Latest / A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast / Talks to Si Hart about his choice of The Macra Terror (3/4)
Transcript
- 0:39Welcome back to a hamster. Weber.
- 0:41There are no such thing as hamsters.
- 0:43Hamsters, do not exist. Where are your hamster's said,
- 0:50crawling all over me. I'll beg your pardon about your
- 0:55personal life. Well, here we are.
- 0:59Joe for part three of the mat critera.
- 1:03We promised critical, but it more this time.
- 1:05Yes. Now for the sake of our
- 1:07listeners, can I ask you to do something that you Your guests
- 1:10to and tell us what's been going on so far.
- 1:13I've been paying attention. I've been to her okay.
- 1:16So the doctor and Company have landed on the unnamed Colony.
- 1:23I don't know why it son named but it is where there are
- 1:27Sinister things occurring on the outside.
- 1:30It looks like a happy and gay Holiday Camp.
- 1:33We've all been to a few allows. We're going to a convention
- 1:35soon, very gay and what is actually occurring is hypnosis
- 1:43Brain. What you call it mind-bending
- 1:47brainwashing? That's it.
- 1:48I'm washing. All right, bending I'm
- 1:50one-track. Mind brainwashing.
- 1:54Yeah. Sleep hypnosis, and a Sinister
- 1:57controller appearing on the screen, basically, sending, what
- 2:02to do, happy happy-go-lucky jungles in the are instructing
- 2:06people to work. What I think might actually be
- 2:10occurring is a bog-standard doctor, who story About tapping
- 2:15gasps. There's feeding a bunch of giant
- 2:17craps but we haven't got there yet so far it's all been very
- 2:21interesting and very Sinister. Yeah, I think it's good to get a
- 2:26bit more generic this week. I think you could be right, I
- 2:28bit more by the Numbers. Yes.
- 2:31Oh you've never done a thing for us hard.
- 2:33And now I is this it. Yeah, do it.
- 2:36No one else you to do that? No, no.
- 2:38I really struggled because I've been too busy, just flow.
- 2:43I'm with your to it shit robbery hamster.
- 2:46Otherwise! Okay well yeah, but we're going
- 2:53to episode free and see that. Let's do it.
- 2:56Now we have promised to talk a bit more about the action this
- 2:58time. Yes.
- 2:59Let's see if we manage to keep to that or at least until Fraser
- 3:03asks, a question that will throw us off in a completely different
- 3:06tangent. Never know that could be Story
- 3:08related, but his first question was about missing stories, nice,
- 3:12that animation But the Crew. That's right.
- 3:15The Second Story was about this in stories.
- 3:17Yes. Well, let's see.
- 3:18Well, I don't know where he's gonna go next.
- 3:21I shall count us in. Okay.
- 3:24Four, three, two, one off we go blood-red.
- 3:31They've made some. Yeah, it's an interesting
- 3:33choice. I think it works because with
- 3:38this is the first story with these titles as well.
- 3:41So for years, there was always the big joke that because no one
- 3:45quite knew that the new titles debuted on the faceless ones
- 3:48where they got a face in the titles for the first time
- 3:52Patera. How do we know it was the macro
- 3:55Terry? No it was the macro Terror from
- 3:57the Telly snaps and from the 8 mm film footage as well because
- 4:01someone actually videoed the first time Or films the first
- 4:05time that those titles came on. So, We could do, you know, we
- 4:10said, we've got to talk comment more on the action.
- 4:12Well, yes, Ian Levine style college.
- 4:14And here we have the pilot. Now you can see he's wearing a
- 4:17narrow trouser male pleasure from was a big fan of the narrow
- 4:21trouser. He's looking a little bit
- 4:23perturbed. I can see that in his
- 4:25performance there. He's looking at, he's got really
- 4:27has his. He's got lovely hair, hasn't he?
- 4:31I think that the choice of a, an orange color for the gray
- 4:35shirts, was very interesting. Now, the The actor there, whose
- 4:40face was on the screen playing the controller and I believe he
- 4:43had too much work outside of this, but I'm sure he was very
- 4:46pleased to be in Doctor Who. Well, who wouldn't be Michael
- 4:51craze there. We went to some conventions
- 4:53together. Yes.
