets? That’s crazy.

– the Doctor and Sarah Jane demonstrate how arbitrary “crazy” is on this show

Pyramids of Mars is a classic slice of Doctor Who. It’s a piece of television that I dearly love, even if it is quite clear watching it that Robert Holmes was re-writing it by the seat of his pants. It’s got all the right ingredients for the Philip Hinchcliffe era of the show. Tom Baker is on phenomenal form. Sarah Jane has full adapted to being the only companion again. There’s one of those nice period settings that the BBC does so well. There’s an ancient evil arising to destroy the planet, and maybe the universe. Said evil is deliciously hammy, yet somehow quite intimidating.

Pyramids of Mars is the perfect storm, a carefully mixed cocktail of Doctor Who in the Hinchcliffe era. Given that the Hinchcliffe era is generally regarded as one of the best periods in the show’s history, that should give an idea of just how impressive it is.

Because “Sutekh the Benign” doesn’t sound quite so threatening…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bbc, Brigadier, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Holmes, Online Writing, Paddy Russell, Philip Hinchcliffe, Pyramids of Mars, Robert Holmes, Sarah, Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, Sutekh, tardis, Time Lord | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: Planet of Evil (Review)

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Darren

Planet of Evil originally aired in 1975.

He used the neutron accelerator. If he hit Sorenson, it could be disastrous.

You mean things can get worse? I don’t believe it.

– the Doctor and Sarah Jane make sure we understand the stakes

I feel a bit sorry for Planet of Evil. I mean, it sits near the start of one of the best seasons of Doctor Who, and yet it’s generally overlooked. It’s not that Planet of Evil is bad – The Android Invasion from the same season is actually bad, and is remembered as such. It’s more that Planet of Evil doesn’t really feel as exceptional as it could be. The Hinchcliffe and Holmes era of Doctor Who was cranking out classic adventures and iconic images to beat the band, but Planet of Evil just wound up feeling relatively generic. That’s not necessarily entirely fair. The opening two episodes of Planet of Evil are superb, but it is let down by a fairly average conclusion and undermined by a fairly weak supporting cast.

It is nowhere near the best story of the season, but it’s hardly a spectacular failure. there are times in the history of Doctor Who where Planet of Evil would be a welcome relief. However, it suffers from being a reasonably mediocre adventure in a fantastic season.

In the jungle, the peaceful jungle…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, arts, bbc, Brain of Morbius, Dalek, David Maloney, Deadly Assassin, doctor, DoctorWho, Philip Hinchcliffe, Planet of Evil, Planet of the Daleks, russell t. davies, Sarah Jane, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, tardis, Tom Baker | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Omega Man

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Darren

The Omega Man remains, perhaps, the most high-profile adaptation of Richard Matheson’s genre-busting vampire sci-fi survivalist novel, I Am Legend. Of course, the film has little resemblance to Matheson’s truly iconic piece of literature, save for the basic premise. Charleton Heston is Robert Neville, the last man alive in a world of monsters. While I Am Legend is a bold and thought-provoking exploration of the implications of that idea, The Omega Man seems to have no loftier goal than simply telling an entertaining apocalyptic yarn. There’s nothing wrong with that, but – much like Robert Neville himself – The Omega Man is haunted by the ghost of what could have been.

Goodbye to all of that…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anthony Zerbe, art, arts, Audio, austin powers, bbc, Boris Sagal, Charlton Heston, Consumer Electronics, doctor, film, Heston, I Am Legend (film), Jon Pertwee, los angeles, Movie, music, Neville, non-review review, Omega Man, Omega Seamaster, review, richard matheson, Robert Neville, Rosalind Cash, Shopping, Third Doctor, Woodstock | 1 Comment »

Doctor Who: Planet of the Spiders (Review)

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Darren

Planet of the Spiders originally aired in 1974.

Oh dear, this is getting monotonous.

– the Doctor sums it up

Jon Pertwee’s final season is a real shame. The actor was, at the time, the actor who had served the longest period of time in the lead role. Starring as the Doctor for five years, and appearing as the face of the show during an era of renewal and reinvention, the actor deserved a much strong swansong. The year had started relatively strong with The Time Warrior, which I would rank among the best stories of the Pertwee era. However, every story after that just felt like it was treading water, revisiting old triumphs while biding time until the finalé. We had a Dalek episode in Death to the Daleks. We had a Malcolm Hulke lizard story with Invasion of the Dinosaurs. We had an off-world social commentary story in The Monster of Peladon. All felt like the cast and crew were just worn out, just going through the motions.

Sadly, Planet of the Spiders continues this trend, rather than bucking it.

Kiss of the spider-queen…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, Barry Letts, bbc, Brigadier, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Earth, Jon Pertwee, Mike Yates, Online Writing, Pertwee, Planet of the Spiders, regeneration, russell t. davies, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, Sixth Doctor, Spider, tardis, Third Doctor | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Throw Momma From the Train

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Darren

Throw Momma From the Train feels like something of a dry run for Danny DeVito. The actor had previously directed a cable television movie, The Ratings Game, but Throw Momma From the Train represented his theatrical directorial début. While not nearly as effective as his follow-up, the classic War of the Roses, Throw Momma From the Train sustains itself with an interesting premise and two charming lead performances that help cover for a script that isn’t anywhere near as darkly comic as it would like to think that it is.

Snatching DeVito from the jaws of victory…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, billy crystal, danny devito, DeVito, Flintstones, hitchcock, Humor, Kate Mulgrew, Larry, Miami-Dade County Florida, Owen, Ratings Game, Recreation, Strangers on a Train, Throw Momma From the Train | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Monster of Peladon (Review)

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Darren

The Monster of Peladon originally aired in 1974.

