PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Science Fiction Sunday 697

Doctor Who 0119 The Visitation Four part story that aired February 15 to 23 1982. Written by Eric Saward and directed by Peter Moffatt.

The Tardis drops off the Doctor, Tegan, Adric and Nyssa in 17th century London instead of modern day Heathrow Airport. Tegan wanted to go home and the Doctor trying to get her there. It's an alien encounter story, a ship crashed and the surviving aliens took over a big manor house for their headquarters. The Tardis gang meet a highwayman and hide in a barn. They do battle with the alien and put an end to their plan to kill off all the humans and take over the planet.

I'm still thinking that the story is OK but not great. Adric is still annoying but he'll be gone in a couple of stories.

Doctor Who 0120 Black Orchid Two part story that aired March 1 to 2 1982. Written by Terence Dudley and directed by Ron Jones.

A rare 2 part story with the Tardis gang visiting the English country side in 1925. They help the family deal with a highly damaged son. The Doctor plays cricket and I had to fast forwarded through that. It was quick and short and fairly entertaining.

Doctor Who 0121 Earthshock Four part story that aired March 8 to 16 1982. Written by Eric Saward and directed by Peter Grimwade.

The Tardis gang wind up in a mine on Earth in the 26th century. Adric joins Tegan in wanting to go home. I won't miss him when he blows up. The Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa investigate the mine and wind up encountering the humans there. It's soon revealed that the Cybermen are behind everything, their current plan is to blow up the Earth.

The action relocates to a spaceship orbiting the planet. The Cybermen want to ram it into the Earth and blow it up. Most of the Tardis gang get to the Tardis, Adric stays behind to try to open the control lock, he accidentally sends the ship back 65,000,000 years and gets blown up when the ship hits the planet. Lucky for the Earth the explosion is smaller than anticipated. Not so lucky are Adric and the dinosaurs. 

I still think this one is a bit draggy but I was happy to see the end of Adric. I just don't like that kid. Three companions is too many.

Doctor Who 0122 Time-Flight Four part story that aired March 22 to 30 1982. Written by Peter Grimwade and directed by Ron Jones.

Finally the Tardis gets to Heathrow. Everyone's sad about Adric but that gets pushed aside as the Doctor is arrested. He's suspected as having something to do with a missing Concorde. The Doctor soon discovers that the alien causing problems is the Master. The story was fair and the Master fairly annoying. Tegan misses getting back to the Tardis before it takes off, she's kind of sad, she wanted to go. Kind of a weak leaving scene.

That's the end of series 19, more Peter Davison to come, he's still got two more series to go.

Science Fiction Sunday 696

Doctor Who 0116 Castrovalva Four part story that aired January 4 to 12 1982. Written by Christopher H Bidmead, directed by Fiona Cumming.

Peter Davison takes over as Doctor in the first episode of season 19. He's still got a trio of companions in Nyssa, Tegan and Adric. The Doctor has some trouble with is regeneration and computer recommends the planet of Castrovalva as a place to recuperate. They run into trouble when the Master shows up.

I see when I watched this the first time that I liked seeing Peter take over. I still do. There's not much Doctor activity for the first half the story, it picks up nicely as the Doctor gets back to normal.

Doctor Who 0117 Four To Doomsday Four part story that aired January 18 to 26 1982. Written by Terence Dudley and directed by John Black.

Instead of taking Tegan to the airport the Tardis dumps the gang on a spaceship. The alien in charge is a megalomaniac who needs a kick out the airlock. Adric is once again easily fooled by the baddie. Tegan isn't much help, she has a meltdown and steals the Tardis. The Doctor seems to have bad luck with is companions at times. I did like Nyssa but she was the one that the show runners were going to get rid of. Peter lobbied to keep her and they said OK. Just one more time when the people running the show make a poor decision. An average story.

Doctor Who 0118 Kinda Four part story that aired February 1 to 9 1982. Written by Christopher Bailey and directed by Peter Grimwade.

