Sunday, 22 August 2021

Normal service resumes in September (fingers crossed)...

After almost 6 months in hospital I have a potential discharge date of 26th August. Am going to be recuperating for some time, and the blog will help with that. I should be back to 3 posts per week from September, with the return of the Story synopses / reviews, and the A to Z posts, plus ongoing "What's Wrong With...". Plus, we will have the 6 part Series 13 to look forward to, which I suspect might be on TV later in the year, closer to Christmas.
Something else I'm looking forward to is catching up with the Blu-rays I had bought which I never got the chance to watch - Seasons 8 and 24, plus The Web of Fear. (Back in March I also ordered both seasons of HBO's Rome, and the BBC classic I, Claudius.
Am resigning from work on health grounds and so will be spending the Autumn and Winter months watching TV and blogging. After the last 6 months I think I deserve a nice long break.
See you soon.

Sunday, 8 August 2021

What's Wrong With... Tomb of the Cybermen

Ask this question any time between 1967, when it was broadcast, and 1992, when it was released onto VHS, the answer from many would have been "Nothing".
Those who had seen that original broadcast informed those of us born just a little too late, that this was a perfect story in every way. This impression was reinforced by a very good Target novelisation of the story, written by its co-writer Gerry Davis.
For the benefit of those new to the classic era of the series, this story was one of the many lost when the BBC wiped the tapes, believing them to be of no further value. This junking of many B&W episodes wasn't widely known about, even by fans. Most believed the BBC had everything sitting in its archives. Come 1983, during the 20th Anniversary event at Longleat, a questionnaire was circulated asking attendees to nominate a 4 part story to be released on VHS. Tomb of the Cybermen came out top in this poll thanks to noone knowing it no longer existed. The BBC simply ignored this poll and released Revenge of the Cybermen instead - on the grounds that it was the only other 4 part Cyberman story they did retain, plus it was in colour and featured the most popular Doctor.
Tomb of the Cybermen was eventually found, in Hong Kong, in late 1991, and issued on home video the following year.
That is when fans got to discover that it wasn't as perfect a story as they had been led to believe...

The first thing fans picked up on were the very obvious visual problems, which you would never have known about from book or audio. One scene which people raved about was a Cyberman having its chest UNIT smashed, with horrible gunk oozing out. This scene had featured in a BBC Talkback programme about violence and horror on TV. 
What we didn't know, was that immediately prior to this we get the Cyberman being held aloft over Toberman's head - with harness wires clearly visible. This had also been the case earlier, when Toberman himself had been held aloft. Towards the conclusion of the story we see Toberman lift the Cyber Controller - but this time it's clearly a substituted dummy, as we see the helmet almost fall off as he is thrown across the room.
We get a clear look at one of the Cyberman costumes coming apart under the armpit, at the foot of the ladder.
In a scene at the top of the ladder one of the Cybermen lets out an audible "Ooh!" as he is hit.
En masse, the Cybermen appear to quack like ducks when consternated.
Both the circular hatch and the door to the recharge unit, supposedly metal, are too obviously balsa wood.

Plotting issues include the good guys locking up the villains, unsupervised, in a room which just happens to have a powerful ray gun in it.
Ever seen an archaeological dig? Every inch of soil is sifted and every inch of surface meticulously recorded. Viner takes a couple of hand written notes and declares that he has every detail worth collecting from the recharging room. Not one of the party sports a camera.
Despite having met them on the Moon only recently, in this current design, the Doctor and Jamie are a bit slow to notice the big Cyberman images dotted all over the tomb.
The Cyberman plan is not as daft as some, but is still a little stupid. They've gone into hibernation due to running out of power and resources. Their tomb is designed to lure people who they can capture and convert. Making it really difficult to break into, and filling it with death traps, is not the best way to capture lots of new recruits to their ranks.
After getting up out of their tombs at the end of part two, the Cybermen just go back to sleep again in part four.
Why seek out only the most intelligent of interlopers, if you're only going to turn them into unemotional drones?

The Doctor seems to know about Cybermats, yet Jamie doesn't. The Doctor hinted that he might have met the Cybermen before his encounter at the South Pole, as he predicted their arrival after recognising their planet - yet he didn't know about their lack of emotions. He must have known about Mondas, but not about what happened to it's people, and his knowledge of Cybermats must come from an unseen story.
Not an issue at the time, but problematic now, is the representation of the human villains.
All three of the villains are of ethic minority origin, with one "blacked up" to play an Egyptian. Her partner is actually of Cypriot birth, but is playing another Egyptian - as he had done twice before in Hammer Mummy movies.
At least Toberman gets to redeem himself at the end and destroys the Controller (or so it seems) as the tombs are resealed.

