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Post by number13 on Sept 15, 2020 10:59:03 GMT
The Pirate PlanetIt’s been years since I watched this one. Douglas Adams firing on all cylinders. The dialogue is entertaining, the ideas are bold and I don’t think many writers could handle the tonal shift from the Doctor condemning unfathomable genocide to a robot dog fighting a robot parrot to a decrepit monarch clinging to life to execution by walking the plank. Speaking of said condemnation, boy is that scene overlooked. The venom Tom Baker spits is quite something, there’s real power behind his words. ‘Appreciate it?!’ is surely up there with ‘Indomitable!’. Honestly the only thing that lets this story down is the somewhat abrupt ending, where the villains die within seconds of each other and Doctor spouts a load of technobabble to sort out the shrunken planets. I should rewatch this more often. I would die on the hill of “ The Pirate Planet is the best thing that Douglas Adams wrote in his lifetime.” By the beard of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Banks, you would not stand alone!
This was one of the very few stories which got a repeat in the UK during the school holidays (summer 1978 probably), and second time around I was ready for it with a cassette recorder so I got to know it quite well! imo it's much better than 'City of Death' though I know half the forum will want me to walk the plank for that! A great story in a great season.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2020 12:24:01 GMT
I would die on the hill of “ The Pirate Planet is the best thing that Douglas Adams wrote in his lifetime.” By the beard of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Banks, you would not stand alone! This was one of the very few stories which got a repeat in the UK during the school holidays (summer 1978 probably), and second time around I was ready for it with a cassette recorder so I got to know it quite well! imo it's much better than 'City of Death' though I know half the forum will want me to walk the plank for that! A great story in a great season. It's kind of funny to think that The Pirate Planet came out just as that first series of Hitchhiker's Guide was appearing on radio. It's a debut script from a debut writer for the series and it really doesn't feel like it. I remember from an interview -- I think it was for the transition from the Williams to JNT era(?) -- that Adams wrote his material with the expectation that it would be played straight. No matter how potentially goofy, how cosmically absurd the situation could be, if it was serious to the characters, it was serious in the writing. That might be one of his best strengths. He was able to do sincerity without having to snap a switch, flip over the tone of the world, back to staunch severity to compensate for levity. As such, his tonal consistency for The Pirate Planet is very good.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Sept 15, 2020 15:01:03 GMT
I would die on the hill of “ The Pirate Planet is the best thing that Douglas Adams wrote in his lifetime.” By the beard of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Banks, you would not stand alone!
This was one of the very few stories which got a repeat in the UK during the school holidays (summer 1978 probably), and second time around I was ready for it with a cassette recorder so I got to know it quite well! imo it's much better than 'City of Death' though I know half the forum will want me to walk the plank for that! A great story in a great season. City of Death was co-written, though, which makes it harder to work out how much of it came from Mr Adams’ pen (I know that some people could probably tell me to 42 decimal places though). I really like the first season of HHGG (radio) and the Golgafrincham B Ark is one of the funniest ideas in the history of comedy, but I just don’t appreciate/ like his work as much as other people do. Pirate Planet is just a delight, though.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,666
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Post by shutupbanks on Sept 15, 2020 15:03:13 GMT
By the beard of the Sky-Demon, Mr. Banks, you would not stand alone! This was one of the very few stories which got a repeat in the UK during the school holidays (summer 1978 probably), and second time around I was ready for it with a cassette recorder so I got to know it quite well! imo it's much better than 'City of Death' though I know half the forum will want me to walk the plank for that! A great story in a great season. It's kind of funny to think that The Pirate Planet came out just as that first series of Hitchhiker's Guide was appearing on radio. It's a debut script from a debut writer for the series and it really doesn't feel like it. I remember from an interview -- I think it was for the transition from the Williams to JNT era(?) -- that Adams wrote his material with the expectation that it would be played straight. No matter how potentially goofy, how cosmically absurd the situation could be, if it was serious to the characters, it was serious in the writing. That might be one of his best strengths. He was able to do sincerity without having to snap a switch, flip over the tone of the world, back to staunch severity to compensate for levity. As such, his tonal consistency for The Pirate Planet is very good. Yeah, he said in several interviews that comedy should be played as straight as possible. He was right, too. He was also frustrated by the production team’s tendency to see a funny bit and just play it completely for laughs.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 10:17:22 GMT
