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Post by johnhurtdoctor on May 11, 2020 17:31:48 GMT
Black Orchid is an odd one! The last ever pure historical of classic Who! I don’t understand cricket either, I agree with your description of “fancy version baseball”🤔😄 I will be curious what you think of the masked ball scenes those parts of the story are really fun and I love all the crazy outfits they have on!😊 I am absolutely loving it. I love these costumes! I usually enjoy the stories that break the mold the most, and this is basically one of these old Agatha Christie movies with the TARDIS team stuck in. So far I have to say this is by far the most enjoyable of the 5th Doctor TV stories that I have seen.
Yes. I love Black Orchid.
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Post by relativetime on May 12, 2020 18:55:37 GMT
I also just finished Black Orchid. Despite a few issues I had with the story, I still really love this story. Just seeing this team get to enjoy themselves is a real treat - that goes especially for Tegan. And I was definitely feeling the Agatha Christie vibes as well. I think my biggest issue here is that it does feel as though it could have used just one more episode to space things out.
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Post by tuigirl on May 12, 2020 18:55:53 GMT
Started on Earthshock. I have the slight suspicion those Cyberman chaps are up to no good...
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Post by tuigirl on May 12, 2020 18:56:32 GMT
I also just finished Black Orchid. Despite a few issues I had with the story, I still really love this story. Just seeing this team get to enjoy themselves is a real treat - that goes especially for Tegan. And I was definitely feeling the Agatha Christie vibes as well. I think my biggest issue here is that it does feel as though it could have used just one more episode to space things out. Yeah, another episode would have been welcome.
I really enjoyed that one.
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newt5996
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Post by newt5996 on May 12, 2020 22:50:09 GMT
Snakedance, one of my favorite Davison stories. I love the six faces of madness scene in Part Two in particular, yeah it's a bit cheesy but it's one of those moments where Davison's Doctor gets to shine (he's my least favorite classic Doctor). Also Janet Fielding is a joy to watch.
Later, I finally got my copy of The Faceless Ones so that's on the list to watch.
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melkur
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Post by melkur on May 13, 2020 10:09:57 GMT
Last night I finished watching 'Time-Flight' for the first time in a couple of years - Not the best series finale in the world, but it's decent enough, I guess?
EDIT - Tonight I am, of course, planning on making a start on 'Arc Of Infinity'.
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Post by antartiks on May 13, 2020 10:39:13 GMT
Rewatched The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People. First time in years and I had forgotten how ugly, overlong and poorly written it was. Even Rory, the only character of that era I truly enjoy, is disappointing in this. The only saving grace is Mark Bonnar. As a whole I hate series 6 and this is a perfect example as to why. Very poor.
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Post by Tim Bradley on May 13, 2020 17:32:20 GMT
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Post by antartiks on May 15, 2020 10:28:48 GMT
Finished rewatching The Masque of Mandragora yesterday. My, this one is just gorgeous. I swear the Hinchcliffe era really has the best production values of the classic era.
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Post by Tim Bradley on May 15, 2020 18:41:02 GMT
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Post by relativetime on May 16, 2020 23:06:41 GMT
Watched Earthshock last night and now I’m watching Time-Flight. Earthshock is just an all-around fantastic story. The Cybermen might be a little too gleefully portrayed, but they’re just so fabulously camp I just can’t help but absolutely love them. I think all the foreshadowing and hints spread throughout the audio really added up here. In Psychodrome for instance it’s established that Adric’s greatest fear is letting his friends down by failing to solve a mathematical equation. It’s just a nice detail that made the conclusion to Earthshock feel a bit more tragic. In any case, Adric took center stage in this story and I think it’s probably his finest moment, certainly on TV. Time-Flight. Well, it’s certainly a story that happened. Well, truthfully, it’s probably not the worst thing ever - just a very, very, VERY poorly placed story that’s otherwise fairly forgettable. There’s a few lines here and there I really liked and the supporting cast is overall pretty good. I think the thing I dislike most about it is how quickly things go back to normal after Adric’s death. Sure, enough time has passed between this story and Earthshock that it’s reasonable to expect the immediate hysterics are all over and everyone’s calmed down... but it’s still a bit of whiplash seeing everyone behave as though their traveling companion of months - years even - didn’t just die a few hours ago. If this story had happened at any other period in the Fifth Doctor’s tenure - and certainly not just after one of his most iconic stories - then maybe Time-Flight wouldn’t be as poorly remembered. It’d probably just be one of those “oh, I forgot they did this one. Huh” stories. Oh, and I guess the Master dressed up as an alien fortune teller in his spare time? Truthfully though, he’s one of the best things about the story. Moving on to the Nyssa audios. Can’t listen to them all unfortunately - I’m really trying to keep to a budget - but I can at least listen to all the earlier stuff and some of the other essentials. So next up is The Land of the Dead.
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Post by iainmclaughlin on May 17, 2020 2:59:40 GMT
Watched The Wheel in Space reconstruction. Troughton's very good in it, and Zoe gets a nice start, but it's not the best Cybermen story and it's a bit long. Having said that, had I viewed it in 1968 (I was one year old when it was on, so I missed it), seeing the six episodes a week apart it would probably have been something I loved to bits. Times and tastes change. Next up... The Invasion.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 5:44:45 GMT
Image of the Fendahl
"I have been used! You are being used! Mankind has been used!"