- 4:54Yes, he was. He was a very nice man.
- 4:56Very nice man. Didn't quite have the career
- 4:58that he was hoping for but, you know, not, everyone can be a
- 5:01fabulous comedian out in the states like me.
- 5:04Praise the high inside, we work together easily, get close it
- 5:09yet. We're not going to be able to
- 5:10keep this guy. Joe, those jolivet countries are
- 5:14amazing. Okay, so they're now in the
- 5:19danger gang. Yes.
- 5:21What the hell is that all about? Well, I mean fancy a colony
- 5:25that's very happy having a danger gang.
- 5:29The dog goes what an extremely remarkable Place doctor you've
- 5:32been to quite a few, you know, gas.
- 5:33Refineries in your time and he'll be going to some more.
- 5:38Yeah but in this Ethan grunts. Okay.
- 5:42Who's this fella? That's oh.
- 5:46Who is that? That Cuesta.
- 5:48I've could be Cuesta. Yes, nothing will ever be quite
- 5:57like that. All right.
- 6:05Well, maybe not quite enough. Okay.
- 6:09What about you said you wanted to talk about Peter Jeffrey?
- 6:13Yes, because I, I figure, he's a brilliant actor.
- 6:16He's one of those actors who turns up in every show in this
- 6:20era and he was, I've been quite a big coup for Doctor Who at the
- 6:25time he was well-known actor. Good character actor, very good
- 6:29at playing villains in The Avengers.
- 6:31For instance move, isn't it? He's yes, he's smooth and Urbane
- 6:35and and glorious. I think he's in the three
- 6:38episodes. You know, isn't a couple yes.
- 6:43And what I like is that his he comes back to Doctor Who 10
- 6:49years, 11 years later for Android satara and his
- 6:53performance is really different. Yes, in that.
- 6:57So he obviously is someone who's just really good at reading.
- 7:01The script knowing exactly how to Inhabit, the character and
- 7:05play them next time sigh. I shall not be so lenient.
- 7:10Yes. Imagine if the controller had
- 7:12got out with also in the parties the pilot is that a so think
- 7:17like Grendel is like an actor's dream role.
- 7:21Yes, where you get to be obeying, and charming, and
- 7:24witty, and Sinister and all of those things, you know, and
- 7:28madly over the top as well. Yes, the pilot is a good role
- 7:32and it's a bit like the enough from Vengeance and varas.
- 7:36Yes, you're kind of like you're in charge of this thing and you
- 7:40kind of know what's going on, but it's a little bit out of
- 7:42your control, but you can play that interesting.
- 7:46I don't think it's written particularly, interesting know,
- 7:49I think Pete's Jeffrey gets as much out of the role as he
- 7:53possibly can. And again, it'd be interesting
- 7:56to actually see him in action because he's he's another actor,
- 8:00who's always doing something. Interesting, is this.
- 8:04The role where he tells the story that he wasn't that Keen
- 8:07on doing it, but his son would never have forgiven him, but he
- 8:10started basically answered the phone and said, yeah, he's
- 8:12convinced, he'll do Doctor Who Marvel story, where trout and is
- 8:22niggling at been. I'm trying to get him to feel
- 8:25guilty about turning on his friends.
- 8:27Yeah, that's okay. That's one of those.
- 8:32Delightful trout and seems that he gets every so often like
- 8:36that. Do you suffer from headaches?
- 8:38Oh yeah. If we have solicitor gray in the
- 8:41Highlanders and the see in the story before where he's trying
- 8:46to get a reaction out of Zaroff to prove that he's mad and
- 8:49things like that, he's traveling is so good at those, those kind
- 8:53of moments. I mean, sorry the fact that he
- 8:57just said that the danger can gonna have any any choice.
- 8:59They've got a go into these dangerous areas.
- 9:01Areas where we tell them or not. So, the very fact that they've
- 9:03got this punishment Squad called the danger gang shows that this
- 9:08happy-go-lucky Colony ain't really working, is it?
