WhoThrough: Doctor Who Season Four

The ongoing series sees Hartnell go and Troughton go on and on.

When my wife and I married in 2014, we started watching Doctor Who in order, one story a week. Five and a half years later we finished and started again. These are a combination of my scattershot notes from the first and second WhoThroughs.

THE SMUGGLERS

Strange that so much is similar to The Time Meddler – TARDIS on the beach, climbing cliffs, disbelieving new male companion, a church and its inner rooms, beacons to be lit to signal ships. The Doctor makes a decision that the companions don’t drink, despite meeting them in a night club. Jamaica seems to changes from a fairly normal mode of speech to simplistic third person between episodes two and three. Crazily forced, Famous Five-ish “Let’s find the oldest tombstone” game. (Though why Doctor Who hasn’t done a full-on Indiana Jones/Da Vinci Code/National Treasure variant I don’t know.) Magistrate/squire left strangely undefeated.

Ben and Polly tricking Tom via witchcraft seems almost abusive to the poor lad. Still, it’s a rare episode that features a cell escape which feels earned on wits and guile. While Polly’s screaming at rats, it’s a rather good character intro for Ben on his first adventure, and thus the story is another sad loss from the archive. The whole point of Polly being mistaken as male seems to be to avoid anyone treating her like a woman and not derail things, rather than to do anything for her character or generate story. (Note how this relates to talk of the crew’s bloodlust, as if killing is all they want when unleashed on the village.)

THE TENTH PLANET

Cybers are scary from the start – cliffhanger isn’t that they kill, it’s that they’re cunning, disguised as us to enact their scheme. Uses TV news for exposition in ep two. The first dialogue with the cyberman is extraordinarily clear: not caring, dominating the scene with their own cultural view. Cyberman collecting names and ages while announcing earth’s demise is chilling – a counterpoint dual-of-monologues style of dialogue the show’s not used until now. This makes the Cyberman more human than most humans in Who, who mostly do the standard ‘call/response’ dialogue.

Ben’s upset at killing is also a pleasing step away from the functional writing of old towards a style where plot doesn’t just drive on, but impacts character. (See also the General getting on the radio to his son, almost going personal then choosing to talk military style. Sadly the son isn’t told when his dad dies.) It’s sooooo international. We even get an Italian talking French – another move towards a more characterful writing style.

Extraordinary achievement of pace, it’s constantly moving, and also tension: episode three has no Doctor and only swiftly-killed Cybermen, yet never flags. Amazing it works when the explosion of Mondas is predicted early and requires us only to sit and wait.

How has “Imagine trying to tackle one of those geezers with a screwdriver” not ending up as a line used in Doctor Who trailers? The idea that the proximity of Mondas is affecting the Doctor more swiftly because of his alien biology is hinted at but could so easily have been made literal and direct, better earning both his unconsciousness and eventual ‘death’. But then, because Hartnell got ill so late they can’t even use his collapse as part of the ep two cliffhanger – it’s always a stakesless “he’ll be all right”, rather than worry for the Doctor affecting story.

Ben being flipped over a barrier by the general is a cracking, sudden stunt. Not so much “base under siege” as “base under awareness”. The Doctor’s so proud of Ben’s sabotaging of the rocket that I assume in the old draft of episode three it was his idea. (Which means his actions cause his own ‘death’, since it wouldn’t have happened if Mondas were destroyed.) Hartnell tells the cybermen he’s been put in charge “temporally” which is the best mispronunciation imaginable.

THE POWER OF THE DALEKS

Crucial to how Power of the Daleks works: Will the Doctor become the real Doctor before the Daleks reveal themselves as real Daleks? The Doctor is preternatural, like he knows the genre – companions secretly behind him, pools to avoid. Strides in and is shown the place’s most secret secret right away – efficient stuff.

When Lazenby became James Bond he also got a scene of going through all his stuff from past adventures.

Extraordinary all the SF stuff imagined – and yet the rebels rely on a single notice board. Heartbreaking loss of these episodes, so we’re unable to see Troughton going at full pelt…or the Daleks being manufactured. Rebellion, and population, feels sadly tiny; no sense of a bigger world created. Unclear if this was a Dalek plan or a scramble to make the best of a situation – after crashing, say.