The Doctor and his companions land on Deva Loka and help the Kinda free themselves of the aliens from Earth. Nyssa has some health issues and stays in the Tardis while the rest get in trouble one way or another. Another pot boiler. Enough for this week.

Science Fiction Sunday 695

Doctor Who 0111 Full Circle Four part story that aired October 25 to November 15 1980. Written by Andrew Smith, directed by Peter Grimwade.

The E-Space trilogy stretches over three stories and 12 epsidoes in the last series that Tom Baker played the Doctor. In the first one the Doctor has had a call to return to Gallifrey. On the way they are draw into an alternate dimension called E-Space when they pass through a space phenomenon.

It's another weird society story with some aliens stuck on a planet for thousands of years. They have their mythology and they've settled on their way of life. The Doctor soon figures out the truth behind the myth. This is the story that introduces Adric, one of my least favorite companions, so far. After helping the aliens the Doctor goes to leave and doesn't see Adric sneak into the Tardis. I'm still thinking it's an average story. I'm also still thinking the changes to the show aren't making it better.

Doctor Who 0112 State Of Decay Four part story that aired November 22 to December 13 1980 Written by Terrance Dicks, directed by Peter Moffatt.

Now the Tardis gang are on a planet where the rulers are vampires. They live in a spaceship from Earth that's been parked for hundreds of years. Below the ship there's a giant man-like bat creature who turns out to be a big enemy from the Time Lords past.

The Doctor and Romana are surprised to find Adric on the planet. He slipped out after they left the Tardis and went for a look around. He gets caught while hiding at the house of a local family. He turns traitor when the vampires offer him immortality. The Doctor puts an end to the vampires and their god. The Tardis gang leaves still trying to get out of E-Space, they let Adric come along. I still think this is another average story.

Doctor Who 0113 Warriors' Gate Four part story that aired January 3 to 24 1981. Written by Stephen Gallagher, directed by Paul Joyce and an uncredited Graeme Harper. Lalla Ward leaves the show after this story runs it's course.

The last E-Space story has the Tardis gang help the Tharil race get out from the thumb of the humans who use them for navigators in space ships. The Tharil's help the Doctor and Adric get out of E-Space, Romana decides to stay and help the Tharils. The Doctor gives her K-9 and that's the last we'll see of him for a long while.

Doctor Who 0114 The Keepers Of Traken Four part story that aired January 31 to February 21 1981. Written by Johnny Byrne, directed by John Black.

Back in N-Space the Doctor and Adric receive a visit from the Keeper of Traken. He needs the Doctor's help and the Doctor goes along to see what's up. There's a whole bunch of court intrigue that's tied to a change in Keeper and the calcified body of an evil alien. What the Doctor doesn't know is that the Master is back in his life.

We meet Nyssa, she'll be the new companion, along with Adric sadly. I just can't warm to the guy. The story was a bit more exciting that the previous lot.

Doctor Who 0115 Logopolis Four part story that aired February 28 to March 21 1981. Written by Christopher H Bidmead, directed by Peter Grimwade. It's the last story for Tom Baker, at least until one of those multiple Doctor episodes come along. Seven years was a long run for a Doctor and he had some good stories.

The Doctor is trying to mend the Tardis's chameleon circuit. He stops on Earth to measure a police box by plopping his Tardis on it. The Master interferes and that causes problems, a young Earth woman called Tegan gets pulled into the Tardis and becomes the 3rd companion.

The Master has another of his take over the universe plans and the Doctor struggles to beat the creep. The Doctor takes a big fall off a radio tower and that triggers a regeneration. Peter Davison is the next Doctor. I still think the Master is an idiot, he can't come up with a good plan.

In my old posts I seem to have lost some of the passion for the show. I think I like aspects of most Doctors but the 2nd and 3rd Doctors are becoming my favorites. Next week I'll find out how I like seeing Peter Davison again.

