Latest / A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast / Talks to Daniel Rawnsley about his choice of Revenge of the Slitheen (2/2)
Transcript
- 0:2213 Bannerman Rd. is where Daniel Rosley lives and it's host to
- 0:28our whole world of adventures. Hello, Daniel.
- 0:31Hello, I'm quite pleased to have moved over to the UK.
- 0:34Suddenly, suddenly, not so far away.
- 0:37Are you ready? Oh, what's going on there?
- 0:43What happened? Sorry that was sorry that was
- 0:47that was Dailymotion going on its own for some reason.
- 0:51It was just playing on its own. It's fine are.
- 0:53You watching episode 2 already? Yeah, I'm so excited.
- 0:57I can't wait. I've totally thrown now.
- 1:00I don't know what I was going to say to you.
- 1:02Revenge, though, I'll start that again.
- 1:05Revenge of the Slovene Part 2. Part 2 These things are
- 1:10two-part. These things come in twos.
- 1:12They do now. We said that the sequence where
- 1:16the Bane attacked Sarah Jane in her house was of, you know,
- 1:20frenetic and exciting. I mean, I've got to dare to say
- 1:24that this whole second episode is is.
- 1:25It's all action, isn't it? Yeah, 30 minutes cases and and,
- 1:31you know that was the well again to go back to to to, you know,
- 1:35to aliens of London. That was the big sort of
- 1:37sticking point I think for a lot of people is seeing these great
- 1:40big, you know, very, very intricately designed Slovene
- 1:44costumes. And then they realize, oh, wait,
- 1:47we've got to put these in chase sequences as well, you know,
- 1:49which they hadn't sort of thought ahead of time.
- 1:51And here I think they, yeah, there's a new adult Slovene
- 1:55costume and a new and a child's Slovene costume, which is just a
- 1:58genius idea to have a baby Slovene.
- 2:02And they kind of, they don't shoot them all in the same scene
- 2:07together, not all the time. So they kind of find clever ways
- 2:10to cut around that, you know? And unlike aliens in London in
- 2:14World War Three, they don't cut between for the time,
- 2:18sophisticated CGI shots of them very fluidly running about the
- 2:23place. And then lifting their arms up
- 2:25like. Going towards the screen like a
- 2:29wobbly duvet. Yeah, it's all, it's all I'd say
- 2:33puppets, but it's all costumes in this, isn't it?
- 2:35Apart from the heads coming out at the end of episode yes, two.
- 2:39I think that was a good move. Well, and.
- 2:41Yeah, and the camera work does a lot of the legwork, I think, in
- 2:45this. In this.
- 2:46Yeah. So it makes those costumes look
- 2:49exciting and, and you know, the Selena very much lend themselves
- 2:53to, to to, I mean, that's what I that's what I loved.
- 2:57It was they were the kind of the, the exciting new monster of
- 3:00Doctor Who series 1. And to see them then be a
- 3:03natural carry over into the Sarah Jane adventures, into kids
- 3:06TV, into CBBC. They've they're such a natural
- 3:10fit for for that sort of program.
- 3:12They do it again with the Judoon, don't they in serious?
- 3:15Yes, yes, a lot of those, sort of some of those monsters from
- 3:18Doctor Who and you. Yeah.
- 3:20And you think, yeah, though that would work?
- 3:22Yeah. The.
- 3:22Jadoon. There's nothing cooler than that
- 3:24Jadoon in the police car. Do you remember?
- 3:27Oh, we will get that. That is one of my favorite.
- 3:29Scenes. Oh, hilarious.
- 3:33Oh, that was great. Oh my God, can you do that whole
- 3:36commentary as a as a Jadoon place?
- 3:38So have a nice day. Quite sexy, actually.
- 3:42Oh, do you know another thing I wanted to highlight before we go
- 3:46in because I will probably forget because like I said, this
- 3:51doesn't skip its sprints is there's a sequence and I was
- 3:55messaging you as I was watching it.
- 3:58Chris Chibnall take notes. All right, there is an
- 4:02exposition scene in this episode.
- 4:04You have to point out. Between all of the regulars,
- 4:08right, where all of the different puzzle pieces that
- 4:11they have been given in episode 1, they put it all together like
- 4:16a beautiful jigsaw puzzle and everybody's chipping in with OK,
- 4:20and this is happening and that's happening.
- 4:21So they must because of this, because of that, Oh my God, it's
- 4:24worldwide. It's in every school, it's all
- 4:26over and and it's so beautifully done.
- 4:29Everybody gets a moment. It's packed full of personality,
- 4:32It's packed full of jokes. It's.
- 4:34Really fast and it tells the plot in a really sophisticated
- 4:38way. I was watching it going, man
- 4:40that is some good right in there.
- 4:42Sophisticated for for Yeah for Yeah for kids TV as well.
- 4:46You know, it wasn't the, you know, 15 minute PowerPoint
- 4:48presentation or for Timeless Children, it was all done in
- 4:52about 30 seconds. And just really, and they do it
- 4:55again with the vinegar when they're trying to figure out,
- 4:58well, what is it that that made him recoil?
- 5:01You know that in the classroom and they're all putting
- 5:03together. Yes, yes, because they don't.
- 5:06Because, because, because I think in it was in World War 3,
- 5:09Christopher Eccleston has to carry off all that exposition
- 5:11himself. And here they say.
- 5:13Narrows it down. Narrows it down, narrows it
- 5:15down, narrows it down. And then in here they kind of
- 5:18share it between all the actors, which is much cleverer, I think.
- 5:22Yeah. Yeah, just great stuff.
- 5:24Well, I'll tell you what, let's let's try and keep up with
- 5:27episode 2 if we can. I'm rather afraid, you know,
- 5:32that the sun may go out before the end of the episode.
- 5:34And now? We will get into that.
- 5:37Typically, you know, I think that that might be the end of
- 5:40the earth. Yes.
