By Roy Mathur, on 2024-05-04, at 23:05:15 to 23:54:30 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show
May the fourth be with you, confused Whovians.
It has become exceedingly obvious that my revisits are not as popular as my zines.
It's official then. I'm only continuing to do this insane revisit due to a combination of own pleasure and bone-headed stubbornness.
Notable Cast: Fifth Doctor: Peter Davison, Vislor Turlough: Mark Strickson, Peri Brown: Nicola Bryant, Timonov: Peter Wyngarde; Jason King in 70's Department S and Jason King
Director: Fiona Cumming; Castrovalva, Snakedance
Writer: Peter Grimwade; prod assist: Spearhead from Space, The Daemons, Robot, Pyramids of Mars, The Robots of Death, Horror of Fang Rock, dir: Full Circle, Logopolis, Kinda, Earthshock, writer: Time-Flight, Mawdryn Undead, auth: Time-Flight, Mawdryn Undead, Planet of Fire
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Location: Lanzarote, BBC Television Centre Studios 6 and 8 1983
Broadcast: Story 134, season 21, serial 5, following Resurrection of the Daleks covered in 537, 4 x c. 25 min, 23 February to 2 March 1984
Media: Target novelization by Peter Grimwade (1984), VHS with Frontios (1998), DVD Kamelion Tales inc. The King's Demons (2010)
Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax is the UK number one song for the third week running, Nena's 99 Red Ballons at two, The Thompson Twins' Doctor Doctor at three, and Queen's Radio Ga Ga at four. Badoom! You don't see charts like that anymore.
Two men discover that Logar isn't a god, just a dormant volcano, causing a stir amongst the people of Sarn who make human sacrifices to Logar.
In the TARDIS, Kamelion (CRRRRS 519 Doctor Who: The King's Demons) is malfunctioning, they track the signal causing the problem to modern Lanzarote.
Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown is stranded on a boat by her archaeologist stepfather to prevent her gallivanting off around Europe with two young Englishmen she just met. Peri swims off with her clothes and a strange artefact from the excavation, almost drowns, and is rescued by Turlough.
Kamelion fixates on Peri's unconscious mind in the TARDIS and transforms into a silvery facsimile of her stepfather, then the Master, just as the TARDIS follows the signal to Sarn, a small primitive colony of the Trions, including Turlough's brother Malkon.
There is a power struggle between the Master and the Doctor, complicated by the natives' belief in the arrival of the long-awaited messiah-like Outsider.
While captive of the Master, Peri discovers that his small black "control box" in fact his abode after an accident with his shrinking ray (the Tissue Compression Eliminator). The reason for the Master's presence on Sarn is now clear. He needs Kamelion help to restore him by exposure to the health-giving properties of numismaton gas unique to the volcano of Sarn.
With the volcano about to destroy the population, due to the Master's plains to boost numismaton, Turlogh transmits an SOS to Trion.
The Doctor breaks the psychic link between the Master and Kamelion, who begs for death and is killed by the Doctor using the Master's shrink ray gun.
The Master is restored, but then incinerated as the beneficial numismaton returns to burning flames.
When he is told by the rescue ship captain that political persecution has ended, Turlough decides to return to Trion. Peri asks to travel with the Doctor for the last three months of her holiday. As they leave, the TARDIS lurches violently and the Doctor somewhat ironically says, "Welcome aboard, Peri."
Kamelion, the fantastic android, and brilliant but flawed prop, returns, only to be to euthanized later. It's a sad end to the robot.
Cross 70s porn star John Holmes with Peter O'Toole and you get 70s suave, porn moustachioed, man-of-action Peter Wyngarde.
I love the scene where the Doctor stops for a quick tipple at a beach bar and leaves a pile of alien coinage on the table, much to the bartender's consternation. Knowing the doctor, those coins are probably enough to buy a palace.
Peri strips down to a skimpy bikini, heralding a return of the sexy young female companion. Do you think that is the sole purpose of stranding her on the boat?
In that curiously upper crust manner, the Master insists on addressing Peri is a "gel".
I love that Peri seems completely immune to the Master's hypnotic powers by dint of being young and annoying.
The Master outdoes himself with a typically brilliant, but flawed plan that leaves him shrunken to Action Man size. This results in having to come up with an even more complicated plan. He is Wile E. Coyote.
Ainley's spirit-gummed Master beard more badly attached than ever.
I enjoyed the chic interior of the Master's TARDIS with it's black roundels.
There's funny dialogue in the scene in which the Doctor finds the diminutive Master in, "somewhat reduced circumstances."
The volcanic and sandy Canary Island landscapes are fantastic, dramatic, and alien, though look painful to clambour about on.
Sarn might as well be Karn; another planet where the natives enjoy burning sacrificial victims. Except, the Sisterhood of Karn is interesting; an advanced offshoot of Gallifrey based on ESP rather than technology, whereas those on Sarn have devolved, like Leela's Sevateem.
A four part welcome for new companion Peri, filmed in lovely package holiday scenery, with some horrifying human sacrifice, and a happy send-off for Turlough.
New American Companion, Peri is played by Nicola Bryant born in Surrey and required by contract to fake the America accent in all public engagements.
Due to boring life stuff, my efforts have slowed somewhat, but we are still set to finish the Peter Davison era in time to cover Ncuti Gatawa's first episode of his first season.