Science Fiction Sunday 694

Doctor Who 0108 The Horns Of Nimon Four part story that aired November 24 to December 15 1979. Written by Anthony Read and directed by Kenny McBain.

The last story of the 17th series. Shada had been partially shot before a strike stopped production. They never finished the story, other producers took over the show with the 18th series.

The Doctor and Romana get mixed up with Nimon, an alien being the people of Skonnos worship as a god. They are a war loving bunch and the Doctor needs to get right on that. When I saw it before I thought it was about average and I still think there's nothing outstanding about it. I did like Graham Crowden as the head of Skonnos.

Doctor Who 0108a Shada Six part story that never aired the year it was made. Written by Douglas Adams, original footage directed by Pennant Roberts, 2017 animation directed by Charles Norton.

There was a VHS reconstruction in 1992 that was put on DVD in 2013. The 2017 version was released on DVD with animated segments to fill in the unshot footage. In 2021 a version with enhanced animation was released on Blu-ray. When I saw this story for the first time in 2014 it was the 1992 version, today I watched the DVD of the 2017 version. It's fairly well animated. 

The Doctor and Romana have arrived in Cambridge in 1979 to visit an old friend of the Doctor's called Professor Chronotis. He'd sent the Doctor a message asking for the Doctor to come visit. It's about a book the Professor wants to send back to Gallifrey, it's a dangerous item. Trouble is a student has inadvertently walked off with it. An alien called Skaga has also arrived in Cambridge, he wants the book for his big plan to turn all the beings in the universe into a single mind with himself in charge. Lucky for us it doesn't go his way.

I thought the animation was fairly good overall, except for the faces, I thought those were a bit weak. Despite being a 6 parter I enjoyed the full length version of the story. It's usually got something happening and it moves along fairly well. There's plenty of entertaining characters and a decent villain. Douglas Adams didn't write that much for Doctor Who so it's nice to have this story finished and released.

Doctor Who 0109 The Leisure Hive Four part story that aired August 30 to September 20 1980. Written by David Fisher and directed by Lovett Bickford. A new producer takes over the reigns of the show and holds onto that job until 1989 when the show got cancelled. There were plenty of changes in the show, starting with the opening credits, the logo and the theme. The Doctor got a new coat and scarf, K-9 eventually got the boot. They lost some of the humor, as the producer, John Nathan-Turner, wanted to make the show less silly.

The Doctor and Romana finally get to Brighton Beach, it's the off season and it's kind of windy and cold. Poor K-9 wanders into the water and has an explosion. The Tardis gang decide to visit the Leisure Hive on Argolis. They get involved with a hostile take over by the son of the leader. Kind of a familiar story but still entertaining in the end.

Doctor Who 0110 Meglos Four part story that aired September 27 to October 18 1980. Written by John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch, the director was Terence Dudley.

The Tardis gang wind up battling a powerful thief called Meglos. He's a big cactus with a big brain. Sadly, he's not powerful enough to beat the Doctor. It was average but there were enough things happening to keep me watching.

Another batch done. As always the links are to the first time I watched the series.

Science Fiction Sunday 693

Doctor Who 0104 Destiny Of The Daleks Four part story that aired September 1 to 22 1979. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Ken Grieve.

Lalla Ward takes over the Romana role by regenerating. The Tardis deposits them on the planet Skaro, the original home of the Daleks. They find some Humans there, some humanoid robots and some Daleks. Together they find the still alive Davros. He's still got plans to lead the Daleks in taking over the universe. The Doctor won't help him with those plans. He freezes Davros for easy storage. I enjoyed this Nation story more than most of his past works.

Doctor Who 0105 City Of Death Four part story September 29 to October 20 1979. Written by David Agnew, Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, directed by Michael Hayes.

The Doctor and Romana are on vacation in Paris when they run into a mystery involving art forgers and the Mona Lisa. They actually went to Paris for some location shooting. It's while they are visiting the Louvre that they get involved with a baddie who's really an alien who's been trapped on the Earth for 400 million years. He's not happy to fail. Oh well, that's often the result of coming up against the Doctor. It was fun to watch it again. The Doctor seems much more lively this season.

