Latest / A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast / Talks to Jason Thompson about his choice of The Evil of the Daleks (1/7)

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Talks to Jason Thompson about his choice of The Evil of the Daleks (1/7) · A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast

0:41
Hello and welcome to robots in your eyes a podcast.
0:44
Oh, no. Wait.
0:45
Sorry. Wrong one.
0:46
Welcome back to a hamster. With a blunt penknife the Doctor
0:49
Who commentary podcast. I'm Jason Thompson.
0:53
And I am here, of course, with the wonderful wonderful, Joe
0:56
Ford. And I want to say lots more nice
1:00
things about him because he said, lots of nice things about
1:03
me on a recent hamster. Podcasts.
1:04
Oh, hello Joe. Yes.
1:06
I meant every word are what I said was there when you go,
1:10
These Doctor Who events, how selfless you are with your time,
1:16
how sociable you are with people and just watching you go around
1:19
making everybody smile it absolutely fills my heart with
1:22
Glee and so I'm not just going to say if you're on your back
1:25
I'm going to say it to your face as well.
1:27
Much appreciated. I do love going to those things
1:31
in primarily and I've said before on several occasions.
1:33
Now I don't even care what episodes they're showing on the
1:37
screen at the BFI. I go for the people now.
1:40
So I think every to watch six episodes of the sea Devils, is
1:43
it Ashley? I realized see Devils.
1:45
I love the CIA. Cost.
2:02
But I would like to ask you because, since the last time we
2:05
reported our 13-episode mission to the unknown.
2:09
Dalek master plan epic. You have been a little venture
2:13
yes, indeed. Yeah, with with the also
2:18
wonderful, Steve Alexander, who also said, nice things About me
2:22
on a recent hamster podcast. So my head is expanding rapidly
2:27
at this point in all this on that day.
2:28
I think it was how it was lovely to hear.
2:31
Thank you. But yeah, I mean he approached
2:35
me a while ago and said the do you fence T joining me for a
2:39
podcast about the Transformers and other cartoon series and
2:43
know it. Yeah, why not?
2:44
And yeah it's been great fun, great fun.
2:47
And we've covered almost all of Series 2 of the Transformers.
2:51
Now up to the end of That will be doing the movie soon, which
2:53
very much looking forward to, and we've branched out into
2:57
other, cartoons, from that period as well.
3:00
So we've covered Rainbow Brite Thundercats Battle of the
3:04
planets. Isn't it haven't yet?
3:08
Covered He-Man but we will. Isn't it wonderful to give
3:12
people like an Avenue to talk about something?
3:14
They're passionate about isn't that?
3:16
I think it's just the best thing.
3:18
So it's great and it's been great fun with Burke with Steve
3:22
bouncing off him because we've, I mean, Steve and I have known
3:25
each other for well over 20 years at this point first online
3:31
and then through meetings, through the various groups.
3:34
Oh yeah. We've we've known each other a
3:36
while. Yeah, so we we bounce off each
3:39
other quite nicely on this and we share similar Ludacris views
3:44
of how ridiculous some of these things are so we enjoy it on
3:47
very similar levels. I think so similar ludicrous
3:50
views. You don't also love for to
3:52
Doomsday, do you? I don't also love for to
3:56
Doomsday. No for to Doomsday is is is
3:59
there and that's about all I can say about it, to be honest.
4:03
You've kept us, semblance of Sanity.
4:05
Then our prey is Steve wonderful.
4:09
I said to you off, Mike. He's so now he's going to have
4:13
his head getting massive. Now, listen to this, but he's so
4:16
unique in what he brings and he's not afraid to fight his
4:19
corner and he's not afraid to tell, you know, you're wrong.
4:22
I'ma tell you why you're wrong. And I'm I'll explain why I love
4:25
this. I really, I thought I gets low.
4:28
Happy will fire you up and not in a bad way.
4:32
Yeah, absolutely. I get that.
4:34
I'm fortunate. Now, I get that every week and,
4:37
you know, for the most part, we do agree on what the good
4:40
episodes and the Bad episodes of Transformers and things are.
4:43
But there have been ones where we disagreed on whether it's
4:47
good or bad or anything about that.
4:50
So yeah it's been great fun to do it and I just hope everyone
4:55
else is enjoying listening to it.
4:57
So what before we sort of move on and talk about the story
5:00
we're going to talk about today could you recommend like one
5:03
especially good episode of people to seek out?
5:07
An especially good at this. I love doing.
