Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY FORTY-FIVE: THE MIND ROBBER (1968)

"Ahhhh, there's an actor who isn't my pal Frazier...."

"When somebody writes about an incident after it happens, that is history. But when the writing comes first, that's fiction. If we had fallen into the Master's trap, we would have become fiction."

1) I know this was a scripted serial--hell, they talk at length with writer Peter Ling in the documentary accompanying the story on the DVD--but one of the things I like about this tale is how the whole thing feels on some level improvised. Granted, part of that is because the producers had to add an extra episode (the first) onto it with literally no budget, but even when we're deep in the scripted portion, that feeling of organicness remains.

2) Another thing I liked? For the bulk of the first three episodes, the Troughton Doctor is off-balance. He literally doesn't know how to manipulate this situation to his own advantage, and seems extremely lost and panicky at times. And I like seeing Troughton dithering and knowing it's not The Doctor putting on an act.

3) It's so strange hearing this version of The Doctor talking about a villain called The Master. I know Emrys Jones' character isn't that Master (calm down, Michael!), but still.....

4) Even though there is some tiny lip service made to an alien race using this Land of Fiction outside of the space/time continuum, this is arguably the closest the classic series ever gets to pure fantasy...and once again, we get some really clever ways of working around a budget. The way the production staff conveys the idea of Jamie standing on top of a forest made of adages, for example, is quite clever.

"You don't think it doesn't take hours of effort and work to
make my hair look like a Stooge's?"

5) ...and speaking of Jamie, this is the serial where Frazier Hines' illness prompts him to be replaced for an episode by Hamish Wilson. And while Mr. Wilson's work is good, his presence really emphasizes how great Hines was as a companion. The chemistry Hines has with both The Doctor and Zoe is just outstading.

6) Zoe...Wendy Padbury is a definite improvement over Deborah Watling. Unlike the screaming machine that Victoria became, Zoe seems to have a real place in the crew. I particularly like the way The Doctor will treat her like a peer when it came to piloting the Tardis.

And that cliffhanger to episode one....ummmmmm, yeah. Good way to point out that Padbury is not a young girl while making us fans uncomfortable. If you've ever seen this, you know what I mean.

7) Given that this serial apparently had almost no budget whatsoever to work with, I was rather impressed with how some of the crazier mythological beasts came off. The unicorn that serves as the cliffhanger for Episode Two is really cool and convincing, and the way the crew works out the minotaur utilizing shadows, sound effects, and a very, very, very brief shot of a minotaur head works...but then you get that really bizarre, almost impressionistic version of the Medusa with the stop-motion snakes that's just shoddy. No amount of Zoe screaming that this gorgon is real convinced me at all.

"Girl....you'll be a woman....soon."
(And all over England, adolescent boys suddenly realize
they....are MEN!)

8) I rather like some of the featured fictional characters, particularly Christine Pirie's Rapunzel. The way she seems so casually resigned to having people climb up her hair is hilarious.

9) I have to give Emrys Jones credit--he makes the constant switching from a befuddled lil' writer to the spokesvoice for the strange alien race that's intending to drag humanity into the World of Fiction so they can inhabit Earth work. The way director David Maloney leads us to believe the Master is a very sinister figure only to have him be this gentle, sad man is pretty well done.

10) As creative as this serial is, and given how much is thrown onto the screen, the shorter episode lengths (they last from eighteen to twenty-one minutes in length, as opposed to the standard twenty-four) is noticable. Instead of making the serial seem more faster paced, it makes the narrative flow come off as fractured and disjointed. The final episode in particular edges toward the nonsensical.

Overall...another one of the classic series' forays into surrealism, this one is head and shoulders above the previous attempt at something unique, the Hartnell serial The Web Planet, and is probably the best example until we hit the McCoy serial Ghost Light at the end of the classic run. A curiosity, but one worth watching if you're interested in seeing just how out there some production staffs were willing to go.

Ten Statements About....DOCTOR WHO STORY THIRTY-SEVEN: THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN (1967)

"Is there a tomb?  Are there cybermen within it?  I rest my
case."

"If you are 450 years old, you need a great deal of rest."
"Well, that's very considerate of you, Victoria, but between you and me, I'm really quite lively."