- 9:11Yeah, it's for anyone who doesn't obey the rules and
- 9:15doesn't get into the spirit of things.
- 9:16It's in, it's very much like the happiness Patrol in that, that
- 9:21way that everything is Happy on the outside.
- 9:24But the moment, you step out of what's expected of You by the
- 9:29rules of the colony you're out. And you'll hidden away.
- 9:34I really like the effect of that green gas because it just adds
- 9:40animation to the scene. Yes, you are wise, wouldn't have
- 9:44there's some scenes in episode 1 where me docks running and dust
- 9:47is like being kicked up from the floor and that's what I mean.
- 9:51When I say they're getting the animation a bit better, in that
- 9:55there's kind of enough movement going on on the screen to keep
- 9:59you interested all the time when I was watching.
- 10:01Actually, the Daleks, the first version it was very static.
- 10:06Yes. Because you could go.
- 10:09Yeah, you can go sort of anyway. I think of the reign of terror
- 10:14episodes where it's cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut and
- 10:17you've got a headache. Fucking Tarantino movie.
- 10:19Yeah, so far because they're trying to put artificial
- 10:23movement into scenes where there wouldn't be movement.
- 10:29All this was that saying I was talking about earlier.
- 10:31Yes we're trout. This figure it out the entire
- 10:34gas supply of the colony. And he goes.
- 10:37He puts 10 I'd say and I went. Yeah.
- 10:39And then scrub the outputs 11 out of 10.
- 10:42That's the exact formula. Oh, okay.
- 10:45So great. But he's so there's a bit where
- 10:49he throws the water over it and it is there's a something about
- 10:51this formula is gone and equals to 3 to 6 and it Kaboom this is.
- 10:59What is it some exciting as dribbled into something else you
- 11:02know when the water go down the pain but you know what the
- 11:04difference is here is that in the heart Landers when he was
- 11:07doing comic scenes there's sort of like a mannequin nervous
- 11:10energy about it all he's so relaxed here you know like it's
- 11:15like he's found his feet so he can just play these that he
- 11:18knows how to play these seams now.
- 11:22Yeah, we and it leaves after stuff like you.
- 11:24Remember in the ice for years when he first hits the base and
- 11:27he just walks in and he figures out the whole thing just walking
- 11:30through one circuit. Yes room and then it's like this
- 11:33is the solution that you need is great.
- 11:37And yeah, and then sort of his his cleverness sort of leads in
- 11:43onto the teaching machines in the protons.
- 11:47And then he gets it wrong and then then eventually gets it,
- 11:50right? So that he Gets a better school
- 11:52than Zoe but it's just that he's slightly bumbling, but he's
- 11:58incredibly clever. You know what?
- 12:00I think, I love this place, but in my mind where she goes and
- 12:04that's how his face changed, you've got it all wrong and it's
- 12:06like, oh I was rushed was working in square.
- 12:13Root sir, can I have that again please?
- 12:16I think that's what they remembered back in classic.
- 12:18Who is that he can actually be a bit rubbish, which they don't.
- 12:22Really remember in the new series.
- 12:23No. And this is because of like
- 12:26yeah, the bill Wendell is. Yeah, because the doctor is of
- 12:28God's now and he's so powerful that he never gets anything
- 12:32wrong. The most important person in the
- 12:34entire universe or whatever he is whereas I preferred him as a
- 12:38talented eccentric amateur. Yeah, I mean it really is like a
- 12:43tramp ish genius, isn't he? Yes, Alan.
- 12:48He goes friendly water. But he's catch all the action
- 12:54Now isn't he for quite a bit like?
- 12:55Yeah, he's very much Sidelines. He's in this control room for
- 12:58quite a while and there's I remembered towards the end of
- 13:01episode three. There's lots of long sequences
- 13:04of Jamie going along, mine shafts, and yes, being Menace
- 13:10and I thought, that's where I feel like, okay, there is
- 13:12drawbacks kind of weave, ditched all the Mind Control bit.
- 13:16Now really? And we're just would balk
- 13:18standard corridors and monsters. Yeah.
