Sadly, I was not able to watch Marco Polo, so an historical story is skipped for a Terry Nation sci-fi tale. I hadn't seen this one prior to 2008.
I'm fascinated by how they continue to refer to the TARDIS as the ship. Plus, Barbara's starting to refer to the Doctor before Ian on occasion.
Nation's script suffers from not being terribly well thought out - if Arbitan really is the last geezer on Marinus who isn't a Voord, then who cares? Unless he's got everyone else stored away somewhere.
I adored the little model shot at the start. While things like that have advanced amazingly, there is a part of me that misses the artistry of building models like this.
I'm struck by how the sci-fi world draws so much on Roman styles. But, what is marvelously unusual about this story is how there are different civilisations on the one planet! Hurrah.
Oh, that's rather good. The scene when Barbara wakes up and sees the reality of where they are and the other three see paradise. Her little rampage against the big brains with snail-style eye stalks was hilarious, which I suspect was unintentional.
I see now. It's a quest story, like the Key to Time stories.
The statue that grabbed Barbara in the cliffhanger before the screaming jungle episode was rather effective, if obvious, but I am getting a bit fed up with all Susan's squealing.
The Screaming Jungle was dull, and I get the impression the acting and set pieces were slowed down to make up time. Doctor Who got a lot better with the vines that grab on to people than in this one.
The snow episode surprised me with the implicit threat of rape by the trapper guy. I loved the doco shots of the wolves and that's the obvious advantage of monochrome - didn't look quite as obvious as some of the colour stories that do the the same thing. I love all the Styrofoam rocks and logs that Ian is so good at lugging about. It's the same with the deliberately stagey slowing down of action in order to try to create danger (like, why did Ian hang around with the crusader warriors except to slow the action down that way...)
Episode 5 betrays Nation's interests again... the Nazi-like dudes in their Nazi-like uniforms. But, hurrah, the Doctor's back!! The judges remind me of Russian oligarchs. Oh, but the murder mystery / court case is wonderful. Psychometric examination of an inanimate object? What nonsense. Of course the abused wife was behind it all :-)
How can they mistake Yartek for Arbitan? Ah, fortunately Susan and Ian aren't so silly. In fact, Ian is rather genius.
Hartnell is not the only one doing 'Billy fluffs'; despite the precise language being used quite a few of the other actors stumble over their lines but keep on. I actually rather like it as it lends a strange air of the genuine to proceedings missing in TV where take after take after take means the lines are spot on. Watch for the Voord who nearly trips over his flippers while he's entering the room. Everything else is so precise and measured.
Fascinatingly, this time there are few costume changes, and Ian really must pong by the end of it all.
I'm surprised still by how many women are actually given things to do in these stories, though it's fascinating to see how Susan has degenerated into a silly little squealing thing. Barbara continues to be utterly marvelous and more than makes up for it.
One for the continuity freaks - Marinus is supposed to be the uniquely tranquil, peaceful place in the universe, so where were the howls of protest in 1980 when the Keeper of Traken was first aired. (That's a joke, by the way.)
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