Post by hushicho on Jul 13, 2004 19:14:44 GMT -5
Jo did get to do more in this episode and showed she was not the bumbling companion some feared she might be, she bravely stood by the Doctor in his time of need and helped stop at least one prison riot with her 'training.' Although the moment the Master orders the beaten Doctor thrown into a cell with Miss Grant, that actually sounded like a form of torment perhaps the way he said it with such glee.
I think there was no question of how the Master felt about Jo, and the feeling was reciprocated. They were quite unfond of each other, and it showed very well! The entire cast in those days had a very magical rapport, and their relationships were very well-defined I think. You can see it in any serial, the way they interact is consistent and quite apparent. Again referring to the fifth Doctor's time on the show, they had some serious problems with writers wrestling for dominance and made the character a little too inconsistent at first, so it was difficult to see those same bonds that previous Doctors had been so careful to portray consistently.
I was glad to see Jo being useful. I think it was a very special relationship that the third Doctor and Jo shared, with the Doctor playing the part of a genius uncle watching over his favourite niece as she blossomed into the fullness of her personality as she discovered it and discovered herself. Although sadly he had to deal with the fact that once she did find herself, she realized that her place was no longer with him, but having adventures of her own. Ah well...such is the life of a Time Lord.
Oh one small point the Master shows how he gets truely evil by listening to bad guy music on his 'transistor radio' and smoking big cigars (those things will take a regeneration or two off you Master) In fact the Master looked very much the 'mafia' type with expensive limo and driver, he seemed to be enjoying his situation on earth quite nicely.
Yes, I always got the impression from him that he thought if you were in a position you disliked, you could at least make the most of it. He was never hesitant to take advantage of anyone to further that, though, unlike the Doctor. And of course he wasn't concerned at all about altering the timestream or messing up various things that others had worked so hard to maintain, or that were established historical events. That was always the difference between him and the Doctor; the Doctor always worked to protect the timestream and the Earth, or whatever planet he happened to be on, in case there was something going on that would seriously muck about with time.
Perhaps that's why the Master introducing threats was so relied-upon in the period where the Doctor was exiled to Earth, just to annoy him into protecting the timestream. Maybe they thought it would be more believable and yet still able to be resolved if it were someone of his own kind messing around with time.
The prison scenes make up the 'meat' of this tale though the prisoners themselfs range from fairly good ( Barnam) to really awful the scenes of UNIT storming the prison were done quite well thanks to the stunt team HAVOK they gave Dr Who a polished look in the early 70's much fun as well was earned by the Brigadier's undercover work as a delivery man and the reactions from Benton afterwards.
Yes, those were priceless little gems that gave all the situations a lot of liveliness and interesting depth. I was very impressed by UNIT's role in this tale. And of course, as usual the stuntwork was top of the line.
And the Doctor's greatest fear was shown here to be the Inferno earth he couldnt save, a very nice addition to the shows continuity, Daleks and Cybermen of course increase the fear later on, while the Master only seems to be afraid of being mocked by the Doctor...Poor chap I almost feel sorry for him, all those missed attempts on the Doctors life..
It certainly made it more believable that here was a villain so reprehensible that we might call him 'evil' easily, who stops at nothing to confound his rival and his enemy, his best foe the Doctor. But at heart, even a Time Lord has so much in common with anyone else; the Master loathed the thought of possibly being mocked or belittled, and it happened so often that it had pushed him to his limits and beyond, compelling him to destroy the source of that mockery!
The plot twist that a mind with no evil thoughts was safe around the Keller machine/creature was a good one, and it gave them a way to get rid of the Thunderbolt, creature and Master in one blow.....Well two out of three isnt bad.
Yes, a mind that could stay together after the effects of the machine was able to subsequently withstand the machine afterwards. But it brought up interesting ethical questions; have we the right to do such a thing? Don't we need both good and bad thoughts, positive and negative, in order to function as living and rational beings? If we can't conceive of negative aspects, how then may we maintain positive outlooks? It's a difficult scientific and indeed philosophical quandary in ethics. Even the Doctor himself had fears and negative thoughts in his mind...and look at how much good he's done! How much less good he might be, if he were unable to envision the positive as well as the negative, which often came up in his own ethical quandaries (see 'Genesis of the Daleks').
It was a good action story that could have used a bit of editing, perhaps even a whole episode worth. It tends to get missed between all the other Master storys of that season, but it is worth another viewing I recommend.
I remember it being quite good, although you're quite right in that it could have stood being shorter. In fact I think if they trimmed up and paced the stories of that season a bit better they'd have been able to do an entire story extra!
You are way too quick want a job as my personal typist?
I have reasonable rates. o/~
I can't wait for the next review!
Love!
Hushicho