- 5:41Well, that is basically, I think that that that estimation, that
- 5:44was it Luke gives us. He's like we've got 32.1 minutes
- 5:47or something. And you think, yeah, that is
- 5:49basically how long we would have if the sun really did go out
- 5:53you. Know sort of constant of all
- 5:55running down the road with one of those squeezy bottles.
- 5:59Oh, man. Hello.
- 6:01Well, should we go and have a look?
- 6:02Yeah. Should we watch the thing?
- 6:04All right, well, you count us. In all right, let me tease tee
- 6:08tee this up OK, so in. Your brave, you know,
- 6:13Dailymotion. Jesus Christ, that is.
- 6:15I know. Notoriously unreliable.
- 6:17Yeah. Yeah.
- 6:18It was basically because because I was worried that the iPlayer
- 6:22might mess up the recording, so yeah.
- 6:26OK. Well, OK, I'm ready if you are
- 6:28all. Right.
- 6:29So in 321 play. Boom, here we go now Mark
- 6:38commented that there was a very long previously on.
- 6:42Yes, but you know, it does all the sort of like relevant plot
- 6:46information, so. Of course, we don't normally
- 6:48have to do this in Doctor Who, do we?
- 6:50Because it's all in one episode. Yes, yes, well, though, yeah.
- 6:53So every I think every Part 2 has to have a recap, doesn't it
- 6:56was? It twice a week, Sarah Jane Or
- 6:58was it? Was it?
- 7:01I don't remember, I think it was once a week but it was every
- 7:04week though I seem to remember. Did you see in that equation
- 7:08there was RTD and two? No.
- 7:13It's the future I. Did not see.
- 7:16That oh actually I did think as well you know when he finds that
- 7:21empty space he figures out hang on a minute this corridor is is
- 7:24too long for the space that's here and he finds that it
- 7:28reminded me of sick you're deaf he's.
- 7:30Had usually of death, isn't it? Yeah.
- 7:33Yeah. Oh, do you think anyone does
- 7:35fear better than Elizabeth Slayton?
- 7:36Do you see her there? She's terrible.
- 7:38Yeah. She looks scared there.
- 7:39Yeah. I'll be more scared of the big
- 7:43woman eating the sandwich, you know, than the Slovene.
- 7:47Oh, here we go. Call the tax.
- 7:53I am the child, that's it. It starts literally run and we
- 8:05don't stop running for the whole fucking episode.
- 8:09It's funny the way he runs to the little the little Sabine.
- 8:14Oh, God, come on, boy. Oh my God.
- 8:16He's just went to grab Luke. He's a predator.
- 8:19Get away from him, Stranger danger.
- 8:22Oh no, he's just Levine. And she uses perfume against
- 8:27them, doesn't she? Oh, she's a gold.
- 8:30Yes, I love your your smell. Positively fragrant.
- 8:32And then you know, she throws the whole thing at her.
- 8:35Oh my God, the way she practices that Sonic lipstick, man, so
- 8:39camp. She's that straight down.
- 8:42I think she was really pleased that she got given that
- 8:44actually, as a sort of like her version of the Sonic
- 8:47screwdriver. Oh no, look, they're locked in
- 8:49like school reunion. Yes, exactly.
- 8:52There is a funny bit later on where they get away and they
- 8:55shut the doors against the Savine with the Sonic lipstick
- 8:58and then you have to savine like banging on the glass window with
- 9:01its claw. You.
- 9:04Could smash that to pieces. What they need is K9 in a car to
- 9:09come smashing through the doors and let.
- 9:11Well, we don't have K9 this episode.
- 9:12We do have Mr. Smith. You wait till he comes out the
- 9:17wall, it goes on for it. All the time, yeah.
- 9:26Oh, this is brilliant. Where he he he gets out.
- 9:29What was it? Yes, Axe body.
- 9:30Well, it's not Axe body spray. It's Wolverine body spray.
- 9:33Pure masculine action. He goes, I need something that
- 9:39smells strong and Luke went a skunk.
- 9:44Luke Rand, you are the funniest. I didn't realise the first time
- 9:47round how funny Luke was, but I've really enjoyed him I think.
- 9:51It's sort of like, yeah, his, his sort of naivete is, is just
- 9:56brilliant. Look at this.
- 9:59You see they're floppy claws as they went running.
- 10:01Yeah. Oh, here she goes.
- 10:03She goes, yeah, this, yeah, this is, she gets them out.
- 10:06This is where she gets them out. And then, oh, you're saying they
- 10:08could have just smashed the window?
- 10:09Yeah, yeah. Like literally, they come, they
- 10:11come round and then there's a shot as they leave and he's just
- 10:14like, there he goes and. Very gently as well.
- 10:19Don't break those glasses, all right?
- 10:24Yeah, he's barely trying. Oh bless.
- 10:27Oh, that's the other funny thing is yeah, Daddy, I wanted to kill
- 10:31them. Oh, you'll kill them later.
- 10:33Look, that's the main kid even sort of walks along with a
- 10:36stroppy sort of way. Yeah, yeah, he looks so
- 10:39petulant. This actor, man, he must have
- 10:42thought, what the fuck am I doing here?
- 10:43These two green aliens. There's a great shot later on
- 10:48because they're meant to be brothers, these two, the two
- 10:50adults. And so there's a great shot
- 10:52where he's got the Savina's, got his claw around the guy's
- 10:55shoulders, and they're sort of like walking like.
- 10:58Oh, it's a fallow angle one as well.
- 11:00I think so, yeah. Yeah.
- 11:05So, darling, how was work today? Well, what a great slimy aliens
- 11:11claw around me shoulders, you know.
- 11:15So Maria does the The Sarah Jane thing of trying to shoo him away
- 11:21and he's like, oh, I could just go to the police.
- 11:23I'm going to say it exactly the same way I did an invasion of
- 11:26the Bain. Right, Clyde?
