Hello, dear listeners, and welcome back to Flight Through Entirety
the only Doctor Who podcast who's allowed to keep our heads.
We may have a better use for them.
I'm Brendan.
I'm Nathan.
I'm Todd, and we are about to land on the planet of Tara for my
favourite ever, Doctor Who story, the Android guitar.
That's amazing.
I think it's lovely.
I'm really pleased to hear that.
I didn't know that at all.
So did the randomiser pick this or did you veto it?
I vetoed it the same way Richard got the massacre and I don't
think either of you have yet decided what you want your chosen
story to be.
Well, I think I want to choose one that's really, really time.
I can sort of slam it.
That's just everything.
This one no, though.
I think I'm not sure that it's my favourite story, but it is
really terrific.
This is my 3rd favourite slash equal 2nd favourite story of the
key to time.
I will say that I don't think this is the best Doctor Who story.
I don't even think it's the best Tom Baker story, but it is my
personal favourite.
And I'll talk a little bit about that before we get into the story
itself.
I won't just make this half an hour all about me because, you know
it's not like these podcasts are a vanity project for me at all.
Anyway.
But I came to this story, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I didn't
have this one as a kid.
I came to it, 1st of all, on the DVD, on the American DVD, which I
bought in 2002 after it was released, imported through Amazon.
And at that point, I had also seen the Armageddon factor.
Someone had given me an off-air omnibus copy of the Armageddon
factor.
Came to it with very little knowledge.
I knew that it had robot replicas in it, and I knew that it was a
key to time story.
And I just absolutely loved it.
I sometimes jokingly describe it as the best live action Disney
movie ever.
It is very Disney.
It's very derivative.
Of course, it's based on the novel, The Prisoner of Zender, where
a traveller in a foreign fairy tale land just happens to be a
doppelganger for the prince or the king and has to impersonate him
and falls in love with the king's wife, and she realises that he
isn't the king and loves him as well, but they can't stay together
et cetera, et cetera.
But I think it's more than just a copy of that.
It takes the basic idea of an Android king in this case.
It also adds loads of other androids into the mix.
It's, uh, but, but, but hang on, that doesn't explain to me why
this is your, your favourite.
It's my favourite because despite the fact it's so atypical of
Doctor Who to do a fairy tale romance, it has all the things in it
that make Doctor Who so good.
So you have the doctor and the companion being split up and having
their own storylines.
You have an interesting villain who isn't just evil, but has
ambitions of his own and has relationships with the characters
around him, especially Madame Lamia, who will come back to later.
It has a sort of a sort of straightforward good versus evil plot
but at the same time, the doctor does bring up the morality and
the ethics of using Androids as a workforce.
And, you know, he constantly says things like, you know, it's
funny.
Androids feel that way about people.
Yeah, so it's got a bit of social commentary in there.
It's got great performances.
It's got a very witty script.
It has a crap monster. in the form of the Taran wood beast.
And it's really, really well made as well.
So it's got all the great Doctor Who things, but it puts them into
something new.
And even though it's nicking a plot in the same way that, say
Brain of Morbius, Nick the plot of Frankenstein.
It's adding enough to it, that it makes it its own story, the same
way the brain of Morbius did as well.
And I think that's the reason why it's my favourite because it's
something, it's something familiar and comforting and warming, but
at the same time, It's doing new and unexpected things with all
those with all those strange ideas.
I know that, for instance, at the time, it was voted bottom of the
poll by the Doctor of Appreciation Society.
I hate them.
It's certainly been rehabilitated.
I think for a lot of people.
I think a lot of people probably put rhubos operation and stones
of blood ahead of it, then it and Pirate Planet, roughly on equal
footing, and Power of Kroll and Armageddon Factor underneath
that.
But I personally find it the best story of the season.
I think something we've been saying these last 3 stories about the
fact that Doctor Who is fun again.
This story this season is the one that embodies that fun the most
for me.
So the 1st time that I realised that this had a bit of a sort of
camp, classic reputation was, and this is many years before your
interaction with it.
Do you remember the fans in Todd cottage under scene?
I do, yes.
So it was, I mentioned it before on the podcast and it was co
edited by Gareth Roberts.
