#21-25

Season 2, episode 36 - 3rd July 1965

[id: Steven and the Doctor stand outside the Tardis, Steven holding a horned helmet that the Doctor has just handed him. The Doctor looks at him and says “What do you mean, maybe? What do you think it is? A space helmet for a cow?” /end id]

Ah, this so episode was the source of everyone misquoting the Tardis’s initials as “dimensions” instead of “dimension.” It was all Vicki’s fault.

Fun: 5/5, this serial generally strikes a better balance between the comedy and the drama than The Romans did, and I already love that story. In particular, the way that most of the humour is driven by the Tardis team’s interactions with each other and the environment, rather than being an inherent part of the world for this episode, works really well, and there’s a reason that style is often the default for the show from this point onwards.

Production: 4/5, the historical setting is surprisingly good here, but there’s not really much to say about that.

Pacing: 5/5

Character Writing & Use: 4/5, from the very first scene, I love Steven and Vicki’s dynamic so much, and this story primarily acts as a showcase of that pairing while Dr Who does things to do with the plot and the Monk elsewhere.

Depth: 3/5

Not Ageing Horribly: 4/5, a historical set in England means less opportunity for massive amounts of racism, however it also allows for no people of colour at all, which, given this is the 1960′s, is probably good, but worth pointing out.

Norway - norwegian fuckboi angel tiiiiiiiime~

Netherlands - the beat’s good, the chorus is nice, that dancer there is just wow, but I just can’t get into the flow of this song ;; it doesn’t flow??

Italy - oh no, he’s hot. They’re all hot. Oh no it’s good. *Such* a cheeky edge, omigod the bad boy, raspy italian vocals I can’t-, WOMAN BASSIST ALERT <3

Sweden - oh look it’s their 100th “cute heartbreaker boi” act C’MOOOOOOOOOOOON sorry kid I can’t judge you fairly your country’s made you a dime a fucken dozen

Edit: I can’t math XD

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Season 1, episode 5 - 21st December 1963

[id: the Doctor, Susan Foreman, and Barbara Wright cautiously huddle a few steps away as Ian Chesterton, hand over his face and reaching over to a box on the floor, prods at the box with a stick /end id]

New serial! This episode focuses almost exclusively on the Tardis team, with no other cast appearing. It really sets the template for a lot of classic who “episode 1″ structures, where the characters arrive in a mysterious location and just kinda wander around for a bit until the monster shows up at the end as the cliffhanger. I mean, it’s a really good cliffhanger, and it’s not this episode’s fault that it got copied a bunch of times.

The focus on the characters means we do get a good sense of how they’ll operate in situations like this from now on - Susan is more gentle but not necessarily trusted by Dr Who, who will cause problems on purpose just for his curiosity, which causes him to be distrusted by Ian, who will be the one to put himself in the firing line for any possible threat especially protecting Barbara, who is more empathetic towards Susan and acts as a mediator between Ian and Dr Who.

Is it an entertaining watch: 4/5, it’s got a good atmosphere, but there are moments where it feels like it’s just waiting around to fill the timeslot.

Does the production hold up: 5/5, yes! The design on the Dalek city is fantastic, and some of the effects themselves are surprisingly convincing for 1963!

Does it use its time well: 4/5, it does suffer a little from the “entire episode before the monster shows up” problem, but enough happens in it that I wasn’t checking my watch waiting for the cameraman to wave a plunger at Jaqueline Hill.

Are the characters consistent and well-used: 4/5, the focus is almost entirely on the central cast, and like I said before, their interactions are really well defined in this episode especially.

Is there anything actually going on under the surface: 3/5, the idea of nuclear devastation will become a bit more of a focus in the later episodes of the serial

Does it avoid being a bit dodge with its politics: 4/5, I can’t really think of any moments that were particularly bad

Season 2, episode 1 - 31st October 1964

[id: Ian, Barbara, and Susan struggle to close the Tardis doors from the inside. Through the crack in the door, an empty grey void is visible. /end id]

I think it’s really strange that this early in the show, they were already throwing around the weird ideas like “what if the main cast shrink down and have to unshrink themselves.” Something about that concept really feels like the sort of thing that would only come up when they were really struggling for ideas. Oh also I renamed all the sections here so that they’re less wordy.

Entertainment: 4/5, despite the strange concept, this is actually a really, really fun episode, and I was not expecting this serial to be one of my favourites already.

Production: 4/5, again, this surprised me, but the props and set design that they use to convey the size of the characters are so good!

Pacing: 5/5, the opening of this story feels like something out of the modern show. It’s fast-paced, exciting, and pretty much immediate, and although the episode then transitions to the format of exploring their surroundings, having some excitement at the start is a fantastic way to begin the season opener.

Character Writing & Use: 4/5

Depth: 2/5, the environmentalist stuff will get more focus in the next few episodes, for this one we’re mostly exploring the concept of what if Dr Who was very very small, insert joke about various Dr Who actors’ heights here.

Not ageing horribly: 4/5, that being said, the DN-6 plotline is very openly pushing an environmentalist message about insecticides, even if it never quite actually digs into the nuances of those arguments.