It's kind of funny to think that The Pirate Planet came out just as that first series of Hitchhiker's Guide was appearing on radio. It's a debut script from a debut writer for the series and it really doesn't feel like it. I remember from an interview -- I think it was for the transition from the Williams to JNT era(?) -- that Adams wrote his material with the expectation that it would be played straight. No matter how potentially goofy, how cosmically absurd the situation could be, if it was serious to the characters, it was serious in the writing. That might be one of his best strengths. He was able to do sincerity without having to snap a switch, flip over the tone of the world, back to staunch severity to compensate for levity. As such, his tonal consistency for The Pirate Planet is very good. Yeah, he said in several interviews that comedy should be played as straight as possible. He was right, too. He was also frustrated by the production team’s tendency to see a funny bit and just play it completely for laughs. It's honestly why Key to Time is my favourite of Williams' tenure. It's got a lovely balance. All played as genuine as possible with some toothsome jeopardy, but there's some wonderful humour in there. "Newton's revenge," from here always gets me. Here's an interesting curio. One for headphones users. Some rather clever filmmakers at GnC Films have turned the mono audio from The Invasion into a stereo track by isolating and rearranging the original in a 5.1 environment. Think of a room with objects arranged all through out it rather than clustered together at the centre. No additional elements added at all, it's just the original source audio. The results are subtle (particularly through a YouTube compressor), but rather impressive:
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melkur
Chancellery Guard
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Post by melkur on Sept 17, 2020 22:09:02 GMT
Over the past couple of evenings I watched 'The Curse Of Fenric', which I enjoyed. Tonight's viewing, of course, 'Survival' (I'm currently partway through the first episode). So, Big Finish, when are we getting that 3-part Angie boxset? (I'm only half kidding)
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Post by Hieronymus on Sept 18, 2020 3:36:27 GMT
Partners in Crime because I needed a pick-me-up
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Post by number13 on Sept 19, 2020 11:47:41 GMT
It's totally a 'guilty pleasure' but... Time-Flight
Yes I know, but... if you pretend Ep 2 never happened that gets rid of the Master's little hobby (I can't think why else he was doing all that stuff because it had no point at all! ) the humanoid Plasmatons and most of the 'blasted heath'. Beyond which there is a good story about the divided species all-in-one, and the time corridor and all that.
And the guest stars are excellent - the Prof and the air crew trio are First Class! - and I love all their material and the Heathrow and Concorde stuff. Also, it's nostalgia-packed for me, I remember Heathrow very well from that time and Concorde (though sadly, I only ever saw it from the outside!) and they did all that very well indeed.
In defence of the Master, the 'reveal' did fool me back in the day, just as it does the 'Behind the Sofa' viewers on the blu-ray who didn't know in advance, and they'd worked with him later on! And I guess that is the only point of it. So credit to Anthony Ainley for playing the near-impossible 'other' role and not giving himself away. What actors have to do for their craft!
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Post by timegirl on Sept 19, 2020 14:37:29 GMT
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
The episode with the unintentionally adorable dinosaurs 🦕🦖😍 in an otherwise very tense and suspenseful story 💀 This was an odd one! At times this story was extremely tense such as part 1 which was oddly in black and white which made it even more atmospheric when 3 and Sarah Jane were walking around abandoned London. Other times it was silly and adorable when the dinosaurs showed up😊 I know this wasn’t the intention but even though scary and realistic dinosaurs would up the suspense even more I am kind of glad they were cute dinosaurs. This is because I have been so terrified of dinosaurs ever since when I was five years old when my well intentioned aunt took me to a horrifyingly realistic life sized animatronic dinosaur exhibit where the dinosaurs jumped out of bushes and roared at you and their was even one that actually spit at guests! Since then I can’t even go to natural history museums without being completely terrified let alone watch any Jurassic Park movies! So it was actually a major relief that these were fake looking adorable dinosaurs rather than realistic ones! I also thought it was interesting that there was a fake New Earth in this episode when it eventually is an actual planet in RTD’s era. I wonder if this is where he got the idea from? Anyways a good suspenseful serial where I was I was actually thankful for the special effects failure!
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melkur
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Post by melkur on Sept 19, 2020 23:05:26 GMT
Yesterday evening I watched the Paul McGann TV movie, which I adored (after listening to the first and fourth of his Time War boxsets earlier in the week, as I've had today off from work I've been listening to the first 'Dark Eyes' boxset today, with about half of the last episode left to go before I get into bed).
At the moment, as I've just wrapped up the 'Classic' era, I've decided to start over again with 'An Unearthly Child', perfectly normal, right? Oh... (I had considered starting to watch the 'New Series', but didn't really have time to watch all 45minutes of 'Rose' this evening)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2020 22:07:20 GMT
Survival.
The last televised story of the 'classic' era.
This isn't a how on its last legs; this isn't a show that has run out of ideas. Doctor Who was as vibrant during those last few years as it had ever been. It's true that Julian Holloway enjoys himself as the Sarge, but no-one is sending the old show up, despite what critics might since have said. The Master is back, and he's better than he'd been for a long time - Anthony Ainley showed true menace here with a character made unstable in every sense of the word. It's such a shame the mechanical cat fails every time you see it, because every trick in the book is employed to make the thing scary - and it almost is!
