Jon Pertwee | the m0vie blog

Doctor Who: The Chase (Review)

Posted on April 8, 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.

The Chase originally aired in 1965.

You’re from Earth?

No, no, Ma’am. No, I’m from Alabama.

– Barbara and Morton set things straight

There are times when Doctor Who seems to straddle the line between genius and insanity, when the viewer is left completely unsure whether they’ve witnessed something profoundly clever, or infuriatingly stupid. The Chase is one of those stories, one of those rare cases where I’m honestly not sure if I’m reading too much into a piece of television or simply scratching the surface of a whole wealth of complex meaning and symbolism. The Chase is, as near as I can make out, either a desperate attempt to cash-in on the then-current Dalek craze, or one of the craziest attacks the show ever made on the fourth wall. It’s either completely terrible or breathlessly brilliant, and I refuse to rule out the possibility that it is both, possibly at the same time.

Cutting to the chase…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, art, bbc, Beatles, Chase, Dalek, Dalek Invasion of Earth, doctor, DoctorWho, Gettysburg Address, Hywel Bennett, Ian Chesterton, Jon Pertwee, Keys of Marinus, russell t. davies, science fiction, tardis, Terry Nation, William Hartnell | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom (Review)

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Darren

The Seeds of Doom originally aired in 1976.

Very impressive. What do you do for an encore, Doctor?

I win.

– Chase and the Doctor

“The mixture of styles is charming,” Miss Ducat notes of Harrison Chase’s impression mansion, and it’s also true of the story itself. I think that part of the reason that The Seeds of Doom works so well is because it’s actually a rather wonderful blend of any number of pulp subgenres, mixing a spy adventure, a trashy sci-fi adventure, an end-of-the-world catastrophe story, a gothic horror tale and an alien invasion saga, all within one six-part story. The story’s meglomaniac, Harrison Chase, might believe hybrids are “a crime against nature” (which opens up all sorts of avenues of plant racism), but I think this works quite well.

Hamilton Chase goes green…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, bbc, Doctor (Doctor Who), Invasion of Time, Jon Pertwee, Philip Hinchcliffe, Seeds of Doom, tardis, The Seeds of Doom, Thing From Another World, Tom Baker | 1 Comment »

Doctor Who: The Android Invasion (Review)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Darren

The Android Invasion originally aired in 1975.

Is that finger loaded?

– the Doctor

We’re in the middle of one hell of a season here, aren’t we? Indeed, The Android Invasion is sandwiched between two stories that could legitimately vie for the title of “best Doctor Who story ever.” Perhaps that’s why it feels like such a let-down. The Android Invasion isn’t the worst Doctor Who story ever. Indeed, it isn’t the worst Tom Baker Doctor Who story ever, nor is it the worst Philip Hinchcliffe Doctor Who story ever. It is just sort of… there. It’s a very dull and mundane piece of television, one that feels all the more dull and mundane for the fact that it’s positioned in one of the strongest seasons that the show ever produced.

He needs a Doctor…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Android Invasion, art, Barry Letts, bbc, Dalek, doctor, DoctorWho, Harry, Harry Sullivan, Jo Grant, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Newell, Philip Hinchcliffe, russell t. davies, science fiction, Terry Nation | Leave a comment »

Doctor Who: The Bells of St. John (Review)

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Darren

There’s something in the wifi.

– the Doctor does his best Jaws impression

The Bells of St. John is an intriguing piece of Doctor Who. This is the first time that the show has had to manage a companion swap in the middle of a season. That said, it doesn’t really work to think of the seventh season as a single cohesive entity.

The first five episodes are something of an abridged season, akin to the 2009 season of specials starring David Tennant. They are dedicated to tidying away lingering plot threads from the last two years of the show, and resolving Moffat’s lingering plot threads. The Power of Three and The Angels Take Manhattan are very much about tidying up the Doctor’s lingering connection to Rory and Amy.

In contrast, the second half of the season has a much more celebratory feeling to it, tied together by the over-arching mystery around Clara. While Clara pops up in Asylum of the Daleks, she’s very much a teaser of a mystery to come rather than a character in her own right. Instead, the themes of the season start in The Snowmen, introducing (or reintroducing) the Great Intelligence and Clara, and outlining the mystery of “the twice-dead girl.”

As a result, The Bells of St. John feels very much like a season opener to an unfortunately brief season of celebration.

Maybe that should be “thrice dead”?

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: bbc, Bells of St John, Billie Piper, Clara, doctor, DoctorWho, Impossible Astronaut, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Jon Pertwee, matt smith, Moffat, russell t. davies, Snowmen, steven moffat, tardis, Tenth Doctor, Twin Dilemma, Yeti | 2 Comments »

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 »

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 »

Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs (Review)

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Darren

Invasion of the Dinosaurs originally aired in 1974.

How are you feeling now?

Hungry, tired and I’ve got a headache.

– Mark asks Sarah Jane how her viewing went. I can empathise.

Ah, ambition. It’s hard to fault it… although there is a point where you simply have to. Invasion of the Dinosaurs crosses that line in the first episode. I know that Doctor Who is a BBC television serial. I understand that the classic series hardly had a huge amount of money to hand when it needed special effects. I am well aware that the special effects for the following season’s The Ark in Space amount to some bubblewrap and green paint. There is an art to watching many of these classic stories, and that art involves being wilfully blind to the fact that the special effects aren’t up to scratch. Beyond that, it’s arbitrary. There’ll always be one silly special effect that undermines an otherwise impressive episode – which special effect and which episode will vary from person to person.

However, Invasion of the Dinosaurs makes the special effects the whole point of the exercise. The title tells you that you should be watching the dinosaurs. Malcolm Hulke was given the brief to write a story about dinosaurs in contemporary London. There might be a plot underneath it all, but the serial expects that you are here for the dinosaurs. And, if you are…

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

A smashing time…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Ark in Space, art, Barry Letts, bbc, Brigadier, Chromakey, Dalek, Dinosaur, doctor, DoctorWho, Finch, Invasion of the Dinosaur, Jon Pertwee, London, Malcolm Hulke, Mike Yates, Online Writing, Sarah Jane Smith, science fiction, Special effect, tardis | Leave a comment »

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.