The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

The fantastic Ian Reddington.

I think that so far, without a doubt, this is the best Sylvester McCoy story. It is let down by the final episode which is rather impossible to follow and when you look at it closely doesn’t make a lot of sense, but all in all Steven Wyatt’s second story is creepy, full of great characters, well directed, well shot and achieves everything that ‘Paradise Towers’ was lacking in atmosphere.

It’s just a pity that episode four, or to be more exact the last 10-15 minutes of the story, is so bewildering. The reveal of the ‘Gods of Ragnarock’ is something of an anti-climax because

really, who are they? They don’t have a place in Doctor Who folklore yet the Doctor says he has been hunting them all through time, so that’s somewhat strange. The polystyrene circus in another dimension is not the most impressive set, well it isn’t when it crumbles, but the show was millimetres away from being cancelled so these things can easily be forgiven. But the events of the final episode need to be addressed because it really left this viewer mystified as to what had gone on.

Mags (Jessica Martin) and the Doctor.

King Pin has the medallion, which he needs to get to the Doctor in the ‘dark circus’. Now despite never discussing how this was to be done, the Doctor spends his time trying to entertain the Gods of Ragnarock whilst constantly looking at his watch as if  waiting for the appointed time at which the medallion is to arrive. Either that or he is worried about how long he can survive. He then points a sword which he created from nothing (well a small piece of metal he just happened to have) at the ground, in the ‘real’ dimension the medallion falls down the pit aimed at the eye, and it appears at the end of the sword. How was this pre-organised? Then the Gods fire at the Doctor and he uses the medallion to deflect the ‘laser beams’ (for want of a better word) back at the Gods and the circus itself. That was the plan?  I’m sorry maybe people were so taken by McCoy’s bag of magic tricks (most of which are achieved by trick photography although he is in his element here which is great to see) that they didn’t notice the illogical nature of the plot and the way it was all resolved.

The somewhat dodgy Gods of Ragnarock.

At the end of the day, no matter how good the story is the audience wants a good resolution that they can understand. The better the story, the more disappointing a dud resolution is and that’s exactly the case with ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’.

The first three and a half episodes are the best stuff for a long time. The clowns, led by the amazing Ian Reddington are wonderfully creepy. TP McKenna’s Captain Cook is a truly superbly realised character, double-crossing, back stabbing, killed and then brought back to life. Jessica Martin as Mags is again perfect casting, I even liked the Whiz Kid (Gian Sammarco).

As sick as I am of quarries, I didn’t mind the location so much either. It suited the story. All in all the story is very enjoyable, creepy, with a magnificent atmosphere. The music by Mark Ayres is perfect and Alan Wareing’s direction is spot on, both first timers. Considering the production was nearly cancelled like ‘Shada’, and the studio worked was instead mounted in a tent in a car park, it just goes to show that working under duress can really bring a production team together to create something amazing. This was heading for full marks until the final episode. I

Ace puts a big robot out of action.

especially liked the ending to episode one, which is not the traditional ‘peril-style’ cliff-hanger, but instead a dilemma when Ace is asked by the Doctor ‘Are we going in or aren’t we’ as we hear screams coming from inside the circus. Also, a great effort from McCoy and Aldred, supported by a great guest cast.

8/10

Paradise Towers

The Doctor and Mel meet the Red Kangs

Steve Wyatt’s first Doctor Who tale, the rather odd ‘Paradise Towers’, suffers from a number of issues especially where the production doesn’t really deliver on the concept the way it could have be realised. It seems to me a few alterations here and there and the story could have been quite good, almost watchable! But instead we have a director and guest villain who have not taken it as seriously as it should have been taken, corridors which are far too wide and these ridiculous ‘cleaners’ – robotic machines that are killing people where the actors all have to grab the claw and ram it against their neck to make it look like they are threatened. Very embarrassing stuff.

The Red Kangs

The direction is without pace or urgency at times. Nick Mallet’s second go as director has brought along with it some of the issues of his first outing, ‘The Mysterious Planet’, which lacked energy at time. It’s a very different story, and I think with a different director and perhaps designer on hand, it could have been a lot better. Some elements are good. The casting is a bit up and down. Richard Briers chose a way to play the Chief Caretaker which was amusing, but when he became a zombie-fied Kroagnon, the Great Architect, I’m afraid he lost me completely, and it seems everyone else. But the issue stretches beyond Richard Briers, who was after all a very good actor.

The Chief Caretaker meets.... what is that?

Actors continuously make the comic choice rather than the straight one. It becomes monotonous. The concept of the rule book was under-played mostly, except for the scene when the Doctor instructs the care takers to let him escape which was beyond silly, a weak piece of writing. Andrew Cartmel from the start wanted to make the show darker, but setting a story in some dark corridors does not maketh a story dark. There’s no real sense of menace conveyed. Down in the basement is where the mind of Kroagnon lives for three episodes. It’s represented by a lot of smoke and some colourful neon lights.

Tabby and Tilda are ready for dinner!

Then we have the great pool in the sky. It’s a pretty glum pool to be honest. Mel keeps talking it up even when she gets there and it clearly sucks. It’s just someone’s rooftop pool in London. I wanted to know more about the community, where they came from, who they were. I respect the choice of the writer not to reveal all, because I don’t think you always need to, but the fact that a whole community was living in Paradise Towers was interesting. It appeared they never left the towers – weren’t they able too. Where was this building? In the middle of nowhere, or in a city? These are the sort of questions I really wanted answered.
Whilst Richard Briers is best forgotten, and Howard Cooke who played Pex was pretty dreadful, I loved both Tabby and Tilda, the two old ladies who want to eat Mel (who again screamed at absolutely nothing) played by Elizabeth Spriggs and Brenda Bruce. They seemed to get the story, and it seems one of Wyatt’s complaints (see the DVD) is that actors and directors weren’t getting his vision – hence the miscasting of Pex who is neither funny nor convincing. I also really enjoyed Clive Merrison as the Deputy Chief Caretaker. Yes, he also camped it up but not in a way which made me think I was watching an actor camping it up, if that makes any sense.

A cleaner

Sylvester McCoy was certainly better and more assured this time around, however there were several awkward moments, especially in exchanges with the Red Kangs in episode one where everything looked very uncomfortable. Perhaps it’s the comic nature of the other performances, but he doesn’t seem to be pushing the comedy basket nearly as hard in ‘Paradise Towers’. Thank goodness for that!

Pex leads the possessed Chief Caretaker to his doom...

The Kangs are an interesting creation, girl gangs roaming the towers and playing games. The costumes are good, if extremely 1980s. The costumes for the whole story are very well done. However again I have to complain that they Kangs all look carefully  designed and constructed, they don’t look dirty at all, despite the towers being so filthy.
Finally, the music deserves special mention, because it is so hideous. Keff McCulloch, ye of a very strange name, has an 80s sound but not good 80s. It’s so loud and jarring throughout. It’s utterly dreadful and I think not since ‘The Leisure Hive’ has the music been so noticeable. In fact ‘Paradise Towers’ might be even worse, making it the all time worst! It’s an offence to anyone who has ears.
In summary, ‘Paradise Towers’ is a story which with more time and work put in, and much stronger and deliberate direction, could have been a lot better than what we got. BUT – far superior to ‘Time and the Rani’.
4/10