I love this story. I love the flirtatiously dangerous relationship between Ace, all grown up now, and Karra (played by Lisa Bowerman). Both actresses tapped perfectly into Rona Munro's multi-layered story, and The Doctor's too busy scrapping with his arch enemy to notice.
I remember thinking at the time, when it was apparent this would be the last Doctor Who series for some while ('fans will have to wait a little longer before the next series,' said the BBC - they weren't wrong), that it would be wonderful to have just one more series. One more series like 25 and 26 had been, filled with new writers, new monsters, new situations. Sylvester and Sophie were up for it. Andrew Cartmel was up for it. Even JNT might well have been talked into one last, final throw of the dice - a way to round things off a bit. Just one more series, that's all I craved - and watching Survival again after all these years, I still feel the same!
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Post by constonks on Sept 23, 2020 5:04:25 GMT
This isn't a show on its last legs; this isn't a show that has run out of ideas.(...) It really never ceases to amaze me that one of the best seasons of Doctor Who is the one before it got cancelled. Like, I know the history behind it but it's still baffling.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2020 5:34:12 GMT
This isn't a show on its last legs; this isn't a show that has run out of ideas.(...) It really never ceases to amaze me that one of the best seasons of Doctor Who is the one before it got cancelled. Like, I know the history behind it but it's still baffling. Yeah, tonally, a story like The Curse of Fenric is almost predicting period dramas like Foyle's War and Endeavour interweaved with a few science fiction accoutrements that feel quintessentially Who. It's actively engaging in some pretty great topics and themes on top of providing an evening of entertainment. Cartmel's era had a nice focus on having characters drop away from their assigned roles in the story and just be characters. The one that sticks out to me is Battlefield. Morgaine dismissing her son for not treating their enemies with dignity and her and the Brigadier honouring the fallen dead before the battle. A few years before this, someone would have tried something during the ceremony to gain an upper hand, but no... Here, they drop the conflict, albeit momentarily, for something quite human. That adds a nice depth to the whole thing, that they can exist just a comfortably outside the story's conflict as within it. Actually... Now, that I think about it, the fact that many of the characters in Ghost-Light stop and start where the "stage" ends, so to speak, is a noticable facet of the story. It's treated as an oddity. What's kindo of eerie is that if not for the stink kicked up at the hiatus, the show would've ended with Revelation of the Daleks. A funeral. Not just for the Doctor, but the whole show. As good as that story is, Survival and Season 26 kind of sealed the fact that it was a series that had grown into (and was potentially growing out of) the best it could bring to television. After a short stint of damage control, its self-consciousness was gone. It was back to being innovative.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2020 3:03:54 GMT
Rewatching Terror of the Vervoids and The Ultimate Foe for an exercise in lateral thinking. It's not unusual for Terror of the Vervoids to be cited as the story-within-a-story that is the most complete without any additional trial scenes. I decided to have a look at it in the context of whether you could take those final two episodes of The Trial of a Time Lord and thread them through Vervoids as a solid tale in its own right. As it turns out, in five parts... You absolutely can. Moreover, you get some really got cliffhangers in the bargain as well (including the moment of truth behind the Valeyard).
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Post by number13 on Sept 24, 2020 12:10:48 GMT
Carnival of Monsters
I love it! A brilliant story from Robert Holmes and one of his most unusual scripts - a mix of comedy, high adventure and low politics with a dash of satire. And chickens! And Very Big Teeth! And no less than three of his 'trademark' double (or triple) acts and all excellent; the "pukka sahibs" on the ship, wonderful Vorg and Shirna and best of all, the outstanding comedy trio of Inter Minorian Officials! What a terrific cast it was.
My Doctor and Jo are on top form (I love the way the Doctor slaps down Pletrac and co., he always did enjoy putting officials in their place, didn't he? ) and Jo goes round in the "timeloop" on the ship and almost breaks through the captives' conditioning. With very classic/inventive designs for the different settings and monsters which really work.
All brought together by Barry Letts, directing for a change and his two & three-shots of the Officials conferring and scheming make me chuckle every time I see them.
Which has been quite often, down the years, but I never get tired of seeing it and somehow it always looks as fresh as the first time... odd that... twenty times round the blu-ray is... how long exactly?
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melkur
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Post by melkur on Sept 24, 2020 13:26:54 GMT
Over the past couple of days I've been watching the first Dalek story, which I enjoyed (I think doing it across 4days instead of the usual evening or so probably helped with that).
This evening, time allowing, I am considering watching 'The Edge Of Destruction' when I get back from my evening out.