- 13:20And Escape. Oops, and captures and all of
- 13:22that, that doesn't have to be bad because it could have been
- 13:25really quite stylish he directed for all we know.
- 13:28Hmm. Well yeah, John Davis.
- 13:30Who's the director for this one? He he was brought in by in as
- 13:36Lloyd's to say who it was given that thing.
- 13:40Say you've got to get the scares in this one.
- 13:43This one will be a scary story and then he got wrapped on the
- 13:46knuckles at the end of it for making it a really scary story
- 13:49goodness. So, He said, I did what?
- 13:51I was asked to basically so. Well I can really do a lot for
- 13:57has like season 5 is the the season.
- 13:59That's kind of remembered as being the scary season.
- 14:02Isn't it few? Yes.
- 14:04But actually I think the Daleks coming out into the colony in
- 14:08episode 6 of power of the Daleks that Cliffhanger to episode 2 of
- 14:11the moon base. Where the side man's on the
- 14:13bench? Yeah, the Cybermen walking
- 14:17across the moon. When you see the complete really
- 14:19good, ice is It's really scary to, yeah.
- 14:25Yeah, they knew how to get it, right?
- 14:28So yeah, JB goes off now, right? And then just leaves poly.
- 14:31He literally shuts the door on her in a second.
- 14:35Yeah, that's old, Isn't it? Your whole regular cast up.
- 14:41So you've got four people in four different places, what?
- 14:46They don't people don't really complain about the poly better.
- 14:49Jamie like there, Bo aliens. Do they know they don't complain
- 14:54about the fact that Jamie is kept to sleep for most of the
- 14:57moon base. So they don't have to run him in
- 15:01the Phantom fight back. Boo.
- 15:06No, not go with you. Can you see phrase and Heinz
- 15:10kind of, I think this is where he gets across one Jamie as
- 15:14well. This story is yet because I
- 15:17think it's the first might be the first one that he's actually
- 15:20written into properly, which I think helps, and maybe sort of
- 15:26having those few episodes. He's got his confidence.
- 15:29I mean, I don't think he was ever not confident, but he's
- 15:32got, he's worked out. Jamie's sort of proper accent.
- 15:37So it sort of changed subtly for in the Highlanders.
- 15:40And and he's worked out that he's basically the doctors best
- 15:43friend and he'd do anything for the doctor.
- 15:45Like Elizabeth sladen says he gets a fabulous.
- 15:49Seen an episode forward us the Highland fling.
- 15:52Yeah that's why only great. Yes.
- 15:54And that's the first time where I'm saying that like super
- 15:57Charming Fraser Hines so yeah and then then the following
- 16:01story he's the de facto companion.
- 16:04So Ben Polly are written out in part 2.
- 16:06Yeah. And from there onwards it's the
- 16:09troughton and hind show. And whether she stayed or not, I
- 16:12still think he had great chemistry with Sam Briggs.
- 16:16Yes. Well I think actually he has
- 16:19great chemistry with Oliver with more with with Greater Heights
- 16:23has great chemistry with every woman he ever met.
- 16:26I'm telling you now. Yes, I think that's just
- 16:28Frazier. Hi miss it.
- 16:32Oh okay. So I've got a I've got a
- 16:33question from Fraser here. Okay episode and it's on a
- 16:37topic, you do love, talking about rides.
- 16:40Dudley Simpson. Once again, Dudley Simpsons
- 16:45score, elevates this story and adds a great deal to it.
- 16:49Where would you rank this with his other work?
- 16:55That this is an interesting one because he gets he doesn't write
- 17:00a lot of incidental music, a lot of the music.
- 17:04He's writing it as for the jingles and things like that.
- 17:07So is actual the actual incidental music is a bit.
- 17:14Almost one that says one of his early electronic scores it is
- 17:17electronic is like there's no. So there's any because they're
- 17:21using the sort of traditional instruments for the jingles, so
- 17:25I think he's getting that contrast between the two so I I
- 17:30don't know. I I don't think this is, I think
- 17:32the not I think the jingles are Ali great.