Doctor Who 0106 The Creature From The Pit Four part story that aired October 27 to November 17 1979. Written by David Fisher and directed by Christopher Barry.

The Tardis drops the Doctor and Romana on the planet Chloris. He helps the locals deal with their ruthless and murderous queen. He also helps the Tythonian ambassador who was trapped there 15 years before. I still think it's only about average.

Doctor Who 0107 Nightmare Of Eden Four part story that aired November 24 to December 15 1979. Written by Bob Baker, directed by Alan Bromly.

The Tardis comes to rest in a spaceship that's got a problem, it's merged with another spaceship. There's also some monsters on board one of the spaceships. Some space cops think the Doctor is a drug dealer so he has to find the real one. It was another average story.

Science Fiction Sunday 692

 

Doctor Who 0100 The Stones Of Blood Four part story that aired October 28 to November 18 1978. Written by David Fisher and directed by Darrol Blake.

The third story in The Key Of Time story arc returns the Tardis to Earth in the modern day. Sure is amazing how so many ancient artifacts and alien invasions happen in the UK. The Doctor and Romana get involved with some Druids and and an ancient being that has been around for 4000 years. The Druids nearly sacrifice the Doctor but he's saved by an elderly lady.

You can read more about the story at the link in the title, that's the post I made when I first watched the series. There's a link for each story in the arc. I still found the story entertaining, like I did the first time through.

Doctor Who 0101 The Androids Of Tara Four part story that aired November 25 to December 16 1978. Written by David Fisher and directed by Michael Hayes.

The fourth story in The Key Of Time story arc puts the Doctor and Romana on the planet Tara where they get involved with some court intrigue. A baddie is trying to take over and he's kidnapped the man who would be king so he can't get to his coronation. The Doctor, Romana and K-9 put a stop to that villainy.

Another decent story that I enjoyed again.

Doctor Who 0102 The Power Of Kroll Four part story that aired December 23 1978 to January 13 1979. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by Norman Stewart.

The 5th story in The Key Of Time story arc has the Tardis appear in a swampy moon of the planet Delta Magna. The piece of The Key Of Time is a giant squid like creature called the Kroll. The baddy is the head of the methane factory, he's an inhuman human who's looking for a good excuse to kill the local aliens. The Doctor sides with the locals and puts a stop to the baddy's plan. They get the fifth segment of The Key Of Time and leave.

I still think that this story isn't quite as good as the first two stories I watched today but I got through it just fine. I'm just a bit tired of the megalomaniac who's trying to take over a planet plot.

Doctor Who 0103 The Armageddon Factor Six part story that aired January 20 to February 24 1979. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, directed by Michael Hayes.

The 6th story in The Key Of Time story arc has the Tardis gang on three planets, each connected by a matter transmitter. Two of the planets are fighting against each other and third is home to The Shadow, a henchman of the Black Guardian. The Shadow wants The Key Of Time and he's willing to destroy anything or anyone in his way. He's no match for the Doctor in the long run.

Once the Doctor gets the last piece of The Key Of Time he doesn't pass it along to the White Guardian, he's spotted that it's really the Black Guardian in disguise. He disperses The Key Of Time and runs away.

Now I'm done with The Key Of Time and mostly it was enjoyable. The story put an end to the 16th series, two more series with Tom Baker to go.

Science Fiction Sunday 691

Doctor Who 0097 The Invasion Of Time Six part story that aired February 4 to March 11 1978. Written by David Agnew, a pseudonym for Graham Williams and Anthony Read, and directed by Gerald Blake. 

The Tardis gang arrive in Gallifrey where the Doctor gets to the new President. He's very bossy and yells at people. It's part of his plan to save the planet from some aliens. After he does that some Sontarans show up. That takes the last two episodes to work through.