5:12
So you thought, you know that that came out what the wonderful
5:16
thing about doing some of these podcasts where you're talking
5:20
about certain episodes and things like that is that quite
5:23
often The bad ones. If you like can lead to the best
5:29
podcasts, you have heard on tile Star Trek project, right?
5:35
I have indeed. Yes very enjoyable.
5:37
Haven't listened to as many of those as I would like to, but
5:41
I'm happy that's all. Okay.
5:47
So I would recommend anyone seek out the episodes where we
5:50
covered city of Steel. Atlantis arise.
5:57
Because they are ludicrous episodes.
6:00
Absolutely ludicrous episodes. But so much fun to talk about is
6:03
that Atlantis arise with an exclamation mark at the end.
6:08
Yes. All I've got new it just the way
6:10
you said it. Sounds incredible.
6:15
That's a lot of chocolate. Not really.
6:23
No. Well, why are we here today?
6:26
We're not as talk about Transformers, all we know we're
6:29
not history about Transformers, we are here to talk about Doctor
6:33
Who story, which is a personal favorite of mine.
6:36
I've loved it. Since I heard the sound track on
6:38
audio, cassette in the 90s, and it's quite a special story for
6:43
us. Isn't it Joe, what for you me?
6:46
Yeah, because it is the first time we met.
6:49
It was the BFI screening of the Of the darling.
6:52
Yes, that was a great day as well.
6:55
I absolutely love that weekend. It was, it was fabulous.
6:58
I didn't even know you were there.
7:00
No. Did you didn't you sneak up
7:01
behind me in the bar? I snuck up behind you in
7:04
theater, and then I went and had a drink with you in the bar
7:07
afterwards. You cannot be on me in a dark
7:10
room is not always a good idea. Now, why was it was actually Sy
7:16
heart, who put me onto you because I put a picture of
7:20
myself outside the BFI on. My Twitter feed saying are just
7:24
about to go in for evil of the Daleks.
7:25
And so, I message back with all right.
7:27
Look out for Joey's there as well as all right.
7:29
Okay. And there you were.
7:31
So yeah. This was a the first time we met
7:34
Joe as meteor not. Our last though, definitely,
7:39
not. Now ask your tell, you what, we
7:40
watch seven episodes of evil of the Daleks that day.
7:43
And I know I wasn't born once. I just thought the whole thing
7:47
flew by It did, I mean, you know, give credit to the guys
7:52
who organize these things at the BFI, they do stick a break in
7:55
the middle of them, because I don't think we could have sat on
7:58
those seats for the full three hours, watching seven episodes
8:00
without a break, and a bit of a Q&A session, and a bit of a bit
8:05
of fun associated with it. But yeah, it was, it was great.
8:10
It thoroughly. Enjoyed it now.
8:12
Yeah, they put two breaks in the sea Devils.
8:15
If you recall, if I do, oh, I was even To sit through three
8:18
episodes of that. Yep, I would call that one.
8:24
Okay, now look, I've got people coming at me saying that there's
8:26
this fella Jason Thompson as monopolizing all of the 1960s.
8:31
Darling stories for hamster. A bloodbender, I think it might
8:34
be well you haven't taken them all because Steve did the Daleks
8:37
the new Steve did the Daleks and was it marketed the chase chase?
8:43
Yep. All the basic we're doing all
8:46
the good ones. Yeah, it's done master plan.
8:50
We've done power of the Daleks Now we're doing six, you know?
8:54
Okay, I'm gonna ask you an unfair question before we even
8:58
start discussing, like the start right at the start.
9:00
You're going to give me an unfair question.
9:02
Okay. Well we've done these three sort
9:04
of Classics. Yeah, we're about to do one of
9:06
them. And how would you rank those
9:09
free because it's almost impossible to do.
9:12
It is yeah I would rank them equal first.
9:16
There we go I'd probably go how How about Daleks master plan
9:25
evil. But it is a hair's breadth
9:28
between them. Yeah, I think I would agree with
9:31
that. Yeah, absolutely.
9:34
Yeah. I love power of Daleks.
9:36
It's it's a well-structured story, builds and builds and
9:38
builds. And as I think I said on the
9:40
commentary, every Cliffhanger involves a Dalek, but the stakes
9:42
are getting higher every time. Yeah, master plan.
9:46
I love because a because it ballsy enough to try and be 12
9:49
episodes long and be because it has a Total shift in the middle
9:54
of it, that stops IT from getting boring Terry Nation
9:56
rights five episodes of great world building then Dennis
9:59
Spooner comes in and goes now fuck that.
10:01
I'm going to write something else.