- 17:35But the rest of the music is a bit Nanette and and is literally
- 17:40that it's yet. So it's always quite basic only
- 17:44because you know, those Star Trek style like Dramatics
- 17:47things, duh of those on there. Yeah, but at least back in six
- 17:55weeks time for evil of the Daleks, which I think is
- 17:59genuinely one of his all-time best scores.
- 18:03It's just Absolutely that I'd done done, Donna.
- 18:10Dot dot, dot dot dot. That's really!
- 18:14I really love the music when Jamie and Kamala having their
- 18:17fights. Yeah.
- 18:31Yeah. It's beautiful.
- 18:33Yeah. That and that is One of the one
- 18:36of the best schools of the 60s without a doubt.
- 18:38But you know, it does show his versatility as well and that
- 18:42this might be a bit clunky, but I think I think every time he
- 18:45does electronic music right series a the music.
- 18:48Some is a bit clunky, isn't it? Mmm, because he's hampered by
- 18:53the technology. That's the thing sigh.
- 18:57I can only imagine how dreary these Saints.
- 18:59Look with that Matt crop in this but on an animation it looks
- 19:03amazing. Only because they can animate a
- 19:06crab easily. I suppose the the suspense he
- 19:10comes, doesn't it when they start pumping the gas in, he
- 19:13then starts choking and the macro is getting stronger.
- 19:17Yes, I mean the whole point is that they're supposed to be
- 19:20physically threatening because they're enormous fucking crabs.
- 19:23What exactly enormous fucking intelligent crab.
- 19:28Actually, though I did have a question for you, you know?
- 19:30Okay well to was this Colony created and then the macro came
- 19:35along and went well they're just happens.
- 19:37To be all this gas here. So we're going to we're going to
- 19:40take over this Colony, or this was the macra there first and
- 19:45then somehow the colony was built around them.
- 19:49That's a really good question and it's never explained.
- 19:51How would you like one? It's just accepted that the
- 19:55macro or they're always wondered whether it was the macro or sort
- 20:00of a natural creature in there but the gas made them
- 20:03intelligent and then they took over the colony once the color
- 20:10but that's all supposition. I have no idea because it's
- 20:13never, it's never said, they're just, they're in fact, they
- 20:17could have done something quite interesting with the gas that
- 20:20will that maybe is the gas that allows them to control.
- 20:23People's brains. Yeah, I do wonder if that's sort
- 20:27of the, it that's sort of the implication of the story but
- 20:32it's never never quite said outright because this colony of
- 20:37before, this was a doctor who story, you know, we said like
- 20:39the best locations is yes, believe it is a location that
- 20:42existed before and after the story, well, as I feel like this
- 20:45location exists for this story. Yes.
- 20:49How did this Colony stumble on being like Like a Holiday Camp,
- 20:55yes. How how did they get there?
- 20:59I mean, it's the few days that come from the macra controlling
- 21:03them, and making them like that, or is it something that they
- 21:07done already that they were going to run like this?
- 21:10It's lots and lots of questions. When I feel like maybe it's like
- 21:15a strobe lights going to say, well, what about a holiday can
- 21:17wear their first? A Holiday Camp?
- 21:19Yeah. And is being run by giant crabs
- 21:21know like yeah, right? Mmm, I don't like it.
- 21:25I don't got make sense. Just right here.
- 21:27Make it scary. Did you Harry?
- 21:29Thank you very much for your brother.
- 21:34Yeah. But then I started sometimes I
- 21:36feel like you know if you like pick up the rock of a doctor who
- 21:39story and look underneath sometimes it is a little bear
- 21:41you know like this this ain't the only story that you could
- 21:44level this accusation. Oh but compared to the Colony
- 21:49that we've had a few stories back in power of the Daleks that
- 21:52fill really does feel like I'm real place.
- 21:56Where is this? But there, I feel like you had
- 22:00better. Characterize individuals, you
- 22:02had different groups. There was like, political things
- 22:04going on. Yes.
- 22:07But here, there's none of that. You see families and shoot when
- 22:10the cylons are attacking. There's a woman holding a baby.