Thursday, 29 July 2021

And they're off...!

 Officially announced by the BBC this afternoon that both Jodie W and Chris Chibnall are leaving together in the autumn of 2022. This will be at the end of three special episodes, which it seems are likely all we are to get next year.
Series 13, which we knew was going to be shortened due to Covid restrictions, has now shrunk from 8 to only 6 episodes. No mention if one of these will mark a festive special, or if that is going to be the first of the three final Specials. 
The final JW episode will be in the autumn rather than Christmas / New Year, as it is intended to tie in with the BBC's centenary celebrations. 
The festive period of 2022/23 may mark the first adventure of Doctor 14, under the new show runner, neither of whom are known. We should find out the new showrunner well before they cast their Doctor. 
What to make of today's announcement? Proof positive that the Chibnall era has been a failure. He's quitting after only 2 and a bit series, and well before the next big anniversary (the 60th) in 2023. Someone else is going to take over and get to celebrate that.
I feel sorry for Jodie, having been landed with some truly awful scripts and showrunner decisions, but will be mighty glad to see the back of him.

Sunday, 25 July 2021

Update

 It was announced today that Jacob Anderson, best known for Game of Thrones, will be joining the series in a regular role. He plays a gun-toting character named Vinder. He is neither described nor presented as a new companion, however. There were rumours that Captain Jack was to have played a significant role in the new series, after his return last New Year's Day. Could it be that this new character has been created to replace Barrowman, following "flashergate"?
You'll recall that the character of Captain Jack was created primarily to have a fighter on board the TARDIS, as the Doctor would not bear arms. Well, 13 is even more of a pacifist, and the series needs to rediscover its Action-Adventure roots.
On a personal note, I've just had another emergency operation (bringing forward something they would have to have tackled later anyway). It has resolved one of my main issues, but set my recovery back slightly. I should be back home in August, when I can pick up the blog more fully.

Thursday, 1 July 2021

Evil of the Daleks animation confirmed

A trailer clip has been released of the Doctor's first meeting with the Dalek Emperor. All 7 episodes will be animated and in both colour and B&W. No date given, only that it will be sometime in 2021.
Coincidentally, some fans were in North Wales the other day and came across a small film crew, with a TARDIS prop. Nothing to do with the currently filming Series 13, but much more likely a documentary team filming something for The Abominable Snowmen, which was reported to be getting animated in the same news report as Evil of the Daleks. We can safely say that report from weeks ago was correct.
I meant to mention earlier that The Web of Fear got a release date (16th August). Sadly, the whole missing third episode has been animated in the same style as the trailer. It looks great until characters start moving...
No news on what the next Blu-ray box set will be. Fans claim Season 20, but then it is favourite every time a set is due. As previously stated, I really want to see a 1960's set - preferably 1 or 2.
As I'm still in hospital, I've now got two box sets still to watch - 8 and 24.

Wednesday, 23 June 2021

Jackie Lane (1941 - 2021)

 It is being reported in several places that Jackie Lane has passed away, at the age of 79. She played companion Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet at the tail end of the William Hartnell era. Supposed to bring a fresh contemporary vibe to the series, with a character similar to original companion Susan, Dodo ended up being messed about with by the production team. In her first appearances we hear Lane using her natural Manchester accent, but this quickly reverts to BBC received pronunciation. Infamously, Lane departed from the series midway through the story (The War Machines) which introduced her replacement (Polly), with the character denied any kind of farewell.
Lane distanced herself from the programme afterwards, so it was a surprise to see her appear on the 50th Anniversary celebration programme. She latterly lived in France.
She gave up acting to concentrate on actor management, and had an agency which counted Tom Baker, Nicholas Courtney and Janet Fielding among its clients.
RIP.

Thursday, 17 June 2021

Rumour has it...

 Lots of rumour flying around regarding the longevity of the Thirteenth Doctor. It was reported in the media some time ago that JW was quitting after this next, shortened series. Whilst never confirmed, it was noted that the BBC failed to deny either.
The other day the cover of the 2022 annual was revealed, and it doesn't have the Doctor on it. Just an image of the TARDIS. This has led some to speculate that we might have a new Doctor this side of Christmas. 
Latest is that JW will see out this next series, and then there will be a couple of specials only in 2022, the last of which will see her regenerate. 
Regarding the next series, there's a rumour that Donna Noble will cameo, and may actually be a relative of John Bishop's character. Monsters known to be featuring, because photographed in public areas, include Sontarans (with new silver and black costumes), Weeping Angels and Daleks. A word of caution about some of these is that scenes might not be filmed for the series itself, but for some spin-off project. Just look at all the filming that has gone into the Time Fracture experience.