And I think one of the issues had on the back an ad for a march on
Leeds Castle to demand from BBC Enterprises, the release of this
story on videotape.
It's really, really something spectacular, isn't it?
There are some other things that I would add, in fact, to what, you
said about these stories, virtues, and that includes just the
location filming.
So we mentioned Leeds Castle, which is spectacularly beautiful, and
they get to use it during the day and in a night shoot for episode
4, the pavilion of the summer winds on Count Grandall's estate, I
think, is beautiful, and it's such a sunny day on location.
It really, really lifts at the scenes where the doctor goes
fishing.
Again, the locations are beautiful and the whole thing is just is
warm.
Cornell Day and topping in the discontinuity guide describe the
story as summery and charming.
And I think that that absolutely gets it.
Yeah, I find that straight from the beginning, you know, it's
we're taking you on a romp.
You know, you've got the opening scene with the doctor and canine
playing chess in the TARDIS and just very, it's a very subtle
thing, but if you look at the chess clocks, the doctor has taken 4
minutes longer on his moves up until that point than canine has.
And, you know, they sort of have a bit of banter just to get the
story going.
It doesn't have anything to do with the story.
It reminds us they're looking for the key to time.
I hope that Romana wanders casually through and says, oh, yes, mate
in 12 moves.
Yes, and she's in her lovely white frock and then she gets to go
into the limbo room to look up what she's going to wear next.
I just burst out laughing as she goes through da da da.
Oh, Tahiti and like it's like, well, it's just a graph.
Yeah, she's not going to go topless this week.
Oh, and then, of course, then she gets to choose a wonderful
outfit that she designed herself.
And I'll never forget that...
I asked the question at the convention.
Did you?
I was desperate to ask her about her frocks at that convention.
And I didn't say what the hell was up with that hideous Tara
number.
Well, exactly.
And I sat there and she goes, oh, yes, I designed one myself, and
I went, oh, please don't have to be that awful purple thing.
And then of course, that's what she revealed.
I've now, having watched it.
I actually quite like it.
It's actually quite good.
It's the hat I don't like.
It's very box-in.
I think it just looks awful, but the rest of it is actually really
nice.
It isn't what everyone else on Tara is wearing this year.
There's no one else's wearing. remotely like it.
Where all the little ringlets, you know, that everybody else seems
to have like Llami and the ladies at that coronation.
I do love the fact that it, that you know the doctors, you know
going on holiday.
You go and find the segment in a key to time.
It only takes 7 minutes.
Yeah, exactly.
I actually timed it, yeah, till she actually finds the segment.
I think that helps doesn't it?
That means that we don't have to wave the tracer around for the
entire story.
Yeah, exactly.
And also, it emphasises what we've been hearing for the last 3
stories, which is Romana saying, but if you just did it this way
it'd be so much quicker.
What's wrong with you?
Be efficient.
So she's better at finding fishing segments.
Yeah, exactly.
She's better at finding somebody. and that's exactly what she
said.
She would be.
And of course, when she finds the segment, she finds 2 other
things at the same time.
She finds the Tarin would beast.
So it's this week's giant rat in the suit.
Yeah, exactly.
And I think it is worse than the giant rat.
Is it the worst Doctor Who Monster ever?
Is it worse than the Maya Beast?
I think it's worse than the Maya Beast.
Do we just see one or do we see a number on the hill?
No, we just see one.
We just see one.
You're thinking of Blake 7, you know, the episode with the links
in Blake 7, which always remind me of Tara Marquis.
That's why I got confused with that.
So she finds that, thank goodness.
Like, it's only in that one sequence.
See you later.
And then she gets swept off her feet by Count Grendel of Graff.
He's wonderful.
He's a Jeffrey.
So he's been in it before.
He's the pilot in the macrater.
That's correct.
And he was also a villain a few times in the Avengers most notably
in the episode game with Linda Fawson as Tara King.
He is one of those guys in British television in the 60s and 70s.
And he's not Peter Bowles from To the Manor born as Rod insisted
halfway through the story until he finally said, oh, wait, no
Peter Bowles's nose isn't that big.
Yeah, he's funny looking, isn't he?
Because he's sort of dashing.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, he's sort of manly and dashing and stuff like that, but he's
got this terrifically big nose and these sort of scary pointy
teeth and stuff.