Oh, have a heart, Sarah. I’ve been meaning to pay a return visit to Peladon for ages.

I can’t think why.

– the Doctor and Sarah Jane

What made The Curse of Peladon so fantastic was the fact that it felt so unique and different, as compared to all the Third Doctor adventures that had appeared before. Sure, the Doctor had travelled in time and space in Colony in Space, but The Curse of Peladon was really the first time that the colour television series had indulged in designing a truly alien world populated with truly alien creatures. Since the series had begun transmission in colour with Spearhead from Space, there had been nothing quite like it, and that was what made The Curse of Peladon so refreshing.

As such, the idea of doing The Monster of Peladon seems a bit questionable, especially when it’s going to feature the same world, the same aliens and be two episodes longer than the original adventure.

Not an underrated gem, I’m afraid…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Alpha Centauri, arts, bbc, Curse of Peladon, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Elisabeth Sladen, Federation, Ice Warrior, Jon Pertwee, List of Doctor Who planets, Monster of Peladon, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, space, tardis, Time Warrior, Vampires of Venice | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks (Review)

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Darren

Death to the Daleks originally aired in 1974.

Keep away! Keep away!

– the Daleks have an understandable reaction to appearing in another Terry Nation script

I’ve remarked a bit that Pertwee’s final year feels a little like a victory lap, a clear attempt to revisit familiar, sometimes to provide a sense of closer. For example, Invasion of the Dinosaurs feels like the last true U.N.I.T. story, with betrayal and disillusionment closing that narrative strand. Similarly, Planet of the Spiders closes out the recurring New Age Buddhist iconography that the Barry Letts has been injecting into the show. However, some of these decisions to return to familiar concepts feel a little superfluous. Did we need an extended sequel to Curse of Peladon, for example?

And did we really need another throwback Terry Nation Dalek story, only a year after the last throwback Terry Nation Dalek story?

The clue is in the title…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bbc, Carey Blyton, Dalek, Dalek Invasion of Earth, doctor, DoctorWho, Jon Pertwee, Nation, Planet of the Daleks, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, tardis, Terry Nation, Unearthly Child | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Thing (2011)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Darren

The reflexive reaction to a film like the 2011 version of The Thing is one of scepticism. There’s something very strange about seeing a movie that had been relatively unloved on initial release garnering the remake/prequel treatment, an attempt to cash in on its cult success by turning it into a franchise. And, to be fair, a lot of that cynicism is justified by The Thing. There are times when it seems like – despite the obvious affection for the original horror master piece held by the writers and the director – that nobody really has any idea why John Carpenter’s The Thing has become such an iconic piece of cinematic horror.

There are some nice touches here, and it seems like director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. is genuine in his love of the classic body horror. Unfortunately, it feels like the finished product is more the result of mechanical number-crunching than honest enthusiasm.

All fired up…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Carpenter, cgi, Computer-generated imagery, Deadline, film, horror, Horror film, Joel Edgerton, John Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Movie, Movies, non-review review, Norwegian, prequel, review, Thing, Ulrich Thomsen | 3 Comments »

Doctor Who: The Time Warrior (Review)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Darren

The Time Warrior originally aired in 1974.

Look, will you excuse me? I’ve got to go and find a young girl. I’ll see you later, I hope.

Young girl? I should have thought he was a bit old for that sort of thing. Oh well.

– the Doctor and Rubeish discover that Jo’s departure isn’t affecting him too much

The end of an era is fast approaching. Jon Pertwee departed Doctor Who after spending five years in the title role. The end of his fourth year saw the departure of his longest-serving companion, Jo Grant. The start of his final year would see the introduction of Sarah Jane Smith, perhaps the most iconic companion of all time. However, watching the first serial of his last year – The Time Warrior – there is a sense of pending change in the air, a sense that show in the cusp of a very significant shift. The Time Warrior isn’t necessarily explicit about this, but you can almost feel it.

Time is running out…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: arts, bbc, doctor, DoctorWho, Fatherland, fiction, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Middle Ages, Ninth Doctor, Robert Holmes, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, Sontaran, tardis, Time Meddler, Time Monster, Time Warrior, Unearthly Child | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: Utopia (Review)

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Darren

Utopia originally aired in 2007.

Ooo, new voice. Hello, hello. Hello. Anyway, why don’t we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me, I don’t think.

Hold on. I know that voice.

I’m asking you really properly. Just stop. Just think!

Use my name.

Master. I’m sorry.

Tough!

– the Master, Martha and the Doctor welcome a new old face back

It’s very hard to talk about Utopia without seguing into talking about The Sound of Drums or The Last of the Time Lords. Certainly the third season finalé is the most ambitious of Russell T. Davies’ end-of-season adventures. It’s a three-part adventure, the equivalent to one of those classic gigantic six-part serials. If you accept that logic, it breaks down neatly into the old two-parter-and-four-parter format that the writers used to use to prevent an extended story from dragging too much.

Utopia, of course, serves the function of the two-parter in this classic structure – the smaller chunk of the episode with its own plot points and characters and settings, but with very definite connections to the rest of the adventure. However, I’d argue that Utopia is a lot more successful than either of the two episodes following, and a lot of that stems from the fact that it devotes a considerable amount of time to quietly setting up plot points and characters that will pay off down the line.

It’s also a powerful subversion of the fundamental ethos of Doctor Who, which makes it particularly effective as we head into two episodes where the Master hijacks not only the TARDIS but the show itself.