1) While this is during the period where Doctor Who was being made on a broken shoestring of a budget, this is an example of how economically clever the production crew were. Yes, lots of the sets are obviously cheap, but there are touches in the titular Tomb--the strange clockfaces made of stained glass that lit up at seemingly random times, the strange honey-comb-like cryogenic chamber, the weapons-testing range with the hypnotic pulses projected behind the targets--that give the story a strange, otherworldly feel to it.

2) ...and that's for the best, since the story is, at its core, an Old Dark House horror story. In atmosphere and gruesomeness, this serial can be seen as a precursor to the Phillip Hinchcliffe neo-gothic era.

3) It's a pity that so little of the Patrick Troughton era doesn't exist anymore, since I can't tell if the handful of stories we can see are typical of how Troughton played the Doctor. If it is, then Troughton was masterful, a manipulative and clever type not beneath gleefully playing weak to get the upper hand. It's this ability to play games without seeming to, to change his temperament and his strategy literally from moment to moment that makes this Doctor so compelling.

"And here is the staircase that leads to the tomb of an half-
robotic race meant to erase humanity...don't you just love it?"

4) Of course, he wouldn't be nearly as fun to watch if he didn't have Frazier Hines' Jamie as his good right hand.  I'm positive Hines lasted longer than any companion (he pretty much was around for the entire Troughton era), which contributes to the exceptional chemistry he has with Troughton, but the two are one of the greatest give-and-take acts in the series history. And on top of that, Hines has this amazing comic timing, able to expertly drop a laughline and use body language to add a little relief to the relentless suspense of the serial.

5) You know, the cybermats may seem rather ridiculous at times--but the moment where these lil' crittiers seem to skitter across a room at blinding speeds to attack make them unnerving.

6) As for the Cybermen themselves....they're still in their primitive phase (the bagginess of the Cyber Controller's jumpsuit is particularly notable throughout), but there is some creepy about them. The way their every movement is accompanied by a weird electronic keening, the exposed brain of the Cyber Controller, the weird way they break out of their tombs all conceal the fact that they're little more than catalysts in this story, stomping around and acting like movie monsters. That they're frequently cowed and delayed by the show's real villains, Kleig and Kaftan, is overlooked due to the way they carry themselves.

7) And speaking of Shirley Cooklin and George Pastell, who play Kaftan and Kleig--Ye Gods, these people are on an all-scenery chewing diet. They're both so over the top in their evilness that it's hard to take them seriously. It's to Troughton and Hines' credit that we are able to--because they treat these two like a credible threat, we end up treating them thusly. And even if we didn't, the moment where Troughton goes off on this slavish 'praise Klieg The Mighty' monologue, only to remark 'Oh, I know you're crazy now,' when Kleig buys into it is priceless.

"They're called boobs, Jamie...stop staring so intently at
them...."

8) A lot of people look down on Deborah Watling's Victoria with contempt, and to be fair its her girl-school-scremer-y ways that has been a black mark on the original series whenever lazy fans of the new series want to tear it down. But based solely on this serial, Victoria has her moments. She has a couple of scenes where she pulls rank on Kaftan, a wonderful discussion with Troughton about missing her father...and a weird chemistry with George Roubichek's Captain Hopper than I found laugh out loud funny. Sure, as she progresses, she becomes a useless scream machine, but here I can see what the creators had in mind bringing her aboard.

9) If I had my way, the Doctor would have 'misplaced' Victoria and gotten Roy Stewart's Toberman to come on board the TARDIS. The guy doesn't talk much--his longest speech is at the very end when he closes the door literally on the Cybermen threat, but he is a hoot-and-a-half with his physicality and his cyber-ass-kicking

10) Here's another strength of this period of the series--this serial is populated by fun and distinct actors who give their all to their parts. No one is phoning it in, and many of the actors--in addition to Roubichek and Stewart, who I mention above, Aubery Richards plays the thankless task of scientist dupe well, and the Cyber Controller would not be half as menacing if it wasn't for the physical acting of Michael Kilgariff (an actor who so impressed the Who offices that he reprised his role as Cyber Controller in later Cybermen serials).

Overall....even though its budget is showing, this is an exceptional serial. So many elements of its story and atmosphere carry over into future episode that it's absolutely essential viewing.