This is the final knock-out competition of Round One - Season 2 versus Season 14. Both see the departures of hugely popular companions.
Season 2 has Verity Lambert as Producer throughout, but we have three different Story Editors over the course of its run. David Whitaker hands over to Dennis Spooner for most of the season, but he is replaced by Donald Tosh for the final story.
On screen, there were also big changes this year. Only one of the four regulars who started the season made it to the end - William Hartnell's Doctor.
The first two stories were actually recorded as part of the first season, then held over to launch the new. Planet of Giants makes for a low key beginning. The BBC weren't too keen on it - preferring the following The Dalek Invasion of Earth as a season premiere - but issues with Susan's departure and replacement precluded this. As it was Planet of Giants ended up having two episodes edited into one to to try and make it more exciting.
The new companion, Vicki, made her debut in The Rescue. This and the following historical story The Romans were made a one 6 episode block. The Romans is notable for its comedy elements, especially the farcical third instalment.
The Web Planet was a brave experiment in trying to give us a planet devoid of any human beings. There are four different alien species on screen, all based on insect life. It wasn't an unqualified success, but you have to admire the effort. The Crusade is David Whitaker's second contribution to the season (the first being Vicki's two-part introduction). It is regarded as one of the greatest of this genre, the language almost Shakespearean. From the sublime to the ridiculous... The Space Museum is this season's attempt at a "sideways" story. An excellent first episode gives way to a standard runaround, with fairly bland protagonists.
The Chase is the second Dalek story of the season. Weaker than its predecessors, it has some feeble attempts at humour, such as a stupid Dalek. It does come good at the end with the battle between Daleks and Mechonoids, plus the departure of Ian and Barbara. Peter Purves plays two different roles, being invited back to play new companion Steven.
Steven was apparently left behind on Mechanus, but he turns up in the TARDIS at the beginning of The Time Meddler. This story introduces the Monk, played by Peter Butterworth, who is another member of the Doctor's own race and has a TARDIS of his own. It's the first of the pseudo-historical stories, in which alien intervention occurs against the backdrop of a period of Earth's history - in this case the events of 1066.
This is the final year for the Hinchcliffe-Holmes partnership, which had been running for the last two years. These had been characterised by an emphasis on horror and the Gothic.
Hinchcliffe would be forced to move on at the end of this season, though Holmes would agree to stay on for a few months and help the next Producer settle in.
There would also be a change in front of the camera, as Lis Sladen would bow out and Louise Jameson would be introduced as the latest companion.
Sladen had intended to leave the series in Season 13, but stayed on as it was hoped that the movie planned by Tom Baker and Ian Marter might finally get off the ground. When it looked unlikely to happen, she agreed to depart midway into this season. She is there in The Masque of Mandragora, which introduces a new wood-panelled TARDIS console room. The setting is an Italian Dukedom in the Renaissance period, and the location filming took place in Portmeirion (famous as the locale for The Prisoner's Village). Sarah spends most of first half of The Hand of Fear possessed by the silicon-based alien Eldrad. At the story's conclusion, the Doctor receives a summons to return home to Gallifrey, and she cannot go with him. It's a terribly sad departure, made more bearable in hindsight as we will get to see her again.
The Deadly Assassin was a controversial story at the time. The Doctor has no new companion - something allowed by Hinchcliffe to try and convince Baker that he needed one. We get our first visit to Gallifrey for many years, but the once god-like Time Lords are now seen to be corrupt politicians, or doddery old men. The Master is brought back in a cadaverous state - so that a future production team could cast their own new incarnation.
Leela is introduced in The Face of Evil, a story which looks at the consequences of a previous visit from the Doctor. Tom Baker didn't like the character of Leela, but was lead to believe that she would only be featuring in three stories.
The Robots of Death is a murder mystery set in a high tech environment instead of a country house. A huge pity that the title gives the game away.
Hinchcliffe's final story is The Talons of Weng-Chiang. It is written by Robert Holmes, and he crams it full of many of his literary and cinema favourites. The Victorian setting provides a backdrop to a story influenced by The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, and Jack the Ripper. The one weak element is a giant rat (inspired by Sherlock Holmes' mention of the giant rat of Sumatra), but at least it isn't on screen too much.
Whilst Season 14 has some highly regarded stories, which usually feature in the upper reaches of every fan poll, my own personal favourite between these two has to be Season 2. When you consider the facilities which they had to contend with, it's amazing what they managed to achieve. I love the variety of the stories and the imagination on show.
Round 2 will feature the following winning seasons - 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 22 and 25. As this is an odd number, I'll permit a close second season to be added back in. This will be Season 21, meaning all the Doctors will be represented. The first contest will be between Seasons 10 and 13.
No comments:
Post a Comment