He is sort of he is villainous looking.
But you can see that, you know, squinting a bit and maybe he'd be
a sort of slightly handsome villain.
Certainly his plan will later involve marrying people and stuff
like that.
I just like the fact that he's, that he can be charming and witty
and, but menacing at the same time.
I just, I just love the, you know, when he talks about Princess
Strella and in quick succession, my fiance, my bride, deceased.
But I love all that, you know, again, it's David Fisher and
Anthony Reid and silly little conversations about Romana's head
and, you know, you know, if you damaged your head and all that
sort of thing.
Yeah, it just tickles my fancy.
That whole scene in Lamia's surgery where, you know, you start off
with the mediaeval bed, da, da, da, computer banks and Dudley's
music, then gets darker and seedier as well.
I always love the love it when you've got mediaeval and modern
technology juxtaposed.
And I love the fact that, you know, all the peasants have all this
technological skills and the aristocracy just don't have it.
Therefore, Emma had it sort of saying, well, surely the peasants
would be more intelligent and thus overthrow you and you couldn't
remain in power because they've got more knowledge and wisdom than
you.
But that's not the way this society works.
And there's something quite delicious in that.
I think it also plays just to the strengths.
Do you know what I mean of the design department, you know, like
we are going to see some terrible alien planets later in the
season, but because this is sort of based on a sort of fun version
of, you know, Earth's history.
The costumes look terrific.
The coronation is fantastic.
You know, you've got this great lavish set.
All of these people sort of dress, you know, as generals and
things.
Someone's popped in from international rescue.
Yeah, it's just wonderful.
You know, just terrific costumes and stuff.
And it's the same thing that reboss operation did so well by just
trying to look like a period in its history.
They were able to, you know, achieve something that could be that
the BBC could afford and that would still look just tremendously
good.
Yeah, yeah.
We'll come back to the coronation shortly because I want to
discuss one of the guest actors. think you do.
Yeah, but 1st of all, we need to talk about Prince Reinhardt.
Do we?
Yes.
Listeners of Bondfinger will recall that we spotted him in from
Russia with love as one of Carrim Bay's sons.
He wasn't here?
No, I didn't know.
No, there you go.
I'm going to get back and rewatch that.
Yeah, yeah.
So he's one of Karen Bay's sons in that.
And God, you know, he has, he must have a wonderful diet because
he's barely aged from Russia with love to this.
And I think there's a very interesting shorthand going on.
David Fisher is a very clever writer because Count Grendel has
this impregnable escape proof castle.
Prince Rhinart sits around in a hunting lodge.
He's a bit more of the people.
And of course, when the doctor starts being a bit snider and
talking back to him, and did you notice, of course, when uh, Farrah
sets fire to the doctor's hat.
It's right next to Tom's face. love that line.
Would you mind not standing on my chest.
My hat's on fire.
Wonderful.
But, you know, when the doctor starts getting a bit cheeky and a
bit snied and a bit cross, but has that whole wonderful thing of a
1000 gold pieces.
Do you think you can buy me for money?
500 The prince really likes him because he's a man of his word, but
you know, just try and repair our Android.
If it doesn't work, you can go free.
Oh, thank you, doctor. the Android verse.
Yeah, it's really great, subtle comedy.
I agree with you.
I think he does a really nice performance and the way that's
written, like, you know, Zardic and swordsman for a ready to, well
not shoot first, but, you know, stab first and ask questions later
whereas he's quite willing to let the doctor go along with
whatever the doctor wants to go along with because he, you know
there's a bond there.
And there's been, I read in fanzines and stuff, criticism of his
performances, the prince, but I actually think he does a great job
the warmth of that, and as the end.
I love him as the Android.
In fact, it's really funny and there's a scene later on where they
repair the Android and they both, you know, like all the
characters inadvertently kind of treat it as if it's the prince
for a second.
The Android is slightly more what, intelligent?
Is real majesty?
Just a little subtleties like, you know, with the Android banging
the head and then speeding up and slowing down.
I really love that.
I think his performance is one of the joys of his story.
And I do love the Androids, Joan Crawford travelling turban.
Yeah, that is inexplicable, isn't it?