- 11:27Fuck off home, all right, and leave us.
- 11:29There he goes. Oh yeah, it's going.
- 11:33So that's ridiculous. I mean, you could take a
- 11:38screenshot of that. Everything for love about the
- 11:42Sarah. Jane, that should be the iPlayer
- 11:44screenshot for the episode. Yeah, why do you love their
- 11:47faces with the sort of chubby cheeks, The Slovene?
- 11:52Yeah, the kind of giant babyface and those those costumes look so
- 11:55good that they've used them basically in every promotional
- 11:59material for the Slovene since. So all the big finished covers.
- 12:03I think the Aliens of London Target novel that's coming out
- 12:06soon that's got a baby Slovene on the front somewhere.
- 12:09I mean, they were just everywhere, wouldn't they?
- 12:11They did the Slovene in two books, didn't they?
- 12:14As well? The Slovene excursion was and
- 12:17the monsters inside as well. That's the only book I think
- 12:21that got it's plot details actually in an episode right
- 12:25Just this year. Just this year and they
- 12:27mentioned the Blatherine I think will turn up later in the Sarah
- 12:30Jane adventure. That's Miriam Barker leaves and
- 12:32Simon Callow playing those two. Just you wait.
- 12:36Oh, it's very funny. Oh, here we go, Right.
- 12:38Clyde's finally in the attic. Yeah.
- 12:42And yeah, that's the other thing.
- 12:43He comes out with all these sort of really sarcastic asides all
- 12:46the time. Did you hear Sarah Jane?
- 12:48Then just shut up, all right? I'm busy and you're not
- 12:50important. All right, love.
- 12:52Yeah, again, it's that sort of like that, that thing of her
- 12:57being a very guarded person. There's that brittle side to her
- 13:00that that she's kind of must have developed since school re,
- 13:05you know, having to, you know, all these things and she can't
- 13:08share them with anyone. And so when she had, when she
- 13:10is, oh, here he goes. I'm sorry, He's, he's got like
- 13:13extra jets of gas coming out of the wall, Mr. Smith.
- 13:18In Clyde's React, Clyde's reaction.
- 13:20Even though Maria was sort of like hiding her face as all The
- 13:23Jets of hacked gas with hitting her.
- 13:27Now, watch, this is the scene where they figure it all out.
- 13:31Yeah, yeah, yeah. So they Mr. Smith brings up all
- 13:33the locations of the different schools and then they realise
- 13:36it's all around the world and they just put it all.
- 13:39And that's why they're using the resistance.
- 13:41And that's why it smells like that.
- 13:42And that's why the foods going off.
- 13:45So yeah, all the pieces kind of click and paste just as the
- 13:48scale kind of expands as well. In fact, this is so Buffy.
- 13:53The speed of the dialogue, the gags and the fact that it's
- 13:56telling the plot, this is this is what put Buffy on the map, is
- 13:59this sort of scene so. And RTT did say he wanted a bit
- 14:04of that in Dobs. Who didn't he?
- 14:05Yeah, it's true. That's true.
- 14:07Buffy at the school setting as well.
- 14:08This is basically Buffy. It is a bit Buffy, isn't it?
- 14:11Yeah, yeah. Here we go, linking all the
- 14:16different railways around the world.
- 14:19Yeah. Well then you realise, my God,
- 14:21it's on a global scale and then we know it's serious because
- 14:24Trinity Wells turns up. The prophet of doom, she.
- 14:28Goes she goes, we don't know how long the power is going to last
- 14:32and suddenly all the lights go out.
- 14:34Oh my God, you know what they should have had?
- 14:38They should have had her innovation of the bane going
- 14:41drink it's. Yeah.
- 14:43Oh, that would have been brilliant.
- 14:45Yeah. Well, that's the thing of of
- 14:46sort of, yeah. They get into the trick they'll
- 14:49use in Doctor Who as well. Yeah.
- 14:50Putting the the broadcasts and making the world feel bigger
- 14:54than it actually is even, you know, even even World War Three,
- 14:57which is set in like 3 rooms. And because they use all that
- 15:00news footage, it feels so much larger, you know?
- 15:04Trinity. Well, that's just always.
- 15:06That's a bit of colour, don't you say?
- 15:08Well, I kind of, yeah. You kind of get upset when she's
- 15:10not there. Really.
- 15:11Would she go? For RTD 2, she was.
- 15:13Wasn't she was, yeah, she was one of those sort of an anti
- 15:16vaxxer sort of thing, you know? Was she in?
- 15:18The war between the land and the sea as well.
- 15:21I think she was in the first episode of that.
- 15:23Yeah, positive, possible. There you go, Maria.
- 15:26The candles went out. So that's because the capacitors
- 15:29are charged up. They act as transducers.
- 15:33Yeah. Great.
- 15:35And and at the same time, Clyde sort of wandering around the
- 15:38attic, sort of picking stuff up, becoming accustomed to this new
- 15:42world. What have railways got to do
- 15:44with that? They act as a cooling system for
- 15:47all of the power that's being generated.
- 15:49Oh. You're right, yeah.
- 15:50It's all comes together in this one scene.
- 15:53I just think it's really clever. I like it's a skill to do it at
- 15:58this speed. Yeah.
- 16:00And for it all to make sense, it's the sort of thing that
- 16:02David Tennant did brilliantly, just rattling off plot points.
- 16:06I think the speed is the key because I think if you, if it,
- 16:09if you, if it sounds, you don't want it to be too slow,
- 16:12especially in a kids show where they'll think, oh, this is
- 16:14boring. They're just talking, you know,
- 16:17and here there's sort of this constant sort of movement or
- 16:19reactions or. Yeah, here she is.
- 16:24Oh, here she is. AM M AM NN American National
- 16:29News Network. Los Angeles has gone dark.
- 16:33She goes. And I told him how to do it on
- 16:37the day I was born. Oh, bullshit.
