It's five years to the day since my father died. I'm not mentioning this to gain any kind of sympathy, but in order to offer another example of how deeply Doctor Who is engrained in my life and psyche.
Having been to visit him earlier in the afternoon, I could see my dad was in pretty bad shape, and I was kind of half-expecting some development later in the day. So to kill some time whilst waiting, I continued watching some rather special downloads I had started some time previously.
So I'd just got to the bit in Episode 6 of "The Web of Fear" when the paranoia's ramping up, and Jon Rollason reappears as Harold Chorley after a few episodes of absence. It's a really great scene, and one of my personal favourites.
It's also the point when I took the phonecall that informed me that my dad was gone forever.
So, it appears that I was watching Doctor Who as my father lay dying. But at least it was one of my favourite stories, and one of which I never tire. (Well, I never tire of any of them, but you know what I mean).
I've mentioned previously (and I can't be bothered to link to the entries in question just now, sorry) how Serial QQ was probably responsible for my initial fascination with the London Underground system. And I still get a kick from looking at an Underground map and seeing names like Goodge Street and Charing Cross even today. (Even though the Charing Cross mentioned in the story is now Embankment, trivia fans).
And speaking of maps, why does a military operation use the iconic schematic of the Tube system, instead of the somewhat rather different map that actually gives the genuine layout of tunnels and stations?
Just saying, is all...
For a programme which has time travel as a central premise, Doctor Who in what we now seem to have to call its "Classic" phase fought incredibly shy of portraying its possible ramifications. (Of course, the modern reboot decided to rectify this "mistake" to a tedious degree by getting all touchy-feely and timey-wimey at the drop of an Archimandrite's hat).
Seriously, it's worth thinking about Travers for a moment. In "The Abominable Snowmen", he wasn't exactly likeable at times, and the same goes in "The Web of Fear". But with more than forty years between the two stories, we see for the first time a character who has aged. Travers is now an old man, has somehow secured some kind of scientific kudos, is probably battling the onset of dementia, and has been drafted in as some kind of reluctant advisor to a reluctant military.
And he has a daughter, and quite a hot one at that.
The tragedy of Travers is that he is forced to encounter three acquaintances who've hardly aged a day since he last saw them forty years ago. The scene where he meets Jamie and Victoria could have been one of the most moving that Proper Who had to offer if it hadn't been played for laughs, and (like Hartnell's heart-rending soliloquy at the end of "The Massacre") one of the least mentioned.
The other really great thing about "The Web of Fear" is that it sets up the familiar yet effective conceit that there is a possessed traitor in the tunnels, and really makes you work to try and figure it out. Anybody who encounters the fungus and survives is an immediate suspect (the comedy Welshman), as is anyone who wanders off for a length of time and later turns up alive (Chorley).
Fantastic direction from Douglas Camfield, some really great use of stock music especially in the first episode, and the sets are so good even London Transport thought they'd been filming illegally in the Underground.
All together now... "Nobody destroys Julius Silverstein's collection! Nobody! No!"
And speaking of maps, why does a military operation use the iconic schematic of the Tube system, instead of the somewhat rather different map that actually gives the genuine layout of tunnels and stations?
Just saying, is all...
As a quick off-the-cuff sequel, "The Web of Fear" is remarkable. Much like the Cybermen did on their speedy return, the Yeti get a makeover that has both good points and not-so-good points. The Great Intelligence is back too, and the whole concept of it is still as fucking creepy as ever. London's been evacuated (a first in Proper Who?) and the army are trying to contain a weird fungus that is engulfing the Underground system and thinking it would be jolly helpful to have a United Nations quango to deal with this sort of thing.
All well and good, but the masterstroke here is the inclusion of the character of Professor Travers.
For a programme which has time travel as a central premise, Doctor Who in what we now seem to have to call its "Classic" phase fought incredibly shy of portraying its possible ramifications. (Of course, the modern reboot decided to rectify this "mistake" to a tedious degree by getting all touchy-feely and timey-wimey at the drop of an Archimandrite's hat).
Seriously, it's worth thinking about Travers for a moment. In "The Abominable Snowmen", he wasn't exactly likeable at times, and the same goes in "The Web of Fear". But with more than forty years between the two stories, we see for the first time a character who has aged. Travers is now an old man, has somehow secured some kind of scientific kudos, is probably battling the onset of dementia, and has been drafted in as some kind of reluctant advisor to a reluctant military.
And he has a daughter, and quite a hot one at that.
The tragedy of Travers is that he is forced to encounter three acquaintances who've hardly aged a day since he last saw them forty years ago. The scene where he meets Jamie and Victoria could have been one of the most moving that Proper Who had to offer if it hadn't been played for laughs, and (like Hartnell's heart-rending soliloquy at the end of "The Massacre") one of the least mentioned.
The other really great thing about "The Web of Fear" is that it sets up the familiar yet effective conceit that there is a possessed traitor in the tunnels, and really makes you work to try and figure it out. Anybody who encounters the fungus and survives is an immediate suspect (the comedy Welshman), as is anyone who wanders off for a length of time and later turns up alive (Chorley).
Fantastic direction from Douglas Camfield, some really great use of stock music especially in the first episode, and the sets are so good even London Transport thought they'd been filming illegally in the Underground.
All together now... "Nobody destroys Julius Silverstein's collection! Nobody! No!"
No comments:
Post a Comment