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Doctor Who Myths and Monsters
Dr Who – The Horns of Nimon
Originally having aired in four parts in
late 1979 and early 1980, The Horns of Nimon is one of Tom
Baker’s most enjoyable later outings as the time-travelling Doctor, and
though it could by no means be said to have aged well in a traditional
sense it still has plenty to offer the present-day viewer.
Borrowing loosely from Greek mythology, the
Nimon serial finds the Doctor battling a fearsome horned beast,
negotiating the labyrinth in which it dwells, piloting several
spacecraft, exploring crystals as an alternate power source and, despite
an array of pressing concerns, cracking wise and hamming it up at every
available opportunity.
The Horns of Nimon is one of the
Time Lord’s more campy outings. The special effects are amateurish to
the point of being childlike, and footage of the various warships
negotiating their way through space are the late-1970s equivalent of Ed
Wood’s hubcap UFOs being dangled over miniature sets on a length of
string. Despite this and the occasional over the top performance the
offering is still satisfying, and the principal villains, the Nimon,
don’t look all that bad to modern sensibilities. Lalla Ward is
also effective as the Doctor’s assistant, despite her oddly taciturn
demeanour, and overall this one has plenty to offer fans who grew up
with the series as well as casual viewers of seventies sci-fi kitsch.
The DVD release is also highly impressive.
Picture quality is strong throughout, coming across as fairly sharp
despite the modest budget of the thirty year old series, and the special
features are first rate. Principally there is a lively and informative
audio commentary with Lalla Ward, writer Anthony Read and actress Janet
Ellis, and also on offer are an interview with Read, a 30-minute
featurette, music demos, a photo gallery and more. It’s a spirited
outing and a solid package, and one that more than does justice to this
lesser-known entry in the extensive Dr Who oeuvre.
Film: 6.5
Video: 6.5
Audio: 6.5
Special Features: 8.0
Overall: 7.0
Dr Who – The Time Monster
This six-parter was originally broadcast in
mid-1972 and stars Jon Pertwee, the third incarnation of the Doctor.
Though not as well known as his successor Tom Baker, Pertwee still put
in a number of well-regarded turns as the Time Lord in a run that lasted
four years, though The Time Monster is perhaps not the high point
of his tenure. Dressed like a foppish seventeenth-century seafarer, a
doddering Pertwee minces about in search of The Master, the renegade
Time Lord who is the Doctor’s arch enemy. His companion this time
around is Jo Grant (Katy Manning), who puts in a more solid performance
than she is given credit for and if nothing else provides a more
aesthetically pleasing counter to the gnomish Pertwee.
The storyline incorporates a jumble of
varying mythologies, as was a common feature of the series at the time,
but the modest budget means such themes aren’t always convincingly
rendered. Shots ostensibly taking place amongst the lost isles of
Atlantis have production values on par with a kindergarten stage play,
the already long story contains several superfluous dream sequences and
a number of the supporting cast are stiffly unconvincing. Furthermore
at no point could the story be said to be really compelling, and even
stalwart fans of Dr Who are disinclined to tout the merits of this silly
outing.
Despite having been systematically restored
the picture quality is still exceedingly soft, but the 2-channel audio
track is respectable and there are a couple of decent extras to boot.
Principle among these are a short featurette on the restoration process,
a look at the ‘science’ of The Time Monster and an audio
commentary with producer Barry Letts and production manager Marion
McDougall, moderated by obscure British comedian and Dr Who fan Tobey
Haddock. I thought the most noteworthy bonus, however, was an optional
subtitle track that flashed up interesting titbits about the script,
background and filming process every few seconds. I hadn’t come across
anything like it before but it seems like an economical and efficient
way to impart insider info to viewers.
For my money this lengthy feature is not
one of the pinnacles of the Doctor’s ninth season, but much effort has
been made with both the restoration process and the bonus content.
The Time Monster itself is perhaps notable only for its campy
schlock value, but the package overall is highly worthwhile and is far
and away the best that this particular outing is ever likely to look.
Film: 4.0
Video: 4.0
Audio: 6.0
Special Features: 7.5
Overall: 5.5
Dr Who – Underworld
The final entry in the ABC’s new Dr Who –
Myths trilogy is Underworld, a four-part serial that originally
aired in early 1978.
Starring Tom Baker in the title role and
the comely Louise Jameson as his wildcat companion, Underworld
revolves around the Doctor’s attempts to save the last remnants of the
Minyan race. A small group of Minyans have been travelling the cosmos
for the past 100,000 years in search of the fragmentary race banks that
will save their species from extinction. They are running out of time,
fuel and the ability to regenerate, but luckily the Doc and his crew
board the Minyan vessel in the nick of time. The tweed-clad Time Lord
promptly connects his annoying metallic dog K-9 to the ship’s computer
by means of two of those black bulldog clips (seriously) then settles
into an armchair to laconically guide the vessel through an asteroid
field with about as much urgency as a narcoleptic sloth nibbling a
Cecropia leaf. From there on the small group need only defeat myriad
enemies who populate the core of a newly formed planet, rescue the
Minyan
With all its talk of quests and gods
walking among men, not to mention its title, the links to Greek
mythology are much more starkly laid out in Underworld. Several
of the characters even have named based on figures that featured
prominently in the stories of antiquity. As is the case with the other
two films in this set the device works well, and Underworld,
despite being glossed over by most long term fans, is actually one of
the most enjoyable entries in the Baker-as-Who canon. The ancient links
between the Time Lords and the Minyans is explored here, and everything
about the serial, from the plot to the costumes, positively reeks with
ambition.
Of course this is 1970s Dr Who, and
budgetary constraints as ever ensure that the special effects are
appalling. The sets and props are the usual shoddy array of wobbly
cardboard painted in various metallic hues, and the CSO effects are
awful; shimmery and poorly choreographed. In addition to being an
irritant the mincing K-9 also looks like he was constructed by a blind
third grader. But the exterior shots of the ship travelling through
space are a cut about by the standards of the era, many of the costumes
are both imaginative and striking and the serial for the most part moves
at a fairly brisk clip, clocking in at under 90 minutes.
A couple of interesting extras such as an
audio commentary and featurettes are included, and both picture and
audio quality are strong, especially when compared to some of the other
Dr Who outings of the period. One of the more underrated and
underappreciated efforts of Baker’s reign, Underworld might not
be a classic, but it’s certainly plenty of fun.
Film: 5.5
Video: 6.0
Audio: 6.5
Special Features: 6.0
Overall: 6.0 |
