The Mutants

Another great, inventive, clever, ground-breaking story. It was written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin, although at times feels like a Malcolm Hulke story with political overtones pertaining to the British Empire and its downfall.  Add to this the idea of a species mutating to adapt to its environment, the use of humans basically as the bad guys, the message of ‘just because it looks horrible to you doesn’t mean it is horrible’, I think ‘The Mutants’ should be up there with the classics of Doctor Who.

It moves very well for a six part story, adding new elements and characters as it goes along with various storylines intertwined; narratively it is very well done. The director, Christopher Barry may have wished he hadn’t had such a bizarre and challenging piece, but I think he makes a decent fist of it. The use of lighting and colours in the caves is great, and I felt that the majority of the CSO shots worked effectively.

Paul Whitsun-Jones

The casting has a question mark over it in fan circles. I have heard that Rick James, an actor of African descent, is regarded as one of the worst actors ever in the history of the show. I can’t really agree, although some of the lines are clearly written for a cockney accent, as the writers had originally planned for the character of Cotton (you’d have thunk the director might has also changed the character name). It’s at the very least refreshing to see an African character in a main part in Doctor Who, indeed in any early-1970s British show. His delivery is stilted throughout, but I’m not sure it is ‘bad’.

Jon Pertwee with Varran and Ky (right)

Paul Whitsun-Jones as the Marshal is perhaps just a little too stereo-typically megalomaniac for me, and is thus my biggest beef with the story. In his second Doctor Who story, he is very one-dimensional which is a pity. The part was presumably also written in such a way, but a different actor may have brought something less predictable to it. Other casting was spot-on with Geoffery Palmer again failing to last long in his second Doctor Who story, and James Mellor and Garrick Hagon perfectly cast as Varran and Ky respectively.

The ‘mutt’ costumes also deserve a mention. Very well made and effective, much better than the Silurian or Sea Devil costumes. Dirty and horrible

In the lab.

yet beautiful in a strange way at the same time. The design and set work is great, even if Skybase is quite over-lit (not a major surprise there). Jaeger’s laboratory is very functional in its design, and apparently the wall decoration used has been replicated many times since. Uniforms for the humans were a little predictable perhaps, but no ridiculous which has often been the case. The model work is mostly excellent, with the exception of the Investigator’s ship where it seems they just ran out of cash. Skybase itself looks great from outside. Some of the best model work to date along with ‘Ambassadors of Death’.

End of Episode Four.

The end of episode four (I think) sees Skybase punctured in a crazy scene with Varran flying out through a huge hole in the side of the space station. This was just one of the many technically difficult scenes Barry had to shoot, and whilst the first part of it works very well, it lingers on Jo, Stubbs, Cotton and the Marshall hanging on from grim life except they don’t appear to be and it’s poorly directed and acted.

Barry had to deal with psychedelic caves, transforming one of the leads into a super-being, making the planet misty (presumably with mist-machines!), lighting and shooting in caves, a large amount of CSO and who knows what else. I reckon he did well.

Ky trasnformed.

For me, the production has a few problems, a few moments that weren’t presented as well as they might have been, however, the storyline is brilliant, and more than makes up for the bits that are rough around the edges. It was one of the most daring, different and difficult stories the production had encountered at the time, rivalling ‘The Claws of Axos’. Loved it.

9/10

The Smugglers

Well, both Andrew and myself sat down to watch another full four-part reconstruction with little idea about this story. Andrew told me he had never watched the full reconstruction and didn’t know a lot about the story. So it began.

Hartnell, Craze and Wills in episode one of 'The Smugglers'

And what followed was quite a cracking tale. Yes, there are smugglers in the story, but it’s not about smuggling. It’s about pirates and treasure. A great subject for a historical Doctor Who story! And it’s quite enjoyable too. It’s  nicely paced, especially after the first episode which is mostly about Ben and Polly, recently joined companions, realising what’s going on. It’s a very different dynamic than we’ve had before, mainly because Ben is a very different sort of male companion. He’s much younger than Ian or Steven and a little more niave, and indeed probably more head strong.

The idea appears to have been to give William Hartnell a couple of younger, more ‘hip’ companions. Polly as well – it’s a totally different relationship. With Susan and Vicki, and to a lesser extent Dodo, the Doctor was quite paternalistic. Polly is a little older than those three, presumably early twenties, so a very different feel is created.

Michael Godfrey as Captain Pike.

Back to the story though. It’s a hunt for Every’s treasure, a pirate back in the 17^th century. The Doctor and his companions head to a church to get their bearings and discover when and where they are (Cornwall, 17^th century). The priest, Longfoot (Terence De Marney) directs them to the inn, but not before he has left a baffling clue with the doctor – four people’s names.

Longfoot is then killed by a bald-headed chap called Cherub, played by George A. Cooper. The Doctor and his companions are soon embroiled in the whole plot involving Captain Pike, very well played by Michael Godfrey, the Squire (Paul Whitsun-Jones) and other ruffians, all after the treasure. It’s a very bloody story, which may be my only major critiscm of it. For kids, I think they probably did go a bit far. There’s plenty of blood and violence though if it takes your fancy. A few clips exist because they were censored for the content.

Cherub threatens the Doctor. His bald cap is showing!

Pike and Jamaica

The finale is extremely bloody indeed, with most people dying, including Pike and all the pirates. The cast is good, with Paul Whitsun-Jones giving perhaps a somewhat predictable performance as the squire (just see some his other work and you’ll understand) however, the character mellows by the final episode, and unlike most character he plays, he sees the error of his ways. John Ringham returns to Doctor Who (he previously appeared in ‘The Aztecs’) as Josiah Blake, on the side of good this time. He is forced to wear one of the worst wigs ever to appear on television. This is rivalled by George A. Cooper’s bald cap, as he plays Cherub.

John Righam acts well despite the worst wig in TV history.

I enjoyed the story, written by Brian Hayles, who came up with the original idea for ‘The Celestial Toymaker before it was totally changed. Twice. It’s got good pace, a bit of action, and a fair bit of fun until the bloodbath occurs. There could have been a tendency to go very silly and ramp up the humour, but unlike ‘The Gunfighters’ and ‘The Romans’, they didn’t go down this path. The story is probably the stronger for it.

All in all, a nice little piece. William Hartnell was very good in this, Craze and Wills were good foils. I look forward to many more William Hartnell adventures after this one!

8/10

PS. My friend Andrew, who watches all the episodes with me, also writes a blog. A travel blog. Still, he hasn't been to half the places I have! However, today he wrote a blog about a Doctor Who convention. Whatever that might be. He also mentioned his friend Rob Lloyd who does a Doctor Who show called 'Who, Me.' A one-man stage show. I hear he is very good. So here are the links for ye:

Geeking out at a professional level - Andrew's latest blog post

Rob Lloyd's website - info about his show and the man himself.

Next time you join me, I will be talking about what has turned out to be William Hartnell's final Doctor Who story - 'The Tenth Planet'. Expect it up in the next 24-48 hours!