Doctor Who: season 3

[altariel]

Right, season 3. This has taken a while to get through because mraltariel spent a week in Merky, and then we had to wait for the DVD of 'The War Machines' to turn up. This post is spoiler-filled.

Galaxy Four
altariel: Wicked space ladies!
mraltariel: I was ungrabbed by 'Galaxy Four', although Steven was good.
altariel: Yes, Steven was definitely the high point.

Mission to the Unknown
altariel: Was that Brian Cant?
mraltariel: The Doctor's been in the last few stories so little you don't notice he's not in this one at all. My appetite for the Daleks is now whetted.

The Myth Makers
altariel: They should do more of these campy historicals. I think it really brings home how Doctor Who is at its best when its a bunch of actors putting on a show. It's not as good as The Romans, but I still loved it to bits.
mraltariel: I agree. It's also a chance for Vicki to be interesting. She's the real surprise for me from these early seasons.
altariel: Totally agree, I can't understand why people complain about her being a Sixties screaming companion. She's spunky!
mraltariel: Yes, she's got spunk.

The Daleks' Masterplan
altariel: Wow! I was not expecting to enjoy this half as much as I did. Everyone is brilliant, and Sara's death scene is really harrowing! I managed to spoil myself about the Monk's reappearance, though. Thirty-six years I've gone unspoiled and then I clicked through one webpage too far. Curses.
mraltariel: I loved this. It just goes to show what you can do with the Daleks when Terry's not in full control.

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
altariel: My god, Peter Purves really saved this show, didn't he? Everyone talks about this being possibly the best story, and I think it has a damn good claim. They really should do more straight historicals in the new show and not spoil them with stupid bloody alien invasions. I thought this was cracking. Hartnell's speech at the end - wow.
mraltariel: I agree, and at the time I thought it might be my favourite. But now I find I can't remember it. Interesting.

The Ark
altariel: So they really can do "Sci" "Fi" when they put their minds to it.
mraltariel: Another unexpected gem. The design was very nice too.

The Celestial Toymaker
altariel: I think this is shit. What's happened to Dodo's accent? Does England not have a north any more?
mraltariel: Not nearly as bad as its reputation. Just a bit pedestrian when you have the pictures. It makes good radio though.

The Gunfighters
altariel: Oh Peter Purves, I'm really going to miss you. And your fringe. They should do more musicals. They should do more musical historicals. Let's put the show on right here! We don't need American accents!
mraltariel: I was whistling that bloody song for a week. Mister Wearp.

The Savages
altariel: Sort of careful and thoughtful. A story that's done over and over, but a good variation on it.
mraltariel: What, better than 'Animals'?
altariel: Don't be ridiculous!
mraltariel: Yet another under-rated story from this surprisingly good season.
altariel: I am really sad about Steven leaving and I might have to go looking for fanfic.

The War Machines
altariel: My god, it's gone all Pertwee! This is a completely different show! And it's going to be like this until... 'The Ark in Space'! I adore Ben and Polly. But Dodo's leaving sucked. What a competely underused companion.
mraltariel: Great season end, and with pictures too! I think this RadioVisualizer has a future.


Ranking

The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve
The Myth Makers
The War Machines
The Gunfighters
The Ark
The Savages
The Daleks' Masterplan
Mission to the Unknown
The Celestial Toymaker
Galaxy Four

altariel: Great season; Peter Purves, what a star, I bet he saved this programme from being canned.
mraltariel: I think Season 3 improves on Season 2, reducing the crapness of the poor episodes, and increasing the quality of the good episodes. Compare the 13 Dalek episodes, for example, with the 12 in season 2.
altariel: I'd eat my own head rather than sit through 'The Chase' again.
mraltariel: On to season 4!

Comments

[thanatos-kalos.livejournal.com]

I've just bought the rest of this series, having only heard mythmakers (which, as a Classicist, is mind-bending; I was literally going 'But AKhilleus actually said in this part...' Paris was dead on perfect, though) and Massacre which was amazing, plus having seen Ark, Gunfighters (*snerk* Though the accents literally hurt my ears) and War Machines. You're right, Steven was the absolute high point of the series, as near as I can tell. Glad to know there's such good stuff awaiting me!

BTW, do you know why Ben always calls Polly 'Duchess'? Was that a common thing to call someone in the sixties, or...?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I loved that they changed the ending of Troilus and Cressida, I thought that was gutsy.

I thought he called her 'Duchess' because she's posh and he isn't.

[gair.livejournal.com]

I think this RadioVisualizer has a future.

::giggles::

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It's like Tomorrow's World round here.

And I Don't Even Watch the Show

[executrix.livejournal.com]

What's happened to Dodo's accent? Does England not have a north any more?

"Every planet has a North"!!!!!!

Re: And I Don't Even Watch the Show

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Except for Planet BBC.

[nwhyte]

I really love this whole season. With perhaps the exceptions of (as you note) Galaxy Four and the Celestial Toymaker - though even Galaxy four at least has unusual aliens. I think it's the best single season of the black and white Who era.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Do you think it helps in some ways not having pictures? For example, I'm not sure that the production values of the time could have delivered everything I was imagining for Sara's death.

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of Steven Taylor, and I think Peter Purves is massively underrated by Who fandom generally. That said, I think there's more that makes this season great than just him. There's some really bold writing - the scripts here seem to want to push the envelope more than in any other season (with the possible exception of this year). Also, Hartnell does some great stuff this season. He and Purves work very well together, of course, but the range Hartnell shows across The Gunfighters, The Massacre, The Daleks' Masterplan and The War Machines is quite remarkable.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I think you're right about both the writing and about Hartnell (although he does seem not to be there for a lot of the episodes!). He is hilarious in 'The Gunfighters'.

Watching 'The War Machines' was fascinating: my first impression was, "Wow, this is a complete revamp of this show, really fresh and exciting!" and then you think, "And this is exactly what it's going to be like until the Holmes-Hinchcliffe era!"

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

It could be, given his age and evident frailty, that Nartnell found the shooting schedule over demanding.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Hartnell is surprisingly young when he retires from Doctor Who: only 58. But he was getting ill by this time, and I understand he was increasingly difficult to deal with as a result.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

That surprised me. I'd have guessed that he was at least ten years older than that. Though part of his apparent age may have been due to make-up, I suspect that he was also a rather elderly 58.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

It's over forty years since I saw any of these, and the only ones that I have any real memories of are "The Myth Makers" and "The Gunfighters", both of which I recall as being great fun. Perhaps comedy lingers longer in my mind than anything else?

They really should do more straight historicals in the new show and not spoil them with stupid bloody alien invasions.

It mist be a very long time since they last did a "straight" historical (quite possibly the 1960s). Sadly, I think that it's very unlikely that they'll ever do another one.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

The last pure historical was the Peter Davison story Black Orchid... but they hadn't done one since The Highlanders, IIRC.