10:03
Yeah. If you remember you and I came
10:05
to the same conclusion that Toby, hey, do did was I said he
10:08
this comedy relevant, what we got to ask, we're having a great
10:12
time. Yeah, where is it?
10:15
And then yeah evil is is just I love evil AI used to prefer evil
10:20
to Pat our because when I first heard them, I came to these
10:24
stories by the by means of the audio, cassettes in the early
10:28
90s, when they released a handful of missing stories, but
10:32
evidently didn't do enough sales to make it worth doing all of
10:35
them. Evil and power were in there
10:38
very early on. And I thought evil was the
10:42
better one because it did something.
10:46
Unusual because it was more fun power of the Daleks seem very
10:50
kind of serious. Straight-laced story, very
10:53
straightforward, very linear plot, whereas evil of the Daleks
10:56
throws in so many weird and wonderful things that will come
10:58
to talk about over the next seven episodes.
11:02
But over the over, the intervening decades, at Power
11:06
has just edged out above in terms of my preference.
11:09
It's so weird except both written by David Whittaker.
11:12
And yeah, I think tonally in terms of scale.
11:16
They'll like the ideas in place. So different Paradise is so
11:22
contained. And this has a scale, the most
11:26
Doctor Who stories would look at and weep you know, it does.
11:30
I mean this I mean this story and we'll talk about this more
11:33
in episode 7, I'm sure this story is almost the season
11:36
finale before season finales were a thing.
11:39
What means? Almost a season.
11:41
You know that incident were contemporary, then we're past
11:44
and then we're future. Yeah.
11:46
In When we die like master plan, it's got a bit of everything,
11:48
doesn't it? Tacit us?
11:50
Well, look, you know what? Before we try people's patience,
11:54
we should probably skip into episode 1 because we have got
11:56
about three hours worth of material to talk over.
12:00
We have, which means that this will be about five hours long in
12:02
total. By the time we've added all the
12:03
extra walking will love it. I worry.
12:09
Well, it's like ours in. You did the intro.
12:11
Yeah, countless engine. Okay.
12:13
In five, four, three, two, one. Alpha we go.
12:20
John asked, you you watching the black and white or the the color
12:23
version? I am watching the
12:26
black-and-white animation on the Blu-ray for authenticity sake,
12:30
but the color version is gorgeous, that's what I've got
12:32
on. I know, you know, I don't know
12:34
why with these animations. I always watch the color
12:38
version. And I think it just feels
12:40
fresher and newer, because I'm so used to seeing this stuff in
12:43
black and white. Yeah, that's a perfectly valid
12:46
point and I did enjoy watching the color animations.
12:51
I'm a bit of a purist in the, any thing up to 1969 is black
12:56
and white. And so when I come to watch it,
12:58
that's what I prefer to see. So we start off.
13:01
Interestingly, I realized while was prepping for this but I
13:06
think this is actually the first time in the series until we get
13:09
to the Pertwee area area area error Pertwee era that episode 1
13:16
of A Story begins in the same time and space is Sewed.
13:20
The final episode of the previous one, all that would
13:24
take some thinking to see if that facts true, I'm going to
13:27
take you the other episodes. Usually, I mean, in the heart
13:30
leader in particular they tended to finish with a cliffhanger
13:33
where they would Be in the in the place for the next story,
13:39
they would arrive there before the before the end credit.
13:43
But here, the whole episode is set in the same time and space
13:47
as the previous episode, they are starting off in Gatwick
13:49
Airport in 1966. Appraiser isn't a hold over to
13:55
the next story. That's where we ended.
13:57
We said goodbye to Ben and Polly and then that's when I found
14:00
that the truck was pits a great lure into evil other dollars as
14:04
well. Is it someone's kidnapped?
14:05
The Tardis someone stole the Tardis.
14:08
Yeah. And again, I think this might be
14:09
the first time that anyone is actually properly.
14:11
Stolen, the Tardis. What is it about?
14:14
The Tardis being on top of innocuous, you know, bits of
14:19
travel, like, you know, in Marco Polo, or in the truck in In
14:22
this. Why is that so cool?
14:24
Oh it's lovely isn't it? I don't know whether that my
14:28
favorite is on the back of a caravan in Marco Polo or
14:31
sideways on a forklift going into Concorde in time flight.
14:34
Oh yeah watching the Tardis being from the out across the
14:38
tarmac. I quite like it when they
14:40
translate along that train line in Mark of the Rani and throw it
14:43
down the pit. Yeah.
14:46
Yeah. But this is a little bit
14:50
disconnected from the rest of the story, isn't it?