Daleks are way better in a contained space, being mysterious. You forget that they weren’t always cunning, that this story is where it really starts (Master Plan technically has it, but it’s mostly just a Panel of Evil and then a lot of chasing). Whittaker makes the counterintuitive leap that something so huge and physical might also conceal enormous guile – and that irony really plays. He also grasps how to enjoy the black comedy of Dalek voices lying.

THE HIGHLANDERS

A historical without specific events to swirl around is a lot harder to make work – you run around the place without even the benefit of a tour of famous temporal landmarks. Funny though, this and Power seem to be saying “Hartnell stories, new Doctor”…but then write those stories with an emphasis on giving the main character bits of business, rather than letting him remain unassumingly. The Doctor tugs on German, female and soldier personas, points guns and whacks heads. While trying to reassure us things are the same, they highlight a massive difference. (The guns and knives lead to more cunning and guile than the reliance on them might suggest.)

The hanging in episode one must have played like a cliffhanger that didn’t happen. Bafflingly little of Jamie shown given where he’s going to end up. Polly falls into pits and drops dirks when practicing. Ben’s survival after being ducked seems entirely unearned – nothing about his ability to escape gets set up, so they end up explaining it in retrospect. Ben’s “we’re home!” relief at the start is a return to the reluctant companions of Ian and Barbara, but Vicki had taken us past that so it feels retrograde.

THE UNDERWATER MENACE

Seeing each character wish for their next destination is pure characterisation; the Doctor wishing for prehistoric monsters is a huge indicator of who he now is. (And Ben sarcastically wanting Daleks is a way of matching audience hopes.) As in Highlanders we have mid-episode cliffhangers, various sacrifices and escapes happening in the middles rather at than the actual cliffhanger points.

Polly on the operating table is bloody terrifying. The Doctor is magnificent in the lab, playing dumb and impressed but judging and plotting. The fake voice of Ando the God is gorgeously set-up. The Doctor and priest teaming up speaks volumes about goodness versus selfish arrogance.

The world-building is a mix of delightful and disastrous – the converted fish people work great, but the blend of religion and science is confused, and where are they getting hard hats and scaffolding? I love Ben and Polly pretending to be Ando’s voice but…does Ben really have the skills and vocabulary for that?

The Doctor plans to free the fish people, eliminate the food supply, but when asked what it would achieve he doesn’t know “But it’s a start”. Oh, you lovely world-shattering revolutionary, you. I know it’s just silliness, but dressing the Doctor up and doing some comedy business in the fish market is a good way to make the show more entertaining. And oddly we get good chemistry between Ben and the Doctor.

The music over the fish people in episode three seems like it has no idea what the scene is about: the spreading of dissension. Some lousy dialogue parts where all three compassions say versions of the same thing in turn: “What are you laughing about?” “Aye, what?” “I don’t see what you’ve got to laugh about.”

The BBC telesnap recreations on DVD are pitifully done, without any captions to clarify or attempts to edit effectively. We had to switch to Loose Cannon’s versions.

THE MOONBASE

Having fun on the moon is, again, the TARDIS as vacation package; this is why we travel. (Note that it’s that, not the danger, that appeals.) The early scenes are about delight in ‘real’ space travel. You could get a whole story out of plans to control the Earth’s weather. I’m not sure we ever get a clear idea of why the Cybermen cause infections – is it just to get bodies into the medical lab, or is it part of a conversion process?

The Doctor’s belief in Jamie’s belief in the piper vision is a real indication of the compassion, rationality and psychology of the show. Companions really struggling – often unconscious, doing errands or screaming. And where did Ben get his science and astronomy education from? Having a well-populated base being under siege and chattier villains has forced our three companions out. Writing Jamie unconscious stems from a production thing, but when he does come around there’s brief clashing of antlers with Ben – “I’m sure Polly’s very impressed” – that I could have seen used more.

The chase of the Frenchman across the lunar surface is a rare tense action sequence, where the job of our gang is to rescue someone in the nick of time. You’d think it was a common approach for a a show like this, but usually we get fast kills and move on. The infections and some nasty, melty deaths aside, there’s already no body horror left in the Cybermen, which is the start of a derailment of their original purpose that we don’t really fix (on TV) until the 2010s.

