Serial 89: The Face of Evil

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)

Companion: Leela

Written By: Chris Boucher

Directed By: Pennant Roberts

Background & Significance: After the departure of Sarah Jane and the experiment of not giving The Doctor a companion for one story, producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes (who had found writing a companion-less Doctor Who story immensely difficult) set about looking for a new companion to fill the void.

As luck would have it, Hinchcliffe and Holmes had commissioned a story from one Chris Boucher, who had submitted several ideas to the program and had finally gotten his first bite at the apple with this story.

Interestingly enough, one of the most engaging aspects of the serial was The Doctor's de facto companion for the story: a member of the main tribe in the story, a young woman named Leela. Originally, Leela was not supposed to be a companion, but she really fit into the ideas that Hinchcliffe and Holmes wanted to incorporate into Doctor Who moving forward. The fact that she was a savage and nothing like any companion The Doctor had had before (or would ever have since) helped convinced Hinchcliffe of her long term viability. For Holmes, it was his desire to bring in a Victorian street urchinish character later in the season that the following one might have a season-long arc of educating her Eliza Doolittle style.

This story is also the first appearance of the previously mentioned Chris Boucher (who would go on to write such gems as the subsequent "Robots of Death" and the following season's "Image of the Fendahl." He would go on later to be the script editor for Blake's 7. So that's something.

It's also the first introduction to Pennant Roberts who... let's just say he has one of the poorest track records in Doctor Who, having helmed such directorial turkeys as "The Pirate Planet", "Warriors of the Deep", and "Timelash". So that's something. I guess we'll have to talk about him a bit because... well... he actually does rather good here, doesn't he? I mean, he makes great use of the fact that this whole story was shot on a soundstage with no location filming. That's impressive, if you ask me.

This story, though... it also has the unfortunate "honor" of being in one of the greatest Doctor Who seasons of all time. It's wedged between Robert Holmes's Time Lord magnum opus and Boucher's own legendary tale about Robophobia and a murder mystery on a sandcrawler. Throw in the fact that we lost Sarah Jane just two stories ago and we end off the season with "Talons" and it's no wonder this story gets lost in the shuffle. Well... Not any more!

So let's get to it!

Serial 91: The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
Companion: Leela

Written by: Robert Holmes
Directed by: David Maloney

Background & Significance: In 1976, as producer Phillip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes were going to wrap their third season as a team, it became obvious to the two of them that Hinchcliffe was being moved away to a new show and that Robert Holmes would most likely be going with him. Holmes, of course, did end up leaving four stories later (subsequent producer Graham Williams asked him to stay on), but in terms of the geniusness that was Hinchcliffe's oversight, this was it, and when it comes to Holmes, this (in a lot of ways) was it for him for a while.

All of this is adds up to the fact that "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a wonderfully important and meaningful story. And if it's not that way to anyone else (how many times do we have to talk about the racism again? Fine, fine. I will too) it certainly is to me.

In a lot of ways, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is the thesis project for both Hinchcliffe and Holmes and carries all of the trademarks they picked up over the course of their three years running the show. Indeed, Hinchcliffe's first instruction to Holmes was "write anything you want, just don't include The Master" (which Holmes, at one point, wanted to do), giving Robert Holmes free reign to write anything he wanted. This, of course, led to Holmes dialing into the Gothic horror he'd been injecting into the show, only he dialed it up by eleven. He grabbed books and books off the shelf, injecting everything from Phantom of the Opera to Sherlock Holmes to Fu Manchu. He brought in his classic double act, making, perhaps, the most famous double act he ever did (who, by the way, Hinchcliffe seriously considered spinning off into their own series, which would actually happen eventually and to much acclaim), set it in Victorian times (which was the only thing his era was lacking when you really look at it), homaged Jack the Ripper, created a VERY Robert Holmesian villain, and made The Doctor Sherlock Holmes.

Hinchcliffe, of course, didn't care anymore. Well, I mean he did care. He was still producer and he'd had a very good run, but he wanted to go out on a bang (and did in a way very few others have), by making the very best Doctor Who story he could. So when I say he didn't care, I mean he didn't care about silly things like "budget" anymore. His vision for Doctor Who had always run up against budgetary concerns, but this time he threw it all out the window and made it lavish and gorgeous and the best it could possibly be. He brought in David Maloney (of "Mind Robber", "War Games", "Genesis of the Daleks", and "Deadly Assassin" fame) for his final ever work on Doctor Who, authorized night shoots, and told everyone to go crazy and make the best show they possibly could.