14:52
This is essentially a bit of a like a detective story first
14:57
episode where they're just trying to figure out who's got
14:59
the Tardis. Basically we have an episode and
15:02
a half of Doctor Who being Sherlock Holmes, essentially way
15:06
just uncovers clue off the clue off the clue which is Big
15:12
Bazaar, really? It's a very elaborate setup.
15:17
I mean, it works as a hooked. Keep you watching.
15:21
So when you think of it in the context of the rest of the
15:23
story, what the hell is this all about?
15:26
But then I love the fact that I do do a contemporary episode.
15:29
So you do cover like the whole gamut of what the show can do.
15:32
Yeah. Absolutely.
15:34
I really like the fact that it leaves into that sort of warm,
15:37
you know, in the war machines, where we go off to the Inferno
15:40
nightclub, the At night club in town.
15:43
And here we head into like a coffee bar that we were closer
15:46
with Jamie flirting with the girls and stuff like that is
15:48
trying to be a little bit contemporary in a bit hip a
15:50
time. Yeah, yeah, it is and it's kind
15:55
of unusual at this time of the series, isn't it to get
15:57
anything? This contemporary know we just
15:59
had the faceless ones which was all contemporary but yeah, so
16:03
it's kind of a shift in series for to bring it more down to
16:08
earth a bit which obviously Built and built until
16:12
eventually, we ended up in the purple year of being stuck on
16:14
her. But yeah, and I quite like it
16:18
actually, I think it works very well.
16:21
Can I ask you is now? You know, I always go off pee
16:26
straight away straight away from the story.
16:27
But I'm just curious, I always want to know what people think
16:29
about sort of the surrounding area.
16:31
What do you think about serious, flaw?
16:33
We cover power of the dollars and I know you're absolutely
16:35
love that. And you have this run of
16:38
slightly like the last historical and insane Adventure
16:43
in Atlantis. The the sort of the first big
16:46
base Under Siege story at mad anarchic.
16:50
Adventure, the macro Terra. Like what do you think of this
16:53
season? I think series for is probably
16:59
the one with the most Variety in it and probably the biggest
17:04
highs and lows thinking about it because those come on Pat our
17:11
the Daleks is absolutely superb. I'm sorry, underwater Menace is
17:14
I just can't get on with underwater Venice and to be
17:18
perfectly honest. I'm I know this is almost
17:20
sacrilegious to say. I'm not a massive fan of the
17:22
macro Terror either. Now Still serious?
17:27
No, I'm just it just doesn't grab me.
17:31
There's lots of good stuff in it.
17:32
Either. A piece of Jeffrey is the pilot
17:34
is great. I love the whole bit with been
17:36
falling under the influence of the macra, but Some parts of it
17:44
drag on too long. And, I mean, obviously, we
17:51
haven't got it, so we can't see it, but obviously, from the
17:52
sensor Clips, we can see the macro weren't that impressive.
17:55
Actually Simon at the end of it, the doctor blows them all up and
18:00
so I hang on. Were they here first, did the
18:02
commonly arise when we did the commentary for that sign?
18:07
I decided like episode one of those who is trying to do
18:09
something a bit experimental, body end of it, it is Tas just
18:13
evolved into your sort of average doctor who are down the
18:16
mines and then we defeat the monsters and as Lee.
18:19
There's nothing to clever going on at all.
18:22
Yeah, yeah. It kind of does that the
18:25
faceless ones? I No, I'm not.
18:32
That's not a favorite of mine either.
18:34
Thank God. You said that, isn't it more?
18:37
Hey, yeah, that's the thing. I find it.
18:39
So lacking in incident and some of the concepts are good.
18:45
But It doesn't have any Pace. Do you watch the direction of
18:51
the two episodes that survive? Then you watch the direction of
18:54
evil of the Daleks episode 2, and there is a world of
18:57
difference between the two. Oh god there absolutely is there
19:00
absolutely is. But yeah, the faceless ones is,
19:04
it's just a plods along and I can't.
19:07
It doesn't hold my attention. You know, I've got steam coming
19:11
on are you know, to tell me why I'm wrong about that.
19:14
Yes, I heard that. It's of death, that country that
19:17
you guys did. So I'm looking forward to
19:19
finding out why we're wrong about the faceless ones recent.
19:22
If we cover animations in our previous excursions into Dalek
19:26
story that we talked about them, I don't.
19:30
I think we did yes. Because obviously, we did the
19:31
animated power of the Daleks. Oh, of course.
19:34
Yes. So yeah, and there's lots of
19:37
things in that that I really, really like, including the fact
19:40
that they Faithfully recreated, the little smear of paint on the
19:43
bottom of the Dalek in that Daleks conquer and destroy.
