Doctor Who: season 8

[altariel]

Master! Master!


Terror of the Autons
mraltariel: Delgado is instantly great and this has several classic scary moments: the chair, the doll.
altariel: The masks!
mraltariel: And that great stunt that's not a stunt where the guy falls down the gravel pit and has the presence of mind to get up and carry on as if he'd meant to fall that spectacularly.
altariel: That's the public service broadcasting ethos in action...
mraltariel: By Havoc!

The Mind of Evil
mraltariel: So this is the first of the stories that develops the precarious international situation that continues in the next season or two.
altariel: Yes, I was surprised about that, and it just goes to show how much the rebooted show owes to the Pertwee era when it's not owing stuff to the Hartnell era. I love this one because it's set in a prison and I like prisons. Not actually, but conceptually. No, not conceptually...
mraltariel: Quit while you're behind.
altariel: I don't think I explained myself well there. What I mean is: you don't often see things that are about criminal justice and the ethics of punishment. Yes. That's what I mean.
mraltariel: Porridge.
altariel: Fuck off.

The Claws of Axos
mraltariel: I hated the Target novelization of this for no good reason.
altariel: There must be a reason.
mraltariel: There does not have to be a reason for me to hate something.
altariel: Good point. I liked this story, I thought it looked interesting and a bit yukky.
mraltariel: I like the spaghetti monsters.
altariel: But not in prose. Pertwee is not annoying me as much as I thought, and - more amazingly - neither is Jo Grant.
mraltariel: Yes, that is rather unexpected. And we've seen Jo's knickers far less often than I've been led to believe.
altariel: Truly the Pertwee era is...
mraltariel: The pinnacle of female emancipation?
altariel: Quite.

Colony in Space
mraltariel: That was an another joy! Four stories woven neatly together and properly filling out six episodes. Bet they never manage that again.
altariel: Of ye of little faith!
mraltariel: Why do people say this one's boring? I genuinely don't understand why people say this one is boring.
altariel: It doesn't crack along, but the story is interesting and thoughtful, and I think everyone does a really nice job of their parts. I liked this one too.

The Daemons
mraltariel: I don't know why, because it's full of good parts, good dialogue and a nice setting, but it was realllllly boring. Loads of repetition, whole episodes in which the plot isn't advanced.
altariel: And the daemon looks a bit rubbish.
mraltariel: And spits a lot because of his falsh teesh.
altariel: This one isn't as good as propaganda makes it. And it should be fantastic. I think it's probably an episode too long and would have made a classic four-parter.



Ranking
The Mind of Evil
Colony in Space
The Claws of Axos
The Daemons
Terror of the Autons


mraltariel: This ranking is easily disputed because these stories are, in general, of a consistently decent standard. There's a lot less variability by comparison with the last few years.
altariel: Good solid stuff, all-round great performances with Delgado an absolute treat, and some good surprises from stories that don't generally get much attention. Bring on the next season!

Comments

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

For some reason, The Daemons is the one I remember best, or at least most fondly. I think it's the bit where's he's doing the slide show, where everyone's sitting round chanting "with horns!" Though I'm a bit vague now about whether that was members of UNIT, or us sitting round the television, or both.

Though Terror of the Autons has my all-time favourite Scene with a Time Lord. Oh, how I wish the Time Lords were always like that, and not the boring people the Doctor ended up saving once a week.

[communicator.livejournal.com]

Everyone remembers The Daemons; it's like that episode of the Likely Lads where they don't want to know the football score.

[uitlander]

Goo stories?

Surely we're saving that for the Green Death?

[tiggymalvern.livejournal.com]

Yes! Finally! Someone else who appreciates Colony in Space - it's so much fun. (And unlike some Pertwee stories, it doesn't try to fill 6 episodes with one single plot that doesn't make it.)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I'll never understand the reputation of The Daemons. One of my least favourite Pertwee era stories. Otoh, Mind of Evil and Terror of the Autons are love. I expected to be impressed by the Master the first time I watched and was surprised by loving Three and Jo as well.

[jhall1.livejournal.com]

Rats, you beat me to it. :)

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

Oh God, the bloody Daemons. Cosy when it should be scary, smug when it should be sceptical, messy when it should be coherent, stupid when it should be smart.

I have a theory about the Nineties Pertwee Backlash. A load of older fans who remembered The Daemons as an amazing classic from back when they were seven kept banging on about how it was the crowning glory of the Pertwee years. Then, when it came out on video, all the fans who had never seen it before, or much of the rest of Pertwee, thought "If that's the best, what must the rest of it be like" and promptly wrote all of seasons 7 to 11 off as self-satisfied toss.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Is it the one with the amusement?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Fear my typing skillz!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I think your theory is spot on. (Although I always liked season 7.)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of people make the mistake of watching DW stories in one go, and they're much better watched as discrete episodes - as intended! I imagine if I'd sat through the whole of 'Colony in Space' in one evening, it would have seemed slow, but across a week I was really absorbed. I'm not sure I've seen it before, actually.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Jo has been the big revelation for me in this rewatch. I mean, she's hardly an advert for female emancipation (and the scripts often require her to do really stupid things), but it's a very appealing performance.