The Final Entry

It's time to say goodbye to the blog. After much deliberation, I've decided to "retire" Blogger Who. I kinda got tired of having to watch an episode and think of things to write about, like it was an assignment or something. I just wanted to watch Doctor Who and enjoy it, and getting back to the simple task of viewing will help me do just that. Looking back over my entries, I really didn't have all that much to say anyway. It's been fun, but time to move on. Especially in light of moving in with my fiancee, the upcoming wedding, life in general is busier. I will miss you, Blogger Who, but you will live on in our hearts... OK, well, perhaps not. Anyway, take care everyone, at least those of you who dropped by. See you elsewhere!

Invasion of the Dinosaurs - Episode 2

Dang it, Blogger is crapping out again, so I'm gonna "highlight" things a bit. Good things: Mike Yates (trusted UNIT soldier for several seasons now) turns out to be a traitor; Peter Miles and Martin Jarvis as the evil scientists; Sarah looking so pretty. Bad things: The terrible, terrible job of inserting the dinosaurs into the shots, it is extremely poorly done; the cliffhanger is not scary, considering the T-Rex that's attacking the Doctor is about as scary as the stuffed Eeyore doll I've got in the other room.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs - Episode 1

Or rather, "Invasion" Episode 1, according to the opening titles. To keep the dinosaurs a secret. Can't say I blame them, after seeing them. I'd want to keep them hidden as best I could, too. They really do look terrible, they absolutely live down to their reputation. The opening scenes of a deserted London are very effective, however. Very reminiscent of "The Dalek Invasion of Earth", especially considering it's in black and white. Yes, this episode marks the very last episode of black and white, from here on out it's full colour all the way. I also like the anguished look on the Doctor's face when he and Sarah discover a dead body. The Brigadier looks more and more like Peter Sellers' Group Captain Mandrake from "Dr. Strangelove" every day. Benton and Yates are back, too. The whole martial law aspect is done very well. Shame about the crappy dinosaur effects. And the cliffhanger bit with the Doctor seeing one of the dinosaurs... it'd have been a lot more effective as a cliffhanger had we not already seen a dinosaur attacking about 10 minutes before the episode ends.

The Time Warrior - Episode 4

The Doctor gets to dress up as the robot. Kinda different to see him like that. The effects of the bullets hitting behind the Doctor are done well. The "women's lib" bit with Sarah is a bit forced, but it's well played by Elisabeth Sladen, who is superb in her debut story throughout. Professor Ruebish is a delightful temporary sidekick, would have been interesting to see him carry through as a featured player, but oh well. The climax is great, except for the jarring bit of mismatched stock footage for the explosion.

Thumbs up for this fun travel back in time. Good to see some historical settings again, after such a long time. Sarah Jane Smith hits the ground running in her debut story, and the Sontarans are a great new alien addition to the Doctor Who mythology. Fun story that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The Time Warrior - Episode 3

Still fun. The Doctor joins the good guys against Irongron and Lynx, and gets to play wizard. His smoke effects are well done. His repartee with Sarah is a highlight, as she begins to trust him. Some of the Doctor's famous morals are on display here, for instance when he states he can't leave because he has a responsibility. His refusal to simply kill, only to incapacitate, is another example. Jumping up from his hiding place when Lynx threatens to kill a defenseless scientist is dramatically heroic of him. Sarah looks adorable in her blue and white getup. Rubeish displays some independent know-how and fashions himself an eyeglass. Quite enjoyable.

The Time Warrior - Episode 2

The Sontaran is one of the better-realized creatures in "Doctor Who", especially in this story. The mask is very well fitted to the actor's face, thereby giving the actor more freedom to express himself. Good design. I like Professor Rubeish, the poor blind fellow. He's such a well-meaning soul. We also learn the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey. It only took 11 seasons to find out. Sarah looks rather fetching in her period garb. Again the location work is very effective.