As it turns out, when you're running what's probably the best Doctor Who era ever and you tell everyone to make the best story and give them the freedom to do so, it'd be pretty hard to mess that up. And they really don't. It's astounding how much this really ends up being the perfect ending for their era, a climax and zenith that Doctor Who had very rarely reached or would reach again. And for most everyone to agree that this story is easily the best of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes when quality of the era is as high as it is (and in case you've forgotten, go back and see all of the Hinchcliffe/Holmes stories there's been and look at how high a bar they set), that's really saying something. Really truly.

Also, as a heads up this is probably going to be a love fest. I can already feel it coming, but hey. It's the hundredth story we're reviewing on the blog. I say we do it right.

So let's get to it!

Serial 86: The Masque of Mandragora

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
Companion: Sarah Jane Smith

Written by: Louis Marks
Directed by: Rodney Bennett

A Few Words: I know I'm not the first to tell you, but I'll say it anyways. Lis Sladen died yesterday.

It's hard to explain exactly how I'm feeling. Crushed, devastated, heartbroken. I guess that's some, but it doesn't come close. I know I've lost a dear friend and I'm sure it's something akin to that for you.

So... it's not right for me to not talk about it, so I will. But... I'll save my thoughts on that till we get to the end. For now, it'll be business as usual, so... if you haven't seen this one, go ahead and skip to the end cuz "Final Thoughts" this week is all about her, but let's be honest. No thoughts on Sarah Jane Smith could ever be final, so it's misnomery.

But first... to the business of the week, I suppose. Please to enjoy.

Background & Significance: Sometimes Robert Holmes might have been wrong.

I only say that because Holmes himself was very outspoken about history-based stories and how he thought they were away from the inherent sci-fi show that he perceived Doctor Who to be.

Now, I don't think Robert Holmes is wrong in any of these sentiments. For one thing, Doctor Who is up to the viewer to interpret what they do or do not think the show is/should be. Some people hate UNIT stories. Some people hate this Gothic era. Me? I'm not a huge fan of the campy fantasy of the Graham Williams era, but I think Robert Holmes has a point. I, personally, am not huge on the historical stories as much as I'm into pseudo-historical stories. I like them, don't get me wrong. Some of them are remarkably strong and I look forward to seeing more. They're just overall not my favourite things in the world. I'd rather go watch something that's got a bit more flair.

But about this story...

It's interesting that despite being so against historical-based stories, Holmes wrote three himself, "The Pyramids of Mars" and "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", "The Time Warrior" and oversaw the scripting of two others: "Horror of Fang Rock" and this.

What I feel like Holmes dials into with all of these stories is a definite infusion of the sci-fi we all know he loves while simultaneously blending in a healthy dose of history, aided by the lovely BBC costume department, which does period drama like nothing else.

That's not to say he didn't have reservations in doing these stories. He was really very against "The Masque of Mandragora" until the addition of a big ol' sci-fi bent, and while I sympathize with Holmes's reservations, I really do feel he managed to pull it all around to turn in a kickass historical story that fits right in his era.

Not only that, but it definitely strengthens the era and this season as a whole. In a lot of ways, "The Masque of Mandragora" is the first in a seven shot salvo that sends out this truly epic and wonderful era out with a bang. It really feels like the first in a new season of an even more refined and focused tone. We're still full of gothic horror we got in the last season. But now it's been more refined and polished so that it's looking more and more like something that they're continuing to dial in on in the best of ways.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Break out the Renaissance way-back-machine.

So let's get to it!

Serial 90: The Robots of Death

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
Companion: Leela

Written by: Chris Boucher
Directed by: Michael Briant


Background & Significance: Gothic horror.

That's right, ladies and gents, we've returned once again to the famed Season Fourteen of Doctor Who with a little story called "The Robots of Death". And there's really no other way to describe this story other than one of Gothic-style horror.

Like the other serials that make up this season in particular (though many of the other stories produced in the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era also share this distinction), this story has a definite horror-bent to it. I think this story in particular, however, neatly and perfectly encapsulates the entire aesthetic of this season. It's intense and kind of scary and yes, it's violent, but it's also fun and top-notch, quality Doctor Who. Everything from the production design to the direction, to the guest cast, to Tom Baker and Louise Jameson; everything fits together in such a seamless way that it's practically perfect. Watching this is a lot of fun and you can just get a sense of the harmony and perfect team that Hinchcliffe and Holmes really were.

This story is significant for a couple of reasons, the most important of which is the establishment of Leela as full-time companion. This being Leela's first official adventure since the Doctor picked her up in "The Face of Evil", the writer of that story, Chris Boucher, was asked to return to help flesh out her character more, especially since it was decided by Hinchcliffe and Holmes that she would only be a short-term companion (though Graham Williams did decide to keep her on as companion til the end of the next season).