I'm still thinking it's a bit long but I enjoyed it anyway. It's the last appearance of Louis Jameson. She decides to stay on Gallifrey with some guy she just meet. K-9 decides to stay too. The Doctor leaves, aboard the Tardis he uncrates a Mark 2 version of K-9 and they head off for another adventure.

Doctor Who 0098 The Ribos Operation Four part story that aired September 3 to 23 1978. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by George Spenton-Foster.

The first story of a six serial story arc. The Doctor and K-9 are recruited by the White Guardian to collect segments of the Key To Time. They are disguised and hidden someplace in the Galaxy. The WG sends Romanadvoratrelundar along to help, despite the Doctor wanting to work alone.

Ribos is the first planet they visit. They get involved with some grifters who are trying to swindle an exiled tyrant. They do find the first part of the Key To Time despite some thieves complicating things. Still an OK story. On to the next chapter in the story.

Doctor Who 0099 The Pirate Planet Four part story that aired September 30 to October 21 1978. Written by Douglas Adams and directed by Pennant Roberts.

The Doctor, K-9 and Romana arrive on Calufrax looking for the second part of the Key To Time. They find the planet is being raided of it's minerals by some alien scumbags. I did like the idea that someone has a planet that can teleport and materialize around another planet to scoop out what they need.

The Tardis gang put a stop to that dirty business and save the Earth in the bargain. Another story that I think was OK. Next week I hope to finish off the story arc.

Science Fiction Sunday 690

Doctor Who 0094 Image Of The Fendahl Four Part story that aired October 29 to November 19 1977. Written by Chris Boucher and directed by George Spenton-Foster.

A decent horror story about some scientists that have a 12 million year old skull. It's was dug up in Kenya, though it looks human, it's not. It's the skull of a Fendahleen and it's from a planet that was sealed away by the Time Lords 12 million years before. There's a fair bit of running about being scared and a good number of murders. I found it more engaging that I did the first time I watched it. I still didn't think the monster was that good. At least it was large.

Doctor Who 0095 The Sun Makers Four part story that aired November 26 to December 14 1977. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by Pennant Roberts.

Another K-9 story and another set in a suppressed society. The Doctor and Leela stop a man from jumping off a 1000 story building. Turns out he's an Earthman and they're on Pluto way into the future. The Doctor helps smash the corporate control of the planet and frees the humans. Entertaining story with some good number of gags about taxes and corporate greed.

Doctor Who 0096 Underworld Four part story that aired January 7 to 28 1978. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, directed by Norman Stewart.

An encounter with another race the Time Lords had an encounter with 100,000 years before. Not much good seems to come out of contract with the Time Lords. The Minyans mistook the Time Lords for Gods, they took their technology and eventually destroyed their planet fighting among themselves. Two ships left the destroyed planet and 100,000 years later they come in contact with each other. The Tardis lands in one ship where crew had regenerated over and over again. The other ship had landed on a planet and developed a nasty society based on fear and mining. The Doctor will soon sort that out. It was entertaining enough but about average. I thought it was dragging a bit in the third episode. It picks up again in the final episode.

Science Fiction Sunday 689

Doctor Who 0090 The Robots Of Death Four part story that aired January 4 to February 19 1977. Written by Chris Boucher and directed by Michael E Briant. I started early Sunday and watched a passel of shows today.

The Tardis drops the Doctor and Leela into a mining vehicle where someone has programed the robots to kill humans. One by one the crew gets picked off despite the Doctor's help. He does save a few of them. I enjoyed the serial again. I liked the sets but the costumes are a bit funny.

Doctor Who 0091 The Talons Of Weng-Chiang Six part story that aired February 26 to April 12 1977. Story by Robert Holmes and directed by David Maloney.

I enjoyed the story but I found myself bumping the speed up to 1.5 about the third episode. Great sets and locations, decent baddies.

Doctor Who 0092 Horror Of Fang Rock Four part story that aired September 3 to 24 1977. Written by Terrance Dicks and directed by Paddy Russell. The first serial from the 15th series.