What is he wearing?
It's very strange.
The only thing I can think of is it's his only scene on location.
Maybe there was something up with his hair.
I don't know.
Yeah, I do not know.
But yeah, it makes him look like Joan Crawford with little pencil
moustache.
Now there are other androids in the story.
In fact, there's Mary Tam as Romana.
Mary Tam is the Romana Android.
Mary Tam as Prince Estrella, who could be an Android, and Mary Tam
as the Princess Strella, Android.
And, I mean, I love Mary Tan.
I love Ramana.
But I'm just going to say the subtleties in her performance at
times are a bit too subtle.
So she's not hugely stretched as an actress by playing the 2
androids.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, because she's been going for kind of emotionless for the
last few for the last few stories.
So that's very good.
She does try and differentiates Australia from Romana a bit.
Yeah, and given that...
Yeah, Australia gets about 3 lines as well. yeah.
Look, I mean, it doesn't matter very much, but it would have been
fun to see her do something different, but she has decided, I
think, to take a 12 months sabbatical from acting this year.
I think that...
No, no, no.
I mean, and I'm joking about it.
I mean, she's chosen to do what she does before.
Yeah, I think she's chosen, but I think she's chosen throughout
the whole season to kind of.
As I said before, it's a performance.
Do you know what I mean?
It's terribly appealing, I absolutely adore watching her, but it's
not really an acting performance in any meaningful sense.
I think it's very much in the mould of Diana Regan, the Avengers.
I think there's a lot of Diana Regan, Emma Peel, just the way I've
said before, I think there's a lot of Mary Tam in Romana.
One of the things as a kid watching this show is when the doctor
bashes the Romana.
No, it's the Princess Estrella Android.
Yes.
Right?
Clubs and stick.
Clubs it to death.
We think it's Romana, because we've just seen Romana taken out of
herself.
Yeah, she gets released from her side.
Yeah, you know, and Tom has no problem doing this, but, you know
in a previous story refuses to participate in pushing Romana off
the... at war.
It's very strange.
I thought it was very strange because, like, she goes up and she's
in a speech, she talks about her sovereignty, which I thought as a
kid, she was trying to say sovereignty, but the Android got it
wrong, like the other Android gets the things wrong.
So I thought, oh, well, it's obvious that this is the Android.
And I believe that up until last week when Nathan was talking to
me about it.
Suzerainty.
Yeah, it's an actual separate word, isn't it?
Yeah.
And another thing about that, you know, just because this is my
favourite story.
I'm not it's not immune from criticism.
But Romana's taken out of her cell.
So we're led to believe that she is playing Strella in the
coronation scene.
The next time we see Romana, the guard takes her to see Madame
Lamia.
So we're also led to believe then that, oh, okay, that wasn't
Romana.
That was the Android.
Romana's just been brought to Lamia.
How far away is Lamia's lab from the dungeons?
Because in the time Romana has been brought out, had the
coronation, where Grendel is at the coronation, we've had the
doctor discovering how many more programmed androids might be that
as opposed to the really dangerous ones of the unprogrammed ones
obviously.
Grendel's had time to get back from there, you know, we've had
another scene with the doctor and then Grendel is back in the
lab.
You know, it's it's a real time dilation problem that's just for
the sake of the cliffhanger.
It's not enough for me to dislike the story, but I just kind of go
that's a bit of a cheat, David.
Can we go to the coronation?
Yes, I think it's time for the coronation.
So of course, Cyril Shaps is back.
Cyril Shepp survives this one.
So...
Cyril Shaps, for those of you who don't remember Tomb of the
Cybermen and Planet of the Spiders and Ambassadors of Death.
And ambassadors of death, he gets locked in the cell.
With the isotope, the isotope.
I'd forgotten that completely.
So he does tend to get killed, but this is actually a lovely story
in which only one person is killed and that's by accident.
And so Cyril Shaps does survive.
And he's terrific.
And it's the archimandrike.
What a wonderful name.
It's great word.
What a wonderful set of hats as well.
He's got all these lovely rainbow hats.
I believe I've heard from somewhere that at conventions he would
describe himself as, you know, I did 4 Doctor Who's, and I died in
3 of them.
And then in another one I played a rainbow poop.