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melkur
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Post by melkur on Sept 25, 2020 22:29:30 GMT
Last night I did indeed watch 'The Edge Of Destruction' (for quite a few years this was my own 'missing episode', as I lost the disk with my portable DVD player in 2008 in Spain when I was visiting with my parents & only got round to replacing it a year or two ago).
I couldn't really be bothered to watch 'The Keys Of Marinus' (I wasn't really in the mood for it & my DVD of it doesn't always work properly), so I'm currently watching part 1 of 'The Aztecs' before starting to get ready for bed.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2020 15:06:10 GMT
This took effort believe me to pick up a copy of the DVD-but luckily I got it cheap second hand.
I can’t describe the mental work I go through as regards the new series of Doctor Who seriously I have to pretend somehow it is a brand new show with no history(or a history I was comfortable with) Am now out of the comfort zone.
Resolution
first I love the title graphics and the time tunnel. The Tardis control room somehow I just do not like...the crystal pillars actually make it look smaller than what it’s is small gripe.
I did enjoy the Dalek design but it was far too formidable in its Genesis - this should be a creature even in its junkyard state that (plus its weapon) that doesn’t need the missiles etc but good effects and good voice work as usual via BRIGGS.
Effects cannot complain at all final scenes very good. The opening Custodian scenes well a bit of a let down to be honest-I mean they take the remnants of the Daleks and do not exactly bury them very deep and the third custodian he gets shot the search his pockets but fail to retrieve the artefact he is carrying and then the body just lies there undisturbed in the same position-nah not very likely is it given anything from foxes etc could scavenge remove etc....that was a major let down and we were not even into the first few minutes.
Jodie absolutely no problem with her performance(i really am rebooting myself mentally for this she is the DOCTOR yes but for this to work for me I have to tell myself somehow this is an alternate timeline) and if that’s what it takes I will go with that.
Production and filming really sharp on blu ray and some great wee nods of comedy for Jodie to do.
Onto episode 2
Now since before my sabbatical lol it got revealed that she was not the FIRST FEMALE DOCTOR I have a gripe I think it’s a great disservice to Jodie after all the hype and especially hearing all the glowing reports of Jo Martins portrayal....but here we go EPISODE -SPYFALL
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2020 15:25:12 GMT
Spyfall
Unit /Torchwood all gone....it was like music to my ears🤪 Well,just one of them
so joking aside gripping stuff and some great effects I do know one spoiler so am aware of who the Master is ,but the companions are great in ,it getting their screen time share JODIE is very strong too and it’s good to see her fear portrayed at certain times-and Lenny Henry and Stephen Fry not bad at all.For a partb1 am hooked and completely drawn in.
Well that was a terrific first episode and Sacha so brilliant as The Master ....truly gripped by it and no gripes and man how lush did Doctor Who look...
Ok well am off to get some dinner but will definitely be watching Part 2 on my return.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2020 16:19:16 GMT
This took effort believe me to pick up a copy of the DVD-but luckily I got it cheap second hand. I can’t describe the mental work I go through as regards the new series of Doctor Who seriously I have to pretend somehow it is a brand new show with no history(or a history I was comfortable with) Am now out of the comfort zone. Resolutionfirst I love the title graphics and the time tunnel. The Tardis control room somehow I just do not like...the crystal pillars actually make it look smaller than what it’s is small gripe. I did enjoy the Dalek design but it was far too formidable in its Genesis - this should be a creature even in its junkyard state that (plus its weapon) that doesn’t need the missiles etc but good effects and good voice work as usual via BRIGGS. Effects cannot complain at all final scenes very good. The opening Custodian scenes well a bit of a let down to be honest-I mean they take the remnants of the Daleks and do not exactly bury them very deep and the third custodian he gets shot the search his pockets but fail to retrieve the artefact he is carrying and then the body just lies there undisturbed in the same position-nah not very likely is it given anything from foxes etc could scavenge remove etc....that was a major let down and we were not even into the first few minutes. Jodie absolutely no problem with her performance(i really am rebooting myself mentally for this she is the DOCTOR yes but for this to work for me I have to tell myself somehow this is an alternate timeline) and if that’s what it takes I will go with that. Production and filming really sharp on blu ray and some great wee nods of comedy for Jodie to do. Onto episode 2 Now since before my sabbatical lol it got revealed that she was not the FIRST FEMALE DOCTOR I have a gripe I think it’s a great disservice to Jodie after all the hype and especially hearing all the glowing reports of Jo Martins portrayal....but here we go EPISODE - SPYFALLOne of the things I love about Resolution (my favourite Chris Chibnall story) is that it takes the time to take a break from the story-telling - just as Dalek did all those years ago - and just shows us the creature simply shooting people and blowing things up. I hope future stories do that too. Sometimes it's good just to bask in a set-piece allowing of one of Skaro's favourites to destroy everything in sight.
Are you working your way through all of Series 12, @causality?
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