Another alien invasion story, this time set on a lighthouse a hundred years or so ago. The Doctor and Leela were hoping for Brighton Beach but wound up on a desolate rock with a lighthouse. The Doctor sets up a defense against the alien but it manages to kill most everyone there before the mothership is destroyed. Entertaining.

Doctor Who 0093 The Invisible Enemy Four part story that aired October 1 to 22 1977. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, directed by Derrick Goodwin.

The first appearance of K-9 was fairly entertaining. Another alien invasion story, this time set 3000 years in the future. I enjoyed it a bit better than the first time I watched it but I think Bob and Dave have written some better serials. I like K-9 for the most part so I watched the second story packed with The Invisible Enemy. In the US they are packed in a 2 disc DVD box. In the UK each has their own DVD box which are then packed in a nice slipcase. My DVD set is made up of DVDs from both countries. Often the British DVDs were much cheaper.

K-9 And Company: A Girl's Best Friend Special that aired December 28 1981. Written by Terence Dudley and directed by John Black. In 2005 the BBC gave Sarah Jane Smith her own show with K-9 making occasional appearances.

Sarah Jane Smith visits her auntie only to find her gone. Her aunt's nephew shows up and the pair of them get involved with a local witch's cult. K-9 had been sent to Sarah by the Doctor and the crate had arrived while Sarah was out of the country on a story. Nice to see him helping out. It's slight but fun enough.

Science Fiction Sunday 688

Doctor Who 0087 The Hand Of Fear Four part story that aired October 2 to 23 1976. Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, directed by Lennie Mayne.

The Tardis dumps the Doctor and Sarah Jane into a quarry. A explosion knocks them out, when the Doctor wakes up some men are there to help him. They dig Sarah Jane out of the rubble, she's clutching a stone hand, and take her to a hospital.

The doctors at the hospital say she wasn't badly hurt physically, mentally is a different story, she wakes up possessed and proclaiming Eldrad must live. Things get pretty hairy for our heroine as the stone hand gains power and transforms into Eldrad. She's a powerful being that had been nearly assassinated by her people. She's been buried on Earth for 150 million years.

The Doctor takes Eldrad back to her planet, now long dead, and trips her into falling down a bottomless pit. The Doctor gets a call from Gallifrey, he needs to return, alone. He plans to dump Sarah off in South Croydon as she decides she's had enough of her missions in time. He leaves her on Earth but on the wrong street, maybe even in the wrong town.

It was alright, decent story and villain, but hardly a great goodbye to a long running character. Typical of the series though. I was sad to see Sarah Jane go but we'll see her again in her own series. Even sadder is Elizabeth Sladen dying so young.

Doctor Who 0088 The Deadly Assassin Four part story that aired October 30 to November 20 1976. Written by Robert Holmes and directed by David Maloney.

The Doctor has been summoned to Gallifrey, along the way he has a vision of the murder of the President. On arrival he becomes the main suspect when the murder of the president takes place. He'd seen someone pull a gun and hopes that one of the recording cameras have the image of the perpetrator. The recordings were stolen from the camera so the Doctor declares he wants to run for president to save from being executed for murder.

The story eventually reveals that it's The Master behind the assassination. It also reveals that the Time Lords are a mess politically and morally. Best be off Doctor. Sometimes it's true that you can't go home. The Doctor sorts out most of the story and gets to leave. We see the Time Lords watch The Master leave in his Tardis, but they don't do anything. The Time Lords suck for the most part.

Despite the annoying Time Lords I enjoyed the serial.

Doctor Who 0089 The Face Of Evil Four part story that aired January 1 to 22 1977. Written by Chris Boucher and directed by Pennant Roberts.

The Doctor gets a new companion this episode. I enjoyed Leela and her primitive and blood thirsty ways. The story of some stranded astronauts who've been there so long they've forgotten their origins was alright for a story that I've seen done several times over the years.

The stronger part of the story is Leela's, good intro for her character. Looking forward to some more fun next week.