Being the companion after Sarah Jane Smith is a tall order and a tough spot to fill, but I think this is probably the best Leela we've seen so far, and Louise Jameson does a great job with the part, as we'll soon see.

Also, this is the last story in which the oh-so-pretty Gothic TARDIS console set appears, as it was warped beyond salvagability in the off-season in storage and had to be replaced. Such a shame, because I love that thing. So pretty.

Enough of all that, though. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Serial 87: The Hand of Fear

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
Companion: Sarah Jane Smith

Written by: Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Directed by: Lennie Mayne

Background & Significance: Elisabeth Sladen felt it was time to move on.

After three very successful seasons on Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Smith became the thus-far longest serving companion on the show (she would later be beaten by the "wonderful" Tegan Jovanka by something like a month). With that claim to fame under her belt, she decided to take off and try her acting hand in other places.

This is her "final" story.

She would, of course, gain insane popularity as a Companion because of her role as The Doctor's companion during the show's most popular era (Hinchcliffe/Holmes) and eventually come back for a K-9 spinoff and "The Five Doctors" and then return to the show during the Tennant era's "School Reunion" only to get her own damn spinoff show "The Sarah Jane Adventures".

Which, I gotta admit, love the show or her or not, that's pretty rad.

But this, for all intents and purposes, is the end. Now, I haven't seen a whole heck of a lot from the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era yet (and believe me, we'll get there), but what I've seen is very, very strong stuff, and this, while it perhaps might not be the best of the era, is still a strong story on which Ms. Sladen gets to depart. My only problem with it is it wasn't written specifically to be her final adventure (as opposed to something like "The Green Death", which was to that story's incredible success), but she's still as good as she's ever been, if not better and she remains one of the best things in this story, which, given the era and this story's strength, is saying something.

All things considered, her departure is quite sad. In its own way, of course. I just wish it had a BIT more "Green Death" in it, cuz that ending can't not break you.

So let's get to it!

Serial 88: The Deadly Assassin

Doctor: Tom Baker (4th Doctor)
Companion: None


Written by: Robert Holmes
Directed by: David Maloney

Background & Significance: The start of Tom Baker's era as The Doctor saw a series of behind-the-scenes shifts that transformed Doctor Who significantly, the most important among these being a new producer in Phillip Hinchcliffe and a new script editor in Robert Holmes.

Together, this... triumvirate, I guess you could call it, was Doctor Who at its most successful. The show became immensely popular. Hinchcliffe and Holmes steered the show into darker territories, focusing more on tonally shifting what had previously been fun wacky science fiction into science fiction with a Gothic horrory bent to it. It was a reflection of the like-minded team of Hinchcliffe and Holmes: their interests were the same, and they worked to tell the stories that they loved to tell. A rare, perfect marriage of producer and script editor. Because of all this, in terms of viewership, in terms of popularity, in terms of sheer quality, Classic Doctor Who peaked here, about halfway through its initial run.

But the awesome only lasted for three seasons.

Each of the the Hinchcliffe/Holmes seasons (12, 13, & 14) got progressively stronger and more fine tuned (re: tonally aligned with the horror etc.) as they developed their show and ideas (Season 14, their final season, being so good that it has been nicknamed "The Gothic Season"), until they were removed from their positions not because they were unsuccessful in terms of ratings or popularity (far from it), but rather because of complaints about adult content. We're talking "scary" and "freak-outty". There's an oft used saying about Doctor Who - quite famous - that says "British children watch Doctor Who from behind the sofa". Yeah.... They'd probably do that for the Hinchcliffe/Holmes.

But enough about Hinchcliffe/Holmes for now (we'll talk about them as we get to more and more of their stories in the future). What about this story in particular?

"The Deadly Assassin" is ridiculously significant. Not only does it come about halfway through Doctor Who's Gothic Season, but it's significant in that it's the only story of the classic series that features absolutely no Companion, and it essentially creates The Time Lords from the ground up.

Prior to this, Time Lord mythology was largely undefined and undeveloped. They had first appeared in Patrick Troughton's final serial "The War Games" and then again in Jon Pertwee's "The Three Doctors", but even then they were only loosely defined and never specifically mythologized.

Here, in "The Deadly Assassin", script editor Robert Holmes (who is the most prolific, popular, and awesome of the writers of the classic series) takes the opportunity to completely re-define the mythology behind Gallifrey and the Time Lords. It's here that we first learn of Rassilon, the workings of Time Lord society (including their garish and ridiculous (but so so awesome) outfits), and the concept of limited regenerations.

And he does all that in four episodes.

So let's get to it!