- 22:12Yeah, you know, you see that the structure of government as well
- 22:17power struggles. It's, it's it's David whisker so
- 22:21it's yes a lot of depth to it. Where is?
- 22:24Yeah, as you said Institute, black wants to tell a story
- 22:27about a Sinister Colony. That's like a Holiday Camp.
- 22:33That's kind of subversive. Probably anti-communists anti
- 22:37brainwashing. It's all those things in the
- 22:40he's just thrown them in the pot, mix them up and some giant
- 22:43crabs and off you go because I feel like he would be
- 22:47characterized differently, but you could probably put the first
- 22:50Doctor Steven and do do in this story.
- 22:53Yeah. Yes, quite easily like the bare
- 22:55bones of the story and it could still play out.
- 22:57Dodo, could be down in the danger gang.
- 23:00Steven could be doing what Jamie is doing right now.
- 23:03Yep. Exactly.
- 23:04Off-road. The some filter and mail in in
- 23:07season, 24, usually that would be amazing and much after
- 23:11they've just been to a Sinister 50s, Holiday Camp.
- 23:15Docks are wearing another Holiday Camp.
- 23:23I do also think as well, I'm going to contradict what I just
- 23:26said there. Right the regulars enliven.
- 23:30This considerably. Yeah, they give it a lot as
- 23:35yeah. Anakin Wills laughing.
- 23:39Always does a lot with not a lot.
- 23:43Are you see what I mean? She's always giving a really
- 23:45thoughtful, interesting performance.
- 23:47We Elisabeth sladen effect will call it.
- 23:49Yes, I've been she's lovely and she's an absolutely beautiful
- 23:54woman as well. Really.
- 23:57Really, really is. And we don't always get that in
- 24:01the animation. But yeah, that's what she said
- 24:05and I quote from the birthday party.
- 24:06Can't you get it? It right.
- 24:09I'm very fussy about this little critter.
- 24:11I played one day and did this. They did they couldn't get it
- 24:14right. But she did a tweet to the other
- 24:18day with one of these pictures that someone had recolored and
- 24:23secure and said, well she said that dress was actually bright
- 24:27fuchsia. They got that completely wrong.
- 24:33Okay, me. Who does these things Jamie's?
- 24:35Having terrible trouble down this mine and he is, let's table
- 24:39this gasps. Oh man, what a cliffhanger is
- 24:42this episode. It must be coming up shortly.
- 24:47Some I suspect is probably a macro coming to get Jaime in the
- 24:50gas. Well, that's a no new look for
- 24:53this thing. Oh, who default it?
- 24:57But I don't know. Like, we can tweak as an
- 25:00individual episode with lots of scenes of sinister, scuttling
- 25:04crabs coming out of the dark and attacking Our Heroes.
- 25:07Like this would pass 25 minutes, very amiably on a sad.
- 25:10Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
- 25:12And what? This area, It is good at is
- 25:14monsters, coming at you from the dark, you just had it very much
- 25:18in the moon base, with lots of Cybermen and glimpses of
- 25:21Cybermen in dark spaces and things like that.
- 25:26So it's about the scares. It's about Keeping the kids on
- 25:31the edge of their seats for 25 minutes.
- 25:35But I will admit, this is the sort of this is the point where
- 25:38I start going, okay, is this nearly over?
- 25:40You know, he was in the early stages.
- 25:43I'm like this is an exciting like yes, these are some
- 25:46interesting ideas. But there's only so much more
- 25:51knowledge. You can get out joint crabs.
- 25:55What it's like think of something like the green death,
- 25:58which has the giant maggots in it.
- 26:00Yes. But then like they put in the
- 26:02Joe Cliff romance, Joe, leaving the doctor, you need the
- 26:06pollution, you start the pollution, you know, they don't
- 26:09just rely on the maggots. Yes.
- 26:12Oh yeah, this is very much a quite a straightforward for
- 26:16part. A even for this era.
- 26:18I would say so yeah, I would say so but you never know.
- 26:23Something Revelation 3 may occur.
- 26:25In episode 4, the changes entirely possible.
- 26:29Should we find out? That's a very good idea.