That's essentially what the argument right is.
I love his conversation with Count Grendel about stepping forward
and doing the right thing and I shall reject the thing through.
Is it?
I, I, I should, I think I shall reject the crown twice.
Yes, he doesn't think he can rely on the argument right to offer
it to him. right.
I reject it once because to reject it twice, maybe misconstrued
and I can't trust the archivand right to offer it to be a 3rd
time.
And the look on Kostard's faces.
What?
We've got another character.
Is it till?
Is that his servant man?
Has he been in Doctor before?
Yeah, he was the guy who was menaced by the sea devils in the sea
devils.
Remember the there's 2 people on the rig, one of whom's killed and
the other one.
Yeah, okay.
So that's him.
But he also played Jab of the Heart in Star Wars.
So you remember before the special edition of Star Wars, Jab of
the Hut didn't appear in the original Star Wars, but they did
shoot a scene, which was later re put back into the film and he
played Jab of the Hut in that scene as a human.
And then they put a CG puppet over it and it's a terrible, terrible
artistic choice and why is it even there?
Can I go on about that?
So he played Jab Bahan in Star Wars originally.
So there you go.
Now we've got Zadec and Swordsman Pharaoh.
Yeah, they're pretty forgetable, I think.
Oh, oh, well, the thing is, I think they are just, they are just
well balanced enough.
They fade into the background enough because they are supporting
characters, but when they get their moments to play, they play
them very well.
Cornell Day and topping and the discontinuity guide conclude that
Tom constantly tries to make Simon Lack, who's playing Zadec laugh
in all their scenes together without success.
I'm genuinely not sure how much of that is Tom the actor or the
doctor is the character realising, oh, this fellow's very stiff
and whatnot.
I'm going to try and make him laugh, but yeah, Simon Lack is just
brilliantly po-faced about the whole thing.
And Farrah, on the other hand, you know, he's the young brash
lieutenant and plays that part very well.
I quite like how he learns not to draw his sword when canine's
around.
Yes, yeah, yeah.
Is he a good hunting dog?
My favourite moment between the 2 of them is at the end of episode
three, beginning of episode four.
So after Romana's gotten away, and she's back at the hunting lodge
and Grendel kidnaps her again, because that's what you do in these
stories.
There's a bit where Farrah sees Grendel approaching and says, it's
someone under a flag of truce.
It's Grendel.
I'll kill him.
And Zadec says, not if he's under a flag of truce, you won't.
You know, we do the honourable thing.
You know the articles of war.
After he's made off with Romana.
Zadec says something lines off.
We should have killed him. flag of truce or no flag of truce.
And there's just this little look from Farah.
Like, I said that.
I completely, and you know, it's entirely from the actor.
It's not in the script, but it's just, just suggested that.
It's a little that little plot thing where he kidnaps Romana from
back at the outer room.
It's very quick that he gets her onto the horse and that sort of
thing. a little bit... a bit of a surprise.
I quite like that, though.
And I like the fact she comes on a white horse to rescue the dog.
And she gets on the horse and she can't make like her way of
getting it to go is just by going, go, go, you stupid thing.
And she inadvertently kicks it in the side and it goes.
And we get them to pay off to that. the doctor saying, I hope you
know how to stop this thing.
That's right.
It's wonderful.
But so he kind of unexpectedly captures her, but that's okay.
I think we can forgive it and I don't think we necessarily need to
see it.
Yeah, yeah.
It's really good to see Tom actually doing some sword fighting, I
think, rather than having Terry Walsh to do sort of fighting. you
know, later on.
It's actually good to see that.
But explain to me something.
We've got the clock, which I think is a wonderful clock, you know
with all going. yeah, yeah, yeah.
And they go out to meet Madame Malami is meeting the doctor at
midnight.
But it's like the middle of the dark.
No, no, no.
They were to meet at midday, weren't they?
No, no, no, no, but they turn up early.
The doctor turns up early and Lamia then goes in just to survey
and inspect the place and the doctor slams the door on her and he
kind she kind of says, you're early and he says, well, you're
early.
Shall we just do it?
So they're early by about 10 hours.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So they do that in the dialogue.
He turns up to lie in wait for a certain day.