19:46
Roy sequence, I really love the animations.
19:52
I think we're just lucky to have them, but I remember watching
19:55
this, in the BFI and thinking, Dave, really up their game,
20:01
Yeah. I mean they vary in quality of
20:04
animations that we've had over the years.
20:06
I still don't think even this one.
20:08
I still don't think this one tops.
20:09
The Moonbase exactly basis. Is my favorite animation, it's
20:15
really good. Well, what's weird is you think
20:18
sequentially as they're coming out they would get better and
20:21
better but then our for there was a bit of a blip with Fury
20:24
from the deep with the old mr. Tickle arms that were going on
20:27
and things like that. Yeah.
20:29
Yeah. I mean, and and Fury from the
20:31
deep is a, is a, an interesting one to talk about because of
20:35
course, with the animations, and especially, we found with
20:38
abominable snowmen as well. Quite deliberately, they change
20:42
from The Source material quite significantly.
20:45
Now, from the abominable snowman, I am fully on board
20:47
with Gary Russell's stated. Reason that you're in a
20:51
monastery in Tibet, you're going to have Tibetan Monks, you're
20:54
not going to have white blokes dressed as Tibetan Monks.
21:00
You know, so and you've got the animation and so you can do you
21:03
ask that question in nice and one specific question in the
21:07
audience and our for all this is a this is a contentious topic
21:12
but actually he covered that brilliantly and he just went no
21:14
this was the right thing to do. Yeah, I I agree.
21:18
This is where I'm kind of going to contradict myself though.
21:21
I think there are some ways in which that's great and some ways
21:24
in which maybe it's not so much like Fury from the deep.
21:29
They took advantage of the animation format to expand all
21:32
the sets and do all these things that you could never have had in
21:35
the original show. And I think, while I can see why
21:38
they did it, I'm not sure that I think that that's necessarily
21:43
the way to go when you make it. So obviously much more bigger,
21:49
cavernous, and huge than it could ever have been but then,
21:53
didn't they skew? Yeah, I was in whistles to evil
21:56
the dyes episode 7 as well. Well, as we'll talk about in
22:02
episode 7, I that's one of the ones that I both do and don't
22:05
want to get back, various reasons but we'll talk about
22:08
that when you're a complicated man.
22:09
Jason you know I don't know which one you're going to jump
22:11
with these animations. Okay just found the matchbook
22:16
with people pulling out their matches from right to left and
22:19
these guys have been torn out from left to right so we're
22:22
looking for a left-handed bloke oh okay called Ken or Kenny
22:26
something yeah and here. Rosa's, yeah, it's just uh, It
22:34
seems like a very convoluted way of getting the doctor and Jamie
22:37
to a bar where water-filled wants to arrange an appointment
22:41
by sending somebody else. And you just said, look, I want
22:46
you to come to the Past. They've kidnapped my daughter.
22:48
Yeah, he's a reasonable man. Yeah, and so this is why I mean,
22:57
I know somebody on Twitter, hang on, let me let me pull it up,
23:00
but we asked for some comments and questions on this different
23:05
way ahead of the game because people on Twitter are marvelous
23:08
with their with their questions. Always great.
23:14
Comments but I think somebody wrote is it too long or too
23:19
padded? Oh, Simon heart.
23:21
Lovely. Simon Harper said, how much of
23:23
the story is just padding? He mentions part for but, you
23:29
know, if you think about it, basically the whole episode, one
23:32
and a half that you start with is padding because What would
23:38
stop the doctor and Jamie just arriving in 1866 and having the
23:43
Tardis immediately stolen? Nothing.
23:46
Why why go through all this? Just to, he's such a weird
23:52
thing, because the only other question that I asked is how
23:55
oblique of the trail of Clues left for the doctor after the
23:58
Tardis is stolen. I mean, they are so out there, a
24:04
book of matches from the coffee bar, somebody arranging to speak
24:09
to him at 10:00 and then all that.
24:12
But, you know, it's all I can cut through how illogical little
24:17
is and how Laboratory will is, and say it's actually really
24:21
entertaining to watch. I really like Jamie and the
24:25
doctor on contemporary of I were there was some suspense because
24:29
I was like, wow, he's going to a lot of effort.
24:31
Why is he taking this hottest? What's going on?
24:34
I was really intrigued about it. Would water-filled clearly do
24:37
not clearly a man out of time but an anachronistic man who
24:41
doesn't understand simple contemporary dialogue.
24:45
So I was like, there's lots happening here.