- 16:42Oh, that's, oh, he's having a grand old time, isn't he?
- 16:45So don't. Maybe Aunt Parry, you know,
- 16:48doesn't he go RCA Rome? You know.
- 16:51Howdy, London. Oh, dear.
- 16:57Any weaknesses we can access? Right.
- 16:58Come on, Daniel. We've got to figure out how to
- 17:00defeat these Slovenes. Oh, yes, yes.
- 17:03And then they, I think they do that as they go down the stairs,
- 17:05just about they're about to leave them.
- 17:08They're about to leave the the the the house, aren't they?
- 17:12That was the best line in the whole thing.
- 17:14He goes, let's have a high school, you, a High School
- 17:17Musical moment, a group hug or sort it all out.
- 17:20And is he taking the piss out of vaginal debate?
- 17:22Remember, we did like that, but didn't we?
- 17:23Yeah, yeah, I think that's the thing.
- 17:25He's he's got no time for the sort of the hand wringing that
- 17:29you kind of see sometimes in, in, in Doctor Who as well, where
- 17:32you think, Oh, well, you know, we've got to understand the
- 17:35aliens and it's like, no, let's flipping blow them up, blow up
- 17:38the school. We even bomb them.
- 17:39He. Says yeah, bomb this, let's bomb
- 17:41the school, which I think is a line you could not get away with
- 17:44today. Oh, for the love of Clom, he
- 17:47just said. Oh, and he's.
- 17:51He's the one who can carry off the the long the name of the
- 17:54sledine planet Rexacoricum, A fellow pit warrior that.
- 17:58Was great calcium based life forms right?
- 18:04Narrows it down. And right as he's about to give
- 18:07them the answer, that's when there's another power car, isn't
- 18:09there? Which is like perfect timing.
- 18:15And then it cuts to him. The Prime Minister's promise the
- 18:18blackouts will not affect the UK.
- 18:19Lights go out. Oh, thank you, Prime Minister.
- 18:25You didn't need that scene. But it's just there to cut off.
- 18:28Cut the two exposition scenes. So there's something in between
- 18:32them. Well, yeah, Yes, exactly.
- 18:34Yeah, Yeah, exactly. You spread out.
- 18:35You spread it out over several scenes.
- 18:38It's like Gareth Roberts hadn't had he written for Doctor Who at
- 18:42this point. Yeah, he wrote for the
- 18:44Shakespeare code, didn't he? About this time, though.
- 18:46About at the same time. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- 18:49Oh, but he'd written TV, hadn't he?
- 18:50He dumped soaps and things like Coronation Street.
- 18:53I think he knew about the speed of, you know, and dialogue and.
- 18:57Yeah, yes, this is when they're literally about to go out the
- 19:01door and that's when Clyde mentions, oh, I had my cold chip
- 19:04sandwich. And because, you know, there was
- 19:07what sought and vintager in there and and they, they, they
- 19:11go through salt and think, no, it's not salt.
- 19:13And then they they think, oh, vinegar, acetic acid.
- 19:17It's so, I mean, and they're trying to figure out how to to
- 19:20murder a load of aliens. What kids would love this?
- 19:25Oh, just great. Oh, do you know what I love?
- 19:27Tank Fastix. You just mentioned Tank Fastix.
- 19:29You ever tried them? Oh no.
- 19:32They're Haribo sours. Well, that's the line that
- 19:36Celine ABBA, isn't they? You know, oh human children, all
- 19:39Haribo and pubescence or whatever it is.
- 19:43Did you see that there? She put the camera inside the
- 19:46cupboard and shot Sarah Jane opening the doors, opening the
- 19:49Yeah, you need to do that. You didn't.
- 19:54Time for the coup de grace, the Denimon.
- 19:56The coup de grace which he you know.
- 19:59You know who said that? The Ronnie, the Daniel Moore
- 20:02doctor. Well, yeah, they are similarly
- 20:04camp. The same camp isn't.
- 20:07It OK, Amara could have been a great Slovene, couldn't you?
- 20:10Yeah. Sarah Jane Smith, you're going
- 20:13on a journey. Do you know that Slovene boy
- 20:18there? You're sort of pot bellied?
- 20:20Yeah, I think that's a bit what I look like when I was sort of
- 20:23eight, you know, Look at this again.
- 20:26Extras Cars. Yeah, and it's just a Bourbon
- 20:30Street, but they're literally running down that whole street,
- 20:34you know, and talking as they run, which is, again, making it
- 20:38very dynamic. This is great.
- 20:40How did it start doing all of this?
- 20:42Look, if we survive, I'll tell you.
- 20:43All right? I've switched off the sun.
- 20:48OK, 32 minutes. Yeah.
- 20:50Do you know what? That sun there, It looks just
- 20:53like the the Ice Star from Amy's Choice.
- 20:57It does, yeah. She comes.
- 21:00Chrissy, Alan. At the end of the world, she's
- 21:04still there. She's like, where's my daughter?
- 21:07She's. Like, oh, it's just gone a bit
- 21:11nippy, don't worry. To be honest, who's Daniel with
- 21:14At the End of the World Came? I'd probably be running into
- 21:16Alan's arms. I think every everyone would.
- 21:20Give me a hug, Alan. Come on.
- 21:23Oh, that line. She's an old woman with a funny
- 21:26lipstick and all. Yeah, and all.
- 21:29With a funny lipstick. His whole performance is
- 21:33basically. I assume I need no introduction.
- 21:36Oh, it's just great. You know, I'm going to put you
- 21:38up for that role. You know, although you're so
- 21:40skinny, that's trouble. You're really slim.
- 21:42We're going to have to fatten you out for the part.
- 21:44Oh. I can, I can.
- 21:46I'll make the sacrifice. I'll do that method acting
- 21:48thing. They whether you be oh, coming
- 21:51out of the shadows. I should put in a repeat order
- 21:54for Dunkin' Donuts or I'll start turning up next week.