How to describe this one...? Good elements, but I struggled with the structure. The product of being commissioned by one script editor and finished by another, I expect. It feels more like Colby's story with the Doctor guest starring than vice versa. The most prevalent of which is an odd moment in "Part Three" where he and Leela disappear for a time in the TARDIS, discover they've been following a false trail and return to the story having discovered no more than they knew already. It's very strange.
The good? The Fendahl and its Fendahleen kin are a flawlessly nasty creation. An organism that almost retcons itself into the world of its victims. Helped in no small part by actors and actresses like Denis Lil (Fendelman) and Wanda Ventham (Thea) who give the skull a sense of inescapable doom. Dr. Fendelman's realisation in the cellar seals just how dangerous the creature is. The fact that it was found at the foot of a dormant volcano in Africa makes me wonder what the story might have looked like with a touch of foreign filming.
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Post by tuigirl on May 17, 2020 10:18:01 GMT
Finished Earthshock. Well, the ending really has quite some impact.
It is an exciting, well paced story and the Cybermen are truly scary in this.
Along the way, however, there are several mistakes/ plot holes that I am sure have already been discussed many times. There was only one species of dinosaur? The Earth 65 million years ago looked like it does today? Pretty sure the knowledge of plate tectonics has existed a long time before the 80s. All this locking on to "spacial coordinates"- what does that even mean? Since Earth is a planet, a word that basically means "wanderer", it certainly moves about in the solar system. Aiming a crashing freighter at it through time... and hitting... what are the chances of that?
I am also not happy with some of the reactions by the Doctor. Most of the time he is just standing about helplessly. All the others react, even Tegan and Nyssa grab guns. And yes, he does pull pained and shocked faces, especially at the end... but I would have expected more of an emotional reaction. Even him going into a murderous rage feels somehow pretty unsatisfactory. Just imagine how much pathos and drama would have been involved if this was a Sixie story! Maybe this is one of the reasons the Fifth Doctor does not rank so high on my list?
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2020 12:07:24 GMT
Finished Earthshock. Well, the ending really has quite some impact. It is an exciting, well paced story and the Cybermen are truly scary in this. Along the way, however, there are several mistakes/ plot holes that I am sure have already been discussed many times. There was only one species of dinosaur? The Earth 65 million years ago looked like it does today? Pretty sure the knowledge of plate tectonics has existed a long time before the 80s. All this locking on to "spacial coordinates"- what does that even mean? Since Earth is a planet, a word that basically means "wanderer", it certainly moves about in the solar system. Aiming a crashing freighter at it through time... and hitting... what are the chances of that? I am also not happy with some of the reactions by the Doctor. Most of the time he is just standing about helplessly. All the others react, even Tegan and Nyssa grab guns. And yes, he does pull pained and shocked faces, especially at the end... but I would have expected more of an emotional reaction. Even him going into a murderous rage feels somehow pretty unsatisfactory. Just imagine how much pathos and drama would have been involved if this was a Sixie story! Maybe this is one of the reasons the Fifth Doctor does not rank so high on my list? I think part of the problem for that emotional component is that Earthshock sets the stage, but Time-Flight doesn't really carry through with it. Without that initial scene aboard the TARDIS addressing the ending, it could just be another day in the week, another adventure. The thing is... Ages ago, when I was watching the Fifth Doctor for the first time, I completely missed Time-Flight and Arc of Infinity. I went straight to Snakedance and, despite it being completely unintended, I found that story handled the aftershock of the Cybermen extremely well. With that context, there's a sense that the return of the Mara is a natural consequence of what happened in Earthshock. It seems rather fitting. Even more so when the Doctor visits Dojjen in the desert and confesses that: "It was my fault." Suddenly, it feels as though he's talking about more than Tegan alone. There's a clarity behind his mad rush to prevent the Mara's return, he's desperate to avoid another tragedy, another lost companion. And fittingly, by learning the Snakedance, he learns to let go of his fear. Confront what he previously couldn't aboard the freighter and find his own centre.
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Post by Tim Bradley on May 17, 2020 21:15:03 GMT
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melkur
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Post by melkur on May 18, 2020 1:23:49 GMT
Last night I watched 'Inferno' part 2 (for it's fiftieth) and, before getting into bed tonight, I'm watching part 1 of 'Attack Of The Killer Space Chicken'... 'Arc Of Infinity', I meant 'Arc Of Infinity'!
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Post by barnabaslives on May 18, 2020 8:49:18 GMT
Finished Earthshock. Well, the ending really has quite some impact. It is an exciting, well paced story and the Cybermen are truly scary in this. Along the way, however, there are several mistakes/ plot holes that I am sure have already been discussed many times. There was only one species of dinosaur? The Earth 65 million years ago looked like it does today? Pretty sure the knowledge of plate tectonics has existed a long time before the 80s. Sometimes there is an element of suspension of disbelief, especially on a budget. Have you seen what Mondas looked like? If not, try not to bust out laughing when you see it.
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Post by tuigirl on May 18, 2020 19:04:26 GMT
Finished Earthshock. Well, the ending really has quite some impact. It is an exciting, well paced story and the Cybermen are truly scary in this. Along the way, however, there are several mistakes/ plot holes that I am sure have already been discussed many times. There was only one species of dinosaur? The Earth 65 million years ago looked like it does today? Pretty sure the knowledge of plate tectonics has existed a long time before the 80s. Sometimes there is an element of suspension of disbelief, especially on a budget. Have you seen what Mondas looked like? If not, try not to bust out laughing when you see it. Depending on my mood, there is only a certain amount of disbelief I am able to suspend...
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Post by Tim Bradley on May 18, 2020 19:11:04 GMT
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