I knew that they were early, but I just kind of was going like
it's so bright early.
It is very early.
And, you know, they brought the Android with them and everything.
I would like to talk about Lamia.
I do think it's a wonderful character because, of course, as I
mentioned in the novel prisoner of Zenda, there's this whole
unrequited love angle, but that's with the hero.
So here, David Fisher has flipped that round and it's unrequited
love with the villain.
He is so dismissive of her love that he just brings it up in
casual conversation that, oh yeah, yeah, she fancies me.
I showed her a certain courtesy once.
Yeah.
Oh, it's so it's so nasty.
And then when Romana's kind of saying, look, let me go.
I can't I can't do anything to you.
And she's like, well, no, I can't, you know, you're against you're
against Grendel.
Well, he doesn't have you don't exactly have him at the moment.
He just using it.
That's better than nothing.
It's so heartbreaking.
And it's kind of that weird thing of, we've discussed the Becadell
test in Doctor Who before, and there's a website devoted to it as
well, which we'll put up on our site.
But I think this is a really powerful moment between 2 female
characters and, you know, Doctor Who doesn't discuss love very
often.
It usually only discusses it when a companion's leaving because
they're getting married off to someone.
But it's a moment of emotion between a downtrodden character and a
character who has not shown much in the way of emotion, but seems
to understand what Lamia feels.
You know, as soon as Lamia brings that up, Romana stops arguing.
She knows she's not going to get anywhere.
Of course, it doesn't pass the Bechdell test, does it?
Because they're talking about a man.
But the thing is, they also have discussions about the key to
time.
And my point was that even though it breaks that rule of the
Becadell test, I still think it's a powerful scene for the 2
actresses.
I think it is nice to give like something.
It just adds texture, do you know what I mean?
to give her that unrequited love.
Yeah, it's nice to see a scientist that is a woman.
Yeah, I think so too.
But, I mean, Grendel doesn't think much of her because, like, when
she comes running out of the hut, She gets shot and then it cuts
to him.
Oh, madam, watch out for Madam Lami, it's all too late.
Yeah, I think he's, I think he is affected by it.
Oh yeah, definitely.
Because later on when he's shouting at Ramana.
Like, he said, he says Madame Lamir is dead, and Paul's just
almost imperceptibly for a 2nd and the Android will never be
completed.
It's, again, it's subtle, it's subtext.
I do find that death hideously unfair.
It's one of the most unfair deaths ever in Doctor Who. you know, of
all the characters in the story.
Yes, she's on the bad guy's side, but she's on the bad guy's side
because she can't help herself.
You know, she knows she's in a bad situation.
She's said as much.
But that's...
To be mawkish, that is the power of strong emotion, that is the
power of her love.
It will keep her in the situation.
And.
The thing is, like, I don't, I don't look at David Fisher and go
oh, you're a horrible person for doing this is like, well, you
know what?
Yes, it's a horrible thing that happens and horrible things do
happen.
I think it should have been remarked upon more in the story
especially from Romana, because Romana actually had some time with
her.
And, you know, it maybe if when Grendel says Madame Limir is dead
and the Andro will never be completed Romana.
I should have said, oh, yeah, and that's all you care about.
I like that there's some stakes to the death and some emotional
weight to it that we care about it, you know, all too often
particularly in the Hinchcliffe theory, there would be just
characters who are nothing more than a name and a sort of vague
acting performance who are mowed down.
But this is a character who has relationships with the other
characters and stuff.
And I like that it's an accident and I like it's the only death.
You know, the stakes are not high in this story.
It's who will rule one planet?
Yeah.
Something that happens under Graham Williams is that death is
given a lot more weight.
So, you know, you've got her death this year, you've got the death
of Ben Roe.
You've got the death of Mr. Fibrilli, which is very palpable that
we commented on a few weeks ago.
We got the campers last week who, you know, we don't even know who
they are and it's very affecting because it's so horrifically
done.
Compare that to Lawrence.
Scarman. you know, which is still affecting and it's still sad, but
I don't, I think these deaths are sadder and they're more palpable
and we've gotten, we can relate to these characters more.
I can't quite put my finger on why.
But I just think that Death, which has always been part of Doctor
Who is just better handled in Under Graham Williams, and it was
under Philip Hedgworth.