- 21:56We shoot in a month, yeah. It's just the way they move,
- 22:03they kind of swing their arms. It's like it's.
- 22:05Really, I mean, look, you can't see this, but I'm sort of doing
- 22:08Slovene actions right now as well.
- 22:10I look at a bit like I'm having a stroke, but you know, you know
- 22:13what I mean. Well, and I think there's like
- 22:15one of those reference books that says that the the that
- 22:18those arms are basically used to swim across the great seas of
- 22:22Raxakova Laboratorius. So, you know, that's why they
- 22:25kind of look so weird. Don't you love this bit where he
- 22:27threatens Maria? He goes.
- 22:29That's why you're rubbish. You weren't doing anything, you
- 22:32know. Yeah.
- 22:33And she's. Fucking murders him.
- 22:35She throws the vinegar right in his face.
- 22:39Daniel explodes. Yes he does, Just like in World
- 22:43War Three. It's that scene in the kitchen
- 22:45with Jackie and Mickey, but with kids instead.
- 22:48They get covered in Slovene guts.
- 22:51That's the best you you know, it's a kid show now.
- 22:54Because they literally, I mean, Duncombe.
- 22:56Duncombe. Yeah, that's not the only one
- 22:59they. Now it looks suspiciously like
- 23:01lime Jelly. It does, doesn't it?
- 23:04But. I mean, she has just killed
- 23:07someone there. Yeah, I think they sort of
- 23:10simplify that to sort of, you know, she, you know, it's the
- 23:12sort of, it's like that thing of saying a kid like, you know,
- 23:16don't do it or you'll be in trouble and the kid does it
- 23:18anyway. I mean, by the time we get to
- 23:21whatever happened to Sarah Jane, you've got a child hanging off a
- 23:24peer that literally falls to her death.
- 23:28Like strong stuff. They're not afraid to go there.
- 23:33No, and I think that's what made it so successful as well, is
- 23:36people didn't feel like they were being patronised.
- 23:39There's different levels of edgy, isn't it?
- 23:41It's actually for a kids show. Yeah, for a kids show, Yes, yes,
- 23:44yes. Oh, where she is?
- 23:45What's her name? Doreen.
- 23:46No, Janine Doreen. Sorry.
- 23:50Doreen does sound like a Slovene name.
- 23:54Doreen Felfach. Slovene at your service.
- 23:57Oh, I've got a name here somewhere.
- 23:58Oh yes, Blonde Roxfae Feneral Slam Slovene.
- 24:02Feneral Slam. Feneral kind of like, I don't
- 24:06know, like I don't know did. You see when that Charles Davina
- 24:09hugged his dad because he was scared.
- 24:11And he said, Daddy, I'm scared. He put his arms around his big
- 24:14belly. It's really funny, but I mean, I
- 24:20don't know if you remember the plot twist from the end of this
- 24:24that impacts the finale. I'm not going to say anything
- 24:30there. They basically give you the
- 24:33impression that they have murdered the Slovene child at
- 24:36the end of this. Yes, that's right.
- 24:39Yeah. Or Sarah Jane certainly thinks
- 24:40that, doesn't she? Yeah.
- 24:42I think that does just give it a bit of an edge like we've won,
- 24:47but. I wasn't much more victorious.
- 24:50Yeah, yeah. Where it was, Maria just threw
- 24:53the vinegar and laughed. You know.
- 24:57Well, and it comes, it's all part of Sarah Jane's role as a
- 25:00mother too. So he's like, because he says,
- 25:02he says that he says, you know, we're doing this for our
- 25:05children. The Slavine dad says.
- 25:07And then he says, you know, take my son, you know, spare my son's
- 25:10life and, you know, sort of basically saying, you know, you
- 25:14as a parent would understand sort of thing.
- 25:17So actually that their relationship, the dad and the
- 25:20the baby Slavine and daddy Slavine are probably the
- 25:22healthiest. If it was Jack in Torchwood, he
- 25:26would have just picked up a shotgun and shot the kid,
- 25:28wouldn't he? He would have murdered them,
- 25:30yeah. Sarah should have gone.
- 25:31Actually, I'm quite a new parent and just pulled the lever
- 25:34anyway. Sorry, of course not going on
- 25:37about murdering kids, you know, like it's.
- 25:40It's not the, it's not the first and last time that's going to
- 25:42happen, is it? No.
- 25:43It's not a good look, but they do murder a lot of kids in the
- 25:45same adventure so. Oh, here she chucks the Sonic
- 25:49lipstick in slow motion. Although I think it's a better
- 25:51slow motion than from Invasion of the Pain because you it
- 25:55actually looks sort of a bit more dramatic.
- 25:57And the music's like, oh, sorry, that was Star Wars.
- 26:01I don't know what I was doing there.
- 26:04I do like as well. It was just at least is it now?
- 26:06I was like, what the fuck's going on?
- 26:08They're all ducking and diving. There's explosions going off
- 26:11everywhere. I was like, I'm going to start
- 26:15up in there, electric fit in a minute and.
- 26:17Then Janine pops like a balloon, doesn't she?
- 26:21Oh, gets quite a grizzly end. Is it that stead radiation
- 26:24effect from the? Oh yeah, yeah, it kind of burst
- 26:28into rose petals. Yeah, fabulous.
- 26:30Yeah, it's a bloody massacre. The Slovene Chainsaw Massacre,
- 26:37starring Elizabeth Slayden. No.
- 26:40Please help the child. Look at him.
- 26:42Bless him. Yes.
- 26:43So I think you can clearly see him teleport.
- 26:45Yeah, but the characters are sort of meant to.
- 26:49But he's not just dad. His dad dies.
- 26:52Yeah, yeah, very, quite traumatic.
