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.
The Green Death originally aired in 1973.
Where are you off to?
To pack a suitcase.
Oh, good. Give me a couple of minutes and we’ll be off.
Off? Off where?
Well, Metebelis III, of course.
I’m not going to Metebelis III.
Why? Where are you thinking of going to?
Well, South Wales, of course. Llanfairfach.
– the Doctor and Jo discuss travel plans… why would you want to go to Metebels III when you can visit South Wales?
The Green Death is a great example of the Jon Pertwee era. It offers a pretty solid showcase of the best of the era, along with the glaring structural and thematic weaknesses that the show never really tackled head-on. It’s a great yarn, an affectionate run-around. There is a reason, after all, that the overgrown maggots have managed to wedge themselves in British popular consciousness. There’s a conscious sense that The Green Death is a season finalé, in the biggest and boldest terms possible.
In an era where television wasn’t really structured in that way, you can trace a pretty clear line between The Green Death and the big epic series finalés of the Russell T. Davies era of Doctor Who.
Filed under: Television | Tagged: art, bbc, Brigadier, Davies, doctor, DoctorWho, fiction, Green Death, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Jones, Last of the Time Lords, Letts, Llanfairfach, National Coal Board, Online Writing, russell t. davies, science fiction, South Wales, Sylvester McCoy | Leave a comment »