By Roy Mathur, on 2024-04-10, at 23:19:02 to 00:07:17 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show
The pleasure of tea is referenced in this story.
So, as I'm easing myself back into this after more than a week of publishing new episodes, I plan to take this one easy with maybe a refreshment or two, not necessarily tea (actually Asda's fake Red Bull the colour of unrine and a Cadbury's swiss roll) and not storm my way though for a change.
Notable Cast: Fifth Doctor: Peter Davison, Tegan Jovanka: Janet Fielding, Vislor Turlough: Mark Strickson, Colonel Ben Wolsey: Glyn Houston; proilic Welsh TV and film actor
Director: Michael Owen Morris, also inc. Campion with Davison and East Enders
Writer: Eric Pringle; writer and author with only this credit after falling out with script editor Saward over the rewrite
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Location: Shapwick and other locations in Dorset, Martin, Hampshire, BBC Television Centre, Shepherds Bush 1983 (NB I don't know where the model work and FX for the exploding church was done)
Broadcast: Story 131, serial 2, season 21, following Warriors of the Deep covered in 526, 2 x c. 25 min, first broadcast 19 January to 20 January 1984
Media: Target novelization by Eric Pringle (1985), VHS with Frontios (1997), DVD Earth Files with The Gunfighters (2011)
The chirpy old-fashioned Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney preceded the properly 80s energy of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax by a few days. Interesting contrast.
After a rough journey, so that Tegan can visit her grand father in Little Hodcombe, the Tardis arrives in 1984 in a derelict church with strange carvings and a weird crack in the wall.
They are captured and taken to the leader, Sir George Hutchinson, who tells them his village is reenacting the English Civil War Battle of Little Hodcombe.
The Doctor escapes, returns to the church, bumps into a 17th century peasant stranded in time, and finds a giant sinister living stone face behind the crack. He realises that the violent reenactment is charging up an alien creature called the Malus via this statue-like machine.
Events get out of hand as Tegan is forced to become the May Queen, who the reenactors will burn, and Hutchinson says that the final battle will be a real one. The Doctor and Jane (a teacher) fail to change his mind, but do convince his second-in-command, Colonel Ben Woolsey, to see sense.
Tegan is rescued and the Doctor uses the Tardis to divert power from the gargoyle-like Malus, which begins to die.
Tegan and Turlough convince the Doctor to stay so that she can visit her grandfather and Turlogh can enjoy tea, "I quite miss that brown liquid they drink here."
The great big crack is very reminiscent of Moffat's New Who The Eleventh Hour and the big sinister head of the Malus behind the crack is like a gagoyle version of Russell T. Davies' Face of Boe.
Will, a timid 17th century peasant dullard (I'm trying to nice by not calling him the village idiot; basically he's a young Ye Olde English version of Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel from The Simpsons), is caught in the time shenanigans and zapped to the 80s, whereupon he's uselessly faffs about until eventually rescued by the doctor. He does, however, help the doctor understand the nature of the Malus and seems harmless.
Eric Pringle is taking a gentle pop at the Civil War re-enactors; silly, grown people, mostly men, getting over-enthused about bashing each other. As a very short-term medieval reenactor myself, I'd say he understands the milieu. Some reenactors, like Colonel Ben Wolsey, are sane. Others, like Sir George Hutchinson, are completely barmy. I know, I've met them. It';s anyone's guess where I fall on that spectrum of lunacy.
Poshos doing what they want in the countryside, thanks to Sir George, the corrupt magistrate and leader of the war games, echoes recent news of UK police allowing illegal hunts.
The burning of the may queen is a nonsense cooked up for this story, to inject a little extra peril into an otherwise humdrum script. May queen were never, as far as I know, sacrificed.
The whole point of the TARDIS trip was for Tegan to meet her grand dad, but when she eventually does, his part is minor. That's a pity as he's a friendly, tweedy, historian who I'm sure would have struck up an interesting rapport with the Doctor. What historian wouldn't want to meet a time traveller?! The Doctor agrees to stay for while at the end, so we are left to imagine what happens.
I don't know what to say about this one really. Though it was muddled, maybe Pringle had a point about Saward's rewrite, it wasn't bad, it just didn't do anything for me and I had to struggle to come up with talking points.
VFX designer Tony Harding, designer of K-9, together with model maker Richard Gregory, created the Malus. He said, "It had to look like a gargoyle and faintly resemble the Devil..." (Radio Times).
After the usual variety of pods I do, including this one, a Hammer House of Horror revisit, and a geek life ramble, I plan to consecutively revist classic Doctor Who, taking us to the end of Peter Davison's time as the Doctor in The Caves of Androzani.
After that I'll cover Ncuti Gatwa's first season premier: "Doctor Who is set to make an explosive return on 11 May...premiering on BBC iPlayer at 00:00 on Saturday, before arriving on BBC One later" (BBC).
To what extent I stay this course is anyone's guess, but I intend trying, then it's back to my usual chaotic non-schedule.