- 26:55Oh, but, and actually, that's noise that the dad saves his
- 26:58life, you know, sort of, I don't know, I know, I know I'm
- 27:01suggesting there's a bit more emotional worth here than there
- 27:03probably is, but there's some, there's some thought.
- 27:09Yeah, and I think that's also why she then decides to sort of
- 27:12say to Luke at the end, well, yeah, no, call me mum, you know,
- 27:16she has something, her role as a parent.
- 27:18Same ability. Do you remember when Christopher
- 27:20Eccleston, that ridiculous pig in the space suit, dies and he
- 27:25then makes you break it? Break your heart when he goes.
- 27:28Scared. And she just said there he was
- 27:3112 years old. We've been laughing at that
- 27:33stupid puppet Slavine, and now we're like, oh, I think we
- 27:37shouldn't have laughed actually, you know?
- 27:40I would love to the break. She's calling in unit.
- 27:44Was Unit A furniture shop? Clyde says.
- 27:48Chrissy. Oh, Sally Anne.
- 27:50Bless you. She's terrible.
- 27:53She. Yeah, and she has that scene,
- 27:55doesn't she, where she sits down with Maria and says, now I've
- 27:57noticed all these funny things going on.
- 27:59And Maria's like. And Maria's like, oh God, is she
- 28:02going to find out about Sarah Jane and these aliens that we'll
- 28:04be inviting? And it's like it's all about me,
- 28:08how it's because I'm cursed. If I can't move for disasters,
- 28:14she says no. That's what I knew that Chrissy
- 28:16was me. That's exactly how I would feel.
- 28:18I would be a periphery character, but I just felt like
- 28:21it was all about me. Well, she had that line, doesn't
- 28:24she? Doing the power cut where she
- 28:25says, you know, I, it always happens when there's something
- 28:28good on the telly. You know, I remember once the
- 28:30power went off right in the middle of Manimal.
- 28:32I was distraught. Because it's a bit like Donna
- 28:37and they missing the alien invasions, you know?
- 28:40Yeah, she just misses it every time, doesn't it?
- 28:42Yeah. I love Chrissy so I think about
- 28:45it. Right?
- 28:46You move in opposite Sarah Jane. If one turns into zombies, you.
- 28:50Know yeah, she does say zombies, you know, so she she is kind of
- 28:54aware of all these things, that thing.
- 28:56But we haven't even. Doesn't connect the dots.
- 28:58Best Chrissy stuff yet. You know, Daniel then later on
- 29:01in the season, she is just amazing.
- 29:04Do you remember her reaction when it comes up on the news
- 29:07screen that Luke Smith is a lost child from another family and
- 29:13she she's the one that calls the police and Dobbs in Sarah, Oh.
- 29:17Yeah, no. So she acts like the sort of
- 29:19like a responsible. Parent because I knew there was
- 29:21something wrong with her next door, you know?
- 29:24Yeah. Great stuff.
- 29:25Oh, Sarah, put that back. You know when you're done with
- 29:27it all right? So we kind of get a sort of
- 29:30slightly scaled down version of that scene where she kind of
- 29:35sort of wax his lyrical about the doctor because we've had
- 29:39that scene before. So she has to sort of simplify
- 29:42it a bit to to Clyde. And Clyde goes, oh, he sounds
- 29:45cool. Which kind of sums it up.
- 29:47Really. Which kind of sums it up.
- 29:48Yeah, yeah. What's he like, a big green
- 29:51pick? No.
- 29:52No, he just looked like you and me.
- 29:56Oh, Sarah, we are but. She sells those scenes spicy.
- 29:59She just has to sort of stare off into the middle distance.
- 30:01And wow, and you can see it all, you know, crinoids and.
- 30:06The Time Warrior. Zeta miner, dinosaurs in London,
- 30:10All of it. Eldrad must live.
- 30:17I have to bring that up at the end actually.
- 30:20She's got her own saying now. Drink it.
- 30:23Drink it. Actually, she does get to play
- 30:26evil. When does she do 1?
- 30:27Doesn't she? She does.
- 30:29We'll get onto that. She hammers her up.
- 30:31Daniel, Jesus Christ. Also, we've got a new member of
- 30:36the team, Clyde Langer. Yes, yes.
- 30:39So he kind of he had to sort of almost sort of fight his way on.
- 30:42But she's she does sort of accept him in the end says, you
- 30:45know, can I trust you? And you know he's yes.
- 30:47I promise not to tell anyone. He turns out to be the longest
- 30:51serving. And he does, doesn't he?
- 30:53He becomes the most loyal. The two of them, they have great
- 30:57scenes going ahead, Sarah and Clyde.
- 30:59Yeah, no wonder they kind of gave him the sort of intro at
- 31:02the beginning where he welcomes you into the show, literally,
- 31:04because he's so sort of confident on camera.
- 31:08What we say in two hours, isn't he?
- 31:09Are you ready? Yeah, always.
- 31:13Always. Oh, now this bit was the bit I
- 31:16was talking to you about on the message, Daniel.
- 31:18It's a bit of a sneaky bit, isn't it?
- 31:20Beware your curiosity, boy. Boy, you know Mr. Smith.
- 31:25Why has he got that? Very ominously.
- 31:28Yeah, and then never mentioned again, you know?
- 31:31No, no. It just kind of dropped in there
- 31:33at the end. Fuck that finale.
- 31:35I can't wait. I cannot wait to get that
- 31:37finale. As I do remember most of this
- 31:41first season, but I think there's like, yeah, the finale,
- 31:44I don't remember too well so. The one I'm not looking forward
- 31:47to is the evil Bradley Walsh clown because he scared the life
- 31:51out of me when I first. Oh, that's right, Bradley Walsh
- 31:53is in this you. Can't put Pennywise on the
- 31:56screen for a load of Muppets, for God's sakes.
- 31:58Oh, it's very scary. Oh, I love this.