Taking a different sort of tech on a few things, we do get a few
sort of dodgy special effects like canine having to cut out the
back of the pavilion to get out.
And you've also got, I think one of the things, you know, Doctor
Who's trying its utmost with the technology, when you've got the
real person playing dandroid and then moments before they get
killed, it cuts to the actual dummy.
Like, you don't mean George, like when...
Yeah, if you get spear and that sort of thing.
Like, like these days it'd be seamless, but of course, back then
it's like, you know, one moment where they act in the next, it's
like, well, you know, and then poor Neville Jason has to sit there
with a spear coming out of it for the next seat.
I mean, it's not that big a deal.
This isn't a story that really has very much in the way of special
effects.
There's a little bit of split screen for the robot replicas, but
not very much.
And the split screen's well done.
Yeah, yeah.
There's one example of the split screen going wrong.
And that's some, in one of the last few scenes when Romana and
Strella are doing cross ditch together, which is wonderful.
And you've just got Costa and still semiconscious in the corner.
And it's just Rimada, practising cross stitch.
It's so Avengers.
But when the doctor bursts in, the door actually disappears
because it goes...
It goes over the other side of the screen.
It's hard to see because, you know, it's brown on brown, but have
a look at it next time you watch it.
The other kind of main special effect in this, the swords and
crossbows, the energy weapons, and I personally feel that the
crossbows are influenced by Star Wars, because Chewbacca has his
bowcaster, which is an electronic crossbow.
Well, I think an electronic sword. you know what I mean?
Even though the whole idea is different from a lightsaber.
There's no way that wasn't, you know, a lift from Star Wars as
well.
And I mean, Star Wars is kind of trying to do that mythical
swashbuckling thing, but in a science fiction context.
Do you know what I mean?
So even the idea, not the tone in any way or the way it's realised
but certainly that idea.
That's something the Doctor Who's done before and done very
recently, even in something like underworld, you know, where you
take a traditional kind of story and give it a science fiction
twist.
So, you know, it's the sort of thing that both Doctor Who and Star
Wars do.
I think where it's most successful is.
That's science fiction twist.
Unlike underworld where they try to make every element science
fiction.
It's all science fiction.
This is mostly a fantasy story.
Take out the special effect shots of the sword flashes and the
Bocast flashes.
They're the only sci-fi elements along with the androids.
Even that in a fantasy setting, you could just translate that as
another way to create a magical replica.
And I think that really helps because it gives the story its own
identity.
And it's something that we will start running into problems with
in 2 years' time during season 18, where some would argue that the
magic is taken out of the show in exchange for perhaps too much
science.
Oh, we're going to have an interesting season 18.
I'm not saying which side of that I'm on, but that is another part
of why I love this story so much because it is so unashamedly
fantasy, you know, at no point does the script trying to apologise
for the heavy fantasy influence or the heavy novel influence.
It takes someone else's idea, certainly, from the Anthony Hope
novel, but it adds new and interesting things and it twists parts
of the story in a way that loads of good Doctor Who does.
And I think it also comes down to the ending, the fact that Count
Grendel gets away to fight another day, which often doesn't
happen.
Next time, I shall not be so ledient to you. so wonderful.
That scene is so funny and it's such a brilliant final line.
He's a great... he's such a great villain.
And you know, he has such glee in torturing them.
You know, like having all those people in his prison.
He just thinks that's terrific.
You know, he's tremendously good humoured and he is kind of
horrible, but I kind of secretly root for him a bit.
I think he's awesome.
I think possibly what helps the story so much is that everyone
wants to be Errol Flynn in it.
Yeah, yeah.
But I'm glad the villain wants Fiero.
The best thing.
I think.
We were talking about the sword fighting.
It's so good.
And I love the way it starts out with Tom being the fool.
He's facing the wrong way.
He's facing there away.
Romana comes up and gives the best sorts, but on Tara.
Do you know what you're doing?
he just kind of goes, oh, well.
And Mary Temps just looks between them.
Okay, good luck.
And you still don't know by the end of the sword fight, whether
the doctor's clowning around at the beginning was real or not
because he clowns around, and then there's this look of
realisation on his face, and you don't know if that's, oh, that's
his fighting style.