24:46
That actually is piquing my interest.
24:49
Ya know, there is a lot going on, but again, you don't don't
24:53
think about it, because, how long do you feel been set up?
24:57
Why I mean what the antique shop is fine, but why are they then
25:01
sending actual things back from Victoria or head?
25:03
From Victorian times to put in the shop?
25:05
Who are people actually buying these things is he earning some
25:08
money here. What's he going to do with him?
25:10
Because his, you know, 20th century tender is no good in
25:13
1866, you know, so Jason, stop thinking about it.
25:18
All right. It's fun.
25:22
It is and we got this weird Kennedy character.
25:24
Who's a bit, a bit Shady. He's a bit shift, isn't it?
25:28
Yeah, he's got the classic sliding bookcase with the
25:31
gleaming control room. Although can I say something to
25:34
you, right? And everybody at home will know
25:36
exactly what I mean. When I say it, you ready?
25:40
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da the music in this He's brilliant.
25:50
It's singing that all bloody day at work.
25:51
So I walked past me when I was putting out vegetables and give
25:54
me a really old look like you singing.
25:58
It's synonymous with this story. For me is this is this is one of
26:03
Dudley Simpson's earlier scores and I think Possibly the first
26:09
one that really takes off. And yeah you think of this
26:14
story, you think about music because it's that theme that
26:20
That's what he did. No teeth that happened.
26:22
Yeah, it's based on the Doctor Who theme but it's that repeated
26:24
Motif, that happens throughout the story and but it's varied
26:28
start. It's not the same bit every
26:29
single time. There are slight variations on
26:31
it, depending on the mood that it's trying to convey and it's
26:35
usually, it comes with a Dalek materialize.
26:37
And I remember when the BFI there was a certain fries on in
26:40
the air, every time that music kicked in, it was like, yeah.
26:47
Yeah, it's great what you know like in episode skipping ahead
26:50
as in episode 4 where the music has to tell a lot, like we have
26:56
the soundtrack you basically had Tom Baker narrating.
26:59
It was it Tom it was Tom. Yes.
27:02
And and the music and that was it because there's hardly any
27:04
dialogue in episode 4. Yeah.
27:07
Lots of lots of lots of Tom talking.
27:10
So yeah. So so I, my first experience of
27:13
this story was that audio cassette narrated by Tom And
27:17
it's interesting, they obviously haven't quite decided on the
27:21
style when they did these because as I said, when we did
27:23
power of the Daleks that was narrated by Tom in the first
27:26
person as the doctor and Tom in full Hamming.
27:31
It up mode. Great.
27:33
Introducing the power of the Daleks.
27:35
Maybe this one, will you listen I remember I remember vividly
27:39
from this one and I haven't listened to the audiobook on the
27:42
Blu-ray. Get I know it's on there but
27:44
it's really Sinister because he opens this one base.
27:46
It be evil of the Daleks by David Whittaker episode 1.
27:52
It is a 0, that's really creepy. Is this is this, this is Tom as
28:00
a narrator. What's the one where he goes,
28:03
you know, I was an impish playful sort of character in
28:07
those days. I think that might be power,
28:10
could be power or, yeah, or Fury.
28:12
Maybe, I don't know. I can't remember.
28:15
Things. But yeah, that was Your yeah,
28:18
this one was narrated much more, sedately by Tom.
28:21
Yeah, it's still Tom talking so it's great to listen to the five
28:25
minutes of John nathan-turner, narrated Doctor Who that we had
28:29
in mysterious planet. Do you remember that special
28:33
guest star here? Jason's cat.
28:37
Well, I think that narration on those soundtracks.
28:39
Wasn't that written by J and T as well?
28:41
Yeah, I think it was or Eric's a would.
28:45
I think you wrote I think Eric say with certainty Wrote the
28:47
first person ones? Okay, oh yeah, I'm here.
28:51
We are now in the tricolore coffee, coffee bar.
28:54
Yes, indeed, Marcus favorite set of scenes as I recall from the
28:58
from what he's talking about, the BFI, because these scenes
29:01
are not in the original audio cassette release.
29:04
Because in the original broadcast, they had a Beatles
29:10
song so too in the background which AIDS now that but yeah,
29:17
which causes huge rights issues so they just locked it out,
29:21
completely from the original audio cassette.
29:25
So I didn't see those until I got a Recon on VHS and this was
29:31
my first reconstruction as well. I got it Mike.
29:34
Shoot University those days of sending off a jiffy bag with
29:38
some VHS tapes in it, and you waited eagerly for them to come
29:42
back. And there's these tele snap
29:43
reconstructions on them. What fun archaeology of Doctor
29:47
Who's started there? Oh yeah.