“See if you can find that lot” is a terrible line to give to an American. “Revenge, what is that?” asks a cyberman, which is some nice shade to throw forward to the 1975 story Revenge of the Cybermen. (Mind you, later talk of “stupid Earth brains” is hardly unemotional and scientific.) The Doctor talking to his own inner monologue is a subjective touch the show used to do (per The Highlanders’ wishing scene) that faded away.

THE MACRA TERROR

Really the first of a recurring genre of “What’s wrong here?” Who stories. Very The Prisoner, this place. The flash-forward from last week (“Next Time”) really helps – the Doctor is immediately on his guard and taking Medok’s side. Episode cliffhangers come very close to being the Doctor, then Polly, then Jamie being menaced by Macra. Vast backstory confusion – how did people get the name Macra? Who was Control and why keep him alive? Was Control a dictator they took over from? Or not? And how?

I’ve never heard the phrase “old shaft” repeated so often in my life. “Don’t let them say that they have seen Macra!” – I can’t tell if the writing is clunky, or if this is intentionally representing a kind of..animal-thought translated into English. A shame not to have this one as-filmed, because Troughton is apparently having a ball with his scenes. I honestly can’t remember if the Macra were established as dangerous – do they ever wound or kill anyone in the early episodes?

It’s funny how much a rehearsed, synchronised routine – like the ones in episodes one and four – adds production value; so much of the show is turned around fast and simply that the extra quality sticks out. Funny how imagination can stretch to crab beings using the system to talk as Control, but that there would be no way to simulate his moving face – we’re forever stuck in the thinking of our time. (e.g. physical media in Strange Days and Minority Report, made with no idea digital wireless file transfer is on the way.)

THE FACELESS ONES

Not noticing the packing crate in episode one is the biggest ‘script left as it is despite the sets failing to work, then blocking attempts to compensate’ moments ever. (See also: any time anyone hides in any Who episode ever.) Coming direct after The Macra Terror it feels like a new direction: paranoid thriller romps, conspiracies of silence and bureaucracy. Much of this is akin to Die Hard 2, of all things. The villains’ desperation for an identity is fascinating, and too little explored.

Samantha instantly feels more Jamie’s speed, Polly a snob in comparison. Amazing how much richer a show gets when Scots and Scouse are the only voices in a scene. Jamie’s duplicate having an RP accent is hugely unsettling.

Two alien hand reveals, an alien head and Polly not knowing the Doctor – part one has three more cliffhangers than usual despite being awfully runaround. Inevitably, this feels like the early birth of the Pertwee era, besotted with developments in the modern world and marrying that to the schemes of aliens.

THE EVIL OF THE DALEKS

The title puts the Troughton mode – a show where evil exists and must be fought – right in the title. You almost can’t fault a structure that does present day mystery for two episodes, then Victorian mad science and adventure for three episodes, then a two-part finale on Skaro.

Episode one is very well paced for a runaround, making a lot out of the Jamie-Doctor chemistry, building a quick cadre of criminals and dropping hints about Waterfield. The mystery works. Episode two has Jamie deducing the Waterfield’s antiques scheme and the Doctor and Jamie immediately sharing a measurement technique – old hands with unspoken understanding.

Very televisual in its filmed language in the episode we have – transitions from Doctor to his photo, from the painting to Victoria. Physical comedy, too, that’s all about timing. Troughton’s slow realisation of the Daleks’ presence, and his fear, is extraordinarily well acted. Generic adventure set-pieces in ep 3, sadly, complete with mute dark-skinned thugs and secret traps. Then things pick up huge with the human factor, return to Skaro and an evil plot that mirrors the time travel and essence themes that were present throughout. How were ‘house exploding’ and ‘the Doctor’s Dalek conversion’ not the cliffhangers for epsiodes 5 and 6?!

Maxtible’s deviousness and hypnosis gives us another proto-Master. Scientist Maxtible is so excited about alchemy he apparently misses the insane future tech on show all around him. Nobody in fan culture ever asks if Kemal, who travels in time and space on the Doctor’s side, counts as a companion.

Check out WhoThrough Season One, Season Two and Season Three.