The Time Warrior - Episode 1

Wow, we haven't been to Earth's past in... a long time. Not since "The Abominable Snowmen" with Patrick Troughton. Nice to see. Location work is excellent, what with the forests and castles and such. Lynx, the Sontaran, is a great new alien menace. Though the part about him snatching scientists from the 20th Century is a bit iffy. We also meet Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor's new companion. She's a good match for the Doctor, and their first scene shows a nice
spark of playful rivalry, not merely the "What's that, Doctor?" of Jo Grant. And she's very pretty, too. Boba Fett appears here, too, as Hal the Archer. A good start to the story. And speaking of starts, a new title sequence debuts here, too, along with the famous diamond logo. We'll be seeing that for quite a while now.

The Green Death - Episode 6

A couple more crappy model shots and CSO shots. The BOSS isn't that particularly villainous. The model explosion of Global Chemicals is well done, except that we can see the raised security gate with no sign of the Doctor or UNIT that should be right there.

We bid farewell to Jo Grant, who's been a trusted companion to the Doctor for three seasons now. I was never that fond of Jo, and still aren't even after this marathon. Just never worked for me. The "goodbye" scene is one of the most touching in the series' history, though, I will grant you that.

All in all, a thumbs up for "The Green Death". The one with the maggots has lots more to recommend it, is a bit silly in parts, but overall a good solid story.

The Green Death - Episode 5

Some great fun as the Doctor torments the BOSS with his flippancy and stubbornness. It looks like Jon Pertwee is having fun here. There's some appalling modelwork of Bessie driving across the maggot field, and terrible CSO of the Doctor and Benton in Bessie. Also, the ground outside the cave where Jo and Professor Jones hide does not hide its studio origins well at all. And why are there suddenly some outdoor scenes with the Brigadier and Benton and UNIT at the maggot field that were shot in studio instead of film? Odd. Poor Mike Yates, brainwashed then captured again. The blue crystal of Metebelis 3 shows its power for the first time here, too.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, Blogger keeps crapping out on me, and I've had to keep rewriting this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, Blogger keeps crapping out on me, and I've had to keep rewriting this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, Blogger keeps crapping out on me, and I've had to keep rewriting this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, this is the third time I'm trying to post this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, this is the third time I'm trying to post this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, this is the third time I'm trying to post this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, this is the third time I'm trying to post this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

OK, this is the third time I'm trying to post this, so it's gonna be brief. Sick of typing. Good things in this episode: Shots of the masses of maggots, the destruction of the mine, seeing Mike as an undercover agent. Not so good: the Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady, the "shock" revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is a computer.

The Green Death - Episode 4

At last, the Brigadier gets his reinforcements, and lots of them! Sergeant Benton is back, as is Captain Yates, although Mike is actually working undercover in order to infiltrate Global Chemicals. It's an interesting change of pace to see a UNIT regular in a more espionage-oriented role, I like it. The Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady is a bit weird and silly, but I guess it works to get him into Global Chemicals. The shots of the masses of maggots are very impressive, as is the destruction of the mine. The cliffhanger revelation that the mysterious unseen "BOSS" is actually a computer isn't as much of a shock nowadays as it might have been back when this first aired.

The Green Death - Episode 4

At last, the Brigadier gets some reinforcements. Sergeant Benton is back. As is Captain Yates, though Mike is actually working undercover to infiltrate Global Chemicals. I like that aspect of the script, I don't think we've seen much UNIT undercover work, so it's a nice change of pace. The Doctor dressing up as the milkman and the cleaning lady is a bit weird, but it works to get him inside Global Chemicals, I guess. The revelation that the mysterious "BOSS" is actually a computer isn't enough of a shock to be the cliffhanger, now, is it? Maybe back then, but now it's not as shocking.

The Green Death - Episode 3

Still no sign of other UNIT personnel. Though the Brigadier does mention calling some in. The Doctor and Jo escape from the icky caves. I swear Nick Courtney had a cold during this story, his voice sounds off. Interesting seeing the Doctor almost jealous of Jo's attention to Professor Jones and Professor Jones' attention to Jo. The scene with Fell leaping to his death (was the character name a sick joke?) is rather jarring, not at all like what we're used to in "Doctor Who". Good cliffhanger, as the hatched maggot approaches the unknowing Jo...