29:50
I mean I in some ways I envy people who come to the show.
29:55
Now, who are just discovering classic who now because it's all
30:00
there. One way or the other every
30:01
episode has been released in some form or other Other
30:04
multiple media, most of them apart from that you know all the
30:09
missing ones are out on CD or you know, you can get them on
30:13
streaming or brick box. You can download them from
30:16
Spotify. There, the in there, available
30:19
every single episode is available.
30:21
Of course, when we started that wasn't the case.
30:24
You know, when I was first a when I first started my journey
30:28
into Doctor Who fandom. There were only about 25 VHS
30:32
releases there were well over 100 episodes missing.
30:38
So yeah, you know what the difference is there though and I
30:40
have said this before, I just think if it's all there, it's
30:44
almost disposable tele like you can watch it and then you kind
30:48
of go, right? What's the next one?
30:50
What's the next one? Whereas when it was scarce, you
30:54
know, we I studied it and where this is, why you and I could do
30:56
a 13-part commentary on the Daleks master plan.
31:00
It ain't because we've been used it all in a month on brick box.
31:04
It's because it took us 30 years to forget all that and study it
31:09
in so much there. And you know what they're both,
31:12
but valid ways of digesting the show and absolutely, but yeah,
31:19
those those audio cassettes of the first few missing stories
31:21
that were released were gold to me.
31:24
Because like this is when I discovered that we have the
31:26
soundtracks for all the episodes and, you know, thank God for the
31:31
guys who recorded the sound off the Telly in the 60s.
31:35
I'm still one of the highlights of the BFI, the whole BFI
31:39
experience all the ones I've been to one of the highlights is
31:42
still Galaxy for. But me, when Marques in, I think
31:46
the interval held up a tape. He said you know, people people
31:50
in the 1960s, recorded it on an old reel-to-reel tape recorder
31:52
attach to the TV blower. Sees the tape that had the
31:57
Galaxy for soundtrack that we use to remaster it for this
32:00
Blu-ray release, it was recorded by Graham strong and he's in the
32:04
audience, so the guy who recorded it was there and it's
32:07
like, that's fantastic. I've had the biggest Round of
32:10
Applause. Oh, he did.
32:11
Absolutely, absolutely it. But yeah, and it was these and
32:16
then the Recons that was when I learned that we have little
32:20
8-millimeter movie clips or sensor clips and things because
32:23
suddenly the You would start moving, like, this is missing
32:26
episode. Where is this coming from?
32:28
I'm not lost in time. Set came out with all the
32:30
scraps, all in one set. Yeah, devoured.
32:34
That like, I'm Maddie and I'm hungry Maddie and a steak.
32:37
I don't know. Absolutely.
32:38
But I mean, I'll tell you what though the the whole experience
32:41
of gradually piecing together. The history of Doctor Who
32:44
through bootleg tapes, reconstructions audio releases
32:50
VHS tapes, Etc. Is why that experience that over
32:56
those decades? Is why I got so excited when the
32:59
power of the Daleks came out on Blu-ray and it had like, 0.5
33:05
seconds of film footage that haven't been seen before and
33:09
it's just a couple of shots of Leicester city in the capsule.
33:13
You know, but to me this is like another half second or second of
33:17
material from that episode which I've been piecing together over
33:20
these years. It's just laughs it's we were
33:23
take crumbs. Would we eat?
33:25
Absolutely. Absolutely.
33:27
And when you consider the quality of sound and picture
33:30
that we took on those bootleg tapes that we that we got but we
33:35
devoured it and then it all got cleaned up.
33:38
And so now you can see the cellar tape holding the
33:41
cybermen's. Ed together in the Tomb of the
33:43
site in in 10th Planet, which you couldn't in the crappy
33:47
blurry. Multi-generation, copy that.
33:50
I first got old But and you know what's worth?
33:54
Remembering is it's the the body of people that have discovered
34:00
Doctor Who the same way you and I have as a life's work as
34:04
people out there, think we're bombing other thing.
34:06
I've wasted my life, but it's those people than that have made
34:11
informed decisions that stories, like evil of the Daleks are
34:17
absolute classics. Yeah.
34:20
Yeah I think it's because because of that Collective
34:23
knowledge of kind of what's good, what's bad, you know,
34:27
through comparison and this is clearly A Cut Above.
34:35
It is so hot about the oddest Cliffhangers in the whole
34:38
history of the show in about he is accompanied by some superb
34:42
music. Here comes the Dalek.