- 32:03When they come in and go, right, introduce these words into all
- 32:06the news networks about what's happened.
- 32:09Yeah. Well, I suppose that's what they
- 32:10do, right? If they ever want to spread
- 32:13disinformation or information, I guess they start introducing
- 32:17those words and then it just spreads like a virus all over
- 32:20social media. Exactly.
- 32:22Exactly. So This is why, you know, this
- 32:24whole thing of, oh, why does nobody notice that the aliens
- 32:26are around? Well, again, I mean, it's very
- 32:29plausible nowadays in this era of misinformation and
- 32:31disinformation information where you just, you just spread a few
- 32:34keywords and people believe anything, you know.
- 32:38Oh, look. At it.
- 32:39Oh, there's that bug on screen. And she looks delighted.
- 32:42That's a nicer hug than that terrible slow motion one we had
- 32:46last time. Greek hug at the.
- 32:48End Oh, Daniel, I'm going to say this.
- 32:51I don't want to break your heart when I would do anything in the
- 32:55world to hug my mother like that again.
- 32:58I mean anything. I felt like she used to get the
- 33:01best hugs when I was a nipper. Yeah.
- 33:05And Joe, what? Right, I mean, I'll show you
- 33:07some pictures. She in the right light.
- 33:10She does have a bit of a look of Elizabeth Slayden about her as
- 33:12well. Maybe that's why I was so keen
- 33:14on this. Oh my God, it's the Gorgons.
- 33:19Oh yes, next time. Oh, this is a fabulous story.
- 33:25I love the Gorgon. Money on the screen, that
- 33:28enormous Abbey that they shot in.
- 33:30Yeah, yeah. Which I think they did go back
- 33:32to at some point, didn't they? We get Fuller to Lloyd and
- 33:36Doreen Mantle. Doreen yes, that's right.
- 33:39Yeah, wonderful stuff. Well, OK.
- 33:42Wow, it was literally a Sprint wasn't it?
- 33:44All the way to the end. We were just going, Oh my God,
- 33:47look at that, look at that. I mean, there will be a bit of
- 33:49that in these because they are fast, but some of them are
- 33:52slower. Well, come on, let's do our free
- 33:56fabulous thing now. If you prepare something this
- 33:58time or are you going to make it up as you?
- 34:01Go. Well, I have thought about it
- 34:03over the course of the two recordings, but come on.
- 34:06But yeah, it's all right then I go first this time.
- 34:09I go first this time. OK, well, I'll just get the
- 34:11obvious one out of the way. Clyde, the new addition to the
- 34:14cast very much needed, I think, because you needed someone who
- 34:20who could balance the sort of the the the other two kids
- 34:24performances. And like we said, he's the Han
- 34:26Solo to the Luke and Leia dynamic.
- 34:28And yeah, and he's sort of he, he's just so sort of charismatic
- 34:34and confident and, and, and we all like, I mean, I wanted to be
- 34:39Clyde when I was younger, you know, so, and the fact that he,
- 34:43he, he kind of, he fights his way onto the team.
- 34:47Like, you know, there's a bit of resistance from Maria and Sarah
- 34:50Jane, but Maria is the one who kind of warns him away at first.
- 34:53But they both connect in that early scene in Part 1 where they
- 34:57both, I mean, they're both, both their parents are divorced and
- 35:01his dad is, he's got an absent father.
- 35:04And so there's an immediate connection.
- 35:06So even though he kind of makes it like, oh, I'm just going to
- 35:09be with you guys for a while because I'm on the lookout for
- 35:11the cool kids. He he's immediately drawn to
- 35:14them at the beginning. And yeah, so Daniel Anthony is,
- 35:17you know, the the perfect sort of replacement to to Kelsey
- 35:22Hooper, who mysteriously disappears.
- 35:24We miss you, Kelsey. Yeah, lot aliens are.
- 35:27Real whoever in our hearts shut. Up.
- 35:30What was it again? You're dead if you haven't got
- 35:32the music channels. I mean, he's a bit more
- 35:35sophisticated than that. I know.
- 35:37Well, I am going to be succinct unusually and say that I think I
- 35:42said at the start of this episode, I'm saying it now.
- 35:45I think that exposition scene in Episode 2, there's two of them.
- 35:48It's caught up with comedy scenes with Chrissy and Alan and
- 35:52all sorts. Everyone gets out.
- 35:54It's great scripting. You have to be a bloody good
- 35:57director. You need all the right reaction
- 35:59shots for it. Everybody's on great form.
- 36:02I mean, I think Alice Trout does a brilliant job in this anyway.
- 36:05She's a great director. But that scene in particular, I
- 36:10think delivering that kind of sophistication in scripting to
- 36:16children. Bravo.
- 36:19Yeah. And I, you know, I, I had, I
- 36:21didn't really pick up on it until you sort of highlighted
- 36:24it. So yeah.
- 36:26Yeah, I think they're taking their cue from narrows it down,
- 36:29because that's the same thing where it's just loads of quick
- 36:32dialogue. Built on it, yeah.
- 36:34They kind of build on that. And they do the same with the,
- 36:38the, the scene in the kitchen where they're preparing, they're
- 36:41preparing their sort of squeeze bottles full of vinegar.
- 36:44And I think Clyde even says, what are you going to do?
- 36:45Throw pickled eggs at them? And that's literally what Jackie
- 36:48did in Aliens of London then. And yes, that.
- 36:50And he's like, I was joking. Well, what's your second then?
- 36:55My second one is, well, it will be the IT will be the sardine
- 37:01actually, because although the the tone is, is very similar to
- 37:08aliens of London and World War Three, I think it's more
- 37:11confident than the than that 2 parter.
- 37:14And the slaveen costumes are much better.
- 37:17They shoot them in such dynamic ways.
- 37:19The genius edition of a baby slaveen Carl, you know who you
- 37:25know is, is. Yeah, that's it.
