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Remembrance of the Daleks
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SYNOPSIS The Doctor and Ace arrive in London in November, 1963. In fact, they arrive near Coal Hill School, where the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, attended school (also in 1963). The Doctor has arrived to finish something he was working on before he kidnapped two Coal Hill teachers during his first incarnation.
The task should have been an easy one: get rid of an artifact from Gallifrey's ancient past. Unfortunately the local military has gotten involved. And two factions of the Daleks are interested in the artifact. Can the Doctor finish his task before the Daleks destroy each other and anyone else around?
REVIEW As I mentioned in my review of the overall Doctor Who series, Remembrance was the first McCoy episode that made me sit up and take notice of this diminutive Doctor. I am no fan of the Daleks (their voices just grate for me, though the design is rather unique) but enjoyed this story nonetheless. The Special Weapons Dalek was considerably impressive and the first cliff hanger managed to put a few myths aside. It's just a shame that so much of this episode was edited out. In the 71 edit, several scenes are clarified (especially the Cafe scene, which is one of my favorite scenes in all of Whodom). For a list of .wavs taken from the 71 edits, click here. Thankfully, the DVD release has included most of the cut scenes.
10 files, last one added on Jul 23, 2008
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Ghost Light
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SYNOPSIS The Doctor has given Ace an Initiative Test. It's up to her to figure out what's going on when they arrive in the upper observatory of a creepy Victorian mansion. As they investigate the house, they discover a big game hunter who's gone mad, a Neanderthal butler, the housekeeper from Hell, and Josiah Samuel Smith, the man in charge of it all.
Is Josiah actually in Control? For that matter, what is Control? Why is everyone afraid of Light? And what did Ace actually do to the house in 100 years time? Some of these questions are actually answered in the course of the story.
REVIEW Ghost Light always wins the spot for Trina's Favorite Doctor Who story. And it probably always will. So why? I hear you asking. Let's see, Doc7 in dark jacket? Check. Creepy atmosphere? Check. Quotable dialogue? Check. Rewatchability? Check. Moving music? Check. Plenty of Sylv & Sophie interplay? Check.
I know a lot of people have complained that they just don't understand Ghost Light (members of the cast included). I'm not one of them. Sure, I didn't get it the first time, but after repeated watchings, I took something away each time. The trick is to realize that Control is the control of an experiment. During the course of the DVD extras (commentary, etc.) Andrew Cartmel and Marc Platt explain all of this. I'm quite pleased that I had it figured out years before.
10 files, last one added on Jul 23, 2008
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Curse of Fenric
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SYNOPSIS Ace and the Doctor arrive at an army base in World War II. The base is home to the Ultima Machine, a device able to decrypt coded German signals. Shortly thereafter, the base is invaded by Russians after the Ultima Machine and Vampires (er, haemavores) after a "treasure" which happens to hold Evil, who sometimes goes by the name Fenric.
In the course of the story, friends are made and betrayed, Ace discovers more about her mother than she knew, and the Doctor's past catches up with him.
REVIEW Fenric has managed to stay as my second favorite Doctor Who story for over a decade, now. (Ghost Light is my favorite.) This is despite the excellent New Adventures of Doctor Who (Virgin Publishing's book series) and the many audio adventures (some of which have been excellent). So I was thrilled when it came to DVD. Thrilled enough that I bought it before it was available in the US. (OK, so I was a bit eager.) Hey, I'll be the same way with Ghost Light. And probably The Happiness Patrol and That Circus Episode of Doctor Who (AKA The Greatest Show in the Galaxy).
The DVD boasts a "Director's Cut" which, alas, was done after the director has passed away. But Mark Ayres (my favorite of the Doctor Who composers) had the original notes and they dusted off the extended scenes, remastered the music, and put together a movie-version of the story that improves upon the already exceptional story. They include the original story as aired, for those who prefer the original. And that has an entertaining commentary by Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, and Nicholas Parsons (the vicar, Wainwright). Definitely worth getting early. :-) (OK, so it's probably worth waiting for too, but in this day and age, who wants to wait?)
7 files, last one added on Jul 23, 2008
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