This is how he fights.
And then he goes savagely on the attack and it gives Tom the
chance to do something that we are seeing less of these days, which
it gives him a chance to get really angry and cross.
And I like it when it's not happening very often because of course
you know, pyramids of Mars, he's crossed all the way through.
Yeah, but here he just kind of gets cross at the end when the
castle's being invaded and he says, listen, Grendon, listen.
And it's so powerful because the whole story's been a fun camp
romp.
But, you know, the villains being punished now and people are
about to be married to each other and then murdered hideously, what
have you.
So the doctor has to become serious and nasty and whatnot.
But then, straight away, he spins on it and, Grendel, you forgot
your hat.
I love that, sir.
Actually, the sword fight.
The Switch point fight is a little bit undramatic at the beginning
because they make an inexplicable choice not to score, like not to
give it any music.
I really like that, though, because it adds to that whole thing of
what the hell is the doctor doing?
That's what you're thinking.
And then when he starts fighting back, you see, I think, the 1st
genuine look of admiration from Romana, like, you know, she's sort
of humoured him previously.
But now, you know, he's not looking at her and she is looking
absolutely impressed.
She is impressed.
We get to move the fight outside into a sort of corridor on
location, which is kind of dark and then Dudley pulls out all the
stops and gives it proper swashbuckling music, which is really
fun.
And then, of course, he defeats him and why was he supposed to be
good, you know?
He's the best swordsman on Tara.
So I think that that really works.
I think Dudley is a good fit for this kind of story.
Yeah, absolutely.
And he's got that lovely sort of...
I think it's almost a loot instrumentation very often.
And then we get the end of the story.
You know, Romana's lost the segment, but the doctor's like, I
found it.
You were very careless, you know.
I didn't catch one fish.
And then they leave K9, Paul K9, sat on the boat, floating
plaintively calling out.
It's the comedy ending without Mary on location.
Because only Tom Piers over the top of the thing.
And the thing is, it's a comedy ending that actually seems to work
a bit because a lot of the comedy endings last season, despite the
fact that Tom's a very funny person, Louise Jameson's a very funny
person.
A lot of the comedy endings last season didn't really work.
They weren't really funny.
This one is quite funny because you've had that whole banter
between the doctor and canine, like, I am familiar with Bates
Masters.
But I like the fact that it's, it ends, but you don't seem saying
goodbye to people.
Like it's, you know, they're still there and they have to get
canine where it's not just like quickly, let's get into TARDIS
goodbye.
You know, it's open-ended enough to know, well, that's where the
adventure ends and they...
I just like the fact that he's in long shot in the distance.
So canine's really tiny in the shot and he's calling out and then
you know, like he feels a bit sad about being left behind.
I think it's just terrifically sweet.
I think as Brendan said, David Fisher does use canine quite
effectively in all of his stories.
People complain about, you know, the dog getting them out of
trouble, but, you know, the dog only comes into it part of the way
through, and I think he uses him very well.
I think the last thing to comment on is, you're alive, and you're
real, and we have a kiss between Reinhardt, and Strella.
Strella.
You know, it's all right in the end.
Hours that I could go on for this story, that is all the time we
have for the androids of Tara.
We will be back next week with the Space Pirates Mark II, AKA The
Power of Kroll.
Until then, you can find us on Flightthrough Entirety.com.
Todd is looking aghast at my comparison.
Very harsh.
I think Kroll is underrated.
No, it is, but I've got a checklist.
Until then, you can find us online at flightthroughentirety.com
flight through entirety on Facebook and iTunes and FTE podcast on
Twitter.
We have 5 commentaries up now on Bondfinger.com, Bondfinger on
Facebook and iTunes and Bondfinger cast on Twitter.
Until next time, may all your Android replicas not spark and give
themselves away.
Thank you very much and good night.
Good night.
See you soon.
That was Flight to Entirety.
Todd BLB, Nathan Bottonley and Brendan Jones.
This episode, join Crawford with a little pencil moustache, was
recorded on the 4th of October 2015.
The next episode will be released on January the 3rd, 2016.
Incidentally, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you
at home will save you some roast Thai and Woodbeast.
Look at how happy you are, Brandon.