- 37:26May it may they managed to make him quite scary and very, very
- 37:30funny as well. And you know, all those, those,
- 37:33those lines, you know, one more step and we destroy this planet.
- 37:40He's so camping. Big Finish, if you want to bring
- 37:43back this, the headmaster, Daniel, it's available.
- 37:46Okay, can you say the planet name again one last time?
- 37:51Rex a Coraco fella. Petoria.
- 37:54You could see why I played it that way, right?
- 37:56That's why I'm talking. And, and you know, Gareth
- 37:58Roberts wrote this other episode of Doctor Who, the Caretaker,
- 38:02and they have a line about the caretaker, don't they?
- 38:04Earlier in Part 1 of Revenge of the Sardine where he says, what
- 38:07about the caretaker? He's like, I've taken care of
- 38:10the caretaker. Oh, the jokes in this boy, boy,
- 38:15God, it's a world of riches, this ridiculous show.
- 38:18And OK, my second thing then is going to be it's going to be
- 38:22that they kill off characters in episode 2.
- 38:26I just think like they didn't, they were kind of they had itchy
- 38:31feet about killing people in series 1 of Doctor Who, didn't
- 38:35they? Where they were like, can we do
- 38:36this? And we've sort of got to the
- 38:38point where they've decided, yeah, we can because we.
- 38:40Can get away with it. Sound of drums.
- 38:42We're murdering, you know, 2/3 of London or half the world now,
- 38:4510% of the world. Yes, decimate the population,
- 38:48the pop the the correct use of decimate literally, you know.
- 38:51Quite a lot of people, isn't it? You know, here we only murder a
- 38:55handful of Slovenes, but, I mean, they all date some.
- 38:58A child loses his father. Maria literally murders
- 39:01something in cold Blunt. Yeah.
- 39:05I mean, I love that stuff. I'm pleased.
- 39:07I'm pleased I went there. So yeah, Gunk basically is part
- 39:1120. Yes, getting spotted with gunk,
- 39:13yeah. Slovene guts all over the wall.
- 39:20OK, my final one then will be well, surprising even myself
- 39:25actually, Gareth Roberts, the the just the fact that the
- 39:28script is so it's so it's very funny.
- 39:32Basically, that's the The thing is that it's not just the
- 39:35performances which are so camp, you know, they're campus
- 39:38Christmas, but just that, you know, he he he has a sense of
- 39:43humor about him. I mean, I'm just thinking of the
- 39:44other episodes he's written like, you know, Unicorn and the
- 39:47Wasp, which is like several gags per minute in every and not just
- 39:52the book references. You know, there's all kinds of
- 39:54humor in that episode. Or, you know, the Shakespeare
- 39:57code where the one thing he got absolutely right in that one is
- 40:00everyone is just really flirty with each other, which is
- 40:03exactly what those Shakespeare comedies are like.
- 40:07And in this one, it's all the things that, again, the sort of
- 40:10kids will relate to. So power cuts and farts and
- 40:14school dinners being terrible and making fun of your teachers.
- 40:18And well, Clyde's very funny so and he becomes Comic Relief of
- 40:22the of the show. And yeah, it's just got a great
- 40:26sense of humour about itself. So even though the peril
- 40:29ratchets up, it still remembers to have a a good laugh as well.
- 40:33Because it's a kids, you know it's a kids program.
- 40:36You have a gag that got me Wizards Part 2 and it was Luke
- 40:40again where she went, it's a bluff.
- 40:44And he just went. What's a bluff?
- 40:49That innocence, man, it is, it is gold.
- 40:53Well, my last thing then is going to be Alice Trout and
- 40:56specifically how she shoots the Slavine, which it's not an easy
- 41:00task because those are cumbersome costumes.
- 41:04They didn't have to look as organic, as fluid as she makes
- 41:08them feel. It's the body language of the
- 41:10actors. It's the angles that she
- 41:12chooses. It's the speed of the carts, you
- 41:16know, and it's the lighting as well.
- 41:17There's lots of sort of shadows and different.
- 41:20Yeah. Like it's it's unforgiving, the
- 41:23lighting in Agents of London. At times, yes.
- 41:27Downing Street is very bright, you know, whereas here we're in
- 41:30a shadowy school at night, you know, And it's that that does
- 41:33bring a different sort of atmosphere to it.
- 41:36And I think, I think Alice Stratton does do a couple more
- 41:40actually. So I'm really.
- 41:42She does, yeah, Yeah. But I think we're 2 for two so
- 41:46far in terms. So fashion, yeah.
- 41:49So can we make it free for free? I think you know the answer to
- 41:53that one. Chrissy's moving back in next
- 41:55time. Oh, that's right.
- 41:57Yes, she decides to, you know, keep a closer eye on Maria,
- 42:00doesn't she? The pit always makes me laugh,
- 42:03you know, you thought, well I can remember it.
- 42:04Sorry, I know I'm pre empting this but it's where the nun
- 42:09turns up and she's pretending that she's there collecting for
- 42:12the roof of the. Church.
- 42:13And Alan Scott quitting one hat and A5 were in the upper.
- 42:19She puts the quid in and then she takes the fiver.
- 42:23Oh, it's so great. But I do remember it being very
- 42:26poignant as well. There's a dementia plot on,
- 42:29isn't there? There is, yes, Which I've I
- 42:31completely forgot about until very recently when I sort of
- 42:34thought about the episode again. Yeah.
- 42:37Well, until we end up in the old people's person, haunted by an
- 42:42evil. What is this she?
- 42:45What's that thing with all the sort of claws?
- 42:47Oh, the Gorgon serve the Gorgon. We've got another.
- 42:52Saying another chant. How do we end this in a sort of
- 42:56revenge of the Slovene sort? Of a Revenge of the Slovene.
- 43:00Well, we'll synchronise the mega wattage.
- 43:05Mega what? Which buttons?
- 43:06That one, That one.