34:45
And this is trying to crack the safe.
34:47
I mean, it's so Sinister watching that darling.
34:49
Just I love the shot, where he opens the safe and you see it
34:52
reflected in the back of the safe.
34:55
I got it. The First episodes ending in a
34:57
second. Yeah.
35:00
But at the Cliffhanger episode, 1 of the evil of the Daleks is a
35:03
Dalek appearing because it's Doctor Who in the last episode
35:08
1. Threatening a bit part player
35:13
that we don't really care about, he's not even a sympathetic
35:15
character. Yeah, you're right.
35:17
That is a band. That's the Cliffhanger as
35:19
Cliffhangers go. That's a weird one.
35:21
I think they're all a bit odd until we get to episode 6, and
35:26
then that's a brilliantly fanger.
35:28
It is, although episode 5 is probably my favorite.
35:31
Is that the trains one? Yeah, I love that so much.
35:34
It's the one of their rare sort of upbeat Cliffhangers that hmm,
35:39
is that? Is there another one?
35:43
There are. Well, I don't know.
35:44
I'll have to go back and look at my Twitter threads and see how
35:47
it goes. I suppose you could say bad
35:49
wolves as an upbeat Cliffhanger, where the doctor says, right
35:52
Rose? I'm coming to get you.
35:53
You don't have to get dates or what?
35:56
Yeah, that is a good one. Well that's the end of episode
36:00
1. Now I know we didn't cover even
36:02
though the Daleks in too much depth there as you and I have a
36:05
want to do when we get going but I see there are think that's
36:11
probably the most disposable episode in terms of talking
36:14
about what's on the screen. Yeah, I think so, as you say
36:18
it's good to watch and it does keep you interested as to what
36:21
this mystery is and how it's going to pan out, but in the
36:25
context of knowing what the rest of the story entails you could
36:29
lose it completely. You could quite happily have had
36:34
the Tardis just arriving in 1866 and being snared by the Daleks.
36:39
Yeah, and I dunno, I think that would be valid.
36:42
I still wouldn't want to lose the Contemporary section.
36:47
So we're covering the whole ground of the show.
36:51
No, I absolutely agree. I think it's great and it's
36:54
again it's good to see Jamie Moore in contemporary setting.
36:57
This I'm going to talk more about Jamie and episodes are
37:00
also be an episode for Jason. I think this might be Jamie's
37:06
best story. Oh, why?
37:09
Yes. And I think it, I actually think
37:11
this might be the last time apart from Fury, from the deep,
37:16
where he's a character in any kind of conflict and they try
37:21
and use him for character drama. Yeah, I think that's probably
37:27
very true and there's there's a lot of Jamie in this area in
37:31
this story and I love that because Jamie's brilliant.
37:33
Yeah, well, yeah, he but well, it's talk about him in a future
37:38
episode. Do you want to so much?
37:40
Talk about still, we haven't even touched everyone Warfield
37:42
yet. The fabulous little Bailey, did
37:46
you want to per episode? Just throw one Twitter thing in
37:49
the air. Yeah, I can I well I'll have a
37:53
look and see. I mean we did I'm just trying to
37:57
see if there are any that actually would make sense to do
37:59
1 episode 10 Fraser Gregory wonders.
38:02
How many times can you get away with the?
38:03
Look at the size of that thing? Joe gag Rafe.
38:07
Jolly well what? He's telling me to stop it all
38:11
the time now is the instigator of this filth.
38:15
Yes, indeed, he's terrible. Well Wilma.
38:20
Yeah, let's Lucy. McCall supports is the initial
38:25
setup. A Bluetooth is the initial setup
38:27
convoluted although the idea of the Daleks running an antique
38:30
shop is brilliant. It seems an oddly small-scale
38:33
idea. I feel as if the story only
38:35
really picks up when they're at the manor house and I think
38:38
that's what we've been, what we've just been saying.
38:42
Although service, punishingly good, if a Dalek had turned up
38:47
as the manager of acorn, antiques in just one episode
38:53
just bumping into the camera and stuff here.
38:58
That would be amazing. What a Jason we're going to hit
39:01
this website too. I want to know if you're going
39:06
to watch animation or live-action footage, oh, I am
39:10
going to watch the live action existing episode if there's an
39:13
existing episode, I will watch it.
39:16
Well, you know what? I just to be contrary.
39:17
I'm going to keep going with the animation.
39:19
All right. Okay, you're watching and
39:22
full-color animation. I'm watching the old
39:23
black-and-white footage louvain is spinning.
39:27
I'm telling you I'll cut it there.